04:09 p.m., Wednesday, October 3, 2001
So I'll be off in a mo. Back on Tuesday. I may post a couple of random things in the meantime, but we shall just have to see. In the meantime, I've posted so much this week that you should still have plenty to keep you going. Have a good weekend!

Oh and any email or guestbook signings you fancy leaving me while I'm gone are greatly appreciated....
[by Beth]

03:28 p.m., Wednesday, October 3, 2001
'An end to famine, poverty and corruption in Africa, as well as genocidal conflicts such as Rwanda's, were only part of an agenda that foresaw the world tackling such intractable problems as global warming and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - an "equal partnership" side by side in their own lands.'

And there I was thinking Imperialism was dead. And thinking that our part was to help people help themselves, not storm in and solve their problems for them.

I thought that this article discussing the issues raised was good.
[by Beth]

03:24 p.m., Wednesday, October 3, 2001
I just don't know what to make of this. (The translation of the letter discussed is here.) It just all sounds very strange.
[by Beth]

03:13 p.m., Wednesday, October 3, 2001
Unrelated to Bin Laden (I hope...)

- Do UK citizens have the right to know if MI5, the British Intelligence Service, holds files on them?
- Naoko Takahashi from Japan broke the female 2hr 20min barrier in the marathon in Berlin at the weekend.
'"There are always barriers out there beyond which people aren't supposed to go," said Kristiansen, citing the four-minute mile. "With women I think it had been compounded because there was a sexist barrier that said women only go to a certain point and don't go beyond that."

'To put the performance of the 29-year-old Takahashi into perspective, it would have won every men's Olympic marathon up to and including 1956.'
[by Beth]

03:05 p.m., Wednesday, October 3, 2001
Various articles that I want to post but don't have time to comment on properly....

1. NATO is sure that Bin Laden was behind the terrorist attacks.
2. Do students need to understand why these attacks took place?
3. Disasters like this make us more desperate for sex (to reassure ourselves that we're alive and to take our minds off death and destruction) and meaning. And "...the discovery in a car outside the Boston airport of a copy of the Koran on the seat, next to an instruction video on how to fly commercial jets, seems manufactured." And that's more or less straight from David Icke. Strange but true.

4. I can't help but hope that this is true.
[by Beth]

02:19 p.m., Wednesday, October 3, 2001
Not mentioned it recently, so I just thought I'd remind you all that my livejournal (link to the right) is packed with the kind of randomness that I used to put in here. So feel free to come visit!
[by Beth]

02:13 p.m., Wednesday, October 3, 2001
The Irish laws on abortion are the most restrictive in Europe. Now the Irish Government are planning to hold their third referendum in 20 years on the issue.

"If approved, new legislation will mean that risk of suicide by an expectant mother will no longer be considered grounds for terminating a pregnancy.".

Just more proof that the existence of the unborn child is more important than the life of the mother. Yes, some people can travel to the UK for abortions, but what about those who can't afford to? It makes me sick.
[by Beth]

02:07 p.m., Wednesday, October 3, 2001
Night flights over residential areas contravene the human rights of residents.
[by Beth]

01:10 p.m., Tuesday, October 2, 2001
Read this. Trust me. You think that the suicide plots to fly planes into buildings were the only terrorists out there?

"The sad truth, is that the day after the New York and Washington attacks, there were men already laying plans to kill police officers with a bomb in Northern Ireland.

"Terrorism didn't end with the suicide hijacks which claimed over 5,000 lives in America. While attention has been focused on Afghanistan, at least 121 people have been killed in terrorist attacks around the world. ..."While the "war on terror" is fought, its targets fight back with car devices, suicide bombs, pipe bombs, boats packed with explosives.

Many of them call themselves freedom fighters, not terrorists. They don't think the war applies to them.

That is the key. I'd place money on it that those people who flew the planes into those buildings thought of themselves as freedom fighters, thought they were doing God's will.

Find out about these people, about why they do what they do, and what you can do to help make this stop, before you condemn them without further thought. Before you rejoice in deaths as tragic to the families of the innocent as those killed on 11 September were.
[by Beth]

01:08 p.m., Tuesday, October 2, 2001
It looks like the attacks are about to begin. Feel free to call any last-minute protests you see fit.
[by Beth]

12:48 p.m., Tuesday, October 2, 2001
Is Osama Bin Laden a guest of the Taleban, or is he really in charge of them?
[by Beth]

11:00 a.m., Tuesday, October 2, 2001
One more post, then I really have to get some work done. An article about the possible financial imlications of war on the UK.

One about an anti war protest at the Labour party conference last weekend.

And one about the dying children of Afghanistan. It makes painful reading.
[by Beth]

10:52 a.m., Tuesday, October 2, 2001
An interview with Noam Chomsky about the situation.
[by Beth]

10:42 a.m., Tuesday, October 2, 2001
Some interesting articles here from Amnesty International.

There's an article on the use of child soldiers - not only their reported use by the Taleban; did you realise that the US accepts volunteers from the age of 17 and that 17 year olds have been deployed in operations such as the Gulf War, Somalia and Bosnia; that the UK accepts voluntary recruits from age 16; that the UK is the only European country to routinely send under 18s into combat?

This one discusses the importance of human rights in the present situation - "Governments are using the 'war on terrorism' to introduce draconian measures to limit civil liberties. The US and EU governments are considering provisions that would allow them to detain immigrants indefinitely, even if they have not been charged with any offence. Such measures are unlikely to deter attacks but they are likely to stifle dissent and curtail basic freedoms. For this reason, they must be resisted."

Interesting reading. Go educate yourself.
[by Beth]

10:04 a.m., Tuesday, October 2, 2001
An article about the foreigners under arrest in Afghanistan. Don't forget about these people. It's hard to know what we can do to help them, but if we forget, we have done worse than nothing. As long as we keep them in our thoughts we can spot opportunities to help as they arise.
[by Beth]

10:02 a.m., Tuesday, October 2, 2001
I meant to post this article yesterday when I was talking about the civil liberties issue.
[by Beth]

09:59 a.m., Tuesday, October 2, 2001
Interesting article about NATO's position in the present situation.
[by Beth]

09:16 a.m., Tuesday, October 2, 2001
Have you ever wondered why you should bother fighting against discrimination of gay people - even if you're straight? If this article doesn't show you the reasons, then nothing ever will. Not fighting these stereotypes is causing OVER HALF of all young gay people to consider suicide, and noone's really doing anything about it.
[by Beth]

05:11 p.m., Monday, October 1, 2001
Anyone interested in an alternative to military action?
[by Beth]

04:47 p.m., Monday, October 1, 2001
I've added the links for the ACLU (US) and Liberty (UK) in the 'worthwhile' links.

I was looking for them because this morning I received this article in my email news update and started to waver in my belief that ID cards are an inherantly Bad Thing. But this article reminded me of all the reasons that it is.

I particularly like this article which outlines the proposed changes that the UK government want to make to our laws. If you're looking for a similar article for US concerns, you can find that here. Read, take note, and remember - if you don't agree with these changes, tell all your friends and family. Write to your MP / Representative and tell them to do the same.

If you don't fight for your rights, who will? Will you trust those nameless faceless people known as 'someone else' to fight on your behalf without your help and support?

If so, will you fight for someone else?
[by Beth]

11:30 a.m., Monday, October 1, 2001
This makes me sick, and angry.

For a start, it just seems like giving false hope to the couple in question. It's all ifs... if there's a compatible embryo in the first place. If the pregnancy is successful - only a 30% chance? That's small. If the transplant is successful.

If the child survives long enough to go through the transplant in the first place.

That's not to mention the idea of creating a human being, too small to have a choice in this, for the sole purpose of healing another. And can you imagine what that's going to do to this kid? Even if it's not the case, that child is going to grow up feeling that s/he was just created to provide spare parts, not because his/her parents wanted them. It's going to fuck around with the child's sense of worth.

And that is just cruel.
[by Beth]

11:14 a.m., Monday, October 1, 2001
Monday morning, and my archive page still doesn't work. I'd like to think that someone else but me would care about this, but I'm under no illusions. However, in case I'm wrong, if you use Sunday dates in the format 300901.html etc you should find them no problem.

I've been hoping it would fix itself but obviously not....
[by Beth]