John Lennon: Instant Karma

We can't say we didn't know: Darfur in pictures

Darfur - The Making of a Genocide


Darfur Eyewitness: Brian Steidle


TIME: Surviving Darfur

Promoting human rights

Amnesty International (AI) is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights.

AI’s vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.

In pursuit of this vision, AI’s mission is to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights.

AI is independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion. It does not support or oppose any government or political system, nor does it support or oppose the views of the victims whose rights it seeks to protect. It is concerned solely with the impartial protection of human rights.

AI has a varied network of members and supporters around the world. At the latest count, there were more than 2.2 million members, supporters and subscribers in over 150 countries and territories in every region of the world. Although they come from many different backgrounds and have widely different political and religious beliefs, they are united by a determination to work for a world where everyone enjoys human rights.

AI is a democratic, self-governing movement. Major policy decisions are taken by an International Council made up of representatives from all national sections.

AI's national sections, members and supporters are primarily responsible for funding the movement. No funds are sought or accepted from governments for AI’s work investigating and campaigning against human rights violations.

Made in Palestine

Palestinian Art

Welcome to Palestinian Art web site… this web site is engaged in the activities of young Palestinian artists living in Palestine and all over the world. The web site is the Gateway for the Palestinian's Art work experience to show it to the world and to archive all the related activities in this field. The web site contains a directory for important Art websites and a historical illustration for local and Global art development.


Resistance Art

Resistance Art is an initiative dedicated to celebrate the diversity and richness of Palestinian art and culture. It was founded in 2003, and is located in Toronto, Canada.

Made in Palestine

The exhibition Made in Palestine chronicles the modern history of the Palestinian people from Al Nakba (the Catastrophe of l948) to the present day. It gives a voice to a people struggling to keep their identity in the face of terrible odds—a brutal occupation by Israel punctuated by daily violence and daily sorrow. The exhibition reveals with powerful clarity the Palestinian side of the story. What is at stake here is of tremendous importance. The lives as well as the traditions and culture of an entire indigenous population are in grave danger of being extinguished.

A man who makes a difference

Wildlife Photography by Hal Brindley

This site is basically an elaborate business card for a guy who likes to take pictures of wildlife. That's me. My name is Hal Brindley. The whole reason I wanted to get into this silly profession in the first place is that I am endlessly fascinated and amazed by animals. They make me laugh and cry and sometimes they make me wet my pants in terror.

My real goal in life is to travel the world and to learn about the incredible variety of creatures that fill it. When you start to learn about these beasts, you start to care about them.

That is what I hope to pass on to you, the notion that planet Earth was not designed for human beings to rule. We are just one of the many incredible by-products of evolution, like all the plants and animals and one-celled doo-dads that surround us. I'm not going to start hugging trees right here in front of you, but I do believe that we can consider the rest of our kin, the community of life, when we make our everyday decisions.

Many species have come and gone before us, and many more will come and go after us, I assure you. Even if we manage to accidentally wipe out 99% of life on this planet, including ourselves, life and evolution will go on. Still, it seems a shame to allow that to happen, to so rapidly undo what nature has taken hundreds of millions of years to come up with.

So I'm here to tell you, it doesn't have to happen. If you care, you can and will make a difference.

- Hal Brindley -

Andy Mckee: Drifting

Journeys through time and art

What an amazing site:
Timeline of Art History

The Timeline of Art History is a chronological, geographical, and thematic exploration of the history of art from around the world, as illustrated especially by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection. The Museum's curatorial, conservation, and education staff—the largest team of art experts anywhere in the world—research and write the Timeline, which is an invaluable reference and research tool for students, educators, scholars, and anyone interested in the study of art history and related subjects. First launched in 2000, the Timeline now extends from prehistory to the present day. The Timeline will continue to expand in scope and depth, and also reflect the most up–to–date scholarship.

New tricks for an old dog

Windows XP Tips and Tricks

Just what the name says.

Magic!

Maggie Taylor

“Maggie Taylor sits squarely in the grand tradition of altered photography, a practice that goes back to the late Nineteenth Century. It was famously explored by surrealist photographers such as Man Ray, Raoul Ubac, Hans Bellmer, George Hugnet, and Maurice Tabard who use distortion, montage, solarization and other darkroom techniques in the 1930s….

Taylor’s medium is Adobe Photoshop ®; her main hardware tool apart from the computer, is the scanner, although she does supplement her imagery with standard photographs she takes. Her style is unmistakable – as alluring as it is puzzling – capturing a nostalgic atmosphere of Victorian twilight, each image presenting a bizarre twist. Her subjects are long gone people who had their portraits taken by equally long departed pre-modern photographers. She scans these portraits, then adds color, atmosphere, background, and incongruous elements, such as insects, birds, and fish, which catapult them into a dream world….The Style borders on that of children’s book illustration; the visual language is sentimental, whence their charm. The juxtapositions are incongruous and the meanings enigmatic, hence their fascination….”

Excerpt by Joel Simpson

Printed in “The New York Art World” - October, 2005

One Rat Short

"One Rat Short" is a work of love created by Charlex Films. It began as part of the effort to grow the company's CG department but eventually became much more than that. Originally, it was entitled "labratz" and as the title might suggest it mimicked the look and sensibility of worked already pioneered by other studios. As it evolved it took on a life of its own- it became my film- or as any director of an effort like this knows our film. We decided not to use anthropomorphic animation. We decided it would take place in two worlds- one so gritty, grimy and dark that the viewer needs to peer into the screen in order to make out the images- the other a sterile, white world so brightly lit that you feel the need to turn your head away from the screen. It was also important to me to keep the film looking as real as possible. One of the techniques we used was to give a lot of the camera work a hand-held feel and to keep it a little behind the action so that the scenes didn't seem staged. Lastly and most importantly I kept the story simple and tried to give it heart. One of my favorite short films, which I saw as a child was "The Red Balloon". I think the melancholic and innocent spirit of that film inhabits "One Rat Short."

Alex Weil, Director