U.S. accused of human rights violations

[struggle4progress]

Source: Associated Press

Last updated May 25, 2007 4:28 p.m. PT

By FRANK JORDANS

GENEVA -- A U.N. investigator accused the United States on Friday of human rights violations in its fight against terrorism, criticizing the use of military commissions to try civilians and interrogation practices.

Martin Scheinin, of Finland, also said several U.S. laws enacted since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks had undermined civil liberties, citing the Patriot Act, the Detainee Treatment Act and the Military Commissions Act.

It is "regretful that a number of important mechanisms for the protection of rights have been removed or obfuscated under law and practice since the events of September 11," Scheinin said in a preliminary report written after meeting with U.S. diplomats and justice and security officials.

A final report will be presented to the 47-nation, Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council later this year. ~snip~

Read more: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1103AP_UN_US_Rights.html

[Solly Mack]

1. ....

[Sadie5]

2. Maybe it will take someone

from another country to try the Bush regime on violations that our own reps are afraid to do.

[Cleita]

24. I'm wondering why no one is stepping up to the plate to get him

tried at the Hague or at least Dick Cheney, whom I believe is behind all this. The Hague requires that a Sovereign nation petition them for a hearing and trial for war crimes or whatever charges they want to present. If the Hague decides to hear the case they will demand their extradition and I can't see that happening, but at least it would put them on notice that they'd better not step a foot outside of our borders. Maybe other nations are hesitant because they are afraid he might bomb them in retaliation.

[ClayZ]

3. Maybe this will force our leaders to LOOK at themselves

and see how others see them!


K and R

[The Doctor.]

9. Yeah... and monkeys might fly out of my ass if poppies sprout on the Moon.

How'z about we SEND them this report?

Don't stop there, send it to every reporter in the MSM and remind them whose duty it is to report on important events regarding this country.

Then there is the issue of the corporate execs... I hope they remember their history in a collective sense right away. It will take more than strongly worded letters to get them to realize that next quarter's profits take a back seat to the interests of the American People.

They will only be brought into line with heavy regulation and a clean DOJ.

It's a long process.

[ClayZ]

23. Bwahahahha! I guess you are right!

I was having a moment, thinking everyone had a built in KARMA system!

DOJ...looks like we are working on that! Gonsales goes and the good air might filter down! Not because of Karma, but because they know we are watching!

heh heh!

[Edith Ann]

16. violations

Don't count on it. Look what they do to American Citizen and immigrants. We need to just get rid of them. I don't understand why they don't get charged, tried, and go to jail. After a fair trial of course. Which is more than they may let any of us have.

[L. Coyote]

18. Overdue

[Up2Late]

4. US? Nooooooo! It can't be true, so all I have to say is...

Liberty, Freedom, Liberty, Freedom, Liberty, Freedom,
Liberty, Liberty, Liberty, Freedom, 9/11, 9/11, 9/11 and Liberty!:banghead: :argh:

[ProudDad]

5. "Liberty" = License

as in license to steal, kill and pillage to these guys.

I would advise the entire crew to avoid European vacations after they leave office...especially to Spain...

[Amonester]

6. Don't worry, Iraq will be their dream location.

Once peace and prosperity will flourish there, that is. :sarcasm:

[Senator]

7. It Would Be Helpful to Impeach Before The Final Report/Accusation

Yeah, I know. I'm just saying that we could salvage a shred of self-respect if we demonstrated some recognition of reality before it is thrust upon us.

It could also save Pelosi and Co. -- and the Democratic Party -- from continuing to be dragged through the moral sewer (and perhaps even to The Hague) with these neofascists, simply by virtue of their failure to stand up to object.

More likely though, it just continues from bad to worse.

---

[Demeter]

19. We're Beyond Self-Respect--It's Down to Survival

and if Europe is willing to pull us out of the clutches of this criminal cabal, I say more power to them! We can provide all the help a captive people can provide, and we WILL greet our liberators with chocolates and flowers (assuming such things still exist in this nation by then).

[Senator]

29. Perhaps, But Redemption Is Still Possible

We can still return to compliance with our Geneva responsibilities by prosecuting our own war criminals.

An entire nation cannot be condemned as evil. The American People are simply lesser victims of their own failed, criminal rulers.

And it's only been since Jan. 3rd that Democrats have become formal accessories-after-the-fact to the war crimes.

Impeachment can still go a long way toward the Redemption of Our National Soul.

We may get there yet.

---

[nealmhughes]

8. Rubber stamp parliament, control of information, indefinite detention, novel laws restricting

freedom, military tribunals without counsel, torture: is this Paraguay and Argentina and Chile in the 1970s? El Salvador in the 80s?

Oh, they justified their actions the same as BushCo does. . . national emergency, danger of the republic being destroyed, etc. all the same while becoming an small cadre of very wealthy who were the ins.

Who would have ever thought we were describing the US as if it were an old school caudillo's banana republic being denounced by the UN?

[orleans]

10. can they come and arrest bush because we don't seem to be able to. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

11. Amnesty International Report 2007: Politics of fear creating a dangerously divided world

Amnesty International Report 2007: Politics of fear creating a dangerously divided world

(London) Powerful governments and armed groups are deliberately fomenting fear to erode human rights and to create an increasingly polarized and dangerous world, said Amnesty International today as it launched Amnesty International Report 2007, its annual assessment of human rights worldwide.
(snip)

Five years after 9/11, new evidence came to light in 2006 of the way in which the US Administration treated the world as one giant battlefield for its ‘war on terror’, kidnapping, arresting, arbitrarily detaining, torturing and transferring suspects from one secret prison to another across the world with impunity, in what the US termed ‘extraordinary renditions’.

“Nothing more aptly portrayed the globalization of human rights violations than the US-led ‘war on terror’ and its programme of ‘extraordinary renditions’ which implicated governments in countries as far apart as Italy and Pakistan, Germany and Kenya,” said Ms. Khan. “Ill-conceived counter-terrorism strategies have done little to reduce the threat of violence or ensure justice for victims of terrorism but much to damage human rights and the rule of law globally.”
(snip)

“Just as global warming requires global action based on international cooperation, the human rights meltdown can only be tackled through global solidarity and respect for international law.”

More:
http://press-releases.techwhack.com/10158/amnesty-international/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

U.S. Holds Russia to High Standards of Democracy, Human Rights
State Department's Fried testifies before U.S. Helsinki Commission

The United States seeks partnership with Russia on a wide range of issues, but also has high expectations that the Russian government will uphold modern values of democracy and freedom, says a senior U.S. diplomat.

"It would be an insult to hold that great country to low standards," Daniel Fried, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said May 24 before the Helsinki Commission in Washington.

"We want Russia to be a partner in the world, and we want Russia to be strong, but strong in 21st-century terms," Fried testified. The United States would like to see Russia "with strong, democratic and independent institutions in and out of government; with a strong civil society, free press and active opposition; with strong and independent middle and entrepreneurial classes."

"We do not exempt Russia from our belief in the universal potential of freedom," Fried said.

More:
http://newsblaze.com/story/20070525135524tsop.nb/newsblaze/TOPSTORY/Top-Stories.html

http://www.apa.az.nyud.net:8090/photos/daniel%20fried.jpg http://www.brama.com.nyud.net:8090/news/press/2004/thumbs/041124aei_fried220150.jpg

[mmonk]

13. I am a member of Amnesty International.

My country needs to change. I would really like the democratic party of which I'm also a member of, to be an agent of change from America's descent away from human decency. I honestly think that cannot happen as long as Rahm Emanuel is chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. I honestly think that can not happen unless we address the crimes that have transpired over the last 5 years or so. I honestly do not think that can happen by compromising with very bad and morally vacuous policies. I do not think the concept that America can rule the world by force in violation of all principles we have held before with this new, dangerous, idea of a forced unilateral world directed by the dictates of Washington think tanks. Our party needs to change quickly and change now while we still have the chance. We cannot predict who will win the next elections. We cannot wait and expect America to return to its constitutional principles and international cooperation and justice on its own. It may never happen, especially if we don't do anything except politics as usual. I hope soon to start a petition of registered democrats requesting Rahm Emanuel be removed from his seat of power and influence with the House Democrats. We need to move forward as a nation and as a party. I hope I haven't broken any rules by this post. But those are some of my plans.

[LynnTheDem]

14. Free press??? America, currently ranked at #47 for freedom of the press,

really should just STFU.

[madrchsod]

12. we can do anything we dam well please

and who`s going to stop us? to many dam sissy countries in this world that would rather talk than put an end to the problem by any means necessary.

it`s my country right or wrong and i`m dam proud of it!

[nuxvomica]

15. Khalilzad: "our decisions are based on rule of law"

That's his only defense, that everything we're doing is ok because laws were passed saying so? As far as I know, everything Hitler did was legal under German law at the time so I guess he would defend the Holocaust too.

[Herman74]

17. BUSH: Bringing Shame upon the United States since 2001 N/T

[Demeter]

20. The Bush Family's Been Bringing Shame On Us For Lots Longer Than That!

It's just that none of them has excelled at it (nor had so much HELP from nominal Democrats) before.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

21. Congress should have this high on their list of questioning

http://hrw.org/doc/?t=usa

[Honeycombe8]

22. Doesn't mean anything unless charges are brought.

I've heard these accusations before from human rights organizations. Doesn't mean a thing unless they bring charges or something like that.

No doubt this is why Bush would not agree to join an international criminal court organization, refusing to recognize international judgments for America.

Amazing how easy it has been for half the country to just give up rights and join a torture mentality. Oh, I mean "enhanced interrogation technique" mentality.

[thunder35]

25. with bush as president it's no suprise

with bush as president it's no suprise

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

26. I say they

be tried for the Human Rights Violations done to citizens of this country. Oh, that's right.....Congress won't do anything about that either.

[libodem]

27. What makes it worse for me

is LITHOP or MITHOP. Since I have a tin foil hat glued to my head I think they caused 9/11 in the first place and set about to destroy the world as an excuse to atone for the damage. It makes the whole incident unbearably sick.

[rucky]

28. Couple this with the G8 business,

and we're even too imperialistic for the imperialists.