Many of us have questioned some of the response targeting Wikileaks and the dangers that they pose to journalists and free speech on the Internet. The CIA, it appears, agrees: naming its effort the “Wikileaks Task Force” or WTF.
Continue reading “WTF on the Wikileaks Crackdown? The CIA Agrees”
Afshan Azad, 22, is a talented and beautiful actress who played Padma Patil, a classmate of Harry Potter in the Harry Potter series. She is now achieving equal notoriety in court after she sought protection from her father and brother who allegedly threatened her life over a association with a male Hindu. Her family is Muslim and allegedly wanted her to accept an arranged marriage. Her father — Abul Azad, 53– allegedly threatened her life and called her a “slag” and a “prostitute.” She also accused her brother — Ashraf, 28 — of making threats against her life. However, she then refused to give testimony in court as if the entire incident were wiped away with a memory charm.
Continue reading “Harry Potter Star in Court After Father and Brother Allegedly Threaten Her Life and Demand Arranged Muslim Marriage”
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
Across the Pond: This week, Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, was released on bail from a London prison. Assange will remain under “mansion arrest” at the 600-acre estate of Vaughan Smith, a London restaurateur and former war correspondent. He plans to fight extradition to Sweden where he would face sex crimes allegations.
Back Here at Home: Bradley Manning, the 22-year-old U. S. Army intelligence specialist who has been accused of leaking classified documents to Wikileaks, has been held
in solitary confinement at the marine brig in Quantico, Virginia, for five months. Before being transferred to Quantico, Manning was held in a military jail in Kuwait for two months. Manning will face a court martial on charges that he provided Wikileaks with classified information in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Continue reading “Bradley Manning: The Forgotten Person in the Wikileaks Affair”
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
The Feds have arrested 35-year-old Californian, Marc Knapp, for trying to sell an F-5B fighter jet to Iran. Knapp was nabbed in a government sting operation that crisscrossed the country from Pennsylvania to California and even ranged to Budapest, Hungary. For his part, Knapp was unconcerned that the nation that once promised “Death to America,” and is reputedly looking for a nuclear weapons capability might acquire an US-made fighter jet.
We have another encouraging statement from our ally, Afghan President Hamid Karzai who told Gen. David H. Petraeus, U.S. Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry and other top Western officials in Kabul that one of his greatest enemies is the United States and that he wished he had gone with the Taliban when he had a chance. Previously, if you recall, Karzai stated that he wanted to actually join the Taliban in fighting the United States, so this is just a reminder.
Continue reading “With Friends Like This: Karzai Again Proclaims that He Wishes He Was With The Taliban Instead of the United States”
An Italian court increased the sentences for 23 CIA agents convicted in absentia for abducting an Egyptian imam as part of the US “extraordinary rendition” program. While President Obama has promised that no one involved in the torture program would be prosecuted and has refused to extradite the CIA employees to Italy, the Italian courts have refused to ignore the violation of Italian laws by the United States.
Continue reading “Italian Court Increases Sentences For CIA Agents in Kidnapping/Torture Case”
Recently I added Versailles (and more specifically its director, Jean-Jacques Aillagon) to our ignoble list of “Things That Tick Me Off.” Now, Aillagon has succeeded in securing a second appearance on this list with the news that he had decided to convert part of Versailles into a hotel. That’s right. To raise money for his plans for the historical site, Aillagon is moving into the hotel business. This is after his widely condemned effort to become an art museum with the obnoxious placement of works by Takashi Murakami throughout the palace.
Continue reading “Things That Tick Me Off: Versailles II”
One of the reasons for opposition the European Union was the ability of EU courts to dictate social policies within different countries. This issue is likely to come to a head for some critics with the ruling this week by the European Court of Human Rights that Irish abortion laws violate the rights of a woman seeking abortions in Britain.
Continue reading “European Court Rules Woman’s Human Rights Were Violated in Being Denied Abortion in Ireland”
In our ongoing coverage of blasphemy prosecutions, the case of Gregory Luke, 64, in Indonesia is a standout. The retired Californian engineer is charged with blasphemy for allegedly turning off a speaker system during Ramadan playing prayers throughout the night. He denies that he did so, but the allegation was enough for a crowd to tear apart his home on Lombok island and Luke to be arrested.
Continue reading “Californian Engineer Charged With Blasphemy After Allegedly Turning Off Loud Speaker At Mosque”
While every snow flurry or cool snap is often cited as evidence of the folly of “global warming” by critics, scientists at the NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies have released data showing that 2010 now ranks as the hottest climate year on record.
Continue reading “2010 To Be Hottest Year On Record”
We have been following the grotesque sentencings handed down under Sharia law’s medieval principle of “an eye for an eye,” including the recent variation of a spine for a spine. One such case previously discussed involved an Iranian court ordering that acid be dropped in the eyes of an Iranian man after he blinded the husband of his lover. Now, that sentence has been reviewed and upheld by Iran’s highest courts as perfectly proper under Sharia law.
Continue reading “Eye for An Eye: Iranian Supreme Court Upholds Sentence To Pour Acid In Eyes of Defendant”
This week, I watched the Daily Show interview with former Joint Chiefs of Staff retired General Hugh Shelton about his new memoir. What was most striking was his disclosure that a Clinton cabinet member suggested ordering a U.S. pilot to fly low in a U2 surveillance flight over Iraq in order to be shot down. The U.S. would then use the staged pretext to start a war with Saddam Hussein. What Shelton described is a proposed crime of horrendous proportions. However, he has not revealed the name of the cabinet member or whether Bill Clinton was aware of this proposed criminal act.
I have long complained that U.S. customs forms are missing obvious boxes to check for elephant tails, dried hedgehogs, chicken blood, and the like. That appears to be the defense of a man caught traveling from Ghana with a case filled with a horror show of animal parts.
This clip has been widely shown of Vladimir Putin playing piano and singing “Blueberry Hill.” Shown on various networks, it has been played with spans of the audience of thrilled actors and celebrities from the West. I must confess that, as a civil libertarian, I had a distinctly different reaction. I hesitated to post the clip because I did not want to appear a Killjoy. However, watching all of these American and European actors gush over Putin singing made me a bit ill. Here is a guy who had destroyed democratic reforms in Russia, re-militarized his country, and incorporated the security services to every aspect of Russian life. But he can sure belt out “Blueberry Hill” on a piano.
Recently, Republican Rep. Ron Paul of Texas took to the floor of the House to talk about Wikileaks, transparency in government, and the case of Daniel Ellsberg, the 
Pentagon Papers, and the New York Times. He spoke about how the Iraq War was based on lies. He asked how the U. S. government should prosecute a citizen of Australia for publishing classified U. S. documents that he did not steal. Paul also said the following: “Revealing the real nature and goal of our presence in so many Muslim countries is a threat to our empire, and any revelation of this truth is highly resented by those in charge.”
Continue reading “Ron Paul Speaks about Wikileaks on the Floor of the House”
