Anniversaries are a time for taking stock. Five years into the Iraq War there has been a great deal of comment. Seamas Milne in the Guardian wrote: "Most Iraqis believe the presence of foreign troops is the main cause of violence and...

The Tiananmen Papers is a book that claims to reveal some of the policy debates in the leadership of China at the time of the protests by students leading up to the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Its authenticity has been questioned. If it...

If you think of protest songs then you may think back to the 1960s. Here is a link to a Wikipedia entry on Tom Lehrer . He had retired from touring by the early 60s and was then songwriter for the American version of "That was the Week...

The Olympic torch has been lit in Olympia in Greece and the flame will be carried through many countries on five continents before the Olympics begin in Beijing in August. Protesters were there as they will be along many parts of the...

I was listening to BBC World Service during the night when I could not sleep – one of headlines was about violent protest in Tibet with at least ten people killed. Ten was the number according to the Chinese government news agency but...

I have been singing a Bob Dylan song again, Blowing in the Wind. It has some powerful questions about why some things that need to change take so long, such as: How many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry? How many...

Prince Charles has announced that he will not be attending the Olympic Games in China. He did not state explicitly why he made this decision but is known to be a supporter of the Tibetan cause. Steven Spielberg says that his conscience...

An article by Sean O'Grady in the Independent, Europe versus the super-rich , looks at the EU's efforts to bring tax havens under control. Tax havens and centres of secretive banking such as Monaco and Switzerland are ideal for...

It has been alleged that President Vladimir Putin of Russia has a secret fortune of £20 billion. It is not that easy to see why a person would need that much money but easy to see how a state could benefit its people with such an...

Two things I have written about before in my blog – remembering history and using songs to send a political message. These come together in a report about a massacre that happened in Chile almost exactly a century ago. Daniela Estrada...

Of course I am glad to hear that Gillian Gibbons, the teacher who was imprisoned for the name given to a teddy bear, is on her way back home to Liverpool. It seems that when two Moslem parliamentarians from the UK negotiated with the...

If you run an educational centre it is good to be able to point to the achievements of former students. Awkward if you have produced notorious dictators such as Noriega of Panama as well as those responsible for massacres of hundreds...

I have been blogging here since June 2006. I decided to start the blog because I like to write and share my opinions in support of Amnesty International. I like the idea of using the internet to keep up with events and respond quickly...

Yesterday's Newsnight programme on BBC television had a report filmed undercover in Uzbekistan. The report showed that schools are closed and children taken by coach to the fields to pick cotton. Most of the cotton is exported and ends...

A Report from the American Bar Association describes shortcomings of procedures for the death penalty in eight states.

No Plan, No Peace: The Inside Story of Iraq's Descent into Chaos is on BBC1 television on at 10:15 pm on Sunday 28 October and even later at 10:45 pm the following evening. I will be watching this series with interest. I have also been...

Just have another look at that amount and realise how gigantic it is. It is the cost so far of war in Iraq to the taxpayers of the United States. Or rather it was but the figure is already out of date as I write this. It is climbing by...

I am keen to see the film Rendition although I have not yet found out when it will be shown in Shropshire. I looked at the website of the film and although it is rather flashy and artistic rather than easy and quick to navigate I did...

The government in Burma has come down ruthlessly against the peaceful protests by Buddhist monks and others. Burma is very much in the headlines and the world is watching to see if the so-called State Peace and Development Council can...

The Dalai Lama is to be honoured with a Congressional Gold Medal in the United States. Previous recipients of the Gold Medals have included Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and Mother Teresa. "The award is in recognition...