Happy 2nd Birthday to us!

The Belfast and Beyond blog has just turned two. 

What have been your favourite B&B stories?

We've been following the Taser saga from day one and the story is still going strong. Indeed this blog broke new ground when we published the PSNI operational guidelines for the use of Tasers back in March, after a successful Freedom of Information inquiry.

We have blogged local activism to Stop Violence Against Women and improve Human Rights in China and we reported back on our phenomenally successful Guantanamo street theatre when Bush came to Belfast.  Looking forward to the US presidential elections, I used the blog to 'come out' as an Obama-sceptic on the occasion of his crowd-pleasing Berlin debut.

The human rights crises in Burma and Zimbabwe over the last two years had a special local resonance and we repeatedly highlighted the real possibility that arms components from Northern Ireland could be finding their way into the weapons systems of some of the world's worst regimes.  Fionna took time out to give us a human rights report-back from her holiday in Cuba. She just can't help herself.

Key human rights concerns closer to home also merited Belfast and Beyond scrutiny, from Kevin on the campaign for a Northern Ireland Bill of Rights, to Anna on the plight of asylum seekers, to my thoughts on the very real challenge of dealing with the legacy of conflict. 

Two years in I hope we have found our voice: a way to speak about human rights at home and abroad that is more varied, more personal and more passionate than a press release can achieve.

Over the next couple of years it would be great to see this blog turning into more of a conversation, a place for discussion and sometimes even argument about human rights. So for starters, why not tell us what you like or dislike about this blog? All comments and/or criticism welcome!

And, if you're a Northern Ireland-based Amnesty supporter and you think you might like to join our local blogging team, leave us a comment and we'll get in touch.