Saturday, April 25, 2015

On The Issue Of Abortion

In 2009, then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was asked in Congress about abortion rights in other countries and whether the administration had any plans to further restrict abortions throughout the developing world.

Her answer was brave, strong and exactly what the body needed to hear.

No, the administration had no plans to take action toward restricting abortion in the developing world.
When I think of the suffering around the world–I’ve been in hospitals in Brazil where half the women were enthusiastically and joyfully greeting new babies and the other half were fighting for their lives against botched abortions.”
“I’ve been in African countries where 12 and 13 year old girls are bearing children.
I have been in Asian countries where the denial of family planning confines women to lives of oppression and hardship.
Clinton’s argument isn’t just about why the developing world needs, as she says, access to abortion that is “safe, legal and rare.”

Lack of abortion rights will send women into a cycle of poverty and abuse.

It will make our country so much more like a third world country and not like an international leader.
Clinton’s words come from a place of knowledge.

Share them.

Everyone should hear.

But won't listen.

Remembering Tiananmen Square

Twenty-five years ago today, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) violently cleared Beijing's Tiananmen Square of protesters, ending a six-week demonstration that had called for democracy and widespread political reform.

The protests began in April of 1989, gaining support as initial government reactions included concessions.

Martial law was declared on May 20, troops were mobilized, and from the night of June 3 through the early morning of June 4, the PLA pushed into Tiananmen Square, crushing some protesters and firing on many others.

The exact number killed may never be known, but estimates range from several hundred to several thousand.

China's censors are blocking Internet access to the terms "six four," "candle," and "never forget," broadening extensive efforts to silence talk about the 25th anniversary of China's bloody June 4 crackdown.

What Became Of "Tank Man"?

Image result for unknown rebel tiananmen

The South Korean news agency Yonhap reported in 2006 that Wang Weilin was an alias and that he had escaped the massacre in Tiananmen Square and has made his way to Taiwan via Hong Kong.

What we do know about him are his actions, captured that day in stunning video footage. 

The video shows the man blocking more than a dozen tanks that were rolling down Chang'an Avenue the day after hundreds of student protesters were gunned down by the Chinese military. 

The lead tank moves back and forth, trying to go around the man, but the man kept on blocking its path. 

The man then climbs up on the lead tank and appears to talk to one of the soldiers inside the tank. 

The man is eventually led away by his arms by two men. 

It remains unclear if those men were police or security forces, or just bystanders who were concerned about the man.

In April 1998, Time magazine included the "Unknown Rebel" in a feature titled "Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century."