What’s wrong with these patriots? Paranoia
Excerpting, editing, commentary by Carolyn Bennett
RABID STUFF
Increasingly Americans in the United States are a vacuously
hysterical people. On the one hand, there is an all-round, 24/7 manipulation fest
perpetrated by government and mass communication. On the other, there exist a
permanently distracted and paranoid people.
This is a country that, from the top down (government,
corporation, media, people collusion), leaps from crisis to crisis (creating
them never solving them), where all branches of government officials are awash
in some brand of influence peddling, bribery, if you please, which, by design,
never accomplishes politics (of the
citizen) of substance or planning long term for the good of the whole
country, its people and its relations, even its standing in the world.
T
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his blog rises from another patriots’ brouhaha: the U.S.
righteous are bucking international observers of Election Day voting. It begs
the question: What are the hypocrites trying to cover up this time?
The international observers in the United States are
well-known for their work all over the world. They were invited by the United
States as part of a standing agreement. These are not sinister forces.
The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
(ODIHR) is the human rights institution of the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE), an intergovernmental body working for stability, prosperity
and democracy in its 56 participating States. From southwestern British
Columbia, Canada’s Vancouver to southeastern Russia’s Vladivostok regions, the
OSCE is known as the world’s largest regional security organization.
The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
promotes democratic elections, respect for human rights, tolerance and
non-discrimination, and the rule of law. This is the group being targeted,
threatened with prosecution, by forces within United States’ tiered governments
and media.
Though the hype continues into November, the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe and its Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights responded late last month with a “few facts”
concerning their organization and Election
observation. These are notes from their response along with additional
background on this must-needed instrument in East-West dialogue during the Cold War.
“
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Over the past couple of weeks,” the OSCE writes on its
website, “we have seen numerous misleading media reports regarding the role of
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in observing the
upcoming general elections in the United States on November 6, 2012.
“In addition, we have been the recipient of countless
messages from concerned citizens about our presence in the United States.
“In response, here are a few facts that we hope will help
dispel some of the rumors that have been circulating.
1. The Organization for Security
and Cooperation (OSCE) is not an agency of the United Nations.
2. OSCE election observers are
bound by a strict code of conduct, requiring them  |
| Elections monitoring |
[t]o maintain impartiality in the conduct of their duties,
[t]o perform those duties in an unobtrusive manner, and
[t]o not interfere in the elections in the United States in any way.
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| Conflict resolution |
They are not election police or
referees. They will not play any role in counting votes or resolving election
disputes. Their only role is to observe the process and to report on the degree
to which that process meets the commitments that the United States has agreed
to uphold.
3. OSCE observers have not been
invited by one political faction to investigate claims against any other
political faction. The OSCE observers have been invited by the United States
Government.
In fact, the OSCE has already
observed a number of U.S. elections, including previous general elections in
2004 and 2008 and mid-term elections in 2002, 2006, and 2010, always at the
invitation of the respective administration that was in office at the time of
the election.
4. The presence of OSCE observers
is not in violation of U.S. law.
In fact, the OSCE is very aware
that individual states have their own laws regarding the presence of observers
at polling stations, and OSCE observers have never violated these laws in any
of the five U.S. elections already observed, and they will not do so this time.
5. The United States is one of the
founding members of the OSCE, having been a part of the Organization
since it was first established in 1975 as an important multilateral forum for
dialogue between East and West at the height of the Cold War.
6. The OSCE has a longstanding
invitation to monitor elections in every one of its participating States. The
invitation can be found in the Organization’s Copenhagen Document, which was
signed on behalf of the United States in 1990 by then-Secretary of State James
Baker, under the Republican administration of George H. W. Bush. Baker, a
native of the state of Texas, had previously been chief of staff under
President Ronald Reagan.
7. Since agreeing to the principles
of election observation, the United States has been a strong supporter of this
practice, as both Democratic and Republican administrations have made it a
standard practice over the years to invite OSCE observers to monitor both
general and mid-term congressional elections.
8. Over the past twenty-plus years,
citizens
of the United States have taken part in OSCE election observation missions to
many other countries, including places like Albania, Bulgaria, Canada,
France, Kazakhstan, Russia, and the United Kingdom.
What/Who is ODIHR?
An intergovernmental body working for stability, prosperity
and democracy in its 56 participating States, the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights (ODIHR) ─ based in Warsaw, Poland, and active throughout Europe, the
Caucasus, Central Asia, and North America ─ is one of the world’s principal
regional human rights bodies.
It is the human rights institution of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and promotes democratic elections,
respect for human rights, tolerance and non-discrimination, and the rule of
law.
Cornerstones of the OSCE’s comprehensive concept of security
are human rights and democracy; and all States members of the OSCE have agreed
that lasting security cannot be achieved without respect for human rights and
functioning democratic institutions.
They have committed themselves to a comprehensive catalogue
of human rights and democracy norms. These form the basis of what the OSCE
calls the human dimension of security.
The OSCE’s 56 participating States from Europe, Central Asia
and North America are:
1. Albania
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2. Austria
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3. Belgium
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4. Canada
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5. Czech
Republic
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6. Finland
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7. Germany
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8. Hungary
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9. Italy
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10. Latvia
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11. Luxembourg
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12. Monaco
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13. Norway
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14. Romania
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15. Serbia
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16. Spain
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17. Tajikistan
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18. Turkmenistan
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19. United
States
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20. Andorra
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21. Azerbaijan
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22. Bosnia
and Herzegovina
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23. Croatia
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24. Denmark
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25. France
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26. Greece
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27. Iceland
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28. Kazakhstan
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29. Liechtenstein
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30. Malta
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31. Montenegro
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32. Poland
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33. Russian
Federation
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34. Slovakia
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35. Sweden
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36. [t]he
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
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37. Ukraine
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38. Uzbekistan
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39. Armenia
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40. Belarus
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41. Bulgaria
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42. Cyprus
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43. Estonia
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44. Georgia
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45. Holy
See
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46. Ireland
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47. Kyrgyzstan
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48. Lithuania
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49. Moldova
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50. Netherlands
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51. Portugal
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52. San
Marino
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53. Slovenia
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54. Switzerland
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55. Turkey
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56. United
Kingdom
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http://www.osce.org/who/83
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O
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DIHR has the task of assisting governments in meeting their
commitments in the field of human rights and democracy. To this effect, ODIHR
observes elections, promotes and monitors respect for human rights, and runs
democracy assistance projects throughout the OSCE region.
The Office works closely with the OSCE’s other institutions
and field operations, as well as a large number of partners among governments, international
organizations and civil society. Established in 1991, ODIHR employs nearly 150
staff from some 30 countries. Its activities are funded through a core budget,
which is approved annually by participating States, as well as through
voluntary contributions. Ambassador
Janez Lenarčič (Slovenia) has been the Director of ODIHR since July 2008.
ODIHR in the United States
Following an official invitation from the United States
Mission to the OSCE and based on the findings and conclusions of a Needs
Assessment Mission (NAM), the OSCE/ODIHR has deployed a Limited Election
Observation Mission (LEOM) for the November 6, 2012, general elections.
According to its web material the Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights will have a “limited election observation mission
at the General Elections November 6, 2012, in the United States.
The Head of Mission will be Ambassador Daan Everts of the
Netherlands together with 13 core team experts from 10 participating States,
based in Washington D.C.; and 44 long-term observers, deployed throughout the
country
On the full mission agenda was an October 9 opening press
conference and an October 12 deployment of long-term observers; then the
November 6 Election Day followed by a November 7 press conference on
preliminary findings and conclusions.
What/Who is OSCE?
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) traces its origins to the Cold War détente of the early 1970s, when the
Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) was created to serve as
a multilateral forum for dialogue and negotiation between East and West.
Meeting over two years in Helsinki and Geneva, the CSCE
reached agreement on the Helsinki Final Act, which was signed on August 1,
1975. This document contained a number of key commitments on polito-military,
economic and environmental and human rights issues that became central to the
so-called ‘Helsinki process.’ It also established ten fundamental principles
(the ‘Decalogue’) governing the behavior of States toward their citizens, as
well as toward each other.
Until 1990, the CSCE functioned mainly as a series of
meetings and conferences that built on and extended the participating States’
commitments, while periodically reviewing their implementation.
However, with the end of the Cold War, the Paris Summit of
November 1990 set the CSCE on a new course. In the Charter of Paris for a New
Europe, the CSCE was called upon to play its part in managing the historic
change taking place in Europe and responding to the new challenges of the
post-Cold War period, which led to its acquiring permanent institutions and
operational capabilities.
As part of this institutionalization process, the name was
changed from the CSCE (Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe) to the
OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) by a decision of the
Budapest Summit of Heads of State or Government in December 1994.
What started and fueled the outcry?
U.S. States threatening to criminally prosecute OSCE/ODIHR
election observers
Rabid stuff
October 23 Texas Secretary of State Gregg Abbott to OSCE: “Elections
and election observers are regulated by state law … [and] the OSCE’s
representatives are not authorized by Texas law to enter a polling place. It
may be a criminal offense for OSCE’s representatives to maintain a presence within
100 feet of a polling place’s entrance. Failure to comply with these
requirements could subject the OSCE’s representatives to criminal prosecution.”
An election worker in Boca Raton, southeastern Florida: “America
is special and does not need to interact with other countries on the basis of
equality.”
Iowa Secretary of State Matt Shultz: “Iowa law is very
specific about who is permitted at polling places, and there is no exception
for members of this group” [the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).
T
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he Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions
and Human Rights, Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, responded to the threats late last
month.
The threat contained in an open letter from Texas’s
Attorney General, Lenarčič said, “is at odds with the established good
cooperation between OSCE/ODIHR observers and state authorities across the
United States, including in Texas.” Such action is also contrary to the United
States’ “obligations as an OSCE participating State.”
Ambassador Lenarčič continued.
Our
observers are required to remain strictly impartial and not to intervene in the
voting process in any way. They are in the United States to observe these elections,
not to interfere in them.
The
threat of criminal sanctions against OSCE/ODIHR observers is unacceptable.
[Like other countries in the OSCE], The United States has an obligation to
invite ODIHR observers to observe its elections.
Rabid “Americanism” is not patriotism. I use Helen Keller’s
note on patriotism in my book NO LAND AN ISLAND: No People Apart (published in
September) because, though she said it nearly a hundred years ago the quote expresses
what I try to convey in No land an
Island.
I
look upon the whole world as my homeland and every war to me has the horror of
family combat.
I look upon true patriotism as the society of
human beings and the service of all to all.
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| Eleanor Roosevelt Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1947 |
Rabid patriots are at war with their country, with the
countries of others and, with a sense of community or society that is implied in world existence and relations.
Rabid patriots, "nativists" or "survivalists" are delusional isolates (separatists) on an impossible island. “We cannot exist,” Eleanor Roosevelt said, “as a little island of well-being….” Indeed, islanded we cannot be well.
Rabid patriots, "nativists" or "survivalists" are delusional isolates (separatists) on an impossible island. “We cannot exist,” Eleanor Roosevelt said, “as a little island of well-being….” Indeed, islanded we cannot be well.
The young are better served reading Keller and Roosevelt than
taking their cues from people who are manipulative and paranoid, willfully and or criminally
ignorant.
Sources and notes
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights: Elections,
http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/96674
ODIHR, http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/13706?download=true
CSCE/OSCE timeline
The timeline traces the growth of the OSCE from its origins
in Helsinki into an organization with truly global reach that is actively
engaged in conflict prevention, resolution and post-conflict rehabilitation -
as well as a whole host of other activities related to security, co-operation,
human rights and more.
On August 1, 1975,
with the process of détente gradually thawing the chill that the Cold War had
cast over international relations, the Heads of State or Government of 35
nations gathered in Helsinki to sign the Final Act of the Conference on
Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE).
[1975-2005: The OSCE develops from its beginnings in 1975 as
a Conference that helped to bring together the Cold War rivals, into the
world’s largest regional security organization, whose activities promote peace
and stability from Vancouver to Vladivostok.]
The 1970s
The signing of the Helsinki Final Act in 1975 marks a
breakthrough in East-West relations. The ‘Helsinki process’ not only offers the
rival Cold War blocs permanent channels of communication, but also means that human
rights are no longer a taboo subject.
The 1980s
The collapse of communism, symbolized by the fall of the
Berlin Wall, signifies the end of the Cold War. If the CSCE is to successfully
meet the new security challenges presented by the dramatically changed European
landscape, it must adapt quickly.
The 1990s
The institutionalization of the CSCE begins with the Summit
of Heads of State in Paris in November 1990; numerous field operations and
other bodies are rapidly set up. What began as a Conference becomes a
full-fledged Organization on January 1, 1995.
The 2000s
Terrorist attacks - including September 11, 2001 - in
various countries serve as a stark reminder of the shifting security threats
the world faces. By 2005, calls are once again heard for OSCE reform. Can the
Organization adapt to meet the new challenges?
http://www.osce.org/who/timeline
The 2010s
The OSCE starts the new decade with the first Central Asian
state, Kazakhstan, at its helm, chair the Organization.
In July 2010, foreign ministers meet informally in Almaty
[Russian: Alma-Ata, formerly (1855–1921) Verny], a city in
southeastern Kazakhstan, to discuss progress under the Corfu Process, and
decide to hold the Organization’s first Summit for 11 years. Heads of State and
Government meet on December 1-2, 2010, in the capital, Astana, and agree on the
Astana Commemorative Declaration. http://www.osce.org/who/timeline/2010s
Image: OSCE flags outside the Palace of Independence, the
venue for the 2010 OSCE Summit in Astana, November 26, 2010. (OSCE/Jonathan
Perfect)
Focus of OSCE’s work
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s
comprehensive view of security covers three ‘dimensions’: the
politico-military; the economic and environmental; and the human.
The OSCE’s activities cover all three of these areas, from
‘hard’ security issues such as conflict prevention to fostering economic
development, ensuring the sustainable use of natural resources, and promoting
the full respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Arms control:
The OSCE helps to stop surplus weapons being available illegally and offers
assistance with their destruction. The OSCE has also developed mechanisms to
regulate the transfer of conventional arms, improve military transparency and
build confidence between states.
Border management:
The OSCE seeks to enhance border security while facilitating legitimate travel
and commerce, protecting human rights and promoting human contacts.
Combating human
trafficking: Human trafficking affects virtually all OSCE states, either
as countries of origin or destination.
Combating terrorism:
The OSCE contributes to world-wide efforts in combating terrorism through
activities such as promoting more secure travel documents and training border
staff, combating extremism on the internet, terrorist financing and protecting
critical infrastructure from terrorist attacks.
Conflict prevention
and resolution: The OSCE works to prevent conflicts from arising and to
facilitate lasting comprehensive political settlements for existing conflicts.
It also helps with the process of rehabilitation in post-conflict areas.
Economic activities:
The OSCE undertakes numerous activities to support economic growth, including
the strengthening of small- and medium-sized enterprises, monitoring the
economic impact of trafficking and taking action against corruption and money
laundering.
Education:
Education programs are an integral part of the Organization’s efforts in
conflict prevention and post-conflict rehabilitation. The OSCE’s youth projects
include human rights, environmental, tolerance, and gender education as well as
support for minorities in education.
Elections: The
OSCE is a leading organization in the field of election observation. It
conducts election-related activities across the 56 participating States,
including technical assistance and election observation missions.
Environmental
activities: Recognizing the close connection between environmental
issues and security, the OSCE assists participating States with the sustainable
use and sound management of natural resources.
Gender equality:
The OSCE aims to provide equal opportunities for women and men, as well as to
integrate gender equality into policies and practices, both within
participating States and the Organization itself.
Good governance:
The OSCE assists OSCE participating States in fighting corruption and in
building democratic, accountable state institutions.
Human rights:
Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms forms a key part of the
OSCE’s comprehensive security concept. The OSCE monitors the human rights
situation in its 56 participating States.
Media freedom and
development: Free and well-developed media are a cornerstone of
democratic societies. The OSCE monitors media developments in its participating
States for violations of freedom of expression. This includes reviewing
legislation regulating the media, as well as monitoring cases where journalists
are prosecuted for their professional activities or are the victims of harassment.
Military reform and
cooperation: The Forum for Security Cooperation, which meets weekly in
Vienna, provides a framework for dialogue between the OSCE participating States
on military conduct, and on confidence- and security-building measures.
Minority rights:
The OSCE identifies and seeks early resolution of ethnic tensions that might
endanger peace or stability. It promotes the rights of national minorities and
pays particular attention to the situation of Roma and Sinti.
Policing: OSCE
police operations are an integral part of the Organization's efforts in
conflict prevention and post-conflict rehabilitation.
Roma and Sinti:
The OSCE promotes the rights of Roma and Sinti through projects on political
participation, education, housing, civil registration, combating racism and
discrimination, and protecting the rights of displaced persons.
Rule of law:
The concept of rule of law forms a cornerstone of the OSCE’s human rights and
democratization activities. It not only describes formal legal frameworks, but
also aims at justice based on the full acceptance of human dignity.
http://www.osce.org/what
Observation USA: OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights Observation of General Elections in the United States, November 6,
2012, http://www.osce.org/odihr/94913
OSCE
Partners for Cooperation
The OSCE maintains special relations with 12 countries,
which are known as Partners for Cooperation: six countries in the Mediterranean
region, five in Asia in addition to Australia.
Mediterranean Partners for Cooperation
Algeria
Egypt
Israel
Jordan
Morocco
Tunisia
Asian Partners for Cooperation
Japan (1992)
South Korea (1994)
Thailand (2000)
Afghanistan (2003)
Mongolia (2004)
In 2009, Australia
was granted the status of Partner for Cooperation and invited to participate in
the meetings of the Contact Group with the Asian Partners for Cooperation.
http://www.osce.org/who/84
OSCE Funding and budget: The OSCE is funded by contributions
from its 56 member States and its annual budget is around 150 million Euros
($192,465,000). On December 22, 2011, the OSCE Permanent Council adopted the
Organization’s Unified Budget for 2012: EUR 148,055,400 [$189,866,244.96] (PC
Decision 1028).
Staffing and employment: The OSCE employs some 550 people in
its various institutions and around 2,330 in its field operations.
Locally-contracted employees outnumber international seconded employees by
roughly three to one. Seconded staff members are funded by their national
administrations. http://www.osce.org/who/86
“Texas, Iowa threatening to arrest International election
observers” (Jean MacKenzie GlobalPost.com), November 1, 2012,
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/texas-iowa-threatening-arrest-international-election-observers?page=full
OSCE PRESS RELEASE October 24, 2012, WARSAW ─ “Threat of
criminal prosecution of observers at odds with established co-operation on
United States elections, ODIHR Director says, ” http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/96639
HELEN ADAMS KELLER (1880-1968): United States writer,
lecturer and educator (born blind and deaf); author of The Story of My Life (1903),
Optimism (1903), The World I Live In (1908), My Religion (1927), Helen Keller’s
Journal (1938), and The Open Door (1957). She established a $2 million
endowment fund for the American Foundation for the Blind on whose behalf she
had done lecture tours that took her several times around the world.
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT (Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, 1884-1962): United
States writer, lecturer, diplomat, humanitarian who, as delegate to the United
Nations Assembly, chaired the Commission on Human Rights (1946-51) [later
through 1952 U.S. representative to the UN General Assembly] and played a major
role in the drafting and adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(1948). As United States First Lady (1933-1945) and after, she toured
extensively throughout the United States reporting to the president; and
traveled several times around the world visiting scores of countries,
conferring with most of the world’s leaders. Particularly interested in the
welfare of children, reforms in housing and equal rights for women and
minorities, Eleanor Roosevelt inaugurated regular White House press conferences
for women correspondents, forcing wire services to hire women to ensure their
wires’ representation. In 1936, Eleanor Roosevelt began writing a daily
syndicated newspaper column (“My Day”) and continued this work into 1962. Her
books include, This is my story, This I remember, India and the Awakening East,
You learn by living, The Lady of the White House (1938), The Moral basis of
Democracy (1940), On My Own (1958), The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt
(1937, 1949, 1958, 1960, 1961) [ER told her own story in various places: in addition
to the ‘My Day’ columns, she published her autobiography in magazine
installments, in multiple volumes, and finally in an abridged form as Eleanor
Roosevelt, Autobiography (1961, reissued in 1992 as The Autobiography of
Eleanor Roosevelt]. The Eleanor Roosevelt Story by Archibald MacLeish published
in 1965; Transcripts of ER’s press conferences in Maurine Beasley (ed.): The
White House Press Conferences of Eleanor Roosevelt (1987); by Blanche Wiesen
Cook: Eleanor Roosevelt, 2 volumes (1992-99)
Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy
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