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Human Rights First
Advocacy Strategist on Refugee Protection for Human Rights First; former Advocacy Coordinator for the US Campaign for Burma
PROFILE
Jennifer Quigley
Guest
FROM Jennifer Quigley
To the Point
Is the US Taking its Fair Share of International Refugees? More than a million refugees crowded into Europe last year, and Germany made a deal with Turkey to help reduce the flow. That's forcing migrants to choose a more dangerous route -- from Libya to Italy -- and last week alone, almost a thousand drowned in the Mediterranean Sea. Now the deal with Turkey may be in trouble, but that won't reduce the flight of desperate fugitives from the Middle East and Africa. The US has agreed to take just 75,000 — after exhaustive screening. So few have made it that America's being accused of failing to meet its moral obligations.
To the Point
Myanmar's Suu Kyi Rejoins Political Arena On his way to the Asian Summit in Bali, President Obama spoke by phone yesterday with Aung San Suu Kyi , the Nobel-Prize-winning opposition leader in Burma, or Myanmar. Today, Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy agreed to register for elections, an expression of confidence in recent reforms. Jennifer Quigley is advocacy coordinator for the US Campaign for Burma, a human rights group in Washington.
To the Point
Relief Efforts Continue in Myanmar In the aftermath of Saturday's cyclone in Myanmar, the official estimates of the death toll have risen to 50,000 with two to three million additional people now homeless. That's according to foreign aid workers struggling to provide relief to remote areas in an isolated country. Jennifer Quigley is advocacy coordinator for the US Campaign for Burma .
To the Point
What Should the US Do about Burma? Despite years of isolation by a despotic regime, the world is watching the military crackdown on peaceful protesters in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. The official death toll is now ten. Diplomats in the capital say it's more than that by "many multiples." Now there are reports of "unusual troop movements" and a disagreement between the chief of the military junta and his second in command, who leads the army. Condoleezza Rice calls the crackdown a " travesty ," and neighboring countries have expressed "revulsion," but all eyes are on China, which has ruled out sanctions. We get an update and background on a country compared to North Korea for brutalizing a starving population. With no economic interests, should the US still intervene or keep a low profile? Have Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo damaged America's moral standing?
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To the Point
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
To the Point
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.