Down With Everybody

Abortion rights are once again under attack with amendments to the Human Embryology and Fertilisation Bill.

The left need to unite behind the defence of the 24 weeks limit. They also need to work with feminist groups to push for a liberalisation of abortion law ,as a minimum a move to one doctor’s signature and preferably abortion on demand.

The rest.

Brian Rudman, New Zealand writer:

I never thought I’d ever say this, but for once I wish the United States and anyone else that wants to join in, New Zealand included, just walked in and did what has to be done. Letting your people die in great numbers when medical and food aid is at hand is nothing short of genocide.

The rest.

The United Nations announced today that it will close its human rights office in Angola, after authorities in the southern African nation decided not to sign an agreement that would have formally established the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in the country.

…

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said she “respected but regretted” the Government’s decision.

“We look forward to examining any fresh initiatives the Government may suggest in line with its voluntary pledge to the Human Rights Council to increase its cooperation with my Office,” Ms. Arbour said.

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“It was always going to be paramount, ” he says, “It’s at the very heart of the public debate surrounding the legalities of extraordinary rendition and the way what America calls ‘enhanced interrogation’ crosses into full blown torture. We researched as much as possible how the CIA use specific techniques of psychological manipulation so that when we came to do the interrogation scenes there would be a real air of authenticity. For me it had to be as explicit and as unpleasant as possible.”

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Mary Shaw:

So I decided to do some first-hand research into the American consumer psyche. I asked an acquaintance why she clings to her SUV despite the soaring gas prices and despite the global warming crisis. “I like being up high when I drive,” she explained.

So that’s it. That is her priority.

And, when I tried to appeal to her sense of survival and responsibility, she rolled her eyes and drove away.

And I think this so perfectly illustrates the problem: Americans are spoiled.

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DWE doesn’t mind printing other people’s propaganda, as long as it makes them look stupid. Here’s another screed for Israeli independence day.

[The People's Voice] Until Palestine has been restored, Palestinians have the right to use what weapons they may possess to drive the invader out. If all they have are rocks and sticks and suicide belts, then that is perfectly legitimate as well as an indication of a courage that the invader does not possess. It is the commonly shared and oft-repeated belief of the mad-dog settlers and large body of neo-con Israelis that there is no such thing as a Palestinian or Palestine. However, believing something doesn’t make it so.

But…if you believe it, then it can’t be so? Or maybe, if we believe, then it is so? Or isn’t so? Or…ah, nevermind.

In The Canadian, a writer breaks out the Royal “we” with gusto:

He lives there, I don’t. I get it. But I’m Palestinian too.

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We are not less human that we should be expected to continue to “negotiate” with our oppressors for basic human rights. For decades now we have extended our collective hand in willingness to accept the two-state solution, a desperate offer of great compromise on our part. And for that same length of time, Israel has continued to steal more and more of our land, to kill, maim, and dispossess more and more of us. The daily horrors inflicted on my countrymen have nothing to do with terrorism or our corrupt leadership. Our great crime is that we are not Jewish. We are oppressed, denied, humiliated daily, dispossessed and robbed because we are not Jewish.

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About The Body Shop: The Body Shop International plc has more than 2,200 stores in over 55 markets worldwide. A global retailer of toiletries and cosmetics, we are committed to environmental protection and respect for human rights; we develop trading relationships with communities in need; we are against animal testing in the cosmetics industry; and we encourage education, awareness and community involvement among our staff and customers.

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And straight people are..?

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against GLBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

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Currently, Ontario is the only province (and, perhaps, the only jurisdiction in the world) that requires Class A drivers to take an on-road retest upon reaching age 65, and annually thereafter. Drivers, therefore, must take their truck off the road for a day (company drivers have to find a truck to take the test with), often at their own expense.

Age is the sole trigger for this requirement, which, as revealed in several articles published by Today’s Trucking, may actually be in conflict with the province’s own age-based human rights legislation.

The rest.