I wonder why you are treading lightly on Bush. He is a murderer, a war criminal and a domestic terrorist -- worse than Mugabe!

Bush has perverted, distorted and tarnished America’s image beyond repair. It may take forever to get America's good name back.

Mr. Omar Bashir takes the high honors. He is a killer and a slave trader. Both him and Bush belong in Guantanamo Bay.

While I wouldn't argue that any of the award winners are "undeserving", I do think the article is a bit biased. The US/UK/Israel could be equally deserving of many of the awards

How about an Utter Hypocrisy award:

1st) The US government, for all its moralistic, holier-than-thou condemnation of human rights abuses, genocide and war crimes in Darfur... while at the same time uncritically funding and supporting Israel to bomb Gaza to pieces and failing to even call for a ceasefire (not to mention its own actions in Iraq). Is it any wonder Arab states are concerned about US motives on Darfur, and that Bashir has been so successful in painting the atrocities in Darfur as some kind of US/Zionist exaggeration?

2nd) The US government, for its insistence that Bashir gets hauled to court at the ICC - a institution that Sudan has never ratified - while at the same time the US still refuses to ratify the ICC itself

What about America's shocking failure to recognize the human dignity/civil rights of our very own schoolchildren taking place legally in 21 states?  For more information, see education comments Ban school paddling also known as physical punishment with wooden boards or other instruments.  Please vote to Abolish this unacceptable practice.

The United States now occupies 702 military installations throughout the world in 132 countries, with the honourable exception of Sweden, of course. We don't quite know how they got there but they are there all right.The United States possesses 8,000 active and operational nuclear warheads. Two thousand are on hair trigger alert, ready to be launched with 15 minutes warning. It is developing new systems of nuclear force, known as bunker busters. The British, ever cooperative, are intending to replace their own nuclear missile, Trident. Who, I wonder, are they aiming at? Osama bin Laden? You? Me? Joe Dokes? China? Paris? Who knows? What we do know is that this infantile insanity - the possession and threatened use of nuclear weapons - is at the heart of present American political philosophy. We must remind ourselves that the United States is on a permanent military footing and shows no sign of relaxing it.

Perhaps a bit of clarification is in order: This list applies to the conflicts and people covered by this blog---the Stop Genocide (and mass atrocity) blog. Lists of human rights abusers can (sadly) always be longer, but my list covers the issues I write about on this space---others are outside of my purview and expertise. My fault, perhaps, with the broad title---but please forgive a girl in a rush to finish work and head out to enjoy New Years Eve.

That said: Bush is not worse than Mugabe. He did many awful things, but his party lost a free and fair election and are gracefully leaving office. Our economy might not be in the best shape right now, but at least our government isn't issuing new currency at ridiculously high denominations every week to keep up with hyperinflation. We might have an overlooked domestic poverty problem, but at least people don't have to stand in line at the bank for several days to withdraw enough cash for one loaf of bread.

I could go on forever, but I think you get my point.

I agree with your sentiments, Michelle.

Michelle -- I definitely agree as well,

MBK

Just to follow up with/add to Michelle’s comments re. Mugabe and Bush: Despite the fact that President Bush’s terms in office have been tarnished by devastating actions against various parties, overall he did not act unilaterally.  And though we may not always agree with what they say and do, we cannot deny that Bush’s decision-making was supported by a Senate and a Congress made up of representatives chosen by the people of the United States. It is not fair to put Bush in the same category as Mugabe who operates a government on intimidation, fear, denial of access (for those who have the ability and desire to assist) and abuse or death for his own citizens who show even the slightest signs of dissension.  The elections in March, which showed overwhelming support for the MDC (or at least enough to force a run-off), seems to reflect a strong desire for change and an end to Mugabe’s reign. I get the impression that people are tired of a government who does not act on their behalf.  As Michelle stated, unlike in the United States, the ruling party in Zim has consistently acted contrary to the wishes and needs of the people of their country and refuses to release their grip on power. I may not always agree with what my government does… but Mugabe’s unilateral decision-making does not sound like the country I live in.

Sorry, to say that Bush is better than Mugabe because his party left office gracefully is dubious.  His party didn't achieve office by strictly free and fair elections, in 2000 it was accomplished by purging voter rolls of mainly African Americans in Florida and denying them the vote.  Probably Gore would have had a clear majority there had the rebublican secretary of state of Florida not disenfranchised so many.  There are serious statisical studies that indicate the 2004 election was also stolen, almost every swing state had a shift between exit polls and actual vote counts that favored republicans, and in Ohio, it's unlikely those long lines at polls and confusion caused by switching of polling locations for democratic-leaning precincts were an accident.

Mugabe never invaded a country that never attacked him.  Best estimates of the death toll in Iraq is around 1,000,000 in a war we (Bush) started, and 4,000,000 refugees.  That's more than Darfur, by the way, much more.  Then of course there's the continuing Israeli genocide against the Palestinians fully supported by Bush and of course both political parties.  Bush may not be brutal to most of the people of his own country like Mugabe, but try explaining that to people of other countries whom we've invaded or who live under dictatorships or occupations we support.

P.E. Obama promised us "change" during the election.
I want my Troops out of Iraq and Afganistan.
I want them out of Germany, Japan, S. Korea and any other foreign countries they're in.
The U.S. isn't a social services agency for the third world or anywhere else.
If anyone is going to "do something" about "Darfur" or any other country in Africa it is up to the other countries in Africa not the U.S.!
The West has poured $500B into Africa through the "U.N." in the last 40 years to no avail.
The foreign aid programs enrich local despots, the lobbyists on "K" street and large corporations.
The same people and the same companies make the money year after year.
I want and expect my government to be looking out for the interests and well being of the Taxpayers and U.S. Citizens in this country and stop all this "adventurism" in foreign countries!
The 48 million Americans without health insurance in this country are paying to build hospitals and for medical care in foreign countries while they go without.
People said that Mc Cain would just be another four years of Bush. Let us hope that P.E. Obama isn't another four years of Bush!
George Washington had it right; "We should avoid foreign entanglements."

and the crowd goes wild.  it's about time we see ole dubya's face on the stop genocide blog.


haha are you listening now, michelle?

While Kay hits the nail on the head squarely, and I applaud him/her for that -- Thomas Porter displays the usual lack of historical perspective that I see in many ill-informed and gullible Americans.
First, America cannot be what is today, and I repeat CANNOT be what it is today -- without extorting and intimidating the rest of the world, using all kinds of tools available to it -- IMF, WORLD BANK, CIA, ....and now FBI crawling around in almost every country in the world.

America needs cheap resources from the rest of the world and has used, and is at present using military might to ensure that your "HAMBURGER" costs only $1.00.
America takes away from other nations more than it "donates" to them. These excerpts from the book: "If You Love This Planet," by Helen Caldicott, gives a very clear picture about how "predatory" the United States and other developed countries are to the third world: http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Helen_Caldicott/Third_World_Debt_IYLTP.html
When George Washington said: "We should avoid foreign entanglements," he had no clue what was ahead -- absolutely! This constant referral to the 1800's a.k.a "Our Founding Fathers," is not only archaic, but is also most of the times -- irrelevant.
 Take for example the quotation "All men are created equal" -- first used by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence. If all men were created equal -- the George W. Bush should be hanged as soon as he leaves office!
Yeah ...all men are created equal, while you have hundreds of blacks "tied" in your backyard and in your cotton fields!
Unfortunately bits and pieces of this mentality still exist today.
  Lying and using false representations to cause the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, and the upheaval of millions of children, women and families, while heaping hate on top of hate, is as treasonous as Hitler's propaganda machine, which he used as an excuse to exterminate German Jews.
And I haven't even counted the crimes he committed while blatantly stealing Florida in 2000, and then using "Fear-Mongering Propaganda" to steal it a second time in 2004 -- documented here in video: http://www.politicalarticles.net/blog/2008/10/20/republicans-already-stealing-early-votes-in-west-virginia/
Mugabe as despicable as he is, doesn't even come close!
What's the difference between murdering your own people or the people of another country --- Iraq?
As for Omar al-Bashir -- I wish I could hang him myself!-------------------------------------------------------

James, Jeeze, you're all over the place there Mate!
Your reply is far too rambling.
I made a comment on "foreign aid" and that I don't want my government involved in it and you reply about "blacks tied in cotton fields" ...and Hitler gassing the Jews?"
As for your assertion that the U.S. "takes away" more from foreign countries than it donates to them, we're not "taking" anything from them!*They're being paid for those assets!*
If countries don't want to sell to the U.S. then don't sell to the U.S.It sounds like you're not from the U.S. by your sentence structure.You seem to be saying that somehow I support Republicans and George Bush.I do not.I also do not like Democrats and didn't vote for P.E. Obama or John McCain.
It is the Democrats and Republicans who have gotten us into the mess we're in right now.
If P.E. Obama is just going to continue Clinton's and Bush's policies then there will be no "change."
It is simply not the "job description" of the U.S. govt. to be giving our Taxdollars away to foreign countries in "foreign aid."
I neither need nor want them doing so on my "behalf."
There is simply way too much *corruption* involved in those programs!
If "foreign aid" programs actually worked,the amount we gave every year should be going "down" not up!
Those programs have become nothing more than a way for the lobbyists on K Street to become rich by stealing the Taxpayer's money!
If individual citizens want to give to "NGOs" I have no problem with that and, that's the way it (should) be done.
However, after 40 years of "foreign aid" to African countries those countries need to start being *responsable* for themselves and their own citizens!
As for "Mugabe" being "despicable" or not again, that is none of my business as a U.S. Citizen.
I am not anyone's "knight in shining armor" or "rescuer" or walking ATM machine.
If we are going to see any real "change" from P.E. Obama he needs to *end* all of these "foreign aid" programs that make the few in Washington rich and get our Troops out of foreign countries!

I hope their is the "media freedom killer" award which is to be given to the current Sri Lankan government who'se president Mahinda Rajapakshe was the who has hand in the killings and disappearnces of so many journalist and ngo aid workers in the country.

I hope their is the "media freedom killer" award which is to be given to the current Sri Lankan government who'se president Mahinda Rajapakshe was the who has hand in the killings and disappearnces of so many journalist and ngo aid workers in the country.

What about the Mexican government's utter failure to take care of their own people and encourage them to sneak into the U.S. illegally?
With the complicity of George Bush of course.
Republicans love cheap labor!
Hopefully P.E. Obama is going to "change" that situation.