Armchair activism

I haven't been cooking much or eating lovely meals lately, so no food photos today. I haven't had a spare minute to think up an interesting argument about an issue that grinds my gears, so no rant today. Quite frankly, I have a headache and the sniffles, and I don't even want to be here. But I have to go to a meeting and a seminar, so here I am, misery and all. I won't bore you with my whinging, but expect some better posts in the (relatively) near future.

For now, I will leave you with three links. All are ways you can take a little bit of action without leaving the comfort of your computer chair.

First, you've all heard about what's going on in Tibet? (No? Click here or here.) Well, Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister of Australia, is off to visit our largest trading partner in Beijing. K-rudd speaks fluent mandarin, so Get Up! is urging people to sign a petition asking Kevin to ask China to lay off a bit. Not Australian? That's okay. I think it makes a bold statement when international signatures are on petitions like that. "The whole world is watching, Kev, what're you gonna do?"

Second, another Get Up! campaign which is near and dear to my heart--Close the Gap. You may have heard that Indigenous Australians have a life expectancy which is nearly 20 years lower than white Australians. There is another petition, and again, international signatures are very powerful. But let's not forget about Oxfam's petition, which has been going for ages. Why not sign both?

Finally, animal export is a big problem in this country. Tens of thousands of animals die every year en route to the Middle East, and the ones who survive are slaughtered in incredibly inhumane ways. Several groups have been fighting to change the laws for ages, and finally the leading export company has been brought to trial. The case was thrown out on a technicality, but it was in appeal this year because a lawyer found that technicality was wrong. Well. Enter a WA politician who has decided to cancel the case. Read more about it at the Animals Australia site, and then sign their petition.

I hope everyone has a lovely long weekend, and if you've got the energy, leave the computer desks and do something fun! I'm predicting a day at the beach in my future....