another wet Saturday

Short and sweet: The United Nations Special Rapporteur, Juan Mendez, requested a meeting with Pfc. Manning. Manning was arrested because someone in the US government thought he was the guy who leaked some of the Wikileaks information. He has not been charged with a crime, nor has he been given a trial date (he was arrested last May, and has been held in solitary confinement in the brig in Norfolk, Va. ever since). Several people who have had access to Manning have claimed he is being tortured by the US Military. Thus, the UN appointment, which is normal operating proceedure when accusations of torture are made. What's new here? It is us, folks... you and me... who are paying Manning's torturers. It is America! How low have we gone when we refuse an international observer an opportunity to investigate whether or not we're torturing a prisoner? I am disgusted by this action, but more important, it scares me. If they can refuse Manning an audience with a UN official, what happens when you or, heaven forbid, I am arrested? Do we have any rights? I think not... and that is really scary stuff. Are we the next Libya? Algeria? What's to keep Obama from keeping control of the White House for 30 years? We obviously don't follow the old rules... so why should we worry about stuff like torture?

Another quick note: Obama refused to sign the international pact that outlawed the manufacture and use of 'cluster bombs'... the same bombs that Mr. Qaddafi is using today (see 'Qaddafi is using Cluster Bombs in Civilian Area, NYTimes, page A1, 4/16). These horrendous weapons have been used by the United States in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and in Yemen in 2009. Obama has refused to sign the international Convention on Cluster Munitions. Libya also refused to sign. So what's the difference, in human rights terms, between Obama and Qaddafi? I see no difference.

I quote the director of Human Rights Watch: "It is unconscionable that Libya is using these indiscriminate weapons, especially in civilian populated areas. Cluster munitions are inaccurate and unreliable weapons that pose unacceptable dangers to civilians." So Obama refuses to ban their use in Afghanistan and Iraq and Yemen, and he refuses to ban their manufacture in the United States. How can we go lower? He's making Qaddafi look good.

Namaste.