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The U.S. Department of State published it's annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.
Best two parts I've read so far:
1. Search Iraq report. You will not find the word "USA" or "America" mentioned, not a single time.
2. The Israel and the occupied territories report; under "Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life", it reads:
There were no reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings.
Amazing. We must have been dreaming all this time, and what we see is nothing but nightmares!
Of course you will not find any word about any human rights violations of U.S.A anywhere.
China expressed its strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to the annual human rights report of the United States, which accuses China of "backsliding" on human rights. The Chinese retort, which contained a long list of what it labeled "U.S. human rights abuses at home and abroad".
No country should exclude itself from the international human rights development process or view itself as the incarnation of human rights that can reign over other countries and give orders to the others. This is what I call: "Claming virginity in the prostitution market."
{ 13 } Comments
I like your analysis but I don't like your title/metaphor. You are linking "viginity" as the opposite of "prostitution", thus recalling the virgin/whore opposition, which is sexist. Why dilute a powerful point with sexist langugae and imagery?
Amal A
http://www.arabwomanprogressivevoice.blogspot.com
The US is the righteous country to claim virginity as a national treasure. Even though virginity doesn't excist.
At best you can find partial virgins.
Unless you are a RIGHT WING who has kept your daughters in a cage since birth.
And I thought the US administration had absolutely no humor!
I look forward to their upcoming volumes:
George W. Bush: "A Guide to Freedom and Democracy"
Donald Rumsfeld: "Geneva Conventions for Rummies"
Dick Cheney: "Corporate Business Ethics"
Thomas
Aren't those published already? :)
It's even funier that China is speaking up for human rights.
I think China is likely outraged because the US has been pointing their finger at China for years whilst committing violations of their own. That doesn't let China off the hook, but it is rather a case of "Do as I say, not as I do".
Of course the US would never name itself in violation of anything. Clean as the pure fallen snow. ; )
and should i add:
A Dummy's Guide on how not to throw rocks for those who are living in glass houses
A Dummy's Guide on understanding pots and kettles..they are the same: black
A Beginner's Guide on doodling :)
Anyway, coming from a self righteous country…im not the least surprise..overheard at BBC..the interviewer asked the american spokesperson regarding the report with respect to Guantanamo..sheepishly he replied that the report covered only foreign countries..so USA is out of the context..:)
I like your post, but like Amal, I don't like the language. Virginity is a "product" routinely sold in the meat-markets of Thailand, Serbia, etc. The virgin/whore dichotomy is unfortunate, because it gives us an ultimately distorted view of the world.
Per the hypocrisy expressed, particularly in the Iraq report, I say right on! Unfortunately, had they gone out and blamed the Bush admininstration, they could have gotten a swift funding cut. This happens in the States nowadays. Money is a great way of shutting people up, and Bush & Co. use its power.
raymond
As clear as fresh fallen snow? Dirty slush is more likely.
Are our virgins available for Muslims?
What are virgins really? As far as I know, virgins are inexperienced sexual people.
Suicide persons are sexual deprived virgins. Does that mean that the virgins in heaven might be males? God forbid.
wait…..wait….the is one small piece of information in the report- http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61689.htm for Iraq
"According to a January Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, police torture and ill treatment of detainees was commonplace. In interviews with 90 prisoners, 72 asserted that they had been tortured or mistreated. The reported abuses included beatings with cables and hosepipes, electric shocks to earlobes and genitals, food and water deprivation, and overcrowding in standing-room-only cells."
The US report has no footnotes (tisk tisk)
but if one goes to Human Rights Watch for Iraq
the only jan report I can find is
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/01/18/iraq12215.htm
and it is not flattering, at all to the us . It is sad the state department
sidesteps this (understatement). You can not say it just the nature of the State Department report, not to focus “aberrations”….for it does take time to point out Denmark for some very proportionately small problems. Man kind is not without fault and to neglect this is a sin. However even with this accounted for , one can not refute that this carnage inflicted, Beings upon Beings, is unjust, inhumane, unfathomable* …..
* Unless we reclassify the human race, and it downgrade it self professed abilities to think, reason, and empathize !!! Then we can understand……
i think the heading is more a paradox…and it more or less..aptly described the situation.In addition…it's only a figure of speech…eg. when a person is a media whore…a term widely used to describe one who loves to hog the limelight…
Kimmy,
You lost me. I was of course joking about the purity or innocence of the U.S. But what are you trying to say about virgins? It is unclear.
Raymond
I was saying that the American virgins are either lying or not understanding about sex.
Untop of that, if you commited suicide for your cause you will get a virgin who doesn't know what sex is others than what she have been told by her elders. "As little as possible".
Can I bring in NA concept?
If a male is fooling around, he is sowing his wild oats. If a female is fooling around she is either loose or a slut.
Maybe the Muslim way is more fair than ours. Only from a religious view. Not from reality.
Kimmy #4,
Not true, my wife was 25 years old when we married and she was a virgin not kept in a cage. Plus she is not politically inclined. Just because we have a very free society does not mean that we have no values. We encourage our teens in the US to abstain from sexual activity until married and we explain potential consequences-pregnancy, venerial disease etc.
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