Pneumatise Your Brain

Up to 30 pieces of the 14-ton Phobos-Grunt Mars probe could reach the ground.

Don’t miss this Space Age dozen for 2012’s space exploration efforts.

[lights candles]

[turns on the Michael Bublé]

[Scrubs back by shuffling on tub]

Who’s gonna look fabulous tonight?

Read more on Cuteoverload (click linked title).

The 50th anniversary of human spaceflight brought big changes.

Santa Claus is real! He’s eating the broccoli and milk I left for him by the chimney! Now he’s leaving a big round package under the tree — oh, please let it be that high-performance all-terrain hamster ball with the flame detailing I asked him for!

May you get everything on your list, Mel D.

Siku, the adorable Danish polar bear

Also seen on Cuteoverload.

The death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and assumption of power by his son, Kim Jong-un, present an important opportunity for improving the country’s catastrophic human rights record, Amnesty International said today.
 
“Kim Jong-il, like his father before him, left millions of North Koreans mired in poverty, without access to adequate food and healthcare, and with hundreds of thousands of people detained in brutal prison camps,” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific director.  

“With this transition, we hope that the new government will step away from the horrific, failed policies of the past.”

However, recent reports received by Amnesty International suggest that the North Korean government has purged possibly hundreds of officials deemed to be a threat to Kim Jong-un’s succession, by having them executed or sent to political prison camps. 

Amnesty International paid tribute today to the inspiring legacy of Vaclav Havel, human rights defender, last President of Czechoslovakia, and the first Czech President, ahead of his funeral on Friday.

Havel passed away on 18 December at the age of 75.  Originally a playwright, he led the former Czechoslovakia’s dissident human rights movement Charter 77, was repeatedly jailed by the Communist government, and adopted by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience. 

３匹のねこ？-Three Marus？-

Also seen on Cuteoverload.

(Source: youtube.com)

Sender-Inner Julie R. *just* caught her kitten planking on dee cowsche:

At least this kitten has skills…

At least she’s better at it that *these* hoodlums!

The six spaceflyers will have a party and a feast.

…

“Our planet is so beautiful, peaceful and serene when you look at it from space — the most beautiful holiday card you could imagine,” Burbank wrote Dec. 17 on the astronaut blog Fragile Oasis.

The nine-year jail sentence handed down to activist Chen Wei for writing critical articles about the Communist Party is unacceptable, Amnesty International said today, and urged Chinese authorities to release him immediately and unconditionally.

Chen Wei was sentenced for “inciting subversion of state power”. His lawyer, Zheng Jianwei, said the trial lasted less than two hours and added that his family said he would not appeal.

“Chen Wei is being punished for peacefully expressing his ideas,” said Catherine Baber, Deputy Asia-Pacific Director for Amnesty International.

“I wish we could say we were surprised by this sentence, but we have seen the Chinese government use this vague charge of “incitement” over and over to silence its critics and suppress discussion of human rights and political change,” she added.

According to the indictment, seen by Amnesty International, Chen Wei’s charge stems from essays he allegedly posted online and “sent to overseas organizations,” including New York-based human rights group, Human Rights in China.