Oh, Damn. It Was That Easy All This Time?

[Martin Lawrence, Globe and Mail] That’s why his uncompromisingly callous approach to a “softened-up” Omar Khadr is one of the most puzzling of his stewardship. His decision to essentially support the Guantanamo process, wherein you are guilty until never given a fair chance to prove yourself innocent, is distressingly regressive.

With the case taking on a new and enormous profile, it provided the Prime Minister with a golden opportunity to not only defend the rights of a Canadian, but to take a stand for higher standards of jurisprudence and humanitarianism that would be heard worldwide. Mr. Harper didn’t have to present himself as defending what Mr. Khadr was alleged to have done. He had only to defend high principle.

The rest.

Note to Lawrence Martin: be careful. You just called the child soldier “Mr.”

More Dangerous For Whom?

[Guelph Mercury] Guantanamo Bay and the remaining captives held in its legal black hole are a metaphor for a discredited response to a rivetting threat to America and its allies. Prison and prisoners are persistent reminders of a failed U.S. strategy that froze its own founding ideals in favour of its enemy’s no-rules tactics.

That symbolism is so powerful, so damaging to Washington’s image and hegemony, that both Republicans and Democrats now want Guantanamo closed. Their shared rationale is that shutting it down is a necessary step to moving beyond a muscular, unilateral foreign policy that’s only making the world more dangerous.

The rest.

Dutch Court: Olly Olly Oxen Free

[Radio Netherlands] The highest hurdle has gone: would-be immigrants who want to live with their partners or families in the Netherlands do not need to pass citizenship tests in their own country first. They no longer face a Dutch language test and difficult questions about society in the Netherlands. The change came about because of a ruling delivered by an Amsterdam court hearing a case brought by a Moroccan woman against the Dutch state.

The rest.

Supreme Court: You Can Fire Workers That Don’t Show Up For Months On End

Yes, it took a Supreme Court decision to tell you that.

[Canwest] Hydro-Quebec was justified in firing a depressed employee with a track record of chronic absenteeism, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Thursday morning.

The unanimous ruling refused to stretch the limits on an employer’s duty to accommodate employees who claim discrimination under human rights laws.

The case involved Hydro-Quebec’s 2001 dismissal of a then 44-year-old mentally ill and suicidal employee with a history of missing work, sometimes for months at a time.

The rest.

Anchors To Tail Obama, Europe Salivates

[Washington Post] The three network anchors will travel to Europe and the Middle East next week for Barack Obama’s trip, adding their high-wattage spotlight to what is already shaping up as a major media extravaganza.

Lured by an offer of interviews with the Democratic presidential candidate, Brian Williams, Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric will make the overseas trek, meaning that the NBC, ABC and CBS evening newscasts will originate from stops along the route and undoubtedly give it big play.

John McCain has taken three foreign trips in the past four months, all unaccompanied by a single network anchor.

…

The upcoming Obama trip, by contrast, has already generated stories about how large his crowds will be and whether German authorities will allow him to speak at the Brandenburg Gate. “Europe Awaits Obama With Open Arms,” the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday.

The rest.

UK Columnist: All The Trouble In The World, And We Worry About Big Knockers

Careful. This tempest in a D-cup could expose the big breasted to hatred or contempt.

[Times Online] So, London’s teenagers are slicing each other to bits, the ice caps are melting, inflation is rising and food prices are so high that we’ll soon be forced to eat our home repossession orders. And what do thousands of angry British people join an action group to protest about? That’s right. The “injustice” of Marks & Spencer adding £2 to the price of an extra-large bra.

This is a Very Serious Matter, apparently. Busts 4 Justice, the name of a Facebook movement, calls it a “criminally unfair” penalty against the fuller-figured woman. It discriminates on the ground of size. It’s a “mammary tax”.

The rest.

Ship That Promotes Responsible Travel Found To Be A Fire Trap

[New York Times] The Clipper Pacific, a 637-foot ship carrying about 975 passengers and just over 300 crew members on a round-the-world voyage that started in Japan in May, reported hull damage on Sunday as it approached New York, its next scheduled stop after Greenland.

The Coast Guard did a routine inspection on Sunday, and found at least 60 more safety problems, mostly fire hazards, said Cmdr. Gregory Hitchen, the Coast Guard’s chief of operations for the New York area.

…

The ship is affiliated with Peace Boat, a nonprofit group based in Japan that works to promote peace, human rights and responsible travel, among other issues, according to its Web site.

The rest.

Intellectuals To Fans: Vote Early, Vote Often

[The Post] For example, a number of intellectuals - including Aitzaz Ahsan, Noam Chomsky, Michael Ignatieff, and Amr Khaled - mounted voting drives by promoting the list on their websites. Others issued press releases or gave interviews to local newspapers. Press coverage profiling these intellectuals appeared around the world, with stories running in Canada, India, Indonesia, Qatar, Spain, and elsewhere.

No one spread the word as effectively as the man who tops the list. In early May, the Top 100 list was mentioned on the front page of Zaman, a Turkish daily newspaper closely aligned with Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. Within hours, votes in his favour began to pour in. His supporters - typically educated, upwardly mobile Muslims - were eager to cast ballots not only for their champion but for other Muslims in the Top 100. Thanks to this groundswell, the top 10 public intellectuals in this year’s reader poll are all Muslim.

The rest.

Politicians: Close Gitmo…Close Gitmo…Close Gitmo…Al-Wathba-who?

[SMH] The Australian Greens have renewed calls for the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay to be shut following the release of video footage of its youngest detainee sobbing for his mother.

vs

[Foreign Prisoner Support Service] Al-wathba prison in Abu Dhabi is notorious for its human rights abuse, stoning to death, lashings, overcrowding. Inmates sleep in cells designed for 8 which held 22 with 3 lice infested blankets on a cement floor. Some Women have been there 16 years and have no one to assist them. One lady has been there 4 years without any help from her embassy. The Indian embassy does not acknowledge that they have several indian nationals in this place. The Sri Lankan and Phillipine Embassies try and visit once a month. This information has been submitted to us from a westerner who was incarcerated in al-wathba and received no assistance from her embassy at all.