Remember that internal Inspector General's report from the Dept. of Justice a few weeks back that accused the department of serious civil rights violations against immigrants? Well, now comes another one. The charges are levied against the Bureau of Prisons, the FBI, DEA, and INS (again); they include such behavior as beatings of prisoners and even a case of threats of execution from a doctor. You know, I used to wonder how guards in totalitarian regimes could behave so inhumanely towards their prisoners, and I thought that democracies wouldn't do such things. It's beginning to look like I was either wrong or hopelessly naive.
Reconsidering Aussie and Brit detainee military trials looks good to the citizens of Oz and the UK, no doubt, but I suspect Al-Jazeera will be playing up this decision as yet another example of "the West" attacking Islam. An Administration so conscious of its image might want to rethink the tribunal idea for all detainees.
In family planning news, the House once again has ignored the Administration's own findings and refused to pass a bill funding UNFPA. The anti-abortion crowd in the House doesn't seem to understand that by refusing to fund the UN's efforts it only increases the likelihood of abortion and/or the death of both mother and child; ideology and vote-pandering have once again overtaken sense and pragmatism. If you'd like to contribute to UNFPA, click the "34 million friends" button over in the right sidebar.
Posted by Linkmeister at July 21, 2003 12:01 AM