Rania Khalek Dispatches from the Underclass

Tag / human rights

In 2008, President Obama ran on a promise to close Guantanamo within the first year of his presidency. Five years and a second term later, our modern-day gulag is still open and operating under a policy of indefinite detention solidified by none other than Obama himself. But the detainees have had enough. The military admitted […]

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Every so often, the New York Times does something worthy of praise. This is one of those times. The Times has published the words of Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel, an innocent man imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay since 2002. Al Hasan Moqbel is currently on a hunger strike, protesting the US government’s failure to free him. […]

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For most of us in the US, the National Rifle Association (NRA) is viewed as an exclusively domestic obstacle to gun regulation. But, as it turns out, the NRA’s obstructionism extends far beyond our borders, impacting the safety of the entire world. In the US, it’s more difficult to purchase a car than a gun […]

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As it turns out, the Chinese government is unhappy with US criticism of their human rights record.  They seem to think the US lacks the prerogative to chastise their behavior because “the United States is beset by violence, racism and torture and has no authority to condemn other governments.”  I know I’m not the only one […]

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