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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: gao seng who wrote (216654)	1/10/2002 12:27:29 PM
From: DMaA	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

New mayor of NYC hits the road running. Tackles city's biggest problem - not enough abortion docs: NY Mayor Wants Expanded Abortion Training in Public Hospitals By John Rossomando CNSNews.com Staff Writer January 09, 2002 (CNSNews.com) - Only days after taking over as New York City mayor, Republican Michael Bloomberg has outraged abortion opponents with a plan to make abortion training a standard part of OB/GYN training in the city's public hospitals. As part of his Blueprint for Public Health, Bloomberg reportedly wants about 100 OB/GYN residents in the city's 11 public hospitals to be trained in performing abortions. Residents could opt out of the program if they had moral objections to the training. The city's public hospitals reportedly already provide some abortion training, but only two of the hospitals currently make the training a standard for residents. "[Bloomberg] now wants to make killing children a routine part of health care and it's not," said Lori Hougens, spokeswoman for the New York State Right to Life Committee. Hougens also criticized the timing of Bloomberg's decision, coming in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "Thousands of innocent people were killed, but God forbid that their progeny survive," Hougens said. "Now we have the mayor on the heels of this saying in so many words that we're going to mainstream a procedure that takes the life of human beings, that has no healing benefits. Edward Szymkowiak, the national director for Stop Planned Parenthood International, said Bloomberg is showing his "true colors" with the decision. "He's pro-abortion, and one begs the question, 'Doesn't he have enough to do with trying to save lives in New York City, with all that happened during 9-11, and all these problems. Isn't there a better issue for him to focus on?" Szymkowiak asked. "He's taking city resources and devoting them to training doctors to kill human beings. You would think under the current conditions in New York City that he could find a better use for the city's money," he added. Szymkowiak also considers Bloomberg's actions unprecedented, even for a pro-abortion politician. "This goes well beyond what even some of these pro-abortion Republicans in the past have suggested ... this is something you would expect from the other side of the aisle," Szymkowiak, said. "It really puts a stamp on his administration that it looks like he is going to be a big supporter of abortion." The National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL) of New York defends the Bloomberg proposal, which it claims to have authored during the mayoral campaign. "We're looking at the potential to start reversing the provider shortage and creating physicians who are competent in what is the second most common surgical procedure performed in the United States," said Cristina Phee, Director of NARAL's Director of the Residency Training Initiative. The New York City hospital system is currently the largest hospital abortion provider in the country according to Phee, and she said Bloomberg is attempting to increase the number of OB/GYN residents who are exposed to abortion procedures, so "they can meet all of the public's needs." "Our proposal is not intended to create more abortion services. It's actually [about connecting] those people who need to know, and who need to witness the needs of their patients in the future, while they are getting their education now," Phee said. She believes abortion opponents are being "irresponsible" in their opposition to the Bloomberg initiative. "We feel on strong moral ground here. I think it is a very unusual and irresponsible position to be on the side of not creating physicians who are competent in the legal procedure," Phee said. "It's one thing to lobby to outlaw abortion services, but it's another thing to try to obstruct physicians from offering quality care." A spokesman for Bloomberg told CNSNews.com bluntly, "We're only talking to the [New York] Daily News, and we are not giving any further comments." aclj.org

To: gao seng who wrote (216654)	1/10/2002 12:46:22 PM
From: Patricia Trinchero	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769667

Here an opinion from the UK: World: West Asia Taleban in Texas for talks on gas pipeline The 1,300km pipeline will carry gas across Afghanistan's harsh terrain A senior delegation from the Taleban movement in Afghanistan is in the United States for talks with an international energy company that wants to construct a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan across Afghanistan to Pakistan. A spokesman for the company, Unocal, said the Taleban were expected to spend several days at the company's headquarters in Sugarland, Texas. Unocal says it has agreements both with Turkmenistan to sell its gas and with Pakistan to buy it. The Afghan economy has been devasted by 20 years of civil war But, despite the civil war in Afghanistan, Unocal has been in competition with an Argentinian firm, Bridas, to actually construct the pipeline. Last month, the Argentinian firm, Bridas, announced that it was close to signing a two-billion dollar deal to build the pipeline, which would carry gas 1,300 kilometres from Turkmenistan to Pakistan, across Afghanistan. In May, Taleban-controlled radio in Kabul said a visiting delegation from an Argentinian company had announced that pipeline construction would start "soon". Kabul The radio has reported several visits to Kabul by Unocal and Bridas company officials over the past few months. A BBC regional correspondent says the proposal to build a pipeline across Afghanistan is part of an international scramble to profit from developing the rich energy resources of the Caspian Sea. With the various Afghan factions still at war, the project has looked from the outside distinctly unpromising. Last month the Taleban Minister of Information and Culture, Amir Khan Muttaqi, said the Taleban had held talks with both American and Argentine-led consortia over transit rights but that no final agreement had yet been reached. He said an official team from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan should meet to ensure each country benefited from any deal. However, Unocal clearly believes it is still in with a chance - to the extent that it has already begun training potential staff. It has commissioned the University of Nebraska to teach Afghan men the technical skills needed for pipeline construction. Nearly 140 people were enrolled last month in Kandahar and Unocal also plans to hold training courses for women in administrative skills. Women face working restrictions under Taleban rule Although the Taleban authorities only allow women to work in the health sector, organisers of the training say they haven't so far raised any objections. The BBC regional correspondent says the Afghan economy has been devastated by 20 years of civil war. A deal to go ahead with the pipeline project could give it a desperately-needed boost. But peace must be established first -- and that for the moment still seems a distant prospect. news6.thdo.bbc.co.uk.