see the critically acclaimed OSAMA december 10th...

Presents

Osama

In order to save her family a 12-year-old Afghan girl disguises herself as a boy named Osama. As Osama, she embarks on an incredible journey to keep the Taliban from finding out her true identity. Based on a true story, this movie examines the lives of the Afghan people while under the Taliban’s control and highlights problems still in existence after the end of the Taliban rule.

Sunday, December 10, 2006
7:30PM

Nashville Peace and Justice Center
1016 18th Ave S


For more information you can contact
Amanda Van Doorn
tel: 319-215-6605

amandavandoorn@hotmail.com
www.aiusa149.blogspot.com
www.amnestyusa.org

TO SAVE HER FAMILY A GIRL MUST BECOME A BOY.

HER STORY IS TRUE.

HER NAME IS

OSAMA.

take action to save women's lives in guatemala...

the killings of women and girls in guatemala are rising at an alarming rate yet actions by the guatemalan government to bring those responsible to justice are insufficient...a house resolution condemning these brutal killings has been introduced by representatives burton (r-in), lee (d-ca), lantos (d-ca), solis (d-ca) and engel (d-ny) urging both the united states and guatemalan governments to do more to bring an end to this human rights scandal (h.res.1081)...urge your representative to sign on to this important resolution...

Take action »

Maratón de Cartas 2006...

Del 8 al 10 de Diciembre, 2006

English

Únete a nosotros – miles de miembros de Amnistía Internacional (AI), agrupaciones y amigos alrededor del mundo – para participar en el Maratón de Cartas de AI. Este evento de solidaridad internacional conmemora el Día Internacional de los Derechos Humanos. El año pasado, activistas de Amnistía Internacional en más de treinta países escribieron cartas durante este evento. Las cartas y postales enviadas por los participantes tuvieron un impacto en la vida de muchos individuos, ayudaron a detener actos violentos en contra de mujeres y contribuyeron a la liberación de Prisioneros de Conciencia alrededor del mundo.

Este año, tu puedes participar y ayudar a aquellas personas que más lo necesitan. Solo necesitas decidirte a escribir cartas y postales. Elige casos y acciones urgentes para escribir cartas y postales en pro de personas que se encuentran en riesgo de abuso a sus derechos humanos.

Participa Ya

Ayúdanos a alcanzar nuestra meta de 50, 000 cartas organizando un maratón de cartas en tu comunidad. Nosotros te proveeremos con toda la información y recursos (en inglés) que tu necesitas para tener un evento exitoso.Registra tu evento en la
página en Inglés »

¿Qué puedes esperar cuando registres tu evento?

Al registrar tu evento en la página en inglés, tendrás a tu disposición varios recursos en inglés que harán que tu evento sea un éxito. Te ayudaremos, paso por paso, a organizar, promocionar e implementar tu maratón de cartas y te enseñaremos como motivar a tus amigos y familiares a escribir cartas y promocionar tu evento local en la página de eventos de AIUSA (opcional). Entérate de los recursos a tu disposición y cómo tu maratón de cartas te puede ayudar no sólo a afectar positivamente la vida de otros en riesgo de violaciones de derechos humanos, sino también fortalecer tu grupo, conocer nuevos amigos y divertirte.

¡Inscribete para participar en el maratón ahora! (En inglés)

the buck stops here - help darfurians now...

so even if there are millions and millions of useless blogs out there i still have to love "the blog" - wanna know yyyyyyyy???

otherwise jonah and i never hook-up (no you perverts - not that way) and i never get to share with you the darfur wall ...

see, some say that all things being equal (or accounted for) the simplest explanation (answer) is usually right (it's why you go with your first instinct" on multiple choice questions i guess) ... and that goes for organizing too - make things simple for people, offer them pathways to succeed, and your chances for success increase many fold - i think ...

now you all surely know about the human rights crisis that is darfur but if not click here for an overview and here for some context...

anyways, so jonah writes the tn_dude and says, "I develop and run a web site called The Darfur Wall -- http://darfurwall.org-- which raises money for four Darfur relief organizations in a unique way:by asking 400,000 people to donate $1 each...."

here's the summary:

"400,000 dark numbers cover the 40 panels of The Darfur Wall, eachrepresenting a person killed in Darfur. By donating $1 or more, you can light a number, turning it from dark gray to brilliant white. As we lightthe wall, we acknowledge the importance of each life lost, we cast light upon a tragedy too many have ignored, and we overcome one barrier to peace."

everyone has a buck - so if you've got a buck (and i know that you do) help support Doctors Without Borders ... Save the Children ... Save Darfur ... Sudan Aid Fund / Eric Reeves

click here now!!!

peace out <3

am i buggin' ya???

"i don't mean to bug ya,"...

it's my fav bono stage jabber from rattle and hum - so bono-esque...

and here's my point...in the u.s. conservatives have been using the same-sex marriage initiative to drive voter turnout, playing up homophobia and aggressively promoting sexual orientation discrimination - this is one aspect of an active anti-human rights agenda and is something that we in amnesty international oppose ... no one should suffer discrimination and be disenfranchised from their rights based on sexual orientation (i'll set aside the hypocrisy of this "movement" for another day)...

but it's worldwide - not just here in the united states...

on september 8, the ugandan newspaper red pepper published a list of 13 women they claim are lesbians...homosexuality is a criminal offence in uganda, and amnesty international believes that making such allegations against these women may put them in danger...the article called for people to name other women suspected of being lesbians in order to ''rid our motherland of the deadly vice,"...

click here to call on the president of uganda to ensure that incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence against lesbians and gay men is forbidden...

peace out <3

give 45 seconds to sign the pledge...

before leaving washington, the last congress passed the "military commissions act of 2006", which disregards america's deep human rights tradition and gives the administration the power to detain people indefinitely without charge or trial and even allows the use of evidence obtained by cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment..the next congress must begin by reversing the dangerous provisions of that act and actively reaffirming america's commitment to human rights...because the violations of human rights by our government have been so profound, the steps needed to reclaim the american we believe in must be equally far-reaching..we want to collect 500,000 signatures on the america i believe in pledge to show the new congress that it's time to change the course on human rights..your signature will help leverage the human rights agenda to reclaim the america we believe in...

Sign the pledge »

send letters of hope...

it's the time of year when marketeers push our trained and ingrained consumerism buttons and we send out holiday cards by the dozens, thousands, neigh millions...

as you send out cards this holiday season, remember the courageous human rights defenders who have put their lives on the line to help others and those imprisoned solely for their deeply-held convictions...

remember the brothers and sisters of a better world that you've yet to and may never meet...

let them know that they are not forgotten...

peace out <3

free screening in nashville monday november 13...be there!

I signed up to host a screening of "Outlawed" at my house Monday. I hope many of you can make it.

For more information see the email below.

RSVP at http://www.amnestyusa.org/america/attend.php?id=35

Screening of "Outlawed"Amnesty International Screening - "Outlawed"Come and learn about this important issue - Due to limited space, please be sure to email me in advance to let me know you're coming!

Venue: The home of Phillip VestIn Bellevue near Caboose Park
Location: 821 Stirrup DriveNashville, TN 37221
Date: November 13, 2006 at 7:00 PM

Thanks,
Phillip Vest
Amnesty International Nashville

really good news from the big easy...

only 4 or 5 years ago it would have been a struggle to hold a tennessee caucus at the annual southern regional conference of amnesty international...no, it WAS a struggle cause i was there! ... i mean 3 people do not a rich caucus make...

and from where i sit at the moment that was a looooooooooooooooooooooooong time ago...last night 12 people merged into 2 minivans and drove over 500 miles from nashville to nawlins' representing spring hill, nashville, middle tennessee state university, and tennessee tech ... 3 more people flew in today (all from mtsu) and more from other parts of the state may yet appear...

all that is to say that as a longtime amnesty international activist cum organizer this is very exciting...we have passionate, youthful people just beginning to acquire the tools they will need to help build a stronger human rights network and movement ... i'm committed to offering them the support, encouragement, and perhaps wisdom to become the next wave of leaders in the struggle to make human rights tangible in people's live around the world and to imbue their lives with the dignity we each deserve...

peace out from the big easy... <3

amnesty international's global write-a-thon...

26028 letters pledged!
439 write-a-thon participants registered so far!

this international solidarity event was initiated by activists at ai poland on december 10, 2002 in commemoration of International human rights day...this annual event involves tens of thousands of participants from more that thirty countries writing letters to make a powerful change in the lives of individuals, help stop violence against women and contribute to the release of prisoners of conscience around the world...an estimated 60,000 appeals were written and sent last year by letter writers from zimbabwe, peru, kyrgyzstan, japan, lebanon, the united states and elsewhere...

help us meet our goal of 50,000 letters by organizing a letter-writing event in your community...we'll provide all of the information and resources you need to make your event a success...

click here for more information and here for background on write-a-thons...

peace out <3