An ugly day for American values around the world: In Iraq, an investigation inaugurated after the recent discovery of secret prisons in Baghdad uncovers at least 120 victims of torture and/or abuse in prisons run by the new Iraq Interior Ministry. “Prisoners had their bones broken and their fingernails pulled out, were subjected to electric shocks and had burning cigarettes crushed into their necks and backs, said the Iraqi official.” And, elsewhere, a European investigation suggests that the CIA were in fact holding prisoners illegally in Europe, until they were surreptitiously moved to North Africa after the story broke. Charming. So is this what Dubya meant when he said “we are determined to show the meaning and promise of liberty” to the world? If so, I’d remind him of the Lincoln quote he used in the same inaugural address: “Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves; and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it.“
Category: Africa
Greenhouse Doghouse.
Shunned by Dubya and spurred on by Bill Clinton, the rest of the world comes together to limit greenhouse gases and extend the Kyoto treaty. “Brushing aside the Bush administration’s fierce protests, all the industrialized nations except the United States and Australia were near an agreement Friday night to embark on a new round of formal talks aimed at setting new mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions after 2012, when the existing pact known as the Kyoto Protocol expires.“
To Whom It May Concern…
“It must be on the basis by which I travel anywhere, being in a private aircraft, which bears a substantial cost unfortunately…I am confident that we will have a long, productive and warm relationship, but good relationships are built on firm understandings at the outset.” Among his many other shady dealings, it seems “Casino Jack” Abramoff tried to bilk the President of Gabon for $9 million, in order to set up a meeting with Dubya. Apparently, Gabon didn’t take up his offer…I wonder if they considered it spam.
Can I Get a Witness?
From the folks behind Drop the Hammer: Be a Witness, a site which calls out the national newsmedia for ignoring genocide in Darfur in favor of the Jackson case and myriad damsels in distress. While we’re at it, more coverage of the war we’re mired in might be nice too…y’know, the one over in Iraq.
The Executioner’s Song.
“Fighting over the ‘evolving standards of decency’ underlying the Eighth Amendment’s ban on ‘cruel and unusual punishment,’ the 5-to-4 opinions reflect an all-out war between the proponents of a living (or at least medium-rare) Constitution and those who want to see it dead (or perhaps well-done, with a nice pinot).” Slate‘s inimitable Dahlia Lithwick explains the Kennedy-Scalia sniping undergirding the Supreme Court’s very welcome 5-4 decision to ban juvenile executions. To keep things in perspective, the only other nations besides us that have put juveniles to death since 2000 are China, Iran, Pakistan, and the Congo…not exactly what you’d call the Axis of Freedom.
One Love.
“Bob Marley, all of his songs are fire to Satan, the dragon quake. Bob Marley is still alive, vibrant style, Rastafari.” On what would have been his sixtieth birthday, Ethiopia (and Time Magazine) celebrate the music and legacy of Bob Marley.
World Mapper Pretend.
Test your geography skills, via Pith and Vinegar. Oof, my performance on the South American map the first time around was pretty embarrassing.
Uprising.
“‘Cause we’re moving right out of Babylon, and we’re going to our father’s land.” On what would be his 60th birthday, the late, great Bob Marley will be exhumed and reburied in Ethiopia, his “forefather cornerstone” and spiritual home of the Rastafari. Said his widow, Rita Marley, of the move, “How can you give up a continent for an island? He has a right for his remains to be where he would love them to be. This was his mission. Ethiopia is his spiritual resting place.”
The World on Screen.
Despite harboring one of the more irritating crossword puzzles in recent months (it included characters like %,@,&, and *) and a breathless paean to the wildly overrated Julia Roberts, this week’s special NYT Magazine on film and globalization included a number of interesting reads, including an overview of foreign film trends by A.O. Scott, a disquisition on the problems facing the US industry by Lynn Hirschberg, and an extended interview with Maggie Cheung (late of Hero and In the Mood for Love.)
Coalition of the Disgusted.
Aside from the Philippines, Nigeria, and Poland, the world wants John Kerry by a landslide. Undecided voters out there, you know how you can “Ask the Audience” on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire when you’re stumped? Consider it like that.