Category: Freedom

Anything is Possible!

A young woman from Canterbury, England set out to sail across the English channel this week. What makes her story so amazing is that Hilary Lister is a quadripeligic. Her solo voyage is the longest sailing record in history by a quadriplegic taking her 6 hours and 13 minutes. The mechanism used to power the sailboat is similar to one on her wheelchair with two straws connected to switches that control the sails and steer the boat with the use of her breath.

Hilary is using her voyage across the channel to raise money for sailing opportunities for others with disabilities. She is also hoping to encourage people to rethink their views about the disabled.
“We do not need wrapping up in cotton wool and can go out and do silly or dangerous things if that’s what we want to do.” She says.

With her first journey completed Hilary now hopes to sail around Britain next year.

Alaskans Trying to Freeze Government Powers

The United States’ Transportation Security Administration has been violating the privacy rights of American citizens and as a result group of Alaskans have filed a lawsuit. Under Secure Flight, the program in question, personal information is collected then read by a private company to figure out if you are a threat to American airspace or not.logo

The group is comprised of people from various backgrounds that all feel that government is sacrificing freedom for little-to-no security benefit. On their website they state that the “TSA promised not to use commercial data, but they did. TSA isn’t allowed to keep secret databases on Americans, but they have. TSA promised to comply with the Privacy Act, but they haven’t.”

It is about time that American citizens challenge this since the program has identified babies as terrorists. The TSA has even been told by the American government that they are in violation of the 1974 Privacy Act.

Curfew Ends in Khartoum

Aljazeera.net is reporting that the curfew on Sudan’s capital has ended. The country has been marred in violence for years, but 111 recent deaths in Khartoum provoked the authorities to place a curfew on the city. News of the death of a rebel leader sparked riots that ravaged the capital.

The situation within the city has calmed and order has been restored. Since the civil war ended in January the country has had to still deal with violence from both sides of the conflict. With order being restored the re-development of Sudan can continue.

Aljazeera.net has more info on the curfew and recent developments in Sudan.

Peace in Aceh


Aceh is coloured light green.

For 29 years the Free Aceh Movement has been fighting the Indonesian government for independence and this struggle may come to an end soon. On Aug. 15 in Helsinki the two sides signed a peace agreement. The deal hinges on rapid disarmament of the rebels and removal of half of the Indonesian troops in the disputed territory.

The Dec. 2004 earthquake and tsunami actually helped to bring about a peace accord. Having to deal with the crisis helped the sides look beyond their differences. Another factor that helped lead to the peace was the election of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who wants to stop the conflict.