You may notice the Bilerico Project looks a little different today as we stand in solidarity with the ACLU to demand that Guantanamo Bay be shut down. We'll be orange from midnight to midnight on the 6th anniversary of the first arrival of detainees.
Wear orange today to protest Gitmo and stop by the ACLU website to find quick ways you can help shutter this travesty of justice.
We also have an open thread going asking "What do you think is the worst atrocity committed by the Bush administration?"
To post this comment click here:
Otherwise click cancel.
Also, the ACLU has guest posted on the site about their project. You should check it out. Bil Browning Founder of The Bilerico Project and Bilerico-Indiana.
Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention is the baseline of nonderogable rights of all people during war time. There are seven such things listed, one of which is the right not to be forcibly deported (i.e. without due process of law). the Bush admin has argued that, based on Latin, the term "deportation" only applies to noncitizens, not citizens (we use this distinction in American English- only noncitizens can be deported in our immigration process). The majority of innocents who were deported to concentration camps had fled their native countries and been captured as the occupation spread in other countries- therefore, in countries where they were not citizens. Anne Frank, for example, was a German citizen seeking refuge in Amsterdam when she was captured and sent to Auschwitz. This, the particular aspect of deportation, was widely discussed at the drafting of the Convention.
What the US position has been is that the Geneva Convo never meant to cover the majority of jews who were shipped to concentration camps. That Anne Frank's deportation was not a crime, because of her lack of citizenship.
The US has argued regarding the deportation (extraordinary rendition) of civilians captured in Iraq that they are COMPLYING with Common Article 3 based on their new definition.
This may seem like a small thing among many others, but to me it is the lack of understanding of why the the Geneva Convention was written, the horrifying ignorance of what happens when we do not have such protections, the blatant disrespect to the men and women in uniform who served in WWII by denigrating and attempting to erase the amazing sacrifices made for a TRULY just cause. This reterming is, to me, the perfect example of what is wrong with this Administration. They are completely wrong- on the law, on history, on morality, on every aspect possible. Simply wrong.
All logos and trademarks in this site are property of their respective owner. The comments are property of their posters, and all other site content may be used for any purpose without explicit permission unless otherwise specified.
Don't see your blog? Contact Us!
