This is a video from this week in the Brazilian Congress. This is reported to be a congresswoman who has an extraordinary voice. As much as I loved the performance, it is worth noting that this is a religious song where members express their faith — a practice that raised concerns with those in Brazil who believe strongly in the separation of church and state.
Continue reading “The Opening Legislative Prayer — Brazilian-Style”
It is not quite Boys From Brazil, but the discovery of a long-forgotten diary of an English soldier has led to a rekindling of the theory that Adolf Hitler fathered a child . . . and the little Führer was French. The diary adds support to claims that Jean-Marie Loret was the son of Hitler — conceived when Hitler lived in France as a corporal in World War I.
Continue reading “English Soldier’s Long Lost Diary Supports Claim Of Hitler Child”
We have yet another tragedy in the Arab world where a 16 year old Moroccan girl committed suicide in Morocco after being forced to marry her rapist — a man ten years her senior. The girl’s parents filed charges against the man but the court ruled that rather than punishing the man, he should marry his rape victim.
Ok, maybe not eternal. A Guatemalan court sentenced former special forces soldier Pedro Pimentel, 55, to 6,060 years in prison for his role in a 1982 massacre of 201 people. The Las Dos Erres massacre was carried out by a group of some 20 soldiers in December 1982.
Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter Elizabeth have canceled speeches in Toronto, Canada out of concern that they would be set upon by people who oppose torture and want Cheney arrested. While Americans appear reconciled with the torture program, citizens in other countries still demand that Bush officials be arrested according to international law.
Continue reading “Cheney Cancels Meeting in Canada With Spectre To Avoid Attempts To Arrest Him”
As our allies in Afghanistan have embraced a new edict declaring women worth less than men, militias in Iraq have reintroduced gruesome executions of anyone viewed as “gay” because of their haircuts or dress. So called “Emo killings” are on the rise with gays being beaten to death with cement blocks with little investigation or apparent concern from local police. Roughly 60 people have been murdered in the last six months alone in such killings
Below is today’s column in The Los Angeles Times exploring the growing attacks on free speech in the West and the recent controversy of the “Zombie Mohammad” case.
Continue reading “Free Speech Under Fire”
A pastor in Ghana learned something that vaudeville performers have known for years: know your audience and know your limits. The pastor of the Seventh Day Revival Judaism of Yahweh church promised villagers that he would turn a walking stick into a snake in the town square. People assembled hours in advance to see Pastor Yaw Saul, 49, perform the miracle last done before an audience of Egyptians by Moses. They soon discovered the pastor was no Moses and the stick was . . . well . . . a stick. The pastor, however, was able to turn a crowd of the faithful into a murderous mob.
We have previously discussed Afghan President Hamid Karzai stated inclinations toward the Taliban and harsh treatment of women. Karzai now appears to be moving more aggressively to this Sharia-based vision for women — a vision that expressly devalues their worth and endorses beatings by their husbands. This week, Karzai endorsed an edict from the Afghan Ulema Council — Afghanistan’s highest Islamic authority — that women are worth less than men and supporting “Sharia-compliant” beatings of women. That is the model government that we have created with the loss of both our men and women as well as hundreds of billions of dollars. We are still spending billions on the country as it embraces the Taliban and harsh Sharia principles.
Continue reading “Karzai Approves Edict Stating Woman Are “Secondary” And Worth Less Than Men”
This week we have been discussing Attorney General Eric Holder’s recent speech at Northwestern University Law School detailing the claim of President Barack Obama that he has the right to kill American citizens based on his inherent authority and the ongoing war on terror. I previously wrote a blog and a column on the issue. Those pieces noted that Holder limited his remarks by referring to targeted killing “abroad.” However, I noted that the Administration’s past references to this power are not so limited. Indeed, the only limits stated by the Administration have been self-imposed standards and what Holder calls “due process” — expressly excluding “judicial process.” Now, FBI Director Robert Mueller has entered the fray. On Wednesday Mueller was asked in a congressional hearing whether the current policy would allow the killing of citizens in the United States. Mueller said that he simply did not know whether he could order such an assassination. It was the perfect moment to capture the dangerous ambiguity introduced into our system by this claim of inherent authority. I can understand Mueller deferring to the Attorney General on the meaning of his remarks, but the question was whether Mueller understands that the same power exists within the United States. One would hope that the FBI Director would have a handle on a few details guiding his responsibilities, including whether he can kill citizens without a charge or court order.
Continue reading “Mueller: I Can’t Say Whether I Now Can Kill Citizens In The United States Under Obama’s Kill Doctrine”
Below is today’s column in Foreign Policy magazine on Attorney General Eric Holder’s speech at Northwestern University Law School. UPDATE: FBI Director declines to answer whether the new doctrine allows the killing of citizens in the United States.
Scott Lupien insists that he is the ultimate conservationist. According to the article below, Lupien, an American fluent in Chinese, takes wealthy Chinese to Canada where they can see magnificent Polar bears up close . . . and kill them and turn them into rugs. The , Lupien is a professional hunter who is “teaching the Chinese about conservation” by leading trips to shoot down male polar bears. He insists that his customers respect nature: “Each hunter is allowed to kill one male only. We then turn them into rugs.” On his website, however, Lupien says that the story is false raising an interesting question of potential defamation.
Attorney General Eric Holder was at Northwestern University Law School yesterday explaining President Barack Obama’s claimed authority to kill any American if he unilaterally determines them to be a threat to the nation. The choice of a law school was a curious place for discussion of authoritarian powers. Obama has replaced the constitutional protections afforded to citizens with a “trust me” pledge that Holder repeated yesterday at Northwestern. The good news is that Holder promised not to hunt citizens for sport.
Continue reading “Holder Promises To Kill Citizens With Care”
China has found its answer to Survivor. Emphasizing a strength, the latest television sensation is Interviews Before Execution where condemned prisoners breakdown in confessions before being led off to be executed.
Continue reading “[Non] Survivor: China’s New Hit Show Features Condemned Prisoners In Last Moments”
Iranian human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani has been sentenced to 18 years in prison by what the Iranian government refers to as “courts.” To his credit, Soltani refused to defend himself before the Iranian tribunal which blindly carries out the dictates of the religious leaders of the country.