rewarding good behavior...

we are quick to express our position on human rights issues to our elected officials and that's AWESOME ... and when one of them votes the correct way we should thank them and tell them why they did the right thing ... sort of like house training a puppy only not exactly ... :-)

i've just been told that representative jim cooper was the ONLY member of the tennessee delegation to vote against the irresponsible "compromise" torture bill...the ONLY one...i encourage everyone to contact jim cooper's office and tell him thank you...nashville office phone: 615-736-5295 ... washington d.c. office phone: 202-225-4311...

make another call, k'?

We got our senators on board, now how 'bout Congress?

Great Job TN! Both of our Senators will be signatories in a letter to the Arab league expressing the vital importance in carrying out UN Security Council Resolution 1706 and use all diplomatic means to get UN Peacekeepers on the ground in Darfur.

Unfortunately, only one of our nine members of Congress is a signatory as well. Rep. Bart Gordon from Murfreesboro and Cookeville signed the letter today.

The letter's deadline is tomorrow, so please call your representative and urge them to sign the Darfur letter sponsored by Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ-04) and Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA-12).

If you would like to know who your member of congress is and his/her contact info, click here.

this is NOT a theoretical concern...

i don't think so...is the answer to the following question:

could 45 retired admirals and generals, military leaders and former dod officials be wrong about preserving the indivisible and universal provisions of humane treatment embedded in the geneva convention???

that includes 5 former members of the joint chiefs of staff!!! former u.s. chairman of the joint chiefs of staff john vessey, said:

"If such legislation is being considered, I fear that it may weaken America in two respects.

• First, it would undermine the moral basis which has generally guided our conduct in war throughout our history.
• Second, it could give opponents a legal argument for the mistreatment of Americans being held prisoner in times of war."

the signatories asked legislators to "consider the impact that redefining Common Article 3 would have on Americans who put their lives at risk in defense of our Nation...We believe their interests, and their safety and protection should they become prisoners, should be your highest priority as you address this issue."

Tell your Senators to block any legislation governing the treatment of detainees that does not follow and improve upon the principles laid out in the Graham-Warner-McCain proposal.
Click here to take action today!

legislative compromise sells out geneva convention...

as it stands "the compromise" merely substitutes one injustice for another...while the right of the accused to be present at trial has been strengthened, the measure still permits the introduction of evidence long considered untrustworthy...the revised rules allow evidence obtained through "coercion," despite decades of court decisions that such testimony is inherently unreliable...likewise, the bill permits the use of hearsay evidence unless the accused can prove that the evidence is unreliable...but the accused will never be given a fair chance to do so, as the prosecution is permitted to keep sources and methods used to obtain that evidence secret...

Larry Cox, Amnesty International USA's Executive Director, issued the following statement in response to the proposed agreement reached by President Bush and Senate Republicans regarding detainee legislation:

"Amnesty International is deeply disturbed by the proposed compromise between Senate leaders and the White House on detainee legislation. Without further clarification the legislation leaves loopholes big enough to drive a Humvee through. The parties appear to have negotiated themselves right back to the starting line. The core of the public debate between senior Republican leaders and the administration largely hinged on the president's ability to interpret the Geneva Conventions as he saw fit and as he basically granted himself authority to do in the war on terror. Key Senators argued, rightly, that the Conventions must stay intact. Yet, in the alleged 'win-win' compromise, it appears that the president can reinterpret the Conventions, amend the War Crimes Act and even give a greenlight to treatment long-considered torture. Without additional clarity, the proposed agreement betrays American values of justice and long-held agreements and obligations on basic humane treatment. There can be no compromise for torture.

This is not a time for electoral calculations on either side of the aisle. Winning or losing elections doesn't matter if the price of victory is a profound betrayal of principle -- and, make no mistake about it, the proposed legislation has that potential. This bill could confirm America as a nation unbound by human rights standards Americans lived by, fought for and promoted for decades."

amnesty international has launched the "america i believe in" campaign because we believe that the united states is facing a defining moment: the nation can continue to be one of the world's leaders on human rights or lose its moral authority on fairness and justice...some of the campaign activities have included advertisements in major print and online publications and personal calls and visits to congressional members...actually, over the past week, amnesty international members and other citizens sent nearly 50,000 letters to congress urging lawmakers to keep the conventions intact and not to cede the nation's values...

keep those calls coming in...

so i said, "your call can help turn the tide,"... "make a call this week,"...

and the reply was like, "oh yeah, how do you know?"...

well here's what i do know, no question, without a doubt - if you don't call you make NO DIFFERENCE at all...

zip, zilch, zero, nada...that's the only guarantee you have - do nothing, accomplish nothing...

the crisis in the darfur region is at a crucial point...a u.n. peacekeeping operation must be deployed immediately to protect civilians in darfur...that won't happen without u.s. pressure...our government won't act unless you speak out...

so call right now...

and check out the new amnesty international magazine cover story, "darfur: a call to action." ...

peace out <3

outreach is creating ways to make connections...

so why start a blog???

i mean after all everybody and their mother has started a blog in the past 3 years - only the most ardent luddite has been left out of this loop...

but last night betsy and lindsay attended their first ever amnesty international meeting because of this blog ... they went to the amnesty international usa website, found the page for tennessee chapters, and clicked on the nashville group website link that we had posted less than weeks ago...

and they hooked up with us...that's called outreach - that's what i'm talkin'' about...

so whether it's free ads in local weekly papers, listserves, flyers, networking, or a host of other outreach mechanisms, building a human rights movement turns on making it possible for people hook up with you and get involved...

just like betsy and lindsay!

pro-torture guidelines rebuffed by senate committee...

a week ago we reported on president bush's full-scale assault on human rights ... yesterday the president was apparently "bitch-slapped" by members of his own party...

...a senate committee dealt a bipartisan rebuff to president bush by approving military tribunal legislation that would give more legal protection to detainees than the administration wants...

...four of the 13 republicans on the senate armed services committee joined all 11 democrats to pass their version of the measure, rejecting bush's proposal to bar defendants from seeing classified evidence prosecutors may want to use in court...former secretary of state colin powell endorsed the senate approach, warning that the bush administration is risking the safety of u.s. troops and worldwide opinion by permitting harsh treatment of detainees...

...the committee acted just hours after the president made an unusual visit to capitol hill to urge support for his proposals on domestic eavesdropping and military tribunals. Bush warned the senate version would restrict the ability of intelligence operatives ``to interrogate people who have information about future attacks,"...

for coverage on president bush's so what defense check out the daily show clip entitled trial and terror - OUCH!!!

peace out <3

global day for darfur...

if you think that because the international community has yet to stop the events in darfur from replicating the tragedy in rwanda you should chill out -

THINK AGAIN!!!

Sunday, September 17th is Global Day for Darfur -

a day of rallies around the country and world, including a major rally in New York City to coincide with the convening of the 61st General Assembly of the United Nations, to urge immediate international action for Darfur.

Save Darfur Rally & Musical Performances by:
Big & Rich ** O.A.R ** Lupe Fiasco
Sunday, September 17th 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.

In Manhattan's Central Park East MeadowDownload

the flyer for this event (PDF).

_________________________

In Nashville that day,

Tennesseans Against Genocide is presenting

Darfur Diaries,

a powerful hour-long documentary, at

3:30 PM at The Belcourt Theatre,

2102 Belcourt Ave, Nashville.

Klint Alexander, an attorney specializing in international law, will speak briefly on what's preventing international action at this time and why action is justified.

reach out and touch (a lot o') someone(s)...

tennessee is a pretty big albeit awkwardly shaped state ... from the southwest corner (near memphis) to the northeast corner (past johnson city) it's somewhere between 500 and 600 miles (that's between 800 and 960 km for those of us from outside the silly u.s.)...

so if you want to check in (in real time) with other human rights organizers and activists here in the volunteer state you got basically 2 choices - chat rooms and conference calls ...

well chat rooms are a little messy and people like myself type w/2 or 3 fingers so a conference call is really the best option ... and now there are no fee conference call facilitators whereby participants simply pay the cost of the the long distance call itself...

so what'll we talk about??? well, we'll find out what campaigns each group wants to work on so that we can coordinate efforts and maximize outcomes, mobilize for the regional conference in new orleans, see how we can support our statewide stop violence against women campaign coordinator, and plan for a statewide face-to-face in the spring (prolly' somewhere in middle tennessee as a geographic compromise), and at baseline set foundations for building relationships and trust...

so if you're around a week from today (next wednesday) call in at 8 p.m. eastern by calling 1-712-432-2323 and using code # 58156 ... we got nothing to hide...

peace out <3

on-line discussion friday: brutal killing of women in guatemala...

human rights (and women's) organizer samantha mathis shares this with us:

"Last year, while visiting Guatemala I learned of an appalling reality; women walk the streets with fear that they could at any moment be abducted and killed. According to the Guatemalan National Civilian Police (PNC) the number of women killed has risen steeply from 303 in 2001 to 665 in 2005. Exceptional cruelty and sexual violence characterize many of the killings. Some of the victims had their throats cut, were beaten, shot or stabbed to death. Many of their bodies show signs of rape, torture, mutilation or dismemberment."

i was there 11 years ago for a month but naively thought things had improved ... naive at 48 - busted!...

This is a human rights scandal that must be addressed immediately.

and i concur completely with samantha...so what's your first step???

join amnesty international for an online discussion on friday september 15, with hilda morales, renowned guatemalan lawyer and advocate for families of the victims of femicide....check out what the challenges have been for advocates like hilda and family members of the victims, what the guatemalan government's response has been and why these killings are on the rise. please submit questions by wednesday september 13...

peace out <3

freedom of speech includes freedom to publish...

banned books week...september 23-30...

during banned books week,..amnesty international directs attention to the plight of individuals who are persecuted because of the writings that they produce, circulate or read...traditionally, banned books week activities take place at the end of september -- but the featured cases are not confined to a week...they continue to need your action...

click here to see and take action on some of these cases...

peace out <3

president bush’s full-scale assault on human rights...

did you see it too or was i dreaming???

two days ago, president bush on national television defended cruel and humiliating treatment of detainees and proposed legislation that would legalize the sham military commissions that the supreme court recently repudiated in hamdan v. rumsfeld reaffirming fair trial standards for detainees in u.s. custody...

the u.s. president justified torture...again...

with this brazen move, president bush has launched an all-out assault on human rights and the rule of law..torture?...secret prisons?...unfair trials?...impunity for law breakers?...this is not the america i - we - believe in....the america we believe in does not use torture...the america we believe in would never hide people in secret prisons...the America we believe in leads the world on human rights...

president bush undermining the rule of law constitutes a crisis ... please act with the urgency and sense of purpose that President Bush's full-scale assault on human rights demands...

please support amnesty international today!

peace out <3

there are lives in the balance...join CAN...

that's the title track from the 1986 release from jackson browne (click here for full lyrics)...

i bring this up in relationship to the issue of torturing for profit and the outsourcing of work to private military contractors by the u.s. department of defense (et.al.)...which is primarily a recent phenomenon under secretary of defense donald rumsfeld...

here's what bennett freeman, a former u.s. state department official who has worked to help make american corporations more careful about human rights when they do business in places of violent conflict, has to say:

"Two years ago today, the US Army released the Fay/Jones report, which confirmed that prisoners at Abu Ghraib had been brutally abused by interrogators and translators working for private companies contracted by the US government and military. The report asked the Attorney General to look into the cases of abuse – yet two years later, most of these cases remain untouched. Victims and their relatives have had no access to justice, and private companies operating in zones of conflict are getting the message that torture is a part of business as usual."

fact is the u.s. government has outsourced billions of dollars in contracts to private companies, leaving to civilians some of the most essential and sensitive functions in the war, including providing security for u.s. government personnel and reconstruction projects, operating and maintaining weapons systems, translating during interrogations and conducting interrogations...despite weak reporting requirements placed on private security firms, allegations have surfaced implicating civilians working for the u.s. government in mistreatment of iraqi and afghan civilians...

learn more about amnesty international usa's efforts to hold private military contractors accountable for human rights violations in the "war on terror..."

join the corporate action network to find out more ways you can take action to ensure private military companies and other corporate actors are upholding human rights...

They sell us the President the same way
They sell us our clothes and our cars
They sell us every thing from youth to religion
The same time they sell us our wars
I want to know who the men in the shadows are
I want to hear somebody asking them why
They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are
But they're never the ones to fight or to die

peace out <3

mental illness and justice...not...

u.s. district judge thomas phillips ruled this week that daryl holton is competent to waive his death penalty appeals...holton, a "volunteer," is scheduled for execution on september 19th...

now here's the rub - holton has suffered from major depression and psychosis for more than twenty years...however, holton's murder of his four children, an egregiously tragic event, might never have happened if he had been receiving proper treatment through the years...holton was suffering from these conditions at the time of the crime, and he has a long series of suicidal impulses which may now be guiding his behavior, especially taking into account his recent decision to die by electrocution...

and it is a public relations ruse to consider the execution of such "volunteers" as consensual... in an amnesty international usa report released in april 2001 called the illusion of control, the human rights organization argues that a decision taken by someone who is under threat of death at the hands of others can never be considered consensual...executions like (tim) mcveigh's are a form of premeditated killing, says amnesty, "a human rights violation that is a symptom of a culture of violence, not a solution to it."...

amnesty international usa remains on the cutting edge at the intersection of mental illness and the death penalty with articles such as cruel and inhumane: executing the mentally ill and groundbreaking reports like the execution of mentally ill offenders ... click here to see what michael j. fitzpatrick, executive director, national alliance on mental illness (nami) had to say about this amnesty international report...

stay tuned for actions opposing this execution or send an e-mail to threedoginn@bellsouth.net

peace out <3

overcome obstacles to engage people...

Last week the Belcourt screened The Road to Guantanamo and we were invited to table and/or canvass, which I prefer to do, before and after the film. Our group has been known for doing a great job of collecting signatures, petitions and bringing new members to Amnesty International. The participation was phenomenal! Ten Nashville-area Amnesty activists participated and although the film did not get "box office numbers," we were still able to spread the word and hope.

People consider me as one more of an aggressive activist in that I don't mind taking people out of their comfort zone in order to tell them about the horror in Guantanamo Bay detention cells. By doing that, I get to speak to people who wouldn't normally approach an Amnesty table. Among the people who did not want to sign the petition were, an Argentinean professor at Vanderbilt who was not a citizen, an uncle of a soldier in Iraq, and another guy who was too busy philosophising and not acting.

However, for the most part, we found that people were very supportive of our work. Of course, it's also true that most of the people were the kind of people that would pay to see an independent film on Guantanamo Bay. This is where things need to change. We have to stop talking within our movement and go beyond it.

As Board member for AIUSA, I hope to work with my colleagues to direct Amnesty in that direction. We are at a key point in Amnesty's history. In the coming months, the strategic planning consultants will identify the obstacles that keep us from reaching our goals; we are also addressing many more issues that may be controversial withinn our OWN movement. Finally, the current administration put a lot of effort into silencing our voices.

For all of these reasons, I'm most inspired when I work locally, with a group and talk to the "outsiders" of our movement." I enjoy talking to those uncles, professors and pseudo-intellectuals because, even though I may not change their mind, I have done my job, and others will too. Little by little - effort by effort - we've gotta keep the bells of human rights ringing.

the america that you and i believe in...

• does not torture people...
  
• does not hold people at guantanamo bay without charges, without trials, without hope and without end...
  
• does not kidnap people off the street and ship them to nations known for their brutality...
  
• defends human dignity and promotes human rights for all...

amnesty international is mobilizing people of conscience across all 50 states to re-affirm america's commitment to human rights...take the first step and help us reach our goal of 50 memberships each day of september...

click here now -- thank you...

music with a message: spotlight on JAGUARES...

amnesty international launched Make Some Noise about a year and a half ago ... MSN is about music with a message...this ground-breaking venture from amnesty international mixes music, celebration and action to protect individuals wherever justice, freedom and equality are denied...with exclusive john lennon covers, artist videos and opportunities to make an impact...MSN is meant to inspire a new generation to stand up for human rights...

the most powerful group to emerge from this project is JAGUARES...they play before crowds of 100,000 in mexico and have played before huge audiences when touring the u.s...

the group's latest album, Cronicas de un Laberinto (Chronicles of a Labyrinth), is a statement about how mexico is still searching for the right mix of social justice and economic prosperity...for example on the bittersweet tune Madera (Wood), lead singer saul hernández envisions a wood that "is resistant to all weeping" and "resurrects in ciudad juarez" -- a reference to the unsolved killings of hundreds of women in the cities of juarez and chihuahua (highlighted in amnesty international's campaign to stop violence against women)...

check out the jaguares page on amnesty international's make some noise site or check their official web site (in spanish) out by clicking here...

oh yeah, go out and MAKE SOME NOISE!

peace out <3

this male says statutory gender equality is long overdue...

i think back to the very early 80's and the effort to pass the equal rights amendment here in the united states...so as i recall this was no long "feminist" treatise or male-bashing, rather it was concise, simple, and historically justified...in fact here's the actual text...

Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

but did you know that the era was written in 1923 by alice paul, suffragist leader and founder of the national woman's party...she and the nwp considered the era to be the next necessary step after the 19th amendment (woman suffrage) in guaranteeing "equal justice under law" to all citizens...and the era was introduced into every session of congress between 1923 and 1972, when it was passed and sent to the states for ratification..the seven-year time limit in the era's proposing clause was extended by congress to June 30, 1982, but at the deadline, the era had been ratified by 35 states, leaving it three states short of the 38 required for ratification...it has been reintroduced into every congress since that time....

so this post is more than a simple u.s. history lesson - it's global...

here's the thing -- male domination and subjugation transcends cultural barriers and is responsible for the failure of passage of the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW) which would establish a minimum set of standards for combating discrimination against women for all signatories (nations)...

but let's return to the u.s. for a second ... while 183 countries have ratified CEDAW the united states is one of only 9 countries that have failed to do so...so who joins the u.s. in opposing legal gender equality...lessee..

there's iran, somalia, qatar, sudan (which includes darfur), tonga, palau, nauru, and oh yes - the cook islands...

that's some company...

back in 1980 i really believed that the era would pass - and it still may - but you can help us work to pass CEDAW while living right here in tennessee by working with the stop violence against women campaign, educating and raising awareness about the ways in which male dominion results in the diminution of dignity for the less privileged, non-male gendered among us...

peace out <3

about the many - about the one...

in a nutshell human rights is a HUGE concept about the indivisibility and universality of the components necessary to live life in a dignified manner - a right is for every single human being or it is no right at all...

now amnesty international began more than four decades ago -- the story of two portuguese students sentenced to seven years imprisonment for raising a toast to freedom horrified british lawyer peter benenson (click here for the rest of the story)...

and today, while the demands of educating about, organizing around, and exposing the abuses of human rights is a daunting job working on individual cases remains an integral part of the work of amnesty international...

so today i ask you to TAKE ACTION on behalf of filep karma and yusak pakage, prisoners of conscience in indonesia...

For peacefully raising a flag, Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage may spend the next decade or more in prison in Indonesia.

On December 1, 2004, some 200 people participated in a nonviolent ceremony outside Abepura in Papua Province during which the Morning Star flag, a symbol of Papuan independence, was raised in commemoration of the declaration of Papuan independence in 1962. The commemoration is celebrated annually by some Papuans. While approximately 200 people took part in the December 1 ceremony, hundreds more local people watched from the edge of the fields.

SPEAK OUT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS!

Please send politely worded letters to the President of Indonesia, urging him to bring about the immediate and unconditional release of Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage.

Write to:
Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
President of Indonesia
c/o The Ambassador
Embassy of Indonesia
2020 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036

For more background on their cases click here...

peace out <3