It's not just interns, people. Muslims like myself plan to infiltrate every branch of the government through lawful means. We wish to be--brace yourselves--politically active. Rep. Paul Broun (GA) stated the following regarding CAIR (Council on Islamic-American Relations): "If an organization that is connected to or supports terrorists is running influence operations or planting spies in key national security-related congressional offices, I think this needs to be made known."
Funny that no one really cares that Muslims are denigrated in this manner. Should Muslims just accept the fact they are not only illegally wiretapped, but also subject to hate speech in Congress?
Let me speak on behalf of the 99.9% of all Muslims world-wide, when I say
I think it would be more accurate and equitable to include recent donations made for the health care reform campaign. In addition, taking time to submit proposals for novel ideas on garnering support from seniors for health care reform and other initiatives shouldbe documented. Finally, participating in conference calls and recordingnotes on how to overcome fear tactics by the GOP should also be noted.
Are you over-educated and unemployed? Please join my meetup.com group: http://www.meetup.com/Over-Educated-and-Unemployed
Let's embrace the President's message of cohesion, and be willing to share our collective knowledge and contacts to help one another avoid unemployment stress and apathy!Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors.
-Confucius
Where does one begin the discussion?
I think the President has made bold moves in the following areas:
1. Capitalizing on his promise to assist the middle class, as demonstrated job creation initiatives in the FY 2009 budget
2. Reaching out to Iran. We can't afford enmity with this very influential nation. Acheiving some sort of stablization in both Iraq and Afghanistan requires Iranian participation in a constructive way. Iran can choose to be extremely destuctive by re-igniting Shiia and Sunni tensions in Iraq once our troops are redeployed.
3. Maintaining his composure despite inccessant Republican moves to delay the passage of the budget, constant attacks on his policy, and increasingly divisive (public) attacks on the President's policies.
4. Remaining patient in areas that he knows will cause exessive distraction from getting the US economy back on track
5. ENGAGING the American people and EXPLAINING the reasons behind many policy initiatives.
6. Managing a domestic and international financial collapse, two wars, increased extremism in Pakistan, and being able to maintain a 65% (+/- 3 points) approval rating.
According to the June 26, 1987 UN Convention Against Torture, to which the U.S. IS a signator, torture is given the following definition:
Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a male or female person for such purposes as obtaining from him, or a third person, information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in, or incidental to, lawful sanctions.
According to U.S. legal statute, clear and intentional violations of international conventions to which we are signators is a punishable offense in a U.S. court of law.
With regard to denying Habeus Corpus to so-called "enemy combatants," there is undoubtedly a violation of Article I of the Constitution if the torture memos tie Mr. Cheney to the denial of access to some type of legal recourse (e.g. military tribunal)
Quoting DIRECTLY from Article I of the United States Constitution:
"The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it."
I plan to discuss some of the issues in my FIRST EVER webcast on under-reported human rights issues. I plan to host a live webcast 2-3 times per week at 9pm, EST. I believe that there is much work to be done to better address human rights violations. But as humans, I do believe that we have come a long way. And I believe that that the march of history will lead us to a world that treats one another more humanely. But in order for this to occur, the international community must be more aware of crimes against humanity that are occuring at this very moment. Please join me at 9pm, for the first webcast of "STRIKING THE ROOT." I will provide a link on this blog by 6pm tomorrow. The show will be archived, so if you miss it, not to worry!
Much of the news related to the conflicts in the past 15 years--from the Bosnian genocide to the recent atrocities by the janjaweed in the Sudan--have talked the number of people killed. But one never seems to hear or read about the mass rape these conflicts and several more. What does rape "accomplish" in the setting of conflict. Many aid workers who have participated in reconciliation efforts mention that rape serves several "symbolic" functions. What do you believe these are? And why is the press so hesitant to discuss rape in the context of being a terrible crime against humanity? Why are people afraid to examine the psychological effects of rape when it occurs elsewhere but quite quck to address the long-term impact of rape victims in the U.S.?
Please join my Human Rights Meetup.com group! We are called the "Washington Global Human Rights Meetup Group." As I mentioned in the description for this forum, this isn't going to be just a blog. In light of the desire for those who are interested to meet one another and truly garner exposure for human rights issues that have been all but ignored, I am officially connecting this blog to a meetup.com group!! Our first event will be participating a rally to stop genocide and will feature survivors from recent genocidal campaigns (4/19) . Kindly sign up by directing your browser to http://www.meetup.com/DC-Global-Human-Rights-Meetup-Group.
Many thanks! Hope you can make it to our first event.
Although it is no secret forced prostitution is a common practice many countries use the difficulty in determining accurate statistics as an excuse to turn a blind eye to this horrid practice. With regard to Thailand, even the UN contends that thousands of women are set up with "jobs" in nearby countries (mainly Japan), where--upon arrival--they find themselvess to be in the debt of an "employer." To repay the debt, the women are forced to perform sexual acts for clients of bars or restaurants owned by this "employer." Of course, it is nearly impossible to "repay" the debt since the "employer" simply states that the woman has not earned enought yet. It is not uncommon for this to continue for years.
QUESTION:
What do you think are possible (and realistic) strategies the U.S. can undertake to address this 21st century form of slavery?
