Benenson

Regardless of the precise details of the epiphany that inspired him, nothing takes away from the colossal achievement of Benenson, the other founding fathers and mothers of Amnesty and their world-changing triumph in harnessing the response to Benenson's "Forgotten Prisoners" article and subsequently creating the great human rights movement that is Amnesty International.

Bill Shipsey: The "Toast to Freedom" That Led to Amnesty International Bill Shipsey 2011

In passing it is also worth noting that from sometime in 1967 until the early 1980s Benenson was quite removed, if not actually estranged, from the Amnesty 'establishment' following a controversy, that he largely initiated, over whether Amnesty had been infiltrated by British government intelligence agents.

Bill Shipsey: The "Toast to Freedom" That Led to Amnesty International Bill Shipsey 2011

Andrew Blane and Elizabeth Ellsworth conducted an extensive oral history project between 1983 and 1984 in which they interviewed sixteen of the founding members of Amnesty International including Peter Benenson, Sean MacBride (Chair of Amnesty from 1962-1974), and David Astor (the former editor of The Observer newspaper that had published the "Forgotten Prisoners" article.)

Bill Shipsey: The "Toast to Freedom" That Led to Amnesty International Bill Shipsey 2011

Not for the lost or apocryphal students, but for Peter Benenson, for his remarkable vision, for his inspirational call to action and for instigating the worldwide movement that has truly changed our planet.

Bill Shipsey: The "Toast to Freedom" That Led to Amnesty International Bill Shipsey 2011

Benenson passed away in 2005, aged 83, so sadly we are not now able to ask for his help in shining light on the 'toast to freedom' story.

Bill Shipsey: The "Toast to Freedom" That Led to Amnesty International Bill Shipsey 2011

Buzzfeed Politics, the new kid on the political media block, talks to the Obama campaign's pollster Joel Benenson, who sees the hapless Republican effort in Iowa as being a net gain for the president's re-election chances:The reality is that there's a lot less enthusiasm for this field than people may have touted.

Iowa caucus 2012: GOP presidential candidates make their final push - live 2012

A. S. Benenson, Control of Communicable Diseases in Man, 15th ed.

Modern Science in the Bible Ben Hobrink 2011

According to the Benenson Strategy Group, 58 percent of voters in 16 battleground states support a cap-and-trade bill like the House-passed American Clean Energy and Security Act that invests in clean, renewable energy sources.

Think Progress » Graham says GOP should stop demonizing climate change: You’re risking ‘your party’s future with younger people.’ 2010

Von Ostertag and Schönberg, Lehrbuch der Schlachttier-und Fleischuntersuchung, 68–69, 462; Benenson, Communicable Diseases, 447; W.

Modern Science in the Bible Ben Hobrink 2011

During the Blane and Ellsworth interviews Benenson was not questioned further about the two students or the newspaper article and there was no separate checking of the facts against other materials.

Bill Shipsey: The "Toast to Freedom" That Led to Amnesty International Bill Shipsey 2011