An unnamed 20-year-old man succeeded last week in combining trafficking in the infamous ivory trade with the destruction of historical artifacts to become one of the truly vile humans on Earth. The man broke into the Paris National History museum and cut off the tusk of the famous Louis XIV elephant with a chainsaw. An alert neighbor heard the sound of the chainsaw and called police. The man was arrested as he tried to make his escape.
Continue reading “Thief Cuts Off Tusk From Louis XIV’s Elephant With Chainsaw”
Category: International
Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty- Guest Blogger
The recent news about Cyprus banks confiscating depositor’s funds sent chills throughout the financial world here and abroad. I couldn’t believe that the plan in Cyprus hinged on the idea that the bank could just steal customer’s funds to balance the bank’s books. I muttered to myself when I read the story that something as crazy as that couldn’t possible happen here in the United States. Unfortunately, I learned that the plan to pull a Cyprus type grab here was already in the works. Continue reading “Could the Banksters Grab Your Bank Deposits?”
Happy Easter to all of our bloggers and readers that are celebrating today. The fluffy interloper came last night and left an array of goodies for the four kids. He was forced to work a bit later by two separate questionnaires from Madie and Aidan.
The spiny freshwater turtle population is less than 1000 according to Canadian reports, but they found a windfall of dozens of the turtles recently. The problem is that they were dead and on a Chinese menu. Yet, the Chinese owner will face only a relatively small fine for this violation. In killing and sell these turtles for soup (and contributing to the possible loss of a species) the owner will face less of a penalty than a car theft or bad check.
Saudi Arabia has long shocked the world with its medieval Sharia justice system, but nothing prepared most of us for the recent execution in Jazan, Saudi Arabia. Faced with Mohammed Rashad Khairi Hussein, a Yemeni man accused of murder and sodomy, the Sharia court ordered him first beheaded and then crucified. This is not the first such sentence under Sharia law. A man in 2009 was ordered beheaded and then crucified for being a gang leader.
Continue reading “Over-Kill: Saudi Court Orders Man Beheaded And Then Crucified”
We have long followed the horrific record of China on the environment. The Chinese regime has continued to push for high production rates as the number of “cancer villages” and lethal pollution rises across the country. This record has made China the worse environmental violator in the world. Now, greed has combined with power to make for what could be one of the greatest single environmental losses with China expanding its destructive record to Latin America. Ecuador has announced a plan to auction off more than three million hectares of pristine Amazonian rainforest to Chinese oil companies. The loss of such pristine areas (and unique species within it) will cause incalculable damage to feed China’s insatiable demand for energy.
In recent weeks, Muslims in Bangladesh have marched on the capital demanding death for atheists who have simply openly blogged about their their beliefs. Islamic groups have denounced the blogs as an insult to Mohammad and Islam and demanded arrests. In the meantime, they have attacked atheists and engaged in violent attacks in the name of Islam. They have killed eight people as part of their moral crusade. Rather than arresting the culprits, the government has moved against the bloggers.
Continue reading “Bangladesh Moves Against Atheist Bloggers In Blasphemy Crackdown”
Russians are very upset with the EU bailout of Cyprus which involved tapping larger bank accounts to pony up the money needed to secure the loan. Russians use banks on the island and could lose billions. I happen to agree that the plan is grossly unfair and penalizes those who have saved their money in a responsible fashion. Yet, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev seems to be channeling not just Lenin but Joe Biden in a recent bizarre public statement that in Cyprus “the stealing of what has already been stolen continues.” The comment left many scratching their heads on precisely what the Russian leader was saying about wealthy Russians.
We have previously discussed the lower criminal sentences handed down in England in comparison to the United States. Some such cases truly shock the conscience as in the case of Jordan Sheard (left). Sheard had long bullied Steven Simpson (right) for being gay as well as for his speech impairment and epilepsy. Sheard got Simpson to strip to his underwear and wrote gay slurs over his body which was covered with tanning oil. He then lit him on fire at his birthday party.
British businessman Jim McCormick is accused of a dangerous and despicable con. He is charged with making slight modification to cheap golf ball detectors and then selling them as bomb detectors at a “handsome but unwarranted profit.” McCornick allegedly would charge various governments up to £27,000 for the devices that were entirely useless. The ball finders can be purchased for just $20 in the states.
We previously discussed how the number of dead pigs in Chinese rivers leading to Shanghai has increased from a few hundred to just under 1000. The number is now 16,000 and counting. Yet, Chinese officials insist they have no idea who dumped over 16,000 pigs into the water but that the rivers, used for drinking water, is completely safe.
Continue reading “16,000 and Counting: Chinese Continue To Pull Out Dead Pigs From River Used By Shanghai Residents”
We have been following (here and here and here and here and here) the worsening situation in England concerning free speech. As noted in a recent column, free speech appears to be dying in the West with the increasing criminalization of speech under discrimination, hate, and blasphemy laws. Now, a French Jewish student group is adding its name to the movement to curtail free speech rights. The Union of Jewish Students (UEJF) is demanding 38.5 million euros after Twitter has declined to turn over the identity of people responsible for comments deemed anti-Semitic by the group. The students appear to have no concept or at least concern for the loss of anonymity in free speech. Like others, they are focused only on their insular grievance with no appreciation for the harm caused by such court orders.
It appears that, while Saudi Arabia will kill citizens for blasphemy, they do not appear to have much respect for Islamic history or preservation. Photos snuck out of Mecca show wholesale destruction of ancient sections of holy sites as part of an expansion project. What is astonishing is the lack of any effort of preservation due to . . . you guessed it, Wahabi clerics who declared that the sections are better destroyed in the name of Islamic principles. It is ironic that, as a non-Muslim, I am outraged by the loss of such historical areas. Photos of the destruction were published here by The Independent.
We have been discussing the epidemic of rape in India, including the grotesque recent gang rape of a woman on a bus who died from internal injuries. The attitude of Indian officials has ranged from the disgusting to the bizarre. Now we can add the rape of a Swiss 39-year-old woman who was gang raped and her husband beaten up after camping near a Hindu temple. A spokesman for Madhya Pradesh police department promptly said that the woman and her husband brought on the rape by camping in the wrong spot. This week a British woman fractured both legs and suffered head injuries after jumping from her hotel window to escape being raped by the owner.
Continue reading “India Police Spokesman Blames Swiss Couple In Gang Rape”
AEK Athens midfielder Giorgos Katidis is the latest celebrity to embrace that “I’m a moron” defense in the wake of a scandal. In celebration of a goal against Veria last week, Katidis did a Nazi salute. It would be an outrage in any country but the Germans in World War II killed as many as 800,000 of his countrymen — though the precise number has been recently debated. He has now been banned from the national team.
Continue reading “Greek Soccer Star Banned Over Nazi Salute”