UN Human Rights Day - 10 December

It may seem ironical at the very time the world is actively "discussing" torture and mayhem around the globe - look at Darfur and reditioning amongst other topical subjects - that today is the UN's Human Rights Day.

A sad and sobering reflection of where the world is at. Perhaps of even greater concern is that whilst we are quick to accuse "them" [that is, others] of human rights abuses, "we" are absolutely no different in what we allow to happen right in front of our very own eyes.

With the US slowly having dragged out of it that it might have engaged in torture, is not Australia, as an ally of America, and in relation to which our PM is happy to tell us that there is a sharing of intelligence-information between the 2 countries, complicit in what is happening? And then there is David Hicks, the new security laws, the way the arrests of suspected terrorists was carried out recently, etc. etc.

In fact Alan Ramsay's column in today's SMH is timely when he deals with the appalling way in which Australia has treated David Hicks. It speaks volumes about PM Howard and Lord Downer of Baghdad Downer - let alone Phillip Ruddock as AG, the so-called first law officer in the country.

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