>Michael Pollock wrote:
> Human rights is all about hierarchies of less free countries being
> > condemned by slightly less repressive countries, with the end product
> > being mutual pressure all around the world for improvements across the
> > board.
>
>No. In an ideal world perhaps that is what human rights would be about.
>But in the actually existing world, human rights is about powerful
>countries condemning less powerful countries in the areas where they have
>a comparative advantage, and less powerful countries having zero ability
>to do the same in reverse. Amnesty International just did condemn our
>labor policies. Nobody cared.
And Amnesty and even the UN have condemned Australia's treatment of indigenous people and 'illegal' immigrants, and while a few people care the govt explicitly not only refused to take notice but 'downgraded' Australia's relation to the UN in retribution. And given the need for money from the States for these orgs to work at all... 'human rights' is a hideous joke... we just don't live in that world.
Catherine