More details and reactions to the violence at the pro-life
march in Melbourne, Australia have emerged. It seems the agreed march route (to
the steps of Parliament) was blocked by about 200 pro-choice protesters who
threw abuse (and worse) at the pro-lifers. The pro-lifers sat or knelt down in
the road and prayed while waiting for the police to clear the way, but the
police merely formed a barrier between the two groups and took no further
action. After 90 minutes, the pro-lifers decided to re-route the march, and
were able to complete it because most of the protesters thought the march had
been abandoned.
Much of the Australian media portrayed the incident with
headlines that suggested both groups participated in violence (e.g. “Anti-abortionists
clash with protesters.”) Abortion supporters, speaking on social media, have lamented
the failure of the protest to stop the march; the in-fighting amongst
pro-choice groups; that media coverage of the protest seems to blame the
protesters for the violence; and reputation penalties from the “violent actions
of a small asshole minority.”
And indeed, a columnist for a major newspaper was present at
the march, and his report makes uncomfortable reading for pro-choice groups: “I
saw those Socialist Alliance protesters and feminists for hours shout down,
blockade, hit, abuse and destroy the property of citizens, priests included,
trying to peacefully express a different point of view – that killing babies in
the womb is wrong,” he wrote. “I saw socialists and feminists yanking signs
from the hands of women older than themselves and destroying their balloons, as
if these women had no right to speak and no right to own property. [… ] In this
demonstration I saw socialists and feminists betray almost every principle they
profess to hold […] they call themselves progressives, but they are instead
barbarians, so sure of their goodness that they feel licensed to do evil.”
In other news, recruits to the US Army are being told that
the American Family Association, which supports traditional marriage, is a
‘domestic hate group’ and that soldiers may face punishment if they support
such groups. The reason seems to be that the US Army is relying on a list of
hate groups which has been produced by the “extreme left-wing” Southern Poverty
Law Center. The new policy was revealed by a soldier who regularly donates to
the AFA and who is taking legal advice.
In northern Canada, a Catholic diocese has bowed to pressure
from the provincial government to remove
teaching that homosexual acts are sinful from its pastoral care policy for its
Catholic schools. The policy used to include the phrase “Teaching the Truth” as
part of its title; that has also been dropped.
In Kansas, a former state Attorney General has had his law
licence suspended for “ethics violations” by the State’s Supreme Court. The
case is being seen as politically motivated because the former A-G was the only
one ever to bring criminal charges against abortion clinics for allegedly
failing to report child rape; falsifying records; failing to keep proper
records; and illegal late-term abortions. The charges were dropped when there
was a change of State government, but the subsequent allegations of ethics
violations (including mishandling evidence and misleading a grand jury) all
relate to the A-G’s decision to bring these charges.
In sport, England’s preparations for the Rugby League World
Cup, which begins next Saturday when England play Australia, were badly dented
by a loss to Italy in a warm-up game. Bookmakers had predicted that Italy to
lose by 52 points.
And finally, a Welsh grandfather has been able to quit his
job after collecting ₤125,000 on a bet. In 2000, he bet ₤50 at odds of 2500/1
that his two year old grandson, Harry Wilson, would one day play football for
Wales. On Tuesday, 16 year old Harry became the youngest player ever to appear
in a Welsh team when he came on as a substitute in the 87th minute.
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