> Nick Arnett <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I'm part of a group called Gold Star Families Speak > Out. All of us lost > relatives in Iraq or Afghanistan.....<snip> > Two of our members are being forced to withdraw from > the group by their employers. ....<snip> > This seems utterly wrong to me. Since when is > membership in a peaceful > organization -- we have never done or said anything > even remotely unlawful > -- a legitimate reason for denying employment or > security clearances?
I am having an unpleasant flashback to the sixties: not the tie-dyed, peace'n'love folk music, World of Disney every Sunday night kind, but the stupid land war in Asia, duck-and-cover drills, post-blacklisted artists kind. No one here has commented yet - probably because we don't know the source for absolute certain - but this business of poisoning a government critic by radiation is frikkin' *insane.* If high-level Russian officials turn out to be responsible, we are in for an ugly Alice's ride of no-holds-barred, no rules allowed in world relations. Jihadiots are bad enough (yet as someone recently pointed out, Israel continues despite regular suicide bombers), but states with real weapons going rogue is bloody terrifying. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/27/AR2006112700194.html LONDON -- The British government began tracking radioactive hotspots in London on Monday to trace the poison that killed a former KGB agent, and three people who reported possible symptoms of contamination underwent testing. Britain announced a formal inquest into the death of Alexander Litvinenko, but Home Secretary John Reid warned against rushing to conclusions over who might be responsible for the killing of the ex-spy turned Kremlin critic. British police officers stand guard beside a forensic tent erected outside the north London home of the dead former Russian spy turned Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko, Friday Nov. 24, 2006. Litvinenko was poisoned with a radioactive substance, the British government said Friday, calling his death an "unprecedented event." Home Secretary John Reid, the country's top law-and-order official, said experts were searching for "residual radioactive material" at a number of locations, including Litvinenko's north London home. Litvinenko died Thursday after falling ill from what doctors said was poisoning by polonium-210, a radioactive isotope usually manufactured in specialized nuclear facilities. High doses of polonium, which is deadly if ingested or inhaled, were found in Litvinenko's body... Every step taken by real states that decreases respect for the individual and the rule of law is an arrow into the corpus of civilisation. Debbi Not Quite Panic, But Not Calm Resolve Either Maru >:/ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Music Unlimited Access over 1 million songs. http://music.yahoo.com/unlimited _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
