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Update

CongressDaily reports yesterday: "The House Intelligence Committee's top Democrat said Tuesday he has recommended that President-elect Barack Obama keep the country's current national intelligence director and CIA chief in place for some time to ensure continuity in U.S. intelligence programs during the transition to a new administration. Intelligence Chairman Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said he also recommended to Obama's transition team that some parts of the CIA's controversial alternative interrogation program should be allowed to continue. He declined to say what he specifically recommended, however." Personnel issues aside, the Obama team needs to send a clear message, that it repudiates the…

December 11, 2008

Update

Anniversaries are a dime a dozen. We’ve got days for everything. Sled Dog Day. Bubble Gum Day. Ballet Day. Dump Your Significant Jerk Day.  I’m not kidding. Today is different. 60 years ago this December 10th – after the horrors of World War II – the world came together to unanimously pass the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Not one nation dissented (though a few abstained). The declaration says that every human being deserves dignity, freedom and respect.  It’s the first blueprint for global rights, establishing fundamental freedoms for every human being. I guess years of a hellish war…

December 10, 2008

Update

The practice of “mock execution”, where prisoners are led to believe they are going to be killed by their captors, only to be spared at the last minute, is widely recognized as a form of torture.  So when a scheduled execution is stayed at the last minute, does that constitute torture? Last week in Iran, an unnamed man was pardoned by the victim’s family just moments after his hanging began.  He was cut down and rushed to the hospital and ultimately saved.  Amnesty International has issued a statement pointing out that in other circumstances: “Any person subjected to similar treatment…

December 10, 2008

Update

Today is a day when I feel especially grateful for all my rights--that I can write this blog entry, that I am free, that I am not in prison just for expressing my beliefs, that I can choose my religion, that I am able to make my own choices about marriage and family, that I have an education, that I can work, that I can rest, and that I can get care when I'm sick. Human Rights Day is not a happy day for everyone, though. Right this minute, there are prisoners of conscience languishing in cells, people on death…

December 10, 2008

Update

The United Nations' Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), proposed by Eleanor Roosevelt and adopted by the United Nations in 1948 established 30 articles of universal Human Rights. This document establishes and protects the framework for civilized and respectful interaction between all people and nations no matter what their political, religious or cultural beliefs. Over 190 nations have ratified this declaration; and yet surveys show that more people can name 3 members of the Homer Simpson TV Cartoon family than they can name three of their basic human rights. You can't defend what you do not know. At a time when…

December 10, 2008

Update

Reflections on its 60th anniversary by former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, author and former child soldier Ismael Beah, doctor and human rights activist Farai Madzimbamuto, and our own Larry Cox. And a classic 1988 Amnesty International animated guide to the UDHR -- with voice over by Debra Winger and Jeff Bridges, and music by David Byrne (among other '80s alt-rock luminaries). Happy Human Rights Day -- write a letter and help save a life this week!

December 10, 2008

Update

At 1 p.m. today, the federal appeals court in Atlanta will hear oral arguments in the case of Troy Anthony Davis.  Davis’ conviction in the killing of a police officer in Savannah was based solely on eyewitness testimony, and since trial seven of the nine eye-witnesses have recanted or contradicted their testimony.  You can read more about the case here. The three judge panel will decide whether Davis can continue to challenge his conviction.  That is, whether Davis has met the conditions required to file a second, or successive, habeas corpus petition continuing to ask for a hearing on evidence…

December 9, 2008

Update

Yesterday I saw this clever, 2 minute video called the Girl Effect that basically says that a girl can save the world!  It shows how by giving a girl an education and opportunities she can improve the situation of an entire community.  It is thought provoking and inspiring and takes 2 minutes to watch. For me, the video underlines the importance of acheiveing human rights for women and girls.  Too many people argue that social practices that harm girls or in some way disadvantage them are just "culture" or "tradition" and therefore the West should not interfere.  My response? Human rights…

December 9, 2008

Update

Dear President-elect Obama, As a candidate for president, you clearly stated how you will respond to mass atrocities and genocide: “The United States has a moral obligation anytime you see humanitarian catastrophes. We are the most powerful nation in the world. We have the most stake in creating an order in the world that is stable and in which people have hope in opportunity. And when you see a genocide, whether it’s in Rwanda, or Bosnia, or Darfur, that’s a stain on all of us. That’s a stain on our souls. (...) We can’t say ‘never again’ and then allow…

December 8, 2008

Update

Consider the following two statements: 1.“I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I didn’t know I was doing anything wrong.” [There is no evidence those involved. . . did what they did] “for any reason other than to protect the security in the country and in the belief that he or she was doing something lawful. In those circumstances, there is no occasion to consider prosecution. . .” The first statement was made by O.J. Simpson in pleading for leniency as he was being sentenced for charges that included armed robbery and kidnapping in the course of attempting to recover sports…

December 8, 2008

Update

In indicting five Blackwater personnel, and accepting a guilty plea of a sixth, for the 2007 Nisour Square shootings resulting in the death of 17 Iraqis, the Justice Department relied on a much discussed law, the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) to get jurisdiction over the contractors. (U.S. criminal law is generally restricted to the confines of U.S. territories and thus inapplicable to crimes committed elsewhere.) A debate about whether MEJA would apply to these contractors centered on one question: whether State Department security contractors, including Blackwater, could be said to be supporting a Defense Department mission in Iraq, and…

December 8, 2008

Update

Recently, lawmakers in Mexico have proposed reinstating the death penalty to deal with rising kidnapping and murder rates.  According to the LA Times, lawmakers will hear arguments regarding this amendment to the constitution next week.  Talk of executing criminals in Mexico has become more frequent by some politicians as the number of unsolved kidnappings, many resulting in murder, soars.  One such lawmaker said, “In Coahuila the death penalty is not the issue, it's how we should kill (the criminals); by firing squad, slashing their throats, hanging or something lighter, like lethal injection.” But let’s step back for a minute.  The…

December 5, 2008