Wednesday, July 25, 2012
** Opposition grows to Canadian repatriation of Guantanamo Bay prisoner who killed US combat medic
** Fatigue plaguing Australian paramedics in Victoria
CANADA NEWS
** Controversy continues to swirl over the potential repatriation of a Canadian Guantanamo Bay, Cuba detainee who was convicted of murdering a Delta Force combat medic in 2002. The QMI Agency (Kevin Connor/Tom Godfrey/July 19) said some 200 people gathered in Toronto last Wednesday to protest the return of Omar Khadr, 26. Khadr is currently serving eight years for killing Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer with a grenade during an Afghanistan firefight. Rally spokesperson Shoban Kapoor said Khadr presents a public safety threat and should be charged with treason if he returns to Canada. Sun News Network host Ezra Levant agreed, saying Khadr has shown no remorse and remains radicalized. Levant also said the US government has declined to turn over 8 hours of taped interviews Khadr did with psychiatrists which would reveal his state of mind. To counter Senator Romeo Dallaire’s petition to have Omar returned, the group has started two petitions to outlaw the move or have Khadr tagged with treason.
AUSTRALIA NEWS
** Fatigue issues continue to plague Victoria paramedics, with one ambulance service report likening the tiredness to an alcohol impairment level of .05 or better. That is the word from the Northern Weekly (July 23) which quoted Ambulance Employees Association spokesman Steve McGhie as saying the 2009 tome’s theme is highlighted in current events. According to the newspaper, a female Thomastown paramedic fell asleep at the wheel recently, narrowly missing a head-on crash. Although roster changes have attempted to ease the strain on practitioners, McGhie said unaccounted for overtime makes shifts equally lengthy. Opposition health spokesman Wade Noon concurred, saying ramping is also contributing to provider stress. A spokesman for Ambulance Victoria, meanwhile, said current schedules are adequate to ensure proper rest between shifts.
