Iraqi Democracy?

Almost a month has passed since the excitement and euphoria over the elections in Iraq. Now, Iraqis are attempting something even harder, putting together a government.

No one should expect that this will go especially smoothly. There are real and wide differences among the various factions in Iraq. Many hoped, as the Christian Science Monitor pointed out today, that there would not be a need for 150,000 troops to still be in Iraq keeping the peace. As was the case when Saddam was toppled, many in the U.S. proclaimed victory too soon after the election at the end of January.

As we approach the two year anniversary of the start of the Iraq War, the doubts of many Americans about our involvement remain. The CS Monitor also
summarized some recent polling data:

Still, many Americans, when asked, express uneasiness with - if not opposition to - the war. As reported this week in a Washington Post-ABC News Poll, 53 percent of Americans feel the war was not worth fighting, 57 percent say they disapprove of the Mr. Bush's handling of Iraq, and 70 percent think the number of US casualties is an unacceptable price to have paid. A plurality of Americans (41 percent) also believe the war has damaged this country's standing abroad, particularly as they see much of the "coalition of the willing" heading home from Iraq, leaving Americans to carry more and more of the burden there.

Where do we go from here? Many in the anti-war movement are still calling for an immediate withdrawal. The Bush Administration has refused to set a timetable for U.S. withdrawal, and on the first day of the Iraqi National Assembly, the wide disagreements among the delegates was evident.

10,000 dying each month in Darfur, U.N. says

Never again.

This is what the world says each and every time an act of genocide or mass killings occur. But the promise and the pledge have fallen through yet again in Africa.

The United Nations has just confirmed what many who have been studying the problem in the Darfur region of Sudan have been saying in recent months, that the death toll is much higher than the official toll of 70,000 that is most commonly reported.

Since last March, it is estimated that 180,000 have died from disease and starvation alone. That number does not include those killed outright by the armed militia or janjaweed that prowl the Darfur, Sudan.

Call our Senators today and ask them to vote in favor of the Darfur Accountability Act. There are many other things you can do by making our representatives in government put this tragedy on the agenda. See Amnesty International's Sudan page for information and its "Sudan Action" page for letters you can sign and send today.

Let's do more than just sit by, watch and repeat the phrase "never again".

Awesome Book by Leading American Thinker

I spent a nice part of this sunny afternoon reading the first 50 pages of this outstanding book. Democracy Matters is a book I would have liked to have written if I were more intelligent and well educated. In it, West dissects the dysfunctional currents in our political system, and uses an amazing array of philosophy, history, literature, music and current events to make his point that America needs to return to a deep democratic tradition that we have inherited to fight the racist and imperialist traditions we have also inherited.

An inspiring call to think, discuss, and work together to bring about an improvement in the human condition in our nation and in our world. If you want something more substantial than the Bush-bashing you get from Michael Moore or Al Franken, check out Cornell West.

No more executions for Juvenile Offenders!

I haven't posted anything in a long while. Recently however, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down laws across the United States that allow for the execution of criminals tried as adults who were under 18 at the time the crime was committed. What do you think of this? The U.S. was one of the few remaining nations that allowed for the execution of minors. Do you agree with the slim majority (5-4) on the Court that ruled that the practice was a violation of the 8th Amendment?

I for one, have argued for a long time that the practice of capital punishment needs to be looked at in a modern and humanitarian fashion. It is a barbaric practice that furthers the tendency toward violence in our culture. Crime is not deterred by the death penalty. If falls disproportionately on minority and poor convicts. Too many innocent people have been executed in the recent past because of errors of our legal system. I would prefer to see state legislatures around the nation and Congress vote to ban the practice. Short of that, should the Court ban the practice? Does the ruling on minors open the door for such a ruling?

Founder of Amnesty Int'l Dead at 83

Peter Benenson, Founder of Amnesty International

A sad note for those who are devoted to the cause of human rights. Peter Benenson, the man who started a letter writing campaign in 1961 to free political prisoners in Portugal, has died. His campaign eventually became what we know as Amnesty International.

Thanks to Yosef Fufa for first posting this on this site as a comment.

Amnesty International's website has more information on Benenson's life and all of its work on human rights around the globe. There is a wonderful news release that discusses his life. It gave me goosebumps! He truly was a man dedicated to making the world a better place.

The website includes the following:

As he said in 1961, lighting the first Amnesty candle, "I’m reminded of the words of a 16th century man sentenced to death by burning: We have today lit such a candle as shall never be put out."

...At a ceremony to mark Amnesty International's 25th anniversary, Mr Benenson lit what has become the organisation's symbol -- a candle entwined in barbed wire -- with the words:

"The candle burns not for us, but for all those whom we failed to rescue from prison, who were shot on the way to prison, who were tortured, who were kidnapped, who ‘disappeared’. That is what the candle is for."

Thanks to all of you who have been a part of his legacy through your work on behalf of human rights.