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Alright, I know that not every country that’s held the Olympics is by any means perfect.  Yet this doesn’t mean that we should allow bad things to happen anywhere, especially where an event is held that symbolizes brotherhood and peace.  If you would like to ask President Bush to put pressure on China to fix their human rights record, please click here:

Protect human rights in China.

Thanks.

Lia Cross

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In a letter I received from the American Freedom Campaign, I was made aware of the following:

“In what we could only wish had been an April Fool’s Day joke, the Department of Justice declassified and released a 2003 Office of Legal Counsel memo advising the Pentagon that laws and treaties forbidding torture and other forms of abuse did not apply to U.S. interrogators because of the president’s wartime power.

What kind of harm, you might ask, would be prohibited under the standard established by this memo?  Very little, it turns out.  It declared that an interrogation technique must “shock the conscience” in order for it to be illegal.  But it gets even worse.  The memo also asserted, “Whether conduct is conscience-shocking turns in part on whether it is without any justification.”

Here’s a link to that memo in case you can’t click on it above:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/01/AR2008040102213.html 

If you’re outraged at this, please contact Congress and urge them to investigate this abuse of power:   http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2165/t/1027/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=23997

For more information of the progression of this atrocity, look at the WorldSave Forums here:  http://world-save.com/boards/index.php?topic=14.0 

Thank you,

Lia Cross 

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Participate in Earth Hour:  http://www10.earthhourus.org/

“On March 29, 2008 at 8 p.m., join millions of people around the world in making a statement about climate change by turning off your lights for Earth Hour, an event created by the World Wildlife Fund.”

There you have it.  Tonight at 8:00-9:00 pm, your time, just turn off all the lights, TVs, computers, and unplug everything.  Just for an hour.  I’m not sure if you should unplug your fridge though… I’ve heard people who do that for something similar to this that lasts 4 hours, but I’m not sure if its a good idea.  Not that your food will spoil in an hour, but I’ve heard your fridge needs to reset for a day before you plug it back in.  I have no solid information on that though so don’t take my word for it.

Oh, also, it IS important that you unplug everything, not just keep it turned off.  So don’t forget that.  Thanks!

Lia Cross 

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I hadn’t known about this until I read this BBC article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7312240.stm

Apparently China has been blocking websites. The article reads, ‘The Communist authorities often block news sites such as the BBC in a policy dubbed the “great firewall of China”.’

Why would a country want to block news from its people? Clearly, news in English does them little good. At least there’s some improvement. But still, why block it? It seems pretty obvious. They’re controlling information, controlling what people hear and see. By doing this they can more or less control how people think. Its like how they made it taboo to mention Tibetan independence. They’re making sure China’s citizens think the way China wants them to think, and as such won’t put up a fuss.

At least, that’s my take on it. Discuss more in the forums: http://world-save.com/boards/index.php?topic=23.0

Lia Cross

candela adds (03/26/08):  If you want to check if your website is blocked, head over here.

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More info here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7310168.stm

This woman spent “seven years in jail for attempted bombings and second-degree murder during a campaign in 1975.” She spent after this “almost a quarter of a century, marrying and living undetected in Minnesota.” (BBC News) Then she gets let out, and a week later put back in cause some people decided she wasn’t punished enough yet.

What is the purpose of our jail system, honestly? Isn’t it to keep dangerous people off the streets? Sarah Jane Olson is no longer a dangerous person. She spent almost a quarter of a century living peacefully. I think that clearly shows that she is not a threat. However, we insist on jailing her for crimes past. I am not saying she shouldn’t pay for her crimes, but I fail to see how jailing her is productive in any way to any one. Her time would be better spent in community service, giving back to the community and making this world a better place to live in rather than sucking the life a little more out of one person who has already been tamed by society.

I think this move to put her back in prison is totally pointless. What’s one more year? Will she suddenly be more sorry in a year? Will her debts be more paid in a year? No. Nothing changes except a woman lost her freedom for 7 (8 total) years. That’s it. Nothing was gained. Only time, money, energy was lost.

To jail someone who has already proven they can be a civilized member of society is a pointless act, and if our justice system is so keen on doing so then I say we need an overhauling of the system.

Lia Cross

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