Terrorists, Riots In France, And Mifepristone

Big news day today, isn't it?

Since my opinion matters sooooo much, I'm going to share it with you.

France: this is a mess. I have friends in Paris and the South of France and I know they are being sensible, but I'm thinking of them anyway.

I don't know what the riots signify. From what I've read, I'm doubtful that you can point the finger at Islam as much as you can socio-economic depression, cultural tensions between the immigrants and mainstream French society, left-over problems from France's colonial era, as well as the perennial problem of bored, disaffected young men turning to violence and drugs. Clash of civilisations? Well, France has a population of 8 million Muslims, and the violence is apparently being committed by smallish groups of young men, organising themselves via SMS and the Internet. Hmmn.

But that's enough armchair analysis from me, and I will admit to knowing exactly nothing about French domestic politics, apart from what I've read in the last few days. How sad that it takes a situation like this to make one sit up and notice.

As for the terror-suspect raids here in Australia: if the people arrested were a genuine threat, I'm glad they were arrested. Time (and a transparent legal process) will tell. The timing of the arrests? Let's hope it's all genuine. The cynic in me is being, well, cynical but I won't air my darkest conspiracy theories here.

And now, what could be good news about Mifepristone. Australian Democrats leader Lyn Allison is going to introduce amendments to the legislation which has effectively banned Mifepristone from use. She has bipartisan support from ALP and Liberal MPs, and the AMA has called for the restrictions on the drug to be relaxed. The amendments may go to a conscience vote.

Of course, Tony Abbot is the Number One impediment to amending the legislation, and he "personally opposes" making the drug available, in the face of medical opinion and the legal situation in Australia. Which is that women have the legal right to have abortions in our country, and the medical community has judged Mifepristone a safe alternative to surgical abortion.

Okay. Back to the mountain of proofreading. I haven't had to use the oxygen mask yet, but it looks like bad weather is settling in. It's going to be a hard slog to the top...

Comments

[Guy]

I agree on the local terrorism front. Let the courts decide (or at least some more hard evidence come to light), and then let us judge properly.

[Mindy]

Tony Abbott really shits me. Sure be against abortion if you want to. I have no problem with that. Witholding a safe and medically tested and proven drug from those who need it is abominable. What if we got a fundamentalist Jehovah Witness Health Minister - would he or she ban all blood transfusions in Australia? I doubt it. Do your job Tony, it's not all about you.

[Kate]

Exactly, Mindy. Abbott's reasons are based on his personal beliefs.