Recently, Pakistan shocked the world by surrendering the Swat Valley to Islamic extremists and allowing the huge area to be placed under Sharia law. Now, a video (shown below) has emerged of what this means, particularly for women. The video shows a teenage girl being flogged for an improper relationship as she begs for mercy.
Continue reading “Video: 17-Year-Old Girl Flogged Under Pakistan’s New Sharia Law in Swat Valley”
It is well-known that, as a Torts professor, I have made my share of anti-contracts statements — part of a long-standing feud between common law Torts and Contracts faculty. However, to make up for decades of badmouthing contracts, I give you a really interesting contracts case worthy of . . . well . . . a torts class. In Stuttgart, Germany, Demetrius Soupolos, 29, is suing his neighbor Frank Maus, 34, for breach of contract. It seems that Soupolos hired Maus for $2500 to impregnate his wife, a former beauty queen named Traute, but to his surprise Maus desperately tried 72 times without success.
There is an astonishing effort by intelligence officials to block Attorney General Eric Holder and White House counsel Gregory Craig from releasing torture memos from the Justice Department. A senior national-security aide named John Brennan is leading the effort to block the release with the backing of people at the CIA. It takes considerable hubris given the CIA’s knowing destruction of evidence of torture and obvious motivation to withhold the memoranda to further conceal the agency’s involvement in war crimes. One official is quoted as saying “Holy hell has broken loose over this.” That is certainly the proper venue for officials still struggling to cover-up evidence of war crimes.
There is another curious case out of England. Paul Leicester, 18, was acting as a good citizen when he found a cellphone on the street and picked it up to return it to its owner. He rang the last number on the cellphone and spoke to the friend of the owner — telling him that he would leave the cellphone at the local police station. The police, however promptly arrested him for “theft by finding,” took DNA samples, and held him for hours.
For years, there has been growing discomfort over the loss of American lives and treasure in Afghanistan while the government moves increasingly toward a Taliban-like legal system that rejects most of the rights that we consider fundamental for all humanity. Those concerns have been magnified this week with a new Afghan law that makes it legal for men to rape their wives. Under the law, a woman “is bound to preen for her husband as and when he desires.”
Continue reading “Afghanistan Legalizes Rape and Obligates Women “To Preen” for Their Husbands”
The Obama assault on English sensibilities continued yesterday with another bizarre gift of an IPod to the Queen — leaving many in that country wondering if the Obamas are trying to be insulting. If you have been following this impressive and growing litany of social faux pas, the Obamas shocked both Americans and English citizens with remarkably cheap and thoughtless gifts to the family of Prime Minister Brown on his recent visit. Then the White House distributed hundreds of briefings on England for the current trip that read like England for Anglophobes. Previously, the Obamas refused to accept an offer of a famous bust of Winston Churchill from the English government (which extended the loan of the piece after the Bush Administration).
Continue reading “We Are Not Amused: The First Family Gives IPod to Queen”
In a major decision, Attorney General Eric Holder has announced that he has found that the Justice Department has acted improperly in barring any criminal investigation of well-documented war crimes committed by the Bush Administration in the torture program. To punish the failure of the Department to act in a timely fashion, he has announced that no criminal charges will be pursued regarding torture to teach prosecutors a lesson that “justice delayed is justice denied.”
Continue reading “Attorney General Eric Holder Announces Justice Department Will Not Investigate War Crimes Due to Prosecutorial Misconduct”
First, there was the embarrassing and insulting treatment of the Brown family by the White House during the recent state visit. Now, the White House has put out a briefing booklet that appears to go out of its way to insult the British from referring to them as a declining world power to elevating France over Britain as an ally to noting its small size. It seems that the White House has been taken over by anglophobes.
Continue reading “White House: Britain Is A Declining Power “Slightly Smaller Than Oregon””
The Washington Post is reporting that the torture ofhigh-value captive, Abu Zubaida produced nothing but false leads — in direct contradiction of suggestions by former Vice President Dick Cheney and others who endorsed the torture program and use of waterboarding. Moreover, the report indicates that the Administration quickly learned that Zubaida was not the high-profile, highly placed Al Qaeda operative that they told the public. I discussed the latest developments on this segment of Countdown.
Morocco has joined the list of Islamic nations denying freedom of religion to its citizens. Five women were arrested by authorities and sent to Spain after they were caught allegedly in the act of converting Muslims to Christianity. Presumably, any effort to teach Muslims the benefits or values of Christianity could qualify for this particular offense.
Spanish investigating magistrate Baltasar Garzon has passed a 98-page complaint to prosecutors that accuses former Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and five others violations of international law, including torture.
Continue reading “Spanish Court Orders Investigation of Bush Aides for War Crimes at Guantanamo Bay”
In an example of the terrible treatment given rape victims in some traditional societies, a woman in India has converted to Islam to marry her rapist — in order to end the social stigma of being a rape victim. For years ago, the woman (who name was withheld) was raped and then ostracized for her status. She is asking a court to allow her rapist to be placed on bond so that she can marry him and end her isolation since the 2005 crime. As shown below, this is not a unique case.
Continue reading “Indian Woman Seeks To Marry Rapist In Order To End Social Stigma and Isolation”
In yet another example of the shrinking values of free speech in England, a University of East London professor of anthropology Chris Knight has been suspended for saying that bankers need to be aware of the fury in the country before they are found “hanging from lampposts.” Knight was helping organize a protest for next week G20 summit.
Continue reading “A Knight’s Tale: Professor Suspended for Hanging Bankers Comment”
Henry Ford once promised customers any color so long as it is black. Now, California seems close to saying that black cars can stay out of the state. This is not a racist takeover, but an environmental movement to encourage the selection of cars that reflect light to reduce energy demands.
Continue reading “Any Color So Long As It Is Green: California Moves to Regulate Car Color”
For two years, German police have been stalking the most prolific serial killer in its history — a rare female serial killer connected to 39 murders with DNA traces Germany, Austria, and France. They offered 300,0000 euros to anyone who would help find her and hundreds of detectives interviewed 800 women convicted of crimes in the country. They have finally found her.