Cross-posted from an article by Sue Sturgis on Facing South
The Obama administration released the first-ever U.S. report to the U.N. Human Rights Council this week.
Prepared as part of the ongoing U.N. Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process that involved consultations with civil society groups nationwide, the report [pdf] acknowledges that the U.S. human rights record is less than perfect. However, it fails to address a number of pressing human rights issues facing the nation -- including the problems experienced by U.S. residents displaced by domestic disasters like Hurricane Katrina.
"While this report demonstrates the Obama administration's willingness to recommit to engagement on international human rights, the administration must now prove that it is prepared to not only talk the talk, but also walk the walk," said Jamil Dakwar, director of the ACLU Human Rights Program.
Back in 1988 when the Exxon Valdez ran aground, I can recall at least a few weeks of steady coverage by both the three major networks and cable news (just CNN at the time) of the disaster, its environmental impact, and efforts to clean it up.
But the fuel oil spill that happened in Louisiana earlier this week proves to be a much larger disaster with farther-reaching consequences--yet for some news briefs I've seen on NBC Nightly News and a couple of cable channels, there hasn't been the major coverage it should be getting. Why aren't the MSM taking it seriously?
it is somewhat shocking to me, given the size of the spill and its potential impact on fragile wetlands, that there isn't more help coming to help wildlife, and to help with cleanup.
