I was not aware of all the facts regarding the abortion issue, thank for filling in the blanks. On that note I still think a women has a right to decide if she wants to have an abortion, even at that time. If they we're determined to, they could attempt an illegal one that, being outside a centre would pose a health risk to the women involved. Regarding whether a girl who was raped would wait that long, they may not be of sound mind, in a panic they could have run away from home or any number of other reasons.
Sharon is a fascist, plain and simple, the idea that he is conducting an organized war on terror is bull, his forces are fairly incriminate you'd be surprised just how inaccurate tanks and helicopter gunships can be! Also the fact remains that they are using military might to oppress the Palestine people where's the Palestine terrorists that I in no way shape or form condone are acting independent of their Government. Granted Arafat was slow to condemn the terrorists and should have taken tougher action against them and I do not consider him to be a viable leader for the Palestine people.
The removing of shoes at airports may well be the only thing that directly affects you, although I doubt it but there are other issues. Under anti terrorism laws people who are not American citizens can be arrested and held indefinitely without even being charged! There is also the fact issue of the Government being able to tap your phone and then they can tap the phone of anyone you happen to call and the calls they record without your knowledge can then be used in court.
Why would you want a international court of justice, well for one thing is it a hell of a lot more accountable since it will be in independent body and no doubt a vast improvement over your own Government which routinely ignores violations in human rights and it's own scared constitution and proven time and time again to be one of the croupiest Governments on the planet.
For example Coco Cola is acting appallingly in Columbia right now, on Saturday I personally spoke with two representatives from the Colombia Solidarity Campaign who came to England this Saturday in order to attend the International Socialist Resistance annual conference. They told us of Coco Cola's illegal monopoly in Columbia over soft drinks, how workers work 12-14 hour a day shifts, 7-days a week for a little over $100 a month. How handing out any trade union material is enough to get your fired or receive sever disciplinary measures and joining a trade union results in instant dismissal. But things have grown far worse in recent years, in order to counter the increasing threat of the trade unions and the organized workers Coco Cola are funding paramilitary death squads that to date have assassinated eight trade union leaders. One of the very men who addressed the conference, via a translator, told us how it was abducted by the paramilitary under the excuse of terrorism and how he was held for 6-months without trial and repeatedly beaten. All of the crap the Coco Cola are doing have been taken to a US court and while it did indeed concede that this is happening when it came to following through they ran into a brick wall…the US Government! They do not give a damn what their own companies and the American citizens running those companies get up to, why should they when both the Democrats and the Republicans are the parties of big business and fully indorse exploitation at every level?
This leads me into the question of the terrorist threat, now you did happen to misquote me earlier, I did not say 'nonexistent' I said 'almost nonexistent' which is a world of difference. I do except that the terrorists so pose a threat, the bombing in Turkey on Thursday clearly demonstrate that. Let us remove the horrific tragedy that was 9/11 for the moment, how many people have died in the two years that followed. The total number of British citizens who have died in the two years, in which there has been this massive threat hanging over the West is...4! That's right, 4 and all of those four died in the bombings on Thursday! I believe, although I could be wrong and am more than willing to except new figures, that the total number of US dead since 9/11 is...3 as a result of the anthrax incident. In those same two years more people have died chocking on McDonalds toys, or died through setting fire to themselves while cooking. We have to look at things in perspective, more children die in the third world because of lack of clean drinking water in a day than every victim of Al-Qieda in the two years of the war on terror, including 9/11. As a side note the poverty that keeps children starving in the third world is mainly the result of the US and it tariffs, not only the steel tariffs but the heavy way in which they tax trade in the so called free market.
The most important issue is that Governments us the terrorist threat in order to excuse attacks on civil liberties and tax rises. The vast amount of money the US Government is spending on defence, tax payers money, is not in any way accountable so there is no way of knowing what it is being used for.
On an ironic note, if the vast amount of money being spent on defence was used instead to lift the third world out of poverty, which it could easily with hundreds of Billions to spare it would certainly reduce the resentment those third world countries have towards the US and reduce terrorism as a result.
Listen a 'proven' terrorist or terrorist supporter deserves nothing less than the full weight of the law (stopping short of the death penalty which I will go into later.) What is at stake is not the way, proven, convicted terrorists are treated but the way in which people who have not even been charged are treated. I thought one of the most cherished of American values was 'innocent until proven guilty?' This does not apply in Camp X-ray. People are held without charge (including a 9-year old girl in one instance) in conditions that would make some of the worst dictators on the planet blush. Only recently have they even been given toilets in their tiny cells, before then they had to live with their own waste, however the installation of toilet facilities had taken space in the cells so that they don't even have room to lie down! They are not allowed to see their families, the press are denied access, as are amnesty international. When their trail finally does come up it is a military tribunal. They have an appointed lawyer they are not allowed to consult with before the trial, giving them not opportunity to see any of the evidence or make any attempts to acquire any evidence they can use in their defence. The jury is made up of military personal with a military judge...can you honestly say they will be impartial? The worse part comes at the end though when find out that even if the person is given a not guilty, even then they can still be held at camp X-ray indefinably!
The US economy on a rise, ha! I agree it's going up but I'll tell you why, it's going up because of browed money and sooner or later that money has to be paid back. Also this small growth has not convinced the most powerful stockholders and if anyone knows how to judge the stock market it's them.
I was under the impression, although I could be wrong, that Jesus often spoke out against the death penalty? I'm sure killing murders is convenient but I thought Jesus also preached forgiveness? Also what about circumstances? True there is a small minority of killers out there who have no apparent reason to excuse their crimes but often there is at least some reason which may not be revealed in the court and of course there is always the possibly of innocent people being put to death, it's rare but it happens.
Ok I'll concede defeat on the army issue, at least for now because I have a distant lack of evidence to back up my claim, if there is even any merit for it. I am not arrogant so that I will not admit that I may be wrong on some issues.
The fact that the police forces are not under federal control at all was the point I was making, the Government should sit on the fence and allow things such as the needless beating of non whites to carry on unabated. The fact that it is happening and continues to happen proves that the local bodies are incapable or unwilling to sort it out, it is under these instances in which the Government should intervene. After all if the US Government had no problem invading and occupying other countries, partly under the grounds of human rights abuses then surly they would have no trouble lending that same duty to their own citizens?
