All The News That's Fit To Miss

Monday, April 02, 2007

Well, it's Monday. Nothing big really happened to me this weekend. It's too early in the week to turn the Outrage-ometer all the way up, so instead, a Monday News Roundup:

1) Some people are too sick for words. Enough said.

2) Somebody has to take some leadership. I am a little grumpy about the title of the article on CNN, because her visit is much more than a pro-Israel, anti-Hezbollah tour de force. The Whitehouse continues to employ their "if we don't like 'em, we ignore 'em" policy, whereas Syria, if not ignored, could play a major role in MidEast peace and reconstruction.

3) THIS is a safe neighborhood walk? Jesus. Sure, when you have a small army accompanying you, anything is pretty safe.[thanks to Think Progress] But to insist there is a drop in violence flies in the face of the facts. 6 more soldiers dead that very same day. Read the whole article. Lots of blood.

4) This is what "one of the world's worst terrorists" got for a sentence on the charges levied against him. Do I think it should be more? Not the point. The point is that the case against him, as well as the "system" that is keeping these people is weaqk at best. World's worst terrorist got the sentence of a shoplifter.

Discuss.

8 comments:

Anonymous,  10:23 AM  

There are some crimes that cannot be properly punished. Just when I started to worry that I was becoming too much of a bleeding-heart liberal, that woman brought back my good ol' fashioned desire to see someone stoned to death in the town square.

As for Iraq, the one thing that McCain failed to mention is that while sectarian attacks may have dipped in Baghdad (though I haven't been convinced of that), everyone seems to agree that violence has INCREASED in outlying provinces (al-Anbar, etc.).

Did no one consider the possibility that these people might just hop in their 1983 pick-up trucks and drive down the road 30 miles to attack something else? Or did we think they would just see a few American uniforms and decide, "well, crap, I guess I have to go home and watch Gray's Anatomy"?

Granted, this could give the Iraqi legislature time to meet and hammer out a deal... but then again, four years after the invasion they still can't assemble a quorum yet. Whoops.

Noah 10:46 AM  

Excellent link, Mr. F. It never had anything to do with justice, and has as much to do with saving Cheney's face as the Aussie Prez.

And yeah, b mac, business could be getting done in Iraq if they could assemble a quorum. Touch to do, though, when the routes to the Capitol are blown up, blocked or surrounded by snipers.

Anonymous,  11:11 AM  

What do you mean? Baghdad is a place of peace and tranquility, where a person can walk around freely and without fear. John McCain said so (and his personal company of praetorian agreed).

I hear they are even getting a petting zoo soon. No word on when the water park is going to open.

Mike 12:12 PM  

That first link actually made me gasp.

Noah 12:42 PM  

That first link actually made me gasp.

As it did me. I only wish it were a cruel joke for April Fools' Day. But alas. Absolutely sick.

steves 2:23 PM  

I wish I could say that the things that happen in that ifrst story are almost unheard of, but they are not. I am personally familiar with 4 or 5 cases in my relatively short career, where parents did something like that. I also worked with at least 100 children that were molested by their parents or by mom's boyfriend.

I don't have an easy solution. I can honestly say that most treatments do not work very well. Punishments seem to be all over the place. There are some high-profile offenders that go to prison for a long time, but many receive probation and madatory counseling. What makes it even more complex is that most children that are molested know their 'molester.' It is often a fmaily member. When they do get the courage to say something, there is pressure to keep quiet. If the molester goes to trial and there is a conviction, the the victm feels some degree of guilt at having sent a family member to prison.

Sorry to pontificate for so long, but unlike most things I comment on, this is something that I actually know a lot about.

As for McCain, I was talking to someone that lives in the SW. He said that McCain has little support from his home state and they he is gone after the next election. I'm not sure, but it is interesting to think about.

I hate to be a pessimist, but I don't see democracy in the immediate future for Iraq. I'd be willing to bet that within a year after leaving, some unknown colonel will stage a coup and they will return to a dictatorship. I am just not convinced that Iraq wants, or is ready for democracy.

Noah 2:37 PM  

but unlike most things I comment on, this is something that I actually know a lot about.

Actually, your input is valuable, given your profession and understanding of the effectiveness of treatment. How do you treat Sicko? I am not sure you can.

I hate to be a pessimist, but I don't see democracy in the immediate future for Iraq.

I think that is pretty close to a universally-held belief. At least on my blog!

steves 9:50 PM  

I know of two centers in the US (IIRC, one is in Illinois, the other in Oregon) that seem to have a decent recovery rate. They are very confrontational, but in the end, if the offender doesn't want to change, they will fail.

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