velvetpage: (outraged)
velvetpage ([personal profile] velvetpage) wrote2006-09-29 04:01 pm
Entry tags:

Scared.

The American government has voted to do away with the central human right, the one that makes possible the defense of all the others - the right to know why one is being locked up, and to have the public know it, too. This was the issue that was the catalyst for the French Revolution.

I have no say in this whatsoever - not even a vote, since I'm not American. Some of you do. So, a link: a list of the names of those in the government who voted for it. Vote them out of office, one and all. Vote in people who will repeal this law. If you really believe in liberty, do this. The rest of the world is watching to see which Americans can still claim any measure of morality at all.

http://pecunium.livejournal.com/206646.html

Re: The final straw

[identity profile] ghostwes.livejournal.com 2006-09-30 04:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, I am well aware of the Arar case, as most Canadians at this point probably are. The way you described the situation was quite a bit different from what is actually known to have happened. He was actually deported from the US to Syria (where he was born) as an "extraordinary rendition", where he was subsequently tortured and forced to admit to things he knew nothing about. I'm just surprised they let him out. Most people in his situation simply disappear.
ext_70331: tattoo (Default)

Re: The final straw

[identity profile] wyldraven.livejournal.com 2006-10-02 02:20 pm (UTC)(link)
My apologies. I had only remembered that he was a Canadian, fingered by the RCMP, and that he ended up in our torture system. I did not intend to besmirch your nation, only to point out that it had been made an unwitting accomplice in one known case. I shot off my mouth when I was angry. Most sincere apologies.

Re: The final straw

[identity profile] ghostwes.livejournal.com 2006-10-02 02:26 pm (UTC)(link)
No need to apologise, sir. Besides, Canada does deserve at least some besmirching for its own part in handling of Maher Arar. The Prime Minister still has not apologised to him for what happened (though the RCMP head has done so -- day before yesterday, I believe).

Also, whether the US tortures someone, or sends the victim to a place where they know they will be tortured, it amounts to the same, morally, as far as I am concerned.
ext_70331: tattoo (Default)

Re: The final straw

[identity profile] wyldraven.livejournal.com 2006-10-02 02:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Also, whether the US tortures someone, or sends the victim to a place where they know they will be tortured, it amounts to the same, morally, as far as I am concerned.

I agree entirely.

http://wyldraven.livejournal.com/234193.html
http://wyldraven.livejournal.com/234467.html
http://wyldraven.livejournal.com/234515.html