u.s. house passes aid package to colombia increasing support for critical social, economic and humanitarian needs...

one of the first, no THE first issue i lobbied on for amnesty international was regarding plan colombia (notice how amnesty international is cited in the wikipedia entry)...which emerged as one of the policy failures of the clinton administration...

well there's finally some positive change in this abysmal policy...last week the u.s. house of representatives unanimously passed a new aid package to colombia increasing support for critical social, economic and humanitarian needs and decreasing funding to a military implicated in serious human rights violations...

because of your appeals, the new aid package went from 76% military and 24% social and economic aid, to 55% military and 45% social and economic aid, including support for victims of the conflict...

for over a decade, amnesty international usa has advocated for a different approach to u.s. policy toward colombia...aiusa has highlighted the role of the colombian armed forces in serious human rights violations, the killing of thousands of civilians by the military, paramilitary and guerrilla’s, the attacks against human rights defenders, the internal displacement of millions of colombians and have communicated our concerns over cases of human rights violations to the u.s. government...

a heartfelt THANK YOU goes out to all you - amnesty activists and supporters or not - who contacted their congressional representatives asking the new congress to create a new policy toward colombia...stay tuned for the senate version of the state, foreign operations appropriations act...those of us seeking a new direction in colombian foreign policy will need your help to ensure that the senate also passes more balanced aid package that supports human rights in colombia...

in the meantime, take action to help ensure the safety of the members of the peace community of san josé de apartadó, colombia...according to recent reports, the peace community could be in danger of an attack at the hands of paramilitaries...francisco puerta, a peasant leader who lived in an area associated with the peace community was shot dead by paramilitaries, and both the paramilitaries and the army have threatened members of the community...

call on president alvaro uribe and other colombian authorities to take all necessary measures to protect the members of the peace community....

peace out <3

someone doesn't want you to read this...

you need to be irrepressible -- wanna know why???

the web is a great tool for sharing ideas and freedom of expression...however, efforts to try and control the internet are growing...internet repression is reported in countries like china, vietnam, tunisia, iran, saudi arabia and syria...people are persecuted and imprisoned simply for criticising their government, calling for democracy and greater press freedom, or exposing human rights abuses, online...

but internet repression is not just about governments...information technology companies have helped build the systems that enable surveillance and censorship to take place...yahoo! have supplied email users’ private data to the chinese authorities, helping to facilitate cases of wrongful imprisonment...microsoft and google have both complied with government demands to actively censor chinese users of their services...

freedom of expression is a fundamental human right...it is one of the most precious of all rights...we should fight to protect it...

one thing you can do is join the more than 70,000 people who have taken a stand and sign the pledge to protect the internet...you can post fragments of censored materials on your web or blog site...

fight censorship...save the net...

peace out <3

catholics join amnesty international activists and others at rally in support of habeas corpus restoration...

we have been talking for some time about the efforts this week on behalf of the habeas corpus restoration act and have ourselves been planning a lobby visit to senators corker's and alexander's offices respectively...

well about 4,000 people rallied in washington d.c. today to advocate the restoration of habeas corpus and other constitutional rights undermined by the bush administration, according to estimates from the aclu and amnesty international...thousand of self-identified christians joined other activists and withstood the capital's oppressive summer heat to rally against torture, indefinite imprisonment and other tactics the united states has used in the war against terrorism...

woot woot!

amnesty international members in orange jumpsuits stood near the front of the stage, duct tape sealing their mouths...amnesty executives jumana musa and mona cadena said they thought of wearing jumpsuits in 2004 as a way to raise attention about the plight of detainees at the u.s. military's guantanamo bay detainment camp in cuba..suspected terrorists are being held there indefinitely by the u.s. government, with little access to legal counsel...

"The tape is to show that the [detainees] have now been silenced," Musa said. "They can't even go to a court and ask the simple question of, 'Why am I being detained?'"

according to ari melber over at the hufffington post organizers of the event are delivering about 200,000 petition signatures to congress that demand immediate action to "restore habeas corpus, fix the military commissions act, end torture and rendition and restore our constitutional rights,"...

this is not a one-day affair, either...the rally is designed to continue online until congress acts...a coalition of over 50 organizations, led by the aclu and amnesty international, is recruiting supporters through an official website; senate judiciary chairman pat leahy started a website asking people to pressure his senate colleagues into supporting the habeas bill; and moveon has launched a new campaign to end torture, pass habeas legislation and restore the rule of law... moveon organizer nita chaudhary is leading the important effort, which includes support from retired generals robert gard and john johns, who spoke out in favor of closing guantanamo this week...

here in nashville we will likely have to schedule our lobby visit a couple of weeks but you can check and see if a delegation from your state has anything lined up by clicking here...

today demonstrated that this has become a mainstream bipartisan issue...david keen, chairman of the american conservative union, spoke at the rally and said his presence proves opposing illegal imprisonment knows no political boundaries...

"I'm here today because as a conservative I believe that America is the greatest and freest nation on the face of the earth...And I want to do what I can to make sure that my children and their children will be able to say the same."

as a sidebar enjoy this episode of this american life and their presentation of habeas schmabeas...

peace out <3

what if they issued an arrest warrent to stop the genocide in darfur and nobody came????

on april 27, 2007, the international criminal court (icc) issued arrest warrants against government minister ahmad harun and janjawid leader ali kushayb...the two are suspected of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in darfur, sudan, including murder, rape and torture...the sudanese authorities have refused so far to allow them to be tried by the icc...if you're affronted by this then take action now »

amnesty international believes that justice is essential to building a lasting peace in darfur, and that cooperation with the icc is the best hope of bringing to justice perpetrators of the worst crimes committed in darfur...the icc was established in 2002 by the international community to serve as the world’s first, permanent, independent court capable of prosecuting individuals accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity when national courts are unable or unwilling to do so...

please take action today by sending two important messages to your elected officials in washington d.c.: strengthen the u.s. government’s relationship with the icc, and keep the pressure on sudanese authorities to cooperate fully with and provide all necessary assistance to the icc and its prosecutor, as mandated by the u.n. security council...

it is a critical time to let the u.s. government know that we support the icc and its work in darfur...thank you for taking the time to speak out for human rights and international justice...

as a final note for you up-and-atom go-getters amnesty international activists across the u.s. are taking action in support of the international criminal court this july...to learn more about local international justice day events in the works and how you can get involved, contact amnesty international at ija@aiusa.org or just sign up »

if you can't take action on darfur perhaps you're simply too self-absorbed...think about it...

peace out <3

america's founding fathers might puke: 385 prisoners and one conviction...

"The 5-year-old prison at Guantánamo is a stain on the honor of this country. By holding people at Guantánamo without charge, without judicial review, without appropriate legal counsel, and ... subjecting many of them to torture, we have forfeited the moral high ground and we stand as hypocrites in the eyes of the world."

- Sen. Tom Harkin, introducing his bill before the Senate

i believe that it's safe to say that shutting down gitmo as it is known has become a mainstream idea...as it has been said - we've come a long way baby...

if you agree that we must close guantánamo bay prison and restore the america we believe in, take action now and help amnesty international win this critical battle...

senator harkin's guantánamo bay detention facility closure act of 2007 gives the bush administration 120 days to either charge or release guantánamo prisoners...this and other congressional initiatives finally offer a real chance to put this dark chapter behind us - and begin the difficult work of reinstating core american principles of justice...

a few days ago, even president bush's former secretary of state colin powell called for closing guantánamo...

as you know, many guantánamo detainees have been subjected to torture and held in a legal no-man's land without charge or trial for up to five years...perhaps if they put scooter libby down there while he awaits his appeal for obstructing justice and undermining the fundamental democratic precepts of a free society...

i'm just saying...

send your senators an e-mail today asking them to support senate bill 1469...

peace out <3

support the troops: stand up for soldiers who are being denied a voice...

u.s. soldiers are being imprisoned for refusal to go to war based on conscience, religious, and moral beliefs -- a right guaranteed by international human rights law...i need you to help me to raise awareness about this increasing human rights violation in the u.s...as an example of what i'm talking about meet conscientious objector and former prisoner of conscience camilo mejía and get his story.

in the last few years, there has been an increase in the number of applications from soldiers refusing to participate in the war and occupation in iraq...they have applied for conscientious objector (co) status, which would allow them exemption from participation in war, based on reasons of conscience or conviction..u.s.owever, the US government has denied most of them and has aggressively pursued soldiers who have gone absent without leave (awol), a crime punishable by a maximum sentence of death by firing squad...click here to read more about imprisoned and recently-released conscientious objectors...

in fact you can help free a conscientious objector...just fax or mail a letter as soon as possible to the secretary of the army asking for mr. wilkerson's unconditional and immediate release (sample letter available). » you can write today...read about other pending cases...get more information if you are a member of the armed forces and are considering applying for co status

peace out <3

european union must show leadership in revealing the truth about rendition...

it is high time for the european union (eu) to take concrete steps to ensure disclosure of the truth about rendition and secret detention in eu territory...it must end the practice once and for all, and ensure accountability for past crimes...

a report by the council of europe’s parliamentary assembly confirmed, in june 2007, that the u.s. central intelligence agency (cia) has operated secret detention centres in poland and romania...the report does not rule out the possibility that secret cia detentions may also have occurred in other council of europe (coe) member states...

the report reinforces earlier findings by the coe and the european parliament and is further confirmation of amnesty international’s conclusions that some european member states have been complicit in the u.s.-led programme of renditions and secret detention...

both the european parliament and bodies of the coe have recommended measures aimed at disclosure of further facts about what has occurred and to prevent further human rights violations of this nature from taking place in the eu...

not a damn one of these recommendations has been implemented to date!

the eu and all european governments must take steps to ensure that counter-terrorism measures do not lead to individuals being subjected to rendition, secret or arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture or other ill-treatment, or other serious human rights violations...

they must also ensure that allegations of human rights violations are fully and independently investigated, that those responsible are brought to justice and that the victims receive adequate reparation...

you can read amnesty international's public statement here: council of europe: amnesty international calls for action against renditions

to take action: you can copy and paste this sample letter into an e-mail or a document to print out...please send appeals to e-mail: pm@pm.gov.pt

Prime Minister José Sócrates

Rua da Imprensa à Estrela

4-1200-888

Lisboa

Portugal

Dear Prime Minister,

I am deeply concerned about the role that some EU Member States have played in the US-led programme of renditions and secret detention.

Inquiries carried out by the Council of Europe and the European Parliament found that some EU Member States had been complicit in renditions and secret detention and recommended measures to prevent renditions in or through Europe in future. I am deeply troubled that none of the recommendations has been implemented to date.

In view of Portugal’s Presidency of the European Union, from July to December 2007, I urge you to ensure that the EU Council publicly condemns rendition and that the recommendations of the European Parliament and the Council of Europe are implemented, including by ensuring that:

• the EU does not allow national or foreign intelligence agencies to operate without effective control on its territory;
• Member States encourage and provide full information to independent parliamentary and/or judicial inquiries into allegations of co-operation in renditions;
• all Member States provide accurate and thorough information on rendition and secret detention to the European Parliament, the EU Council, the EU Commission and the Council of Europe

Respectfully,

Name

City

country

Date

peace out <3

amnesty international defends access to abortion for women at risk...

what i support or believe personally is not the same as what an organization that i believe in and support officially stands for is not the same thing simply because i'm a member of that organization...i am what is referred to as a "pro-choice" individual but amnesty international can not be construed as being "that"...members of the catholic church hierarchy should be able to understand and appreciate that ethical construct and most of those whom i call friend do so...

cardinal renato martino apparently does not...

amnesty international thursday a week ago firmly stood by the rights of women and girls to be free from threat, force or coercion as they exercise their sexual and reproductive rights....and will continue to do so...

responding to a statement from the vatican, amnesty international contradicted the claim of cardinal renato martino, head of the pontifical council for justice and peace, that vatican funding for amnesty international would cease...but get this - martino is engaging in a form of vacuous extorsion...according to kate gilmore, executive deputy secretary general of amnesty international,

"We have not accepted funds from the Vatican and do not accept funds from any other state in support of our work against human rights violations."

millions of people around the world of many faiths and creeds donate to amnesty international as individuals...among them are welcome donations from members of the catholic faith...said gilmore,

"we hope that amnesty international's work against torture, against the death penalty and for the proper administration of justice including for women and girls will continue to draw active support from people of conviction the world over."

and so now defending the right of women to sexual and reproductive integrity in the face of grave human rights violations, amnesty international recently incorporated a focus on selected aspects of abortion into its broader policy on sexual and reproductive rights...these additions do not promote abortion as a universal right and amnesty international remains silent on the rights and wrongs of abortion...


read that carefully...if you're interested in getting this clear...if facts or reality factor into your thinking about the real world...as kate gilmore clarified,

"Amnesty International’s position is not for abortion as a right but for women’s human rights to be free of fear, threat and coercion as they manage all consequences of rape and other grave human rights violations."

anyhoo, wednesday a week ago cardinal martino, through an interview, encouraged catholics to withdraw support for amnesty international, claimed that amnesty international is "promoting abortion rights"...

now must i play liar-lair pants on fire with a cardinal???

amnesty international's actual policy, however, standing alongside its long-standing opposition to forced abortion, is to support the decriminalisation of abortion, to ensure women have access to health care when complications arise from abortion and to defend women's access to abortion, within reasonable gestational limits, when their health or human rights are in danger...again gilmore explains,

"Amnesty International stands alongside the victims and survivors of human rights violations. Our policy reflects our obligation of solidarity as a human rights movement with, for example, the rape survivor in Darfur who, because she is left pregnant as a result of the enemy, is further ostracised by her community."

"We are a movement to protect citizens including the believer but we do not impose beliefs. Ours is a movement dedicated to upholding human rights, not specific theologies. Our purpose invokes the law and the state, not God. It means that sometimes the secular framework of human rights that Amnesty International upholds will converge neatly with the standpoints of certain faith based communities; sometimes it will not."

amnesty international encouraged the catholic church not to turn away from the suffering that women face because of sexual violence and urged the catholic leadership to advocate tolerance and respect to freedom of expression for all human rights defenders, including amnesty international, just as amnesty international will continue to defend the freedom of religion...

so cardinal martino and friends - get the facts straight first - for further information : to stop violence against women respect for women's human rights is essential

peace out <3

Undeserved Rights?

A story broke recently about an impending decision to close Gitmo and move its unlawful enemy combatants to military prisons elsewhere. Cheney, parts of the Justice Department, and former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld are against the decision, saying it would give "undeserved legal rights" to the prisoners housed there.

Who gets to decide which of us deserves legal rights? Really. Who? The president of a country? Any country could then decide that any person in their borders is an unlawful enemy combatant, undeserving of the right to defend themselves in court. The court helps to determine who is a true enemy, and who is the victim of a horrible mistake. The kind of power that would render people prisoners indefinately, with no access to the evidence against them, no access to the court system under which they are being held and no right to defend themselves MUST BE STOPPED.

Please continue to read below about how you can help put an end to the rampant misuse of power, and redirect the War on Terror to a more useful direction.

it's time to urge your elected officials to shut down guantanamo...

for over five years, the united states has detained nearly 400 men in guantanamo bay without charge or trial...senator harkin has introduced legislation that would close the detention facility at guantanamo bay, and ensure that those held in guantanamo will either be charged or released...

it's time to put an end to the flagrant abuses of due process and human rights – urge your senators to co-sponsor and pass the “guantanamo bay detention facility closure act" (s. 1469)...

here's a sample letter you can use to fax or just click here to send an e-mail or print a pre-formatted letter to fax or mail...

I urge you to cosponsor and pass Senator Harkin’s Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility Closure Act of 2007 (S. 1469), which would force the administration to either charge or release prisoners at Guantanamo by closing the detention facility within 120 days. This bill would put an end to indefinite detention and safeguard against transfers to countries where individuals are at risk of torture and persecution.

It has been more than five years since the first detentions at Guantanamo, and to this day only one person has been convicted of any crime and only two others have been charged. The United States has is holding nearly 400 prisoners, without any charges raised against them or any semblance of due process. Recently, an inmate was found in his cell dead of an apparent suicide. He was the fourth man to die of an apparent suicide at Guantanamo, and many others have survived suicide attempts. Senator Harkin’s bill would put an end to the indefinite and arbitrary nature of these detentions, which have driven some to suicide.

I also ask you to ensure that anyone who is tried be afforded due process of law. As such, anyone charged should not be tried by military commissions which fall far short of international fair trial standards, and no person picked up outside of an armed conflict should be tried before any type of military tribunal.

Since Amnesty International called for the closure of Guantanamo more than two years ago, many distinguished voices, including Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, have added their voices to the chorus calling for closure. Passing the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility Closure Act would be a significant step towards restoring the America I believe in, which leads the world on human rights.

peace out <3

so what are economic, cultural, and social human rights???

over the past few years amnesty international has moved towards what we call a full spectrum human rights approach...that is, rather than focusing affirmatively only upon civil and political rights (a remnant of the cold war) the world's largest grassroots human rights organization has blossomed to include the above mentioned economic, cultural, and social rights...

if you read through the universal declaration of human rights you will find that each of the thirty rights can be roughly assigned to one of these five categories...

so here's a very basic primer on economic, social and cultural rights (escr)...

across the world, 840 million people are chronically malnourished...only 11 million children die before the age of five each year...over 100 million (more than half of whom are girls) do not have access even to primary education...this is not just an unfortunate reality of life...it is a human rights scandal of shocking proportions...there is therefore a responsibility to respond -- a responsibility rooted not only in the demands of human decency, but also in legally binding international human rights obligations...

human rights for human dignity is the first amnesty international publication of its kind on escr...the booklet features a variety of case studies that illustrate government obligations as the responsibilities of individuals, groups and enterprises, and explores how organizations monitor and campaign against abuses...

to read the report (html or pdf) or to request a hard copy » to learn more about aiusa's escr work or to take action »

peace out <3

how amnesty international works: from newbury with love...

marina aidova writes:

When I was a child in Moldova, I often felt like my parents and I were outsiders. We were under surveillance by the KGB, our apartment was regularly searched, our phone was bugged and my father was imprisoned in the Soviet Gulag for spreading so-called “anti-Soviet propaganda.”

One of the things that helped my family through this difficult time were the cards and letters of support we received from Harold Edwards, a retired English bookseller in Newbury. Harold began writing to us in response to an Amnesty International campaign that encouraged people to correspond with the families of Soviet political prisoners.

My family continued to exchange letters with Harold until his death in 1986. I have recently compiled the correspondence, which formed such an important part of my upbringing, into a book. And next Tuesday, I’ll be participating in an Amnesty online discussion to talk about the book and the impact that Harold’s letters made on my life.

I hope you’ll join me for an online discussion tomorrow, Tuesday, June 19, at 2 p.m. Eastern time.

Feel free to submit a question in advance.

I look forward to talking with you then.

Sincerely,

Marina Aidova

'off the record' secret cia detention...

at least, at the very least, 39 individuals who remain missing are believed to have been subjected to enforced disappearance by the u.s. authorities...the wives and children of other detainees in secret cia custody have also been held in custody and interrogated, either as potential sources of information or to secure the capture of their husband or father...

happy father's day from our government people...

based on research by six leading human rights groups - amnesty international, cageprisoners, the center for constitutional rights, the center for human rights and global justice and nyu school of law, human rights watch and reprieve -, the briefing paper off the record provides the most comprehensive account of these 39 individuals' apprehension and detention to date, including four missing detainees here identified for the first time...

the full list includes cases of nationals from countries including morocco, libya, egypt, pakistan, kenya and spain...they were arrested in countries including pakistan, iraq, iran, somalia and sudan, and transferred to secret sites run by the u.s. government...

in many cases, the current fate and whereabouts of detainees included on the list are completely unknown...in other cases, some speculative information has emerged in the press or through research and investigation...

in all cases, the u.s. government’s silence has created grave uncertainty...people - our government must end the use of secret detention, clarify the fate and whereabouts of all people who have been secretly detained and allow them access to their families and to adequate legal process...

just to be clear - the u.s. has the duty to detain and bring to justice anyone responsible for crimes but it must do so in a manner that respects human rights and the rule of law...

check out the briefing paper Off the Record - U.S. Responsibility for Enforced Disappearances in the 'war on terror' a video Interview with Rabia Khan, the wife of Majid Khan, transferred to Guantánamo from secret CIA custody and a video Interview with Moazzam Begg, unlawfully detained in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay for 3 years and this piece that underscores this position - USA: Government must end all secret detention and guarantee fair trials

you can make a difference...

click here to take action against secret detention and enforced disappearance.

peace out <3

the dude will not abide the continued use of child soldiers...

dear gentlereader,

similar to other child soldiers across africa, pierre, now 17, was going through a disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration program so he could go home after the conflict in his country, the democratic republic of congo (drc), ended in 2003...

instead of going home, however, unicef and independent press reported that he, along with other children, was forcibly sent to a drc government army brigade...according to the united nations, several drc government-run army brigades are hiding hundreds of children and sending them into battle against local armed groups...you can take action now to help end the use of child soldiers...

take action now to help end the use of child soldiers

in africa, the governments of burundi, chad, cote d’ivoire, democratic republic of congo (drc), and uganda are reportedly still involved in the recruitment or use of children for their own armed forces or are directly linked to armed groups that use children in warfare...

in commemoration of the day of the african child today, june 16th, amnesty international usa is highlighting the plight of children associated with government armed forces or government-supported armed groups in africa...the day aims to further the understanding of specific problems for children and to improve their safety...

as a u.s. citizen i along with most of you have an opportunity to press governments implicated in child soldier use to end their support for the recruitment and use of child soldiers.so i ask that you tell your u.s. senators to co-sponsor the child soldier prevention act (s. 1175), which restricts u.s. military assistance to governments that are supporting the recruitment or use of child soldiers until they stop these practices.

will you abide???

i didn't think so...now join the dude and take just two minutes to help make a difference.

peace w/justice,

the tennessee dude

nashvegas

prisoners of conscience released in iran...freedom to gather still being repressed...

amnesty international welcomes the news that ehteram shadfar and another woman, detained on 10 June, were released under personal guarantee on 11 june 2007...your action helped that outcome to occur...

success is sweet - woot woot!!!

ehteram shadfar told the iranian students' news agency after her release that she had been questioned about her activities in gathering signatures for the "campaign for equality" (which aims to collect a million signatures of iranians to a petition demanding an end to legalised discrimination against women in iran) and that a case is being prepared against her...

amnesty international is urging the iranian authorities not to bring charges against the two women, as it considered them to be prisoners of conscience, and to end the harassment and persecution of supporters of the campaign...

i became very concerned when i learned that tehran authorities have not granted permission for a gathering of women to be held today, the anniversary of a demonstration calling for equal rights for women in 2006...according to a report by the iranian labour news agency on 11 june, one of the main organizers of the planned gathering had been told that the authorities would not permit it to go ahead...

behareh hedayat, head of the women's commission of the office for the consolidation of unity (a student organization) and a member of its central committee, was reported to have said that although the organizers had sought permission for the gathering 10 days in advance, having been told by the authorities that permission would be granted if they did so, they had informed on the morning of 11 june that the authorities were opposed to the gathering and would not give permission for it to proceed...

amnesty international is calling on the iranian authorities to allow all iranians to exercise their right to gather peacefully, as provided for under iranian law and international human rights standards on freedom of expression and association...

peace out <3

get the john lennon tribute album instant karma FREE...

"There are no movements without music"
- Larry Cox, Executive Director
Amnesty International

continuing amnesty's long tradition of activism powered by music, warner bros. records and amnesty international released "Instant Karma: the Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur."...

more than 50 international recording artists and over 30 record labels have come together to realize this project which features iconic songs by the incomparable musician and fighter for peace and justice, john lennon, recorded by some of the greatest musicians of our time...yoko ono’s generous gift of lennon’s solo catalogue will be the centerpiece of our efforts to rally activists round the world in the fight to save the lives and protect the rights of the people of darfur...

now you can OWN the CD FOR FREAKIN' FREE!

the two-cd set boasts a stellar line-up of 23 world-class artists from a variety of genres putting their own unique spin on classic songs from lennon’s solo songbook...the artists include longtime activists u2, green day, r.e.m., and jackson browne; female pop powerhouses christina aguilera, avril lavigne, and corinne bailey rae; country stars big & rich ; alternative favorites snow patrol, the flaming lips, postal service and regina spektor; best-selling rockers aerosmith, lenny kravitz and los lonely boys; and pensive singer-songwriters jakob dylan with dhani harrison and ben harper...

whoa....................that's awesome...

» Join or donate $50 today and get the album free

for a $50 membership that you oughta do anyways you get the gosh darned cd for free...

» Find out more at instantkarma.org

did i mention whoa???

peace out <3

what's so funny bout' peace, love, and a convention on the rights of the child...

on november 20, 1989, the united nations adopted the convention on the rights of the child, a landmark for human rights...here for the first time was a treaty that sought to address the particular human rights of children and to set minimum standards for the protection of their rights...it is the only international treaty to guarantee civil and political rights as well as economic, social, and cultural rights generally thought of as,

• freedom from violence, abuse, hazardous employment, exploitation, abduction or sale
• freedom from hunger and protection from diseases
• free compulsory primary education
• adequate health care
• equal treatment regardless of gender, race or cultural background
• the right to express opinions and freedom of thought in matters affecting them
• safe exposure/access to leisure, play, culture and art

not surprisingly the convention on the rights of the child is the most widely accepted human rights treaty - of all the united nations member states, only the united states and the collapsed state of somalia have not ratified it...

surprisingly to most of our citizens the united states continues to lead a defensive action against children's human rights lobbying against further measures designed to protect children - most recently against efforts to stop the use of child soldiers...

these last 10 years have seen an enormous growth in awareness of children's rights...activists have learned important lessons in successfully implementing the convention on the rights of the child...one of the convention's key strengths is that it recognizes that rights must be actively promoted if they are going to be enforced - awareness isn't enough...although children's human rights are still a long way from realization - amnesty international has a powerful tool for campaigning for the protection of children's human rights in the almost worldwide acceptance of the convention on the rights of the child...

to find five educational ideas on how to provoke debate, raise awareness, and foster activism in your community click here...

a sample letter for you to send to your senator supporting ratification (what if every neighborhood coffee gathering passed around and mailed out these letters, huh?) can be found here...

take action today or i will personally come to your house and sing "i believe the children are our future," and you really, really don't want that...

peace out <3

military judges deal blow to bush admin attack on habeas corpus...

yesterday we noted that bush administration policy was linked to the disappearances of human beings under the enemy combatant policy, the broader war on terror, the incorporation of torture as standard operating procedure, and challenged the legality of the military commissions act of 2006...

yesterday, according to the washington post, u.s. military judges agreed with the latter...

the military judges dismissed the charges against detainees from canada and yemen, the judges ruled that the military commissions act of 2006 lacked jurisdiction because that law limits cases to those who are deemed "unlawful enemy combatants,"...

woot woot!!! - and according to the raw story...

Keith Olbermann reported Thursday on the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007, calling it "a historical restoration project, the reconstruction of one of the cornerstones of American democracy."

The Military Commissions Act, passed last year by the Republican Congress, stripped away the fundamental Constitutional right of habeas corpus. Now the Senate Judiciary Committee, in voting for the Restoration Act, has taken the first step in restoring it. Olbermann asked constitutional law scholar Jonathan Turley about the argument by supporters of the Military Commissions Act that habeas corpus has been suspended before in times of war without destroying the Republic.

Turley responded to that argument in three different ways, saying first that the nation's survival of previous suspensions of habeas corpus "says more about the Republic than the actions of the earlier presidents. This is a system of government that was designed to be idiot-proof -- and God knows we've tested that through the years. ... This was one of the most disgraceful moments of the last Congress, and it will be equally disgraceful to see many Republicans vote to fight the effort to bring back the Great Writ."

Turley went on to explain that habeas corpus is not a dangerous luxury or some sort of lawyer's trick to get crooks out of jail, but "is actually the foundation for all other rights. When the government throws you into a dungeon for what you say or who you pray to, it's habeas corpus that's the right that allows you to see the enforcement of the other rights."

Finally, Turley emphasized that suspending habeas corpus has actually made us less safe: "The greatest irony of the Bush administration is that his legacy will be to show the dangers of walking away from those rights that define us. We're very much alone today. ... We're viewed as a rogue nation. And it is a dangerous world to live in when you're alone."

peace out <3

amnesty and allies file suit seeking Information about “disappeared” detainees...

in the 70's and 80's in latin america they were referred to as los desaparecidos...in the 21st century they are the disappeared detainees...

amnesty international usa, the international human rights clinic at nyu school of law and the center for constitutional rights (ccr) filed a lawsuit in u.s. federal court under the freedom of information act (foia) seeking the disclosure of information concerning “disappeared” detainees...amnesty international and five leading human rights groups - cageprisoners, ccr, the center for human rights and global justice at nyu school of law, human rights watch, and reprieve - released the most comprehensive list to date naming missing individuals believed to have been secretly detained by u.s. agents who are still missing, and reporting on the detention of suspects’ relatives, including children...

children...

ugh...our government...who the hell runs that mess and why do we let them do it...

in two weeks in tennessee we will visit and lobby freshman senator bob corker on this issue and habeas...find or start a delegation in your u.s. area....

» read the press release (pdf)

» read the related report (pdf)

» view the lawsuit (pdf)

habeas is a centuries old protection of the law of these united states...let's return it to its proper place within the foremost democracy in the america i believe in...

peace out <3

lgbt activist in kosovo under threat...

part of what we ask, i ask you to do is to help protect human rights defenders...

now the definition of human rights defenders contained in the u.n. declaration on human rights defenders adopted in 1998 includes all those who defend the rights enshrined in regional and international treaties, conventions and declarations, including members of social movements in the continent who defend civil, political, economic, social, cultural and collective rights...

so this dude definitely falls under that rubric...a man known as k.z., the head of a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights organization in kosovo, has received a death threat linked to his work...though k.z. has reported this threat to the police, he has not received any protection...

the death threat said that k.z.'s family should prepare his funeral within two weeks, and that k.z. would "end up in hell" as a result of his work for lgbt rights...amnesty international has documented a number of cases of lgbt people who have fled kosovo after receiving similar threats or being physically assaulted...

as if there weren't enough pushes driving people away from kosovo as it is...

please call on authorities to ensure the safety of k.z. and to conduct a thorough investigation into the death threat against him...

peace out <3

p.s. perhaps president bush will address this today while he's in kosovo...naaaaaaaaahhhhh...

are your tax dollars fueling human rights abuses in colombia???

colombian president uribe is visiting washington for the second time since may 2007...

the house of representatives is shaping the u.s. aid package to colombia...

coincidence??? i think not...so please, pretty please contact your congressional representative and advocate for funding to be redirected to support human rights in colombia...

lest you were unaware more than 3 million colombians - 3,000,000 - have been internally displaced because of the war and reports of extrajudicial executions of civilians by the army are on the rise...civilians in conflict areas are viewed by the army as enemies instead of victims of guerrilla forces...

despite this - having had its empathy gene amputated sometime back in september 2001 i imagine - the bush administration wants to maintain funding levels to colombia allowing for more than $500 million to be directed in military assistance...in the past six years the united states has sent more than $5 billion to colombia, about $4 billion of which has gone directly to the security forces...

again, please contact your congressional representative and urge them to shift funding away from the military...

with your support, with your action, we can make a difference in the lives of millions of civilians in colombia...

peace out <3

christian from egypt needs our help to stop his torture...

it seems that we have 10 days to act before the so-called war on terror claims another victim in a way absolutely at odds with the america i believe in...

egyptian national sameh khouzam is in imminent danger of being forcibly returned to egypt...a court order preventing this would have expired yesterday on 7 june was extended 10 days...

not only does amnesty international fear that he would be at risk of torture or other ill-treatment if returned but sameh is a member of the local group in york pennsylvania...he is a colleague, beloved by his local mates i york...so who is sameh khouzam really???

sameh khouzam is a christian from egypt who fled the country and asked the u.s. government to protect him from torture. ..the highest federal court in new york forbid his deportation to egypt based on the threats that he faced...

now, three years later, bush administration officials are planning to deport him to egypt in direct violation of the 2nd circuit's order and in violation of the convention against torture...they've procured what are called "diplomatic assurances" from the egyptian government that they won't torture him...

this would be funny if it weren't so shocking...egypt's human rights record is abominable...the u.s. state department has said that egypt regularly tortures its prisoners...amnesty international and human rights watch agree...

the use of these so-called "diplomatic assurances" is especially troubling when you're talking about egypt...every international body or court that's looked at this diplomatic assurances practice has condemned it as a violation of international law (cat, iccpr, etc)...it's clear that egypt cannot be trusted...nor, as it seems, can the u.s. be trusted to observe the most basic human rights standard - the absolute prohibition on returning someone to torture...

so i need you to join us and ACT NOW as 10 days from now is simply too late - sameh will be in the hands of egyptian officials and experience water boarding rather than water skiing...

please send the link to this blog to your network list for action...

a sample letter that you can copy, edit, and then email and fax is located right here...

if you require more information first - and we encourage and respect that - you can surf over here...

and then send your letters here - ASAP:

The Honorable Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State
The Honorable Condoleezza Rice

Secretary of State

U.S. Department of State

2201 C Street, NW

Washington, D.C. 20520

202-647-4000

http://contact-us.state.gov/cgi-bin/state.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php

The Honorable Michael Chertoff, Secretary, Department of Homeland Security

The Honorable Michael Chertoff

Office of the Secretary

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Washington, D.C. 20528

Operator Number: 202-282-8000

Comment Line: 202-282-8495

The Honorable Alberto R. Gonzalez, Attorney General, Department of Justice

The Honorable Alberto Gonzales

Office of the Attorney General

U.S. Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20530-0001

202-353-1555

AskDOJ@usdoj.ov

additional fax numbers and email addresses for senators, representatives and governors are located here...

emme see what you got in you okay???

peace out <3

procedure trumps justice...again...this time for troy davis...

from the diaries of the tennessee dude...

we've blogged about it before...all sorts of people succumb to it...reasonable people may refer to it as "sentence fatigue"...angry people may say that enough is enough already...just plain mean-spirited people may simply drive around screaming, "fry that m__________ f____________,"...

i refer to it as procedure being more important than substance...finality being more important than truth in justice...just one more scenario in which we, collectively, share the warm and fuzzy opportunity to kill an innocent man (and yes, that's ironic sarcasm right there)...

this time i'm referring to the case of troy davis in which my home state of georgia is on the verge of poisoning to death a young man where no physical evidence ever linked him to the murder for which he was convicted and all but 2 so-called eyewitnesses have recanted their testimony:

• Darrell Collins: "[The police] were telling me that I was an accessory to murder and that I would ... go to jail for a long time and I would be lucky if I ever got out, especially because a police officer got killed...I was only sixteen and was so scared of going to jail."


• Antoine Williams: "After the officers talked to me, they gave me a statement and told me to sign it. I signed it. I did not read it because I cannot read ... I was totally unsure whether he was the person who shot the officer. I felt pressured to point at him ... I have no idea what the person who shot the officer looks like."


• Jeffrey Sapp: "The police came and talked to me and put a lot of pressure on me.... They wanted me to tell them that Troy confessed to me about killing that officer. The thing is, Troy never told me anything about it. I got tired of them harassing me .... I told them that Troy did it, but it wasn't true."


• Daniel Kinsman: "[T]here was and is no doubt in my mind that the person who shot the officer had the gun in and was shooting with his left hand." Davis is right-handed.


• Shirley Riley: "People on the streets were talking about Sylvester Coles being involved with killing the police officer, so one day I asked him if he was involved .... Sylvester told me he did shoot the officer."


• Joseph Washington: "I am positive that it was Red [Coles] who shot the police officer... [He] was wearing a white shirt...I had no idea that the shirt...was important because no one ever asked me...I would have testified to this but I was not asked by the state or by Troy's lawyers."

and of those witnesses who have not recanted??? well, one "witness" has been implicated as the murderer by nine people while the other could only recall the color of the shooter's clothes...and as we often respond to questions about how this execution could come to be, death penalty appeals are very difficult and no court has reviewed all the new evidence that came out since his initial trial...

restrictions on federal appeals have prevented troy anthony davis from having a hearing in federal court on the reliability of the witness testimony used against him, despite the fact that most of the witnesses have since recanted, many alleging they were pressured or coerced by police...troy davis remains on georgia death row, and may be scheduled for execution as early as next month...

for the brief back story...troy davis was sentenced to death for the murder of police officer mark allen mcphail at a burger king in savannah, georgia; a murder he maintains he did not commit...there was no physical evidence against him and the weapon used in the crime was never found...the case against him consisted entirely of witness testimony which contained inconsistencies even at the time of the trial...since then, all but three of the state's non-police witnesses from the trial have recanted their testimony...many of these witnesses have stated in sworn affidavits that they were pressured or coerced by police into testifying or signing statements against troy davis (see above)...

for further details in the back story and its context read Where is the justice for me?: The case of Troy Davis, facing execution in Georgia...

but we need YOU to TAKE ACTION TODAY...

troy's best chance at survival through this heresy of "justice" is clemency - please click here to print out a letter to the parole board in georgia and mail it today! - please forward the link to your friends, associates and broad network and ask them to do the same...this is critical...

the blogosphere may be able to generate enough attention to this moral and ethical outrage but only if you choose to make it happen...so today - and i'm only asking this today - rather than downloading a funny youtube video and sharing it please share this action...so, please organize as many appeals as you can...if you can organize a petition, collecting signatures supporting clemency for troy davis to send to the Board, please do so to:

State Board of Pardons and Paroles
2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, SE
Suite 458, Balcony Level, East Tower
Atlanta, Georgia 30334-4909
USA
Fax: +1 404 651 8502

i understand your ambivalence but executing troy davis should feel wrong even if you believe that executions have a place in american juris prudence...

thanks and as always...

peace out y'all <3

amnesty international to use satellite cameras to monitor events on the ground in darfur...

apparently "they" can use them to spy in your bedroom if "they" choose to but "they" are not the only ones with access to the technology...

that's right, amnesty international usa is showing the (nsa...homeland security???) that technology is a benign tool in the service of individual or institutional values and ethics...

amnesty international is using satellite cameras to monitor highly vulnerable villages in war-torn darfur, sudan...the human rights organization is inviting ordinary people worldwide to monitor 12 villages by visiting the eyes on darfur project website (http://www.eyesondarfur.org/) and put the sudanese government on notice that these and other areas in the region are being watched around the clock...

tick tock...tick tock...

ariela blätter, director of the crisis prevention and response center for amnesty international usa (aiusa), who led development of eyes on darfur, will describe the project and its capabilities at the fifth international symposium on digital earth at the university of california at berkeley today, wednesday, june 6, just a few hours from this posting of this blog...

according to irene khan, secretary general of amnesty international:

"Despite four years of outrage over the death and destruction in Darfur, the Sudanese government has refused worldwide demands and a U.N. resolution to send peacekeepers to the region...Darfur needs peacekeepers to stop the human rights violations. In the meantime, we are taking advantage of satellite technology to tell President al-Bashir that we will be watching closely to expose new violations...Our goal is to continue to put pressure on Sudan to allow the peacekeepers to deploy and to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable civilians on the ground in Darfur."

well hooray for our side, you know, the one that promotes a life embedded in dignity for all human beings...

to read the press release click here...

peace out y'all <3

amnesty international usa blogs on torture, individuals at risk, student activism, and the death penalty...

keeping abreast of organizing tools is one way that we connect with you, the person interested in human rights and blogging is one of those tools hat helps us do that without boring you to tears...so aiusa started several blogs a while back and i proudly share with you that i "work" there and the blog that i contribute to is now getting more than 20,000 hits a month...

now not everyone is as homespun as i am but the blogs are pretty darn good (even if the death penalty blog i post for is the only one with fresh content guaranteed daily)...

so here's a sample of what's up on each of the four blogs today...

live from gitmo - update 06/04/07 which begins...

The United States government went 0 for 2 today in its attempts to arraign two people before the newly configured military commissions. Struck down by the Supreme Court just shy of a year ago, the government reformulated the commissions under new legislation passed by the Congress last fall called the "Military Commissions Act" (MCA). By the end of the day, charges were dismissed without prejudice in the cases of Omar Khadr and Salim Ahmed Hamdan.

saddened by the loss of agnes vadas - which starts...

...an incredible human rights defender. We received the following message this morning from the Deputy Director of our Western Regional Office:

[...] Many of you know Agnes Vadas, founder, as well as longtime group coordinator, of the Friday Harbor Group 607 (Friday Harbor is part of the San Juan Islands, a cluster of islands off the coast of NW Washington). Agnes passed Sunday, June 3, 2007 after a long sparkling life.

until we all are free - which opens with...

What makes you different than me? What makes she different than he? How does it differ from that and what is that that makes them believe that you don't deserve the same equal protection from the law as I do? You've got me. Logic and common sense would lead me to believe nothing and yet nearly four decades after the historic Stonewall riots the targeting of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals for police abuse and misconduct remains a widespread problem in America.

let's be blunt about intentional ignorance... - which is where i blog daily under the nom de guerre the tennessee dude - and opens the door today with...

from the diaries of the tennessee dude...
a ruling by a three judge panel of the 8th circuit court of appeals has lifted a moratorium on executions imposed in missouri last june...a year ago u.s. district judge fernando j. gaitan jr. ruled that missouri's execution procedure was unconstitutional...this paves the way for the state of missouri to restart the execution engine in the state...

so check out the blogs from a central site located here and keep abreast of how we keep you abreast of what there is in the world of human rights to keep abreast of...(i just made 10$ u.s. for using abreast 5 times in this post)... :-)

peace out <3

ever since i was in my 3rd year of hebrew school this has been an issue...

i'm not ashamed to tell you that i turn the big 5-0 this year...and i can remember struggling with these issues ever since i was in my 3rd year of hebrew school which i went to after public school let out in the afternoon as i grew up in atlanta...

it's the 40th anniversary of israel’s occupation of the west bank and gaza strip...and it was the context of the 6-day war that i first remember being asked if i "consider myself an american-jew or a jewish-american,"...

nearly 40 years later i can honestly say i consider myself a human being of jewish ethnicity living in the united states struggling to bring dignity and respect to the lives of people around he world...

and so it is in this context that i ask you to read amnesty international's newly released report calling on the israeli authorities to end the blockades, land-grabbing, and other violations of international law carried out under the occupation...these actions have caused widespread human rights abuses and failed to bring security to the civilian populations...

you see, the issue is not and can not be who started the 6-day war...

but 40 years in its wake israeli security measures confine palestinians to fragmented enclaves and hinder their access to work, schools, health facilities and relatives...because of the checkpoints, blockades and the fence/wall, thousands of palestinian families have been separated from their land...amnesty international acknowledges israel’s legitimate security concerns and the government’s obligation to protect the population within its borders, but this does not justify the blatant violations of international law...

again, and i agree, israel has legitimate security concerns and the government has an obligation to protect the population within its borders, but this does not justify the blatant violations of international law...

there is a cool interactive (mapquest style) map available here to help you grasp the geography of the situation a little better, this slideshow gives something for you visual learners, and you can read the entire report with a simple click right here...

shalom <3

even if you're hungover when you write and send them...

your letters make a difference in rights defenders' lives...

that's right, it's the letters that matter...as i so often encourage you to consider taking five minutes out of your day, whether they're minutes minutes you would have otherwise spent in "tasks" that you would consider either important or frivolous it's an investment in protecting the dignity of other human beings - and therefore your own - and THAT matters...



i imagine that when you listen to oksana chelysheva and jennifer latheef tell you personally how that collective yet simple action mattered to them and other prisoners of conscience that you'll have an aha moment and maybe ad it to your weekly to do list...

you can click here and participate in either on-line e-mail actions or print out letters to fax or mail and make a difference...if yo do it while your baby or young child is napping you can then read them the letter you sent when they wake up, hug and kiss them, and know that you're taking a small step, with others around the world, to create a world in which each and every human being's inherent self-worth and dignity is recognized and matters...

peace out <3

tiananmen square victims must have justice...

they can shout "we're number one, we're number one, we're number one, " all they want but it won't be a good thing...we're talking china and we're talking human rights violations...

that's right, the country of president hu jintao never met a human right it liked...think about it, the campaign to guilt china into putting pressure on the sudanese government to take the necessary steps to stop the genocide in darfur only exposes the tip of the iceberg of its massive human rights violations...

so when the eyes of the world are focused on the beijing olympics in august 2008, many will be reminded of a previous occasion when the city became the center of world media attention - the june 4, 1989 crackdown on unarmed students and other peaceful protesters in and around tiananmen square, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries...many spectators will legitimately wonder what steps the chinese authorities have taken over the years to right the wrongs of these tragic events...

yet despite long-standing calls for justice by the victims and chinese rights activists, the authorities have failed to carry out any independent inquiry into this event with a view to bringing the perpetrators to account and providing compensation for the victims or their families...the government also continues to stifle public debate over the issue, which remains erased from magazines, newspapers, school textbooks and internet sites in china...over the last year in particular, official policies of media control and censorship have intensified, preventing any public analysis or discussion of june 4, 1989 as well as other politically sensitive periods in china's recent history...

"On the 18th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, the Chinese authorities cannot continue to ignore the reality of that tragic day...It's long past time to release all those who remain in prison as a result of the crackdown, and officially remove the ban on local journalists reporting the event's details...Chinese officials promised to improve human rights and ensure 'complete media freedom' in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics next year, and the international community must hold them to their word."
- Larry Cox, Amnesty International USA executive director

recently, the beijing-based tiananmen mothers repeated its call to the chinese government for an official investigation into the events, the prosecution of those responsible and public accounting and reparations for the victims or their families...a letter was signed by 128 victims and family members of those killed in the crackdown...amnesty international echoes their concerns and continues to support their calls for justice...

"Dozens of people are believed to remain in prison in China in connection with their involvement in the 1989 pro-democracy movement, but no official statistics exist..Amnesty International urges the authorities to publicly account for and release anyone who remains in prison in connection with the crackdown."
- T. Kumar, Amnesty International USA advocacy director for Asia and the Pacific

china's efforts to stifle freedom of expression have not been confined within national borders...in november 2006, the serbian authorities reportedly cancelled a belgrade screening of the film "summer palace," which was set against the backdrop of the 1989 protests, after receiving a letter from the chinese embassy warning that the film was "strictly forbidden" in china and should be withdrawn to preserve "good bilateral relations,"...amnesty international regrets the decision of the serbian authorities to bow to such pressure...said larry cox:

"As China's political and economic influence grows, the global community must resist attempts by the Chinese authorities to 'export' its policies of restricting freedom of expression, failing to take responsibility for its actions and denying the pain and suffering of the Tiananmen victims and their families."

remember the courage of the one man-one tank moment, take heart, and take action, take action, take action...

peace out <3

help ratify cedaw with your own umbrella photo...

pssssssssssssst - come here...i've got sumpin' to share with you....yeah, come on over here for just a sec ... pretty please...

the treaty for the rights of women, officially known as the united nations convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (cedaw) is the most complete international agreement on basic rights for women...

in other words it serves as a women's rights "umbrella" treaty...

as of april 2007, the treaty has been ratified by 185 countries....the united states played an important role in drafting this treaty but now is only one in eight countries that has yet to ratify it...

you can take a simple action to help amnesty international lobby for the passage of cedaw - so simple that it's as easy as creating a picture for your myspace page...

all within 10 feet of where you now sit you can take and submit a photograph of yourself, your local group members and/or friends or members of your community...your photo will put a face to your name and will send a message to your senator that you want the treaty for the rights of women ratified now...the photos will be gathered together and delivered to senators as part of a larger action during the course of the campaign...

for easy, no, make that E-Z instructions on how to format and submit your photo just click here...

as always please forward this action blog around your circle or fave 5 and hey, copy your photo to us so we can post it on our myspace site as well...thanks and -

peace out <3