I didn't make this stuff up. This has been the case for over a decade now. These international opinions do matter and they are felt by citizens serving this country in sensitive areas of our government. Those people have a conscience.
The USA has not conducted it's national security in a responsible way when one realizes such significant breaches in clearance have occurred. When the actions of a country drive the conscience of those pledged to protect it's secrets it is vitally important the USA act in ways of responsible leadership that reflect the values of the nation.
Brut power has never been the USA forte.' We don't live in this world alone.
Forty-three men (click here) were executed during the year, and concerns about cruel prison conditions continued. Scores of detainees remained in indefinite military detention at Guantánamo. Pre-trial proceedings continued in six cases in which the administration was intending to seek the death penalty following trials by military commission. Use of lethal force in the counter-terrorism context continued to raise serious concerns, as did continuing reports of the use of excessive force in domestic law enforcement.
At the end of 2012, nearly three years after President Obama's deadline for closure of the Guantánamo detention facility, 166 men were still held at the base, the vast majority without charge or criminal trial....'
John Bolton was the pride of the Bush White House. His idea of effective leadership within the United Nations was to seek to change the way things were done. He made people scramble to seek shelter in numbers against the USA.
...Bolton (click here) often equates diplomacy with weakness and indecisiveness, and has suggested Israel should consider attacking Iran with nuclear weapons....
The USA courts continue to act AGAINST the legislative bodies in the USA. The legislatures are practicing politics and not governance for short term gain to satisfy their crony political allies. The USA Constitution continues to prove to be the best ally of the people of nation.
In July, Terry Branstad, Governor of Iowa, responded to the Miller v. Alabama decision by commuting 38 life without parole sentences being served in Iowa by inmates convicted of first degree murder committed when they were under 18, to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 60 years. Any mitigating evidence that was not considered at the time of the trial due to the automatic imposition of the life without parole sentence, was again neglected in the Governor's blanket commutation.
The Maternal Health Accountability Act remained before Congress at the end of the year.
In June, legislation came into effect in Virginia requiring women to undergo an ultrasound before having an abortion.
Congress failed to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, which includes provisions to address the high levels of violence against Indigenous women and to provide protection and services for survivors of domestic violence.
Reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which would protect the thousands of individuals trafficked into the USA every year, remained stalled in Congress at the end of 2012.
The USA has not conducted it's national security in a responsible way when one realizes such significant breaches in clearance have occurred. When the actions of a country drive the conscience of those pledged to protect it's secrets it is vitally important the USA act in ways of responsible leadership that reflect the values of the nation.
Brut power has never been the USA forte.' We don't live in this world alone.
Forty-three men (click here) were executed during the year, and concerns about cruel prison conditions continued. Scores of detainees remained in indefinite military detention at Guantánamo. Pre-trial proceedings continued in six cases in which the administration was intending to seek the death penalty following trials by military commission. Use of lethal force in the counter-terrorism context continued to raise serious concerns, as did continuing reports of the use of excessive force in domestic law enforcement.
Counter-terror and security
Detentions at GuantánamoAt the end of 2012, nearly three years after President Obama's deadline for closure of the Guantánamo detention facility, 166 men were still held at the base, the vast majority without charge or criminal trial....'
John Bolton was the pride of the Bush White House. His idea of effective leadership within the United Nations was to seek to change the way things were done. He made people scramble to seek shelter in numbers against the USA.
...Bolton (click here) often equates diplomacy with weakness and indecisiveness, and has suggested Israel should consider attacking Iran with nuclear weapons....
Impunity
The absence of accountability for crimes under international law committed under the administration of President George W. Bush in relation to the CIA's programme of secret detention was further entrenched....Use of lethal force
The USA's “targeted killing” of terrorism suspects, including in Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen, particularly through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, continued during the year. Available information, limited by secrecy, indicated that US policy permitted extrajudicial executions in violation of international human rights law under the USA's theory of a “global war” against al-Qa'ida and associated groups.Excessive use of force
At least 42 people across 20 states died after being struck by police Tasers, bringing the total number of such deaths since 2001 to 540. Tasers have been listed as a cause or contributory factor in more than 60 deaths. Most of those who died after being struck with a Taser were not armed and did not appear to pose a serious threat when the Taser was deployed....Prison conditions
Incarceration rates remained at historically high levels....The USA courts continue to act AGAINST the legislative bodies in the USA. The legislatures are practicing politics and not governance for short term gain to satisfy their crony political allies. The USA Constitution continues to prove to be the best ally of the people of nation.
Children's rights
In June, in Miller v. Alabama, the US Supreme Court outlawed mandatory life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for offenders who were under 18 years old at the time of the crime. The ruling came two years after the Court prohibited life imprisonment without parole for non-homicide crimes by under-18s.In July, Terry Branstad, Governor of Iowa, responded to the Miller v. Alabama decision by commuting 38 life without parole sentences being served in Iowa by inmates convicted of first degree murder committed when they were under 18, to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 60 years. Any mitigating evidence that was not considered at the time of the trial due to the automatic imposition of the life without parole sentence, was again neglected in the Governor's blanket commutation.
Migrants' rights
In June, the US Supreme Court struck down key parts of an Arizona immigration law, including a provision that made it a state crime for irregular migrants to seek or hold a job. However, the Court upheld a section requiring state law enforcement officials to check the immigration status of individuals they suspect of being in the country illegally, despite criticism from human rights groups that this would encourage “racial profiling”– that is, targeting individuals solely on account of their appearance or racial or ethnic origin. Following the ruling, federal courts upheld similar legislation in Alabama and Georgia....Right to health
In June, the US Supreme Court upheld The Affordable Health Care Act, passed in 2010, which would expand health care coverage by 2014 to more than 30 million people in the USA who lack medical insurance. While a number of the law's provisions addressed barriers to obtaining quality maternal health care, such as preventing insurance companies from charging women more for health coverage, gaps and obstacles remained.The Maternal Health Accountability Act remained before Congress at the end of the year.
Women's rights
Legislation outlawing the shackling of women prisoners at all stages of pregnancy was passed in California in October. This was the first such law in the USA.In June, legislation came into effect in Virginia requiring women to undergo an ultrasound before having an abortion.
Congress failed to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, which includes provisions to address the high levels of violence against Indigenous women and to provide protection and services for survivors of domestic violence.
Reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which would protect the thousands of individuals trafficked into the USA every year, remained stalled in Congress at the end of 2012.
