55 years of - you decide

I have copied this page from These copies on my on this posterous site and other sites might get you past censors in your own countries - I hope the form works - let me know if it doesn't - if nothing else, it will give you an idea about what to write - if you want their own page please go to  http://action.amnesty.org.uk/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1194&ea.campaign.id=13468   Ask Japan to stop executing       ACTION TYPE      FAX VIA EMAIL   We are horrified that Japan chose to execute three prisoners on 29 March 2012, after nearly two years of no executions in the country. 2011 marked the first year in 19 that no executions were recorded in Japan. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations recommended in October 2011 that the government suspend executions and move towards a moratorium on the death penalty, and the two Justice Ministers serving during the year (Satsuki Eda and Hideo Hiraoka) did not sign a...

A U.S soldier was struck and killed by an armoured truck immediately after rescuing an Afghan girl who was about to be run over. Sgt Dennis Weichel, a Rhode Island National Guardsman, was riding along as part of a convoy with his unit in Laghman Province in eastern Afghanistan when they spotted children on the road ahead. The children were collecting empty shell casings to be recycled for money. Weichel and the other soldiers quickly moved the children out of the way of the following trucks, which can weigh as much as 16 tons. Weichel saw one girl dash back onto the road and managed to grab her to safety but was then struck by an armoured vehicle moments later. The unnamed girl was unharmed but the heroic soldier died later that day from his injuries. His body is being flown back to the U.S on Saturday. The father of three was due to get married to his girlfriend and had only arrived in Afghanistan a few weeks earlier. On a Facebook page set up in his memory his young c...

Free Schapelle Corby: The Show Trial Tue Mar 27 2012 23:46 First things first.... there is an outstanding blog, which introduces the issues here in simple and clear terms. Please do take the trouble to read it: Schapelle Corby: An Introduction It's frightening isn't it, that this sort of thing can actually happen? It HAS happened, and Schapelle is suffering desperately because of it. [On her way to Indonesia. Hardly the face of someone playing russian roulette with their life!] THE 'TRIAL' But what about the 'trial'? Prepare yourself, because it was not a trial as you would expect at all: far from it. Throughout the ordeal she pleaded for a more thorough investigation, begged for the marijuana to be analyzed (the Indonesian Government didn’t want this!), appealed repeatedly for specific evidence to be collected and not ignored. It was all futile. The kangaroo court was not listening to her (the judge even revealed that in the 500 drug related cas...

Three factories that made so-called “pink slime” beef filler have shut down since public outcry about the ammonia-treated substance began last month,  The Associated Press reported Monday . Beef Products Inc. spokesman Craig Letch told AP that only one factory in the country, located in Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, is still producing the stuff. Three others, in Texas, Iowa and Kansas, have reportedly been shut down. The product, known as “lean, finely textured beef” to industry insiders, is comprised of connective tissue and other pieces of cows generally considered not for human consumption, which are grated, filtered and mashed into a slimy, pink substance and treated with ammonia gas to kill off bacteria.  It is then mixed in with actual ground beef as a filler, although it is not labeled as containing such product in any way. The goo was nicknamed “pink slime” by a U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) scientists who  blew the whistle  when regulator...

Family fury over U-turn on Gary McKinnon's risk of suicide if he is extradited By  MICHAEL SEAMARK PUBLISHED: 00:41, 29 March 2012 | UPDATED: 00:41, 29 March 2012 Comments ( 73 ) Anger: Gary McKinnon's family reacted with fury last night at medical reports claiming he is no longer a serious suicide risk if extradited. Mr McKinnon is pictured Gary McKinnon’s family reacted with fury last night at medical reports claiming he is no longer a serious suicide risk if extradited. Legal and medical experts have argued for several years about whether the Asperger’s sufferer might kill himself if sent to the United States, where he faces up to 60 years behind bars after hacking into Nasa and Pentagon computers looking for the existence of ‘little green men’.  But fresh evidence commissioned by Home Secretary Theresa May suggests Gary is mentally strong enough to be extradited, Channel 4 News reported. It deta...

Face transplant patient beginning to look himself again By Michael MosleyBBC Earlier this year soldier Mitch Hunter underwent a face transplant that promises to transform his life. Related Stories UK trials new blood protocols How war has driven medical advances Strangers would stare at him in the street and children would say the monster was coming and run away, but earlier this year Mitch Hunter underwent a face transplant that promises to transform his life. When I knocked on Mitch Hunter's door in the suburbs of Indianapolis, I really didn't know what to expect. I had seen photos of him as a young soldier and photos of him after 10 years of plastic surgery, but now I was about to meet him - four months after he had received one of the world's first full face transplants. He opened the door with his 18-month-old son, Clayton, in his arms and I was stunned. Young Mitch before the accident and how he looked after plastic surgery an...

US face transplant gives man new jaw, teeth and tongue Richard Norris received a new jaw and teeth in the 36-hour operation US doctors have carried out what they say is the most extensive face transplant ever performed. The operation at the University of Maryland gave Richard Norris a new face, including jaw, teeth and tongue. The 37-year-old has lived as a recluse for 15 years after being severely injured in a gun accident, and wore a mask whenever he went outside. The surgery was funded by the US Navy, which hopes the techniques will help casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan. Surgeons who carried out the 36-hour operation say it was part of a series of transplant operations lasting 72 hours, using organs from one donor in five patients including Mr Norris. He lost his lips and nose in the accident, and only had limited movement of his mouth. The lead surgeon says Mr Norris will now get his life back. "Our goal is to restore function as well as have aest...

An Open Letter from Singer Sinead O’Connor About Trayvon Martin, Racism Pop Culture & Music http://www.smileyandwest.com/treyvon-letter-from-Sinead-O%27Connor.pdf 25MAR Singer/ activist Sinead O’Connor just penned a powerful piece about Trayvon Martin, Racism, Loving ourselves and Hip Hop Music… It comes from her blog which is located at:  http://sineadoconnor.com / Here’s what she wrote the other day: I would like to extend my very deepest sympathies to the family and other loved ones of murdered teenager, Treyvon Martin. I am very sad today (and am certain the whole of Ireland is) to learn of poor Treyvon’s terrifying ordeal and horrified by the fact his known and named and admitted killer has not been arrested, despite the crime having taken place a month ago. This is a disgrace to the entire human race. For those out there who believe black people to be less than pure royalty, let me inform you...

A day after a man set himself ablaze to protest against the Chinese President’s visit to India for the BRICS summit, the Delhi Police started cracking down on Tibetan activists with the detention of prominent Tibetan activist and poet Tenzin Tsundue from a seminar being held at the Indian Habitat Centre on Tuesday. After that, scores of activists were detained from several locations across Delhi. Cops also issued orders of house arrest for all Tibetans till March 31. They said that this was a precautionary measure since Tibetans had come out on the streets despite being denied permission for protest. The police have also sealed areas populated by Tibetans including Majnu ka Tila, Budh Vihar and Tibetan youth hostel in Rohini. To curb protests by Tibetan activists and suicide bids on the streets of Delhi, the police have also locked up Tibetans inside seminar halls. One such incident took place at Ambedkar Bhawan near Videocon tower where a seminar was organised by t...

Simmy SyphDig BrickNine Gordon   Trayvon Martin, my son, and the Black Male Code JESSE WASHINGTON Published: Mar 24, 2012 PHILADELPHIA (AP) - I thought my son would be much older before I had to tell him about the Black Male Code. He's only 12, still sleeping with stuffed animals, still afraid of the dark. But after the Trayvon Martin tragedy, I needed to explain to my child that soon people might be afraid of him. We were in the car on the way to school when a story about Martin came on the radio. "The guy who killed him should get arrested. The dead guy was unarmed!" my son said after hearing that neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman had claimed self-defense in the shooting in Sanford, Fla. We listened to the rest of the story, describing how Zimmerman had spotted Martin, who was 17, walking home from the store on a rainy night, the hood of his sweatshirt pulled over his head. When it was over, I turned off the radio and told my son about the rules he needs...

Waiting to exhale Afghan women exult but wonder if freedom will last Ilana Ozernoy, Chronicle Foreign Service Saturday, November 17, 2001 Read more:  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/11/17/MN49111.DTL#ixzz1qKkir9TN   (11-17) 04:00 PDT Kabul, Afghanistan  -- Nurull Haq used to be a busy merchant. Every day at his stall in the bazaar, he would sell 10 to 12 burqas -- the head-to-toe garment women were forced to wear in public under the Taliban regime. But since U.S. air strikes began last month, he hasn't sold a single one. "When America started bombing, people thought it was the end for the Taliban," said Nurull, theorizing on why his sales have plummeted. Odds are he won't sell off his remaining merchandise, since the women of Kabul are too busy celebrating the departure of the Taliban. "When I heard the Taliban was gone, I danced around my house," said Nasri, 30, a former bank employee f...

Afghanistan opens first women-only Internet café http://www.youngwomenforchange.org/whats-new/3698-Afghanistan-opens-first-women-only-Internet-caf%C3%A9 Friday, 09 March 2012 08:20 by AMIE FERRIS-ROTMAN     First published  here.   photo: Associated Press Afghanistan opened its first female-only Internet café on Thursday, hoping to give women a chance to connect to the world without verbal and sexual harassment and free from the unwanted gazes of their countrymen. Swarms of hijab-wearing young visitors poured into the small café on a quiet street in central Kabul on International Women’s Day in a country where women still face enormous struggles even though the Taliban were toppled more than a decade ago. “We wanted women to not be afraid, to create a safe place for women to use the Internet,” said Aqlima Moradi, a 25-year-old medical student and member of Afghan activist group Young Women for Change, which...

About Us Sunday, 13 November 2011 23:05 by Webmaster   Young Women for Change (YWC) , founded in April 2011, is an independent non-profit organization consisting of dozens of volunteer women and male advocates across Afghanistan who are committed to empowering Afghan women and improving their lives through social and economical participation, political empowerment, awareness and advocacy. YWC was co-founded by  Noorjahan Akbar  and  Anita Haidary. Vision Members of Young Women for Change are committed to promoting gender equality, empowering women and increasing Afghan women's social participation. What makes YWC different? YWC is one of the premier Afghan women’s advocacy movements founded by Afghan women for Afghan women. We are a growing grassroots feminist movement with a long-term vision for women in Afghanistan. It was established to empower women across the country and recruit them to the struggle for gender equality. YWC members are al...

http://youngwomenforchange.org/blog/3714-I-will-Define-Myself-and-Fight-for-Myself I will Define Myself and Fight for Myself Monday, 26 March 2012 18:23 by Fariha Faqiri   Written by: Fariha Faqiri, YWC Member In a society where 30 years of civil war did no justice to its own nation, it also left its people travelling back in time instead of moving forward with the rest of the world. The world knew who had come into Afghanistan and who was chased out, however what the rest of the world was unaware of was in the midst of all these wars there were a group of people who have always been considered no more than dust. Women, Afghan women were being used in the name of religion, in the name of culture and in the name of tradition to have their rights tarnished and their voices silenced. For generations on end it was the women of this civil war society who were abandoned and forgotten about by the rest of the world and by its own people. Afghan women were beaten, raped, ...

Emerald Energy Exploits Colombian Andes Written by Elias Cabrera    Tuesday, 20 March 2012 09:41 Source:  CorpWatch A thick fog flows over the eastern range of the Colombian Andes. Here and there, the constant wind lifts the clouds to reveal lagoons, cloud forests, and páramo, an Andean alpine ecosystem known as a “mountain-top sponge” for its massive water-holding capacity. Descending lower into the Upper Magdalena Valley, about 400 kilometers southwest from Bogotá, rural communities farm a wide variety of fruit and vegetable crops, and raise animals that not only sustain families, but help feed Colombia´s major cities.  In the municipal districts of Gigante and Garzón in the department (province) of Huila, the bucolic setting is interrupted by the platforms of several oil wells belonging to Emerald Energy PLC.  “Emerald Energy is destroying the land and water,” Ar...