AWR needs to migrate to a new, more advertising-friendly platform. I lack the funds to do it alone, so I invite friends, fans and visitors to invest in the site's future. Even a small donation of $5 - $10, would help. Please use the PayPal button to donate. Thanks! Susan
The green you see on the site is to express solidarity with all the people of Iran
(no matter what "side" they are on),
in their struggle to achieve freedom and peace in their country.
UN Says Arab Women Still Struggling For Equality
Wednesday, 08 July 2009
Women continue to struggle to gain equal access to education, the
job market and political life in much of the Arab world, according to
the UN’s latest report on combating poverty.
The yearbook on the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), released by Ban Ki-moon, the UN
secretary general, reveals that global economic slump is undermining
attempts to tackle hunger, illiteracy and gender equality.
Researchers
highlight the “particularly dismal” progress on women’s rights in parts
of the Arab world, where women suffer as second-class citizens in
politics, education and the workplace.
The so-called Western
Asia region, which encompasses Arabia, the Levant, Iraq, Turkey and
Cyprus, has a disproportionately low number of girls in schools and
what researchers describe as “extremely low” job prospects for women.
The top musicians in the world seem to have gotten it...
I would like to know the English translation for the script that comes up on the green screen please.
Someone on Twitter has jokingly said: "Get your U2 CDs. Available in the foyer..." Clever lol, but I'm sure not accurate...
Please help me with the real words. E-mail to
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or write in the comments below. Thanks :)
Leyla Cries By Day, And Shouts From The Rooftop By Night
Saturday, 27 June 2009
Tonight, as she has every night since Iran's disputed election, Leyla
will walk up to the rooftop of her apartment building in Tehran and
join the collective shouts of "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great").
Her protest is not confined to the roof of her building. Leyla, who
has never been politically active before, has attended all the Tehran
street rallies to protest against the alleged fraudulent results of the
presidential election which saw Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad returned to power.
"I have gone every day and I have cried every day," she says.
The
protests initially saw hundreds of thousands take to the streets
demanding a recount. But as the violence has escalated and with the
security forces very visibly present in main squares and crossroads,
the protests have shrunk - some rallies this week numbered in the
hundreds, say witnesses.
"Of course I'm scared of being injured
or killed," she says. "When I water my plants these days I cannot help
crying because I feel how much I love to live. But I'm also fed up with
this feeling of fear that has penetrated my soul for three decades
under this regime."
Death spares no one. But our spirits never die. It's up to each of us to make our lives count. Together we can make the world a better place, a peaceful place of joy for everybody.
We are the world. Heal the world. Make a little space, to make a better place.
Make your life count in one small way today. Help stop the crackdown in Iran. Click the link. Sign the petition. You can make a difference right now.
There's a place in your heart, and I know that it is love
And this place could be much brighter than tomorrow
And if you really try, you'll find there's no need to cry
In this place you'll feel there's no hurt or sorrow
There are ways to get there
If you care enough for the living
Make a little space make a better place...
Heal the world, make it a better place
For you and for me and the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place, for you and for me
If you want to know why
There's a love that cannot lie
Love is strong
It only cares for joyful giving
If we try we shall see in this bliss
We cannot feel fear or dread
We stop existing and start living
Then it feels that always love's enough for us growing
So make a better world
Make a better world...
Doctor Who Tried To Save Neda Speaks Out Despite Fearing For Life
Friday, 26 June 2009
Neda's Last Moments Inspire Doctor Who Tried To Save Her
Susan notes: this video speaks for itself. This man happened to be passing by when a young woman was shot in the street in Tehran. He also happened to be a friend of world-famous author (and one of my favourite writers) Paulo Coelho, who by chance saw a video of Neda's death and recognised his friend. Now the doctor tells the story of her last moments, even though in the telling, he puts his own life in jeopardy.
Everything happens for a reason.Thank you for speaking out. In solidarity with all Iranians and victims of violence everywhere.Never give up hope for freedom and peace. We are all connected.Wherever you make your voice heard, please try to do it peacefully.
“Be the change you want to see in the world.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Today, the hearts and hopes of people around the world are with protesters facing awful risks on the streets of Iran. Regardless of who won the election, the question now is one of fundamental human rights.
Top Iranian leaders are divided, so every bit of pressure matters. With massive new protests imminent, Iranian activists are urgently appealing for a united international response to oppose the violent crackdown.
Click on the link to sign the petition calling on ALL governments to condemn the crackdown and withhold recognition of any Iranian government until election concerns are peacefully addressed. Let's build a massive global outcry of 1 million voices against the crackdown:
Ebadi said that Iran's constitution allows people to protest peacefully without permission [EPA]
Shirin
Ebadi, a prominent Iranian human rights lawyer and Nobel peace prize
winner, has told Al Jazeera that she is prepared to represent the
family of a young woman shot dead during a protest in Tehran.
The
woman, named as Neda Agha Soltan on social-networking websites, has
become a symbol for people protesting against the disputed
re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president.
Ebadi
told Al Jazeera on Wednesday: "I am personally prepared to legally
represent her family against the people who ordered the shooting and those who fired at her."
Susan warns: This CNN story includes graphic video images of a young woman Neda, who was shot and killed in the streets of Tehran during the recent demonstrations. It is very disturbing. The rest of the story talks about the important role women are playing in the events in Iran.
In eerie, deserted silence on the outskirts of Phnom Penh sits the Prey Speu detention centre.
Barely legible on its grimy walls a few weeks ago were cries for help and whispers of despair from the tormented souls once crammed into its grimy cells. “This is to mark that I lived in terror under oppression,” read one message.
It recalls a Khmer Rouge torture centre from the genocidal 1970s. But in fact the building was used just last year as a “rehabilitation” centre, where detained sex-workers, along with beggars and the homeless, learnt sewing and cooking. They were rounded up in a crackdown on trafficking for the sex industry.
At first an
attempt to clean up Phnom Penh, it soon escalated into a violent
campaign by the police against prostitutes and those living on the
street. According to Licadho, a local human-rights group, guards at the
centre beat three people to death, and at least five detainees killed
themselves.
Sreymoa, a trafficked sex-worker, detained in May 2008 with
her four-year-old daughter, recalls daily beatings, rapes and one death.
Women continue to struggle to gain equal access to education, the
job market and political life in much of the Arab world, according to
the UN’s latest report on combating poverty.
