With the gutted Atomic Bomb Dome in the background, hundreds of paper lanterns float on the Motoyasu River for a memorial service of the atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima. - AP

...where there are no wars to haunt us with painful memories in the future,

A Jewish settler prays during a rally marking the third year of Israel's disengagement from Gaza, near the Kissufim crossing just outside the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

...where there is no fear of not being able to wake up to a tomorrow,

CAPTURED
Afghan policemen escort three men arrested for the abduction of German-Afghan businessman Azizullah, before a press conference in Kabul on Thursday. A German-Afghan businessman kidnapped nearly two weeks ago in Kabul was freed early on Thursday from captors who had been demanding ransom. -- PHOTO: AFP

...where every street is safe to roam without fear of kidnappings,

Released Palestinian prisoner Shadi Harsheh, 15, is greeted by his mother at the family house in the West Bank village of Kaffen near Tulkarem. - AP

...where children do not end up as political prisoners,

RISING HEAT
With the temperature hovering around the century mark, these two dogs discover a water sprinkler near the intersection of Grove and Jefferson on Tuesday afternoon in El Dorado, Ark. -- PHOTO: AP

...where dogs roam free as pets - not as cuisines,

Candace Chapman of Canada celebrates with her teammates after scoring a goal against Argentina during the Olympic first round group E women's football match at the Tianjin Olympic Centre Stadium. - AFP

...where true gender equality is not tainted by male chauvinists nor disenchanted feminists,

STANDING TALL
Coach Melissa Marie Legge (2nd from L) watches fourteen year-old Eloise Wheeler-Shaw (far L), fifteen year-old Catherine Sibert (2nd from R) and fourteen year-old Andrea Galligan walk on stilts at Circus Smirkus camp in Craftsbury Common, Vermont on Tuesday. Circus Smirkus's advanced camp is a two week program for 14-18 year olds to improve their circus skills, including juggling, unicycling, aerials and acrobatics. -- PHOTOS: REUTERS

..where people can truly stand tall and be free from all prejudices,

Paramilitary policeman watches over cheerleaders as they wait for the Olympic flame to arrive in Tiananmen Square during the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay in Beijing. - AP


China declared Thursday it was ready to stage one of the greatest Olympics ever, even as pollution concerns and human rights controversies hung over the final day of preparations for the opening ceremony. - AFP


Thousands of volunteers take part in the Olympic torch ceremony, as a section of the Great Wall in Badaling, outside Beijing is shrouded in a haze on Thursday, a day before the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games were set to begin. The second day of the torch relay in Beijing was clouded in a sea of haze, organisers hoped for clearer skies before the Olympic Games take place. -- PHOTO: AFP

...perhaps as the nations set aside their political agendas to gather together in friendly games from tomorrow onwards, we can hope again.

Labels: reality bites