Category: human rights

Tiananmen Square massacre anniversary

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Ann - free speech, human rights, politics

For almost 2 months in 1989 tens of thousands of protesters led by university students occupied Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The protests were triggered by the death of Hu Yaobang, a former Communist Party General Secretary who was forced to resign for his positions on reforming the party . The students were also demonstrating against corruption in the government, for workers’ rights, and for freedom of speech and the press. On June 3, 1989 the Chinese government ordered martial law and cracked down on the protesters in Tiananmen Square, killing an unknown amount (estimates range from the hundreds to thousands). Here’s an article about some survivors from yesterday’s Washington Post.

At the time I was living and working in Los Angeles. I can still remember sitting at my drawing desk at home when the news started broadcasting those horrifying images from Beijing. Tiananmen Square-AP Associated Press

Big month for SCOTUS

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Ann - human rights, politics, society

SCOTUS June is going to be a busy month for the Supreme Court of the United States. The justices will be issuing decisions on affirmative action, same-sex marriage, voting rights, and gene patents over the next few weeks. Be sure to regularly check SCOTUSblog; they’ll be live-blogging this morning on the affirmative action case, Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin.

*I’ll be doing live sketches for the Washington Post the week of the same-sex marriage decisions.

Mission Accomplished

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Ann - human rights, politics

It’s the 10th anniversary of the infamous George W Bush’s photo op. BushMissionAccomplished

The George W Bush Library dedication ceremony today

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Ann - human rights, politics, society

Let the revisionism begin! The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum opens today. Here’s a few cartoons from my archive; the Washington Post should have a slide show later with more. *Update: here’s the full slideshow. 120700GOPsFloridaAce 111706BushBlair 030406BushLevees

Thomas Jefferson and the Separation of Church & State

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Ann - free speech, human rights, politics, society

C-Span opened its Washington Journal program this morning with the question “Should religion play a role in politics?”,which led me to think about Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists and the issue of Separation of Church and State. Several years ago I was fortunate to see at the original at the Library of Congress: danbury_2 Very cool.

Historic week for gay marriage and equal rights

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Ann - human rights, politics, society, womens issues

Crowds line up for gay marriage cases. Photo by David Lloyd

Today the Supreme Court of the United States will hear the first of two cases for same-sex marriage. Opponents will argue that legalizing these unions will destroy the traditional definition of marriage since marriage is about “responsible procreation and child-rearing” (tell that to couples who choose not to have children or the elderly couple who have found happiness again). This is a simple question of equal rights. Why shouldn’t gays, who pay taxes and participate in society just like anyone else, be able to marry? Churches will still be able to decide which couples can be married within the church; this will not impact them. It will be interesting to see which Justices support the Separation of Church and State and which ones are still living in the pre-Loving v. Virginia era.