Behind The Headlines: The Impact Caused By Some Of Today's News

Some news days are bigger than others but there is always news to report. The past twenty-four hours have brought have seen development online, with the Occupy Movement and in Libya that are of concern. It’s a big world but sometimes it seems like these things are happening right next door. Perhaps it is because they affect us all in one way or another’s

Two Days Into The New and Free Libya

While many in the west are focusing on the fact that Libya, like Tunisia may be heading towards the formation of an Islamist government, it isn’t a concern for me. If we believe what we preach, then a people have the right to self-determination within their own country regardless of what the rest of us think. If the people of Libya want to replace one form of tyranny with another, it’s their business.

What bothers me about today’s Libya is that the interim government is allowing the rape of wives, sisters and daughters of former members of the Qaddafi regime.  Apparently Sahria Law permits this but it is barbaric. If a people want to live in a theocracy, that is their right to choose but it doesn’t mean they have to discard decency and respect for the lives of others. It is, after all, what they were fighting against when they rebelled against Qaddafi.

I think foreign governments should think carefully before providing aid to a regime that has so little regard for the rights and safety of anyone in their country, especially the defenseless. We may not approve of their developing theocracy but we don’t have to support it financially or in any other way unless they guarantee fundamental human rights.

Anonymous Attacks Child Porn Site

I’ve known too many people in my life who were the victims of child abuse. It’s a terrible crime that destroys lives and often leads to some form of mental illness and dysfunction. As one doctor put it once, child abuse is the gift that keeps on giving. The effects of it last a lifetime.

So I reacted to this story on two levels. ON an emotional level I was cheering for Anonymous but on a practical level, I was disappointed by what they did.

First, I don’t believe you can fight injustice by being unjust and I don’t believe that you can fight crime by being a criminal. Hacking is illegal and even if you occasionally hack a criminal site, it doesn’t legitimize what you do.

Secondly, Anonymous only shut the site down for 24hours which means that it didn’t really accomplish much in the war against pedophiles; it merely inconvenienced them for a short time. It would have been better if Anonymous had used its skills to track information that it could turn over to law enforcement so that he pedophiles behind this site and who use it could have been arrested and tracked down.

Grandstanding isn’t going to protect society, it is merely grandstanding and is one of the few things that politicians do well.

Honour Killing Trial in Canada

The father and mother of three girls are on trial with their son for the murder of their three daughters and their aunt. The four were bludgeoned and then drowned when the car they were in was pushed into a canal.

The world is a big place with many languages, religions and cultures. Some are more oppressive than others and some are difficult for others to understand but on this point there can be no compromise. Killing someone, especially your own children in a misguided attempt to protect the family honour just can’t be condoned in western society.

It’s time for the politically correct to allow immigration policies that  re direct in defining what is expected of new comers to our countries and what is not permitted. It is also time for the politically correct to stop hiding evil behind cautious language. There is no such thing as an honour killing. Murder is murder and if we are going to fight it, we need to call it what it is.

It’s Small Wonder People Are Declining to Vote in Increasing Numbers

Ontario is the largest province (state) in Canada and recently held elections to the provincial legislature. Premier Dalton McGuinty was running for his third term in office and went into the election with a significant deficit in the polls. He had become unpopular for many of his expensive policies and for his ongoing inability or unwillingness to keep his word.

During the election, one of his cabinet ministers found himself running behind the Conservative candidate. The issue in that riding was a gas-fired energy plant that the McGuinty government was in the process of building. The people of the riding wanted it out of their riding and to help change the flagging support for his cabinet minister, the premier promised to move the plant elsewhere.

Just as he did in his first election when he signed a pledge not to raise taxes and then raised them once he was elected, The Premier has once again failed to keep his word and construction on the plant continues.

Cynical politicians are the reason that so many are turning away from the election process but it is also true that it is the electorate that has trained politicians that they can say and do as they please. If people want real change in politics, they must vote but not for the people who lied to them the last time. Otherwise, you only get the government you deserve.

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