Question: what is the only thing scarier than one of the world’s largest indoor shark tanks? Answer: one of the world’s largest indoor shark tanks with a crack.
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Category: International
The United States has unveiled the design of its new $1 billion high-security embassy in London. It is an impressive design by Kieran Timberlake, the Philadelphia architect despite its hefty price (a record for an embassy). Timberlake won a competition of dozens of architects, here.
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We previously read about bands of men roaming the streets of Jerusalem and other cities to break up mixed couples of Israeli women and Arab men, here. Now, there is a report that one city has created a formal program to locate such women and “treat” them outside of Tel Aviv.
Continue reading “Israeli City Establishes Program to Locate and “Treat” Israeli Girls Who Date or Marry Arab Men”
Prominent Saudi cleric Shaikh Abdul-Rahman al-Barrak has issued a fatwa calling for “Modernisers” who object to the strict segregation of men and women in the Kingdom to be killed in the name of Islam.
Continue reading “Separate But Lethal: Leading Saudi Cleric Calls For The Killing of People Who Oppose The Segregation of The Sexes”
Dubai has released the names of new suspects in the alleged Israeli hit on Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.
They identified 15 new suspects including six new British names, as well as the names of three more Irish passport-holders, three French and three Australian. That brings the total to 26 suspects.
The six Britons were named as Philip Carr, Gabriella Barney, Stephen Drake, Mark Sklar, Daniel Schnur and Roy Cannon.
Police also confirmed that the credit cards were all issued by MetaBank of the United States. They believe that head of the team was using a fake French passport under the name Peter Elvinger, and used a credit card issued by DZ Bank of Frankfurt.
For the full story, click here
There is an interesting libel case out of England that once again shows what I believe is the fundamental flaw in the system’s treatment of defamation cases. Simon Singh is being sued by the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) for his criticism of their profession in what would be treated as non-defamatory opinion in the United States. England has a extremely broad interpretation of defamation that chills speech and allows major corporations and associations to pursue critics with threats of financial ruin.
Continue reading “Writer Appeals Defamation Ruling For Commentary Criticizing Chiropractic Treatment for Certain Ailments”
It is a moment that may top the fall of the French skier in the first five seconds of her Olympic run, here. Top speed skater Sven Kramer lost his second gold medal after winning the 10,000m after his coach mistakingly sent him into the wrong lane — resulting in his disqualification.
Continue reading “Improper Lane Change: Olympic Skater Loses Second Gold Medal After Coach Directs Him To Wrong Lane”
I have long argued that torts professors should be assigned to the U.S. Olympic team Now, a German athlete has been injured by the fact that Olympic medals omit the warning that “biting into this medal may cause dental injury.” The victim, David Moeller was the unwitting victim when he bit into his silver medal in the luge only to break his front tooth.
An English surgeon who mistakenly removed a baby’s bladder in an operation is fighting to keep her license. Pierina Kapur, 43, a consultant pediatric surgeon, insists that her surgical performance was “inadequate” but that she did not engage in misconduct that should result in serious discipline. In the meantime, the baby will need a catheter for the rest of her life.
Continue reading “Surgeon Mistakingly Removes Infant’s Bladder But Insists She DId Not Commit Misconduct Warranting Serious Discipline”
There is an interesting controversy that has erupted over a recent speech by Martin Kramer, a fellow at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. Critics at Electronic Intifada denounced Kramer’s speech as a call for genocide when he called for the West to end support for Palestinian clinics and hospital for “pro-natal” care.
While we often follow the painful stories of mistreatment and discrimination against women in Saudi Arabia, there is a story today that shows some progress. The Kingdom is about to release a law that would allow women to argue limited cases in court and even perform some simple legal procedures without a male guardian.
Warning: how you begin this week could dictate how you end it. French skier Marion Rolland secured a tragic but memorable moment in history this week by crashing after only five seconds in the downhill competition. That is why the blog wants to be sure that all of our bloggers start out right. Remember the steps: wake, sign on to blog, brush, review blog, shower, add at least one comment on blog, eat, have rigorous exchange on blog . . .
The Sunday Telegraph has published a report that the false passports used in the assassination of Mahmoud al Mabhouh in Dubai were copied by airport officials from the originals in Tel Aviv. The allegation would add evidence of a government plan to steal the identities of the British citizens living in Israel.
Continue reading “Newspaper: British Passports Were Copied By Airport Official in Tel Aviv For Hit in Dubai”
Olympic skater outfits continue to trigger protests. First there was the controversy over U.S. figure skater Johnny Weir’s wearing real fur as part of his outfit, here. Now aboriginal advocates in Australia are protesting the costumes of Russian ice dancers Oksana Domnina and Maksim Shabalin. While I thought Weir’s costume was the ugliest that I had seen, that was before I saw the Russian costumes. I am not sure if it is a case of “cultural offense” but it is certainly offensive to the eye. The costume is shown in the linked articles below.
Continue reading “Russian Dancers Accused of Cultural Insult and Disrespect Over Outfits”
While dolphins continue to be slaughtered in Japan (here and here), those same humans may have their lives saved by a new discovery that dolphins can turn on and off diabetes. Scientists believe that humans may have once had this ability and that dolphins could lead to a breakthrough treatment for humans.
Continue reading “Dolphin May Possess Cure For Diabetes”