Ovi magazine; Monday June 19th, 2023 – International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict

The articles, the opinions, the stories, the poems, the thoughts, the reviews, the photos, the paintings and the cartoons Ovi magazine covers for Monday June 19th, 2023 – International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict

Every year on June 19th, the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict raises awareness for conflict-related sexual violence. The day also honors the victims and survivors of sexual violence around the world. Women and girls are not the only victims of conflict-related sexual violence. Men and boys are also subject to it as well. Unfortunately, many survivors of this type of sexual violence do not come forward. This is primarily due to fear and cultural stigmas. When the survivors do not come forward, justice does not get served. It also allows the perpetrators to repeat their violent acts.

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The most important people in her life by Abigail George

So I turned to my father. I was this kid and said to him.
‘You’re mean. You’re just being cruel. Stay away from me. She’s not dead. I just saw her this morning.’
What does death mean to a child after all said and done but when you’re an adult it defines you.

The grief and then the denial of it all settles in with depth and seriousness. There was still the life of the girl inside of her. You’re there but you’re also not there. People talk of cancer. I saw something inside of my aunt that paralysed me. Her beautiful face that was so open. That spoke of kindness and grace. Mercy but all I could remember of her was her cleaning the kitchen. Cleaning up after us all. Her boys and us, her nieces. All I remember was her grilled cheese sandwiches. The two pizzas ‘they’ bought after a trip to the beach.

Continue reading HERE!

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Everything changed #poem & ArtInstallation by Amir Khatib

“Everything around me changed,
change on its own without interference;
streets and house facades,
bridges and under them,
tables and food and the smell of bread disappeared”

Continue reading HERE!

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The Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict: Greater Awareness Building Needed by Rene Wadlow

The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 19 June of each year to be the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict in order to raise awareness of the need to put an end to conflict-related sexual violence and to honor the victims and the survivers of sexual violence around the world.  The date was chosen to commemorate the adoption on 19 June 2008 of Security Council Resolution 1820 in which the Council condemned sexual violence as a tactic of war and as an impediment to peacebuilding.

For the U.N. “conflict-related sexual violence” refers to rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced abortion, and any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity perpetrated against women, men, girls and boys, linked to a conflict.  The term also encompasses trackficking in persons when committed in situations of conflict for purposes of sexual violence or exploitation.

Continue reading HERE!

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Fika bonding! #60 #cartoon by Thanos Kalamidas

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Ovi magazine; Monday May 1st, 2023 – International Labour Day

The articles, the opinions, the stories, the poems, the thoughts, the reviews, the photos, the paintings and the cartoons Ovi magazine covers for Monday May 1st, 2023 – International Labour Day

May 1st, International Labour Day, commemorates the historic struggle of working people throughout the world, and is recognized in most countries. The struggle for the eight-hour day began in the 1860s. In 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labour Unions of the United States and Canada, organized in 1881 (and changing its name in 1886 to American Federation of Labour) passed a resolution which asserted that “eight hours shall constitute a legal day’s work from and after May 1, 1886, and that we recommend to labour organizations throughout this district that they so direct their laws as to conform to this resolution”.

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Protection of Human Rights at International Organizations – only a Fiction? – part V by Frantisek Brychta

The reason for writing this article (which follows on the previous ones) is to inform the reader about the way in which complaints concerning the failure of the Council of Europe (hereinafter “CoE”) to fulfil its main task – the duty to ensure justice – are dealt with.

In this case, the handling of a written complaint dated 26 October 2022 is involved. The written complaint was sent to the address of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejcinovic Buricová, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt via the Czech Post on 26 October 2022.

The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejcinovic Buric, has not responded to this complaint (concerning the failure of the Council of Europe (CE) to fulfil its main task) yet. The complaint concerns:

a) Violation of the main task of the Czech Republicand the CE–i. e. to ensure justice and rule of law.

b) Repeated Complaint dated 01 August 2022 (“Repeated Complaint dated 01 August 2022”) filed with theECtHR on 01 August 2022 – the document was included as an evidencein the submission sent to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on 26 October 2022.

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To my peers… #poem & #artInstallation by Amir Khatib

“O my companion, who afflicted me and afflicted him,
 which I do not describe, just as I do not know how to describe myself,
 Let’s try the slope from top to bottom,
 After squandering dozens of years as we ascend,
 And here we are, panting.
 We have the certainty away from the abyss…
 Publicly on the way back we realize ourselves,
 We do what others cannot and hate to do;
 We descend to the bottom where no one else wants an experience like this.”

Continue reading HERE!

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Manish’s Zodiac Signs Predictions for May 2023 by Manish Kumar Arora

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Tang & Ram #62 #cartoon by Thanos Kalamidas

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Ovi magazine; Friday January 27th, 2023

The articles, the opinions, the stories, the poems and the cartoons Ovi magazine covers for Friday 27th, 2023

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H.G. Wells and Human Rights by Rene Wadlow

2023 will see a year-long effort leading to 10 December 2023, the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  The effort carries the title “Dignity, Freedom and Justice for All”.  Thus, it is useful to look at some of the intellectual preparations both within the League of Nations and among individual thinkers for the Universal Declaration.  One of the most widely read was that of Herbert George Wells “Declaration of the Rights and Duties of the World Citizen” which is found in his book “Phoenix: A Summary of the Inescapable Conditions of World Organization” published in 1942.  The Declaration of the Rights and Duties of the World Citizen had been translated into 10 languages and sent to 300 editors of newspapers in 48 countries.

H.G. Wells from the 1930s on was concerned with the ways the world should be organized with a world organization stronger than the League of Nations.  Such a world organization should be backed up and urged on by a strong body of public opinion linked together world-wide by the unifying bond of a common code of human rights and duties.

At the end of the First World War, H.G. Wells was a strong advocate of the League of Nations, but as time went on, he became aware of its weaknesses.  He wrote in 1939 ” The League of Nations, we can all admit now, was a poor and ineffective outcome of that revolutionary proposal to banish armed conflict from the world and inaugurate a new life for mankind… Does this League of Nations contain within it the gem of any permanent federation of human effort?

Continue reading HERE!

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The Wave #poem & #painting by Nikos Laios

“Her body
Moved like a wave,
Her soul like an ocean;
Surging over the 
Summer of my youth.”

Continue reading HERE

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Tang & Ram #55 #cartoon by Thanos Kalamidas

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Ovi magazine; Wednesday May 25th, 2022 – WHY? Gun control NOW!

The articles, the opinions, the stories, the poems and the cartoons Ovi magazine covers for Wednesday May 25th, 2022 – WHY? Gun control NOW!

Nineteen young children and two adults have died in a shooting at a primary school in south Texas. The gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School – which teaches children aged seven to 10 – in the city of Uvalde before he was killed by law enforcement, officials said. The 18-year-old suspect had a handgun, an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and high-capacity magazines, investigators say. The teenager is suspected of shooting his grandmother before the rampage.

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“Do you want us to bring your children in?”. Signing false confessions. by Zulfikar Shariff

I came awake with the Gurkha officers around me. Chang was in the opposite chair. He told the officers to send me back to the cell.

“No, I’m ok. I’m ok” I told him. “We carry on.”

I was desperate. I had to get the interrogation period over as quickly as possible. Let’s get it done. Whatever they wanted me to say. Get it done, so I can get out of detention and to my children. I needed to tell them to leave Singapore.

That was all I thought about. Get my children and my family out of Singapore where the ISD could not get them.

“Send him back to cell” I heard Chang say again. “Next time don’t interrogate him after dinner.”

“I’m ok. Let’s carry on.” My body was weak.

Continue reading HERE!

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Saskatchewan Sky #poem by Michael Lee Johnson

“Saskatchewan
sky,
just a preview of love,
chip off
an edge of
prairie”

Continue reading HERE!

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Ralph Waldo Emerson: A bridge to the Spirit of the World by Rene Wadlow

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) whose birth anniversary we mark on 25 May, stressed the need for thinking and writing in an American style, separate from that of England which dominated American culture at that time – an early voice for “America First”. He called for a poetry “of insight and not of tradition”.  Yet at the same time, he knew that the “Oversoul” – the ‘Thee’ for which Walt Whitman sang, transcended all frontiers.

Emerson was a leader of what is often called “American Transcendentalism ” – a vision of a cosmic force whose immanent nature courses its way  upward through all creation toward its source.  The Transcendentalists held that the sacred, which transcends the world but manifests itself in this world, thereby sanctifying it and making it real.  God’s immanent presence in the creation is an ongoing process of progressive spiritual evolution. Walt Whitman that Emerson recognized as a intellectual and spiritual kin, gives these ideas a more poetic form. Evolutionary theory and democratic thought led Whitman to a new understanding of the divine-human relationship.

Continue reading HERE!

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Screws & Chips #032 #cartoon by Thanos Kalamidas

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Ovi magazine; Tuesday May 17th, 2022 – International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

The articles, the opinions, the stories, the poems and the cartoons Ovi magazine covers for Tuesday May 17th, 2022 – International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia is observed on May 17 and aims to coordinate international events that raise awareness of LGBT rights violations and stimulate interest in LGBT rights work worldwide. By 2016 the commemorations had taken place in over 130 countries. The founders of the International Day Against Homophobia, as it was originally known, established the IDAHO Committee to coordinate grass-roots actions in different countries, to promote the day and to lobby for official recognition on May 17. That date was chosen to commemorate the decision to remove homosexuality from the International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1990.

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“My name is Gilbert.” First night in ISD detention by Zulfikar Shariff

I was taken in a car. I heard that ISD’s Detention Centre was in Whitley, and I expected to be taken there. But with the hood on, I had no idea where I was.

As I tried to rest my back on the seat, the handcuffs cut into my wrists. I moved my hand to get some space within the cuffs.

“Brother, double lock it” I heard Tim speaking from the front seat.

I heard Roslan’s voice beside me. “It is already locked” I told him.

During the car ride, I tried to console myself. This was a new experience.

Continue reading HERE!

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Limitations #poem by Jan Sand

“One cannot taste with an eye
Nor hear with a nose.
The symphonic qualities
Cannot be exposed
To one who’s never heard
Any sound at all.”

Continue reading HERE!

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The scramble for president by Kola King

Events of the past few weeks lend credence to the belief that politics has been reduced to a racket for the simple reason that the All Progressives Party, APC has totally monetized the race for president raising the stakes by fixing the presidential nomination forms at a princely sum of 100 million naira. Despite the prohibitive price for the presidential forms every Tom, Dick, and Harry has been flooding the party secretariat signing 100 million naira cheques for the presidential forms, without batting an eyelid as if money was being plucked from a tree. The general impression is that the political process is being turned into a bazaar or casino with gamblers staking their cards in a bid to make a deal after which things will be turned over to buccaneers, pirates, and sundry crooks, so to speak, who have amassed wealth by both fair and foul means.

For a government that came into power with the cardinal aim of fighting corruption, ordinarily, it should be worried that part of these funds may be proceeds of corruption and even possibly money from drug-related businesses as the nation has been awash with reports of several multi-billion naira drug deals being busted by National Drug Law and Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, which culminated in the arrest of a celebrated cop Abba Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner of Police.

Continue reading HERE!

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Ephemera #055 #cartoon by Thanos Kalamidas

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Ovi magazine; Tuesday May 10th, 2022 – Bird Day

The articles, the opinions, the stories, the poems and the cartoons Ovi magazine covers for Tuesday May 10th, 2022 – Bird Day

International Migratory Bird Day is a conservation initiative that brings awareness on conserving migratory birds and their habitats throughout the Western Hemisphere. This program is dedicated to international conservation efforts and environmental education in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. Originated by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, it is now coordinated by Environment for the Americas.

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“Admit you were an ISIS supporter!”. Interrogation at Onraet Road by Zulfikar Shariff – Part III

From the Tuas checkpoint, I was taken by car to another location. The lead officer sat in the back with me.

I learned later that his name was Deputy Superintendent (DSP) Tim Ker Kien Ping. The other Chinese officer was Acting Inspector Ong Ngiap Shaine. The Malay officer was Roslan, rank unknown although his rank was lower than Ong’s.

They never introduced themselves. I learned Tim and Ong’s names from the police statements I was forced to sign. Roslan’s name was accidentally given by the psychologist.

Continue reading HERE!

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No matter where I go #poem by Bohdan Yuri

“No matter where I go
I will never fall down
and not get up again,
until the day I die,
no matter where I go,
I will try again,
and again,”

Continue reading HERE!

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Worming #035 #cartoon by Thanos Kalamidas

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Ovi magazine; Thursday May 5th, 2022 – International Day of the Midwife

The articles, the opinions, the stories, the poems and the cartoons Ovi magazine covers for Thursday May 5th, 2022 – International Day of the Midwife

International Day of the Midwife was first celebrated May 7, 1991, and has since been observed in over 50 nations around the world. The idea of having a day to recognize and honor midwives came out of the 1987 International Confederation of Midwives conference in the Netherlands. In 2014 it was celebrated in Iran and New Zealand among other places.

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“Do you want to say Goodbye to your family?” My first meeting with ISD. by Zulfikar Shariff

On 26th of June 2016, Shireen, our 6 children and I landed in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Malaysia. We planned to spend a few days in Malaysia before heading to Singapore to meet with my mother. We would then head back to Negri Sembilan (Shireen’s home state) for the first day of Eid.

Notwithstanding the threat of arrest, it was supposed to be our best Eid ever. Apart from visiting my in-laws in Negri Sembilan, Malaysia, we planned to visit the island resorts of Tioman and Langkawi. The kids wanted to visit Thailand too, just for a day (so that they could say they have been to Thailand).

We spent the months leading up to the trip organising our activities. The last Eid that Shireen and I celebrated prior to leaving for Melbourne in 2002 was in Singapore with my side of the family. In 2016, we agreed to visit Singapore a few days before Eid, leave for Shireen parents’ house on the eve, celebrate Eid in Negri Sembilan for a couple of days before heading back to Singapore.

Continue reading HERE!

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The Muskrat #poem by Jan Sand

““Here!” my older son had said,
And thumped the plastic bag on the bed.
Inside I saw the brown-red thing.
Small – rabbit sized.”

Continue reading HERE!

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Tang & Ram #034 #cartoon by Thanos Kalamidas

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Ovi magazine; Saturday April 30th, 2022 – International Jazz Day

The articles, the opinions, the stories, the poems and the cartoons Ovi magazine covers for Saturday April 30th, 2022 – International Jazz Day

International Jazz Day is an International Day declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2011 “to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe.” It is celebrated annually on April 30. The idea came from jazz pianist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock. Jazz Day is chaired by Hancock and the UNESCO Director-General. The celebration is recognized on the calendars of both UNESCO and the United Nations.

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“I am not the only one interested in you”: Memory of Ramadhan 2016 by Zulfikar Shariff

Ramadhan holds a significant memory for me.

My detention without trial by the Singapore secret police, the Internal Security Department (ISD) in 2016, where I spent 4 years and 4 months in solitary confinement…

Began on the night of 27th Ramadhan.

I had returned to Singapore for Hari Raya (Eid Fitr).

My wife, children and I left Singapore for Melbourne, Australia in 2002. Since then, we had not celebrated Eid in Singapore. I missed celebrating Eid with my family, friends, relatives and community.

In 2016, my mother asked me to return to Singapore for Eid. My stepdad had passed away in 2015 and she would like her family with her. I wanted it too. We planned to celebrate Eid in Singapore and Malaysia.

Continue reading HERE!

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…Lost and Found #poem by Bohdan Yuri

“Found love
Lost love
Again
And
Again”

Continue reading HERE!

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Ephemera #052 #cartoon by Thanos Kalamidas

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Ovi magazine; Saturday January 22nd, 2022

 

The articles, the opinions, the stories, the poems and the cartoons Ovi magazine covers for Sarurday January 22nd, 2022 – National Hot Sauce Day

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Antonio Gramsci: A Cultural Base for Positive Action by Rene Wadlow

Antonio Gramsi (22 January 1891 – 24 April 1937) was an Italian Socialist and then Communist editor who is best known for his notebooks of reflections that he wrote while in prison. (1).  Gramsci grew up on the Italian island of Sardinia and saw the poor conditions of the impoverished peasants there.  He studied just before the First World War at the University of Turin at a time when industry, especially the Fiat auto company was starting.  Gramsci became concerned with the conditions of the new industrial working class.   When the First World War started, he was asked to join a new Socialist newspaper that had started in Turin.

1921, in part due to the Russian Revolution, the Italian Communist Party was born.  Some of the  Socialists, including Gramsci, joined the new party, and Gramsci became an editor of the Communist newspaper. In 1922, he went to Russia as a delegate of the Italian Communist Party to a convention of Communist Parties from different parts of the world.

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“New York Subway” #poem by Jan Sand

“If I entwined my hair with flashing light,
Inscribed my forehead bright with fire red
Diagrams of curves and clouds to bring to sight
The cavorting shapes moving in my head;”

Continue reading HERE!

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Julian Assange: A Thousand Days in Belmarsh by Dr. Binoy Kampmark

Julian Assange has now been in the maximum-security facilities of Belmarsh prison for over 1,000 days. On the occasion of his 1,000th day of imprisonment, campaigners, supporters and kindred spirits gathered to show their support, indignation and solidarity at this political detention most foul.

Alison Mason of the Julian Assange Defence Committee reiterated those observations long made about the imprisonment at a gathering outside the Australian High Commission in London on that day. The WikiLeaks founder was wrongfully confined “for publishing the war crimes of the US military leaked to him by whistleblower Chelsea Manning.” She, along with supporters, had gathered before the High Commission “because Julian’s country could save him with a simple phone call.” Mason’s admirably simple reasoning: that Australia had “a bargaining chip with AUKUS and trade deals.” If only that were true.

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AntySaurus Prick #027 #cartoon by Thanos Kalamidas

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Ovi magazine; Friday December 10th, 2021 – Human Rights Day

 

The articles, the opinions, the stories, the poems and the cartoons Ovi magazine covers for Friday December 10th, 2021 – Human Rights Day

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#Migration: Neither Safe nor Orderly by Rene Wadlow

10 December is the anniversary of the signing of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration at Marrakech in 2018.  The aim of the United Nations organized Compact was to bring together existing commitment to improve migration management and the treatment of migrants.  The Compact calls upon States to develop national implementation plans and to review their national practices.

However, recent events underline that today much migration is neither safe nor orderly.  National priorities have often been focused on how to keep migrants out rather than on a policy  based on the dignity of migrants and their place within national societies.  Events at the Polish-Belarus frontier indicate how migrants can be used against their  expectations to advance narrow national policies.  Frontiers are being fortified; walls are being built.  The takeover of power by the Taliban in Afghanistan has added to the number of people who wish to flee and find refuge elsewhere.  The number of migrants in Mexico wishing to enter the U.S.A. is still as great, and U.S. policy remains restrictive despite the change of administration.

Continue reading HERE!

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River Teach Me #poem by George Cassidy Payne

“River teach me change
as falling leaves decompose in the formless current”

Continue reading HERE!

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Project UATX: New Universities, Old Problems by Dr. Binoy Kampmark

Among the motivations behind establishing a university is a desire to leave old ones. Old in tooth, depraved, decayed, the assumption is that a new institution will return to original purposes on the pretext that these are truly radical. This, on the face of it, is the purpose of The University of Austin (UATX) – at least as originally advertised. “We’re done waiting for America’s universities to fix themselves,” came the words of a promotional video for the incipient body. “So we’re starting a new one.”

This is the sentiment of Pano Kanelos, who left his position as president of St. John’s College in Annapolis to, in his words, “build a university in Austin dedicated to the fearless pursuit of truth.” What riles Kanelos is the “gaping chasm between the promise and reality of higher education.” Harvard proclaims a dedication to veritas. Stanford students are told Die Luft der Freiheit weht: The wind of freedom blows. Nice to have such “soaring words” – but he is not convinced that the “pursuit of truth – once the central purpose of a university” is the “highest virtue”. Campus life is now characterised by “illiberalism”.

Continue reading HERE!

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Eleanor Roosevelt, World Citizen by Rene Wadlow

It was Eleanor Roosevelt who helped to craft and then championed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights whose  anniversary we celebrate on 10 December.  She was appointed the US representative to the UN Commission on Human Rights and was then chosen as its chairperson.  Originally, her selection was a reflection of respect and gratitude toward her husband Franklin who had been the US leader during the Second World War and who wanted to avoid a US refusal of a world institution as had been the case with the League of Nations after World War I.

However, Eleanor was much more than the widow of FDR.  She had always been an ‘internationalist’ concerned with the establishment of machinery that would ensure a lasting peace.  In 1939 she had read Clarence Streit’s Union Now and had the author dine at the White House to explain his ideas of a federal union among democratic countries.  She accepted to serve as a delegate to the first UN General Assembly held in London “largely because my husband laid the foundations for the organization through which we all hope to build world peace.”

Continue reading HERE!

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Mika Toxica 21#13 #cartoon by Thanos Kalamidas

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Mugabe’s …democracy

“One of them grabbed my arm and flung me to the ground... They dragged me by my hair to where my husband was lying and they trussed us up with ropes lying on the gravel."

That’s how Mugabe’s supporters understand democracy!!!

Ovi today

Interview with a Finnish Conscientious Objector Made Prisoner by Alexandra Pereira
During the first two days I was held in a Prison building that is condemned by the European Council because it does not fulfill all the human rights requirements. It was during the wintertime. I was cold and shivering under the blanket.

Islam and Terrorism - Is there a relation? by Dr. Habib Siddiqui
These days Islam is equated with terrorism. There is little doubt that this mendacious campaign against Islam has gotten a tremendous boost after 9/11. Who can also forget the images of the "suicide bombers" in the Occupied Palestine?

Mbeki: A mediator that failed by Thanos Kalamidas
If there is a chance for a civil war in Zimbabwe the time is very close and if somebody has part of the responsibility then it will be Zimbabwe's appointed mediator, the president of South Africa Thabo Mbeki.

"compromise" by Bohdan Yuri
"I don't create poetry, I create myself, for me my poems are a way to me." - Edith Södergran

Prisoners in Guantanamo can appeal

Foreign suspects held in Guantanamo Bay have the right to challenge their detention in US civilian courts, the US Supreme Court has ruled.

It overturned by five to four a ruling that upheld a 2006 law that took away the rights of suspects to seek full judicial review of their detention. It is not clear if the ruling will lead to prompt hearings for the detainees. Some 270 men are held at the US naval base, on suspicion of terrorism or links to al-Qaeda and the Taleban.

Time an injustice and violation of the human rights to end for good!

Venezuela’s spy law

A new intelligence law brought in by Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has caused concern among rights groups who say it threatens civil liberties.

Mr. Chavez argues the law will help Venezuela guarantee its national security and prevent assassination plots and military rebellions. The new law requires Venezuelans to cooperate with intelligence agencies and secret police if requested.

Refusal can result in up to four years in prison. The law allows security forces to gather evidence through surveillance methods such as wiretapping without obtaining a court order, and authorities can withhold evidence from defense lawyers if it is considered to be in the interest of national security.

One part of the law, which explicitly requires judges and prosecutors to cooperate with the intelligence services, has caused concern among legal experts. "Here you have the president legislating by decree that the country's judges must serve as spies for the government," Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas Director for Human Rights Watch, said.

Chavez seems to find out that there is a line that separates a public hero to a dictator and unfortunately he’s ready to cross this line!

The Ovi magazine today

Don't let it be by Thanos Kalamidas
Kids live their darkest times, not that they ever lived any better times since they have been the victims all through human history, but what they have to deal with today in the beginning of the 21st century is nearly unbelievable.

Hillary's Bitter Pillary by Leah Sellers
For several months, the American Democratic Party has been prodding Mrs. Hillary Clinton in various forums and mediums "to quit the Race".

Lovemarks: Rebranding brands by Asa Butcher
Lovemarks is the name for Saatchi and Saatchi's new concept and, though it may initially inspire images of bite marks on necks, it is actually an exciting new marketing concept.

Austrian report by Euro Reporter
Euro Reporter heads into Central Europe in search of Austria...

Failing on human rights

World leaders are failing to tackle human rights abuses around the globe, Amnesty International says.

In an annual report, the group says people are still being tortured or ill-treated in at least 81 countries. In at least 54 states they face unfair trial and cannot speak freely in at least 77 nations, the group adds.

It says world leaders should apologies for 60 years of human rights failures since the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The group also challenges them "to re-commit themselves to deliver concrete improvements".

And every day we fail more and more and become more painful!

Taiwan party chief to China

The head of Taiwan's ruling party has departed for a six-day visit to China, in what is seen as another sign of warming ties between the two sides.

During his visit, Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung will meet top leaders and discuss cross-strait transport links. He is the first leader of a Taiwanese governing party to visit China since the two sides split in 1949.

His visit comes days after Ma Ying-jeou was sworn in as Taiwan's new president. Mr. Ma wants better ties with China and has called for a "new chapter of peace" to be opened.

Things change to China and the Chinese government talks with the nationalists, but still nothing changes in human rights and the Chinese refuse to talk with the ..Ordinary people!

Inciting subversion of state power

An activist who publicized human rights abuses across China has been convicted of subversion and jailed for three-and-a-half years.

Hu Jia, 34, was convicted of "inciting subversion of state power and the socialist system", his lawyer said. He has long campaigned for the environment, religious freedom and for the rights of people with HIV and Aids. His sentence comes a day after a rights group accused China of a campaign to silence dissent ahead of the Olympics.

The US was "dismayed" by the verdict, a spokeswoman for the US embassy in Beijing said, while the European Union called for Mr. Hu's immediate release. "We said very clearly before the trial that he should not have been detained in the first place and that he should be released and this remains our position."

And in china the games …began!