Anti-Bush despite my dream in which I was Laura Bush and loved George and was so grateful to him for making me the First Lady that - although I knew he was really doing a bad job - I decided I was going to work for his re-election because being the First Lady was so much fun and I sure didn't want to give it up...

Monday, January 09, 2006

RSS Feeds For Human Rights Watch


-
-
Human Rights Watch News Releases, United States
http://www.hrw.org/
Human Rights Watch on U.S. Foreign Policy and Human Rights
en-us
Copyright 2004, Human Rights Watch
News Releases in English
webadmin@hrw.org
webadmin@hrw.org
http://hrw.org/doc/?t=usa
20
-
U.S. Operated Secret ‘Dark Prison’ in Kabul
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/12/19/afghan12319.htm
Accounts from detainees at Guantánamo reveal that the United States as recently as last year operated a secret prison in Afghanistan where detainees were subjected to torture and other mistreatment.
Mon, 19 Dec 2005 00:00:00 EST
Afghanistan
Press Release

-
U.S.: Landmark Torture Ban Undercut
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/12/16/usdom12311.htm
Congress Would Allow Evidence Obtained by Torture Even as the U.S. Congress has passed a prohibition against the use of torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, it is set to adopt legislation that would strip the judiciary’s ability to enforce the ban, Human Rights Watch warned today.
Fri, 16 Dec 2005 00:00:00 EST
United States, Domestic
Press Release

-
Clarification on CIA Prisons
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/12/09/usint12191.htm
An article today in the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza quotes a Human Rights Watch researcher concerning alleged CIA interrogations in Poland and Romania. Human Rights Watch has not reached final conclusions about CIA operations in eastern Europe.
Fri, 9 Dec 2005 00:00:00 EST
United States, International
Press Release

-
U.S.: Rice Response Inadequate
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/12/07/usdom12165.htm
(New York, December 8, 2005) – The U.S. Secretary of State's statement yesterday about U.S. obligations under international law does not answer key outstanding questions about the treatment of detainees in U.S. custody, Human Rights Watch said today.
Thu, 8 Dec 2005 00:00:00 EST
United States, Domestic
Press Release

-
U.S.: Rice Miscasts Policy on Torture
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/12/05/usint12147.htm
Remarks at Start of Europe Visit Leave Concerns Unanswered In remarks at the start of a five-day trip to Europe, the U.S. Secretary of State mischaracterized the U.S. government’s “rendition” of terrorist suspects to make it appear lawful, Human Rights Watch said today.
Mon, 5 Dec 2005 00:00:00 EST
United States, International
Press Release

-
U.S. Holding at Least Twenty-Six “Ghost Detainees”
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/11/30/usdom12113.htm
List of Detainees Published by Human Rights Watch The United States is holding at least twenty-six persons as “ghost detainees” at undisclosed locations outside of the United States, Human Rights Watch said today, as it released a list naming some of the detainees. The detainees are being held indefinitely and incommunicado, without legal rights or access to counsel.
Wed, 30 Nov 2005 00:00:00 EST
United States, Domestic
Press Release

-
U.S.: 1,000th Execution Scheduled for Friday
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/11/30/usdom12117.htm
On Friday, December 2, the United States will conduct the 1000th execution since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
Wed, 30 Nov 2005 00:00:00 EST
United States, Domestic
Press Release

-
CIA Whitewashing Torture
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/11/21/usdom12069.htm
Statements by Goss Contradict U.S. Law and Practice Porter Goss, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, has made misleading statements about the CIA’s use of torture and mistreatment of detainees, Human Rights Watch said today.
Mon, 21 Nov 2005 00:00:00 EST
United States, Domestic
Press Release

-
U.S.: Restrictive Policies Undermine Anti-AIDS Efforts
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/11/09/usdom12006.htm
Amicus Curiae Brief Highlights Negative Impact on Public Health Interventions by Mandatory Anti-Prostitution Pledge In an Amicus Curiae brief issued today, Human Rights Watch and 22 organizations stated that USAID’s mandatory anti-prostitution pledge “runs counter to U.S. and internationally recognized public health practice, and human rights standards protecting the right to health.” The groups expressed concern that the anti-prostitution pledge precludes recipients of U.S. funds from using the best practices at their disposal to prevent HIV/AIDS among populations at high risk of HIV/AIDS, and serves to stigmatize those populations.
Wed, 9 Nov 2005 00:00:00 EST
United States, Domestic
Press Release

-
Human Rights Watch Statement on U.S. Secret Detention Facilities in Europe
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/11/07/usint11995.htm
The Washington Post reported on November 3, 2005 that the United States has used secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere to illegally hold terrorist suspects without rights or access to counsel. Citing U.S. government concerns, the article did not identify the locations in Eastern Europe.
Mon, 7 Nov 2005 00:00:00 EST
United States, International
Press Release


Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Thanks and Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, fellow Progressives!

I want to thank all of you who have bought my political bumperstickers. It fills me with awe to know that all over the country you are displaying them on your bumpers. I feel a kinship with you all and my heart is full.

It's been a hard year as we've seen corporations grow richer and the poor grow poorer. I know it cannot just be me who wonders why Mother Earth washed away New Orleans. Why not Crawford, Texas instead? What's the lesson? Whatever it is, we better learn it.

And the scandals! What would have had another president impeached long ago has left this president virtually unscathed.

And so many people still identify with him and love him! They don't love Cheney or Rove or Rumsfeld, but their love for Bush spills over on to all the others. Yet, truthfully, it seems to be an insecure, fear based love.

Average Joes with money seem to love Bush precisely because he comes across as so ordinary. It's like they are afraid of Rhodes scholars and people who can speak another language - or even English - well. Such people make them feel inadequate. Of course they'd never admit it. They don't have the insight to even recognize the kernel of their disdain.

I have long thought that the Republican or conservative brain - as we know it now, that selfish, swindler's brain - is defective. It's not politically correct to say so, of course, but James Watson - it was either Watson or Crick who was interviewed on Charlie Rose (the pair mapped the DNA molecule) - who said that, biologically, brains are different.

The conservative - and I'm not talking sensible conservative here where you want to balance the budget and look for pragmatic solutions - I'm talking about the greedy, plundering, "no amount of money is enough, bring back the work houses" kind of brain - seems defective.

Why is it defective? Because it is more like a reptile's than a human's. It's the "kill or be killed" brain, not the "turn the other cheek" brain. It's a lower order brain on the evolutionary scale, I'd say. No wonder they reject evolution. And no wonder they are so paranoid about "liberals." They know we're superior!

Seriously, what pisses Progressives off is that we all know it would be easier to give in to the reptile brain - we all have it - but we don't. So here we are, trying to be "good" and compassionate and loving while these schweinhunds are skimming the cream, sending other people's children to war and, generally, reveling in taking full advantage of everyone else.

But - and here's our secret, the one that got us into this, the one that keeps the Repubs in power - Bush, et al are just mirrors of what we don't like in ourselves.

We don't really like our own arrogance and sense of entitlement as Americans. We know the world has a billion people starving, we know we use the majority of the world's resources and exploit cheap labor in third world countries so we can spend our Saturdays filling our carts full of crap at Wal-Mart, but we ignore it for the most part and let our government do what it wants. But guess what? Now our government is screwing us, so we can't ignore it any more.

The fact is, the Bush's and other very wealthy people who control this country and have allowed us to hitch a ride on their coattails have a very strong belief in their entitlement while poor people question their right to the air they breath.

I say it's time we all cultivated a belief in our entitlement to live in a beautiful, compassionate and loving country. I say it's time we started believing in and teaching spiritually grounded self-empowerment. All that means is that you look for what not only brings you joy and prosperity, but which also benefits everyone else.

Spirituality - not religon - teaches us to look for win-win solutions and to settle for nothing less. We learn to seek that which is most loving and helpful for the greatest number of people.

Unfortunately, to change anything means we have to realize Bush just reflects the part of our nation we were ignoring, yet responsible for. Hating Bush is like hating ourselves. It will get us nowhere, as we have seen.

So what do we do?

First, we have to stop hating the Bushies, et al. I know we love to hate them, but its counterproductive. We have to walk the talk. We can't be knowingly inconsistent.

But, speaking of inconsistencies - for which human beings are so well known - it continually amazes me that Pa Bush is so blind when it comes to his son.

In one breath he talks about the hurricane survivors and raises money with Clinton, in another breath he says he's "so proud" of his son who has treated the hurricane survivors like crap. It's like Papa Bush is a schizophrenic with two brains. He sees the terrible plight of those who lost their homes as a result of Katrina but is blind to the how Baby Bush's policies have helped create that misery and how Baby is turning his back on New Orleans and her people.

Belief is critical in human affairs. It's time we all cultivated the belief that we are entitled to a humane, compassionate government and that the loud and defectively selfish-brained no longer have credibility among the electorate. It's time to believe that more and more people will stand up for what's right, not what's politically expedient or what will make them a buck. We are, in short, wanting a miracle.

So let's co-opt God and miracles. Let's start by thanking God for abortion centers. Maybe we could have large groups go around blessing abortion centers and the women who seek them, affirming that they are doing God's work.

Okay, so that's tongue in cheek, but why not? Why not get together and begin blessing and praying for what WE want?

There are so many good and caring people in the U.S. Let us envision that miracle: that these people all become activists and join with us to create the America we all thought we lived in, one of justice and compassion.

I ask you, my friend, to do what I am going to try to do. I may not succeed, but these are my New Year's goals: to concentrate on those who are walking the talk and to be one of them; to stop fearing and despising those who are bankrupting us financially and morally, but to get involved trying to help someone, somewhere in a personal and hands-on way. I want to do more than sign petitions and create bumperstickers, although those things certainly have value.

I vow to see the Bushes and Cheneys and Roves and DeLays of the world as pitiful, pathetic creatures who must fall from their pedestals as part of natural selection, as did Hitler. Hitler wound up killing himself. Of course, maybe he's a bad example since he took sixty million people with him, before hand.

But, the point is this: he could not have come into power if not for the hate and desire for revenge enacted upon Germany for starting World War I. The world brought Hitler into being with its own unforgiveness and miserliness. And we all - God help us - brought Bush into being. I mean, could Canada have elected a Bush? Could France? Mai non. (But Kerry wouldn't have been a bad bet, with his command of French.)

I propose: cultivate humor and hilarity and promote science and education as a good things.

Laugh at those wicked Bushies, yes, yes, but no more hate; no more fantasies of revenge. Instead, let's concentrate on being the best Progressives we can be, the best people we can be. Adopt Arnie's phrase: "Zat's fantastic" instead of "I hate those bastards!"

Let's use our brains and come up with solutions and policies. Let's work hard to create what we want and know WE ARE ENTITLED to the America we want, an America that is loved and respected all over the world for her humanity.

Conservatives seem to hate the poor and see the American people as pawns who can be controlled with beer and fast food commercials. They certainly don't want to uplift us, so let's do it ourselves.

Me, I've given up Wal-Mart and Coke and McDonalds. (Well, I never did drink coke or eat McDonalds, but I haven't found another corporation to shun yet and one does not seem like enough. But I swear I didn't even buy a bow there over Christmas.)

I don't believe in the devil, but I do believe in God. And I believe God will help us help ourselves. But the first rule is: forgive the Bushies. Then stop going into debt to buy stuff you don't need that just makes the corporations richer and you poorer.

We in the U.S. have been sleepwalking through the mall of life for a long time. We got got the inevitable. The blessing for me is that, for the rest of my life, I will never be politically asleep again, no matter how much time it takes to stay informed.

Oh, and although I've been told since I was small not to discuss them because I might tread on some toes, my main topics will be politics and religion and ethics for the rest of my life. What else is important? Buying bargain fleece? Celebrities? Fluties drop kick? Please.

Oh, yeah, and one more thing: Despite the taboo against talking to other people's kids, I'm going to tell that kid over there to stop running around in the aisle while I'm drinking my latte and blogging. Self indulgent little bastard.

God bless you, my friend. And God bless America, the real America we hold in our hearts.

:>)



Website Counter