AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Before I begin - I have been having a great deal of trouble with Blogger - I guess it's Blogger - just trying to get to my own blog. I managed it just now for the first time in two days. So, if any of you ask me a question or make a comment that needs a reply, you may not get it for a while. It just depends on when I am able to access the blog and comments. I have not been able to reach many of the other blogs I love to read either. So I'm just hoping for the best. Maybe the situation will change as quickly as it began.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Now, to the matter at hand:




Amnesty International is a worldwide organization, fighting for human rights. That means unjust imprisonment, murders, abductions, people driven from their homes, any and all single incidents or ongoing situations of injustice in our world. That world is no long the Great Unknown as it once was. It grows smaller every day, and every day we become more aware of the truth of Martin Luther King's words: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." That "everywhere" is here where you and I live. We cannot close our eyes and turn away. We must follow the light of the candle on the Amnesty International insignia.


Amnesty International fights the good fight every day, with the help of thousands of members. My daughter, Rita is one who chooses to spend hours writing letters in behalf of people all over the world who have been imprisoned because their words or actions have somehow displeased political leaders of their countries.


The organization, which won the Nobel Prize in 1961, constantly struggles to end abuse of all human rights everywhere. If you feel you might be able to help in any way, please contact them at http://www.amnestyusa.org.









Meantime, how about putting The Hunger Site somewhere that you can view it every day, and just click on it to help feed starving people in the world.

MORE OF THIS AND THAT

I like this new scheduling we can do with our blog posts. It lets me set up Sky Watch Friday ahead of time.




Do hope you're considering a post on something to do with Human Rights on the 15th.





Here's a thought. It's been making the rounds of emails for a while now and it seems to make sense to me. If we're really concerned about the price of gas - just stop buying it from the biggest producers - and they would be Exxon/Mobil. Go elsewhere for it. If enough of us did that to the Big Guys - it could hurt them enough that they might lower prices.



Here's a good one. Villas Girl, as you may have figured out, is sort of like a second daughter to me - Well, I guess that should be a fourth daughter. She kind of looks out for me, which I do appreciate. Now she's complaining because my son repaired my car too well. She used to be able to hear my car when I went off somewhere or when I came home. Now she doesn't hear me. I'm driving The Stealth-Mobile!



My son was here the other night, putting in my a/c. As he was leaving, he got dive-bombed by one of my hummingbirds who had headed for the feeder, but was side-tracked by Joe standing too near it. He went buzzing past his ear, then swooped off. It was pretty comical.



The seeds I threw into the little extension of my garden are sprouting faster than I would have believed. I will have wild flowers for my butterflies in no time at all. And this time I do not have my neighbors nasty cats using the garden for a litter box, because I laid wire mesh over the whole thing. The plants can grow right through it, and the cats can't dig. In the past I've tried hot pepper and every other suggested deterrent, but nothing has worked. For now, my only complaint about the cats is that they continually walk through mud and then over my car, leaving their paw prints over the hood, windows, top and trunk. I've about given up trying to keep it anywhere near clean.


If I keep posting odd little things like this, I'm going to have to find a better title than "This and That" aren't I?






Well, at least today I managed a decent photo of one of my hummers.

BLOGGERS UNITE !

Just to let you know - I've opted for "Comment Moderation". I had about eight spam comments on my last post. Since that is starting again, I'll just start checking out comments before they're posted.







You probably have noticed the badge on my sidebar. It involves a very simple request. On Thursday, May 15th - write a post about some topic involving human rights.


To join BLOGGERS UNITE! go to http://unite.blogcatalog.com/ for more information. That's really all you have to do. You're going to write a blog post on the 15th anyway, right? Please consider making it one on a subject that just might make a real difference for someone somewhere.

The Elders

Have you heard of The Elders? I learned of them through a blog post from the pagan sphinx.

They are an international group of men and women, including such people as Nelson Mandela and Jimmy Carter, who are working to hold governments and their leaders accountable to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The rights of all seem to me to be so basic that I cannot comprehend the idea that they could be ignored. I understand, of course, that they are ignored every day, even by the leaders of our own country. Note the bill Mr. Bush just vetoed. It leaves me stunned and appalled.

"For the last 60 years it‘s been governments that have been asked to sign the Universal Declaration.

We hope that 2008 can be the year that individuals, not just governments, sign the declaration.

We‘re hoping for one billion signatures from across the world.
We want yours to be one of them." - The Elders

Please take a look at the sites and think about signing the declaration. Thanks.