Tag: Ignoring asia

The Dirty War Index: A Public Health and Human Rights Tool for Examining and Monitoring Armed Conflict Outcomes

Calculating and Using DWIs

A DWI can be easily used and understood, facilitating interdisciplinary communication and research on war’s effects. DWIs can measure rates of undesirable outcomes from accepted methods (e.g., civilian casualties from aerial bombing of military targets). They can also measure rates of using prohibited, illegitimate methods (e.g., torture), and rates of applying illegitimate methods to especially vulnerable populations (e.g., torturing children) to describe rates of exceptional atrocity. However, the mere application of DWI analysis to a combatant group does not indicate that it is “dirty”: a DWI ratio simply identifies how often, if at all, the group is linked with the particular undesirable outcome being measured, facilitating comparisons. To illustrate, we draw on data from B’Tselem

An Unsurprising Confession About Iraqi WMD

When former U.S. Secretary of State presented evidence to justify the American invasion of Iraq one the sources was an Iraqi with the code name of Curve Ball. Following the invasion the U.S. military frantically set-out to find the WMD sites described by Curve Ball. As is widely known all the justifications employed by the Bush administration were just meer fabrications they were out and out lies created because of George Bush’s belief that the first Gulf War didn’t go far enough: Saddam Hussein’s downfall. In today’s Guardian the informant known as Curve Ball Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi admitted in lied.

Egypt protests: Hosni Mubarak ‘may be stepping down’

A senior member of Egypt’s ruling party has told the BBC he is “hoping” that President Hosni Mubarak will transfer power to Vice-President Omar Suleiman.

Hossan Badrawi, the secretary general of the National Democratic Party (NDP), said Mr Mubarak would “probably” speak to the nation tonight.

His comments came after Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq told BBC Arabic that the scenario of President Mubarak stepping down was being discussed.

Egyptian Army Accused Of Torture And Human Rights Abuses

Brutality, physical abuse and Human Rights violations in Egypt are usually associated with the Egyptian Security Services with the ongoing anti-government protests its beginning to emerge that the army is now employing these methods.

An article printed in today’s Guardian illustrates these abuses  

Islamic Hate Gains Traction In The U.S.

Sounding like a broken record but as mentioned before the state of Oklahoma passed a referendum in November outlawing Sharia Law even though a U.S. Federal Judge granted an injunction prohibiting the implementation of the law. Given that situation one might think that other states would take a more measured attitude before introducing similar legislation. Because ignorance and fear rule public servants these laws continue to be advocated for.

ALASKA: Rep. Carl Gatto (R) has introduced SB 88, which invokes the Constitution to make sure that “foreign law is prohibited.”

– ARIZONA: Arizona’s anti-Sharia law is HB 2582, the “Arizona Foreign Decisions Act.” In addition to banning the implementation of Sharia law, the bill would also ban “canon law, halacha and karma.”