Torture, A Brutal Tool Of Their Trade.

        We know every state does it, some more subtle, some more brutal, but they all have their methods. I'm talking about torture, it is a tool of the state and it will do everything in its power to hold onto it in one form or another. The more we expose it the more difficult it becomes for them, they have to work harder at justifying it, or concealing it, or devising new methods. Torture will continue until we rid ourselves of that shackle on our freedom, the state. That doesn't mean we should ignore torture until that day arrives, we have to expose it and campaign against it, when ever we get any information regarding torture. Never forget, it is a human being that is being tortured, no matter the name the state puts on that being, it may be an autocratic institution that sanctions the act, but it is also human beings that implement those actions.

This interesting article from Human Rights First:

       The argument about whether torture works is still raging. Four years after President Obama ended the torture program, torture proponents continue to claim that torture saved American lives and was necessary to find criminals like Osama bin Laden. Just last week, Condoleezza Rice said that because of torture, “we have not had a successful attack on our territory.”

       I served the CIA for 23 years, and I was directly involved in the “enhanced interrogation” program. I know from experience that torture not only undermined our values and Constitution, it made us less safe.

        The Senate Intelligence Committee has produced the most comprehensive report on the post-9/11 CIA torture program, based on a review of more than 6 million pages of official records. Those who have read the report say that it shows the CIA torture program was much more widespread and cruel than we thought, and much less effective at gathering actionable intelligence than torture proponents claim.

      However, the Obama Administration is sitting on this report and has delayed its release. On Friday, Vice President Biden supported the report's release. Ask President Obama to work with Congress to declassify the torture report.

      Senator Dianne Feinstein, Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and national security experts (me included) have said publicly that torture did not lead to bin Laden or save American lives. But until this report is released, torture proponents will continue to argue that we should return to torture.

     Let’s be clear: torture is un-American, illegal, and immoral. Let’s end this debate once and for all. Urge President Obama to work with Congress to declassify the torture report.

Sincerely,

Glenn Carle
Former Deputy National Intelligence Officer for Transnational Threats, National Intelligence Council
Author, The Interrogator

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WOMEN FACING ADVERSITY.

       The stories of all those who fight oppression, who struggle for justice for all humanity, should be recorded to add to the rich heritage that is the history of the ordinary people. From out of the ranks of the ordinary people have come giants that have faced oppression head on with a selfless courage, a courage that enriches the culture of the ordinary people, a courage that will one day bring a better world of justice, co-operation, mutual aid, a world free from oppression and deprivation.  

       On International Women's Day, this from Human Rights First:

        For years, the Russian police have targeted activist Anastasia Denisova because of her work to combat intolerance in the city of Krosnodar. She faced one bogus charge after another—from tax fraud to piracy. All charges were eventually dropped because of lack of evidence.

But the persecution has not stopped her from continuing her work. Forced out of her own city, Anastasia moved to Moscow. Today, she defends people like Anwar Yusupov, who faces a two-year prison sentence for defending himself from neo-Nazi attackers.

Across the globe, women have been at the forefront of the human rights movement—often risking their lives fighting for core freedoms. Anastasia is one of the brave activists that Human Rights First is honoring for International Women's Day and Women's History Month.

Learn their stories. Celebrate their achievements and draw daily inspiration from their courage.

We're proud to work with courageous women from all over the world who continue to push boundaries and make human rights truly universal. Please help us continue our partnership with women activists by giving a gift today.

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THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY.

          Let's celebrate  the contribution women have made to the struggle for rights, not just rights for women, but rights for all. March 8 is International Women's Day and here in Glasgow we have an army of women who through the years have been at the forefront of the struggle for rights. Theirs was a struggle to raise the dignity of all, to see all humanity as one, with nobody excluded from the rights others took for granted.  There are those women who have etched their names on recorded history but there are thousands of others who battled for those rights, but sadly their names have not been record, but their efforts have left a beneficial mark on the shape of our society today. Here are just a few of those women from Glasgow whose names were recorded and should be remember with pride; Ethel MacDonald, Mary Barbour, Helen Crawfurd, Jenny Patrick, Helen Lennox, but honour and gratitude  to those women's names we can't recall.

The following from Human Rights First

      Eleanor Roosevelt was the driving force behind the International Declaration of Human Rights, which the United Nations passed in 1948. Since then, women have been at the forefront of human rights movements—pushing for human rights to be truly universal.

Human Rights First is proud to work with courageous women from all over the world, and to commemorate Women's History Month and International Women's Day on March 8, we're highlighting their inspiring stories.

Some are women's rights activists and others are human rights activists who happen to be women. Whether it's promoting tolerance in Pakistan, democratizing Egypt and Bahrain, or fighting for LGBT rights in Russia, these women face unique challenges, from sexism to gender-based violence. Yet they refused to be silenced.

Check out their stories.

Sincerely,

Marc Jayson Climaco
Human Rights First

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