Odds and Ends in the news
Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 08:48:51 AM PDT
Well, it's been an interesting news week - especially since the 4th of July week is usually a slow news time.
In between all the news stories about men and women serving overseas, and various parades and celebrations around the country, we learned that BBC reporter Alan Johnstonwas released after 16 weeks in captivity. I had been following this story since I listen to NPR and BBC World Service most mornings. But I'm frustrated to say that I barely understand the politics of why he was abducted, and by whom, and why he was released. I was glad to see his smiling face on the NYTimes site this morning, but still wish I knew more about Palestinian politics.
Also this week, Lewis Libby scooted free of a prison term. Not only does this reinforce the view of the GWB regime as "above the law", but it guarantees that Libby's story will never be told - he has no incentive at all to ever tell the truth.
Finally, not political, but still interesting to me, Beverly Sills passed away this week. Not only has she done a lot to popularize opera, but she was also the parent of two children with severe disabilities. Sills' daughter has profound hearing loss, and her son has mental retardation and autism. Both diagnoses occurred during the same 6-week period, and during a time (more than 45 years ago) when very little was understood about mental retardation and autism. Even now, with all the publicity about Autism in the news, it's still a diagnosis that carries a lot of pain and embarrassment. Not many celebrities come forward to talk about their children's disabilities. But, 45 years ago no one talked about autism; mothers were blamed; and children were sent away to residential institutions. I can't imagine the pain mothers like Sills faced, and the loneliness they felt.
