In the path of Hurricane Dean
Morning / afternon / evening. Peter Dobbie here with news of today World Have Your Say from the ´óÏó´«Ã½ World Service. This is your chance to get on the air, and tell us what you think about the big news stories of the day.
Hurricane Dean gets angry...
Well today we're trying for something a little bit out of the ordinary. Given the events around Jamaica we're trying for a link up with a local radio station. Jamaica has taken a battering from Hurricane Dean, being hit by severe winds and heavy rain as the storm passed south of the island overnight. The Category Four storm is pushing winds of up to 145mph -- that's 230kmh. A Jamaican reporter told the ´óÏó´«Ã½ that many people who had chosen to remain in their homes were forced to get out -- such was the severity of the storm. Dean is now expected to pass close by the low-lying Cayman Islands, before hitting Mexico. Dean has already claimed at least six lives in the eastern Caribbean.
So what we want to do is hook-up with a broadcaster in the Caribbean, and talk to their callers with their stories of what's been going on. Contact details as usual.
Abortion, the Church of Rome and Amnesty...
Moving on to one of those meaty debates which we get into on a regular basis on WHYS. Abortion, the Catholic Church and Amnesty International. Here's the story:
A bishop who has been a member of Amnesty International for 31 years has resigned from the organisation over its changed attitude to abortion. Amnesty wants women to have access to abortion where pregnancy is a grave risk to their life or health. As part of a campaign on women's rights the group is highlighting the issue of rape in society and war zones -- take a look at the Amnesty web site and you'll see that one of the first entries is on rape as a weapon of war.
What do you say to a woman who's been raped and is now pregnant and who wants an abortion ?
The initial decision was taken in April, but Amnesty delegates meeting in Mexico gave it overwhelming support over the weekend. Christian organisations, including the Roman Catholic Church, have threatened to withdraw support from the group.
What do you think ? Has the time now come for the Catholic Church to get real, and modernise ? Has Amnesty got this totally wrong ? Should this kind of issue actually be dealt with by a different organisation, say the UN ? Are you a Catholic who would withdraw funding from Amesty ? Or do you subscribe to the "good for Amnesty" attitude ?
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Later :-)
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