Amnesty International

In the interest of brevity I will only post this link.
I can't say that I'm very familiar with the conditions in Guantanamo, but two things in this article strike me as pathetic.
First- The assertion that the prisoners are being treated humanely " recieving far better treatment than in the life they were living previously".
Does it strike anyone else as stupidly arrogant to think that being a prisoner of the US government is better than not?

Second- The official US responses seem suspiciously tepid, even offhand, as if they couldn't be bothered to put up even a half-hearted defense. At a time when much of the world is focused on our motives and future moves, would it really be so much to ask that we make the attempt to explain/justify/defend our actions?
Granted, I wouldn't expect Bush to be able to muster a coherent response, but surely somebody in our leader's cabal could whip up a spirited response?

Amnesty has no favorites.......they will expose human rights abuses anywhere.

And the USA has them, as do the UK.

Amnesty international are a great organisation - as my Rodent-Mod friend says, they expose abuse of Human rights around the world. That's what Amnesty International is about!

I am a member - I help set up an Amnesty school group! :)

no surprise the US didn't ratify the rome treaty and subject themselves to the international criminal court...

Amnesty international is a left wing org with a left wing agenda.
Time after time they've shown their true colors.
Yes they go after human rights abuses but seem to be far behind on those that don't fit into their far left wing their agenda.
I put them in the same exact catagory as LA Times "Repoter" Robert Scheer.
I truly tried to like them at one time......well you know.

Quote:

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Originally posted by ShockAndAwe^i^@30 May 2003 - 02:13
Amnesty international is a left wing org with a left wing agenda.
Time after time they've shown their true colors.
Yes they go after human rights abuses but seem to be far behind on those that don't fit into their far left wing their agenda.
I put them in the same exact catagory as LA Times "Repoter" Robert Scheer.
I truly tried to like them at one time......well you know.

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S&A, i'm all for contrarian positions, but surely your critique goes beyond describing AI as "far left wing", this is only an observation, and doesn't explain why AI's information shouldn't be trusted. Of course they have an agenda, like any other group by definition, but lets get to the heart of the matter: do you think the criticism of the US is unwarranted? If so, why? From what little i know on the subject, its not exagerating or resorting to hyperbole to describe guantanamo bay as a prima facie violation of the law. its not just AI that's talking like this.

Indeed S&A.
Shooting the messenger doesn't invalidate the message.
But I know you're a big Rush Limbaugh fan and that's one of his favorite devices.

I'm not attacking the messenger at all.
That really was a hit and run kinda statement.
The truth is I really haven't felt much like debating lately.
I come here every day and enjoy reading all the new posts,but feel like making a quick one,then bail.
I've really been too fatigued to muster up a good response to some of more provocative posts.
I take med's that make you very fatigued sometimes.
Playing with Xara3D and hanging out in softwareworld for few is easier on my brain
You'll have to forgive me for a couple of days or so.

Well I couldn't remember anything specific about AI,but I knew that I disagreed with them a lot over the years.
So I did a web search and just found to many things to mention.
That's why I compared AI to Robert Scheer.
When he speaks it is to be discounted due to his very obvious leftist leanings and downright anti American views.

Quote:

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Originally posted by ShockAndAwe^i^@30 May 2003 - 01:13
Amnesty international is a left wing org with a left wing agenda.
Time after time they've shown their true colors.
Yes they go after human rights abuses but seem to be far behind on those that don't fit into their far left wing their agenda.
I put them in the same exact catagory as LA Times "Repoter" Robert Scheer.
I truly tried to like them at one time......well you know.

---

They arent a left wing organisation.

They will accuse the Left as readily as the Right.

By your definaition they would accuse USA and leave China alone (and USSR when it was around)......they didnt and dont.

Both of those countries got/get far more accusations from the Organisation than the USA does.......


They dont play favourites, and are willing to bite the hand that feeds them, just as the ILO does.

You dont have to be Left Wing to 'care' about the huge abuses in Human Rights around the world.

Im actually quite Right Wing about them. If abusing 1 persons human rights will save 100's of lives (and their 'Right' to live) I say go ahead.

However, to balance that, if Human Rights are abused for no reason (eg Holding people without charge in Cuba for over 18 months) then I swing the other way.

Quite frankly, if you cant find the evidence to convict someone in 18months, when you have them in custody....you arent going to find it. I dont know what the conditions are like in this place now (so i cant comment on the current treatment of these 'prisoners'), however i remember when they 1st went there.....and the way they were being treated then was also an Abuse of Human Rights, for no good reason.

Open Your Eye's!
Guantanamo aint shit.
Guantanamo is political.
This should be one of the last things on their leftist menu.
But it's not!
The Atrocities that are happening right now that AI is'nt saying a word about(or very little)make guantanamo look like Heaven.
And Don't ask me for some long winded psycobabble-ish responce to what these Atrocities are.
There are far much worse things than this and you know it!
But there not in the forefront...mmmmm wonder why?
Nope.. lets pay attention to the death camp qualitys of Guantanamo.
The scourge of humanity.
They never accuse anything leftist except when their forced by the fact the world has knowledge of it.
AI is as anti American as the UN.
Oh yeah their hard core anti-semetic too!