July 2005 - Page 2 of 3 - Toward Freedom

Global Notebook 7-20-05

Super User July 20, 2005 Super User

GLOBAL

Pope perturbed by Potter’s powers

BERLIN – Is Harry Potter seducing young people and endangering their souls? According to comments attributed to Pope Benedict XVI by German writer Gabriele Kuby, the popular series of books by J.K. Rowling includes “subtle seductions which act unnoticed and by this deeply distort Christianity in the soul, before it can grow properly.”

Kuby, a devout Catholic who has written a critical book called Harry Potter – Good or Evil, sent the Pope a copy of her critique in 2003 and received two letters in response, when Benedict was known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. Kuby published passages from one letter in German on her website, according to the London’s Financial Evening News. read more

Growing Evidence of a Massacre by UN Occupation Forces in Haiti

US Labor/Human Rights Delegation to Haiti July 20, 2005 US Labor/Human Rights Delegation to Haiti

The San Francisco Labor Council sent a small delegation of US trade unionists and human rights workers to participate in the National Congress of the Confederation of Haitian Workers, held in Port-au-Prince July 1st and 2nd, as well as to investigate the labor and human rights conditions in Haiti. Toward the end of our mission, on July 6th, we received an eyewitness report from local Haitian human rights workers that UN military forces had carried out a massacre in one of Port-au-Prince's poorest neighborhoods, Cite Soleil. We extended our trip to investigate the report.

Human Rights Abuses in Brazil’s Youth Detention Centers

Tom Phillips July 19, 2005 Tom Phillips

Even sitting down, Wellington's body is in constant motion. Rubbing his forehead, his gaze darts repeatedly out into the street. The 15-year-old kid furrows his smooth brow, searching for the words to describe his stay in Rio de Janeiro's Padre Severino Young Offenders Institution. His right arm jerks into the air; he opens his mouth, closes it and then, finally, speaks.

Sacrificing Liberty for Security: The New American Way?

Jeff Nall July 18, 2005 Jeff Nall

As Congress moves to renew and expand the Patriot Act this week, possibly giving the FBI more powers to investigate the personal lives of U.S. citizens without judicial approval, we should ask ourselves - has freedom finally fallen to the fatalistic tandem of fear and security?

The European Ideal

John Horvath July 14, 2005 John Horvath

In response to an article I wrote in wake of the French "no" vote, a reader commented that I had simply produced "another article not asking why this constitution was rejected". In many ways, he was correct: irrespective of whether you thought the result was positive or negative, people ended up focusing on the consequences, but nobody really looked into why it really happened.

Letter from Scotland: The G8 Summit and Beyond

Alasdair Soussi July 13, 2005 Alasdair Soussi

Much has been made of this year's G8 summit. For weeks, Scotland -- the host of the 2005 meeting -- braced itself for what many hoped would be a historic turning point in ensuring the future health of our planet and in helping the fight against poverty in Africa. So what did it produce?