Derailing Democracy

Book excerpt: Is the U.S. a beacon of progress? That's how the mainstream media want you to see it. But in Derailing Democracy: The America the Media Don't Want You to See, David McGowan has compiled an index of disturbing facts that point to ominous trends. Did you know: -- We're number one: the United States has the highest number of death-row inmates of any country on Earth: 3,300. -- That the U.S. is one of only two countries to defy an International Court ruling (over Nicaragua 1986) -- the other one is Iran. -- That only a handful of countries opposed a 1998 UN Commission on Human Rights call for a moratorium on all executions -- Bangladesh, China, South Korea, Rwanda, and the United States. -- That 133 nations, including virtually all U.S. allies, have signed a treaty banning landmines -- but the U.S. insists on continued production. -- That in 1996 the list of the top ten richest people in the world contained two Americans who held 28% of the wealth on the list; by 1999 they numbered seven out of ten, with 84% of the wealth. -- Since the early 1990s, more than 60 people in the USA are reported to have died in police custody after being exposed to pepper spray. -- That the U.S. is selling surveillance equipment to countries with the worst human rights records -- so that they can track dissidents in an international tracking system for individuals 'of interest.' -- That the California prison population grew from 19,600 in 1977 to 159,000 in 1998. -- Stun belts used on prisoners have been widely condemned for the incapacitating pain they deliver. In instances where children are tried as adults, they are not exempted from wearing the belts. From mandatory minimumsentencing laws to new more liberal search-and-seizure rules, from Three Strikes You're Out to congressional legislation for a national ID card, in Derailing Democracy, David McGowan has compiled the facts to show that the noose around democracy is tightening every day.