No surprise to find the US - self proclaimed bastion of freedom and human rights - get a hard slap for its misconduct.
[i]"Amnesty International is accusing the United States of turning the world into a global battlefield in the so-called war on terror. That charge appears in Amnesty’s new report on the state of human rights around the world. Amnesty is calling for Guantanamo to be shut down, for senior government officials to be held accountable for authorizing torture, and for an end to the practice known as extraordinary rendition. The authors of the Amnesty report write: "The U.S. administration’s double speak has been breathtakingly shameless. It is unrepentant about the global web of abuse it has spun in the name of counterterrorism.‘’
Amnesty’s report also highlighted human rights abuses around the globe, including in Sudan, the Occupied Territories, Iraq, Russia and Zimbabwe. The report states that Israel killed more than 650 Palestinians last year, three times the number of Palestinians killed in 2005. Half of the Palestinians killed last year were unarmed civilians. The Palestinian death toll included 120 children. During the same period, Palestinian militants killed 27 Israelis ? including 20 civilians and one child.
As for Iraq, Amnesty found that “the worst practices of Saddam’s regime - torture, unfair trials, capital punishment and rape with impunity - remained very much alive.”"[/i]
Seems to mitigate the argument that some good came out of the invasion. I don’t think getting down that Saddam thug was a good enough reason to cause such a chaos and justify the massacre.
No surprise to find the US - self proclaimed bastion of freedom and human rights - get a hard slap for its misconduct.
[i]"Amnesty International is accusing the United States of turning the world into a global battlefield in the so-called war on terror. That charge appears in Amnesty’s new report on the state of human rights around the world. Amnesty is calling for Guantanamo to be shut down, for senior government officials to be held accountable for authorizing torture, and for an end to the practice known as extraordinary rendition. The authors of the Amnesty report write: "The U.S. administration’s double speak has been breathtakingly shameless. It is unrepentant about the global web of abuse it has spun in the name of counterterrorism.‘’
Amnesty’s report also highlighted human rights abuses around the globe, including in Sudan, the Occupied Territories, Iraq, Russia and Zimbabwe. The report states that Israel killed more than 650 Palestinians last year, three times the number of Palestinians killed in 2005. Half of the Palestinians killed last year were unarmed civilians. The Palestinian death toll included 120 children. During the same period, Palestinian militants killed 27 Israelis ? including 20 civilians and one child.
As for Iraq, Amnesty found that “the worst practices of Saddam’s regime - torture, unfair trials, capital punishment and rape with impunity - remained very much alive.”"[/i]
Seems to mitigate the argument that some good came out of the invasion. I don’t think getting down that Saddam thug was a good enough reason to cause such a chaos and justify the massacre.[/quote]
I am for shutting down gitmo as long as we send all the assholes who are there to Sweden.
I think you are seriously nisunderstanding who is there.
There’s now less then 400 people left at Gitmo. And why would it be closed? Does anyone really think these guys would be held in civilian prisons? No. They’d simply end up in another military detention facility. It’s pointless to close it.
As for Iraq, Amnesty found that “the worst practices of Saddam’s regime - torture, unfair trials, capital punishment and rape with impunity - remained very much alive.”"
[quote]lixy wrote:
You guys are missing the point. I’ll reiterate:
As for Iraq, Amnesty found that “the worst practices of Saddam’s regime - torture, unfair trials, capital punishment and rape with impunity - remained very much alive.”" [/quote]
So… you’re saying that Saddam should have been left alone, because it’s no better now than then. You say you’re progressive, yet push for the status quo? I love to watch you flip flop on your principles!
The million marching around the world on 2003 all foresaw that.
In this particular case, yes. Given all the lost lives and increase in terrorisism, I’d have to say that other options should have been contemplated. You see, that’s the difference between a progressionist and a revolutionary. Had I been the latter, I’d probably be too busy torching flags in the streets instead of debating the topic.
Violence is only warranted in cases where you can prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that it’s the last resort. Do I hate US’s foreign policy? Hell yeah! Do I think that putting a bullet in Bush’s head or bombing the Congress will do any good? Hell no!
Can you honestly tell me that getting rid of Saddam was worth the hundreds of thousands dead, countless mutilated, and millions of refugees? Saddam didn’t wake up one morning and decided to become a monster. He’s been a tyrant during all his reign and his horrors date back to 68 when the Ba’athists came to power.
So don’t give me the argument that democracy or the welfare of the Iraqis was a factor in deciding to suddenly invade on 2003. Noone’s buying that. Well except maybe a gullible bunch. By the end of 2003, 70% of Americans still believed Saddam was implicated in 9/11. What does that say about the level of disinformation you’re subjected to?
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
lixy, do you give your own threads 4 stars?[/quote]
I’ve noticed this pattern too. What’s the story Lixy?
BTW: What is a ‘Lixy’ anyway? My name, Headhunter, is a martial arts term for someone who likes to attack the head. Because of my height, I love to do the Axe Kick to a charging opponent.
[quote]Headhunter wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
lixy, do you give your own threads 4 stars?
I’ve noticed this pattern too. What’s the story Lixy? [/quote]
I’m guessing huge fan base…ducks
Nothing real elaborate.
LIX: Roman numeral for 59
I was born in 79 but the XXX would suggest something else, so I dropped it. The Y at the end is just to get an “adjective” form.
I just realized googling it that Lixy is the name of a French commune and of a 2003 trojan. None of which I heard of before or am associated to in any way.
Axe kick circles up over the head and then comes straight down. Striking surface is usually back of the heel. Targets include the top of opponent’s head and the collarbone. Andy Hug (RIP) used it to great effect in K-1:
Don’t these amnesty folks just deal with actions by governments?
Pointing at the actions of terrorists in comparison is a real poor approach. There is always somebody worse, but that should not be a justification or an excuse.
Our standards are ours. They are not set by the depravity that others exhibit, or so one would hope. Pointing elsewhere is simply a distraction from the important issues.
The real question is… are we living up to our own standards, or not?