human rights
cmonforton | June 25, 2013Civil rights groups filed a petition today with the Organization of American States' (OAS) Inter-American Commission on Human Rights asserting that the U.S. government has failed to protect poultry and meatpacking workers from permanently disabling and life altering work-related injuries and other abuses.
“The United States has not acted with due diligence nor has it taken proper steps to prevent abuses of meatpacking and poultry processing workers’ human rights, and is inasmuch violating the rights of workers in the poultry industry through its negligence."
The petition was filed by the…
jtoney | June 12, 2013This post was co-authored by Ali Arab, Ph.D., an assistant professor of statistics at Georgetown University.
We are living in a global society driven by innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. Success depends upon free access to information and unfettered research by scholars. Yet targeted academic boycotts are increasingly common, throwing more and more roadblocks on the way to progress.
Earlier in May 2013, the decision by the world-renowned British cosmologist Stephen Hawking to withdraw from a major academic conference in Israel reignited discussions among scholars on whether or…
jtoney | July 27, 2012This post was co-authored by Natasha Bahrami, a foreign policy researcher, and Ali Arab, Ph.D., an assistant professor of statistics at Georgetown University.
Last month, a young American woman was blocked from purchasing an Apple product at a local store in Alpharetta, Georgia. After overhearing her speaking Farsi, the second generation Iranian-American was informed that selling the product to her went against the company's policy. Apple's export compliance policy states that direct or indirect sales of Apple goods to any embargoed…
jtoney | May 29, 2012
Dr. Jim Walsh
The imagination reels. Five dinners with Iran's President Ahmadinejad. What would you discuss? What would be your top questions?
MIT alumnus Dr. Jim Walsh did just that, and will report to us via an interview on Monday, June 4 via a live chat. From the announcement:
My Five Dinners with Ahmadinejad: Discussions on Iran, North Korea, and the Nuclear Age
Jim Walsh PhD ’00 is an international security expert and a research associate at MIT’s Security Studies Program. He is one of a small number of Americans who has traveled to North Korea and Iran for talks with…
jtoney | April 3, 2012
Hunger Games - World Food Programme.
Hunger Games portrays a grim future in which the "bottom 99%" must ration their food to reduce the chance that their children will be sent as "tributes" to compete in a game to the death.
But -
What if, together, we can identify thousands of new paths out of poverty around the world in just 48 hours?
Imagine thousands of Katniss Everdeen-inspired avatars battling hunger - for real.
{Today} the Rockefeller Foundation and the Institute for the Future (IFTF) will join forces with people across the globe and ask them to help solve global poverty through…
jtoney | March 25, 2012
Photo source.
"There's an African saying: When the elephants fight, the grass suffers."
Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim on the greatest challenge in global health, in a recent interview with Charlie Rose, pointing out that the "poorest of poor suffer the most."
Such wisdom will serve Dr. Kim well as he prepares to lead the World Bank, in response to President Obama's nomination. Dr. Kim is a physician and human rights advocate, whose research was initially bolstered by a major grant from George Soros to treat drug-resistant tuberculosis.
The recent interview by Charlie Rose also…
jtoney | February 23, 2012
To me, Ndugu, the little Tanzanian boy, embodies potential. Now he would be a teenager. What ever happened to Ndugu?
He is a fictional character in the wonderful film "About Schmidt," the little boy that Jack Nicholson portraying Warren Schmidt sponsors, sending him checks and his rambling but insightful letters. Could such a small, compassionate act really make a difference?
I recently learned about Chris Mburu, whose real life began on a similar path. Living in poverty in Kenya, there was little hope for Chris as a young boy, until he was sponsored by Hilde Back, now the namesake of…
sastyk | February 13, 2012One of our families favorite things to do is check out old cemetaries - my kids love to read gravestones and talk about the stories that came behind them. I love cemetaries - I find them comforting in an odd way, although I'm not fully sure I can explain why, and I'm glad that my children have the same passion for historical records and also the same pleasure in knowing something about lives before ours.
Walking in old graveyards is also always a reminder of how fortunate I am. Most graveyards have a "children's" section, or family stones record the brief and incredibly short lives of…
jtoney | February 1, 2012
Color-enhanced scanning electron micrograph shows splenic tissue from a monkey with inhalational anthrax; featured are rod-shaped bacilli (yellow) and an erythrocyte (red)
Credit: Arthur Friedlander
A university professor has allegedly mailed anthrax to the Pakistani prime minister's office in October, accoding to today's The New York Times. Could this be the beginning of a new anthrax scare? Is history repeating itself?
If true, any individual considering such "attacks" can no longer assume that their weapons are untraceable, as shown by the anthrax scare in 2001.
Below is an excerpt…
jtoney | December 21, 2011
Photo source.
Earlier I wrote a post about Prof. Al-Singace, a Bahraini engineer sentenced to life in prison, forced to appeal on September 11. Sadly, another example has emerged of the denial of due process to a scholar, in a region where intellectuals are viewed as a potential threat.
From Scholars At Risk, with my emphasis in bold:
Scholars at Risk is gravely concerned for Professor Masaud Jahromi, Chairman of Telecommunication Engineering Department at Ahlia University, Manama, Bahrain. SAR asks for letters, faxes and emails urging the appropriate authorities to intervene to ensure…
jtoney | December 9, 2011
Tahrir Square, February 9, 2011. Photo source.
This article was co-authored with Jessica Wyndham, a human rights lawyer.
As we mark Human Rights Day 2011 on December 10, it is impossible to ignore a clear theme that has emerged during the year -- the use, misuse and abuse of technology in support and in violation of human rights. While innovative means exist to apply technology to promote human rights, there are serious questions about the legitimate role of government in restricting access to some technological advances as well as the obligation to prevent the development and/or misuse…
jtoney | November 29, 2011This article was co-authored with Dr. Morad Abou-Sabe', President of the Arab American League of Voters of New Jersey.
CNN's Ivan Watson talks to John King from Cairo about his exclusive interview with Egyptian activist Wael Ghonim. {February 9, 2011}
The Egyptian revolution of January 25th, 2011 created widespread euphoria of the kind only wide-eyed optimists enjoy. It was a moment in Egypt's history that should never be forgotten. It evolved naturally after six decades of oppressive military rule of Egyptians who had - almost - given up hope of any chance for change. Increasing…
jtoney | September 26, 2011Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestine's President Abbas gave back to back speeches last Friday at the United Nations General Assembly, a highly controversial event with Palestine's bid for formal recognition. As a scientist, such matters are far too complex for me, as they are embedded with layers of subtlety and inscrutable politics. I am much more comfortable in a world driven by logic and data.
My young children have been learning about the Israel-Palestinian conflict in various contexts and have shared these discussions with me. How can our next generation understand or process…
jtoney | August 22, 2011On Friday, Aug. 19, National Public Radio's Melissa Block interviewed Syrian activist Alexander Page (a pseudonym used for protection).
I conducted an interview with Alexander Page on July 31, via email. In this brief discussion, I learned quite a bit about his background and his motivation for continuing protests against a government that is pushing back hard against its own citizens.
Dr. Jeffrey H. Toney: What is your background and education?
Alexander Page: My alias name is Alexander Page. I'm 29 years of age. I've studied journalism and lived in Europe most of my life. The reason I…
jtoney | July 31, 2011
The interactive Google map tells a tale of horror:
The Syrian army began an assault on Hama in the early morning. This video shows heavy fire. At least 116 people have been killed and dozens more injured. There are reports of some soldiers defecting.
Will more lives be lost as this unfolds?
The Google map is updated regularly and is important for the world to see, and someday to understand.
Note from Twitter from a BBC State department correspondent:
@breadesign breadesign
@BBCKimGhattas there is a #RamadanMassacre hashtag which is getting pictures out
Syria - Sunday 31/07/2011
Videos and…
jtoney | July 30, 2011
Why is a local employee at Doctors Without Borders in Bahrain being targeted?
Doctors without Borders is highly respected as an organization that protects human rights throughout the world. I learned of this incident from the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights:
I am not familiar with this case but am concerned about due process and the presumption of innocence.
The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) expresses its concern regarding the targeting of a local employee and the office of Doctors Without Borders' " Médecins Sans Frontières"
On the 27th of July 2011,Mr.Hassan…
jtoney | July 29, 2011
Source: UNICEF.
The conditions in Somalia are a hell on earth, with some four million people starving, including 800,000 children. I want to help, in any way I can. I want to understand how this happened and why.
From The Pump Handle:
These horrific conditions exist in Somalia's Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions. Much of the rest of the country, as well as neighboring parts of Ethiopia and Kenya, are experiencing food emergencies. This BBC story includes a map of the affected area and a few numbers: 10.7 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, and 25% of Somalia's 7.5…
jtoney | July 19, 2011
Source.
What ever happened to Prof. Al-Singace, a Bahraini enginner who "was taken forcibly from his home on March 17th and imprisoned without charge"?
I have an update received today from Scholars at Risk as a follow up to my earlier post.
The military Judge's choice of rescheduling his appeal for September 11 is curious. I am not offering a legal opinion and am not familiar with this particular case; I am simply advocating for due process protected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
From Scholars at Risk:
Professor…
jtoney | July 19, 2011The Universal Periodic Review "has great potential to promote and protect human rights in the darkest corners of the world." - Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General
Should nations open themselves up to scrutiny by the United Nations? The Universal Periodic Review, adopted in 2006, takes a very close look at how nations fare in a broad range of areas such as civil rights, immigration and respect for basic human rights.
The United States participated in this review, with the goal of establishing a model for other nations. Surprisingly, the United States fared far worse on this "humanity…
jtoney | July 10, 2011
Love can be explosive. This may be a bit much, or it may be just right.
From Molla Space:
War is destructive and bombs take away lives. But these beautifully sculpted ceramic love grenade coin banks are designed and made to plant seeds for future growth and prosperity. Convert your love to change and save it in "A Love Grenade" and donate it to those who are in need.
Part of proceeds benefits Biaugust's cause A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism).
I fully support efforts to promote human rights. This particular example is visually provocative, and raises an interesting…