Human rights violations

Issues concerning human rights violations have never been taken seriously by the masses, that's the reason why state violence such as extra judicial killings, police brutality keep on happening in our country and other countries cos none of us stands up to say to the authorities that this is wrong. Don't ever underestimate our voices. Give our voices to those whose voices have been silenced. Together we can have our voices heard loud and clear that we don't want this. Human right violations can never be compromised cos if it can happen to other people,it can happen to you and me too.

Please sign the online petition to stop the extra-judicial killings of peasant leaders and activists in the
Philippines:
http://www.foodsov.org/html/takeaction04.htm

Fucking pesticides

Pesticide has become a major threat to our environment and the lives of people whose lives very much rely on natural sources such as the river. I guess you must have read news about the aborigine children who died in places like Cameron Highlands (where I used to live) where the river has been permeated by pesticide. This is a major issue that many people have ignored cos it seems that only the lives of marginalized people are affected. Wait a minutes, how sure are you that the water that we drink everyday are actually 'clean'.

The threats of environmental issue as such have always been underestimated. Believe me, none of us can afford the consequences. Below is a report released by Pesticide Action Network and The Asia Pacific about how pesticides kill people in India. Please spend your precious time reading it and then contemplating about what you can do as individual to make a difference.

Industry urged to pull dangerous pesticides from Indian market

As Indian regulators, media and the public debate about a report on
excessive levels of pesticide residues in Coke and Pepsi amongst other
soft drinks, attention is not being paid to the real problem that is
killing scores of Indians each year - that of deadly pesticides being used
in agriculture on a variety of crops. Poverty stricken Indians are
paying a heavy price for the use of pesticides in farming. Therefore the
India-based Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Pesticide Action Network
(PAN) Asia and the Pacific, and the German Coalition against Bayer
Dangers urge pesticide producers to withdraw all highly toxic pesticides
from the Indian market.


Kavitha Kuruganti from the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA):
"Many of these extremely dangerous pesticides are products of
multinational companies like Bayer, DuPont and Syngenta which have stopped
producing and marketing such pesticides in the developed world long ago.
However, they maintain double standards on people in India. Here, they
produce and market these pesticides aggressively." The CSA has documented
dozens of cases of poisonings, many of them fatal. "For instance Bayerดs
pesticide Hinosan (active ingredient: Edifenfos) is involved in such
poisonings we documented", continues Kuruganti.


"PAN AP in collaboration with partners in India and other countries in
Asia, have documented how Class I pesticides, as well as those
erroneously considered 'less harmful' such as endosulfan and paraquat (Class
II) continue to poison millions of workers and farmers across Asia!",
asserts PAN AP's Executive Director, Sarojeni V. Rengam. "It is an
unmitigated tragedy that Class I pesticides, as well as paraquat and
endosulfan-which are extremely hazardous under conditions of use in the
South-are still so widely used. We call on the world's largest producers of
endosulfan, which is Bayer; and paraquat, namely Syngenta, to stop
production of these deadly pesticides immediately!"


Bayer CropScience is the market leader for pesticides in India. In many
parts of the world the company sells pesticides in WHO Class Ia
(extremely hazardous) and I b (highly hazardous) like Thiodicarb, Disulfoton,
Parathion, Fenamiphos, Azinphos-methyl, Methamidophos and Oxydemeton
Methyl. Philipp Mimkes from the Coalition against Bayer Dangers which has
been monitoring the corporation for more than 25 years: "In 1996 Bayer
promised to replace all WHO Class I pesticides with products of less
toxicity. The company evidently failed to keep its promise. Bayer
products containing these extremely dangerous ingredients are still on the
market. As a result thousands of agricultural workers across the world are
poisoned year after year."


In a statement issued by Bayer in Germany, the company acknowledged
that it sells Class I product Hostathion (ingredient: Triazophos) in
addition to Thiodan (Endosulfan) in India. However Bayerดs Indian website
lists several more Class I substances like Larvin (Thiodicarb),
Metasystox (Oxidemeton Methyl), Tamaron (Methamidophos) and Folidol (Parathion
Methyl).


The Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, PAN Asia and the Pacific and
the Coalition against Bayer Dangers state that a safe use of pesticides
is not possible in India specifically, and the South in general, because
of poverty, illiteracy and other social conditions as well as tropical
climatic conditions which do not permit the wearing of protective gear,
or institute other protective measures. The groups criticise the
industry's marketing strategies which give pesticides an image of being
"safe". They also recall the FAO code of conduct, to which India is a
signatory and which has also been endorsed by the pesticides industry, which
recommends that Class I and Class II pesticides should not be used in
developing countries.


Having initiated a large programme of Non Pesticidal Management of
crops successfully with farmers in over 180 thousand acres in the state of
Andhra Pradesh, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture questions the need
for pesticides in agriculture. Therefore the Indian government is urged
to ban aggressive marketing of pesticides, to express the
acknowledgement that these products are essentially poisons and to ensure that the
industry is made liable for their products, including compensation,
medical care and economic rehabilitation for all victims.

For more info, kindly log on to :www.panap.net

Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo

This is John Paul Gaultier's version of Frida

Frida Kahlo is a Mexican painter, born on July 6, 1907 and passed away on July 13, 1954.

Her life had always been scarred by physical suffering and emotional suffering. She was contracted with polio when she was five. In 1925, a bus accident caused severe injuries to her when a pole pierced her from the stomach to the pelvis. Consequently, she had to go through 32 surgical operations throughout her life and had her body confined by corsets of different kinds and mechanical "stretching" systems.


Lots of her paintings were done laying in bed. Her condition deprived her of having children but she insisted to give it a try. She managed to conceive but eventually went through miscarriage.


In the movie called Frida, I watched Frida (Salma Hayak)making a painting of the fetus kept in a bottle while lying in the hospital bed with so much sorrow. I remember I wept madly watching that particular scene.

Fashion inspired by Frida designed by John Paul Gaultier

Through out the decades, Frida 's life has continued to inspire and move many people in every possible way. Her intensed, passionate yet heart-breaking relationship with Diego Rivera, a painter had made a great impact in her as a painter and as a person. Diego, an womannising husband who even slept with Frida's sister had indirectly led to her affairs with both man and women in order to escape from such excruciating despair. Of course,in the end she forgave Diego and her own sister, after all, that is what love is all about, being forgiving. She is also famed for her active involvements in the Mexican Revolution. Many of her disturbing paintings project a sense of misery. She is the very artist who coloured suffering with a life of its own.

Vivienne Westwood Exhibition

I have always been so fascinated by fashion since I was a young girl. I remember I used to sit alone in the living room watching Fashion File or Video Fashion on T.V. Then, I would learn to pronounce and write the name of my favourite fashion designer's name, Vivienne Westwood correctly while everyone else was still pretty much clueless about who Vivienne Westwood is.

I watched many fashion shows on T.V but it was always her fashion shows that blew my mind away. Who can ever forget Naomi Campbell in a pair of 10-inch blue platform shoes catwalking at Vivienne Westwood's fashion show in 1993, then without everyone's expectation, she fell to her feet. At that moment, the fashion world watched her struggling to get on her feet again.

That incident didn't ruin neither the career of Naomi Campbell or Vivienne Westwood. In fact, it became the most remembered fashion show and the most glam catwalk accident ever documented. That is Vivienne Westwood for you, her fashion has always been so theatrical, dramatic and madly rebelous to the extent of being a bit too much to be stomached even by the most seasoned fashion critics.

Recently, an acquantance who used to work as a art director for a French publishing company which publishes magazines such as Elle France, told me that Vivienne Westwood's exhibition has been creating a life of its own at Thailand Creative and Design Center since 22 July and the exhibition will last until 27 Sept. 2006. The next thing I did was to make my way to the 6th floor of The Emporium shopping mall in Bangkok, where the exhibition has been taking place. After all, how often do we get to see her creations as close as the air we breathe?

I blithely walked into the heart of darkness where I heard Sex Pistols' song blasting out of the speaker near to the entrance. Her creations are displayed in chronological order with the very first collection of punk fashion created in 1971, which were sold at a shop called Let It Rock at 430 King's Road in London.

The mannequin on display is donned with Venus T-shirt and leather skirt elaborated with mockcroc, chains, zips, metal studs, rubber and even horse hair. There is a polished black board illuminated by dim spot light. On the black board is a description goes like this: Vivienne Westwood met Malcolm Mcleren in 1965, and their son Joseph Ferdinand Corre was born the following year. Their working relationship, which lasted from 1970 until 1983, launched Punk. Vivienne recalled, 'I felt there were so many doors to open, and he had the keys to all of them. Plus, he had a political attitude and I needed to align myself.'

As I moved forward a few steps to the right, what appeared before my eyes was a mannequin clad in a a T-shirt screen printed with a torn Jack Union flag on it. This infamous T-shirt was designed by Malcom Mclaren and Jamie Reid. It was worn by Sex Pistols' Johnny Rotton for the Sex Pistols' single called Anarchy in the U.K in 1976.

Of course, Vivienne Westwood is not just the inventor of Punk fashion, she is simply a natural born fashion revolutionary. Who else has the gut to convert Victorian crinolines into sexy yet childish mini-skirts and corsets into stylish outerwear if not Vivienne Westwood?
Inside the exhibition hall, there is a big screen constantly showing Vivienne Westwood's fashion shows, where models playfully catwalking down the fashion runway with attitude of celebration. Many of the clothes shown at the fashion shows are on display at the exhibition.

No doubt, I am a Vivienne Westwood's fan. Having said that, I still find it to be a bit outrageous just to visualize myself wearing the Lycra tights with fig leaf attached to the private area just like Adam and Eve. The trousers is called 'Man with No Trousers'. In fact, when she first did the fig leaf in 1989, she just kept screaming cos it was so porno and hilarously mad. Then, she got used to it and thought it looked so elegant.

As I scrutinized the Harris Tweed Jacket and the fig leaf tights worn by a headless mannequin, I just couldn't help myself but to laugh out loud. Vivienne Westwood has always stayed true to English tailoring especially traditional techniques as a starting point. At the exhibition, you can see some of the suits are so perfectly moulded to the bodies of the mannequins like second skin.

Of course, not to be missed are the 10-inch platform shoes on diaplay in the glass cases. For me, it was just so incredible to be there to marvel at the blue platform shoes that created fashion history of its own. I was there jotting down the details of some creations which I really adore until my pen went dried of ink that I had to borrow a pen from the security guard who was so smartly dressed in black suit. Of course, I was so fashionably dressed in a military dress that looks quite Vivienne Westwood. After all, I am a fashion writer or wannabe?!!

After spending more than an hour inside the exhibition hall, I decided to leave or else, I would start to plot a robbery. Yes, it did cross my mind. So, outside the exhibition hall, I was given a booklet of the exhibition. In the first page of the booklet are some inspiring words goes like this: 'Some people adapt themselves to the world, while others adapt the world to themselves. The world goes round because of the latter group'. After reading it, I smiled to myself cos I know I belong to the later group. Then, I signed the guest book with coloured pencils provided there. Thanks to Thailand Creative and Design Center for putting together such a great exhibition.

Chilling out

It was 1 August 2006, I went out at 11 o'clock to have early dinner, I had Somtam (papaya salad), roasted chicken and sticky rice. I always love Isaan food. Then, I went back to the guesthouse. Again, I sat on the bamboo reclining chair relaxing and pondering. I actually felt really glad that I took the courage to venture out to the unknown and uncertainty again. After all, a thousand miles starts with the first step.

Actually, this trip to Kanchanaburi was unexpected. Friday night, a day before I left for Kanchanaburi, I called up my editors to ask for my paycheque, so no paycheque. According to one of the editors, I have to wait for another week. Well, I have been waiting for it for the past 6 months, I guess I won't die just by waiting for another week but I did cry after the phone call cos I was partly angry, upset and disappointed. As usual, I cried out to God.....

So, I decided to hop on the train the following day to Kanchanaburi cos I couldn't afford to stay in Bangkok for another week unless I receive my paycheque. God is a faithful God, His love is unfailing and overflowing. My new found fellow christian friend, the very loving Yang from True Jesus Church, invited me to stay in her studio apartment when I get back to Bangkok cos she is based in Chiang Mai most of the time. Here, I would like to recite a biblical verse again: God's grace is sufficient, His power is made perfect in weaknesses.

I can tell you now that I am so glad to be here in Kanchanaburi, or else I wouldn't have met another bunch of loving peoples like Watcharee and Gabriel (see, he is even named after the archangel, not to mention Jimmy and Jenette, the Danish couple and Job (another biblical name), a passionately young Thai tattoo artist with tattoos all over his body, who owns a tattoo studio in Kaosan Road, Bangkok. That night, while we were sitting around chatting, he just grabbed my leg and drew a very beautiful tattoo motif under my ankle.

You see, I have been staying in this really cool guesthouse with spacious lawn and plenty of trees. The guesthouse looks very raw and organic cos everything is made with natural materials such as bamboo, wood and tree branches. Thank goodness that this guesthouse is not mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide book, or else, it will surely attract a bunch of drunk and loud travellers. Guess what, there is even a moat filled with white lotuses and pink water lilies. I did not find this place, this place found me just like christianity.

In year 2003, I made my first trip to Kanchanaburi, on the train a female tout showed us, the travellers the photos of this guesthouse. So, that was it. Here I am for the third time. I tell you, God is worthy of our love and time cos He will love us back more than we can ever imagine.

'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, what God has prepared for those who love him, no mind has conceived...'

Kanchanaburi

Hi everyone, so sorry for the long silence. I am in Kanchanaburi now. I arrived here on Saturday by train. Kanchanaburi is just 4 hours train ride away from Bangkok. Kanchanaburi is one of my fave destinations in Thailand. This is my third trip to Kanchanaburi. I am staying in one of the rooms in a raft house on the river Kwai. You know River Kwai?O.K, how about the Bridge of the River Kwai, the movie. Yes, that's where I am now.

The thing I like to do here is to sit on the bamboo reclining chair and watch the jade green river. Whenever a speed boat loaded with tourists speeds past, the raft house will start rocking. I think peoples who tend to suffer from sea sickness will no be able to handle this. Sometimes I will sit on the platform and dip my feet into the river. I am supposed to go back to Bangkok but I just feel so reluctant to do that. I can actually live here forever.

For the past few nights, I just sat around with other travellers chatting the nights away while munching on local fruits. Yeah, I met some really cool peoples here. Few days ago, while I was lying inside my room with the door open, Watcharee,a Thai lady came to look for Gabriel, the Portugese guy who stay in the raft house too. He was still sleeping, so she chatted with me. We felt the good vibe instantly and she invited me to go to her auntie's house in the afternoon. So, I did. Three of us on the motorbike, heading towards the countryside. It was so much fun. She showed us the Lanna traditional houses hidden away from the main road. So, we went around visiting a massive temple. The monk gave us fish food to feed the Koi fish and gigantic cat fish in the pond.

At night, we were in this beautiful house of her auntie in an orchard right by the river. She even cooked dinner for us. We stayed there til 12 midnite. Then, she sent us back to the guesthouse and I invited her to sleep in my room cos it was too late for her to go home. So, yesterday, three of us on the motorbike again, heading to Erawan National Park which is like 70km away. On the way, we stopped by at the fruit vendor. I bought three dragon fruits for ourselves. You see, I always believe in the spirit of sharing. O.k, I have to go. Will blog again soon. These days, I am just too lazy to write. I have been lazing around soaking in the goodness of mother nature and got too carried away.

Lost and found in Bangkok.

It was 26 July 2006, I woke up very early in the morning by the sound of the traffic. You see, I stayed in a room which is just next to the main road. So, around 9am, I went downstairs to pay for my room and request to move to another room but the receptionist told me that there was no single room available that day. I could move to another room maybe the following day.

On my way to Banglumphu pier,I saw this street vendor selling roasted semi-riped bananas. This is my all time fave peasant snack. It was like manna from heaven, so I bought a few pieces. I munched on the banana while walking my way to Banglumphu pier. I got off at Tha Tien Pier and started strolling around. The old shophouses with folding doors looked very charming. There were all sorts local produces on display such as the dried salted fish, herbal medicines and so on. Of course, the pavement was lined with street vendor selling snacks and breakfast. I stopped by at the street vendor to have prawn porridge.

After that,I did the walking again. I walked past Wat Pho and went in to have a quick look. Then, continued exploring the neighbourhood and found myself at the Amulet market. Amulet sellers were sitting on the pavement selling all sort of forms of amulets. You see, Thais believe that wearing an amulet can ward off the evil spirits. Some Thais even wear 3 to 4 amulets at one go. I used to be an amulet wearer too cos my father is Thai and he wanted us to wear it.

O.K, back to the story, so I found myself at Tha Chang Pier. It was very crowded and happening. Tourists come to Tha Chang Pier to take the river taxi to the other side of the river bank to visit Wat Arun. The territory of the amulet sellers did not end just there. As I continued walking, I saw the pavement outside the shophouses was once again dotted with amulet sellers. I stopped by at one vendor to buy a print of the King and his family. Yeah I love the King as much as the Thai do. The King is a man with great love. The King has been hospitalized. So, please pray for him.

Considering the amount of amulets available in the market, I guess Bangkok should be free from all forms of evil spirits. The Amulet market continued its territory outside Wat Mahatat, I guess I had enough of seeing amulets in a day. So, I caught a bus back to Banglumphu.

After lunch, I called Pastor Wu Chen Wen of True Jesus Church. I told him that the visiting Pastor Siau from Taiwan wanted me to see him. He told me that he has been based in Chiang Mai but would be coming to Bangkok the following day. I asked him whether there would be a worship service that night cos I wanted to go.

So, I went back to my room to take a nap to reenergize myself. In the late afternoon, I went to Santichaiprakarn park to join other jugglers to practise poi and juggle balls too. The thai couple who can juggle clubs very well were there too together with their lovely little daughter. The husband is a graphic designer and the wife is a homemaker. They normally go to the park almost every late afternoon. Tosh, the Japanese guy was really surprised when he saw me practising. He said that I must be an expert. Well, after all, I used to perform 2 shows at Zouk, Kuala Lumpur but I won't call myself an expert though. See, how humble I am.

I was so caught up in the games that I overstayed longer than I should. So, I rushed back to take a shower and get myself ready to go to the church. I asked the receptionist to write the address in Thai for me. Then, she told me to take bus 68 outside Wat Bowen. So, I walked to Wat Bowen but wasn't sure which bus stop to take the bus. So, I asked a lady who was walking in front of me to help me out. She turned out to be able to speak English. Without hesitation, she held my hand and walked with me to the bus stop.

So, I got on to a mini bus 68 and showed the bus conductor the address. Then, she said something in Thai. Then, the lady who sat behind me explained to me in English. She told me that I had to get off at the bus stop at Democracy Monument and caught the big bus 68. So, I got on to bus 68 heading towards Bangkhuntien. The exhaust fume was almost unbearable. Someone should invent a disposeble oxygen tank. You see, many buses in Bangkok are non air-con and burping out hazardous exhaust fume. Only God knows why these buses are still allowed to hit the roads. According to a survey, many Bangkokians are suffering from air pollution related sickeneses.

I remember few years ago, the authority released a statistic saying that the air pollution in Bangkok was under control. I guess these people must have never taken a bus in ther lives. After all, who really cares about the marginalized common peoples? Do you care? Let's not talk about Bangkok, just look around the city you live in, how many vehicles with single occupant are moving on the roads?

O.K, let's get back to the story, along the journey, I saw many 'red light' clubs with skimpily clad young women hanging outside. Of course, in Malaysia, we have such establishments too, the only difference is that we do it 'underground', that's the main problem.

Finally, the never ending bus journey had come to an end when the bus conductor asked me to get off the bus and cross the overhead bridge to the other side of the road. I saw a private hospital and a bus stop. I was like in the middle of no where and it was dark. I approached this guy but we couldn't communicate. So, I walked up the road heading to the hospital and saw a woman. Then again, I showed her the address. I walked with her til we saw a songthew (a pick-up truck taxi). She asked me to get on to the songthew. So, there I was, sitting next to the driver while that women was sitting behind the pick-up truck with other passengers. Once again, I showed the address to the driver. He then dropped me off in a busy street and asked me to cross the street to take another songthew. O.K, O.K. So, I did.

Finally, I saw the road sign written in Thai and English: Ekachai 36. Yeah, I found Ekachai 36, I was coming close. Ekachai 36 is a long road. So, I flagged down a taxi and showed the driver the address. He didn't know how to get there.Phew, so off walking again til I reached a bunch of motrcycle taxi drivers. They passed the address around among them but no one knew how to get there either. How could that be?

You see, I hadn't given up yet, I walked to Ekachai 36/3 to keep on seaching. O.K, it was time to give up cos it was almost 9 o'clock. The worship service would have finished by the time I found it. I walked back to the main road feeling disappointed. I saw a lady and told her I wanted to take bus 68. Thank God she could speak English. She flagged down a songthew and told the driver something. Yes, I managed to make it back to Banglumphu. I didn't find the church that night but I met many angels along that journey.

P/S; After two days, I managed to find the church in the afternoon and meet up with Pastor Wu and other fellow christians.

Lord, this soul I won for You.

Lord,we have come to the knowledge of Your love
By Your sacrifice for the souls unworthy as ours
We reflect upon the times we greived You
With our callous disregard
Yet it is Your desire
That we should not remain apart
No greater love exists
Than that which You gave Your life for ours

Lord, we want to grow
in the likeness of Your image
Grant us
Humility, as You did Moses
Courage, as You did Joshua
Wisdom, as You did David
Love, as You did Peter
Strength, as You did Paul

Even as we face oppositions
Both from without and within
For there is poverty, social mores
and political issues we can not control
There are absent of Your Truth
Give us the courage we need to testify for You
The wisdom to know what to speak
And the eloquence to speak it
Lord, we are ready to take up Your commission
To fulfill Your desire to save all

We did wonder
if all the hardships and loneliness
In exchange for that one soul is worth it?
But as we turn to look at Jesus on the cross
We realize we have so much more to do
We'll make disciples of these people for You
Different though they seem
For You Yourself showed no partiality
Because they are Your children too

Lord, we will love as You first loved us
For if we have faith but have no love, we are nothing

Love without Truth is blind
And love without the Holy Spirit's guidance and power is short-lived
By Your grace
We have the Truth
We have the Holy Spirit

Until that day
when we meet the Lord
We shall faithfully spread
The message of His love
And when it is our time
To face the Lord
We will be able to say
Lord, this one soul I won for You

This is from an annual report called Into all the World by True Jesus Church

Bangkok, the city of angels?!!

I am in Bangkok now. I arrived this morning at 11.35. Glad to be back. Then, I hopped on bus 53 to Banglumphu and checked in to a guesthouse....

Heading north...

Yesterday morning, my mum sent me to the train station in Alor Setar. The train would only arrive at 8.35 am. So, we went to have breakfast at the canteen of the train station. The train arrived on time and then I bid farewell to my mum. After years of living a nomadic life, I just have to learn to let go. Sometimes, it is really hard but I just have to do it. I received a SMS from my brother a minute before the train arrived.

Kakak, wa now standby packing to go to Time Square liao! U take care n hope you find a plant which u know its needs….Sender: Siang Sent: 23-July-2006 8:27:50.

Well, I would rather be a plant this time around and have an owner who knows my needs. Anyway, I already have an owner and his name is Jesus. I hopped on to the train and walked inside the train from one berth to the other. I was supposed to be in berth U1 but I ended up being on the other end of the train. You see, there were twice that while I was still looking for the right berth, the trains started moving. As a result, I had to hop on to the trains while the trains were moving and I nearly fell off the trains. These were the crazy things I did in my life. This time I just wanted to play safe. I guess I am catching up with my age. I can no longer do the Hopping-on-a-moving-train stunt anymore. Probably I still can do it without a heavy backpack on my back.

As the train was moving ahead, my heart started to sing in joy. It was really great to be able to hear the rattling sound of the train again. When the train moving past a pond covered with pink water lilies, every passenger started shouting in delight Of course, I was totally hypnotized. This is the little bliss you get when you are on a run-away train. I always believe that the nature has the power of healing and God is its creator. O Lord, have I told you lately that I love you?

Many passengers got off in Arau. Soon, the train halted in Padang Besar, the border cum immigration check points. Thank goodness that they let me enter ThaiLAND cos my passport will be expired in January 2007. On top of that, I actually overstayed for 2 days last time and was fined 400Baht.

Back on the train and to resume the journey to Hatyai. I would catch another train to Bangkok once I arrive in Hatyai...to be continued.

Internet repression

Today I received this info from Amnesty International Malaysia, here I would like to urge everyone to sign the pledge. We can make a difference, all we have to do is to believe and then take action.You better do something if you want to continue enjoying the freedom of speech in the cyber world (better than nothing,isn't it?)Below is the info...


Amnesty International is today going global with a campaign on internet repression. The campaign aims to claim back the web as a force for change in the face of an increasing willingness on the part of technology companies to aid censorship and repression. The internet's potential for change is being undermined -- by governments unwilling to tolerate this free media outlet, and by companies willing to help them repress free speech.



We are calling on internet users across the world to sign a pledge calling on all governments and companies to respect internet freedom. The online pledges will be collected and presented to a key UN meeting on the future of the internet in November 2006. Go to http://www.aimalaysia.org to sign the pledge



To coincide with the launch of the international campaign, Amnesty International is releasing a report about the role of Yahoo!, Microsoft and Google in internet repression in China. For those who are interested in obtaining the full report, please contact our office at 03-79552680 or aimalaysia@aimalaysia.org



For more on the report and campaign please go to http://www.aimalaysia.org

Massive doses of pain

Every war and revolution kills and maims emotions and sensibilities. Someone has to resuscitate these people killed by massive doses of pain.....Anais Nin

Now that we have reached a hastier and more superficial rhythm, now that we believe we are in touch with a greater amount of people, more people, more countries. This is the illusion which might cheat us of being in touch deeply with the one breathing next to us. The dangerous time when mechanical voices, radios, telephones (not to mention internet) take place of human intimacies,and the concept of being in touch with millions brings a greater and greater poverty in intimacy and human vision....Anais Nin