The Saint Cloud Regional Human Rights Commission has started a Facebook page. Please feel free to "like", post, and comment about human rights issues that affect us all.
The Human Rights Update blog will remain as active as ever, so keep reading here as well!
Friday, February 17, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Work Will Set You Free
"Perhaps the most debilitating consequence of the euro zone’s economic downturn and its debt-driven austerity crusade has been the soaring rate of youth unemployment. Spain’s jobless rate for people ages 16 to 24 is approaching 50 percent. Greece’s is 48 percent, and Portugal’s and Italy’s, 30 percent. Here in Britain, the rate is 22.3 percent, the highest since such data began being collected in 1992. (The comparable rate for Americans is 18 percent.)" ("For London Youth, Down and Out is a Way of Life, New York Times, February 16, 2012).
Eighteen percent unemployment for American youths 16 to 24 still is nothing to brag about. In Minnesota, the number of unemployed youths 16 to 24 is above the national average, at 21.1 percent.
What happens when you have long term unemployment of youth? A decrease in tax revenue. An increase in crime. A heightened need for social services. Anger. Despair. The potential for youth to give up certain freedoms and rights, or overlook the freedoms and rights of others, in exchange for their salvation. The potential to bond over perceived racial supremacy, under the delusion that people of other races have taken their jobs and destroyed their country.
Eighteen percent unemployment for American youths 16 to 24 still is nothing to brag about. In Minnesota, the number of unemployed youths 16 to 24 is above the national average, at 21.1 percent.
What happens when you have long term unemployment of youth? A decrease in tax revenue. An increase in crime. A heightened need for social services. Anger. Despair. The potential for youth to give up certain freedoms and rights, or overlook the freedoms and rights of others, in exchange for their salvation. The potential to bond over perceived racial supremacy, under the delusion that people of other races have taken their jobs and destroyed their country.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Obama Stands Up to China and Gets Slapped Down
Obama gets slammed for human rights abuses by CounterPunch.
So seriously, China has never committed human rights abuses? Does TIBET ring a bell? What about all of their political prisoners, including the famous Ai Wei Wei case? What about slave labor in the sweltering iPad factories? What about the Chinese government having the right to drown entire villages for hydroelectric dam projects and moving people into new "housing", often substandard compared to what they had before?
Obama is the same man who met with the Dalai Lama, even though the Chinese asked him not to do so.
So seriously, China has never committed human rights abuses? Does TIBET ring a bell? What about all of their political prisoners, including the famous Ai Wei Wei case? What about slave labor in the sweltering iPad factories? What about the Chinese government having the right to drown entire villages for hydroelectric dam projects and moving people into new "housing", often substandard compared to what they had before?
Obama is the same man who met with the Dalai Lama, even though the Chinese asked him not to do so.
He's Not in Prison for Being Queer
LGBT news magazine The Advocate made the claim that Barack Obama would like us to forget Bradley Manning, whom Advocate writer Victoria Brownworth called "the first openly gay political prisoner" and also "the most dangerous man in America".
The Advocate is treading some pretty dangerous waters here, in implying that:
1. Bradley Manning could have been imprisoned due to his gender identity (not the case);
2. Bradley Manning should not be in a military prison, or tried by a military tribunal, for his crime (he was an enlisted man when he leaked military documents to Wikileaks);
3. Frustration over how the military addressed his gender identity is legitimate justification to commit treason (Manning expressed the discrimination he faced as a gay servicemember as the reason he leaked documents).
According to Brownworth, Manning's treatment in the Fort Leavenworth military prison is similar to what prisoners in Guantanamo Bay are getting, and that it violates the Geneva Convention. Instead of fighting for the human rights of all prisoners in military detention, however, Brownworth makes a distinction--that Manning should receive different treatment because he is a US citizen. She does not understand that he was not a free citizen at the time of his incarceration--he was an enlisted man, and thus subject to military law as well as the US Constitution and federal law.
The question is--do Manning's actions make him a terrorist? Do his actions make him a threat to national security, or military security? The question is not whether he should receive special treatment due to his queer American status.
The Advocate is treading some pretty dangerous waters here, in implying that:
1. Bradley Manning could have been imprisoned due to his gender identity (not the case);
2. Bradley Manning should not be in a military prison, or tried by a military tribunal, for his crime (he was an enlisted man when he leaked military documents to Wikileaks);
3. Frustration over how the military addressed his gender identity is legitimate justification to commit treason (Manning expressed the discrimination he faced as a gay servicemember as the reason he leaked documents).
According to Brownworth, Manning's treatment in the Fort Leavenworth military prison is similar to what prisoners in Guantanamo Bay are getting, and that it violates the Geneva Convention. Instead of fighting for the human rights of all prisoners in military detention, however, Brownworth makes a distinction--that Manning should receive different treatment because he is a US citizen. She does not understand that he was not a free citizen at the time of his incarceration--he was an enlisted man, and thus subject to military law as well as the US Constitution and federal law.
The question is--do Manning's actions make him a terrorist? Do his actions make him a threat to national security, or military security? The question is not whether he should receive special treatment due to his queer American status.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Israel Must Provide More Housing for Palestinians
According to a recent United Nations Human Rights report, "Israel's policies violate right to housing and need urgent revision".
To make a long story short...
Any Jewish person who immigrates to Israel automatically receives a place to live from the Israeli government, as well as a stipend.
A Palestinian person born and raised in Israel, or a Palestinian person living in the Occupied Territories, might have lost their home at least once due to military interventions approved by the Israeli government. A significant percentage of Palestinians inside and outside of Israel have a difficult time finding new housing, because no new housing is being built for Palestinians.
Bedouins born and raised in Israel, as well as Bedouins who are born and raised in the Occupied Territories, are being forced to "choose sides". As nomadic people, Bedouins often traveled in and out of Israel and the Occupied Territories--but no more. Bedouins living in Occupied Territories are forced to settle in substandard housing developments or camps similar to refugee camps.
A Palestinian may have paperwork to prove that a house belongs to him or her, but the Israeli government can overturn this at any time if they decide to alter the flexible borders between Occupied Territory and Israel.
A Palestinian home can be bulldozed in the Occupied Territories, and a Palestinian can be evicted from an apartment in Jerusalem, to make room for Jewish settlers.
That is a long story short, but feel free to read the document.
To make a long story short...
Any Jewish person who immigrates to Israel automatically receives a place to live from the Israeli government, as well as a stipend.
A Palestinian person born and raised in Israel, or a Palestinian person living in the Occupied Territories, might have lost their home at least once due to military interventions approved by the Israeli government. A significant percentage of Palestinians inside and outside of Israel have a difficult time finding new housing, because no new housing is being built for Palestinians.
Bedouins born and raised in Israel, as well as Bedouins who are born and raised in the Occupied Territories, are being forced to "choose sides". As nomadic people, Bedouins often traveled in and out of Israel and the Occupied Territories--but no more. Bedouins living in Occupied Territories are forced to settle in substandard housing developments or camps similar to refugee camps.
A Palestinian may have paperwork to prove that a house belongs to him or her, but the Israeli government can overturn this at any time if they decide to alter the flexible borders between Occupied Territory and Israel.
A Palestinian home can be bulldozed in the Occupied Territories, and a Palestinian can be evicted from an apartment in Jerusalem, to make room for Jewish settlers.
That is a long story short, but feel free to read the document.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Semper Heil
U.S. Marines in Afghanistan pose with Nazi symbol.
Even more shameful is that the official United States Marines blog is not addressing the issue.
What do the Marines have to do with human rights, you might ask?
Why does a Nazi symbol still have so much power?
It is not the role of the Marines to defend white supremacy, or white Americans, but all Americans.
The only flag that the Marines should defend is the red white and blue Stars and Stripes.
A Nazi symbol still has so much power because people around the world still use it to define their identity and express hatred for others. In many European countries, production of Nazi symbols, flags, and publications is illegal. Ironically, in the United States, Nazi and white supremacist publishing is alive and well, although under the radar.
White supremacy and Nazism in the US Marine Corps is not new...a 2008 article reveals that there is a neo-Nazi cell in the Marine Corps, and that those Nazis among them have more loyalty to their gang than to the US flag.
Meanwhile, the official United States Marines blog is highlighting African-American Marines who fought during World War Two. African-Americans were considered racially inferior by the Nazis, our enemies at the time. They were also considered racially inferior by many white Marines, but good enough to fight, and so served in segregated units.
Our military leaders cannot look away while their troops bond together in racism, anti-Semitism, and homophobia. They certainly cannot support it, either. As the United States continues to have a military presence around the world, it must show that it is not corrupted by the true poison of our enemies--fear and hatred for those not considered "white" or "Christian". That is never what the US flag stood for.
Even more shameful is that the official United States Marines blog is not addressing the issue.
What do the Marines have to do with human rights, you might ask?
Why does a Nazi symbol still have so much power?
It is not the role of the Marines to defend white supremacy, or white Americans, but all Americans.
The only flag that the Marines should defend is the red white and blue Stars and Stripes.
A Nazi symbol still has so much power because people around the world still use it to define their identity and express hatred for others. In many European countries, production of Nazi symbols, flags, and publications is illegal. Ironically, in the United States, Nazi and white supremacist publishing is alive and well, although under the radar.
White supremacy and Nazism in the US Marine Corps is not new...a 2008 article reveals that there is a neo-Nazi cell in the Marine Corps, and that those Nazis among them have more loyalty to their gang than to the US flag.
Meanwhile, the official United States Marines blog is highlighting African-American Marines who fought during World War Two. African-Americans were considered racially inferior by the Nazis, our enemies at the time. They were also considered racially inferior by many white Marines, but good enough to fight, and so served in segregated units.
Our military leaders cannot look away while their troops bond together in racism, anti-Semitism, and homophobia. They certainly cannot support it, either. As the United States continues to have a military presence around the world, it must show that it is not corrupted by the true poison of our enemies--fear and hatred for those not considered "white" or "Christian". That is never what the US flag stood for.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Prop 8 Ruling Overturned in California
Today the 9th Circuit Court upheld a lower court ruling that overturned California's ban on gay marriage, Proposition 8. USA Today's "Faith & Reason" section is providing a run down of comments on this event from leaders of different religious groups.
It is no wonder that there are people in Minnesota who want to add an amendment to the Minnesota state constitution that would define marriage as a heterosexual union. To date, here is the state of same-sex relationships in the United States:
2Same-sex marriage laws in California are complicated; please see the article on Same-sex marriage in California
It is no wonder that there are people in Minnesota who want to add an amendment to the Minnesota state constitution that would define marriage as a heterosexual union. To date, here is the state of same-sex relationships in the United States:
Laws regarding same-sex partnership in the United States
Same-sex marriage1
Unions granting rights similar to marriage1,2
Legislation granting limited/enumerated rights1
Same-sex marriages performed elsewhere recognized1
No specific prohibition or recognition of same-sex marriages or unions
Statute bans same-sex marriage
Constitution bans same-sex marriage
Constitution bans same-sex marriage and other kinds of same-sex unions
1May include recent laws or court decisions which have created legal recognition of same-sex relationships, but which have not entered into effect yet.2Same-sex marriage laws in California are complicated; please see the article on Same-sex marriage in California
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