Foreign food for thought

[grinninfoole]

A graduate student at my university, who is from Germany, recently posted this message. I thought it interesting, especially as it betrays the expectations of German law....

Quote:
"Does your country have a high standard of human and civil rights?
Find out now with the following check-list!

(1) Any longer detainment is subject to discretion of a justice.
(2) Courts can only be established by law (and not, for example, by
military order).
(3) A suspected or accused person is assumed innocent until proven
guilty by an impartial court.
(4) Law determines, which court a person is brought in front of, and not
the administration or the military.
(5) Only a court can declare an organization a terroristic organization.
(6) A person can only be punished for something, if and only to the
extend it was punishable by law at the time the person did it.
(7) It is possible to appeal against the decision of a court in front of
a higher court."

END Quote.

Comments

[macropixi.livejournal.com]

I can't figure out if they have a high standard or not.

Re:

[grinninfoole.livejournal.com]

It is a bit confusing. In essence, I think he's suggesting that our government is not acting out of clearly articulated and agreed-upon standards and principles (i.e. laws) in our War of Terror, but rather out of administrative fiat. Unquestionably, the historical record shows that we can not trust our government to do the right thing when left to its own devices. To pick one example, the FBI's long surveillance of Martin Luther King, not because of criminal activity on his part, but because of his human rights activism, gives some indication of how far the powers that be will go. (and if you believe James Earl Ray, they will go farther.) If you are interested, you might read the ACLU's new report on this matter, available at http://www.aclu.org/congress/kingreport.pdf

In reviewing this message, I meant to type "War ON Terror" above, though my fingers may have been more honest.