Canadians got the good news yesterday that Canadian Broadcasting Company journalist Melissa Fung had been freed in Afghanistan, nearly a month after being kidnapped. Their happiness was leavened with surprise, though, because the public hadn't been told that Fung had been in danger.

My favorite thing about participating in the blogosphere is the opportunity it provides to walk a mile (or two, or twenty) in the shoes of people in very different life experiences from my own.  I have been learning much lately by reading some of the blogs by parents holding down the fort at home while their spouses are deployed overseas in the U.S. Armed Forces.  Many of these families are blogging their journey with great honesty and courage.

In less than a week, my firstborn child, my baby girl Ava will turn 4. While this isn't often considered a major milestone, it is still very dear to my heart, being her mother and all. It got me thinking about how good we have it here in North America. I feel fortunate to live in a country where we have access to things such as clean water, nutritious food and medical care.

On Thursday, May 15, Blogcatalog.com is challenging bloggers to Unite for Human Rights by posting words, pictures and/or videos. While the words might change from country to country and are sometimes taken for granted, human rights represent one of the universally agreed upon ideas — that all people are born with basic rights and freedoms that include life, liberty, and justice. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations.

After reading Denise's BlogHer post last week that the gift of maternal health is the perfect Mother's Day gift, I thought "this really is perfect!" I blogged it and suggested that not only is it a great cause, but it is also a great consumerism/stuff-free gift, something that I feel, in our consumerism-driven society, is so important, but so ofte

Right now, thousands upon thousands of women and children like these (above) who took shelter in a Buddhist temple need our help. This morning, BlogHers Act and GlobalGiving expanded our Mother's Day fundraising initiative to save women's lives to include the tens of thousands of people devastated by Cyclone Nargis. Now, in addition to donating to hand-picked and carefully vetted programs to help women and children in Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Darfur, Nepal and South Africa, you can use the BlogHers Act donation widget (see below and the left-hand column on every page of BlogHer.com) to help get water and shelter to thousands of people whose lives are in danger. And we'll help!

Have I told you lately how much I love how smart this community is? Here's what I'm on about: Over the weekend, BlogHer community member Valiens of A Brain Like Mine blogged great questions about the BlogHers Act fundraiser to save women's lives: "I'm wondering whether the women's health care available in any given country is able to provide birth control in any meaningful way, and I'm wondering what the general attitude and practice is among the providers in the various countries about abortion....I'm also wondering if any of the organizations being supported are specifically political in nature, or in support of, or being supported by, political organizations, and which ones they are, and what their mission statements propose. Again, this could be an important factor regarding donations. Transparency is most desirable.On top of that, I'm willing to say I have some potential donors who would have questions about vaccinations, AIDS treatments, religious involvements...more" I love Valiens' questions because it gives me an opening to talk more about BlogHer's philosophy for our BlogHers Act fundraiser, and why we chose to work with GlobalGiving to support five projects we deliberately selected with an eye to exactly the issues she raises. Here goes...

Yesterday Lisa Stone announced that BlogHer has teamed up with Global Giving in an effort to save as many women's lives as possible between now and Mother's Day. There are several worthwhile causes to support, one of which is helping Afghan women safely birth healthy babies.

How many women's lives can we save with donations from the BlogHer community, between now and Mother's Day, May 11, 2008? If you will download this widget today and encourage your readers to donate, we can find out. Won't you join us?

Many of us heard about it after Vietnam. Some men, we were told, returned home having flashbacks and exhibiting anti-social behavior. But, like most people back then, I shrugged it off, never realizing that it would come to effect so many that I knew and loved. I didn't know then how deeply it could wound a person, or with what lasting and horrible presence. PTSD can often have a delayed effect. One day a colleague of mine had to be taken from his office, as he was cowering behind his desk, terrified. He was a Vietnam vet who in 25 years had exhibited no negative symptoms.

If you're wondering about the news from Kabul and beyond but can't bear to look at CNN for one more second, you might consider bookmarking Frida's Notebook, a chronicle of an anonymous woman blogger living in Afghanistan.

Travel. Typically when we think of travel we think of exotic food, pretty postcards, charming locals... But travelers - thinking travelers - perceive the world in bigger ways. Sometimes, they're willing to peel back the shiny surface and approach what's really going on in a country. This week, instead of souvenirs, here are some thought provoking posts from the travelsphere that feature far away places - Afghanistan, India, and Iran - and unimaginable lives. Afghanistan:  In Mother Jones this month, there's a photo essay about women in Afghanistan that is both stunning and heart wrenching. [Hat tip to The Travel Photographer.] In reality, very little has changed, particularly in the rural regions of the country. Over ninety percent of Afghan women are illiterate and many are not allowed to leave their homes. Girls are bought and sold to solve land and monteary disputes. Self immolation, domestic violence, forced marriage, denial of education, and isolation are just a few of the issues that women face daily. --Lana Šlezić.