Category: International

Bizarre, Criminal law, International, Politics, Religion, Society

Gilded Cage: Malaysian Royal Family Accused of Drugging and Torturing Princess

100px-KelantanWith the world still talking about UAE Crown Prince Sheik Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan and is torture videos, another royal family has been accused of torture and abuses. Teenage model Manohara Odelia Pinot was only 16 when she was married to Tengku Temenggong Muhammad Fakhry, a prince of Malaysia’s Kelantan State. While in Singapore, she was able to escape with the help of police and tell an incredible story of being drugged, tortured, and confined by the family.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, International, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Military, Politics, Society

United Nations: U.S. Human Rights Record “Deplorable” — Including the Continuing Failure to Investigate Torture By the Obama Administration

225px-official_portrait_of_barack_obamatorture -abu ghraibThe United Nations has released a new report on human rights that has found the record of the United states to be “deplorable.” With the continuing refusal of the Obama Administration to investigate war crimes and to support the Bush policies in court, we have lost an opportunity to show the country has committed itself to change these policies and demand accountability for those who implemented them.
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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, International, Media, Politics, Society, Torts

Italian Premier Accused For Trying to Suppress Photos With Young Girls

silvio_berlusconi_29-01-2008Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has previously threatened to crackdown on the media for reporting his regular gaffes and notorious conduct. Now, the media mogul is reportedly trying to block publication of pictures with young women after the media pursues allegations of affairs. His wife, Veronica Lario, sought a divorce due to Berlusconi’s, 72, alleged fondness for girls, including a particular 18-year-old Neapolitan Noemi Letizia.

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Bizarre, Environment, International, Politics, Society

Royal Governor Eats Raw Seal Heart In Protest of EU Ban

512In a truly bizarre scene, Royal Governor General Michaelle Jean, the representative of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II as Canada’s head of state, protested restrictions on seal products by eating the raw heart of a dead seal. It is moments like these that one wonders whether a strong letter and signed picture might have sufficed.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, International, Politics, Religion, Society

Scientology Officers Stand Trial for Organized Fraud in France

488px-scientology_symbolsvgScientology is back in court this week. Officials are facing organized fraud charges with $7 million in fines and 10 years in prison — and could be ordered to end their operations in France. The Church is viewed as a criminal organization and a dangerous cult for years in various European nations, here and here.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, International

The Real Thing: Germany Bans Red Bull Cola After Finding Traces of Cocaine

170px-Red_Bull.svgGermany is considering a nationwide ban on the high-energy drink Red Bull Cola after traces of cocaine were found in it. The officials of the states of Hesse and North-Rhine Westphalia have stopped the sales until the drink can be produced sans real coke — to the disappointment of many no doubt.

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Bizarre, International, Media, Military, Politics, Religion, Society

Report: Bush Told French President Jacques Chirac That Iraq War Was Biblically Ordained With Story of Gog and Magog

SiegeofAntiochAfter the recent disclosure of how Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld used biblical passages as part of the war briefings for President George W. Bush, GQ magazine has an even more disturbing account: Bush lobbied French President Chirac that the war in Iraq was foretold in the bible and told that it was the final struggle with Gog and Magog.

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Courts, Criminal law, International, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Military, Politics, Society

U.S. Holds Journalist For Almost a Year Without Charges or Evidence

200px-flag_of_the_united_statessvgThe United States has been vocal in its denouncing of the recent arrests of journalists by North Korea and Iran. These countries refuse to comply with American values and legal process, particularly in the treatment of journalists. The biggest difference thus far: North Korea and Iran gave the journalists trials. Reuters cameraman Ibrahim Jassam has been held since September by the U.S. military in Iraq without charges or evidence.

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Bizarre, International, Society, Torts

Police Refuse to Charge Women Who Allegedly Falsely Accused Taxi Driver of Sexual Assault

250px-Hackney_carriageThere is an interesting story out of Edmonton, England where police refused to file charges against four women who falsely accused cab driver Soner Yasa of sexual assault. It is an all too familiar story where false rape and assault victims are often not charged as in the infamous case of the Duke Lacrosse team.
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Bizarre, Courts, International, Media, Society

Yep, It’s Torture: Video Shows Conservative Radio Host Moving From Torture Denial to Torture Acceptance

defaultConservative radio host Erich “Mancow” Muller has been one of the loudest voices denying that waterboading is torture. Like Sean Hannity (who said that he would allow himself to be waterboarded), Muller volunteered for a session to prove the point. Unlike Hannity, Muller fulfilled his commitment. As shown on the video below, in a few seconds, Muller went through the full range of Kübler-Ross of torture from denial to acceptance.
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Academia, Congress, Courts, Criminal law, International, Military, Politics, Society

Obama: We Must Uphold Our Principles To Be Safe and Strong

225px-official_portrait_of_barack_obamaSpeaking to the graduating class of U.S. Naval Academy, President Barack Obama told the graduates that the best way to protect our nation is to stand up to its principles. I discussed the detainee issue last night on this segment of Countdown.

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Bizarre, Courts, Criminal law, International, Justice, Lawyering, Military, Politics

A Law Unto Himself: Obama Promises To Hold Some Detainees Without Trial

225px-official_portrait_of_barack_obamaPresident Barack Obama today defended his decision to close the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and promptly raised more serious concerns for civil libertarians. In his speech, Obama announced that the country’s “moral authority” demanded closure but then said that his lawyers were working new policies to hold certain detainees indefinitely without trial.

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