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”
Category: International
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”
Prince Charles and his consort, the Duchess of Cornwall were attacked by a mob protesting tuition hikes screaming “Off With Their Heads” and “Tory Scum” on Thursday as seen in this extraordinary video. One protester reported was able to poke Camilla with a stick through a window left open by security.
With a 2000 year old history, the Holy Thorn Tree of Glastonbury has stood as an important symbol for Christians in England — a pilgrimage point retracing the steps of Joseph of Arimathea (believed to be Jesus’ great uncle). Now it has been cut down in what some are alleging to be an anti-Christian act of vandalism. I have seen no evidence establishing an anti-Christian intent.
Continue reading “Vandals Cut Down The Holy Thorn Tree of Glastonbury”
I have always marveled how everything in the Middle East can be reduced to a conspiracy theory. This week, however, Egyptian authorities are exploring the possibility that the recent shark attacks in Sharm al-Sheikh were the result of Mossad using GPS technology to guide the sharks. That’s right, shark attacks at a beach resort so the Jews did it.
Continue reading “Jaws V: The Mossad Menace”
Mohammed Abou-Sabaa, the son of a leading Tunisian official, was reportedly turned down for a job so he went home and decided to beat his dog — captured in a horrific six-minute film abusing his five-month-old labrador named Poppy. It appears however that being educated gives you something of a license for beating puppies because you said you had “a bad day.”
Continue reading “The Educated Abuser: Tunisian Diplomat’s Son Caught Savagely Beating Five-Month-Old Puppy And Allowed To Walk”
A group of anonymous “hacktivists” has reportedly launched “Operation Payback”—an online attack whose goal is to shut down the websites of banks and companies that have cut off business ties with Wikileaks. According to Huffington Post, the MasterCard website has been DOWN since approximately five o’clock this morning.
Continue reading ““Hacktivist” Supporters of Julian Assange Allegedly Shut Down MasterCard Website”
A Berlin butcher is several ham steaks richer tonight but about 5000 Euros poorer after a wild boar invaded his shop. Rainer Kraemer says the boar wandered in from nearby woods to wreak havoc on his store and its customers. The hour-long assault did about 5000 Euros (~$7,500.00) in damage and left the butcher shaken.