Category: International

International, Society

Transgender Weightlifter Clears Away For Olympic Appearance Amid Growing Controversy

We have previously discussed the ongoing controversy over transgender individuals competing in female sports where critics say they have an unfair advantage. That debate may now go to the Olympics after Laurel Hubbard dominated the recent weightlifting competition in Tokyo. Hubbard competed for New Zealand in men’s weightlifting before her transition in her thirties. She then transitioned as is now sweeping away the competition.

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Bizarre, International, Politics

“God Has Raised This Man Up”: Christian Leader Declares That The Mueller Hearing Was A Divinely Engineered Flop

Many of us viewed the Mueller hearings as a “flop” or “disaster” for the Democrats. However, most of us viewed the failure as a clearly befuddled Robert Mueller, conflicted findings, and a lack of new information. It turns out, according to Lauri Cardoza-Moore, there was another reason: divine intervention.

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Criminal law, International

American ISIS: “I Want To Be The Beheading Person”

Two Somali-Americans were arrested at Tucson International Airport for conspiring to join the Islamic State. What is striking about the arrest is how images that repulse ordinary people will attract those people with extremist or twisted mentalities. Ahmed Mohamed and Abdi Hussein were arrested at the airport on July 26th and the FBI released communications from the men, including Mohamed telling the undercover agent, “[I]f I go to Syria I want to be the beheading person.”

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Bizarre, International, Society, Torts

Oh Canada: Airline Tells 71-Year-Old Disabled Woman To Share Hotel Bed With Male Stranger

We have previously discussed the increasingly brutal conditions on airlines which are continuing to reduce legroom and every possible comfort for travelers to further drive record profits. Some of the airlines however appear to be disregarding the most basic safety considerations. Air Canada recently told Elizabeth Coffi Tabu, a 71-year-old cancer patient in a wheelchair, that she would have to share a bed with a male stranger at a hotel for the night. What is incredible is that this markedly abusive decision could have easily resulted in serious liability for the airline.

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Free Speech, International, Religion

Italian Town Makes Blasphemy Illegal

The northern Italian town of Sanoara has offered another chilling reminder of how the West is rejecting free speech at an accelerating pace. Mayor Walter Stefan has announced with some pride that the town is going to make it illegal “to blaspheme against any faith or religion.” That’s right, the town has embraced the same blasphemy used by extremist Muslim countries to punish those who dare speak against religion.

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Criminal law, International, Media, Politics

Trump: Sweden “Let Our African American Community Down”

President Donald Trump has caused considerable confusion in Sweden by first requesting “bail” (which does not exist in Sweden) for rapper A$AP Rocky in this assault case and then accusing Sweden of letting “our African American community down” by not freeing him. Trump’s intervention in the case was both highly ill-informed and inappropriate in tying U.S. foreign policy to the handling of a celebrity’s routine criminal case.

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Criminal law, International, Media

Terrorist Attack Kills Canadian Journalist Who Returned To Somalia To Show Its Beauty
YouTube Screenshot

There was an incredibly sad story last week. A terrorist attack in Somalia killed 27 people in the port city of Kismayo. Among the dead was Canadian-Somali journalist Hodan Nalayeh, who was an inspiration for not just Somalians but women around the world who have grown up in highly restrictive religious nations. Nalayeh dedicated her life to showing the beauty of her native country, which is all too often in the news for terrorist attacks and extremists. She moved back to Somalia to work to facilitate the continued development of Somalia.

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Free Speech, International, Society

Fourth of July in Derry, Northern Ireland

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

I thought it an interesting twist and in the end quite fitting to celebrate this year’s U.S. Independence Day in Derry, Northern Ireland which coincides a month shy of the fiftieth anniversary Battle of the Bogside and the birth of the Free Derry zone within NI.

I’ve noted in my travels that one can learn from different expressions of freedom, or the lack thereof, in visiting other nations that in the end resulted in a better appreciation for the gift of Liberty that we have a civil right to experience in the United States.

The Derry Murals: (click on each to enlarge)

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Animals, Bizarre, International, Society

Nothing Says Love Like A Dead Lion
Darren and Carolyn Carter are seen kissing over the corpse of a captive lion they killed in a morbid photo

Darren and Carolyn Carter recently shared a romantic moment that left millions disgusted. The couple paid to shoot a giant lion in a canned hunt in South Africa and then celebrated by kissing over the dead body of the animal. We have previously discussed such thrill kill pictures that leave most of us wanting to retch. Nevertheless, the Carters thought shooting a lion with a high-powered rifle was not just an accomplishment but a bonding moment.

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International, Politics, Society

Trump Tells Freshman Women To Go Back To Their “Original” Countries

President Donald Trump caused another twitter storm this week with a highly offensive posting in which he told four female freshman members to go back to their “original countries” and that they “can’t leave fast enough.” It is a well-known trope used against immigrants. Most of us have heard it. My Sicilian immigrant grandparents heard it continually. It is a disgraceful thing to say to another citizen and it should be condemned by all Americans as unacceptable from an American president. In response to bipartisan criticism, Trump doubled down and tweeted “Their disgusting language and the many terrible things they say about the United States must not be allowed to go unchallenged.”

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Bizarre, Criminal law, International

The Crime Of “Affecting Human Subconscious”: Russians Arrest Reporter For Referencing Orwell Under A Truly Orwellian Law

Even in the authoritarian era of Vladimir Putin, the arrest of Mikhail Romanov, a reporter for the Yakutsk Vecherniy, was notable.  Romanov has been accused of “controlling minds” by merely referencing George Orwell’s novel “1984.”

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International, Society

Chinese Billionaire Fined $200,000 For Not Living In $20 Million Mansion

Flag_of_Vancouver_(Canada).svgThere is a bizarre case in English Bar Beach in Vancouver, British Columbia where the wife of a Chinese multimillionaire is suing the government over a $200,000 tax bill for leaving her $20.4 million mansion empty. There were a couple of notable facts in the story that attracted my attention. First, this is a uniquely stupid law that fines you for not living in your own home.  Second, this home is owned by He Yiju and her husband Zheng Jianjiang, a top politician in China’s National People’s Congress. That’s right.  This is a humble dwelling of a dedicated Communist public official.

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International, Politics

Ambassador Calls Trump “Insecure” . . . Trump Responds By Calling Him “Very Stupid” And Refuses To Ever Speak With Him [Updated]

donald_trump_president-elect_portrait_croppedWhen an Ambassador calls you “inept,” “insecure,” and “incompetent,” one would think that you would take efforts to respond in a way that showed you are professional, controlled, and dispassionate.  Yet, after the secret communications of Britain’s ambassador to the US, Kim Darroch, were leaked, Trump went on the attack and declared that Darroch is a “a very stupid guy” and a “pompous fool.”  Moreover, he declared that, because he insulted Trump, no one in the Administration would deal with the representative of one of our oldest and closest allies.  It is important to note that Darroch is not only widely respected throughout the world as a diplomat but never intended for these comments to be made public. He was sharing his unvarnished views with his government — something that all ambassadors are expected to do. Update: Darroch has now resigned.

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Bizarre, International, Politics

Updated: British Government Stands Behind Ambassador Who Called Trump “Inept,” “Insecure,” and “Incompetent”

Sir_Kim_Darroch
UK Government

Trump may have just polled his best numbers with citizens, but one opposing view is clearly Britain’s Ambassador to Washington, Sir Kim Darroch.  Leaked secret memos shows Darroch describing Trump as “inept,” “insecure” and “incompetent.”  The disclosure could present serious problems for not just Darroch but U.S./U.K. relations. Trump is notoriously sensitive to such criticism and Great Britain will now have to consider whether Darroch should be recalled in the interests of diplomacy. Update: The British government has supported their ambassador for offering his good-faith and honest opinions. Trump later responded and said “We are not big fans of that man and he has not served the UK well … I can say things about him but I won’t bother.”

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Animals, Environment, International

Killing Pioneer: Trophy Hunter Kills Iconic Elephant In Namibia

Screen Shot 2019-07-03 at 9.13.51 AM
YouTube (BBC) Screenshot

Voortrekker (“Pioneer”)  is arguably the world’s most photographed and famous living elephant.  Thousands of tourists would go to Namibia to see the massive elephant with its signature perfect ears and profile. One tourist however came not just to admire but to kill the famous elephant. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) agreed to allow the unnamed trophy hunter to shoot Pioneer for N$120 000. It was not hard.  Pioneer was famous in part because of his gentle and friendly demeanor.  It was like shooting a couch, but someone can now claim to have killed the most famous elephant in the world. The rest of us can look at pictures.

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