First there was Al Qaeda, then Swine Flu, and . . . now that you think you are over the worst of it . . . here come the Gnome Nazis.
Category: International
It appears that when I suggested Woody Allen was the last person Polanski who want as an advocate (here), I spoke too hastily. As the French continue their campaign to force the return of Roman Polanski to their country (and avoid extradition to the United States for his rape of a 13-year-old girl in 1997), a new controversy has emerged from the Sarkozy government. The culture minister advocating for the famed director is the nephew of the late Socialist French president Francois Mitterand — Frédéric Mitterrand. Mitterrand appears to have more than a platonic interest in the underlying controversy.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed not to allow any Israelis to stand trial for war crimes even if demanded by the United Nations or world court. It is a position that defies the entire basis of international legal process created by the Nuremberg Tribunals since no country has a right to determine its own innocence. As previously noted, the Goldstone Commission found credible evidence of war crimes in the Gaza campaign.
Continue reading “Netanyahu Vows to Block Any War Crimes Trial of Israeli Official”
Given our earlier story of how English parents are no longer allowed to buy alcohol with their teenagers present at the store, this may be a bit of a mixed message. A study has concluded that parents should supply alcohol to their teenagers at home rather than have them venture out for more dangerous liaisons. The researchers propose a weekly alcohol allowance for teens.
Continue reading “Teen Happy Hours: Study Proposes a Weekly Alcohol Allowance for the Children”
Management consultant Jackie Slater is over fifty and wanted to buy two bottles of wine when she was stopped at a store counter in England. The Morrisons clerk told her that she could not purchase wine because she was accompanied by her 17-year-old daughter Emily. In a London library, Lorna Watts, 26, asked to borrow some scissors and was refused by a librarian who explained that she “might stab a member of staff”. These are stories from what many of our English cousins are calling the evolution of a “nanny state” where the government and companies dictate an ever-widening range of rules for citizens who are treated as little more than errant children.
The Gaza zoo had a problem. They were missing two things: zebras and the money to buy them. The solution came in the form of some masking tape, paint, and two confused donkeys.
Continue reading “Gaza Zoo Invents the Instant Zebra”
It turns out that the correct meaning of ‘Stalinistic” is kind, family-oriented, and greatly loved. Or, at least that is the view expressed in a Russian court by Joseph Stalin’s grandson, Yevgeny Dzhugashvili. (Stalin’s given name was Joseph Dzhugashvili). He is suing opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta for publishing declassified death warrants from the period and offering an unvarnished account of the atrocities under Stalin.
Continue reading “Defaming Uncle Joe: Stalin Family Sues Newspaper for Portraying Stalin as Stalinistic”
President Barack Obama has won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. It is a great honor for this country and for the President. For civil libertarians, however, the prize is a bit of a mixed message. Obama has blocked any investigation of war crimes or torture in violation of international law. He has also supported the limitation of free speech to allow the criminalization of criticism of religion. With less than a year in office, the selection may send the wrong message to Obama that personality rather than principles succeed in both domestic and international politics.
Continue reading “Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize”
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair used a speech at Georgetown University to warn of the threat against the West that is growing at alarming rate. No, he wasn’t talking about terrorism, the recession, or even Swine Flu. He was talking about atheists and the menace they present to the world. Not since leaders tackled the dangers of witches in our midst has a politician sounded such an alarm. This politician happens to be the leading contender for the first “president of Europe.”
Continue reading “The Blair Witch Project: Former Prime Minister Warns of Atheists Among Us”
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has added nepotism to his current personal controversies — shocking the French political establishment by appointing his son, Jean, 23, to be the head of the multibillion euro public agency that runs La Défense, the island of corporate towers in the west of Paris. It is reminiscent of Le Dauphin or child heir apparent to the French throne.
The line of countries asking for handouts as part of the global warming agreement included a curious member: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is concerned that if environmentalism should ever break out, the Kingdom could suffer. Accordingly, they are quietly asking that the KSA not be forgotten in the list of needy nations.
Continue reading “Brother, Can You Spare a Riyal? Saudis Ask For Possible Financial Assistance If World Reduces Emissions”
The Obama administration has shocked many in the civil liberties community with the tacit endorsement of limitations of free speech in the United Nations. We have been following the international trend (here and here and here and here) to criminalize criticism of religions, including this prior column. The Administration has joined the UN Human Rights Council and has agreed to create a “new” standard balancing speech and respect for religion. These new standards are merely thinly disguised blasphemy laws that are spreading throughout the world, including the West.
A consumer advocate Mitch Lipka has alerted Target and the public about cheap Chinese-made flashlights being sold for Halloween. The devices sold for three for a dollar appear to succeed in not just lighting up the night but the children holding them.
Continue reading “Lighting Up Halloween: Target’s Pulls Another Chinese-Made Product”
Do these apples look alike? Computer giant Apple appears to believe so. It is suing Australia’s Woolworths for trademark infringement over the use of the new logo.
Continue reading “And Apple Commanded: “You Must Not Take of the Apple Tree . . . For You Will Surely Be Sued””
I have heard of air turbulence but this is ridiculous. Two Air India pilots — identified as Commander Ranbeer Arora and Captain Aditya Chopra — are grounded after they allegedly left the cockpit of their Airbus A320 to punched flight crew members who accused them of sexual harassment — in front of freaked out passengers.
Continue reading “Air Turbulence: Two Pilots Grounded After Allegedly Leaving Cockpit at 30,000 Feet to Punch Out Flight Crew”