Short Shorts 27 Dec 2004

Toronto

Gay marriage wins: Canada’s Supreme Court ruled this week that gay marriage did not violate the country’s constitution, clearing the way for legislators who want to make it legal nationwide. Gwendolyn Landolt of Real Women of Canada, a conservative group, said voters would throw liberals out of power if they went ahead with their plans. But polls say Canadians overwhelmingly support gay marriage. While 11 American states recently banned the same-sex unions, courts in six of Canada’s 10 provinces have ruled that outlawing gay marriage is unconstitutional. “It’s hard to believe,” said Toronto lawyer Douglas Elliott, “that just a river separates us from the United States.”

Voxleo: So it seems like Canada and the US are worlds apart when it comes to recognition of gay rights. Don't get me wrong, I personally am not a fan of the gay lifestyle, but I think gays should be accorded the full protection of the law and also from each other. If "normal" couples can get into huge ugly divorces, so can gays, and we all know the only people who stand to profit are those dirty lawyers.


Unalaska Island, Alaska

Disaster at sea: Alaskan rescuers this week stopped searching for six shipwrecked sailors who were pitched into icy waters when a helicopter crashed trying to save them. The men had been aboard the Malaysian freighter Selendang Ayu, which ran aground and split in two off Unalaska Island, in the Bering Sea. The Coast Guard helicopter crew survived, and 20 other sailors were rescued. At least 40,000 gallons of the 738-foot vessel’s 500,000 gallons of oil and fuel quickly leaked out near a wildlife refuge full of endangered sea lions and birds. Salvage crews battled violent seas trying to contain the spill, which threatened to become the worst in Alaska since the Exxon Valdez lost 11 million gallons, in 1989.

Voxleo: The Malaysians got into some trouble. A pity 6 lives had to be lost.

Vienna

U.S. spied on IAEA: The Bush administration intercepted telephone calls from the head of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency to Iranian diplomats, The Washington Post reported this week. Administration officials are combing transcripts of the calls to look for evidence of wrongdoing by Mohamed ElBaradei, secretary-general of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the paper said, quoting unnamed administration sources. The Bush administration has been critical of ElBaradei since he questioned American evidence of an Iraqi nuclear program; now some officials suspect that he is coddling Iran. The IAEA took the reports of spying in stride. “We’ve always assumed that this kind of thing goes on,” IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky said. “We wish it were otherwise, but we know the reality.”

Voxleo: What's suprising is not that the US government spied on the IAEA (not a big deal really), but rather that a US newspaper reported it. Talk about free press. Too often the Singaporean government's excuse for not allowing a free press is that it might stir up racial hatred and such. Yet in a multi-racial country like the US, where desegregation is still ongoing, newspapers are allowed to go on and on about anything they want. I've had flyers from right wing Christian groups, to having to endure left wing anti-war protesters outside of my room. Talk about free speech and free press. Too bad out Straits Times, or should i say Straight Jacket, would most probably spy for the government, and not be a whistle blower.

Tokyo

Bogus bones: Japan threatened economic sanctions against North Korea this week after the totalitarian country tried to pass off random bones and ashes as the remains of a Japanese prisoner. The North Korean government kidnapped Megumi Yokota in 1977, when she was 13, and used her as a language instructor for North Korean spies. In what was supposed to be a goodwill gesture, the regime presented Japanese diplomats last week with a box of remains said to be those of Yokota, but tests showed they belonged to several different people. The Japanese, who venerate their dead, were appalled. “We are so stunned at this development,” said Tokyo’s Asahi Shimbun in an editorial, “that we cannot adequately express our indignation.”

Voxleo: North Korea is up to its old tricks again. C'mon guys, play fair and nice. I really don't need a flare up in the neighbourhood.

Kampala, Uganda

U.S. AIDS drug flawed: The National Institutes of Health admitted this week that it withheld potentially damaging results of research into an AIDS drug that the U.S. donated to Africa. In 2002, President Bush announced a $500 million program to provide African countries with stocks of nevirapine, a drug that helps prevent the transmission of HIV from mothers to babies during birth. Since then, thousands of African women have received the drug. But the NIH did not tell the White House that some of its research, particularly a study in Uganda, suggested a high level of adverse, even lethal, reactions to the drug. African doctors shrugged off the news, saying the drug had already saved thousands of lives. “What you may call a serious side effect in the U.S. is not a serious side effect in Kampala,” said Francis Mmiro, a lead doctor in the Uganda study.


Voxleo: To all those bleeding left wingers out there, read what the good doctor said. Sometimes by being a compassionate left-winger we forget that flawed solutions are better than no solutions. Sure the drugs have flaws, but it saves lots of lives too. Think about that the next time you get the urge to go wave a banner.

General Santos, Philippines

Christmas market horror: A bomb exploded in an outdoor market in the southern Philippines last week, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens. The market, in the city of General Santos, was especially crowded because extra kiosks selling Christmas ornaments and gifts had just been set up. No group claimed responsibility for the blast, but Islamic and communist separatist rebels have attacked in the region before. The Philippines has been an active ally in the U.S. war on terror, sharing intelligence and troops and allowing U.S. forces to use its territory. Christmas is a major holiday in the mostly Catholic country.


Voxleo: Isn't it nice that Singapore foils such plans, maybe the ISD isn't so bad afterall. Then again we don't need to hold people without trial indefinetely, especially if they're terrorists.