The Turkish government, as you know, has cracked down hard on its citizens in the wake of the recent failed coup attempt there -- not just by blocking news websites or detaining journalists, but by "suspending" some 50,000 civil servants and detaining over 1,000 judges and prosecutors. Oh, and the Turkish government also detained 60 schoolkids -- for treason! The less spiritually advanced among us will find that comic, I suppose, but it's no laughing matter; kids look to adults for guidance and protection, not oppression. A government that arrests and detains that many of its citizens -- citizens who serve the public, no less -- is clearly a desperate government unworthy of the power its citizens have granted it. Luckily, Turkey has no right and no authority to prevent good citizens from speaking out against their willingness to oppress their citizens, so Amnesty International helps you tell Turkish President Erdogan to stop using a "state of emergency" as an excuse to abridge the human rights of good Turkish citizens. Remember: a good leader can stop turmoil without becoming a monster.
Meanwhile, newly-elected Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte -- long suspected of "cleaning up" Davao City with "Davao death squads" while Mayor -- has openly encouraged good Philippine citizens to kill people who use or sell drugs, resulting in the deaths of some 700 folks in recent weeks. Innocent, guilty, whatever! You may argue that those people know what's going on in their neighborhoods, but I would argue that too many of them will use Mr. Duterte's "suggestion" to cover up a petty revenge killing. We have a judicial system and a law enforcement system to pre-empt such things. So what can we, as Americans, do about this? Well, here's what we shouldn't do (and which, of course, our government has done): pledge over $30 million in aid for law enforcement training. Sure, "training law enforcement" could stem this vigilante violence -- except in a land where the President himself encourages it. So the Drug Policy Alliance helps you tell our Secretary of State to cut off aid while these murders go on in the Philippines.
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