Wednesday 22 November 2006

Helem, Lebanon’s pioneering gay and lesbian rights organization, has scaled back its advocacy efforts in acknowledgment of Lebanese politicians’ preoccupation with other issues – and its own potential for igniting a backlash.

The backlash was to be expected, given how the group’s profile has risen since it was founded three years ago.

“[It is] a sword on your neck, basically,” says Ghassan Makaram, the co-chair of Helem’s legal committee. “It’s something you are always afraid of, that the state will take legal recourse if you are lifting your head too high in terms of events, being too public, asking for too much … We have to be careful.”

“Before the war, Helem fitted in very nicely with the new discourse of ‘freedom and democracy,’ and [was] trying to take advantage of that,”

But now legal and political advocacy has taken a back seat. Lawmakers’ attention has shifted from potential re forms to the penal code.
The Church of Scientology woos officers from the City of London police

Saturday 18 November 2006

"....a situation in which the will of the majority for peace
is displaced by the will of the minority for war."


Tony Blair, the will of that minority,
responding to a question by Sir David Frost
in an interview on the new al-Jazeera English-language Arabic TV channel.
S E L F P L E X




www.flickr.com



Tuesday 7 November 2006

13 Enemies of the internet

A list of 13 "enemies of the internet" has been released
by human rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

The list consists of countries that RSF believes are
suppressing freedom of expression on the internet.

Belarus
Burma
China
Cuba
Egypt
Iran
North Korea
Saudi Arabia
Syria
Tunisia
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
KENTUCKY FRIED CRUELTY



Bea Arthur Speaks Out Against KFC

Sunday 5 November 2006

40 THINGS THAT ONLY HAPPEN IN MOVIES

such as.....

"If a microphone is turned on
it will immediately feedback."

and...

"No matter how savagely a spaceship is attacked,
its internal gravity system is never damaged."


THE DIVINE DAVID

Thursday 2 November 2006

H A P P I N E S S

synthetic happiness
video - dan gilbert

part of a series of video mini lectures,
they last about 20 mins each,
over on T.E.D.