Category: International

International, Politics

Irish Politician Calls Obama A War Criminal And Hypocrite In Parliament

220px-Clare_DalyPresident_Barack_ObamaMany civil libertarians around the world have rallied to support Clare Daly, Irish Parliament member of the United Left Alliance representing Dublin, after she challenged the prime minister and the reception given to President Barack Obama who she called a war criminal. The video of the speech is below. Daly called Obama the “hypocrite of the century” for lecturing children on peace while expanding drone attacks and funding civil wars around the world. Many in the United States particularly took note of her attack on the type of cult of personality surrounding Obama that seems detached from his horrendous record on civil liberties, privacy, and international law.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Justice, Media, Military, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

What Happened to Michael Hastings?

Submitted By: Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger

Michael_Hastings_election_night_2012As erudite and informed as I pretend to be, the fact is that there is much that is important that I either miss, or fail to see any significance in. The death of investigative reporter Michael Hastings showed me that because my first reaction to the news flash was “who is Michael Hastings?” Reading further into the story I discovered that he was the reporter who brought down General William McChrystal and that he was considered to be one of America’s premier investigative journalists. As I read that original story, the thought occurred to me that possibly Hastings’s death in an auto “accident” was not simply a case of reckless driving, but I initially dismissed that as merely the operation of my cynical mindset.  Nevertheless, the thought nagged at the back of my consciousness and then I saw a story on http://whowhatwhy.com/ , my favorite investigative website, run by the renowned Russ Baker. The stories title: “The Michael Hastings Wreck-Video Evidence Offers a few Clues”     http://whowhatwhy.com/2013/07/14/the-michael-hastings-wreck-video-evidence-offers-a-few-clues/

For my own benefit and perhaps yours, I’ve done a little research into who Michael Hastings was and what he did that deserves attention. I explore the possibility that his death was no accident. I admit that I have no proof beyond speculation. Hopefully I can give you enough information to make your own judgments. In a world where American Presidents openly arrogate to themselves the right to kill people deemed enemies of the United States, all things suddenly become possible. When the basic right of habeas corpus can be denied to American citizens, based upon unproven allegations of their being threats to this country, isn’t it possible for those with the power to detain and to eliminate individuals, to make decisions as to someone’s existence doing harm to this country? Finally, doesn’t this unconstitutional expansion of powers give individuals with government connections the leeway to take revenge on those who expose them? While I’m not privy to knowledge of the actions of those in power and can claim no inside information, I certainly can speculate based on the experience of my lifetime. This then is my speculation about the death and life of Michael Hastings in the context of current life in these United States. Continue reading “What Happened to Michael Hastings?” →

International, Religion

The Final Shakedown

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

225px-hamid_karzai_2004-06-14As the United States draws down its military presence in Afghanistan, the Afghan government of Hamid Karzai has discovered yet another gimmick to extort money from the Americans. Karzai is demanding that the US pay $1000 for each shipping container that leaves the country. According to Afghan customs officials, the US military has racked up a total of $70 million in fines. The Kabul government has blocked inbound shipments of fuel and equipment in order to extort US compliance. If forced to ship by air, the additional costs could balloon to billions of dollars.

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Congress, Criminal law, International

Two Strikes And You’re In? New Immigration Bill Leads To Questions Over Treatment Of Cases With Two Prior Forged Passports

190px-Us-passport190px-Us-passportThere has been considerable criticism of the fact that the massive new immigration bill seems to be something of a mystery to even sponsors who have indicated that they have either not read it entirely or even know many of its provisions. This seems a new fact of life for Congress — something we saw with the Patriot Act where many members admitted they never read before voting to curtail civil liberties. There remains a huge debate in the country over the fairness of allowing millions to apply for citizenship after knowingly entering the country illegally while others wait in other countries. Others insist that this is dealing with a difficult problem in a humane way and is good for the economy and good for the GOP. Putting aside those sweeping issues, I was struck by one provision of the law that deals with people who have forged two passports or sold false passports.

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Criminal law, International, Politics, Society

Chinese Law Professor Condemned After Suggesting Rape Of Bar Hostess Is Less Serious Than A Girl From A Good Family

li-shuangjiang-li-tianyiMy friend and colleague, Professor Don Clarke, does terrific work over at his Chinese Law Blog and has an extraordinary story this morning. A Chinese Law Professor is in hot water after making a series of statements about rape that truly shock the conscience. Tsinghua Law prof Yi Yanyou comments on the rape case of Li Tianyi, the son of a famous singer who is accused of raping a bar hostess. Yi pointed out that raping a bar hostess is not as bad as a real rape of a nice girl from a nice family. The response was predicable and justified. What is astonishing is that Yi doubled down on his theory of different categories of rape victims when people objected.

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Criminal law, International, Uncategorized

Romanian Thieves May Have Burned Seven Masterpieces As Police Closed In

130717-romanian-museum-hmed1-330p.380220px-Large_bonfireThere is an interesting forensic challenge in a Romanian criminal case as well as an unspeakable destruction of art by a band of thieves.  Police have found a furnace with ashes containing paint, nails, and canvas that a mother says is the remains of seven multimillion-dollar paintings — including a Matisse, a Picasso and a Monet. She says that the paintings were destroyed as police started asking questions about the gang of thieves from a museum, including her son.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics, Uncategorized

Carter: The United States Has No Functioning Democracy

carterWe have been discussing the collapse of the American civil liberties movement and the attacks on the free press and privacy under the Obama Administration. As discussed in prior columns, we continue to refer to the United States as the “land of the free” despite a comprehensive reduction of civil liberties and due process in this country. The Snowden affair has put that record in sharp relief as the White House and Congress has joined together in barring the prosecution of perjury by high ranking officials and pursuing Snowden with close to unhinged rage. As previously discussed, our governing class has created a new American Animal farm. Long ago, American politicians adopted a type of dismissive paternalism toward the public as shepherds to so many sheep. Then one sheep goes and spooks the flock. The response has been bipartisan rage that has included demands to cut off aid to entire nations if they grant sanctuary to this whistleblower and even boycott the Olympics. The shepherds want Snowden made into mutton for stampeding the flock and no measure appears too extreme. Now Jimmy Carter has entered the fray and said what many citizens are saying in denouncing our duopoly. Carter told Spiegel “America has no functioning democracy.” Of course, you have to live in Germany to read such views.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Society

Canadians Charge Website Operator With Obscenity Over Publication of Murder Video

Unknownjun_lin.jpg.size.medium2.promoWe have interesting case this week out of Canada that raises the limits of free speech and the use of decency or morality laws. The Canadians have criminally charged the owner of a website for the posting of a horrific video showing the murder of an individual by Luka Magnotta (left) and then sexual relations with the corpse of Jun Lin (right). The concern is that the site owner is being charged with “corrupting morals” a largely undefined crime and has traditionally been used to impose and enforce the moral values of the majority on people who do not share them. It is the natural extension of laws prohibiting the publication or possession of obscene materials, a long controversy in this country as well.
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Academia, Criminal law, International, Politics, Torts

Headmistress Flees After 22 Children Die From Poisoned Lunch At India School

11945111-poison-symbolThere is an unspeakable tragedy in India that again shows the lack of deterrence and regulation in that country over food safety, a problem also prevalent in other countries like China. Twenty-two children are dead after lunch in their school in Chhapra. The food was obviously poisoned and officials believe that the culprit was a pesticide. Two of the children of the headmistress, Meena Devi, were also sickened. She is now reportedly on the run with two other teachers.

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International, Religion, Society

Muslim Extremists Destroy Church In Egypt As Other Muslims Move To Protect Priest

EgyptAttacks on Christians and other religious minorities in some Muslim countries by extremists have become terribly common. These same radicals who would kill over a YouTube movie as an affront to Islam often see nothing wrong in destroying churches and killing people of other faiths. That is why this story of the destruction of a Coptic Christian church in Egypt seemed like just another outrage until I notice one detail. The priest escaped with the help of his Muslim neighbors.

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Criminal law, International, Religion

Catholic Priest Told Boy That He Could Guarantee This Grandfather Would Go To Heaven In Exchange For Sex

imagesJust when you thought priest abuse stories could not get more horrific, this case pops up. Catholic priest James Martin Donaghy – currently serving a ten-year jail sentence for 17 sex offences in Northern Ireland — was sentenced last week for coercing a seven-year-old boy to have sex with him in return for Donaghy guaranteeing that his grandfather would get to heaven. However, he told the boy that if he told anyone, his grandfather would stay in purgatory.

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Bizarre, International, Politics, Society

Graham Lands A Double Klutz With A Carter Split: GOP Senator Proposes Olympic Boycott Over Snowden Asylum

01.20Graham-080106-18270- 0035We have previously discussed the rage of powerful politicians embarrassed by the disclosures of Edward Snowden. The President and the Congress suddenly found themselves having to explain years of false statements and an unprecedented attack on privacy in America because of Snowden. Our governing class had long ago adopted a type of dismissive paternalism toward the public as shepherds to so many sheep. Then one sheep goes and spooks the flock. The response has been bipartisan rage that has included demands to cut off aid to entire nations if they grant sanctuary to this whistleblower. As usual, however, Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., will not be outdone. After hearing that Snowden has asked Russia for sanctuary, Graham has suggested boycotting the Olympics. That’s right, he is taking one of Jimmy Carter’s most controversial ideas and suggesting a repeat — thereby ruining the ambitions and tossing out years of preparations for hundreds of athletes. Why? To punish a country for protecting someone most people in the world view as either a hero or a whistleblower.

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Free Speech, International, Media, Politics, Religion, Society, Uncategorized

Twitter Caves To Demand Of French Jewish Students To Reveal Identifies Of Posters

150px-Twitter_2012_logoIn a disappointing concession by Twitter, the company has  agreed to hand over the details of people who post racist and anti-Semitic abuse anonymously on its site.  We previously discussed the effort of Jewish students to strip anonymity from posters and punish people for using language that they consider anti-Semitic.  It is in my view another major attack on free speech — part of a worldwide reduction of free speech rights.

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Bizarre, International, Media, Society, Torts

Chump Tort? Asiana Airlines To Sue Bay Area TV Station Over Fake Names Of Pilots In Crash

article-0-1ACA2A10000005DC-840_634x394After an Asiana Airlines passenger jet crashed and burned at San Francisco International Airport on July 6, 2013, a Bay Area TV station published what it claims were the names of the pilots, including Captain Sum Ting Wong, Wi Tu Low, Ho Lee Fuk, and Band Ding Ow. Unbelievably, as shown below, no one at KTVU-TV picked up on the joke and the anchor read the names in all seriousness. It turns out that a summer intern with the National Transportation Safety Board was the culprit in passing along the names. Now, Asiana is suing the station for injury to its reputation, a novel claim that could raise questions over not just the fact of injury but the degree of injury in such a prank.

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Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Justice, Military, Politics, Society

Pardoning Bradley Manning?

Submitted by Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

Bradley ManningWould a future administration entertain the idea of making a fundamental break from some of the misdeeds of administrations past? That it would be substantial, or not, remains to be seen. One such topic for discussion can be the issue of Bradley Manning.

As most of the readers here are aware, Bradley Manning is a soldier who is imprisoned for his alleged leaking of vast numbers of diplomatic cables concerning the United States diplomatic service’s sensitive correspondence along with equally vast numbers of logs relating to the war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has plead guilty to ten of these charges and is awaiting a verdict on several others having severe penalties such as Aiding the Enemy. Those documents found way to the website WikiLeaks and then to the public in various avenues, causing much embarrassment and alarm on behalf of the US Government and military.

A full spectrum of thought encompasses the reaction of this, with very vocal groups labeling him from a hero to a whistleblower to a traitor, often using the same information as supporting evidence. But with regard to a Greater Good, should Bradley Manning receive a pardon?

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