It is not length of life, but depth of life.Ralph Waldo Emerson

March 2011

  • On R2P

    R2P, the Right to Protect principle was born after the Rwanda genocide. It is not part of international law per se but rather is “a norm” meaning something to guide and aspire to. The UN Security Council Resolution 1973 which authorized the no-fly zone over Libya stems from R2P. We may have objections to our intervention in Libya and most of these are far from idle. It is also true that there are many unknowns and it is a strain on American forces and budget. But one thing many foreign policy experts agree upon, had there been no Resolution 1973, Gadhafi would have won and followed his victory by a massacre of the thousands who had risen against him. Preventing such a massacre is precisely why R2P exists. The consequences of protecting the innocent may not be convenient or easy, and as drafted and implemented they remain imperfect and subject to errors, but I for one would rather pay the price to implement R2P and whatever it entails, including any mistaken applications, rather than live in a world without it.

  • Hunger In America

    Sometimes statistics are so striking they haunt. In 2010 one in five Californians struggled to afford enough food either for themselves or for their families. What’s even more striking is that California is not the exception, only slightly higher than the national average of 18%, according to a recent report by the Food Research & Action Center. But what makes these facts haunting is that according to a new Fidelity Investment survey the wealthiest five percent of Americans hold more than 55% of the nation’s wealth.
    We can cry, get angry, give to food pantries or resolve to push for policies that will equalize the disparities and vote for elected officials who will work toward greater social justice.

  • Chaining Paralyzed Prisoners

    The Receiver in charge of California’s troubled prison system has identified 32 prisoners who would not pose any danger to society were they to be released. Ten of those are paralyzed either totally or partially. Given California’s budget shortfall of $26.6 billion several political factions have an incentive to work with the Receiver simply because of the cost savings of releasing these prisoners. Their health care cost would then shift to their families, not the state. In addition the cost of security in itself amounts to several millions. These inmates, several in hospitals, are chained to their beds and guarded 24×7 at taxpayers’ expenses. Pictures of ankles chained to beds have made it to newspapers and other media. The decision is now on Governor Brown’s desk. He can pardon these inmates, lessen their sentence or find some other way to release them.
    The budget issue is real and is important, but there is another issue just as real and just as important, that of chaining a paralyzed person to a bed—as if their paralysis were not already a form of chain. Prisoners or not, this kind of treatment is unnecessary and inhumane. It reflects far more on our lack of compassion than on whatever their crimes may have been.

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