In Jordan a teenage boy is dragged along the ground behind a Toyota pick-up truck.

In Gambia a man is seized by masked men, hooded, bound, flown to an unknown destination and tortured. In Morocco a UK resident reports being detained and cut with a scalpel all over his body.

The ‘excuse’ given for each of these abuses can be summed up in four words – ‘the war on terror’. It’s an excuse used not only by countries allied to the US – such as Pakistan and Jordan - but also by countries with their own very specific agendas to pursue. From the giants of China and Russia to the east African state of Eritrea, the ‘war on terror’ has come to be seen as a green light of approval to secret detention, ‘disappearances’ and torture.

Since the attacks on the USA on 11 September 2001 and the subsequent 'war on terror' we (Amnesty) have been calling on governments to respect human rights in their counter-terrorism efforts. At first many ignored us, but there is now a growing realisation that security cannot be achieved by resorting to unlawful practices. We demand an end to these practices, an end to impunity and a respect for human rights.

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Legislation has been passed time and time again over the last few years, all passed under the auspices of the 'war on terror', and each time eroding or ignoring basic human rights.

By bringing our voices together, we can let governments know that we did not sign up to a world governed by fear and discrimination. We did not sign up to secret detention, torture and rendition. We did not sign up. We do not approve. We Unsubscribe.

We want all Amnesty supporters to unite against human rights abuse in the ‘war on terror’.

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Every person that unsubscribes makes a difference to this campaign as together our voice will be louder and stronger. As the movement grows so will the attention it receives by the media and the government.

Ive always wanted one of these - a really cool and high quality mailbox at the end of my property.

There just seeems to be something of a personal touch in having residential mailboxes - like choosing your own 'flag' to mark out your property and tell the world this is mine.

I love these designs at mailboxixchange

And even at the office building you dont have to lose out on making a statement with commercial mailboxes that are equally stylish

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Things that piss me off...

- Not being able to see the final Prince gig tonight or the aftershow.
- George Bush.
- Sainsburys never having any food. Or paper bags for mushrooms meaning I have to use plastic.
- Opening what appears to be a pristine, un-touched Guardian in the coffee shop only to find someone has nicked the G2 section.
- George Bush.
- Drivers who constantly moan and get irate about speed cameras - if youre not breaking the law / speed limit, whats your f*cking problem. And if you are, then sort yourself out.
- George Bush.
- Having more work to do than time to do it in, and yet constantly having 2 hour meetings several times a week to tell us we have lots to get done and not much time left...go figure.
- Apathy.
- People leaving lights on at work despite me putting up signs right next to the lightswitches asking politely to turn them off to save energy.
- George Bush.
- Being skint again.
- When I desperately need to use a public toilet, only to find either the door wont lock or theres no loo roll. Or both. Or actually having to grit my teeth and use one in the first place.
- The fire alarm going off accidentally this morning at 5 40.

I feel a little better now Roll on 4 o'clock!

Each Friday I urge you to click the links below which will help others at NO cost to you. The effect this has can be enormous the more of us do it.

- If just 30 people read my post today and click on the links, then we can provide a huge amount of help.

- If each one of you then passes these details on to 5 others, then think how much more we can do. All for no more effort than a quick email and a quick click.

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"why not take 1 minute to click each of the following links and by clicking on the coloured tab you can ensure that foodstuffs, books, or care is donated to each of the groups. The sponsors redirect their advertising costs to pay for the donations instead….And it costs nothing to you":

The Hunger Site
For each person who clicks the hunger site, 1.1 cups of staple food stuffs will be donated. Yesterday, 155,839 were generated.

The Breast Cancer Site
For each person who clicks, funding will be given for free mammograms. Yesterday, 9.4 women benefited where they would not otherwise have done.

The Child Health Site
For each person who clicks, vital health supplies and services will be provided for children in need. Yesterday, 1,782 kids benefited from this.

The Literacy Site
For each person who clicks, underpriviledged children in developing countries will benefit from the chance to improve their literacy. Yesterday, 979 books were provided.

The Rainforest Site
For each person who clicks, 11.4 square feet of Rain Forest can be preserved and saved. Yesterday, 1,171,407 square feet worth of Forest preservation was funded.

The Animal Rescue Site
For each person who clicks, 0.6 bowls of food plus care will be provided for animals in care. Yesterday, 137,167 bowls of food were provided.

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It would be really great as well, if you could link this post in your 'bloglists' to get others to do their bit, and leave a comment to say ‘Ive been a good boy or girl’.

Thanks

Stop UK arms getting into the wrong hands

~ In an average year, small arms kill around a third of a million men, women and children - and leave hundreds of thousands more injured, disabled, traumatised and grieving
~ There are at least 640 million firearms / small arms in existence today – a gun for every ten people on the planet
~ Seven of the G8 countries are among the biggest global arms exporters
~ The international arms trade fuels suffering all over the world.

(Read a case study here to find out more; Find out even more and add your name to the million faces control arms pledge here ; Arms trade treaty Q & A here)

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Currently, the UK Government Minister responsible for UK Arms legislation, Malcolm Wicks, is reviewing the Export Control Act (ECA), which sets out the UK’s laws on exporting arms. This review provides an opportunity to close the “loopholes” in the existing act that currently allow UK made arms to legally fall into the wrong hands, fuelling conflict, poverty and human rights abuses.

Help close the loopholes.

Send a message to Malcolm Wicks and tell him to close the loopholes in the Export Control Act review.

Improving the way that the UK Government stops weapons getting into the wrong hands is only one of the ways that you can help end poverty and suffering.

You can help.

You couldn't make it up...

Location: Coffee and pastry emporium, of the downmarket variety.
Time: Around lunchtime, last Saturday.
Conversation: Something like this...

Me: Can I have a cheese'n'onion pasty, an apple danish, and a white coffee please? (*)

'Youth' behind the counter: I'm sorry, but we don't have any white coffee. [thoughtful pause]. I can do you a black coffee and put some milk in though?

...yes, thats what I thought too.

(* yes I know thats appalling food, but I was hungover)

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Hello, good evening, welcome...

...to nothing much.

(One for the Carter USM fans there)

Well, for fear of repeating myself - hello. My god, it's been longer than a Celine Dion song hasn't it? I could come up with a good excuse, you know, saving the world, exploring the outback, slipped through a blackhole, but I'm not one to lie. In fact, I doubt I even need to come up with an excuse - indeed, its probably being presumptious to think that anyone even cares or is reading.

Now now, Im not fishing there, before you start suggesting such a thing. But then again, who would suggest it if I'm right and nobody has actually read this? In which case I'm having a completely pointless conversation with myself, and wasting time into the bargain. Erm....yes. Warm today wasn't it?

But if you are reading, then I must apologise profusely for now wasting your time by spending 5 minutes reading this just to find out that all I'm doing is writing down the ramblings of a mad person talking to themself. Sorry about that.

So, I'll finish where I started. Hello. It's been a while. I promise not to be so negligent in the future.

...and just so I've not completely wasted your time coming here this evening, here's a nice link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhOCp-dPsjA

The worlds biggest terrorist speaks again...

"...is a reminder about the dangerous world in which we live, and it's a reminder that we must work together to protect our people against these extremists who murder the innocent in order to achieve their political objectives."

Yes, I too thought that this statement would have been more relevent had it been said by George Bush about himself.

...I expect to be on a CIA rendition flight within the hour after that, so best go find a good book to take.

New York, New York....so good they named it twice.

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