ISG 3rd week: Essay Writing- Human Right

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Just JJ
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註冊時間: 週二 4月 29, 2008 7:34 pm

ISG 3rd week: Essay Writing- Human Right

文章 Just JJ »

Topic for 3rd week: Human right in Guananamo Bay

Introduction
On 11 January 2002 some 20 men detained in Afghanistan on suspicion of belonging to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda organisation became the first inmates at the newly opened prison camp at Guantanamo Bay.
Some 700 prisoners would eventually be transferred to the site. Five years on, approximately 300 men of more than 30 nationalities remain. Images of the hooded and shackled detainees arriving shocked many around the world, and raised questions over Washington's commitment to their human rights.
The current prison camp complex lies on a US military base occupying a small strip of land on the southern coast of Cuba.
The prisoners are all what President Bush has termed as "enemy combatants"; men whom former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld described as "the worst of the worst".
To date, no Guantanamo detainees has faced trial. Human rights group Amnesty International says their continued incarceration at the camp contravenes international law.
Click on the tabs above to find

From:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/g ... efault.stm

Assignments for 3rd week:

01 Essay writing
Due date: Thursday 18:00. ( We need time to check up the grammar error for each other)

Human right has been one of the inportant international issues. Write an essay surrunded by this issue refering to Guantanamo Bay event or even the Human Right in the Tibet. You might set up a title for your own essay. (200 Words)

02 Words and expressions

03 Meeting discussing
Due date: Saturday 18:00
Each of us picks up two sentences (or three) you want to learn from all the material above. During the meeting, we compose a paragraph which is consisted of those sentence we pick up. What we need to do is we brainston one or two sentences to connect all the sentences to make the paragragh logical.

The sequence of our sentences: sentences from Sherry, sentences from Kooper’s, sentences from mine, and finally, sentences from Rock

More info:
Audio File 01:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/56332490285bf70f/
File 01 Transcript: http://www.zshare.net/download/5633254244395dfa/

Audio File 02: http://www.zshare.net/audio/563325915faab721/
File 02 Transcript: http://www.zshare.net/download/56332636f7a59366/
最後由 Just JJ 於 週一 3月 02, 2009 2:10 pm 編輯,總共編輯了 2 次。
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Just JJ
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註冊時間: 週二 4月 29, 2008 7:34 pm

Re: Essay Writing: Human Right

文章 Just JJ »

My Essay:

Title:The conflict between Human right and national interest

Without the basis of humane right, the national interest should not be concidered as a legitimate reason in any circumstance. Guantanamo Bay is the best instance showing how a man with great power can corrupt to make a false decision. A hero, however, is needed to find a solution.

Rather than a group of people, a country is consisted of huge amount of individuals. Those “prisoners” in Guananamo Bay share the euqal right with rest of us, before there are solid evidences proving those detainees are “suspecious.” Free from fear has also been printed clearly in Declaration of Independence as the basis of American spirit. This spirit, however, seems to be ignored by Bush’s administration.

When the nature of human right has been misinterpreted, it also can be reaccessed. It is safe to say that President of USA is the most powerful postion in the world, but the power could lead to an ill considered decisions making. The British fromer prime minister, Tony Blair, have admited publicly that some decition he made during his term could be more thoughtful in terms of the war in Iraq. It is always not too late to admit a mistake and do something about it before things worsen. Obama’s administration might be the one to take on the responsibility that make sure Guantanamo Bay’s detainees can be setttled safely and efficiently.

Every single civilian need to be protected under the principle of free from fear, and even the most powerful man in the world does not has the right to take it away let alone detaining people without presentable evidences. Learning from history and rectifying false decisions are possible, and people who lost their freedom need a blood and iron leader to return what they have been exploited.


Please let me know any "中文英文", or better expression, if there is any.
最後由 Just JJ 於 週三 3月 04, 2009 2:50 pm 編輯,總共編輯了 1 次。
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Just JJ
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註冊時間: 週二 4月 29, 2008 7:34 pm

Re: Essay Writing: Human Right

文章 Just JJ »

More info: Human Rights groups' letter to Obama:

Leading Human Rights Groups Request Full Access To Guantánamo Prison
WEBWIRE – Monday, February 02, 2009
NEW YORK – Four leading human rights and civil liberties organizations asked President Obama to grant them full access to the Guantánamo Bay detention center so that they can review the conditions of confinement and make recommendations for revising U.S. detention policies. The American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International USA, Human Rights First and Human Rights Watch have had permission to observe the military commissions at Guantánamo since August 2004, but have thus far only been offered a guided tour of the detention camp without access to detainees.

On January 22, President Obama issued an executive order requiring a review of detention conditions at Guantánamo to ensure compliance with the Geneva Conventions and all other applicable laws. According to today’s letter, also allowing the groups full access to the prison "will be welcomed as another break from the prior administration’s policies on detainees, and set an example that will help advance human rights worldwide"

The full text of the letter is as follows and available online at: www.aclu.org/safefree/detention/38600res20090130.html



January 30, 2009


Dear President Obama,

As heads of four prominent civil liberties and human rights organizations, we greatly appreciate your decisive action in restoring U.S. commitment to the rule of law and respect for human rights by issuing executive orders to close Guantánamo, suspend the military commissions, prohibit CIA prisons, and enforce the ban on torture. We eagerly await your continued actions to renew American justice.

Today, we write to request full access to the Guantánamo Bay detention camps so that we may independently review and report on the conditions of confinement there and make concrete recommendations for change. In August 2004, our four organizations were granted observer status to observe the military commissions, but for years the Bush administration has denied our organizations’ repeated requests for full access to the detention camps. We have only been offered the VIP tour to observe a model Guantánamo detention camp, which was far from adequate access.

Section 6 of your January 22, 2009 executive order, "Review and Disposition of Individuals Detained at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base and Closure of Detention Facilities" addresses the issue of conditions of confinement and orders Secretary of Defense Gates to "immediately undertake a review of the conditions of detention at Guantánamo to ensure full compliance with [Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions"

Our presence can assist this effort. We will provide an outside assessment of current conditions and, as improvements are made, credibly, independently, and publicly report them to the world. Such access and reporting would further the objectives of the current Department of Defense (DoD) review and amplify the international benefits of improving conditions at the camps. Our presence itself will be welcomed as another break from the prior administration’s policies on detainees, and set an example of transparency that will help advance human rights worldwide.

We ask you to reconsider our organizations’ request for full access to the Guantánamo Bay detention camps and honor it in light of the current DoD review. According to your executive order, the DoD review "shall be completed within 30 days and any necessary corrections shall be implemented immediately thereafter" We ask that, if granted full access, our independent review should take place within the next few weeks, to allow time for us to finalize our report and recommendations before the completion of the DoD’s review.

The Bush administration’s past policy of secrecy regarding detention conditions at Guantánamo makes it critically important for your administration to open Guantánamo to independent review as part of a new government policy of transparency. Full and independent review of conditions of confinement by human rights organizations is urgently needed because of the secrecy regarding detention conditions at Guantánamo Bay as a whole. The ACLU and other organizations continue to struggle for production of materials requested pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regarding Guantánamo Bay. The Bush administration denied full access to several UN independent human rights experts who insisted on confidential interviews with the detainees as dictated by UN protocol for such visits.

While the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has had access to Guantánamo detainees, its access has been restricted in the past and the extent of its current access is unclear to us. A leaked version of the Camp Delta Standard Operation Procedures (SOP) from March 2003 revealed that the ICRC was denied access to various groups of detainees at the camp, and a leaked version of the SOP manual from 2004 revealed continued restrictions on ICRC access.

Regardless of the ICRC’s present level of access, its role is distinct from that of our organizations. While the ICRC plays an important role in visiting prisoners under the Geneva Conventions, the ICRC maintains full confidentiality in order to preserve the exclusively humanitarian nature of its work. The role of our human rights organizations in reviewing and reporting on conditions at Guantánamo would be distinct and equally important.

Granting human rights organizations full and unfettered access to a detention facility where torture and abuse have occurred will send a powerful message to the world regarding your administration’s commitment to transparency and openness, consistent with your January 21, 2009 FOIA directive, which noted, "A democracy requires accountability, and accountability requires transparency" Opening Guantánamo to full review by human rights organizations would help to restore American legitimacy and standing in the world, and place pressure on other governments to open their detention centers for independent inspections.

Furthermore, independent review of conditions of confinement by human rights organizations will assist your administration in revising its policies and improving detention conditions in the camps. If granted full access, our independent human rights delegation would include experts on detention conditions and medical professionals, and would offer your administration concrete recommendations on how to improve conditions of confinement in order to comply with relevant national and international standards and guidelines on persons in detention.

We hope that you will act quickly on this matter in the interest of transparency and the protection of human rights.


Sincerely,


Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union

Larry Cox, Executive Director, Amnesty International USA

Elisa Massimino, Executive Director, Human Rights First

Kenneth Roth, Executive Director, Human Rights Watch


cc:
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
White House Counsel Gregory B. Craig
Sherry Liao
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註冊時間: 週五 12月 07, 2007 12:15 pm

Re: Essay Writing: Human Right

文章 Sherry Liao »

Hi JJ,

I have to admit that the topic is a bit tough to me. I am not familiar with the Guantanamo Bay event. Though I have read several related news, I still could not get the hang of it. So I switched the essay topic to "Women's rights". Hope I did not wander off the subject too much.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________
My essay:
It's been an impression for most of the people in Taiwan that the movement of women's rights has come to fruitful results. While it might be safe to say that this is partially true, nowadays there are still numerous females from all over the world suffering from the unjust treatment because of their gender.

The most significent problem women confront with is the deeply ingrained ideas in different cultures that constrain women. In Afghanistan, women are treated as the property of men, and beating, torture and trafficking of women are common and broadly accepted. Also, a recent report from Lancet medical journal indicated that young women in India are three times as likely to suffer a fire-related death as young men, with self-immolation and different forms of domestic violence as part of the reasons.

Even in modern societies, where the egalitarian notion of women’s rights is supposed to have been taken place, there are still various phenomenons showing the constraint on women. According to a survey in United Kingdom, a third of people believe a woman is partially or completely responsible for being raped if she has behaved flirtatiously. Also, it is observed in many places that sloppy women are more likely to get blame and women with obese figures have a better possibility to be mocked than men do.

Human rights refer to "the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled". As a half of the world's population, women's rights are of importance and should get more attention. While the movement of women's rights has literally come a long way, it does still have a long way to go.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Well, I know the conclusion is quite weak but, since my brain is so congested I am not going to revise it any more. Sue me.
Anyway I am glad that I have meet the deadline! :D :D :D :D :D :twisted:
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Just JJ
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註冊時間: 週二 4月 29, 2008 7:34 pm

Re: Essay Writing: Human Right

文章 Just JJ »

Sherry Liao 寫:Hi JJ,

I have to admit that the topic is a bit tough to me. I am not familiar with the Guantanamo Bay event. Though I have read several related news, I still could not get the hang of it. So I switched the essay topic to "Women's rights". Hope I did not wander off the subject too much.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________
My essay:
It's been an impression for most of the people in Taiwan that the movement of women's rights has come to fruitful results. While it might be safe to say that this is partially true, nowadays there are still numerous females from all over the world suffering from the unjust treatment because of their gender.


Sherry:
It is easy to tell I am not an expert about about Guantanamo Bay from my essay as well. Come on~~ it just an essay express any of your opinion about human right.

You take it a little bit too serious. But, seriously, It’s good to have you as our team member. I will never get lazy….

To me, in your first paragragh, the sentence: "While it might be safe to say that this is partially true, nowadays there are still numerous females from all over the world suffering from the unjust treatment because of their gender"
making it as "It might be safe to say that this is partially true, While nowadays there are still numerous females from all over the world suffering from the unjust treatment because of their gender." will make more sense.

What do you think??
Kooper
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註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

Re: Essay Writing: Human Right

文章 Kooper »

Here is my essay. :D


Title: A Taint on the Human Rights Record of the United States


For a long time, America was acting as if they were a tenacious human rights defender and kept criticizing countries like China for human rights violations. But now people around the world reckon that Americans are in no position to talk, for what happened in Guantanamo Bay has tainted their human rights records.

In 2002, a prison camp at Guantanamo Bay was opened with the purpose of detaining those who were suspected or claimed by the Bush administration to be terrorists. At most some 700 alleged inmates were once held there, but so far only a few prisoners have been charged, others were either released or indefinitely detained. A UN report released in 2006, after 18-month investigation, alleged that the treatment of the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay was no different from torture. The report called for immediate closure of the prison and instant trial or release of the detainees there, but the calls were merely dismissed by Bush government. Human rights group Amnesty International also said their indefinite detention at the camp was against international law, the Geneva Conventions.

Under the name of anti-terror war, the then Bush administration believed that the president had broad power that didn’t need to be constrained by the Congress, the courts, the Constitution, or the Geneva Conventions. That became the foundation of the indefinite detention at Guantanamo Bay. As President Obama has pledged to shut down Guantanamo Bay in one year and has exposed more secret plans done during Bush’s tenure, I’m optimistic that America will soon regain the respect of people worldwide by becoming a determined human rights defender again.
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Rock
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註冊時間: 週三 10月 31, 2007 9:03 am

Re: Essay Writing: Human Right

文章 Rock »

Wow! You guys are amazing. Now I'm so reluctant to post my homework here, and it's far from an essay at all. But, I don't think I have a choice, do I?

On the Other Side of Human Right

Human right is a luxuary no country can afford at war. A war, in its very own nature, is nothing but carziness. People kill each other, destroy civilizations and commit all kinds of crimes to survive a war. A bullet can end one life, while a bomb can easily take thousands of them. In a situation like this, anyone who asks something like mercy, charity or human right is plain naïve – almost like a lamb living in a jungle without knowing the rules of survival at all.

Imagine someone whose family were just killed yesterday, and he himself is under the constant threat of death. Can anyone blame him of not respecting other people’s human right? In fact, no matter he likes it or not, this guy just has to try his best to get rid of any possible danger. Sometimes it’s hard to avoid the necessary sin; sometimes difficult decisions have to be made; sometimes innocent people were prisoned, or even killed.

The problem is: how to define a real war? Is it necessary to do something like what they have done in Guananamo Bay? Are the media around the world providing truth or lie? There is no easy answer, and there is no clear solution, either. However, one thing is for sure: as long as greediness, misunderstanding and ignorance exist, tragedies like this will happen again and again.
In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
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Just JJ
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文章: 220
註冊時間: 週二 4月 29, 2008 7:34 pm

Re: Essay Writing: Human Right

文章 Just JJ »

To Rock:
Maybe I will put "Ideas expressing" instead of "essay wring" next time, any you guys could feel less stress..... 8)


New Vocabularies:
(1)Rehash
to prepare or use again; work over into a new form, as the plot of a story
Ex: merely a dull rehash of his first novel

(2)Envoy
One dispatched upon an errand or mission

(3)Unfettered
free; without restraint
Ex: Unfettered immigration is rapidly shifting the ethnic and political balance of the United States. Republicans beware.

My two sentences:
(1)China as I understand it maintains the position these people are terrorists and in fact has expressed some interest in prosecuting the Uighurs if they were returned to China.
(2) But the demand to shut down Guantanamo has already fallen on deaf ears in the Bush administration.
Kooper
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文章: 2725
註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

Re: Essay Writing: Human Right

文章 Kooper »

Vocabulary:

1. If advice or a warning falls on deaf ears, everyone ignores it.
[Their appeals to release the hostages fell on deaf ears.]

2. If you say one thing amounts to something else, you consider the first thing to be the same as the second thing,
[The court's decision amounts to a not guilty verdict.]


My two sentences:
1. But if such a system did not distance itself from the military tribunals, it would attract criticism that Guantanamo Bay had simply been transposed to the United States.

2. The latest decision by an appeals court in the United States is being read as a further blow to hopes of the 17 Chinese Uighurs who've been languishing in Guantanamo Bay for more than seven years.
Sherry Liao
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文章: 1483
註冊時間: 週五 12月 07, 2007 12:15 pm

Re: Essay Writing: Human Right

文章 Sherry Liao »

Hey JJ, I found we chose the same sentence! I also picked the second one of yours. I particularly liked the usage of the phrase "has fallen on deaf ears in…".

The following are my sentences:
“All of these things have happened in the courts in the United States and right now what we need for them, more than anything, is for them to be released.“

“You know we've not ended with the litigation but as important as the litigation or perhaps more important is what President Obama is now going to do and what the international community is now going to do.“

“I think it's a discredit to the UN when a team like this goes about rushing to report something when they haven't even looked into the facts.“ (Backup)
Sherry Liao
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文章: 1483
註冊時間: 週五 12月 07, 2007 12:15 pm

Re: Essay Writing: Human Right

文章 Sherry Liao »

Words and expressions:
precedent (amusing it sounds almost the same as "president"): an official action or decision that has happened in the past and that is seen as an example or a rule to be followed in a similar situation later
Ex.: The ruling set a precedent for future libel cases.

indefinitely: for a period of time with no fixed limit
Ex.: The trial was postponed indefinitely.

amount to sth: to be equal to or the same as sth
Ex.: We were jailed for a week -- well, confined to quarters, but it amounted to the same thing.

Also, I've got a question about this paragraph:
“I can't go to a country and only speak to the prison officials, but being denied the possibility to talk to the detainees. This is not an objective and fair means of eradiation and we unfortunately had to cancel the visit.”

What does "eradiation" mean here?
Sherry Liao
YOYO member
文章: 1483
註冊時間: 週五 12月 07, 2007 12:15 pm

Re: Essay Writing: Human Right

文章 Sherry Liao »

I just found I also chose the same vocabulary as Kooper did. Darn, I don't want to redo my homework!
Sherry Liao
YOYO member
文章: 1483
註冊時間: 週五 12月 07, 2007 12:15 pm

Re: Essay Writing: Human Right

文章 Sherry Liao »

For the second round: (My version)
Sherry Liao 寫:“You know we've not ended with the litigation but as important as the litigation or perhaps more important is what President Obama is now going to do and what the international community is now going to do.“
For the time being, the detainees are placed in a difficult position. As we know,
Kooper 寫:2. The latest decision by an appeals court in the United States is being read as a further blow to hopes of the 17 Chinese Uighurs who've been languishing in Guantanamo Bay for more than seven years.
The UN report has strongly recommended that the detainees be released or be brought before an independent court, and Guantanamo bay detention centre be closed right away,
Just JJ 寫:(2) But the demand to shut down Guantanamo has already fallen on deaf ears in the Bush administration.
Now the hope is on the power holder Obama administration. There are still some outstanding issues involved to be solved, and the world is watching what the new government of the United States is going to do.
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Just JJ
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文章: 220
註冊時間: 週二 4月 29, 2008 7:34 pm

Re: ISG 3rd week: Essay Writing- Human Right

文章 Just JJ »

Sherry:
I want to modify a little bit your version, see if you agree or not.


01.“You know we've not ended with the litigation but as important as the litigation or perhaps more important is what President Obama is now going to do and what the international community is now going to do.“


For the time being, the detainees are placed in a difficult position. As we know,

No matter what Obama or international community are going to do. There are some facts we can't blink. The detainees are placed in a difficult position. As we know.

02.The latest decision by an appeals court in the United States is being read as a further blow to hopes of the 17 Chinese Uighurs who've been languishing in Guantanamo Bay for more than seven years.

The UN report has strongly recommended that the detainees be released or be brought before an independent court, and Guantanamo bay detention centre be closed right away,

03. But the demand to shut down Guantanamo has already fallen on deaf ears in the Bush administration.

Now the hope is on the power holder Obama administration. There are still some outstanding issues involved to be solved, and the world is watching what the new government of the United States is going to do.
Sherry Liao
YOYO member
文章: 1483
註冊時間: 週五 12月 07, 2007 12:15 pm

Re: ISG 3rd week: Essay Writing- Human Right

文章 Sherry Liao »

That sounds much better. My only question is:
Just JJ 寫:No matter what Obama or international community are going to do. There are some facts we can't blink. The detainees are placed in a difficult position. As we know.
I suppose you meant "No matter what Obama or international community are going to do, there are some facts we can't blink."
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