We have previously discussed how some criminal cases highlight the porous border that we share with Mexico. The most recent example is Tomas Martinez-Maldonado, 38, who is accused of raping a 13-year-old girl. Martinez-Maldonado has been deported 10 times and voluntarily removed from the U.S. another nine times since 2003.
Category: International
It is all too common to see drunk folks who celebrated the end of the year to an excessive degree. It is more chilling when those people are pilots. In two separate incidents, pilots were caught in the cockpits about to take off more loaded than their cargo bays. In the case of an Indonesian pilot, he was caught on videotape stumbling through security and staggering on to the plane.
Continue reading “Drunken Pilots Found In Cockpits In Two Separate Incidents”
As Afghanistan continues to reach accommodations with Taliban forces, another case illustrates vividly the extremist Islamic values advanced by the group. In the village in the Northern province of Sar-e pul, a 30-year-old woman was reportedly beheaded in the market by Taliban fighters. Her crime? She “went to the city alone without her husband.” Of course, as we discussed in another story today, our long-time ally Saudi Arabia continues to maintain the same medieval Islamic abuses in the treatment of women.
Continue reading “Woman Reportedly Beheaded In Afghan Market For Shopping Without Husband”
Our close ally Saudi Arabia has again proven that it imposes the same type of extreme and arbitrary justice as nations like Iran. The latest outrage out of the Kingdom was the jailing of a man for campaigning against the nation’s repressive state control over women. For merely speaking up for women, the man is now reportedly in jail for a year.
We have previously discussed the total meltdown in the Philippine’s with the election of Rodrigo Duterte, a man whose hostility toward civil liberties is match only by the uncertainty over his sanity. 
We have previously discussed Duterte’s foul-mouthed tenure in office, including profanities directed at the Pope, President Obama, and anyone else objecting to his evisceration of human rights and the rule of law. Recently Duterte bragged about how he personally murdered suspects as an example for police who were a bit more reluctant to engage in extrajudicial murders. Now, Duterte has bragged that he personally threw suspect to his death from a helicopter. Duterte continues to brag about his extrajudicial murders but there remains no action taken against him.
Continue reading “Duterte Brags About Throwing Criminal Suspect From A Helicopter”
I recently wrote about the growing threat of government regulation of speech on the Internet under the guise of combatting “fake news.” Germany has been ground zero for civil libertarians for the rollback of free speech. 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel long ago established herself as a menace to free speech, particularly in her decision to first apologize to authoritarian Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for a satirical poem and then approve the prosecution of the comedian is a shocking and chilling disgrace. Now, Germany is considering imposing a legal regime that would allow fining social networks such as Facebook up to 500,000 euros ($522,000) for each day the platform leaves a “fake news” story up without deleting it. Governments have finally found a vehicle to get citizens to allow them to curtail or chill speech — ironically in the name of facilitating “real news” or “truth.” It is perfectly Orwellian and Merkel’s latest contribution to the erosion of free speech in the West. I recently discussed the issue as part of an interesting segment with Ted Koppel.
Continue reading “Germany Moves To Impose Crippling Fines On Social Networks For “Fake News””
We have long discussed the rapid decline of free speech protections in the West. I have long argued that the West appears to have fallen out of love with free speech, which is more often viewed as a rising scourge rather than a defining value in some countries. That trend was reinforced by Israel this week, which became the latest country to criminalize some statements on social media. A new law would give the government the ability to move against any speech deemed as threatening or encouraging violence to be “removed immediately.” The law would cover the dangerously ambiguous category of language deemed “incitement.”
Continue reading “Israel Moves Crackdown On More Speech On Social Media”
The Obama Administration and many Democratic leaders have made “fake news” a rallying cry for more government and private regulation of the Internet — as well as a rationale for the devastating loss of Hillary Clinton to Donald Trump. Below is a column exploring the dangers of this new justification for speech regulation, which are already becoming evident in various countries around the world. I recently discussed the issue as part of an interesting segment with Ted Koppel.
Continue reading “THE REAL DANGER OF FAKE NEWS”
There is an interesting controversy in Israel after the rabbinate in Jerusalem issued a letter warning dozens of hotels in the city that it is “forbidden” by Jewish religious law to erect a Christmas tree or stage new year’s parties. It is a reminder of how Israel remains a country without separation of temple and state — a source of continual tension between the government and both secular Jews and other religions. The Washington Post has referred to a virtual “war on Christmas” by some rabbis in the country.
We have been discussing how Dubai is trying to lure Westerners to the country while it is continuing to impose the medieval Islamic Sharia system with predictably abusive results, particularly for women. Now, Dubai police have arrest a 30-year-old Ethiopian woman in the Al Qassimi Hospital after she gave birth to a child as an unmarried woman. The hospital called police that that newborn baby was illegitimate and she is an illegal maid.
Continue reading “Unmarried Woman in Dubai Arrested For Giving Birth Without A Husband”
Faced with widespread safety concerns, most airlines order shake downs, inspections, and enhanced monitoring. Pakistan International Airlines however had an additional safety measure: the sacrifice of a goat to ward off bad luck. The pictures on social media show smiling airline officials as they practice the barbaric superstition. It appears that some airlines have carry on policies while others have carrion policies.
Continue reading “Pakistani Airline Responds To Deadly Crash By Sacrificing Goat on Airport Tarmac”
There is a fascinating new law in Italy that seems a victory for the growing population of polyamorists around the world. Italy may drop the promise for couples to remain faithful in marriage as a commitment that may be viewed as outdated or objectionable by many modern couples who do not view sexual “fidelity” as a precondition for marriage.
Continue reading “Italy Moves To Remove The Promise Fidelity As A Condition For Marriage”
“Living nativity” have long been the rage during the holidays, particularly as part of traditions like the one at St Mary’s Church on Holton Road in Wales. The scene includes live donkeys to the delight of the children. However, this year was marred by one donkey taking a bite out of one of the children — thereby bringing together two of my favorite themes: Christmas and torts. The case could come down to the question of a type of “one free bite” rule.
There are new reports confirming not only climate change but escalating losses of arctic ice. US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s annual Arctic report card has found that this is the hottest year on record in the Arctic and it is now twice as fast as any other place on Earth. Another international study found that the rapid loss of glaciers is caused by climate change to a certainty of 99 percent.
Continue reading “Scientific Reports Confirm Catastrophic Climate Change”
We have previously discussed the disgraceful reign of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, a foul-mouthed, patently unstable leader who relishes extrajudicial killings. Duterte who has unleashed profanities at the Pope, President Obama, and anyone else objecting to his evisceration of human rights and the rule of law. Now, Duterte, undeterred by global condemnations and withholding of aid programs, he is now publicly bragging about how he personally murdered suspects as an example for police who were a bit more reluctant to engage in extrajudicial murders. The question now is whether the Filipino government contains enough sane and honorable leaders to finally move to remove this unhinged, tyrannical figure. While China clearly loves what it sees in this murderous authoritarian, most Filipinos were raised in a nation that has struggled to create true democratic institutions based on the rule of law.
Continue reading “Duterte: I Personally Killed Suspects To Show The Police How It Is Done”