Amnesty News...

Dear Sylwia , 

Torture. Long-term detentions without charge or trial. Censorship of the internet and media. Does this sound like a country that’s trying to improve its human rights record? 

Ye Guozhu, a human rights defender in Beijing, was sentenced to four years' imprisonment for taking action against forced evictions related to the Olympics. Amnesty International fears he has been tortured while in detention. He was due to be released on Saturday, July 26 but will now remain imprisoned until October, after the end of the 2008 Olympic Games.

Chinese authorities have stepped up their repression of human rights defenders in order to “clean up” Beijing. With the Olympics only 10 days away, take action and urge China to create a positive human rights legacy. 

In 2001 China made a promise to improve its human rights record if given the honor of hosting the Olympic Games. Instead, China has become increasingly repressive with crackdowns on dissent and the rounding up and arrest of human rights defenders. Citing "security", China has imprisoned individuals for doing nothing more than drawing international attention to ongoing human rights violations.

President Bush will attend the opening ceremonies of the Games on August 8. Before he leaves for Beijing, tell President Bush to make a public statement condemning the human rights violations perpetrated in preparation for the Olympics.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

15th fo May - Bloggers Unite for Human Rights

15th of May is the Blogger Unite for Human Rights Day organized by Amnesty International USA office. Join the Facebook event here!

“Bloggers Unite for Human Rights” challenges bloggers to draw attention to urgent human rights issues facing our world today and encourage their readers to take simple actions through Amnesty International’s online action center.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

BLOGGERS TAKE PART!

CHOOSE YOUR TOPIC. Write about a topic close to your heart or focus on one of the three issues below. Remember to include a link to a relevant online action.

1. CENSORSHIP IN CHINA ► China currently has the largest recorded number of imprisoned journalists and cyber-dissidents in the world. Learn more at http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/china

► ► Blog about censorship in China and ask readers to sign the action asking Yahoo not to violate human rights in China: http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=2590179&template=x.ascx&action=5433

2. ILLEGAL DETENTIONS AT GUANTANAMO BAY ► The U.S. detention facility at Guantánamo has become a global symbol of U.S. human rights violations, including illegal detention, denial of fundamental legal rights, and torture. Learn more at http://www.tearitdown.org.

► ► Blog about Guantanamo Bay and ask readers to sign the tearitdown.org pledge.

3. CRISIS IN DARFUR ► The conflict in Darfur, Sudan, has led to some of the worst human rights abuses imaginable, including murder, rape, abduction and displacement. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed and over 2.5 million civilians have been displaced. Learn more about the crisis at http://www.amnestyusa.org/darfur

► ► Blog about the crisis in Darfur and ask readers to take action: http://www.amnestyusa.org/darfur/action/page.do?id=YCA0052148000E&n1=3&n2=52


Invite your friends and use the power of your worlds to change something!

Love or Control?

Just listening to Charlie (my new gadget - radio/cd/record player - on this later) to Graham's Late Night Love and I hope to get a call back from them, but in the meantime...here is a poll from their website:


Funny...check this out...from a scientific source..



And for those who stil think it is not an issue or those victims, who think 'IT IS NOT HAPPENING TO ME' before you go to check if you are a victim of domestic violence look at this:


Apologies, the snag-its are shit, still...I am waiting to see the final results of the poll...Graham's Show is brilliant btw!

(Jack, thx for being around tonight!:)

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Challenge

Yes, I think it will be, but it is a part of a larger picture...
Moved by One Fat Man 08's and Nathan's commitment to their goals and by the atmosphere of London Marathon I have decided to do combine the two. Triggered also by the latest Amnesty International newsletter and 'Stop Violence Against Women' campaign on (if you haven't already, it is worth thinking about donating few pounds a month for this brave organization), with my own story at the back of my head I have entered the London's Adidas Womens Challenge 2008.

I thought I will be happy, maybe even proud of myself.
I am scared!
I thought I will change my lifestyle - eat properly, meditate again, swim and run every single day.
I am sitting in front of Bob, my laptop and blogging!
I thought I will spread the news...subscribed to FriendFeed and Blogged, planning to open a few other accounts...
I have not mentioned a single word to anyone apart from few very close friends:/

Well, in May I will celebrate the first anniversary of a very brave deed myself, so I think I need to pull myself together and ..well at least cook proper dinner tonight;) By September the 7th I will be running...oh, God, what have I done!!!!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

'Everything comes in it's time' Hush The Many

I don't know how to write about music.All I can do it to write down what I think of the message, because the quality is obviously very good - smooth, vibrant and very sensual at once...and very British of course (I will try to no use this adjective too much though). Something about this music reminds me of Via Lactea by Zoe.
The band themselves look very enigmatic on the stage (see YouTube for more), and I would love to see them live, just to get more of the sensuality I feel in their music...

'Revolve' seems a little bit decadent to me, mainly because the message of the unavoidable is quite sadly and truly visualized in the clip...



Still, we do see it all around - time is killing our dreams, money is killing our soul, and all we can do is run circles, take a later bus just to stop for a sec and do the extraordinary - THINK!

I am happy the boys are getting lot's of promotion done around it! And I love the fact they are playing for Rock Against Racism!

(I love the clip by the way!)

Blogged with the Flock Browser

65%

I would like to think it is not happening...

Please do not watch it if you don't have strong nerves...still, if you haven't watch the documentary on BBC, I think you should at least make it though those few minutes...just to know, because they obviously make statements.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Hitler and the like...

Just opened my gmail inbox after few minutes of struggling with my new modem (yes, ladies and gentlemen, Sylwia finally has her own access to the web) and found two comments to moderate. Tell you what - I do not usually have comments here, and due to my work, I know it's not such a bad thing...

Anyway, here is what I have found under my post on Polish Women's Day:
'Hitler didn't finish his job with the Polish, now they are invading Britain'
(Published)
If it were not to the other comment referring to me being a crap photographer, I would have thought it is a random racist abuse...but since it refers to two obviously strong features of my life, I feel a breeze of a known attitude. One I had to live with for a while.

Actually, let me put things into perspective - I have re-located from Hungary to the UK - country I never wanted to live in - for the sake of improving my marriage with a British citizen. I still cannot talk about it openly, but all I can say is that this person has done me a lot of damage - emotional, financial and spiritual - and I was completely victimized. It was my clear choice to move here for him and leave all my friends, artistic plans and lovely city of Budapest, so I will not accept this type of silly generalizations!

Sadly, I am an activist, and believe the lack of tolerance should not be tolerated, so here is to the anonymous coward again - comments are published for others to see and experience the abuse as such! I will not accept the fact people judge me on the basis of my origin, not my passion, so if you have nothing to add, find yourself another field for dropping shit - obviously result of some low self-esteem and lack of basic knowledge - any idiot would know Hitler was aiming to get rid of Jews, not Poles! Some of the Poles were of Jewish origin, yes, but let's not simplify, please!

Myself I have been to Auschwitz at the age of 10, and remember every single brick of it. I have seen German youth crying their hearts out in front of the Wall of Death! I have visited it two more times to finally understand what was happening there, but I could not. I did after reading Merle's 'Death is My Trade'.  I still do not accept it though. And I think about the current issues too, about the town that still cannot develop due to the weight of the burden and simple fact that no one wants to invest in the local industry, just in memories! Go on, take a tour around the museum and see if change your little mind to more complicated ideas!

Actually, I am happy to see someone who doesn't like Poles in the UK and finds me a shity photographer still reads the blog and leaves comments (both left almost the same second, which proves that they were made by one person). Also, the style of the comment(s) kind of responds to the main idea behind the blog - to bring out to the open everything I hate about the human kind. So here it is! Let's see if I get more...

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Leona Lewis

Embedded Video

Blogged with Flock

Death unwanted!

Embedded Video

Blogged with Flock

Brilliant film! YOu have to see it!

Embedded Video

Blogged with Flock

Pudsey, and Children in Need

I got one today - and I admit - with no knowledge of the charity and today's importance whatsoever! Bad me - for not waching tv, not reading news, not being interested. But well, I baught a little Pudsey to accompany my phone from now on:)

Do you know where does the Pudsey come from?

Did you taste a Pudsey pudding? Have you been to Pudsey? ;)

Do you know about the charity? If so, have you done something for the Children in Need today? The day is not over yet, and if you are not convinced as for the charity in general check this blog out.

Blogged with Flock