The Week
Well, at least there weren't any hanging chads.
The Death of a Nazi Hunter
Simon Wiesenthal did not believe that time heals all wounds. And so he would spend his life--after being liberated from concentration camps--pursuing Nazi war criminals. Wiesenthal, a Ukrainian-born architect who lost 89 relatives in the Holocaust, is credited with tracking down more than 1,100 Nazis, including Adolf Eichmann, a key planner of Hitler's "Final Solution," who was tried and hanged in Israel in 1962. Wiesenthal died last week at his home in Vienna at age 96 and was buried in Israel. He survived five death camps and was 36 when liberated from Germany's Mauthausen camp in 1945--along with war hero Tibor Rubin (box, Page 16). He spent the next 60 years pursuing those responsible for the deaths of 6 million Jews and others during World War II.
His philosophy: "If we don't do anything about evil, that will encourage future perpetrators."
Lawmakers Tackle Pet Concerns
Hurricane Katrina carved many a heart-wrenching scene as families lost everything--including one another--in its wake. Some of those losses were beloved pets--who can forget the little boy caught on camera crying hysterically when torn from his dog as he got on the evacuation bus? Others complicated the evacuation by refusing to leave their animals; some died as a result. Last week, lawmakers introduced legislation designed to keep people and their pets together in future disasters; the bipartisan measure requires that state and local evacuation plans accommodate pets to qualify for Federal Emergency Management Agency grants. The Humane Society of the United States says about 6,000 animals have been rescued, but tens of thousands more may still be stranded or lost.
"I cannot help but wonder," said cosponsor Rep. Tom Lantos, "how many more people could have been saved had they been able to take their pets."
Flying the More Secure Skies
Still get the jitters when you step aboard a plane? Fear not. The feds are on the case. The Federal Aviation Administration last week proposed that airlines devise ways for pilots to keep an eye on passengers from the cockpit and for flight attendants to covertly alert pilots to trouble in the cabin. Some safety expert suggestions: surveillance cameras over seats, pocket-size wireless communications devices for attendants, and peepholes in cockpit doors. This is the latest in the feds' post-9/11 attempts to beef up flight safety. They previously ordered planes to install stronger cockpit doors to keep out would-be terrorists and lunatics, authorized trained pilots to carry guns, and deployed more air marshals on flights. "We rely on the flight attendants . . . to let us know what's going on in the cabin," says Denis Breslin of the Allied Pilots Association. "But what happens if the attendant is injured and can't make it to the hard-wired phone in the back of the plane?"
Yes, what happens? Let's hope flight attendants go wireless very soon.
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