Abusive News
The 2006 World Report is just out from Human Rights Watch and it is not easy reading for those who believe in and value human dignity. In announcing its publication, HRW underlines that the so-called enlightened and advanced countries have much to answer for:
New evidence demonstrated in 2005 that torture and mistreatment have been a deliberate part of the Bush administration’s counter terrorism strategy, undermining the global defense of human rights, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing its
The evidence showed that abusive interrogation cannot be reduced to the misdeeds of a few low-ranking soldiers, but was a conscious policy choice by senior U.S. government officials. The policy has hampered Washington’s ability to cajole or pressure other states into respecting international law, said the 532-page volume’s introductory essay.
“Fighting terrorism is central to the human rights cause,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “But using illegal tactics against alleged terrorists is both wrong and counterproductive.”
Roth said the illegal tactics were fueling terrorist recruitment, discouraging public assistance of counter terrorism efforts and creating a pool of unprosecutable detainees.
U.S. partners such as Britain and Canada compounded the lack of human rights leadership by trying to undermine critical international protections. Britain sought to send suspects to governments likely to torture them based on meaningless assurances of good treatment. Canada sought to dilute a new treaty outlawing enforced disappearances. The European Union continued to subordinate human rights in its relationships with others deemed useful in fighting terrorism, such as Russia, China and Saudi Arabia.
Unfortunately, some of the more vociferous countries claiming both to challenge the imperial powers and to present a more humane alternative have a record just as or even more abysmal.
Take a look at Castro’s Cuba that bills itself as the "First Liberated Territory in the Americas"(sic):
Cuba remains a Latin American anomaly: an undemocratic government that represses nearly all forms of political dissent. President Fidel Castro, now in his forty-seventh year in power, shows no willingness to consider even minor reforms. Instead, his government continues to enforce political conformity using criminal prosecutions, long- and short-term detentions, mob harassment, police warnings, surveillance, house arrests, travel restrictions, and politically-motivated dismissals from employment. The end result is that Cubans are systematically denied basic rights to free expression, association, assembly, privacy, movement, and due process of law.
Some specifics:
* In early July 2005 the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, a respected local human rights group, issued a list of 306 prisoners who it said were incarcerated for political reasons…
* Political prisoners who denounce poor conditions of imprisonment or who otherwise fail to observe prison rules are frequently punished by long periods in punitive isolation cells, restrictions on visits, or denial of medical treatment…
* Refusing to recognize human rights monitoring as a legitimate activity, the government denies legal status to local human rights groups. Individuals who belong to these groups face systematic harassment, with the government putting up obstacles to impede them from documenting human rights conditions…It remains one of the few countries in the world to deny the International Committee of the Red Cross access to its prisons…
Now, let’s take a gander at Venezuela under Hugo Chavez. Yes, Chavez has been elected or confirmed in office three times. But it takes more than voting to make a democracy:
* Since winning a national referendum on his presidency in 2004, Hugo Chávez and his majority coalition in Congress have taken steps to undermine the independence of the country’s judiciary by packing the Supreme Court with their allies. They have also enacted legislation that seriously threatens press freedoms and freedom of expression. Several high profile members of civil society have faced prosecution on highly dubious charges, and human rights defenders have been repeatedly accused by government officials of conspiring against the nation. Police violence, torture, and abusive prison conditions are also among the country’s most serious human rights problems.
Some specifics:
* Laws passed since late 2004 have introduced onerous new restrictions on the media. The Law of Social Responsibility in Radio and Television, approved by the National Assembly in December 2004, establishes detailed regulations for the content of television and radio programs. For example, stations deemed to “condone or incite” public disturbances or publish messages “contrary to the security of the nation” are subject to heavy fines and can be ordered to suspend broadcasting for seventy-two hours; on a second offense they may forfeit their broadcasting license for up to five years…
* In March 2005, amendments to the Criminal Code came into force which extended the scope of Venezuela’s desacato (disrespect) laws, and increased penalties for desacato, criminal defamation, and libel. By broadening its desacato provisions, Venezuela ignored the recommendations of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and bucked a continent-wide trend toward the repeal of this type of law…
* The killing of three innocent students in the Kennedy district of Caracas on June 27, 2005, highlighted the violence and lawlessness of Venezuela’s police forces…
* Hundreds of police executions have been reported over the past several years, although the problem long predates the current administration. While the Attorney General’s Office and the human rights ombudsman have denounced these abuses, little progress has been made in prosecuting the police responsible or introducing the reforms necessary to combat the practice…
* Conditions in Venezuela’s prisons are notoriously abusive. Overcrowding is chronic and armed gangs maintain effective control within the prison walls…
* Public officials and government media have continued pursuing efforts to discredit Venezuela’s nongovernmental human rights organizations. Government officials and pro- government legislators publicly accused Humberto Prado, coordinator of Venezuelan Prison Watch and a prominent critic of prison policy, of starting a prison protest…
* During 2005 the Attorney General’s Office opened a criminal investigation of one of Venezuela’s most respected human rights lawyers, Carlos Ayala Corao (a former president of the IACHR and current president of the non-governmental Andean Commission of Jurists), for an alleged role in the unsuccessful 2002 coup against Chávez.
Next week, tens of thousands of leftist activists from around the world will convene in Caracas as part of the 2006 World Social Forum and Chavez will be addressing them in a large rally. What a perfect moment for Chavez to get some constructive advice from his friends rather than from his enemies i.e. that human rights violations know no political color. Violations are violations. And they shall not be tolerated. Period.
January 20th, 2006 at 7:43 pm
What it is the value of human life? If we attended an auction at Sotheby’s, and they were not auctioning fine works of art but were auctioning human beings, how would their value be determined?
Would it be based on physical strength, youth, cunning, comeliness or intelligence? Or would race and religion be a factor in determining value? Or would value be based on where one was born or who were their parents? Exactly what determines the value of a human being in our culture today?
Of course everyone would naturally say that this is a ridiculous discussion. Because, in the United States, we are all equal and have the same value. And I might reply, yes this is the United States but are we TRULY all equal.
When I viewed images of New Orleans after Katrina, in newspapers and on television it looked like scenes from the Sudan. How is it possible that one of the most powerful and richest countries in the world would permit such suffering?
It is incredulous, that we can live in this country, and yet some of us have no knowledge of the poverty and desperation that is a constant for 50 million Americans.
Most of America are in debt. And there are millions more who are working poor. How many people work 40 hours a week and are still too near the poverty level? This part of the population lives “hand to mouth†and one catastrophic occurrence would bring them to their knees. They have no SAFETY NET.
And why, because over the last 10 years millions of good paying jobs no longer exist and have been replaced by minimum wage non-union positions. How is it possible when our a government can spend billions of dollars on Homeland security and the Iraq War? It would appear that our government has completely alienated themselves from America’s underclass. And they have no inkling of how the poor survive.
And the inevitable results, is an emergence of two disparate economic populations and an ever declining middle-class. Anyone of us at anytime could suffer the fate of homelessness and destitution.
We should reflect back to all past advances which were enacted to help working Americans. Nothing should be taken for granted. Sometimes, we forget our own history and don’t remember why unions were formed—for worker PROTECTION. To eliminate 14 hour workdays, dangerous working conditions, child labor; Etc…
These are facts that Western Europeans are aware of but many Americans have seem to forgotten. Advances that were enacted over the last 50 years ago are steadily being eliminated by both our government and industry.
And that is why I question, WHAT IS THE VALUE OF HUMAN LIFE? Does not all life have UNQUESTIONABLE VALUE whether we are: White; African-American; Asian; Christian; Muslim; Jew; male; female; Agnostic or Atheist? No matter who we are we all want to be valued and treated with the same amount of dignity so that we all can achieve our potential.
January 20th, 2006 at 11:58 pm
Marc, before the usual suspects on the left come in and bash you for singling out Castro and Chavez: Those of us on the left have a particular responsibility to criticize the human rights violations of regimes like Castro’s which pretend to carry the torch of the progressive movement but which actually abuse all of its principles of human dignity and justice.
Also, I could not help wanting to substitute the name “George Bush” for “Hugo Chavez” in the following paragraph, it still comes out pretty close to the mark:
“Since winning a national referendum on his presidency in 2004, Hugo Chávez and his majority coalition in Congress have taken steps to undermine the independence of the country’s judiciary by packing the Supreme Court with their allies. They have also enacted legislation that seriously threatens press freedoms and freedom of expression. Several high profile members of civil society have faced prosecution on highly dubious charges, and human rights defenders have been repeatedly accused by government officials of conspiring against the nation. Police violence, torture, and abusive prison conditions are also among the country’s most serious human rights problems.”
January 21st, 2006 at 1:13 am
What if a single day a year was “Emigrate To Any Country You Want Day?” How many people would move to the USA or France or Japan , compared to the number who would move to Cuba or Venezuela, never mind genocidal hell-holes like the Sudan or free-fire zones like the Ivory Coast, or prison camps like Saudi Arabia and Iran?
It is right to demand an absolutely perfect human rights record for the US, but silly to mention Cuba and Venezuela in the same breath, and sillier still not to name the 50 or so hell-holes that make Cuba and Venezuela attractive destinations by comparison.
January 21st, 2006 at 7:59 am
Learn from Cuba, Says World Bank
By Jim Lobe, IPS, 1 May 2001
WASHINGTON, Apr 30 (IPS) – World Bank resident James Wolfensohn Monday extolled the Communist government of President Fidel Castro for doing “a great job” in providing for the social welfare of the Cuban people.
His remarks followed Sunday’s publication of the Bank’s 2001 edition of ‘World Development Indicators’ (WDI), which showed Cuba as topping virtually all other poor countries in health and education statistics.
It also showed that Havana has actually improved its performance in both areas despite the continuation of the US trade embargo against it and the end of Soviet aid and subsidies for the Caribbean island more than ten
years ago.
“Cuba has done a great job on education and health,” Wolfensohn told reporters at the conclusion of the annual spring meetings of the Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “They have done a good job, and it does not embarrass me to admit it.”
January 21st, 2006 at 8:12 am
I have told myself to never again comment on The “Chavez media crack down” lunacy but the above post is too much. I go to Venezuela several times a year for family reasons and let me you the Chavez oppostion laughs every time it see the US media buying into this Chavez media repression story. Lets start with the basic reality on the ground in Venezuela. Reality number 1, the opposition owns the vast majority of the Venezuelan media and for the middle and upper classes statellite and cable access is ubiquitous . Reality number 2, before and during the coup the private media called for and was deeply involved in the overthrow of Chavez. During the Coup the private media took over and shut down the one offical government tv station. Now for the big one, reality number 3. If you take the time to go to Venezuela you will immediately notice that on TV and in the streets there is constant criticism of Chavez. For instance, lately the government is under a deluge of criticism for the shortages of coffee and the partial closure of the road to the main airport, which has caused a traffic disaster. The desacato laws have not affected criticism of the government in any way other then them numerous private media station have stoped calling him a pedophile and rapist. However, the opposition is still blatanly racist in both print and tv in its commentary of Chavez and his supporters. Here is a news flash for all you great anti-Chavez human rights folks, Sumate and its appendages derive their support from a racist and classist segement of the Venezuelan population. The private media plays into these racist sentiments in a far more blantant manner than, the viewers in the US are use to. I find it hard to believe that Marc or anyone else could go to Venezuela and not find a media that is more vocal and uninhibited than anything that we are use to in the US. You can criticize me for bringing race into the auguement but if you ignore Venuezuela’s historical racial and classist realities at play in the current political situation you are are not serious about looking objectively at Chavez and his opposition.
As far as the HRW criticisms of the corrution and prision conditions, the answer to the corruption issue is the chavez government is still weak. Venezuela is far from a strong authoritarian state it is still a fairly weak state tring to deal with decades of institutional corruption. HRW comment on gangs in prision seems odd to even discuss. I would love to see prision reform on all fronts right here in the good old USA as well as Venezuela . I am sure the law and order rhetoric of the Venezuelan right wing oppoistion will translate into real prision reform. Perhaps the fine prision policies of Tony Saca in El Salvador will serve as a nice example of what a real democracy can do when it wants to improve institutional corruption and prision condition.
Regarding Mr. Stott’s comment on the hell called Venezuela I can only your sad and misinformed. Venezuela is a beautiful country that has unfortuately racked with decades of neglected poverty and corruption. For the first time in five decades the government is attempting to address these problem. I honestly hope they succeed.
January 21st, 2006 at 9:27 am
I think it’s perfectly appropriate to point out problems in Venezuela regarding press independence, police brutality, horrible prison conditions and so on – just as appropriate as it is to point out injustice or repression wherever it rears it’s ugly head, including the injustice of terrible poverty among large segments of Venezuelans as Chavez, whatever his faults as a leader or however lousy his , does and is attempting to address – but to write a comment on human rights – i.e. political freedom, press freedom, etc. – that conjoins “Cuba and Venezuela” in a single, unqualifying sentence is so fundamentally dishonest as to make me, frankly, dismiss the writer as totally undiscerning, dishonest or ill-informed. Period. Paragraph.
(Although in fairness to Mr. Stott, he didn’t use the adjective “hell” to describe Venezuela or Cuba.)
Also on the question of “who the hell would want to leave the U.S. and go live in a place like Venezuela?”, for a realistic – as opposed to hysterical – viewpoint, it might be instructive to check this website out for what appears to be an honest, witty take on the pros and cons. My own reading of it is that for a retiree with limited income who’s not too concerned about family ties and such in the States, among other personal scenarios I can easily imagine, the pros would be overwhelming.
http://www.escapeartist.com/efam/68/Living_On_Margarita_Island.html
January 21st, 2006 at 9:29 am
Uh…that was “however lousy his recent press laws”
January 21st, 2006 at 9:31 am
Jesus…I need preview. That post is a mess.
January 21st, 2006 at 10:51 am
I apologize for all the grammatical errors and mis-spelled words in my previous post. I hit submit before proofreading.
January 21st, 2006 at 3:28 pm
“Cuba has done a great job on education and health”
Finally, someone counters the counterrevolutionary propaganda with some facts relevant to the discussion. Bravo! I mean, how would Cubans even be able to read HRW’s report about human rights abuses by the Cuban government if it weren’t for the government’s excellent education system?! Viva la revolucion!
“I would love to see prision reform on all fronts right here in the good old USA as well as Venezuela . I am sure the law and order rhetoric of the Venezuelan right wing oppoistion will translate into real prision reform.”
Exactly. The fact that the Venezuelan right isn’t likely to engage in prision reform means it isn’t a human rights issue. I mean, for Mao’s sake, Amerikkka does it too!
January 21st, 2006 at 5:29 pm
Yeah well, the revolution is still stuck in first gear unless you happen to be a Castro. Just the same spartan timewarp as the rest who went this route. One doesn’t have to be a totalitarian to have socialized medicine for the neediest.
January 21st, 2006 at 8:23 pm
I think it is necessary to take an historical overview of a country to understand its political system—Oil revenues enabled Venezuela to evolve from an impoverished country to one of the wealthiest in Latin America.
In 1973 the OPEC embargo caused petroleum prices to skyrocket. After prices subsequently crashed, and Venezuela could not pay its debts, IMF imposed measures that forced them to make deals with multinational corporations that would further exploit their country.
As poverty increased, so did the polarization between the poor and the middle-class—which helped Chavez initially to obtain power. Once in power, Chavez challenged the Bush administration, just prior to 9/11.
In 2002 the situation between the U.S. and Chavez reached a critical point. The CIA was trying to undermine his regime by causing political dissent among the population—there were protests in the street and strikes to bring down the Chavez Government.
In 2003 Chavez was ousted for 72 hours. In spite of U.S. attempts to get rid of him, Chavez was able to maintain tight controls over the state oil company.
So perhaps that is why Chavez tightened his grip on oil company employees, purged the military of those who betrayed him, and forced his opponents out of the country. He also gave 20 year prison sentences to the leaders of the opposition.
Chavez is a “control freak,†due to his unpleasant experience with U.S military intelligence that caused an “almost†coup de tat. I think Chavez would have a lot less pressure if his GNP was potatoes rather than oil.
January 21st, 2006 at 9:39 pm
The whole thing smacks of CIA meddling, supposedly to always “get the oil.” Same with banking takeovers, dam financing and the like. If this is indeed what is happening, and it’s frequently cited by foreign citizens student s and such, the US should come clean, because denying such tactics only makes us look worse. Are we really the Great Manipulators?
January 21st, 2006 at 10:57 pm
samuel stott: “never mind genocidal hell-holes like the Sudan or free-fire zones like the Ivory Coast, or prison camps like Saudi Arabia and Iran?”
You’re a fucking waste of oxygen and a moron. Must be nice to learn all there is of the outside world from the hallowed pages of Commentary and FrontPageMag.com
My guess is that if you were to ever actually go to Iran or Sudan, so many of your assumptions about life in “Islamofascist” societies would be rendered comical and meaningless, as would much of your worldview.
Then again, you might actually think that when you get invited to a stranger’s home for the first time it might be an Islamofascist assassination plot… so who knows.
January 22nd, 2006 at 12:06 am
Well, I am starting to get uncomfortable about the turn this discussion is taking. As soon as anyone starts talking about human rights, or a report on human rights abuses is published, there is the inevitable debate about which countries are worse and which are better. This could give someone reading this the impression that none of us really care much about human rights, but are more concerned with scoring debating points in ideological battles. Human rights abuses are human rights abuses no matter where they take place, and the most important issue is what we are going to do about them. The problem with discussions like this one is that everyone goes away feeling morally superior and self-satisfied for having condemned the abuses we feel are most worthy of condemnation and then that is the end of it. Fortunately, this is not the attitude of excellent organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. These groups actually take the abuse of human beings seriously–do we?
January 22nd, 2006 at 1:51 am
rjflint Says:
“Regarding Mr. Stott’s comment on the hell called Venezuela I can only your sad and misinformed. Venezuela is a beautiful country that has unfortuately racked with decades of neglected poverty and corruption. For the first time in five decades the government is attempting to address these problem. I honestly hope they succeed.”
My exact words, third post from the top were:
“It is right to demand an absolutely perfect human rights record for the US, but silly to mention Cuba and Venezuela in the same breath, and sillier still not to name the 50 or so hell-holes that make Cuba and Venezuela attractive destinations by comparison.”
Far from calling Venezuela a “hell-hole,” I called it
in comparison to a hell-hole an attractive destination.
I agree with you that Venezuela has a long sad history of poverty and corruption.
The poverty comes from the corruption, as it does in most of Latin America.
Too bad Venezuela is now ruled by a nut-job who thinks rationing creates plenitude, that the USA causes poverty and that Jews control world banking and media. It is possible to suppose that this singing Cauldillo-in-waiting is an improvement over the former Kleptocracy but I’ll reserve judgement.
January 22nd, 2006 at 3:12 am
Abbas-Ali Abadani Says:
“You’re a fucking waste of oxygen and a moron.”
ARGUABLY TRUE, BUT IRRELEVANT AND NON-RESPONSIVE.
“My guess is that if you were to ever actually go to Iran or Sudan, so many of your assumptions about life in “Islamofascist†societies would be rendered comical and meaningless, as would much of your worldview.”
“WHY GUESS DUDE? FOR $2,000 (I’M POOR) I WILL FLY TO THE SUDAN, SPEND TWO WEEKS AND REPORT BACK. THEN YOU WILL KNOW WHAT I AM MADE OF.
I DON’T DOUBT AND HAVE NEVER ARGUED THAT THAT MANY FINE PEOPLE DON’T LIVE CREDITABLE LIVES IN HELL-HOLES LIKE THE SUDAN, I AM ONLY STATING AS A MATTER OF OBJECTIVE FACT THAT THE SUDAN IS A HELL-HOLE. I CALL GENOCIDE A BIGGER PROBLEM THAN MY LACK OF RHETORICAL AND MULTI-CULTURAL SENSITIVITY BUT YOU DON’T, I KNOW.
HERE ARE THE FIRST 10 GOOGLE REPORTS FOR “GENOCIDE SUDAN”.
http://www.darfurgenocide.org/
http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/genocide_in_sudan/
http://www.religioustolerance.org/geno_su.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3641820.stm
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0245,hentoff,39654,6.html
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006A9GCW/103-2636662-5554209?v=glance&n=5174
http://www.crimesofwar.org/sudan-mag/sudan-in-discuss.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/08/60minutes/main648277.shtml
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/africa/09/09/sudan.powell/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8364-2004Sep9.html
MANY OF THESE POSTS ARE OLD, BUT THAT JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU HOW LITTLE INTEREST THERE IS IN GENOCIDE IN THE SUDAN. IT DOESN’T FIT IDEOLOGICAL LEFT-RIGHT TEMPLATES, SO ITS BETTER LEFT IGNORED, I GUESS.
IRAN IS A SUBJECT FOR ANOTHER DAY BUT I WILL GRANT YOU A LIMITED POINT: IT IS HARD TO KNOW WHEN TO DESIGNATE A COUNTRY A HELL-HOLE, AS OPPOSED TO A PLACE RUN BY INSANE THUGS WHO THROW PEOPLE IN JAIL, (WHEN THEY DON’T KILL THEM) FOR TALKING THEIR MINDS.)
FINAL POINT: ANYONE WHO OBJECTS TO THE TERM ISLAMO-FACIST IS LIBELLING THE VAST, VAST MAJORITY OF MUSLIMS, WHO ARE NEITHER ISLAMISTS NOR FACISTS.
(
January 22nd, 2006 at 6:13 am
More evidence that evil is alive and well – disguised and enabled by the idea of “the greater good”.
January 22nd, 2006 at 8:09 am
Mr Slott
Here is the translation of Chavez’s supposedly anti-Semitic comments. Please take into consideration that Chavez is speaking from the perspective of Latin America in which Liberation theology views Christ-killers as the rich-elite ruling class.
“some minorities, the descendants of the same ones who crucified Christ, the descendants of the same ones who threw out [South American liberator Simon] Bolivar from here and also crucified him in a way in Santa Marta, over there in Colombia — a minority took possession of all the planet’s gold, of the silver, the minerals, the waters, the good land, the oil, the riches, and they have concentrated the riches in a few hands. Less than 10% of the world’s population possesses over half of the world’s riches, and more than half of the planet’s population is poor, and every day there are more poor in the world.”
Many of the out of context quotes of this speech, for instance in Front Gage and the WSJ, have printed the first part of the initial sentence without reference to the rest of the text.
Anyway, I would like to hear more dissucssion on the issue of the Venezuelan media that I addressed in the above post. The perecption of an oppressed media in Venezuela is a fascinating example of the US media creating a fictious reality. It should be disscussed.
January 22nd, 2006 at 8:21 am
“What it is the value of human life? If we attended an auction at Sotheby’s, and they were not auctioning fine works of art but were auctioning human beings, how would their value be determined?”
In a free market system your value in an auction is what an employer/customer is willing to bid/pay for your talent/services.
In a free democratic system the value of a human life is equal to all others before the law.
In un-free systems, your value in money and rights is set by your value to its government.
Humans and their systems are not perfect, but I think the US does better at providing the most and highest quality of goods, services and rights as voted by all those risking their lives to live here.
January 22nd, 2006 at 9:28 am
“..a minority took possession of all the planet’s gold, of the silver, the minerals, the waters, the good land, the oil, the riches, and they have concentrated the riches in a few hands.”
Wouldn’t you put this statement you quoted by Chavez on about the same level as the one made by the new President of Iran questioning the holocaust, Rjflint? (is this you Reg?)
I mean this statement, out of context or not, leaves the reader to believe Chavez believes the Jews(I assume) not only killed the worlds God, but control the wealth in the whole world and are now responsible for killing the its poor financially?
He and the President of Iran are now leaders of their nation in the world. What they say now matters in the world of nations. When they say stupid things, most people in the world believe they actual believe it.
If they do, all democratic nation must oppose them with a passion. If they don’t, and are appealing to the sentiments of their people, well they’ve been elected already. Stop campaigning and start leading for heaven sake. They sound like uneducated, radical, nut jobs. Scary!
January 22nd, 2006 at 9:43 am
“In a free democratic system the value of a human life is equal to all others before the law. In un-free systems, your value in money and rights is set by your value to its government. Humans and their systems are not perfect, but I think the US does better at providing the most and highest quality of goods, services and rights as voted by all those risking their lives to live here.â€
Do you really believe that human beings are valued equally in our own country? Do you really believe that we are all on an equal playing field? Do you also really believe that a human life has intrinsic value in our society and no one is given greater value based on other variables such as family background; money; class-system; gender; race; etc…?
Perhaps when a population flees to the U.S., it’s their only remedy from regimes that have become repressive BECAUSE OF OUR meddling into their countries politics for the purpose of usurping resources.
One needs to look that the full picture and perspective, when viewing a family album “called the world.†You can’t take one snap shot out of context from a whole group of photos and make a genuine statement—always look at the big true picture.
If a child keeps teases and provokes another child, and the one who is teased finally defends himself, the friends of the first bully will then turn the story around and tell the teacher the child who defended himself is HOSTILE and AGGRESSIVE! It is interesting how propaganda works on a global level.
BS SHOULD BE THE GNP OF THE U.S.A!
How much money does a CEO need? How much profit should a company make at the expense of the working-class? We were all aghast at Saddam’s gold toileted palaces, at a cost of approximately $2.2 billion dollars. But how many gold toileted palaces do the CEOS of Exxon/Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, British Petroleum and Conoco/Phillips need? It is obvious that these energy companies have no regard for the needs of the American people, and our own government shows NO interest in restricting their thievery.
Bush incessantly uses the phrase ‘we have to finish our ?MISSION in Iraq.” Why isn’t our MISSION one of social responsibility, to ensure reasonable gas prices and the formulation of a new energy policy, which benefits the public and the environment? Why isn’t our MISSION to provide health care for the 45 million American citizens who are uninsured and to enable 37 million people who are living in poverty a chance to improve their lives? Why isn’t our MISSION improving our children’s education, so that 50 percent of all minorities do not drop-out of high school. Why isn’t our MISSION to curtail outsourcing and to ensure that ALL Americans have good jobs? Whatever happened to SOCIAL RESPONSIBITY? How can we offer DEMOCRACY to Iraq, when we can’t offer over 25 percent of our own population the so called AMERICAN DREAM?
Again I ask how much profit is enough. Why are we are in Iraq, is it because it is a country with the second largest oil reserves in the world? We have already spent over 300 billion dollars on this war; 16,000 American soldiers have been wounded; 2,200 American soldiers have been killed and more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died.
The public has been lied to about why we invaded Iraq, and a senior aid to Cheney has now been INDICTED (Scooter Libby) for outing a CIA Agent, because her husband would NOT corroborate the government’s story about WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. And Carl Rove—Bush’s Brain is still under investigation by Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald for the same charges. What is that old adage—the apple does not fall far from the tree. Are not Bush and Cheney ultimately responsible for the DEEDS of their senior staff?
THE PRICE OF OIL IS JUST TOO HIGH! The American public has paid enough! What is your mission Mr. Bush, to bankrupt our country, to create even more poverty, to cause more injuries and death to our soldiers, and to further alienate us from the rest of the world all in the name of –SLIPPERY OIL CAMPANIES AND GREASY PROFITS!
January 22nd, 2006 at 10:05 am
“Less than 10% of the world’s population possesses over half of the world’s riches, and more than half of the planet’s population is poor, and every day there are more poor in the world.”
This is certainly true. But following this line is a dead end. Sure the they do because of Guns, Germs and Steel. But what now? Clean up your house and operate efficiently. Chavez just joins Mel Gibson in the Christ-killer meme. These religious bickerings between peoples will do nothing of value no matter who employs them.
We have the most corrupt administration in the country’s history with the possible exception of Andrew Johnson. They do as mush to feed this opposition in the world as the kookie presidents do to follow it.
January 22nd, 2006 at 10:17 am
Mr. Russell
It seems obvious that Chavez is talking about Power, Greed and the Status Quo. These attributes have nothing to do with Judaism. What is scary is that you and others seem to immediately attribute them to Judaism.
A minority elite throughout antiquity, feudalism, and the capitalist world system have controlled the vast majority of the worlds wealth and power. Without doubt, The Jewish people were excluded and persecuted during each of these periods. For you to read Chavez’s brief critique of elite power as a statement of “Jews controlling the world” says much about your state of mind.
January 22nd, 2006 at 11:01 am
“As soon as anyone starts talking about human rights, or a report on human rights abuses is published, there is the inevitable debate about which countries are worse and which are better.”
Michael – you are right that human rights abuses should, ideally, stand on their own for condemnation. But the question of “degree” is inseparable in a world dominated by politics and political alliances. Freedom House publishes it’s annual reports on human rights around the world in the form of a “scale”, ranking nations. (If you look at this one, Venezuela is in roughly the same terrain as Mexico in terms of press, political rights, judiciary, etc. – which would imply to me that people who conjoin Cuba and Venezuela are falling into a trap of political demagogy that might actually be counterproductive when coming up with pragmatic responses to human rights issues.) So the question of “scale” or degree isn’t completely irrelevant, nor is it ignored by human rights groups. One clear reason to consider this question might be to set priorities. Of course, the worst human rights abusers – like North Korea – are so far off the map that they, ironically, might be as much of a waste of resources as focusing on the less outrageous offenders. And of course, one reason to focus on human rights abuses in countries where one might argue that there isn’t a “crisis” so much as some over-reaching or a mixed bag of problems is that those countries are probably far more susceptible to pressure than the worst offenders. Point is, the question of degree and variability isn’t completely irrelevant to a discussion. One of the things that the discussion above shows is that it’s important to sort the politics of the accusations out from an accurate assessment of the nature of each country’s problem and how it might best be addressed.
January 22nd, 2006 at 11:21 am
Care for the suffering of fellow humans does not include fights and arguments over who is right and who is wrong. Inflicting pain is wrong. Doing nothing about is wrong. Arguing could be harmless if only it did not distract us from the task at hand. What can each and every one of us do today to start turning our world in the right direction? Think of one thing and do it. Any ideas?
January 22nd, 2006 at 3:13 pm
The problem Marc is simple. HRW is now criticizing the US! Castro and Chavez are convenient boogeymen but I’m not about to invade either country. Are you? And embargoes? give me a break! We need Venezualan oil and the rest of the world wants trade with Cuba. So stop the high dudgeon and deal with the mess you can affect. Us.
Oh if you want to worry about Latin America ask why Chavez and that guy in Boliva are getting popularly elected. Why left governments in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. And if Chavez cracks down on his opponents maybe it is because he learned something from Allende.
January 22nd, 2006 at 8:27 pm
Eleanore,
The coup against Chávez took place in April 2002, 2003.
Well, I am starting to get uncomfortable about the turn this discussion is taking. As soon as anyone starts talking about human rights, or a report on human rights abuses is published, there is the inevitable debate about which countries are worse and which are better.
Full disclosure: From 1987 to 1996 I was an Ara Coordinator and trainer for Amnesty International. I conducted new member orientations in the AIUSA national headquarters on a monthly basis for nearly ten years. The one thing I always stressed was this: AI did not rate any country as better than any other one regarding their human rights record. It’s a formula for injecting political bias into a discussion.
You know what the only acceptable number of people being imprisoned for the nonviolent expression of their beliefs or being tortured is? Zero.
January 22nd, 2006 at 10:08 pm
“Laws passed since late 2004 have introduced onerous new restrictions on the media. The Law of Social Responsibility in Radio and Television, approved by the National Assembly in December 2004, establishes detailed regulations for the content of television and radio programs. For example, stations deemed to ‘condone or incite’ public disturbances or publish messages ‘contrary to the security of the nation’ are subject to heavy fines and can be ordered to suspend broadcasting for seventy-two hours; on a second offense they may forfeit their broadcasting license for up to five years…”
I agree that they should change the wording of the Law of Social Responsibility in Radio and Television, but the fact of the matter is that these laws are hardly ever applied. I spent much of the summer in Caracas and, let me tell you, the opposition papers insult Chavez every day of the week, as do the opposition television channels. There’s nothing holding them back. The report you yourself linked to by John Dinges made it abundantly clear that opposition media operate in freedom.
I imagine the government would throw the book at opposition media if they were to start airing statements calling for the government’s overthrow (again), but what government wouldn’t do that?
You really have to understand something about the nature of the opposition to understand why the National Assembly drafted an admittedly poorly-worded piece of legislation and why the president signed it into law.
“In March 2005, amendments to the Criminal Code came into force which extended the scope of Venezuela’s desacato (disrespect) laws, and increased penalties for desacato, criminal defamation, and libel. By broadening its desacato provisions, Venezuela ignored the recommendations of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and bucked a continent-wide trend toward the repeal of this type of law…”
As mentioned in Dinges’ article that you linked to, Venezuela’s very own Minister of Information and Communication (at the time) told Dinges that he opposed the special protections that the media law gave to high officials, and that he favored a freedom-of-information law for Venezuela like the one in the U.S. In other words, not even the person in charge of enforcing the law sought to prosecute opposition media for offending the president.
Again, we can agree that the wording of the media law is problematic and should be changed, but one shouldn’t conflate some of the law’s wording with what is actually enforced in practice. If you spend a little time in Venezuela, you –like Dinges– will see that opposition media operate freely.
“The killing of three innocent students in the Kennedy district of Caracas on June 27, 2005, highlighted the violence and lawlessness of Venezuela’s police forces…”
“Hundreds of police executions have been reported over the past several years, although the problem long predates the current administration. While the Attorney General’s Office and the human rights ombudsman have denounced these abuses, little progress has been made in prosecuting the police responsible or introducing the reforms necessary to combat the practice…”
“Conditions in Venezuela’s prisons are notoriously abusive. Overcrowding is chronic and armed gangs maintain effective control within the prison walls…”
How are the above conditions different than those in other Latin American democracies?
In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, police are known to kill over 1000 favela dwellers a year. This is not to mention the many reports that Brazilian police still moonlight as “social cleansers” of street children. And yet I’ve never heard you accuse Lula of “violating human rights” on account of the widespread persistence of such practices.
As for the June 27 incident that you mention of the three students who were killed, Chávez himself spoke strongly in favor of prosecuting the culprits.
With regard to police abuse and prison conditions in general, I’m sure that similar reports have been written about most other democracies in Latin America (with the possible exception of Costa Rica). Latin American countries in general have sordid prison conditions and serious problems with police abuse. It makes little sense to single out Venezuela for such abuses or to lay all the responsibility at the feet of the president.
Again, would you lay all the responsibility for the lawlessness of Brazil’s police forces at Lula’s feet? If not, then maybe you should at least try to be consistent with regard to Venezuela.
It’s curious that, as far as Latin America goes, you only zero in on human rights reports about Venezuela and Cuba. This is very typical, exactly what the U.S. press does. Why is there no mention of the Colombian government’s human rights record? What about most Central American governments today, for that matter?
Unless you can show that other Latin American democracies compare favorably to the Venezuelan state in such regards, it’s hard to take this sort of analysis seriously.
January 22nd, 2006 at 11:17 pm
You know, Randy, it’s about as simple as you put it. What makes it so difficult for some people to “get” this fact? (I would suggest it is their own privileged position in the world). If there’s anything I can’t stand, it’s someone making excuses for the abuses of someone else. Ive lived with this my entire adult life in regard to Chile.
It physically nauseates me to hear the temporizing over Cuba, Venezuela or .. if you wish… Mexico. It’s a double insult when the apologies come from those living quite comfortably in the U.S. (despite their avowed liberal or radical politics). The lefty apologists, of course, wind up committing the very ourtage that they are always worked up about when they see it in others i.e. a complacency born of privilege. It’s quite effortless to sit on one’s rear here at home and pontificate to others that the suffering they experience really isn’t THAT because it’s much, much worse in you-name-the-place.
In that context, you know, Pinochet himself was quite a piker. Knocking off 3,000 people was but a piffle compared to say the Khmer Rouge, or the Indonesians (or for that matter Hitler, Stalin or Mao). Indeed, when I was in post-Soviet Russia in the 1990′s the so-called “democrats” told me how much they admired Pinochet– admired him because, in their view, he had rescued Chile from communism by inflicting such mininal casualties. Certainly, by Soviet standards, Pinochet was a pansy when it came to murdering his opposition.
But just what recompense does this offer his victims?
In the case of Venezuela –if anyone cared to really read the link I posted– there’s been something like 6,000 “extra-judicial” murders over the last number of years. That’s twice the number of state=sponsored killings than during the entire Pinochet period. The HRW report points out that the bulk of these police murders were carried out before Chavez. Unfortunately, they not only continue… but HRW points out how the Chavez government has bothered to investigate way less than 10% of the murders. No matter of course… He’s no worse, remember, than the Mexican government (responsible itself for thousands of univestigated state murders and quite a dollop of “disappeared” I might add). Only on this blog I have ever seen anyone suggest Mexico was a “minor” offender of human rights. Perhaps those who think that should do a little research and find out what “madrinas” are. Viva Mexico! Viva Chavez! Viva la revolucion!
January 22nd, 2006 at 11:38 pm
But I asked you a specific question, Marc.
I noted that, in Rio de Janeiro, police are known to kill over 1000 favela dwellers a year. I also mentioned many reports that Brazilian police still moonlight as “social cleansers†of street children.
And yet I’ve never heard you accuse Lula of “violating human rights” on account of the widespread persistence of such practices.
So I’ll pose my question again.
Would you lay all the responsibility for the lawlessness of Brazil’s police forces at Lula’s feet? If not, then how would it be consistent for you to lay responsibility for all of Venezuela’s police repression at Chavez’s feet?
Also, a minor clarification. I believe that the figure of 3,000 deaths in Chile under Pinochet refers to the murders of political opponents alone. If you were to add extra-judicial killings of alleged criminals and such, I’m sure the death toll would be much higher.
January 23rd, 2006 at 2:41 am
Sam,
I don’t need any “convincing” when it comes to what is happening in Darfur — I’ve read enough reports, columns and essays — especially from Human Rights Watch, Eric Reeves and Nat Hentoff — that I’m quite aware of the depth of the horror that is taking place there.
But to call the country, as a whole, a “hellhole” makes no sense whatsoever and only highlights your own ignorance.
“WHY GUESS DUDE? FOR $2,000 (I’M POOR) I WILL FLY TO THE SUDAN, SPEND TWO WEEKS AND REPORT BACK. THEN YOU WILL KNOW WHAT I AM MADE OF.”
Your false bravado is nothing to be proud of. Yes, you will certainly “test your mettle” you budding Indiana Jones you, in the wild, dangerous streets of Omdourman and Khartoum, when nefarious Islamofascist families, who don’t know you from a hole in the wall, invite you into their homes as an honored dinner guest.
I mean, this is just too funny. On the one hand, every one of your posts contains a dire warning about how “THEY’RE GONNA KILL US ALL!!!” or “THEY’RE GONNA NUKE MANHATTAN!!!” and, on the other hand, you’re bragging about how you’re gonna go over there and take on the fuzzy wuzzies with one hand tied behind your back.
A reminder once again of what the Old Right historian Garet Garrett said was a common characteristic of all empires — “a complex of fear and vaunting.”
January 23rd, 2006 at 9:43 am
Oh I’m pretty sure it is a hellhole for most of the citizenry. And I agree with triple A these threats are overblown. Real but still way overblown. I don’t know who is holding up Cuba as a paragon of virtue but no one would take that seriously as a valid position. It’s smacks of pure cultural relativism. Always invalid.
January 23rd, 2006 at 12:06 pm
“if Chavez cracks down on his opponents maybe it is because he learned something from Allende.”
Exactly! Only by destroying free expression can we protect democracy from the counterrevolutionaries. That’s why I support Comrade Bush’s program of illegal wiretaps. He’s wise enough to know that he must burn the Constitution in order to save it.
January 23rd, 2006 at 7:18 pm
Sorry, but I don’t think it’s at all irrelevant whether a country is ruled by a government that systematically abuses human rights in order to eliminate any effective political opposition as opposed to a government like Mexico’s that has a terrible human rights record but doesn’t engage in systematic or wholesale imprisonment of the government’s opponents and essentially outlaws all dissent. Maybe I have some naive view of Mexico, but I doubt it. While Amnest International may not rate the degree of human rights abuses chalked up by, say, George Bush versus the track record of Kim Il Jong or some such, I have no problem making a distinction – and a rather large and significant one. . When I see the Chavez=Castro rhetoric pulled out, I know I’m dealing with people who more likely have a political agenda than a human rights agenda. Let’s get real…
January 23rd, 2006 at 7:20 pm
Ooopa…I really need to preview and proof read. That first sentence should read:
Sorry, but I don’t think it’s at all irrelevant whether a country is ruled by a government that systematically abuses human rights in order to eliminate any effective political opposition and essentially outlaws all dissent as opposed to a government like Mexico’s that has a terrible human rights record but doesn’t engage in systematic or wholesale imprisonment of the government’s opponents.
January 23rd, 2006 at 7:21 pm
Christ…”Ooopa” was supposed to be “Ooops”
January 24th, 2006 at 2:48 am
Oh boy here we go again. Justin Delacour for the defense.
No justin. You would be wrong about Chile. The 3000 killings in Chile include extrajudicial murders.
Ans yes, justin, if murders in Brazilian favelas continue and if those murders remain unsolved they damn well become the political responsibility of Lula.That’s what’s called taking ownership of ones responsobilities.
I am amused by your mealy-mouthedness on Venezuela’s press laws. You have worked up on the courage to say you would like to see them “reworded.” Why, how considerate! Generally speaking when we want laws reworded we mean we want them struck down. WOuld u mind telling us how u would like them reworded?
And frankly, I dont give a fiddler’s fuck what Venezuela TV says about Chavez… they have the cameras, he has the guns. Seems like a fair fight to me. As to other countries abuses…. yawn…. come one Justin, a total red herring. We neednt evoke the entire list of continental abusers as a preface each time we want to criticize your boy Chavez. That’s ridiculous. In the case of Colombia I was writing long exposes of the social cleansing squads that appeared in the American media when — by my reckoking– you were still in pre-puberty. So climb down from your hobby horse for 5 minutes and deal with this like a grown-up/
It’s, in fact, you who has never answered the direct question I put to you three weeks ago on Truthdig and which since you have clumsily dodged:
Could u please list for us what if any concerns or criticizms you have Chavez and his government. Certainly you must have some quibble to take up with him– unless you think the government and its leader perfect. And given that Chavez’s friendhsip with a dictator like Castro is open and ebullient, do you have any personal concerns whatsoever that Venezuela might adopt the Cuban political model. And if it did, do u think that would be a benefit to the Venezuelan people? Try to answer directly.
January 24th, 2006 at 7:44 am
Marc Cooper: “In the case of Colombia I was writing long exposes of the social cleansing squads that appeared in the American media when — by my reckoking– you were still in pre-puberty”
And Christopher Hitchens used to write long exposes about US foreign policy. But both of you have evolved into parrots of US foreign policy. He prefers to pimp for Dick Cheney while you prefer to pimp for the Miami gusanos.
January 25th, 2006 at 8:05 am
I see the Venceremos Brigade has arrived.
January 26th, 2006 at 11:24 am
Marc Marc Marc, what a headache you are becoming. How much did Pajama media pay you?
Anyway, I am not going to make any excuses whatsoever for authoritarian Castro, but your smears of Chavez are completely un called for. When is it illegal for a President to appoint his own people to the court? Roosevelt did this too!
The laws that supposedly oppress the press were laws against inciting coups. Something that happened to Chavez in 2002. Furthermore, so what if he allies to Castro? America allies itself with Saudi Arabia. Are we going to adopt Wahabbi Islam? Chavez has been elected 3, count em 3 times, completely fair and square.
July 17th, 2006 at 4:02 pm
Well done!
[url=http://prokxmjr.com/rowt/srux.html]My homepage[/url] | [url=http://fgkdypuy.com/onws/ipuv.html]Cool site[/url]
July 17th, 2006 at 4:02 pm
Thank you!
My homepage | Please visit
July 17th, 2006 at 4:02 pm
Nice site!
http://prokxmjr.com/rowt/srux.html | http://qcowlzep.com/licx/abcp.html
July 22nd, 2006 at 3:34 am
Geben mir bitte eine poker Brotchenmjv
July 4th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
2fa8650d69ba5aa0350ecd6788706414…
2fa8650d69ba5aa0350ecd6788706414…