Earth Day Canada asks everyone to #EarthPLAY for Earth Day (April 22) 2017

Earth Day Canada (CNW Group/Earth Day Canada)

With a new mandate to connect kids to nature and build resilient communities, Earth Day Canada kicks off its 2017 campaign by asking people across the nation to #EarthPLAY for Earth Day and support better outdoor play in our parks, schools and on neighbourhood streets.

According to recent data, most children get outside for less than an hour each day. This is having serious ramifications on their health and wellbeing.

"Outdoor, unstructured free play has been disappearing from childhood for the last several decades," says Deb Doncaster, President of Earth Day Canada. "This is largely due to a lack of stimulating, accessible play spaces, coupled with unnecessary aversion to risk and a narrow concept of education. 

If the next generation is stuck indoors, how can we expect them to be connected to their communities and motivated to protect the environment?"

The cornerstone of this year's campaign is the #Pledge4PLAY crowdfunding platform, running April 1st to 30th at earthday.ca. Those who donate receive various perks and chances to win a range of prizes, with donations of $100 or more securing additional entries into a draw for the grand prize: A trip for four to the world-renowned Berkeley Marina Adventure Playground in California, courtesy of the Air Canada Foundation.

A social media campaign on Facebook and Twitter encourages people to share their favourite #PLAYmemory from when they were young — participants include celebrities such as four-time Olympian Silken Laumann, star of hit TV series Survivorman Les Stroud, and children's singer-songwriter Raffi, while renowned environmentalist David Suzuki and Leader of the Green Party Elizabeth May have recorded special video messages to share, too.

Earth Day Canada has created free tool kits for those who wish to #EarthPLAY in their local community, and for schools across Canada, who are invited to demonstrate their support of enriched outdoor play by committing to host an extra or extended recess or even a full day of adventure play during Earth Week.

Earth Day Canada is hosting three events in Toronto — StreetPLAY for Earth Day (April 20), SchoolPLAY for Earth Day (April 20) and ParkPLAY for Earth Day (April 22) — drawing a range of government officials, celebrities and kids of all ages to experience enriched outdoor play.

About Earth Day Canada

Founded in 1990, Earth Day Canada is a national charity that inspires and supports people across the country to connect with nature and build resilient communities. We lead an annual Earth Day campaign in conjunction with free, year-round, award-winning programs that get people of all ages outside, interacting with the natural environment — this, in turn, fosters an intrinsically motivated, enduring commitment to stewardship and conservation.

EDC works closely with school-aged children and youth through our renowned EcoKids program and new EarthPLAY initiative, and recognizes via our Hometown Heroes Awards those who are leading the way in making our planet healthier. We engage diverse communities in the environmental sector and help our corporate partners achieve their sustainability goals with our growing employee engagement platform.

SOURCE:  Earth Day Canada

Camp BKB: An Earth Day Festival

A festival to save the world...

Brooklyn Boulders, an indoor rock-climbing and mixed-use lifestyle facility is hosting a 3-day festival at facilities in Chicago, NYC, and Boston in celebration of Earth Day, from Friday April 21 through Sunday April 23.  Clif Bar & Company and High Brew Coffee will be our national presenting sponsors presenting their green philosophies and sustainable practices at all four BKB locations.

Camp BKB will be an interactive, experiential and educational event and will feature live performances by Small Black, Tanlines (DJ Set), Santah, and Bearstronaut; green workshops and demos focusing on sustainability, eco-fashion, and zero-waste from partners Clif Bar, High Brew, Boxed Water, and Lush Cosmetics, vegetarian dinners and happy hour sponsored by Sierra Nevada, family and youth workshops in activism and more.

VIP ticket-holders will experience an overnight sleepover with campfire stories, s'mores from Whole Foods, a quiet meditative climb in the morning, and a Bluegrass Brunch the next morning.  Other activities include presentations by March for Science, sign-making events for the march, and sign re-purposing workshops post-march. 10% of all ticket sales are going directly to The National Parks Foundation.

Presenting sponsors Clif Bar and High Brew will present their green and environmental philosophies and practices through our Climb for Sustainability (Clif) and For Those Who Do Good Clean Up Park Activation (High Brew). The Clif Bar Climb for Sustainability initiative will plant trees to American Forests for each climber that gets to the top of their routes.  The "For Those Who Do Good" campaign spotlights the do-gooders, creators, and innovators of the High Brew community.  High Brew is expanding that concept and getting our attendees out in the field cleaning up the following local parks: Thomas Greene Park (Gowanus location), Mary Bartleme Park, and Hunters Point Park. 

National Events Manager Tim Ryan has stated that: "Camp BKB was conceived to connect our community through an indoor camping experience, story-sharing, and sleepover.  As the political climate has been changing, we were compelled to tie the event with a greater cause: to promote the outdoor industry and improve our community's lives outside our walls. At the end of the day - we hope our engaging activities and this experience will be a first step towards saving the world and making it a better place." 

SOURCE: Brooklyn Boulders

Getty Images And MuslimGirl.com Partner To Promote Positive Images Of Modern Muslim Women

Muslim Women via Getty Images

Getty Images, a world leader in visual communications, and MuslimGirl.com, the largest Muslim women's online platform in the United States, today announced an exclusive content partnership that aims to tackle misrepresentation of Muslim women in marketing and advertising. Together, they've created an offering of high quality images that authentically represent Muslim women in a fresh and contemporary light.

The partnership seeks to diversify the depiction of Muslim women online and flood the internet with positive imagery to push back against broad misconceptions of the Islamic community. Joining the Getty Images community as a contributor, MuslimGirl.com aims to provide a collection of images that seeks to take back the narrative and raise the profile of the young modern Muslim woman.

Available for commercial use to encourage a more positive depiction of Muslim women, images feature girls with and without a hijab, are shown doing every day activities, at home, with friends, and in the workplace, and their style and strength is front and center. In each photo, they are portrayed as the protagonist to project and normalize a modern view of Muslim women today.

Embed from Getty Images

"Getty Images has a deep belief in the power of visuals to incite change and shift attitudes," said Pam Grossman, Director of Visual Trends at Getty Images.  "Visual literacy is so prolific with today's generation, that photos are now absorbed and processed with unprecedented immediacy. Positive imagery can have an impact on fighting stereotypes, celebrating diversity, and making communities feel empowered and represented in society.  We're so proud to partner with MuslimGirl.com to increase the visibility of these kinds of images in the world."

"One of the ways I open up my talks is by asking the audience to search 'Muslim women' images on their phone browsers, which is always met with their awe at the unsettling results," says Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, founder and editor-in-chief of MuslimGirl.com. "I don't want to be able to use that example anymore, and I could not be prouder to partner with Getty Images on finally taking on such an important and influential task."

Pam Grossman adds: "Keyword searches for Muslim have gone up 107% on GettyImages.com over the past year, so it's even more important to ensure images like these are surfaced at the top of our results."

>> View the MuslimGirl.com images here <<

Embed from Getty Images

SOURCE: press.gettyimages.com

Virtual Reality Calling for Humanity

RCS Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Calling supporting Video, Voice and Chat by Summit Tech (CNW Group/Summit Tech)

Summit Tech  has launched real-time RCS virtual reality and augmented reality calling – VRcalling.com.  The solution allows wireless carriers to add support for RCS services such as IR.92/94 from within VR/AR environments.

Whereas many VR experiences isolate users from real life, Summit begins by connecting real people through real-time 360° live video streams including support for virtual environments.  Users connect through globally standardized communication services such as RCS and VoLTE ensuring mass reachability by allowing VR users to share their experience with, well, virtually anyone with a smartphone.

Oculus Rift, HTC Vive or Gear VR users connect to live VR streams, then by simply VRcalling their friends on RCS or ViLTE enabled devices, users share their experiences in real-time – no app required. Additionally, while connected to streams, users can publish their social presence allowing for communication between any user connected to the stream. VR calling enables new, high-value experiences such as:

• Immersive live-streaming entertainment - by connecting to 360° streams from sporting events or music concerts, carriers can put their subscribers in the center of the action, allowing them to look around and experience the location like a physical attendee while sharing the stream with friends through RCS.
• Immersive meetings/training – by giving visual context and 360° views of attendees and location, immersive business meetings bridge the divide between flat telepresence sessions and physical attendance.
• Immersive edutainment – students can explore educational locations like museums, galleries and observatories and interact with students in distant locations through overlaid video calling and group chat.

RCS is the next generation communication and conversation platform being deployed by operators with services ranging from enriched calling to chatbots. Not limited to RCS smartphones, users access VR calling through VR headsets or AR glasses for immersive experiences, or tablets and web browsers as easily accessible alternatives.

Alido Di Giovanni, President of Summit commented: "We want to empower operators to rapidly launch VR/AR services and secure new revenue streams. To facilitate carriers in piloting RCS VR, we are also demonstrating a white-label IMS cloud service."

Summit Tech will also demonstrate the innovative IMS-enabled connected car and operator-managed connected living services supporting Cat M1 and NB-IoT.

SOURCE: Summit Tech

Shocking Footage Reveals Reality Of Cruel Trade In Russian Beluga Whales

Shocking footage reveals reality of cruel trade in Russian beluga whales. (c)International Fund for Animal Welfare

The cruel trade in Russian beluga whales (the white whale), captured in the wild for sale to aquaria and travelling shows, has been condemned by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) as shocking new footage reveals the true depth of the animals' suffering for human entertainment.

The hard-hitting documentary, Born to be Free, follows 18 beluga whales captured from the wild in Russia in 2013 for display at the Georgia Aquarium in the US, who are stuck in tiny holding tanks for years while their ultimate fate is decided. Public outrage led to an import ban, which started long judicial proceedings and left the belugas in limbo. At least one of the whales featured died and the surviving whales were finally sold and transported to aquariums in China.

The film, showcasing the first investigation of its kind in Russia, shines a light on the secret and often murky international trade in marine mammals. Examining all aspects of the supply chain, it gives a revealing and distressing insight into the reality of a life in captivity for the animal victims.

Masha Vorontsova, IFAW Russia Director, said: "Beluga whales are highly intelligent animals with a very complex and social family structure. IFAW believes that belugas and all whale species are not suited to a life in captivity and belong in the wild.

Sadly little thought is given to welfare in this trade driven by profit. A captured beluga, once it has been trained to eat dead fish instead of hunting live prey in the wild, can fetch up to US $1million. When I heard that three daring young Russian women wanted to document this issue I was very pleased that IFAW could help them tell the story and bring it to public attention. Anyone who doubts the suffering of these animals need only watch this film.

IFAW urges the Russian government to ban all future wild capture of belugas and other cetaceans. We also ask members of the public not to support shows involving belugas or whales, which fuel this lucrative and unacceptably cruel trade."

IFAW has worked for more than 20 years to protect Russia's beluga whales from commercial exploitation for the whale meat trade, aquaria and harmful tourism activities. Since 1995, IFAW and researchers from the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology have operated a non-invasive research station monitoring belugas off the coast of the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea and assessing threats to the species. In 1999, IFAW successfully campaigned for a ban on the commercial hunting of Russian belugas to supply whale meat to Japan.

The film, directed by Gayane Petrosyan, will premier in Russia on February 24 at the ECOCUP Green Documentary Film Festival. It is being distributed by Reflexion Films and Dogwoof International and will be available on Netflix starting March 21. 

Born to Be Free Movie Trailer:

About IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare):
Founded in 1969, IFAW rescues and protects animals around the world. With projects in more than 40 countries, IFAW rescues individual animals, works to prevent cruelty to animals, and advocates for the protection of wildlife and habitats.

 

SOURCE: International Fund for Animal Welfare

Mr. President & The First Lady Are Egg-Specting Two Eaglets!

World-Famous Bald Eagle parents, Mr. President & The First Lady, have welcomed their second egg of 2017 into their Washington DC nest.

On February 19, The First Lady laid her first egg of 2017 LIVE on the DC Eagle Cam (dceaglecam.org). The world has been watching and waiting to see if she and her faithful eagle companion, Mr. President, would have the chance to raise two eaglets again in 2017, and now that opportunity has arrived.

On February 23 at around 4:26 pm EST, almost 4 days after the first, the mother eagle laid her second egg! (But, don't worry if you've missed it... you can watch the video at the end of this post.)

From this point forward, both parents will take turns diligently and vigilantly incubating and protecting their future-eaglets. Be it rain, hail, snow, thunder, lightning, predators, or even hurricanes, eagle parents are very protective and will weather all types of situations to keep their eggs safe and warm.

The approximate 35-day incubation countdown to hatching has now begun, which means the American Eagle Foundation (AEF), its DC Eagle Cam Project partners, and viewers will be on "hatch-watch" the last week of March.

In 2015, these eagle parents raised one eaglet (deemed DC1) in their nest at the top of this Tulip Poplar Tree in the U.S. National Arboretum. In 2016, they raised two eaglets (which were deemed DC2 & DC3 before the public officially nicknamed them Freedom & Liberty).

"If all goes well, we will be inviting DC4 & DC5 into the world in about 5 weeks! The fact that we only have two years of previous nesting data on these birds, however, still begs to question whether it's possible that The First Lady could lay a third egg this week, especially since their nest is slightly larger this year," says AEF representative Julia Cecere. "All we can do now is watch and wait. We are more than ecstatic about these two eggs...but watching three eaglets raised in one nest would be such a thrill for viewers everywhere."

For all of the DC Eagle Cam fans who have fallen in love with watching this eagle pair, there is now a beautiful hardcover book documenting the pairs' first two nesting seasons in the National Arboretum. The book can be purchased on www.eagles.org or by visiting www.dceaglecam.org.

"Eagles have been the proud and majestic symbol of freedom for the USA for 235 years," says AEF Founder and President Al Cecere. "During our second season online, we hope this American Eagle family reality show will again captivate, inspire, and educate many millions of animal and nature lovers, as well as die-hard patriots and Bald Eagle fans. This is certainly a wonderful experience that all Americans can rally around, embrace and feel united about."

SOURCE: American Eagle Foundation

The Video:

Thailand's Infamous Tiger Temple Plans To Reopen Under Another Name

To make them pose for photos with tourists, tiger cubs are separated from their mothers and brutally trained. World Animal Protection wants to end this cruel practice and believes that wild animals belong in the wild. (CNW Group/World Animal Protection)

An investigation by international animal welfare charity World Animal Protection has exposed that Thailand's controversial Tiger Temple Co. Ltd. is planning to re-open under the new name Golden Tiger (Thailand) Co. Ltd.

The charity is extremely concerned about these developments, given the appalling circumstances and conditions that led to the closure of Tiger Temple, and is calling for the Thai government to not issue a zoo license to Golden Tiger (Thailand) Co. Ltd. to open another venue.

Tiger Temple Co. Ltd, once a well-known tourist attraction because of its large collection of tigers, was recorded to have at least 147 tigers in 2016. After years of allegations of illegal breeding and trafficking of the tigers and their parts, in May of last year more than 500 officers from Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) raided the venue uncovering dead cubs in freezers alongside tiger skins, amulets and tiger teeth trinkets.

The Golden Tiger (Thailand) Co. Ltd. is currently constructing a new venue in Kanchanaburi (in the West of Thailand) and have already been issued a provisional license by the DNP for this new business venture. However, a full zoo licence will not be issued unless they meet 11 specified conditions within six months. These include enclosures deemed large enough for the tigers and vet care, but worryingly it fails to ban breeding or tourist interactions with tigers at the proposed new venue.

Also, legal cases and police investigations into the illegal wildlife trade allegations against Tiger Temple Co. Ltd. are still ongoing, and granting a zoo license would allow them to continue running a tiger business that potentially harbours cruelty.

In 2016, World Animal Protection handed over a petition to the DNP calling for a thorough investigation into all captive tiger facilities in Thailand, and to ban the breeding of tigers at commercial venues which serve no conservation benefit for tigers in the wild.

Dr. Jan Schmidt-Burbach, senior wildlife advisor at World Animal Protection says:

"Tiger farms have nothing to do with conservation – they just bring extreme suffering to these wild animals whilst living in appalling conditions.

"These venues need to be stopped in their tracks because they clearly have links to the dark side of wildlife trafficking rings."

Last year World Animal Protection released a study on tigers used for entertainment in Thailand which documented a 33% increase in the number of tigers at tourism facilities over a five-year period.

The main welfare concerns witnessed by the investigators at these tourist venues include:

• Tiger cubs cruelly separated from their mothers, two to three weeks after they are born
• Young cubs used as photo props with tourists, constantly viewed and mishandled hundreds of times a day, which can lead to stress and injury
• Tigers being punished to stop aggressive unwanted behavior. One staff member told our researchers that starvation is used to punish the tigers when they make a 'mistake'
• Most tigers were housed in small concrete cages or barren enclosures with limited access to fresh water. 50% of the tigers we observed were in cages with less that 20sqm per animal, a far cry from the 16-32km they would roam in a single night in the wild
• One in ten (12%) of the tigers we observed showed behavioral problems, such as repetitive pacing and biting their tails. These behaviors most commonly occur when animals feel they cannot cope with stressful environments or situations.

Dr. Schmidt-Burbach adds: 

"Tourists need to be aware that their once in a lifetime opportunity to get up close to a tiger causes a lifetime of suffering. A selfie with a tiger is cruel, so don't do it."

>> Find out more about our campaign. << 

More Info:

• Since January 2017, World Animal Protection has written two letter to the DNP to not issue a license to the Golden Tiger Co. Ltd and impose a breeding ban.
• Read the charity's report about Thailand's tiger entertainment industry.
• Visit World Animal Protection's campaign site for more information on wild animals used for tourist entertainment.

SOURCE: World Animal Protection

ASLA Statement On Bill To Abolish The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) strongly opposes the recently introduced H.R. 861, which would terminate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Society today sent a letter to Representative Matt Gaetz (Florida), the author of the bill, urging him to withdraw consideration of the proposed legislation.

"EPA's role, protecting human health and the environment, intersects with ASLA's work in leading the design and stewardship of land and communities," said ASLA Vice President and CEO Nancy C. Somerville, Hon. ASLA. "More than ever, public health and safety depend on joining together to protect our nation from pollution and the effects of climate change. We urge Representative Gaetz to withdraw the bill from consideration."

Drinking water and wastewater systems are deteriorating and are costing municipalities and ratepayers billions of dollars in maintenance and repairs. Many communities are looking to employ less costly green infrastructure solutions to address stormwater runoff—the major contributor to water pollution and unsafe drinking water supplies. Landscape architects, working with communities nationwide, rely on the EPA's programs and tools, including grants, research and other technical assistance to implement green infrastructure projects that address stormwater management and other water quality issues.

These EPA resources have a proven track record in the design and implementation of green infrastructure projects. If enacted, H.R. 861 would halt these critical programs and leave state and local jurisdictions without vital programming, guidance and technical assistance.

ASLA respectfully urges Representative Gaetz to withdraw consideration of the bill and to work with congressional colleagues to improve the EPA's programs and resources for the benefit of current and future generations.

American Society of Landscape Architects logo. (PRNewsFoto/American Society of Landscape Architects) 

About ASLA
Founded in 1899, the American Society of Landscape Architects is the national professional association for landscape architects, representing more than 15,000 members in 49 professional chapters and 72 student chapters. Members of the Society use "ASLA" after their names to denote membership and their commitment to the highest ethical standards of the profession. Landscape architects lead the stewardship, planning and design of our built and natural environments; the Society's mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education and fellowship.

SOURCE: American Society of Landscape Architects

THIRTEEN To Stream "Take This Hammer," Historic Documentary About Author And Activist James Baldwin

James Baldwin, "Take This Hammer"

WNET, home to tri-state-area PBS Stations THIRTEEN, WLIW21 and NJTV, is making the groundbreaking 1963 documentary, Take This Hammer, available via Facebook Live on Friday, February 24 at 8 pm.

This event marks the first time WNET will release an archival film via Facebook. 

"We are privileged to have a broad archive of noteworthy film content from throughout our 54-year history," says WNET President and CEO Neal Shapiro, "And Facebook Live can serve as yet another way to broaden the channels we use to reach the public with high-quality, informative and free content."

In Take this Hammer, author and activist James Baldwin meets with members of the local African-American community in San Francisco in the spring of 1963. He is escorted by Youth For Service's Executive Director Orville Luster and is intent on discovering "the real situation of Negroes in the city, as opposed to the image San Francisco would like to present."

Excerpts from Take this Hammer appear in the Academy Award-Nominated film, I Am Not your Negro, a film by Raoul Peck, Rémi Grellety and Hébert Peck that explores Baldwin's plans to write a biography of Malcom X, Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King, Jr.

> Join the livestream of Take This Hammer on Friday, February 24 at 8 PM here < It will be available for viewing for one-week.

WNET is New York's flagship PBS station. (PRNewsFoto/WNET)

About WNET

WNET is America's flagship PBS station and parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21. WNET also operates NJTV, the statewide public media network in New Jersey. Through its broadcast channels, three cable services (KidsThirteen, Create and World) and online streaming sites, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than five million viewers each week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend, Charlie Rose and a range of documentaries, children's programs, and local news and cultural offerings. WNET's groundbreaking series for children and young adults include Get the Math, Oh Noah! and Cyberchase as well as Mission US, the award-winning interactive history game. WNET highlights the tri-state's unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS, Reel 13, NJTV News with Mary Alice Williams and MetroFocus, the daily multi-platform news magazine focusing on the New York region. In addition, WNET produces online-only programming including the award-winning series about gender, First Person, and an intergenerational look at tech and pop culture, The Chatterbox with Kevin and Grandma Lill. In 2015, 

SOURCE: WNET New York Public Media

NASA Cargo Headed to Space Station Includes Important Experiments, Equipment

Image via www.nasa.gov

Major experiments that will look into a range of scientific disciplines from human health to atmospheric conditions on Earth are on their way to the International Space Station following liftoff at 9:39 a.m. EST aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. About 5,500 pounds of research equipment, cargo and supplies are packed into the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that is now in Earth orbit and headed to the station on the CRS-10 mission.

SpaceX's Dragon cargo craft launched from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This was the first commercial launch from Kennedy's historic pad.

Astronauts Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) and Shane Kimbrough of NASA will use the space station's robotic arm to capture Dragon when it arrives at the station. Live coverage of the rendezvous and capture will begin at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22 on NASA TV and the agency's website, with installation coverage set to begin at 8:30 a.m. 

Research materials flying inside the Dragon's pressurized area include a crystal growth experiment that will crystallize a monoclonal antibody that is undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of immunological diseases. Growing the crystal in space will allow it develop more than it could on Earth where gravity causes crystals to collapse on themselves. Preserving these antibodies in crystals allows researchers a glimpse into how the biological molecules are arranged, which can provide new information about how they work in the body. So far, Earth-grown crystalline suspensions of monoclonal antibodies have proven to be too low-quality to fully model.

Better defining how some bacteria become drug-resistant is the focus of another experiment that aims to develop medicines that counter the resistance. Stem cells like those used to treat strokes and other occurrences also will be studied using experiment supplies brought up on this flight.

The equipment aboard the Dragon includes a major instrument that will survey Earth's upper atmosphere in a continuation of one of NASA's longest-running Earth-observing programs. Called SAGE III for Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment, the instrument examines the levels of ozone, aerosols, nitrogen dioxide and water vapor in the stratosphere and troposphere high above Earth. It is the latest version of an experiment that began in 1979 and has created a multi-decade record of measurements. The 2,200-pound instrument will be connected to the outside of the station to make daily observations for several years.

The mission is the company's tenth cargo flight to the station under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract. Dragon's cargo will support dozens of the more than 250 science and research investigations during the station's Expeditions 50 and 51.

Dragon is scheduled to depart the space station in late March, returning nearly 5,000 pounds of science, hardware and crew supplies.

For more than 16 years, humans have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies, making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth that will enable long-duration human and robotic exploration into deep space. A global endeavor, more than 200 people from 18 countries have visited the unique microgravity laboratory that has hosted more than 1,900 research investigations from researchers in more than 95 countries.

NASA Logo. (PRNewsFoto/NASA) 

• Keep up with the International Space Station, and its research and crews, at: nasa.gov/station
• Get breaking news, images and features from the station on Instagram and Twitter
• Learn more about SpaceX's resupply mission at: nasa.gov/spacex

SOURCE: NASA

CAIR Calls on Feds to Probe Call to Violence Against U.S. Muslims at N.C. Meeting of Hate Groups

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today urged state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate an alleged call to violence against American Muslims during a meeting of hate groups in North Carolina.

According to media reports, a "consortium of tea partiers, patriot groups and other conservative activists" met Thursday at a restaurant in Kernersville, N.C., to hear a presentation on "a supposed Muslim plot to conquer the United States." 

The presentation on the "Islamization of America" included "frequent interruptions about supposed Muslim treachery paired with testimonials about preparedness for violent confrontation and even expressions of readiness to kill Muslims."

One meeting participant allegedly asked the presenter for recommendations about how to stop "Islamization," then added, "Because my only recommendation is to start killing the hell out them." That same person allegedly stated: "I'm ready to start taking people out." He replied, "Shed some blood, too," in response to the presenter's call to "shed some light" on the issue.

SEE: Local Conservative Activists Prepare for Violent Confrontation with Islam (Includes Audio of Presentation)

In response to the reported call to kill Muslims, a member of the hate group ACT for America allegedly stated: "I can understand that. But we're not there yet." ACT for America's anti-Muslim bigotry was highlighted recently in a Washington Post exposé.

SEE: This group believes Islam threatens America: 'It's a spiritual battle of good and evil.'

"Calls to violence against members of any minority group warrant a criminal investigation by state law enforcement authorities and the FBI," said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. "We call on President Trump to repudiate the growing bigotry in our nation targeting Muslims, Hispanics, immigrants, refugees, and other minority groups."

He said CAIR has noted an unprecedented spike in hate rhetoric and bias-motivated incidents targeting American Muslims and other minorities since the election of President Trump.

Last month, CAIR condemned a terror attack on a Canadian mosque by a suspect who had expressed anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiments on social media. Six worshipers were killed in the attack and 17 others were wounded.

SEE: CAIR Condemns Terror Attack on Canadian Mosque, Urges U.S. Muslims to Take Security Measures

Hooper noted that, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, The number of anti-Muslim groups in the United States tripled between 2015 and 2016.

Report: Anti-Muslim Groups Triple in U.S. Amid Trump Hate Rhetoric

The Washington-based Muslim civil rights group is asking Muslim community members to report any bias incidents to police and to CAIR's Civil Rights Department at 202-742-6420 or by filing a report at: cair.com/civil-rights/report-an-incident/view/form.html 

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

SOURCE: Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)