Rev. Danny Fisher

I’m off to the New Jersey Shore to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. I’ll be offline until Monday. I’ve made a new vodcast to hold you until I return. You can watch it here (below), at iTunes, at Switchpod, or at YouTube.

William F. Schulz, senior fellow in human-rights policy at the Center for American Progress and former executive director of Amnesty International USA, has an editorial in today’s Boston Globe. He offers a human rights “tipsheet” to President-Elect Barack Obama, which includes five easy initiatives for the new administration:

Announce the closure of the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay at a date certain. John McCain also favored the shutting down of GITMO and, though it may take some time to figure out how best to process or prosecute the remaining prisoners, setting a date to close the camp will send a powerful message of intention, just as President-elect Obama’s commitment to get out of Iraq in a specified period of time has done.

Extend the ban on torture to the intelligence services. Congress put a lid on the use of torture by the military but President Bush indicated that prohibition would not apply to the intelligence services. President Obama should make clear that it does.

Send the secretary of state to Sudan. The United States has denounced the mass atrocities in Darfur but failed to mount a concerted effort to stop them. The new secretary of state should make Khartoum the first foreign destination and should deliver a firm message of resolve. Appointing a high-level US envoy (Colin Powell?) to shepherd a renewed initiative to bring peace to Darfur would reinforce Obama’s seriousness in resolving the crisis.

“Re-sign” the International Criminal Court treaty. In one of the most bizarre actions of the Bush presidency, the United States sought to remove President Clinton’s signature from the treaty establishing the court. By “withdrawing the letter of withdrawal” and committing to send representatives to the 2009 Review Conference that will consider amendments to the court’s statutes, the new administration can seek adjustments that would make eventual ratification by the Senate more likely.

Reappoint observers to the UN Human Rights Council. While the council has been a disappointment to almost everyone and the United States has chosen not to stand for election to it, last June the Bush administration went so far as to remove even observers from the council’s meetings. Such petty detachment gains us nothing and comes across as hubris. The new president should reverse the decision.

This from the We Campaign:

After more than a year of delay, the Environmental Protection Agency is now requesting public comments on whether carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping pollutants — the primary causes of the climate crisis — are endangering our health and our climate. Friday is the last day to voice your opinion.

Send a message about how crucial it is to reduce harmful carbon dioxide pollution and stop global warming.

Send your comment here. And please do it soon–only three days left.

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