“The United Nations is using the mapping programme Google Earth to highlight the plight of millions of refugees and its humanitarian work to help them … Users can explore the lives of those in exile by clicking on exact locations in the refugee camps to see photos of the facilities, such as health clinics, schools, [...]

As Used on the Famous Nelson Mandela
Mark Thomas
Rating:
I read quite a lot, and as I like giving my opinions (that’s what this blog’s for, after all) I thought I’d start writing some reviews However, as external websites provide fuller information on the books, the authors, and other readers’ opinions than I’ll ever be [...]

“As many as eight Tibetans may have been killed when paramilitary police opened fire during protests in Sichuan province, according to Tibetan support groups. They say the protesters were gunned down in the Garze Tibetan autonomous prefecture when police used automatic weapons on the crowds on Thursday evening.”
China continues its murderous behaviour against unarmed Tibetans. [...]

“Britain was accused yesterday of abandoning 91 Iraqi interpreters and their families to face persecution and possible death when British forces withdraw.”
I found this story yesterday but didn’t have a chance to blog it. Unlike other countries, including the US and Holland, Britain will not relax the rules on asylum for those people who have [...]

The Olympic stadium in Beijing won’t be the only thing covered in a cloud of smog next year. Chinese authorities also seem to be doing their best to create a smokescreen over other issues in the country, ranging from spitting in public to major human rights abuses. While lifting the cloud of smog which hangs [...]

“[Tony Blair said,] ‘Our values are not western values. They are human values, and anywhere, any time people are given the chance, they embrace them.’ These sentences betrayed a total ignorance of the range of customs, convictions and prejudices that govern human behaviour in a multitude of different societies.”
Jenni Russell hits the nail on the [...]

“It is a misconception that recycling costs less. The current production is so geared towards quantity and subsidised for this type of production that, when you make it by hand and recycle the products, you are actually fighting against a lot of economic forces in the market that make you more expensive.”
PingMag has an interesting [...]

“Four Muslim men have been jailed for their part in protests at the Danish embassy in London, against cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad.”
While it goes without saying that the things that these men were promoting were disgusting and wrong, this case still worries me somewhat. Were their calls to bomb Britain and Denmark, for instance, [...]

“The jury system may be a cornerstone of our judicial procedure, but for the Japanese, it is a piece of foreign exoticism.”
More4 News reports that Japan plans to introduce jury trials for the first time. Currently, only 0.13% of people are acquitted in court and the majority of prosecutions are brought after “confessions” to the [...]

“More than 255,000 people have signed a petition on the Downing Street website against any plans to build Britain’s biggest mosque in East London.”
This is disgusting. The petition claims that the building will “cause terrible violence” simply because it is a mosque, and makes other false accusations including the suggestion that public money [...]

England’s Chief Medical Officer has recommended that everyone be treated as an organ donor unless they opt out. Surveys show that around 70% of people would like to donate but only 20% of the population get around to putting their names on the donor register. It makes sense both morally and practically to have an [...]

“They tend to make martyrs of the accused, arousing sympathy for them … Most importantly, however, genocide denial laws suggest that we do not have the facts and the documentation to prove that these people are liars.”
I completely agree. However, Deborah Lipstadt later goes on to argue that such laws are an acceptable exception in [...]

“The slackening of the category of incitement under Britain’s anti-terror legislation – where you can now even be convicted of ‘indirect incitement’, a situation where your allegedly inflammatory words inspire someone somewhere to do something, even if it was not your intention – has seriously denigrated universal legal principles.”
The imprisonment of three men for expressing [...]

“When Waris was five, her mother held her down on a rock while another woman cut off parts of her genitals with a razor blade.”
As police offer a reward for anyone who helps convict those involved in female genital mutilation, Somali-born model Waris Dirie gives her personal account of the horrors she endured. Also known [...]

The BBC reports on the Information Commissioner’s conclusion that a “horrifying” number of businesses and government departments have breached Data Protection laws in the last year. Out of 24,000 enquiries, 35% were confirmed as likely breaches while 56.5% required advice and guidance. Such a large number of lapses doesn’t do much to build confidence in [...]

“A panel set up by the British Fashion Council to investigate health problems among models today ruled out mandatory weight checks but said girls under 16 should not be on the catwalk.”
Under 16s should definitely be banned from the catwalk. Asking children to appear in clothes designed for adult models - often including revealing or [...]

“Like any small boy, Harrison Harvey had high hopes of his third birthday this week but his eyes were out on stalks when the party kicked off. Had his mum and dad hired the whole of Adwick le Street leisure centre? Were there really more than 200 guests? And what had he done to deserve [...]

“This year the education ministry ordered publishers of seven high-school textbooks to be introduced next April to remove references to the forced suicides.”
The Guardian reports on the “elimination from history” of Japanese civilians’ forced suicides, ordered and assisted by the military during World War II. The current Japanese government continues to try to sanitise and [...]

Ars Technica reports on Australian ISP Exetel, which indiscriminately deletes all multimedia files with given extensions - including .avi, .mp3, .wmv and .mov - from customers’ accounts every night. Jumping to the conclusion that all of your customers’ music and video files are all illegally pirated content is not only an insulting assumption, but surely [...]

“Between Michael Richards’ outburst in a comedy nightclub, Mel Gibson’s tirade of a few months back, and Michael Irvin’s musings about Tony Romo’s racial heritage, I’m wondering if we need a clearer definition of what it means to be a racist.”
The Gladwell.com blog tries to define what it is to be racist. While I think [...]