DARFUR: THE PEOPLE THE WORLD HAS FORGOTTEN

The tragedy in Darfur has been going on for four years and all we've had from the world at large is fancy talk and much posturing. I ask these rabid non intervationists, what would you do if your wife was raped or your children were murdered or they were in danger of this happening? I'm not talking about invading Karthoum or supporting the rebels. I'm talking about protecting totally innocent people who have no way of protecting themselves, by creating a no-fly zone so that Bashir's butchers can't get near them. And please, don't tell me that we have more immediate problems to worry about. The economic problems that we and other countries currently face is child's play compared to what these people are going through. What they wouldn't give to exchange their problems for ours. Check the above link for a typically excellent article on Darfur by one of my biggest heroes, Nat Hentoff.

Bashir: Murderer

In my view, for the immiserated people of Darfur, this is far too little and far too late.

ART AND HUMAN REALITY

Human life is lived in a middle position between our genetic determinants on the one hand and culture on the other. It's out of that that human freedom emerges. And artistic works, the plays of Shakespeare, the novels of Jane Austen, the works of Wagner and Beethoven, Rembrandt and Hokusai, are among the freest, most human acts ever accomplished. These creations are the ultimate expressions of freedom.

Perfectly said.

At What Cost? HIV and Human Rights Consequences of the Global "War on Drugs"

This OSI report examines the unintended consequences of aggressive antidrug policies on people who use drugs, their families, and the health care providers who work with them.