Not that I scour the internet for bad news, but http://www.guardian.co.uk lets me know that there is real work to be done. The following is from a special report on how an Israeli officer seems to have killedmurdered a child in cold blood:
The officer, identified by the army only as Captain R, was charged this week with illegal use of his weapon, conduct unbecoming an officer and other relatively minor infractions after emptying all 10 bullets from his gun’s magazine into Iman al-Hams when she walked into a “security area” on the edge of Rafah refugee camp last month.A tape recording of radio exchanges between soldiers involved in the incident, played on Israeli television, contradicts the army’s account of the events and appears to show that the captain shot the girl in cold blood.
The official account claimed that Iman was shot as she walked towards an army post with her schoolbag because soldiers feared she was carrying a bomb.
But the tape recording of the radio conversation between soldiers at the scene reveals that, from the beginning, she was identified as a child and at no point was a bomb spoken about nor was she described as a threat. Iman was also at least 100 yards from any soldier.
Instead, the tape shows that the soldiers swiftly identified her as a “girl of about 10″ who was “scared to death”.
And while we were sleeping…
America’s religious right has scored its first legislative victory since George Bush’s re-election by inserting a clause into a spending bill to undermine state laws requiring hospitals to provide abortions.
The provision, a last-minute addition to a $388bn budget bill, was approved by Congress without debate at the weekend in one of its last acts of this legislative session. It is expected soon to be signed into law by President Bush.
To be fair, from what I understand the bill makes all health agencies, no matter if they provide abortions or not, eligible for federal funds. I’m not sure how I feel about that.
My question is this. Will this make it easier for hospitals and other agencies to refuse to provide access to safe, legal abortions?
Comments (3)
That isn’t the only thing slipped in that no one caught. Someone tried to give members of Congress the power to review any income tax form without cause.
Fortunately, that one was caught and removed from the bill before it was sent to the President.
And the juggernaut of lost civil rights motors along….I’m reading Graydon Carter’s ‘What We’ve Lost’ (Vanity Fair fame) Hel-looooo…are Americans even awake? and what about the political officials elected to represent us?
OK, there is a right and there is a left, and somewhere in the middle is the truth. In this case the middle seems pretty far right to me.
Ashley
This story and thousands just like it are so sad Rash. God bless that little girl and her family and all of Iraq for that matter. This US-led invasion is just wrong. Imagine if Iraq had invaded the US. Bet the rest of the world would have had no problem stepping up to the plate then. Its one thing for my country to say its wrong, but what exactly are they doing about it!!