UNITED NATIONS CAUGHT IN A "CATCH-22"

Last year, when the United Nations wanted to inspect the U. S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, they were told by the Pentagon that they would not be allowed to speak directly with the prisoners. This is contrary to the principle of "unfettered inspections" that President Bush held up as a standard in his speech on Iraq on October 7, 2002:

inspectors must have access to any site, at any time, without pre-clearance, without delay, without exceptions.

Rather than settle for the limited inspection, the UN declined the offer and made their investigation instead based on information from "former Guantanamo detainees, their lawyers and families, and U. S. officials." (link)

And now the United States is claiming that they can refute the UN report, which calls for closure of Guantanamo. Their justification?

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack complained the authors wrote the report without seeing the prison.

'When people hear these press reports about these outcomes and when they actually view the final report, I would urge them to look at it in the context of the fact that nobody who wrote this report actually went to Guantanamo,' McCormack said.

If the United States wants to truly refute the claims of the UN report, we should do so by allowing unfettered inspections. Access to anyone, at any time, without pre-clearance, without delay, without exceptions. As we liberals have said in the past: Let the inspectors do their job.

California death penalty moratorium bill fails

This was a bill that PPJ had supported in a petition.

From Reuters:

Two days after California executed its oldest death row inmate, state lawmakers on Thursday blocked a bill that would bar the state from carrying out death sentences for two years.

The bill's Democratic author blamed Republicans for stalling it in the state Assembly's Appropriations Committee and said he would not abandon his proposed moratorium, which would also allow a committee to investigate whether California had sent innocent people to death row.

Human Rights Watch condemns U. S. treatment of detainees

From the Washington Post:

The Bush administration has a strategy of abusing terrorism suspects during interrogations, Human Rights Watch contended yesterday in its annual report on the treatment of people in more than 70 countries.

The human rights group based its conclusions mostly on statements by senior administration officials in the past year. It said President Bush's reassurances that the United States does not torture suspects were deceptive and rang hollow.

Viewpoints differ on Supreme Court abortion ruling

New York Times headline: Justices Reaffirm Emergency Access to Abortion

Los Angeles Times headline: Supreme Court Dodges Major Abortion Ruling

Clarence Ray Allen executed in California

From ABC News:

California executed its oldest condemned inmate early Tuesday for arranging a triple murder 25 years ago to silence witnesses in another killing.

Clarence Ray Allen was pronounced dead by lethal injection at 12:38 a.m. at San Quentin State Prison, less than an hour after his 76th birthday ended at midnight.

Selective abortion blamed for India's missing girls

From Reuters:

A team of scientists who analyzed female fertility figures from a national survey of 6 million people in India found that there were about half a million fewer girls born in the country in 1997 than expected.

Extrapolated over 20 years, the figure would be 10 million, the researchers said in a report published online by The Lancet medical journal.

They added that selective abortion of female fetuses is the most plausible explanation for the skewed sex ratio.

Woman sues alleging "pregnancy firing"

From the Journal Times Online in Wisconsin:

A former saleswoman for a technology company claims she was fired just days after telling her boss she was pregnant.

Pamela Alexander made the allegation against Madison-based NameProtect Inc. in a sex discrimination lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Madison.

Cambodia arrests another human rights activist

From Voice of America:

The Cambodian Center of Human Rights says police have arrested a third human rights activist in a crackdown that has drawn international criticism.

The U.S.-funded organization says its vice-director, Pa Nguon Teang, was detained Wednesday near the border with Laos.

REQUEST CLEMENCY FOR CLARENCE RAY ALLEN

Death Penalty Focus is asking that people write to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to ask him to grant clemency to Clarence Ray Allen. Allen is scheduled to be executed on January 17, 2006 at 12:01am.

To send a letter, click here: http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1735

Cambodia arrests human rights activists

From the Guardian:

Two of Cambodia's most prominent human rights activists have been arrested and detained for defaming the government.

The US ambassador, Joseph Mussomeli, described it as another step down the wrong path for Cambodia, adding: "There is not much left to a real democracy."

He said the government was afraid of free speech. "And when governments are afraid, they make foolish decisions, and this is foolish and unfortunate."

Attempted clinic bombers arrested in Louisiana

From the Shreveport Times:

A 24-year-old Shreveport woman and her 18-year-old boyfriend were charged Saturday with attempting to bomb an abortion clinic on Kings Highway nearly three weeks ago, authorities said.

Hope Medical Group for Women wasn't damaged when someone tossed a Molotov cocktail at it about 10:45 p.m. Dec. 12.