Heck yes!

 Just cause I walk lopsided with a bowl of soup doesn't mean I can't "make" great
soup. So there, too! Sign me up!

Cheers!

Carla


Betty B wrote:

> Interesting story alert!  What do you folks think?  Should we be allowed to
> serve in some military capacity for our respective countries?
>
> *************************************************
> UK's top soldier under fire for excluding disabled
>
> By Mike Collett-White
>
> LONDON, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Britain's top soldier was in the firing line on
> Wednesday for saying that disabled people would not be recruited by the armed
> forces.
>
> Chief of Defence Staff Sir Charles Guthrie said that disabled people serving
> in the army, navy or air force would be "detrimental" to the forces.
>
> His remarks triggered a sharp response from the Disability Rights Commission,
> a body set up by the government to promote equal opportunities for the
> disabled.
>
> "What they (the Armed Forces) are saying is that we are for disabled people
> to be registered as full and equal citizens except when it comes to serving
> one's own country," said commission member Colin Low.
>
> He told Reuters that disabled people did not expect to be deployed on the
> battlefront but could serve some useful purpose in back-up operations.
>
> "We are seeking to lift the blanket ban and also want individual cases to be
> looked at on their merits," Low said.
>
> He added that the commission would be approaching the government to seek ways
> of improving legislation for disabled employment, and called Guthrie's
> remarks a "pre-emptive strike."
>
> Guthrie was outlining his vision for Britain's troops before he retires next
> February and stressed that the country must not go soft on what was required
> of them.
>
> "Combat effectiveness is not about cuddling babies and delivering tea," he
> remarked in a presentation on Tuesday.
>
> LEGISLATION OF PARTICULAR CONCERN
>
> He warned against "the gathering tide of legislation" which could bog down
> the armed forces in future, a reference to European moves to have the
> military included in employment law ending discrimination on the grounds of
> age and disability.
>
> "If left unchecked the impact would have had a detrimental effect on the
> forces by insisting that disabled people had the right to serve," he said.
>
> A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said Britain had successfully won an
> exclusion from the legislation in October.
>
> "We do not recruit for specialist roles," she said. "Everyone has to be
> physically fit and able to fight at the front line."
>
> Guthrie said the armed forces were employing women and homosexuals with no
> "detrimental effect" to their capability.
>
> "However, we do have to be on our guard and keep an eye on the cumulative
> effect of all these changes, which might begin to erode the ethos of service
> and sacrifice," he said.
>
> Both sides of the political divide backed Guthrie's stance.
>
> A spokesman for Prime Minister Tony Blair told reporters:
>
> "The Prime Minister's view...is that the armed forces cannot be just another
> employer. There is no such thing as a non-combatant job."
>
> The opposition Conservatives said civilian and military rights should not be
> blurred.
>
> "The quality of our Armed Forces is the most important requirement and cannot
> be undermined by a lot of civilian rights that would not work," said Tory
> spokesman Iain Duncan Smith.
>
> 07:45 12-20-00
>
> Copyright 2000 Reuters Limited.