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Petition Tag - children's rights
It has come to my attention that schools are not allowing the world "God" in the pledge of allegiance in the morning.
It is every child's right to be able to choose to pray to God during school hours.
2. Take the focus off of standardized tests in schools, and replace it with real world education 
Don't you think it's unfair that our graduating from High School depends on one stupid test? Ask any teacher at your school or the teachers union, and they will agree.
Did you know that President Obama is attempting to change our education system and add even more required and mandatory tests to graduate school? Out of 28 developing countries, American students rank 20th in graduation rates. We as students, and the future leaders of this country need a change in our education system. I have written a petition on the White House website asking the Obama administration and White House staff to review our current education system.
I believe that we the students shouldn't be taught based on our standardized tests, but on how to succeed in the adult world, and know how to be prepared for our futures after school. We need to teach our children while growing up, the important things in life that they will need to know. The key to solving the rest of America's problems, lies in our education. This petition needs 25,000 signatures to be reviewed by White House staff if it reaches 25,000 by February 9th 2013.
Thank you for your time, and spreading the word about this petition would be very much appreciated!
Here is the link to the petition on the White House Petition site:
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/take-focus-standardized-tests-schools-and-replace-it-real-world-education/XN6z0yvK
The videos below state many of the problems and flaws in our education system in America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl7evSLeABA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M4tdMsg3ts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWDUixwo9eU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jZHNjc4Xk0
(A description of how the petition site works can be found in the "How and Why" section in the Introduction.)
3. Free Iranian Labor Activist and Children's Rights Defender Behnam Ebrahimzadeh
UPDATE APRIL 22, 2013: BEHNAM EBRAHIMZADEH, HAD ONLY A SHORT PRISON FURLOUGH TO VISIT HIS SON NIMA, WHO HAS CANCER. ON BEING FORCED TO RETURN TO PRISON AT SUCH A CRITICAL TIME, HE HAS ISSUED THE FOLLOWING APPEAL: "HOW CAN I GO BACK TO PRISON KNOWING THAT MY CHILD IS VERY ILL--AND THAT THIS INHUMANE INATTENTION TO A VERY SICK CHILD MAY EVEN SHORTEN HIS LIFE?!"
UPDATE: JANUARY 14, 2013 BEHNAM EBRAHIMZADEH, SITTING IN PRISON, HAS JUST FOUND OUT THAT HIS 13-YEAR-OLD SON, HIS BELOVED NIMA, IS IN A HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN WITH CANCER. HE NEEDS TO GET OUT OF PRISON NOW! PLEASE SEE HIS APPEAL BELOW:
don’t know when it was, maybe eight to nine days ago, when I heard that my only child, my 13-year old Nima, already overcome by the pain of separation from his father and all kinds of deprivation, has been admitted to Mahak Hospital, a hospital for children with cancer; a bitter experience and a shocking moment, which have pierced deep into my soul.
I don’t know about the condition of my darling child. My wife doesn’t clearly tell me, but she hopes that I would soon be given leave to come and see them. I have therefore asked for leave, which if granted would certainly have a great impact on me and my sick child. This is the only moment in the life of a father, which he doesn’t want to lose under any circumstances. So, thanks to my friends, I have come up with a property surety, and like in the past when I have asked for things, I have been given a favourable answer. But maybe this time too it will turn out to be just words.
Under these circumstances, with thousands of thoughts in my mind about my son Nima, remembering the empty promises of those in charge has turned my suffering into an excruciating pain. I have to be at the side of my sick child. This is my right. I am a political prisoner, whose anguish over his son’s illness has made everything look dark. There are several courses of action open to me, one of which is to go on a dry hunger strike. Maybe I’ll get an answer that way.
I want to choose patience and endurance, while resisting and putting pressure; however, anything can happen. First, deprivation from food, leave, proper visits, telephone, medical care, etc., and now deprivation from the right to be at the side of my sick child is what is going to break me down.
I insist on my demand for leave to visit my child; at the same time, I appeal to everyone to support the rights of my child and to help his recovery. Who would have thought that someone who for years has fought for children’s and workers’ rights, would one day be in prison for his beliefs and defence of children, and then hear that groups of compassionate people, friends and comrades are visiting his sick child, but he himself isn’t able to stroke the feverish head of his child?
I will defy and resist, as I have done up to now, but who is answerable for all this injustice and suffering? Who is responsible for the condition that my child Nima is in?
I have hope in the strong and kind hands of the doctors and nurses, hope in the support of friends, comrades, colleagues and the good and caring people of the country. I am most grateful to all those who over these past days have been asking about my child and who have visited my family and son.
I thank all the doctors and nurses of Mahak Hospital and all those who have been helping to aid the recovery of my son. In the hope of a speedy recovery for my son Nima Ebrahimzadeh and all sick children.
Behnam (As’ad) Ebrahimzadeh
Political Prisoner
Ward 35, Evin Prison
January 2013
Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, a worker at a polyethylene pipe-manufacturing factory in the outskirts of Tehran, is a member of the Follow Up Committee to Set Up Free Trade Associations and a children’s rights defender.
He reportedly suffered two broken ribs as a result of beatings during his arrest in June 2010, and is currently serving a five-year prison sentence. Behnam Ebrahimzadeh was initially sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment in December 2010 on national security charges.
This was overturned by the Supreme Court, and after a retrial he was sentenced to five years in prison after conviction of “gathering and colluding with intent to harm state security”, apparently in connection with his trade unionist activities on behalf of the Follow Up Committee to Set up Free Trade Associations. This sentence was upheld on appeal in October 2011.
4. Stop labeling special needs children at school in order to prevent bullying
Currently children who are in special education are still presented to the student body and public in a separate category labeled "Special areas" or the like.
A child who is at a certain grade level but needs one on one instruction and is included in the special education program will be referred to as "special" in many awards programs and sometimes even yearbooks. This way of categorizing children is a very outdated notion, for we as a society are trying to stop the bullying and teach our children acceptance of the differences of their peers. This is teaching all the children that there is something different and perhaps less about the children in special education.
This makes these children more of a target for bullying and stereotypes and also will attach a social stigma to that person that will last throughout their lives. Mostly the schools have done a good job with inclusion as far as academics and socially, but there is still some work to do. As a parent of 2 children with autism and a former student at the schools they attend, I have been on both sides of the situation.
I remember how cruel children would be to other children only because they were labeled as special needs and they wouldn't be socially included. To this day when I see these people out and about the first thing I remember about them is the fact that they were in special education and how they were categorized. Also, it could have undesirable effects on the self esteem of the children in special education, as they could feel ostracized.
This is really unnecessary and can easily be altered to preserve the dignity of our children who will be productive adults in our community one day. Thank you for your time.
5. PROTECT THE VICTIMS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN SRI LANKA
At the request made by the mother of a child sexual victim, the Judge at the High Court in Sri Lanka (Case No 39/2004), made a recommendation to the Attorney General to withdraw the indictment.
After considering all the facts involved and in view of the sheer severity of the damage that could cause to the victim in this particular case, the AG agreed to withdraw the charges. Unfortunately the news papers published the details of the case including false information violating the child's right to privacy and confidentiality, totally destroying the intentions of the courts and causing immense damage to the victim and her family.
This secondary victimization has severely damaged the victim without giving her the opportunity to rebuild her life.
END SCREAM ROOMS - Protect all children's wellbeing, including individual's with IEP. Children are our future, so to imprint fear upon their vulnerable minds and traumatize them daily with control tactics is extreme cruelty.
End confusion regarding non-compliance and our children's alternative to suffer the consequences of being placed in a designated cell.Within these seclusion rooms children have been left un-supervised for hours; have injured themselves begging to be left out; have defecated due to lack of bathroom privileges.
As tax payers be our children's voice; say NO to seclusion rooms. Yes to positive corrective learned behaviour patterns for children plus teachers and school district adminstrators.
REFERENCE:News clip-internet about CT secluded rooms
http:// kpho.com/story/17007347/so-called-sream-rooms-used-in-valley-schools
7. Halt the Execution of Alireza Molla Soltani Sentenced to Death at Age 17
Alireza Molla Soltani, the murderer of Dadashi was born on December 25, 1993 and has not reached the legal age of 18. In light of this and the fact that according to the laws of the Islamic Republic the execution of those who are under 18 years of age is banned, he will be jailed and the final sentence [for his execution] will be issued after he is 18.
The United Nations strictly prohibits the sentencing of death to a minor under the age of 18.
8. Prevent sexual abuse: Mya's Law
Background (Preamble):
1 in 3 girls will be molested by the time they are 13.
1 in 6 boys will be molested by the time they are 13.
95% know their attacker.
Child sexual abuse effects 1 in 10 homes.
75% of victims will never tell.
85% of child sex offenders are re-arrested.
The average sex offender will molest 117 children (most children never tell).
Hi, my name is Dorota Ketch and I am here seeking law reform to help protect children.
For background information to my story see http://www.facebook.com/pages/Justice-In-Carbon-County/246841758678759
9. Support Second Parent Adoption
Under current adoption law in Michigan, only married couples or single individuals are permitted to adopt. This policy makes obtaining a joint legal partnership nearly impossible for two unmarried individuals wishing to adopt a child together.
With thousands of children waiting to be adopted from the foster care system each year, the State of Michigan cannot afford to exclude any population from its adoption discussions; however, it continues to do so by prohibiting non-married individuals from legally co-parenting and permitting only one parent in a same sex couple to legally adopt a child.
If passed, the Second Parent Adoption Bill, Michigan House Bill 4249,would allow two unmarried persons to petition to adopt a child.
All children in Michigan deserve the stability of a permanent home and the security of a legal relationship with two parents.
The increasing number of prisoners in Iran, regardless of the charges against them or their crimes, has hidden and disturbing consequences on their children. They are the forgotten voices of the bulging prison population.
There are no precise figures as to the number of prisoners in the penal establishment. As such, it is difficult to assess the impact of their absence within the social and familial structure, in general, and on their children in particular.
11. Put Safety First in Family Law
On the 24 of March, 2011 the Attorney-General, Robert McClelland introduced into Parliament changes to reform the Family Law Act to strengthen protections against family violence and child abuse.
The Family Law Legislation Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2011, makes some positive changes including broader definitions of family violence and child abuse, greater priority for safety and the removal of disincentives to reporting family violence. This is a great first step, but a lot more is needed to ensure the family law system is not jeopardising the safety of children and their carers affected by violence.
For more information regarding the “Put Safety First in Family Law Campaign” and what other actions you can take to support it, visit www.safetyinfamilylaw.com.
12. Support Canadian National Child Care
We are calling on you to work together to honor the promise of a national child care program to all Canadian families and children. Canada’s children and families deserve the right to a National Child Care System. November 2009 marked the 20th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and Canada still scores LAST amongst industrialized nations in our provision of early childhood education and care and family support policies.
The place to start is by protecting the early learning and child care agreements between the Government of Canada and the provinces. While income support for families is a valid policy goal, a taxable family allowance and a tax credit for employers will not create early learning and child care services that are high quality, available and affordable.
Families need income supports and publicly funded child care services. By supporting families with affordable, high-quality options for early childhood learning and care will benefit child development and the social and economic well-being of communities. The variations of policy across Canadian provinces has only allowed Canadians to create a disjointed system and framework, which results in inequalities for our children and families across the nation. We call on all governments to protect and enhance progress on creating a framework to support a National Child Care System.
Children in Canada and their families need high-quality, accessible, inclusive and PUBLICLY FUNDED early education and care for their children. Canada has made many attempts at implementing a national publicly funded system, but have failed each time. We hope that this will be our last attempt because we WILL succeed in convincing our government to take responsibility for Canadian children, and to give our families a real choice in the care and education of their children.
It is time for Canadians to demand a system that values children and families, and makes early childhood education and care a fundamental part of our country. We need to ask our government to commit to building the child care system that Canadians want.
Please add your name to this petition and forward to everyone who you know. The children are our future.
We will be holding a rally in Toronto on March 8th, 2011, and encourage our neighboring cities, provinces and territories to follow our lead.
For more information, or to get involved, please email us at nationalchildcarenow@gmail.com
13. Mandatory Licensing of all Social Workers in British Columbia
Social Workers in the Province of British Columbia presently have no licensing requirements. Anyone who holds a degree in Social Work may be employed as a social worker, without a license.
If the College of Social Workers were to have Mandatory Licensing and registration of social workers, it would hold social workers accountable for their actions in the scope of their employment as a social worker.
By licensing social workers, members of the public would not only be able to hold social workers accountable for their actions, but there would be remedies available to the public when a social worker acts unethically.
By licensing social workers in the Province it will ensure that Social Workers, follow the Social Work code of ethics, and will eliminate social workers whom do not conduct their work in an ethical manner.
14. Overhaul the National Sex Offender Registry Immediately!
Since becoming law in 2004, Canada's National Sex Offender Registry has not assisted in ONE criminal case.
Registration isn't even mandatory. If a convicted sex offender is ordered onto the registry, the RCMP have no way to keep track of them. In Canada, our registry relies on the honour system, dependent on the goodwill of our convicted sex offenders.
Computer system is archaic - RCMP has needed to create separate hard copy systems, a Rolodex or an Excel spreadsheet.
There can be NO pro-active use, use is only for after a crime has occurred.
Annual budget for a National Sex Offender Registry to keep convicted pedophiles and predators away from our children is $400,000 (My Alberta Premier's salary is $208,000)
Correctional Services of Canada refuses to inform the RCMP of when convicted sex offender have finished their sentence.
Police Officers cannot access the system.
The Federal Government is obsessed with the privacy rights of our convicted sex offenders at the expense of the privacy rights of our children's bodies & souls.
Prosecutors are using the Registry as a negotiation chip during plea bargains. In other words: plead guilty, and even though you're a convicted sex offender, you won't have to register.
In Canada, we Pardon our convicted sex offenders.
When this is done, all information from the registry is destroyed.
Convicted sex offenders should never be allowed to be pardoned. After years of research and debate, it is clear that there is no cure for pedophilia.
15. In support of the Family Law Amendment (Family Violence) Bill 2010
The Bill focuses on prioritising the safety of children whose rights and interests are considered under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). This Bill would amend the Family Law Act to strengthen the role of family courts, advisers and parents in preventing harm to children while continuing to support the concept of shared parental responsibility and shared care where these are safe.
http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf/Page/Consultationsreformsandreviews_FamilyLawLegislationAmendment(FamilyViolence)Bill2010-ExposureDraft
Launch of Report Family Violence – A National Legal Response
Joint Media Release
http://www.attorneygeneral.gov.au/www/ministers/mcclelland.nsf/Page/MediaReleases_2010_FourthQuarter_11November2010-LaunchofReportFamilyViolence-ANationalLegalResponse
The AG proposes that child safety be dominant in family court decision making.
16. Support for the Family Law Legislation Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2011
This petition, in support of The Family Law Legislation Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2011, has been signed by concerned citizens, and draws to the attention of the Senate the desperate need to put the protection of children from abuse, above a parents’ rights to contact with their children, in Family Law processes and judicial decision-making.
Many children are being handed over by the Family Court to alleged abusers, some known to be extremely violent, some pedophiles. Concerned parents have been labeled as 'enmeshed with the child', 'alienating', ‘unfriendly’ or ‘mentally ill’ and are in turn ignored and disbelieved. They have become fearful of speaking up about abuse because they can be seen to be not fostering an ongoing relationship between the child and the abusive parent. It is these children who are being forced to have a "meaningful relationship" with abusive parents who have traumatised them, as if time spent together will erase, rather than exacerbate the child’s fears.
This has been documented by the Australian Institute of Family Studies and academics such as Professor Freda Briggs, Dr Thea Brown and Dr Elspeth McInnes.
Major concerns surround the unintended consequences of a growing number of children who have been killed by a parent after an order from the court has sent those children into the company of that parent. That children are killed by parents is horrendous – that it happens under the force of a court order is entirely unacceptable.
Richard Chisholm states in 'The Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) report into the 2006 reforms' that parents are consistently discouraged from raising family violence concerns due to the emphasis on facilitating the child’s relationship with the other parent.
Family Court Judges, while trained exemplary in the law, often lack foundations in dealing with children, especially those victims of family violence. There is also no legislated
standard of investigations into allegations of child abuse within the Family Court nor does there exist any mechanism of accountability for decisions made within the Family Court.
Further, section 121 of the Family Law Act prevents anyone, including the media, from exposing specific details in cases that may reveal the identities of the parties involved in matters where outrageous rulings clearly show parent's rights have outweighed the safety of children.
Evidence
'No Way To Live' by Dr Lesley Laing. See here: http://bit.ly/q3XlIR
Fact Sheet #3: How the fathers’ rights movement undermines the protections available to victims of violence and protects the perpetrators of violence. By Dr Michael Flood. Sociologist at the University of Wollongong. See http://bit.ly/na2jCx
Fact Sheet #1: The myth of false accusations of child abuse. See http://bit.ly/pPhVbW
Family Court Australia Journalists Call for Change. See http://bit.ly/jaXIRf
Angry men have never met a thug who wasn’t innocent. See here: http://bit.ly/qGb1Li
We leave with you a list of children and mothers who have been killed after appearing before the Family Court.
1) 1996 - January 25: Peter May shot and killed his three children, Lisa eleven, Andrew eight, and Natalie seven during a contact visit. On the same day, he also killed his wife and her parents. May’s history of domestic violence and links to the Men’s Rights Agency was commonly known and reported,
2) 1998 – October 23: After Ronald Jonkers lost custody of Aaron DeBaugy 5, Ashlee seventeen months and David seven, he poisoned them by carbon monoxide in their car on a contact visit in Perth,
3) 1999 – August: WA four young children were gassed along with their father Mark Heath after a family court dispute,
4) 2000 - Rhonda Bartley was shot dead by her ex-partner in Berri while attending a court ordered contact handover of their baby daughter,
5) 2001 - September: Mikaylah Green eleven weeks, Taylah Pringle eleven months and Jackson Merrott six, were smothered by their father on a contact visit in Sydney,
6) 2002 - Ana Hardwick 35 is strangled by her former partner after the family court granted her custody of their eleven and eight year old children,
7) 2004 - April 26: Jessie Dalton nineteen months and Patrick Dalton thirteen weeks were smothered by their separated father Jayson Dalton after a family court order gave him acre of the children while their mother recovered from his violence to her. This father was a prominent member of a father’s rights group,
8) 2008 - January 3: Christopher McEwen raped and then killed his daughter Rhiannon McEwen on Bribie Island on New Year’s Eve. The matter of the children’s residency was before the Family Court in 2004 where the father was given residency of all three children,
9) 2009 - January 29: Darcey Freeman (4) is killed when her father threw her off a bridge after a Family Court parenting consent order was made,
10) 2009 - September 2: Alexander (5) and Charlotte (6) are killed by their father after a Family Court order gave him contact supervised by a member of his own family. He took these children away from the supervision by his family member and drove them into a tree.
17. Keep Child Killer in Prison for Life! 2012 !
2012 PETITION to
KEEP CHILD KILLER KEITH VISCHIO IN PRISON FOR LIFE
NEW YORK STATE DIVISION OF PAROLE
97 DIVISION AVENUE
ALBANY, NEW YORK 12206
ATTENTION: BARBARA TOBIN, PAROLE OFFICER,
VICTIM IMPACT UNIT
RE: KEITH VISCHIO DIN #81 B 0177 NYSID #04078689N
FACT:
ON MONDAY JULY 7TH, 1980 @1711 @ OAKWOOD HEIGHTS TRAIN STATION STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK
LORRAINE ANN PACIFICO AGE 10, 4 FT 3 IN, 70 LBS, WAS ACCOSTED / LURED, BRUTALLY BEATEN TO DEATH.
HIT IN THE HEAD & FACE WITH A ROCK "OVER 20 TIMES" RECEIVING (6) MULTIPLE SKULL FRACTURES, THEN HIT WITH A BOTTLE, DIS-ROBED, CUT/MUTILATED (3) TIMES ON HER CHEST FROM BELOW HER WAIST TO ABOVE HER NECK WITH A METAL PIPE IN A FAILED "SEX ATTACK".
FACT:
LORRAINE WAS FOUND (4) DAYS/NIGHTS LATER ON 07/11/1980. HER FACE & HEAD WAS A "BLOODY PULP".
HER BODY SO BADLY BATTERED, DE-COMPOSED IN THE 100 DEGREE HEAT, EARS, NOSE, SOFT TISSUE EATEN OFF BY RODENTS, MAGGOT INFESTATION THAT HER COFFIN HAD TO BE CLOSED FOR BURIAL.
LORRAINE WAS IDENTIFIED VIA DENTAL RECORDS.
FACT:
BESIDES WITNESS STATEMENTS, PHYSICAL EVIDENCE OBTAINED AT THE CRIME SCENE: FINGER PRINT, PALM PRINT, HIS PUBIC HAIR FOUND ON HER BODY, HE CONFESSED VOLUNTARILY FOUR (4) TIMES !
FACT:
1. HE 'PLED UP" TO 2 ND DEGREE MURDER "INTENT TO KILL" NEW YORK STATE PENAL LAW 125.25
NOTE:
2. UNDER CURRENT NEW YORK STATE LAW IF PAROLED THIS VIOLENT CRIMINAL WOULD NOT HAVE TO REGISTER AS A "SEX OFFENDER".
3. YOU JUST HAVE TO ASK ONE QUESTION: HOW LONG WILL THE VICTIM BE DEAD ?
NO PAROLE: LIFE IN PRISON MEANS LIFE IN PRISON: DIE IN PRISON !
NEVER FORGET XOX LORRAINE ANN PACIFICO XOX
LORRAINE ANN PACIFICO COMPLETE FILE ~ LINK ~
https://picasaweb.google.com/anthonypacifico62
CHILD KILLER GOOGLE ~ LINK ~
http://goo.gl/bqGwE
COUNTER TO NEXT VICTIM IMPACT MEETING 2012 APPROX.
http://goo.gl/YcS8C
NEW YORK STATE DIVISION OF PAROLE
97 DIVISION AVENUE
ALBANY, NEW YORK 12206
ATTENTION: BARBARA TOBIN, PAROLE OFFICER,
VICTIM IMPACT UNIT
RE: KEITH VISCHIO DIN #81 B 0177 NYSID #04078689N
What to Include in a Parole Opposition Letter
January 24, 2011, the United States Supreme Court ruled that state prisoners have no constitutional right to be paroled. Additionally, the Court stated, "There is no right under the Federal Constitution to be conditionally released before the expiration of a valid sentence and the states are under NO duty to offer parole to these prisoners.
When preparing Parole Opposition Letters, please include a passage referencing the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. The completion by prisoners of programs, i.e. high school graduation, vocational training, anger management, etc., while in prison, does NOT outweigh the total disregard for human life by a convicted murderer.
In some states there is no guarantee of confidentiality for those people writing parole protest letters. Please only put your name on the bottom of the letter, and NOT your return address. Only put your return address on the outer mailing envelope.