Making a difference

Sometimes the internet can make you feel empowered, giving you insight, information and a voice in an overcrowded world. Other times it can make it all seem pointless when you realise just how many opinions, fools and unheard petitions there seem to be.

I find myself often jaded to signing online petitions, wondering how much it really changes things. Even voting can feel that way, esp. when in a majority area, and more so when both major parties seem to ignore your concerns and petitions.

That said, there are some movements who do harness the internet to grow there influence, organisations who's message can be so simple and clear that you almost wonder why they even need to exist, as surely their message is obvious ? And one of these in Amnesty with a simple message that torture is wrong. Which is simple to understand and hopefully to agree with. And shocking that we are part of it. In any case, I have unsubscribed as part of a new campaign accompanied by quite brutal video footage called waiting for the guards, showing an actor being subjected to the stress position techniques used by us in the crusade against terror.

Another more heart-warming site that most people must have seen by now is the vocabulary enhancing FreeRice where you can prove or improve your word knowledge as part of a never ending game and earn grains of rice for the UN world food program. I notice their banner still claims 10 grains of rice per correct answer, but it appears that amount has doubled as of today. Go for it...