Last week countless people worldwide were sickened by the harrowing personal account of a 15-year-old boy who was almost certainly brutally beaten and raped in an Iranian prison.

This boy's story is shocking. Equally so is the fact that, according to Amnesty International:

Torture is a real problem around the world with many hundreds of thousands of victims. Amnesty International has

My Mom is an amazing woman.

She’s feisty, fiery and passionate about what she believes in.

Her clear belief in what’s right and wrong have served her in good stead over the last 80+ years.

I know – I’ve seen her oppose many things she believed were wrong. AND I’ve personally been on the south side of her wrath on several occasions! It’s not a happy place to be ☺

She’s rallied people

People who live more than eight decades have usually acquired some wisdom - simple wisdom that comes from personal experience.

My mom Patti is no exception.

She turns 81 in a few weeks. Although her memory isn’t what it used to be, her heart knows what’s right, and she’s not afraid to speak her mind.

She and I had a conversation about Iran tonight. I asked her a few questions. Her

Staging a one-woman "demonstration" in London’s Trafalgar Square is not without hazards.

Just as my short “protest” came to a close, three of the Heritage Wardens who police the place pitched up to ask if I had a permit.

“A permit?” I echoed uncertainly. Uh oh. I hadn’t thought of that.

I should have known better having recently shared a podcast of John Simpson’s tongue-in-cheek tale

Few people are natural storytellers.

The BBC’s World Affairs Editor John Simpson is one of them.

He’s the kind of speaker whose words flow as easily as a mountain stream, diving and dancing to inevitable (yet sometimes unexpected), conclusions that leave audiences wanting more.

He blends a quick wit, a wonderful sense of humour and a lifetime of experience in telling tales that

I started college when I was 29.

The university degree (a Bachelor of Arts) with which I’d graduated a decade earlier hadn’t been of much practical value when it came to finding interesting, rewarding and challenging work.

So I “went back to school” on the cusp of 30, at the recommendation of my then-boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend.

(My life often unfolds in interesting ways,