Examples

These are all e-petitions that fall into the "well intended but totally pointless" category. If you find any useful links about these issues or receive other e-petitions, please e-mail me and I will add them. By the way, if you just think I'm being a "killjoy", check out these articles:

Important: inclusion here does not in any way endorse an organisation - do your own research! I just found these using www.google.com with the search words listed below.

Against War with Iraq


Hannes Bergstroem

Swedish 2-year old lost after tsunami that struck Thailand on 26 December 2004. This email is still circulating (with attached images) despite the fact that he was identified on 28 December 2004 and reunited the following day.

Afghan Women - dead return e-mail: sarabande@brandeis.edu

About.com - article explaining peitition, useful links:

Note: this has also been circulated with the subject changed to women from Zimbabwe, but with the same (long dead) return e-mail.


Brazilian Rain Forest - dead return e-mail: fsaviolo@openlink.com.br

About.com - article explaining peitition, useful links:


Bile Bears in China - dead return e-mail: ramona@unikey.com.br

About.com - article explaining peitition, useful links:


Dolphin Slaughter in Japan - dead return e-mail: stoptheslaughter@hotmail.com

About.com - article explaining peitition, useful links:


Prayer in Schools (USA) - president@whitehouse.gov

This has a valid reply e-mail (whether anyone will read it is another matter...) but this is not the way to tackle it. The method is technically flawed (the usual chain email problems); the information is incorrect (it is not illegal for anyone to pray: it is just that a public school breaks the law when it "expressly or subtly coerces students to pray" - separation of state and church etc.); and finally, the target is wrong - the US President has no such power. Whether you agree with the petition or not, if you want to pursue the issue, the best way is to write a carefully researched letter to the US Congress.


e-petition.org