Press Release:

Amnesty International recognizes the sovereign right of states to control their borders, and does not condone contravening the law. However, the organization stresses that no policy of border controls can be at the expense of the international human rights obligations of the state. Amnesty International is concerned that in this case Daniel Strauss and Shanti Sellz face punishment, possibly involving a prison term, solely for providing humanitarian aid to individuals in need of urgent assistance. Given the high death toll among undocumented migrants crossing the Arizona desert, Strauss and Sellz were arguably acting directly to protect and preserve life, a basic human right to which everyone is entitled.

Amnesty International notes that at no point did either of the two assist migrants to enter the USA in contravention of the law, nor did they appear to be helping them to circumvent immigration controls. Their activities were confined to assisting the three men appearing to be in need of urgent medical treatment. Amnesty International further notes reports that volunteers have provided humanitarian assistance in similar circumstances openly for several years without being penalized.

In view of these circumstances, and on the basis of the facts as presented, Amnesty International is supporting calls for the charges to be dropped in this case and considers that, if convicted and imprisoned, Daniel Strauss and Shanti Sellz would be prisoners of conscience.

No More Deaths

I have no idea if this is real or not.

Via springheel_jack, where threepunchstuff adds, The translator took a few liberties there. "He says if you don't hit it, he's going to hit you."

They've sunk the posts deep into the ground
They've strung out wires all the way around.
With machine gun nests just over there,
And sentries and soldiers everywhere.

We're trapped like rats in a wired cage,
To fret and fume with impotent rage;
Yonder whispers the lure of the night,
But that DAMNED FENCE assails our sight.

We seek the softness of the midnight air,
But that DAMNED FENCE in the floodlight glare
Awakens unrest in our nocturnal quest,
And mockingly laughs with vicious jest.

With nowhere to go and nothing to do,
We feel terrible, lonesome, and blue:
That DAMNED FENCE is driving us crazy,
Destroying our youth and making us lazy.

Imprisoned in here for a long, long time,
We know we're punished--though we've committed no crime,
Our thoughts are gloomy and enthusiasm damp,
To be locked up in a concentration camp.

Loyalty we know, and patriotism we feel,
To sacrifice our utmost was our ideal,
To fight for our country, and die, perhaps;
But we're here because we happen to be Japs.

We all love life, and our country best,
Our misfortune to be here in the west,
To keep us penned behind that DAMNED FENCE,
Is someone's notion of NATIONAL DEFENCE!

This is the type of injustice that right-wingers such as Michelle Malkin justify and glorify.

This is the end result of the mind-set which says you can imprison people indefinitely without a trial and suspend Constitutional rights because you're at war.

This is Poston, Arizona Concentration Camp, 1942 - 1946.