Intermarkets' Privacy Policy
Support


Donate to Ace of Spades HQ!


Contact
Ace:
aceofspadeshq at gee mail.com
Buck:
buck.throckmorton at protonmail.com
CBD:
cbd at cutjibnewsletter.com
joe mannix:
mannix2024 at proton.me
MisHum:
petmorons at gee mail.com
J.J. Sefton:
sefton at cutjibnewsletter.com


Recent Entries
Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024
Captain Hate 2023
moon_over_vermont 2023
westminsterdogshow 2023
Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022
Dave In Texas 2022
Jesse in D.C. 2022
OregonMuse 2022
redc1c4 2021
Tami 2021
Chavez the Hugo 2020
Ibguy 2020
Rickl 2019
Joffen 2014
AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published. Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me
Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups






















« Baghdad Thugs/Animals Murder Children's Entertainers | Main | McCarthy Almost Certainly Was Not a Decision-Maker In Sending Joe Wilson to Niger »
April 23, 2006

"Euston Group" Liberals Argue, Shockingly, In Favor Of Democracy, Civilization, and... War

Their manifesto. These people are forever writing manifestos. But this one's a little different than most:

A. Preamble

We are democrats and progressives. We propose here a fresh political alignment. Many of us belong to the Left, but the principles that we set out are not exclusive. We reach out, rather, beyond the socialist Left towards egalitarian liberals and others of unambiguous democratic commitment. Indeed, the reconfiguration of progressive opinion that we aim for involves drawing a line between the forces of the Left that remain true to its authentic values, and currents that have lately shown themselves rather too flexible about these values. It involves making common cause with genuine democrats, whether socialist or not.

The present initiative has its roots in and has found a constituency through the Internet, especially the "blogosphere". It is our perception, however, that this constituency is under-represented elsewhere β€” in much of the media and the other forums of contemporary political life.

...

B. Statement of principles

1) For democracy.

We are committed to democratic norms, procedures and structures β€” freedom of opinion and assembly, free elections, the separation of legislative, executive and judicial powers, and the separation of state and religion. We value the traditions and institutions, the legacy of good governance, of those countries in which liberal, pluralist democracies have taken hold.

2) No apology for tyranny.

We decline to make excuses for, to indulgently "understand", reactionary regimes and movements for which democracy is a hated enemy β€” regimes that oppress their own peoples and movements that aspire to do so. We draw a firm line between ourselves and those left-liberal voices today quick to offer an apologetic explanation for such political forces.

3) Human rights for all.

We hold the fundamental human rights codified in the Universal Declaration to be precisely universal, and binding on all states and political movements, indeed on everyone. Violations of these rights are equally to be condemned whoever is responsible for them and regardless of cultural context. We reject the double standards with which much self-proclaimed progressive opinion now operates, finding lesser (though all too real) violations of human rights which are closer to home, or are the responsibility of certain disfavoured governments, more deplorable than other violations that are flagrantly worse. We reject, also, the cultural relativist view according to which these basic human rights are not appropriate for certain nations or peoples.

Quixotic and unlikely to have any greater effect than allowing the 600 signees to blow off steam, but it's always a good thing when men and women stand on good principle.

This Guardian writer, presumably a socialist himself, engages in the typical Bush, Blair, and Rumsfeld bashing, but actually seems to comprehend that there is a difference between democratic civilization and tyranical barbarism:

You can sympathise with the Euston group's frustration, along with its condemnation of reflex anti-Americanism. Again, studying Asia has influenced my thinking. In March 1947, Truman reversed the policy of ruralising defeated Japan and, instead, decided to build it up as a liberal capitalist democracy, along with others in Asia, against communism. There have been disasters and fiascos along the way (Vietnam), but in 2006, not many would say the strategic policy was wrong. My hunch is that in 60 years' time, we may make the same judgment about trying to promote democracy in the Middle East.

Via Memeorandum.


digg this
posted by Ace at 11:12 AM

| Access Comments




Recent Comments
Thomas Paine: "Jennifer Granholm made over a million dollars on t ..."

Defenestratus: "about 15 minutes Posted by: Ciampino - Singing qu ..."

SMOD: "An Auburn University study says every single regul ..."

pudinhead: "Canada first ... as an invasion dress rehersal. ..."

Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ : "The back of the bus is a good place to be...at cer ..."

Sharon(willow's apprentice): "Didn't a bunch of school buses catch fire ? I thin ..."

Ciampino - Singing quietly has never been my forte: "[b]ISRO - PSLV-CA - SpaDeX [/b] [b]Launch Time: ..."

Defenestratus: "49 Electric vehicles will make invading Russia har ..."

Lizzy[/i]: ">> Has a school district ANYWHERE been used as a t ..."

pudinhead: "48 Has a school district ANYWHERE been used as a t ..."

XTC: "40 Just because the manifest unfair siphoning of m ..."

Commissar of Plenty and Lysenkoism in Solidarity with the Struggle : "School bus driver charged with driving 32 kids whi ..."

Recent Entries
Search


Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Top Top Tens
Greatest Hitjobs

The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon
A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates
Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny
More Margaret Cho Abuse
Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny
Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman
Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format
John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia
World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading
Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree
Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears
Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed"
Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility
Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips
They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan
Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq
Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town
When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool
What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means
Wonkette's Stand-Up Act
Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour
Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider
My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty
Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA
An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear
The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report!
Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet
The House of Love: Paul Krugman
A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
Powered by
Movable Type 2.64