Talking Rights

Today, we hosted Dr. Jeffrey Sonis from UNC-Chapel Hill. He’s been studying the international human rights trials in Cambodia, to see if trials produce measurable effects on the mental health of victims who suffer from trauma (or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, according to the lingo). This was an event cosponsored with the Duke Global Health [...]

Just as the second invasion of Iraq was a (not so) carefully coordinated campaign of half truths and whole lies, the justfication for torture is beginning to fall completely apart.
Not that it wasn’t already an evident fabrication, but…
Today’s New York Times reports that in late 2007 ABC’s Brian Ross interviewed a former CIA operative who [...]

This Los Angeles Times editorial on accountability for torture seems well thought out — there have been too many hysterics since the Obama administration released the torture memos and not enough calm thought.
An in-depth and impartial investigation, possible targetted prosecution and a full accounting to the American people. Not much to argue with here.
…As we [...]

from today’s USA Today:
Before her visit to China, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton removed the issue of human rights from the table, saying it could “interfere” with talks on the global economic crisis, climate change and security.
She missed a critical point. Human rights aren’t a side dish on a crowded buffet. Human rights support and [...]

The history of what is studied in universities is long and abundant in controversy. In his old age, Plato once complained that his star student, Aristotle, was “kick[ing] me, as foals do their mothers when they are born” by refuting his teachings.In more recent times, we’ve seen battles erupt over area, gender and ethnic [...]

An effort at Duke I’m really proud of is the Archive for Human Rights, run by Patrick Stawski. We’re collecting the institutional papers of (primarily) US-based human rights groups. We;re also looking for private collections, like the one held by Coletta Youngers, for many years (and counting) a human rights advocate on the Andes, in [...]

There is quite a kerfluffle going on now about Obama’s position on extraordinary rendition.
The Los Angeles Times recently reported that “under executive orders issued by Obama recently, the CIA still has authority to carry out what are known as renditions, secret abductions and transfers of prisoners to countries that cooperate with the United States. Current [...]

Here is a sickening defense of torture — and it is from a coward.  Someone with cojones would have actually used the words:  “I support torture.” But John Yoo is not only wrong and a criminal — he is sin cojones…
I’ve included refutations of his argument in parentheses.
Obama Made a Rash Decision on Gitmo
by John [...]

From today’s Washington Post:
…in a broad swipe at the Bush administration’s lawyers, Obama nullified every legal order and opinion on interrogations issued by any lawyer in the executive branch after Sept. 11, 2001.