NewsTrust - Human Rights - Most Recent Stories: Opinion (Mainstream)

Obama, Gay Marriage, and the American Equality Quilt

Wed, 09 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Esquire - By Charles P. Pierce - May. 09 (Opinion) - This was no happy accident. Just look at how he wove his endorsement into the fabric of everything else he'd done for the cause of equality since he's been president.

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Technology should help us share, not constrain us

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Richard Stallman - Apr. 18 (Opinion) - Companies like Amazon can control the way we use the ebooks we buy. Instead let's build a publishing model based on freedom I love the detective novel The Jehovah Contract , and I'd like everyone else to love it, too. I have lent it out at least six times over the years. Printed books let us do that. I couldn't do it with most commercial ebooks; it's not allowed. And if I felt like telling the publishers to take their evil rule and stuff it, the software in e-readers has digital restrictions management – malicious features that restrict access, so it simply won't allow it. And the books are encrypted in such a way to force you to use that malicious software. Many other habits that readers are accustomed to are not allowed for ebooks. With the Amazon Kindle, for instance, you're not allowed to buy a book anonymously. Kindle books are typically available from Amazon only, and Amazon doesn't accept cash so users must identify themselves. Thus Amazon knows exactly which books each user has read. ...

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Financiers and Sex Trafficking

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Nicholas Kristoff - Mar. 31 (Opinion) - This emporium for girls and women — some under age or forced into prostitution — is in turn owned by an opaque private company called Village Voice Media. Until now it has been unclear who the ultimate owners are. That mystery is solved.

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The Tragedy of Mike Daisey's Lies About China

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Atlantic Monthly - By Max Fisher - Mar. 18 (Opinion) - American consumers can't do much for Central Africa or Afghanistan, but they have real power to improve Chinese labor abuses. Will they be less inclined to believe the next person who tells them how?

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Busting Mr. Daisey

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Reuters - By Jack Shafer - Mar. 17 (Opinion) - This week, the highly regarded public radio show This American Life learned a lesson that many journalists, including me, have learned the hard way: It’s almost impossible for an editor to fact-check a contributor who lies. The show, hosted by Ira Glass, just retracted its Jan. 6, 2012, episode, “Mr. Daisey Goes to the Apple Factory,” adapted from Mike Daisey’s popular one-man show, The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, which is about working conditions in a Chinese factory that makes Apple products. Daisey’s deceptions were uncovered by Rob Schmitz, a China-based reporter for Marketplace. This American Life will air an hourlong explanation and re-examination this weekend, featuring both Glass and Daisey, about the circumstances behind the retraction. Glass and the show are to be commended for their quick response, and everybody who cares about real journalism owes a debt of gratitude to Schmitz.

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Kony's Victims and the Kony 2012 Video

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Lisa Shannon - Mar. 10 (Opinion) - The recent Kony 2012 viral video has attracted widespread controversy, as well as scrutiny of the organization Invisible Children. While it has stirred questions about the role of westerners advocating to end mass atrocities in Africa, as well as useful dialogue on non-profit fiscal management, the debate has obscured the key point. Joseph Kony’s immediate capture and delivery to the International Criminal Court (ICC) would be an unambiguous victory for humanity. It is the solution for which affected Africans have desperately, unanimously pleaded.

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Truth on Trial in Spain

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Nyt Editorial - Feb. 04 (Opinion) - Terrible crimes were committed during and after Spain ’s 1936-39 civil war that no court has yet examined or judged. No one knows how many people were taken away, tortured and murdered. Now, one of Spain’s top investigating magistrates, Baltasar Garzón , is on trial for daring to open an inquiry into those atrocities.

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What’s He Got to Hide?

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Nicholas D. Kristof - Jan. 28 (Opinion) - Ethiopia brutally imprisons journalists who champion free speech and an end to human rights abuses. That repression is only inviting more scrutiny.

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This bastardised libertarianism makes 'freedom' an instrument of oppression

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - By George Monbiot - Dec. 20 (Opinion) - It's the disguise used by those who wish to exploit without restraint, denying the need for the state to protect the 99% Freedom: who could object? Yet this word is now used to justify a thousand forms of exploitation. Throughout the rightwing press and blogosphere, among thinktanks and governments, the word excuses every assault on the lives of the poor, every form of inequality and intrusion to which the 1% subject us. How did libertarianism, once a noble impulse, become synonymous with injustice? In the name of freedom – freedom from regulation – the banks were permitted to wreck the economy. In the name of freedom, taxes for the super-rich are cut. In the name of freedom, companies lobby to drop the minimum wage and raise working hours. In the same cause, US insurers lobby Congress to thwart effective public healthcare; the government rips up our planning laws; big business trashes the biosphere. This is the freedom of the powerful to exploit the weak, the rich to exploit the poor. ...

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Getting Detained and Gassed

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Nicholas D. Kristof - Dec. 14 (Opinion) - There’s nothing like getting tear-gassed and detained in Bahrain to be reminded that our close ally has a dark and repressive side.

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United Nations: Weak leaders wanted

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - Aug. 15 (Editorial) - To save his legacy Ban Ki-moon must refresh his top team with people who understand the UN's founding principles

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Congress should reject proposed trade agreements and insist on better policies

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Seattle Times - By Lynne Dodson, Kathleen Ridihalgh - Jul. 27 (Opinion) - The proposed U.S. trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama would continue to undermine the American economy, write guest columnists Lynne Dodson and Kathleen Ridihalgh. Washington's congressional delegation should reject them in favor of better policies.

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Why Gay Marriage is Good for America

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Newsweek - By Andrew Sullivan - Jul. 18 (Opinion) - You can have as many debates about gay marriage as you want, and over the last 22 years of campaigning for it, I’ve had my share. You can debate theology, and the divide between church and state, the issue of procreation, the red herring of polygamy, and on and on. But what it all really comes down to is the primary institution of love. The small percentage of people who are gay or lesbian were born, as all humans are, with the capacity to love and the need to be loved. These things, above everything, are what make life worth living

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America's 'detainee 001' – the persecution of John Walker Lindh

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Frank Lindh - Jul. 10 (Opinion) - In 1998, aged 17, my son John Walker Lindh travelled to Yemen to study Islam and learn Arabic. In April 2001 he went to Afghanistan. Then 9/11 happened. He was captured by US troops, tortured, and jailed for 20 years, an innocent victim of America's 'war on terror' John Phillip Walker Lindh, my son, was raised a Roman Catholic, but converted to Islam when he was 16 years old. He has an older brother and a younger sister. John is scholarly and devout, devoted to his family, and blessed with a powerful intellect, a curious mind, and a wry sense of humour. Labelled by the American government as "Detainee 001" in the "war on terror", John occupies a prison cell in Terre Haute, Indiana. He has been a prisoner of the American government since 1 December 2001, less than three months after the terror attacks of 9/11. John is entirely innocent of any involvement in the terror attacks, or any allegiance to terrorism. That is not disputed by the American government. Indeed, all accusations of ...

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More brutality in Syria and passivity in Washington

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - Jun. 25 (Editorial) - Another week has passed since President Obama delivered the May 19 address in which he pledged to use “all of the diplomatic, economic and strategic tools at our disposal” to oppose repression and support democratic transitions across the Middle East. In that time, the uprising in Syria has passed its 100th day with no end in sight — and no letup in the regime’s murderous violence. Another 15 people, including two children, were gunned down by security forces in protests on Friday, according to the Associated Press. That followed an offensive on Thursday by Bashar al-Assad’s forces against several villages near the border with Turkey, where many refugees had gathered. More than 1,000 crossed the border, bringing the Syrian refugee total in Turkey to more than 11,000.

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Why Washington is worried about Peru | Mark Weisbrot

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Mark Weisbrot - Jun. 02 (Opinion) - If its preferred candidate Keiko Fujimori loses to Ollanta Humala, the US will be isolated against South America's left governmentsIn just a few days, on Sunday 5 June, an election will take place that will have a significant influence on the western hemisphere. At the moment, it is too close to call. Most of official Washington has been relatively quiet, but there is no doubt that the Obama administration has a big stake in the outcome of this poll. The election is in Peru, where left populist and former military officer Ollanta Humala is facing off against Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of Peru's former authoritarian ruler Alberto Fujimori, who was president from 1990-2000. Alberto Fujimori is in jail, serving a 25-year sentence for multiple political murders, kidnapping and corruption. Keiko has made it clear that she represents him and his administration, and has been surrounded by his associates and former officials of his government.Fujimori was found to have had "individual criminal responsibility" for the murders and kidnappings. But his government was responsible for many more widespread murders and human rights abuses, including the forced sterilisation of tens of thousands of women, mostly indigenous.Between the two candidates, whom do you think Washington would prefer?If you guessed Keiko Fujimori, you guessed right. I spoke Monday night with Gustavo Gorriti in Lima, an award-winning Peruvian investigative journalist who was one of the people that Alberto Fujimori was convicted of kidnapping. "The US embassy strongly opposes Humala's candidacy," he said. Harvard professor of government Steven Levitsky, who has written extensively on Peru and is currently visiting professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), came to the same conclusion: "It's clear that the US embassy here sees Keiko as the least bad option," he told me from Lima on Tuesday.Humala's opponents argue that Peru's democracy would be imperilled if he were elected, pointing to a military revolt that he led against Fujimori's authoritarian government. (He was later pardoned by the Peruvian Congress.) But his record is hardly comparable to the actual, proven crimes of Alberto Fujimori.Humala is also accused of being an ally of Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez. He has distanced himself from Chávez, unlike in his 2006 campaign for the presidency. But all of this is just a rightwing media stunt. Chávez has been demonised throughout the hemispheric media, and so rightwing media monopolies have used him as a bogeyman in numerous elections for years, with varying degrees of success. Of course, Venezuela is also irrelevant to the Peruvian election because almost all governments in South America are "allies of Chávez". This is especially true of Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador and Uruguay, for example, all of whom have very close and collaborative relations with Venezuela.As in many other elections in Latin America, rightwing domination of the media is key to successful scare tactics. "The majority of TV stations and newspapers have been actively working for Fujimori in this election," said Levitsky.The thought of another Fujimori government is so frightening that a number of prominent conservative Peruvian politicians have decided to endorse Humala. Among these is the Nobel prize-winning novelist Mario Vargas Llosa, who hates the Latin American left as much as anyone. Humala has also been endorsed by Alejandro Toledo, the former Peruvian president and contender in the first round of this election.So why would Washington want Fujimori? The answer is quite simple: it's about Washington's waning influence and power in its former "backyard" of Latin America. In South America, there are now left-of-centre governments in Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay. These governments have a common position on most hemispheric issues (and sometimes, other international issues, such as the Middle East), and it often differs from that of Washington.For example, when the Honduran military overthrew the country's elected left-of-centre president, Manuel Zelaya, in 2009, and the Obama administration sought to legitimise the coup government through elections that other governments would not recognise, it was Washington's few rightwing allies that first broke ranks with the rest of South America.Prior to last August, the only governments in South America that Washington could count as allies were Chile, Peru and Colombia. But Colombia under President Manuel Santos is no longer a reliable ally, and currently has very good co-operative relations with Venezuela. If Humala wins, there is little doubt that he will join the rest of South America on most issues of concern to Washington. The same cannot be said of Keiko Fujimori.And that is why Washington is worried about this election.PeruVenezuelaUS foreign policyUnited StatesColombiaEcuadorBrazilHuman rightsHondurasHugo ChávezMark Weisbrotguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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Dorothy Parvaz: Inside Syria's secret prisons

Wed, 18 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Aljazeera - By Dorothy Parvaz - May. 18 (Interview) - Parvaz recounts her experiences while detained in Syria and Iran. I was standing in two fist-sized pools of smeared, sticky blood, trying to sort out why there were seven angry Syrians yelling at me. Only one of them - who I came to know as Mr Shut Up du

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Osama bin Laden's death: The view from abroad

Sun, 08 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Los Angeles Times - By Emal Haidary - May. 08 (Opinion) - What commentators around the world have said about the significant event. In the days after Osama bin Laden was killed by Navy SEALS in Pakistan, commentators around the world weighed in about what the event signified. Here are excerpts of opinion writing from international publications. They were compiled by Emal Haidary .

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The Little Red (Face)Book

Sun, 01 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Wired - By Steven Levy - May. 01 (Opinion) - When I spoke at Facebook about In The Plex recently, rumors were swirling that the social networking giant was about to enter China, supposedly in a partnership with the search engine Baidu. So I made sure that my talk to a dining hall full of FB’ers included the cautionary tale of what happened when Google met China. (An excerpt of the saga as detailed in my book appeared in Fortune.) Though similar in some ways — focus on engineering, full-on embrace of Internet values — Facebook and Google are quite different companies. Their China efforts will also undoubtedly vary. But some of the challenges that Facebook will encounter will be just as tricky as the ones Google faced. Those problems ultimately led to Google’s reconsideration of the enterprise.

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Libya is not Rwanda

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Foreign Policy - By Paul D. Miller - Mar. 31 (Opinion) - Historical analogies are sloppy thinking. U.S. policymakers went to war in Korea and Vietnam because they wanted to avoid another Munich. Liberals believe that Iraq is another Vietnam. Paleoconservatives worry that Libya is another Iraq, while liberals fear it is another Rwanda. These are rhetorical shortcuts that partisans use to excuse themselves from having to think very carefully or learn the details of each new case. One hopes the strategists in the White House will resist that temptation, but judging from Obama's speech, they aren't.

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The President’s Credibility Gap

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Ross Douthat - Mar. 31 (Opinion) - Addressing the nation Monday evening, President Obama suggested that the United States was in the process of reducing its military footprint in Libya, even as he explicitly rejected the idea of pursuing regime change in Tripoli by force of arms. Both statements seemed calculated to make our intervention seem tightly limited rather than open-ended. (“I want to be clear,” Obama said. “The United States of America has done what we said we would do.”) But two days later, both look dubious in the extreme.

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Hugs From Libyans

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Nicholas D. Kristof - Mar. 24 (Opinion) - This may be a first for the Arab world: An American airman who bailed out over Libya was rescued from his hiding place in a sheep pen by villagers who hugged him, served him juice and thanked him effusively for bombing their country.

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Opinion: U.S. must intervene in Libya

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0800

CNN - By David Frum - Mar. 07 (Opinion) - President Barack Obama is wrestling with a decision whether or not to intervene in Libya. Here is a consideration that should top the president's thinking process: What message will it send if Moammar Gadhafi survives?

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Dictators and violence: Grim decision-making

Sat, 05 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Economist - Mar. 05 (Opinion) - Violence only works if it is overwhelming. Up to a critical point, civilian losses embolden protesters who will rally against the injustices they see in the loss of their comrades. If the losses are massive, and pass that point, protesters are likely to realise that the state means business and is here to stay. This was the case in 1991; as soon as Saddam Hussein was allowed to use helicopter gunships, he did. The magnitude of destruction was stratospheric and anybody seen as being remotely sympathetic to the uprising was punished. Even palm trees were destroyed (10m in Basra alone), and the Marshes were drained, ostensibly to stop rebel fighters from seeking refuge there, but undoubtedly also to punish the people seen by the state as being complicit in the uprising by destroying their livelihoods. The need for a patronised inner coterie: Iraq taught us that magnitude of destruction has to be immense. Muammar Qaddafi's rhetoric suggests he understands this and is willing to follow through. This will depend on the willingness of the army to follow his directives. Saddam did not have the army, but he did have a series of concentric circles of supporters loyal to him because of the patronage he extended them (special-forces units and tribes). He had tied their interests to his survival so successfully that they could not risk defecting. In the same way that Mr Qaddafi has turned to foreigh mercenaries, Saddam Hussein could also rely on his own foreign legion, the Mojahid-e-Khalq organisation whose divisions were used to fight both against the Kurds and the Shia down south (Mariam Rajavi, one of the group's leaders, famously said "take the Kurds under your tanks and save your bullets for the Islamic Guard").

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Delirious Joy in Bahrain

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Nicholas Kristof - Feb. 19 (Opinion) - Pro-democracy protesters in Bahrain are deliriously celebrating the withdrawal of army troops from the Pearl Roundabout.

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