Human Rights
The day in bigotry
From this NYT story on Coloradans who don’t want Guantanamo detainees moved to a nearby federal supermax prison: “People here are good Christian conservatives,” said Tom Baron, who described himself as a struggling small-business man, co-owner with his wife, Marie, of Donuts and Dogs, a coffee shop. Mr. Baron said he thought that large numbers of Muslims — the family
Some thaw
About two weeks ago I commented on a strange story in the NYT about a supposed political thaw in Burma. Frank Smithuis of Doctors Without Borders described the regime’s human rights record as “shaky” — a grotesque understatement — but said with a sneer that “it’s politically nice to beat up Burma.” Well, now the regime is putting Aung San Suu
Burma whitewash
There is a strange article on Burma in today’s New York Times, bylined “The New York Times,” which purports to show the beginnings of a political opening in that country, mainly in the form of increased government cooperation with foreign aid and relief organizations. If the junta has loosened its grip somewhat in that regard, good. But there’s a whiff
Three dangerous ideas
1. Torture is justified, or can be called something other than torture. Read Mark Danner’s essential NYT op-ed. 2. Antisemitism is “understandable.” So says British moviemaker Ken Loach. Does he believe that going out and harassing Muslims after a terror attack is “understandable”? I very much doubt it. 3. One-party dictatorships have rights; civilians who raise grievances against them do
Authoritarian menaces, far/near
No, America did not devolve into a fascist state, but with the release of yet more Bush administration memos we get a glimpse of what might have been. John Yoo: “First Amendment speech and press rights may also be subordinated to the overriding need to wage war successfully.” A theory that is analogous, by the way, with a UN resolution (via) opposing
Freedom of speech
Johann Hari is right.
A horror
Alison Des Forges, Africa specialist with Human Rights Watch, was among those lost on the plane that went down outside Buffalo. She was 66. Her work was heroic, her death a calamity not only for her family but for the worldwide human rights community. [HRW’s tribute here.] I’ve also just received notice that Gerry Niewood, veteran saxophonist, is among the
A Pashtun demo
This, via Terry Glavin, is something remarkable: TORONTO – Pashtun-Canadians of Pakistan and Afghanistan origin are organizing an anti-Taliban rally to protest the ongoing massacre of Pashtun people in Northern Pakistan by the Taliban. In our first ever anti-Taliban rally in Canada we are protesting outside Queen’s Park to highlight the unreported “Genocide of 52 million Pashtuns” by the Taliban