** Off-duty US Navy medic commended for helping save crashed driver
** Canadian and US activists seeking to rehabilitate reputation of convicted killer of US combat medic
UNITED STATES NEWS
** A San Diego based US Navy corpsman is being credited with saving the life last Tuesday of a driver stuck in a crashed vehicle. That is the word from The Navy Times (November 1) which said Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Justin Cortes, 23, happened upon the car as he and his pregnant wife headed out for pizza. According to the newspaper, Cortes helped drag a man from the burning wreck after the latter hit both another car and a tree. The man suffered head wounds and several broken bones in the mishap. For his efforts, Cortes was congratulated by Navy Medicine West Commander Rear Admiral C. Forrest Faison. He was also given a commander’s challenge coin.
CANADA NEWS
** Efforts continue to rehabilitate the reputation of the convicted killer of a US combat medic. The QMI Agency (Catherine Griwkowsky/October 23) quoted anti-torture activist and retired psychiatrist US Army Brig. Gen Stephen Xenakis as saying Omar Khadr, 26, is the most gentle of men, as well as the most decent. Xenakis made his comments at a talk given at the University of Alberta late last month. Xenakis also told listeners he did not believe Khadr tossed the grenade that killed Delta Force Sgt. Christopher Speer in Afghanistan in 2002. Khadr, who was 15 at the time he was in the firefight, was convicted in October 2010 of murder, spying, and terrorism charges. He pleaded guilty. He was transferred from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba to Millhaven Institution in Ontario. After being set upon by fellow inmates, he was moved to Edmonton. Khadr’s lawyers lost a bid in October to have him moved to a provincial prison.
