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  • SUNDAY MARCH 6 2005 9:00 AM

Niger Decides Not to Free Slaves

Submitted by Michael_J_Totten

Edited by Michael_J_Totten

The government of Niger decided at the last minute that it's easier to pretend slavery doesn't exist than to enforce their anti-slavery law and actually have to free slaves.

The government of Niger has cancelled at the last minute a special ceremony during which at least 7,000 slaves were to be granted their freedom.

A spokesman for the government's human rights commission, which had helped to organise the event, said this was because slavery did not exist.

It is not clear why the government, which was also a co-sponsor of the ceremony, changed its position.

At least 43,000 people across Niger are thought to be in slavery.

Representatives of the slaves, the government and human rights campaigners had been due to attend the event at In Ates, near the border with Mali.

A local chief had agreed to the release after the introduction of a new law, which punishes those found guilty of slavery with up to 30 years in jail.

Anti-Slavery International had described the ceremony as a historic step forward.

The British-based campaign group said the people who had been due to be freed made up 95% of the local population.

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MrNailbat

MrNailbat

Atlanta, GA
December 2002

MAR 06, 2005 02:56 PM

woolworthwarrior said:
Either the, basically moral, American people would think "that ain't right" and withdraw their support for the current policy or, at the very least, there would be no more room for whining lefty accusations of hypocrisy.



That was ultimately my point with my first comment. We enter other nations under false pretenses ideologies when our interests our in mind, but when our actual ideologies are an issue, we could give a shit because there is no economic interest coupled with it. I'm not anti-american, but I'm tired of my own country's bullshit. But if calling bullshit when I see it makes me anti-american, then I guess that is me.

It's just that I resent a government that doesn't truly inform the public it serves of it's interests. Americans can't make a clear decision without some degree of honesty from it's controlling body. Thus the government of the people is not a government directed by the people. It is a government of the people that acts on the interests of a controlling minority.

But then again, that is how the framer's of the constitution came together anyway.

Ella_1

Ella_1

HOPEFUL

Australia

MAR 06, 2005 03:18 PM

Funny how everything seems to come back to the U.S and Iraq.

And i thought this article and debate was meant to be about Niger and their slaves. Not the U.S and oil...

Oh wait... it is.

whatever

Michael_J_Totten

Michael_J_Totten

Iraq
February 2004

MAR 06, 2005 03:31 PM

BrokenGavelBlues said:
Because of the steadfast refusal of most neocons and supporters of the war to admit this fact, and instead pretend that our actions were purely, unequivocally about some great moral imperative that we altruistically had to carry out.


Okay, fair enough. Many neo-cons do exactly that.

My intellectual guide on this, so to speak, isn't the neocons. It's Paul Berman, and he himself is a Bush-hating leftist on the editorial board of Dissent magazine. He's a bit smarter than they are, I think. And in my opinion he wrote the very best book on the subject. It is called Terror and Liberalism. He last two sentences really stuck wtih me. "Fredom for others means safety for ourselves. Let us be for the freedom of others."

Michael_J_Totten

Michael_J_Totten

Iraq
February 2004

MAR 06, 2005 03:34 PM

woolworthwarrior said:
It is refreshing to see an ardent supporter of the war in Iraq admit that the US only feels the need to support freedom and democracy in areas where it suits its geopolitical interests, such as stabilising the middle east...


I'm happy to be "refreshing." smile

Just keep in mind that I do not work for the government, let alone the Bush Administration, and my pet causes are my own. I am interested in freedom and democracy for everyone on the planet whether it's in our narrowly-defined interests or not. When the US government comes around to my point of view I'm happy. When the US government doesn't, well, fuck 'em.

howdidigethere

howdidigethere

Oroville, CA
June 2004

MAR 06, 2005 03:37 PM

hmm shame we cant put "freedom on the march" down in africa.

waldo

waldo

I'm lost
June 2004

MAR 06, 2005 04:16 PM

Michael_J_Totten said:

BrokenGavelBlues said:
Because of the steadfast refusal of most neocons and supporters of the war to admit this fact, and instead pretend that our actions were purely, unequivocally about some great moral imperative that we altruistically had to carry out.


<edit>
He last two sentences really stuck wtih me. "Fredom for others means safety for ourselves. Let us be for the freedom of others."


Yes, exactly.



[Edited on Mar 06, 2005 4:18PM]

Cavatica

Cavatica

Raleigh, NC
August 2004

MAR 06, 2005 07:50 PM

For those of you who don't feel like reading the last three pages but want to know what's going on, let me catch you up:

News Report: Niger government decides at the last minute not to freee 7,000 slaves.
Liberal SGers: Dude. That blows. I didn't even know slavery still existed. Why don't we pull our heads out of our asses and do something?
Conservative SGers: That does, in fact, blow. But it is not our problem.
LSGs: Oh, oh. *head swivel* So Iraq is our problem, but not Niger?
CSGs: Pretty much, yes. Hippies.
LGGs: HIPPIES?!
CSGs: That's right. You heard us. Go fuck a tree, why don't you.
LSGs: What? Sorry. We couldn't hear you over your president's deadly rays of Pure Stupid.

<hyper-intellectual pedantry incomprehensible to even the most pedantic pundits ensues, very little of it relevant and almost all of it coming back to Bush Rules or Bush Sucks or Do You Prefer Your Bush Shaved or Natural??!?11eleventyfour>

CSGs: ...anyway, look at those lazy Europeans over there. They're not doing shit.
European SGs: ...wait, what?
CSGs: You heard us. This clearly means you hate America.
ESGs: EVERYONE hates America!
CSGs: That's only because you all are a bunch of racists!
ESGs: Up with that we shall not put!

<pedantry level raised to eleven>

Me: Watch me be as offensive and irrelevant as possible while maintaining only the flimsiest guise of impartiality!
You all: Oooh, ahhh.

...in other words, the usual.

All caught up? Great.

This is my way of asking that we please get the hell off of the Bush-whacking and back onto the issue? It's not like either side is likely to convince the other of their supreme validity and infallible logic.

[Edited on Mar 06, 2005 by Cavatica]

Cruorem_Angelus

Cruorem_Angelus

Littleton, CO
June 2004

MAR 06, 2005 08:11 PM

waldo said:
Maybe it's the reporting you listen to which is the problem. Where are you getting your info?



CNN, Fox, CBS, Local news soundbites. I worked in TV news for 5 years. I know how that system works.



[Edited on Mar 06, 2005 8:12PM]

bean

bean

STAFF

Los Angeles, CA

MAR 06, 2005 08:15 PM

Cavatica said:
[...some really funny stuff that I snipped for brevity's sake...]

This is my way of asking that we please get the hell off of the Bush-whacking and back onto the issue? It's not like either side is likely to convince the other of their supreme validity and infallible logic.


That was hilarious. Thanks. smile

But really, I think those of us who care more about the issue than arguing about Iraq and/or Bush and/or calling each other names came to a consensus some time back that this is really a problem for the whole world to deal with and which the whole world is at fault for allowing to continue. That should be a pretty easy point to agree with, but alas, people do love to argue.

Dead_Ringer

Dead_Ringer

I'm lost
September 2004

MAR 06, 2005 11:00 PM

Cavatica said:
For those of you who don't feel like reading the last three pages but want to know what's going on, let me catch you up:

News Report: Niger government decides at the last minute not to freee 7,000 slaves.
Liberal SGers: Dude. That blows. I didn't even know slavery still existed. Why don't we pull our heads out of our asses and do something?
Conservative SGers: That does, in fact, blow. But it is not our problem.
LSGs: Oh, oh. *head swivel* So Iraq is our problem, but not Niger?
CSGs: Pretty much, yes. Hippies.
LGGs: HIPPIES?!
CSGs: That's right. You heard us. Go fuck a tree, why don't you.
LSGs: What? Sorry. We couldn't hear you over your president's deadly rays of Pure Stupid.

<hyper-intellectual pedantry incomprehensible to even the most pedantic pundits ensues, very little of it relevant and almost all of it coming back to Bush Rules or Bush Sucks or Do You Prefer Your Bush Shaved or Natural??!?11eleventyfour>

CSGs: ...anyway, look at those lazy Europeans over there. They're not doing shit.
European SGs: ...wait, what?
CSGs: You heard us. This clearly means you hate America.
ESGs: EVERYONE hates America!
CSGs: That's only because you all are a bunch of racists!
ESGs: Up with that we shall not put!

<pedantry level raised to eleven>

Me: Watch me be as offensive and irrelevant as possible while maintaining only the flimsiest guise of impartiality!
You all: Oooh, ahhh.

...in other words, the usual.

All caught up? Great.

This is my way of asking that we please get the hell off of the Bush-whacking and back onto the issue? It's not like either side is likely to convince the other of their supreme validity and infallible logic.

[Edited on Mar 06, 2005 by Cavatica]



ding.

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