President Barack Obama and his Administration set a new level of hypocrisy this weekend with calls on the Chinese government and military to end censorship and be more open with the public while barring disclosure of embarrassing photos of detainee abuse.
Continue reading “President Obama Calls On China to Be More Transparent and Open — And Then Bars The Release of Any More Photos of Detainee Abuse to the Media and Public”
Category: International
This is obviously a cultural divide. This video shows how the Chinese have devised a way to keep a fish alive during frying so that it can be eaten alive.
Continue reading “A Bit Too Fresh: Chinese Discover Way To Keep Fish Alive After Being Fried”
We previously followed the investigation into the three deaths in a sweat lodge run by “Spiritual Warrior” James Arthur Ray at the Angel Valley Retreat Center in Sedona, Arizona. Now, the Lakota Sioux Tribe is suing, demanding the prosecution of Ray under the 1869 Treaty of Fr. Laramie for appropriating a Native American ritual.
Continue reading “Indian Tribe Sues Self-Help Author Over Use of Sweat Lodge”
Paul Clarke, 27, a veteran, thought that he was doing the right thing when he found a shotgun in his garden. He took the shotgun to the police station and was immediately arrested for possession of a firearm without permit and criminally charged — an offense that brings five years imprisonment. Prosecutor Brian Stalk insisted that this is a strict liability offense and his intent to help police does not matter — he is a menace to society as defined under the criminal code.
There is a disturbing trial being held in Zambia where the news editor of The Post, Chansa Kabwela, sent photos of a woman giving birth in a hospital car park without assistance to highlight the costs of a nursing strike and poor government policies. She was right. The officials, including Zambia’s President, Rupiah Banda, were horrified. They immediately arrested Kabwela for distributing pornography.
Continue reading “Journalist Charged with Pornography for Sending Pictures of Woman in Unassisted Child Birth to Government Officials”
We often discuss liability issues associated with promotional events. Now, it seems that the French are dealing with the same problem. An Internet company canceled a promotional event in which it promised to hand out thousands of dollars in cash. The result was violence as the crowd took out their disappointment on police and parked cars. The site for Mailorama still shows a bus throwing money.
Continue reading “City of Fights: Internet Promotion Sparks Violence in Paris”
Parents at the Fox Hill Primary School in Sheffield England are a bit put out over a curious educational program at the school. When children showed up at the school recently, they were met by a bloody crime scene, a dead teacher on the ground, and police. They were asked to solve the crime but not told that it was all for fun.
Continue reading “School Accused of Terrorizing Students With Faked Murder”
Attorney General Eric Holder has ordered actual trials for five 9/11 suspects rather than military tribunals. The decision places the United States squarely back on the road of the rule of law in giving due process even to our most hated defendants. The five defendants include 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The other four are Waleed bin Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi and Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali. However, this courageous act was diminished by an inexplicable decision of Holder to order five other defendants — including USS Cole suspect Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri — be tried in a military tribunal. I discussed this decision on this segment of MSNBC Countdown.
Continue reading “9-11 Defendants to be Given Real Trials as Holder Stands on Principle — Sort Of”
While English courts are generally viewed as rather buttoned down and proper, a trial last week was rated strictly adults only. The Newcastle Crown Court played a recording of Caroline and Steve Cartwright having sex in a novel nuisance case. Neighbors have complained that the couple is a bit vocal in their amorous moments.
Continue reading “Abating Mrs. Cartwright: English Woman Declared Noise Nuisance for Vocalizing Intimate Moments in Her Home”
A Russian judge gave a new meaning to mitigating factors in sentencing. Sergey Gavrilov, 27, killed and ate his mother in southern Russia. The judge, however, gave the man a lenient sentence on the grounds that he was hungry.
Continue reading “A Place Called Mom’s: Russian Man Given Sentence Reduction After Killing and Eating Mother Due to His Being Hungry”
Bill O’Reilly made an extraordinary statement last night in addressing the difficult fact that “we can’t kill all the Muslims.” This follows an equally bizarre statement from his interviewee Fox News contributor Col. Ralph Peters that there are no Christian or Jewish terrorists.
Glenn Beck has lost a bizarre trademark fight with the founder of glennbeckrapedandmurderedayounggirlin1990.com, Isaac Eiland-Hall. Eiland-Hall created the Internet sensation to mock the style of Beck and Fox News — leading to a challenge over the use of Beck’s name with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Continue reading “Glennbeckrapedandmurderedayounggirlin1990.com Wins in Trademark Challenge Against Glenn Beck”
Once again, as a military history buff, I find this incredibly cool. Archeologists may have solved one of the great mysteries of military history: the lost army of Persian King Cambyses II. Loss 2,500 years ago, it is believed to have been found — or what is left of it — by Italian researchers in the western Egyptian desert.
Continue reading “Lost Army of King Cambyses II Found”
As we have been following on this blog, witch doctors in Africa continue to cause great suffering and abuses, here and here and here and here. Now, there is a report from Tanzania that witch doctors have caused the slaughter of more than 50 albinos for their body parts.
Continue reading “Witch Doctors in Tanzania Accused of Killing Albinos for Magical Body Parts”
A Canadian judge made a disturbing finding in the sentencing of Father Bernard Cloutier who was convicted of abusing young boys. The judge heard evidence that retired Bishop Gérard Dionne thwarted a 1983 police investigation into Cloutier’s sexual abuse.
Continue reading “Canadian Judge Finds Catholic Bishop Thwarted Investigation of Abusive Priest”