Category: International

Academia, International, Religion

The Shigir Idol: Russian Wooden Figure Dated At 11,000 Years Old

1bec1ab0-4e70-11e5-8f39-235a41650419_shigiridolWe have often discussed the difficulty in maintaining the creationist view of the Earth being only a few thousand years old when carbon dating and other techniques show billions of years of existence. A new such conflicting data point has emerged from Russia where a peat bog yielded a wooden idol and is 11,000 years old. What is particularly cool is that this oldest wooden figure contains a code of some ancient language that has yet to be deciphered.

Continue reading “The Shigir Idol: Russian Wooden Figure Dated At 11,000 Years Old” →

Courts, Free Speech, International, Politics

Court In Egypt Sentences Al-Jazeera Reporters To Three Years Imprisonment

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

Flag of EgyptWe previously wrote HERE and HERE of the arrest, conviction, and sentencing several Al-Jazeera reporters for the dubious accusation of aiding the Muslim Brotherhood through their coverage of the “civil war” in Egypt.

Now in its latest retrial, the Court sentenced Peter Greste, Mohammed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed to three years imprisonment for operating without a press license and broadcasting material harmful to the state. An international outcry likely will follow.

Continue reading “Court In Egypt Sentences Al-Jazeera Reporters To Three Years Imprisonment” →

Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media

Russians Sentence Ukrainian Filmmaker To 20 Years Despite Recantation By Main Witness And Allegations of Torture

YouTube screenshot
YouTube screenshot
The crackdown on free speech continued in Russia this week with the sentencing of a leading critic of Russia’s 2014 annexation of the Crimean peninsula. Filmmaker Oleg Sentsov was given 20 years for conspiracy to commit terror attacks. Critics have denounced the case as a sham prosecution of a critic and compared the move (like so many under Vladimir Putin) as a return to Soviet-style trials for critics.

Continue reading “Russians Sentence Ukrainian Filmmaker To 20 Years Despite Recantation By Main Witness And Allegations of Torture” →

Bizarre, International

Chinese Woman Told That She Had To Dump or Drink Bottle of Cognac Before Boarding . . . She Drinks Bottle and Is Then Told She Is Too Drunk To Board

We have all been in this position. We buy a coffee or water and TSA informs us that we have to drink it or toss it before going through security. (Just on the other side of the TSA is often a Starbucks mirroring the one that you just visited and ready to sell you the same exact beverage). Many people gulp down the drinks but most are not stopped with a bottle of Rémy Martin XO Excellence worth £120. A Chinese woman named Zhao was stopped at the Beijing airport told to dump it or drink it. She drank it. She was then pronounced too drunk to board her plane.

Continue reading “Chinese Woman Told That She Had To Dump or Drink Bottle of Cognac Before Boarding . . . She Drinks Bottle and Is Then Told She Is Too Drunk To Board” →

Criminal law, International, Religion

Palmyra Falls: ISIS Reportedly Blows Up Ancient Temple of Baalshamin

220px-Temple_of_Baal-Shamin,_Palmyra We have been following the disgusting acts of the Islamic State in wiping out any culture, art, or education not directly advancing Islam. The Muslim extremists have bulldozed or dynamited ancient church and temples as well as museums under its twisted view of Islam. Now one of the greatest jewels of ancient Syria reportedly has called, at least in part. Reports state that ISIS has blown up the famed Baalshamin Temple at Syria’s ancient ruins of Palmyra. The 2,000-year-old Roman-era city was also the site of the beheading of one of the world’s leading archeologists.

Continue reading “Palmyra Falls: ISIS Reportedly Blows Up Ancient Temple of Baalshamin” →

Criminal law, International, Society

“Dumbfounded”: French Suspect Allegedly Shocked That Anyone Thinks He Is A Terrorist After Violent Train Incident

Part-PAR-Par8253997-1-1-0Either Ayoub El-Khazzani is a terrorist or one of the unluckiest and most misunderstood men in the world. El-Khazzani is accused of wounding passengers on a French train in a foiled terrorist attack. He was in possession of an AK-47 assault rifle and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. His former lawyer, however, says that he is “dumbfounded” by the allegations and that he simply found the AK-47 assault rifle “by chance.” If the lawyer’s account is accurate, his defense appears that he was planning to hold up the train and then flee. He is simply a misunderstood wannabe bank robber.

Continue reading ““Dumbfounded”: French Suspect Allegedly Shocked That Anyone Thinks He Is A Terrorist After Violent Train Incident” →

Criminal law, International, Politics, Religion, Society

Islamic State Bulldozes 1,500 Year Old Monastery

_85115479_85115478The Islamic State continued its campaign against civilization this week with the demolishment of a 1,500 year old monastery. ISIS views no religion but Islam as worthy of worship and kills non-believers as acts of true faith. ISIS has also abducted dozens of Christians and is known to sell girls as sex slaves — again claiming such rapes as acts of Islamic morality in its twisted reading of the Koran.

Continue reading “Islamic State Bulldozes 1,500 Year Old Monastery” →

Animals, Criminal law, Environment, International, Society

Fowl Attack: Spanish Woman Captured On Film Beating Animal Rights Activist With Duck

55d69d2ac461884c108b45a2For an animal rights activist, the only thing worse than being beaten by a deranged individual at a protest would be to be beaten by a deranged individual using one of the very animals you are trying to protect. That happened to a man in the Catalonian town of Roses when a woman hit him with one of the ducks that protesters were trying to protect from use in an annual festival. The video is below.

Continue reading “Fowl Attack: Spanish Woman Captured On Film Beating Animal Rights Activist With Duck” →

Academia, Criminal law, International, Media, Religion

ISIS Beheads Leading Archeologist Who Reportedly Helped Hide Artifacts And Refused To Reveal Their Location

1004411_555539554497517_663758343_n220px-Temple_of_Baal-Shamin,_PalmyraISIS has continued its blood soaked campaign to impose its view of pure Islam on the world and to destroy all evidence of art and civilization in its path. The destruction of ancient works and structures has appalled the world. The Islamic extremists have now murdered one of the world’s leading experts on the history and art of the region — 82-year-old archaeologist Khaled Asaad. By all accounts, Asaad refused to tell ISIS where art was hidden. ISIS has been destroying large works while selling smaller works on the black market. Images show ISIS supporters laughing and rejoicing as their ancient history and art is destroyed with sledgehammers as the professed will of Allah. The standoff between Asaad and these murderers put the conflict between civilization and these Islamic extremists into the sharpest relief. It also shows who many Muslims continue to put their very lives at risk to protect their history and art. Indeed, they are protecting the art and history of the very nadir of civilization.

Continue reading “ISIS Beheads Leading Archeologist Who Reportedly Helped Hide Artifacts And Refused To Reveal Their Location” →

Free Speech, International, Politics, Religion, Society

Russian Orthodox Extremists Destroy Russian Avante Garde Art In The Hermitage

1280px-Spb_06-2012_Palace_Embankment_various_14While the world has followed the appalling destruction of art by ISIS and Muslim extremists, it is easy to forget that such religious extremism is not limited to Islam. We saw such an example recently in Israel. Another such case has emerged in Russia where Russian Orthodox activists destroyed Soviet avant-garde art deemed insulting to their religion. The attack led the head of the Hermitage Museum Mikhail Piotrovsky to denounce the attack as further evidence of a “sick” Russian society and the rise of “marginal forces against cultural rights” in the country.

Continue reading “Russian Orthodox Extremists Destroy Russian Avante Garde Art In The Hermitage” →

Criminal law, International, Media, Politics, Society

The State Department Flags More Than 300 Clinton Emails As Possibly Classified

170px-Msc2011_dett-clinton_0298This week, Hillary Clinton doubled down on the email scandal in a speech that appeared to mock the ongoing investigation of her use of an unsecured email system during her time as Secretary of State and dismissing questions over her use the system as pure politics. She even joked “You may have seen that I recently launched a Snapchat account. I love it. I love it. Those messages disappear all by themselves.” It is a great line but it is only funny for those who are entirely untroubled by the real danger that Clinton put national security secrets at risk by insisting on retaining control over her own emails and server. One group that is not laughing are former intelligence officials who have accused the government, again, of showing special treatment for powerful figures in the mishandling of classified material or current officials who are continuing to classify hundreds of emails from Clinton’s records. The number of Hillary Clinton emails now flagged for classification has grown to 300. The number is expected to rise even higher as the agencies plow through thousands of emails that remain after the Clinton staff erased thousands of others from the server.

Continue reading “The State Department Flags More Than 300 Clinton Emails As Possibly Classified” →

Criminal law, International, Society, Torts

Massachusetts Man Alleges That He Was Raped At Airbnb In Madrid After The Company Refused To Act On Pleas For Help From His Mother

UnknownAirbnb is a growing phenomenon as people rent out their homes and apartments as an alternative to hotels: often giving visitors more room and costing less than hotels. (For the record, we recently used Airbnb to rent a house in California) A recent case in Madrid has shown the inherent danger in such sites. On July 4th, Jacob Lopez called his mother on her cellphone in a desperate call for help. He said that when he arrived at his Airbnb, he found his host in the apartment who locked him in a room and demanded sex from him. The mother, Micaela Giles reportedly tried to get Airbnb to act but they refused and told her to call police.

Continue reading “Massachusetts Man Alleges That He Was Raped At Airbnb In Madrid After The Company Refused To Act On Pleas For Help From His Mother” →

Environment, International, Politics

Study: Air Pollution In China Kills 4000 People a Day

220px-Factory_in_ChinaWhile China is blocking documentaries on pollution and arresting environmentalists, thousands of Chinese are dying each day due to the suffocating pollution levels in the country. A new study has found that an average of 4,000 people a day in China from air pollution — largely due to coal-burning as a fuel.

Continue reading “Study: Air Pollution In China Kills 4000 People a Day” →

International, Society

KRD Top Level Domain Will Provide Kurds A “Virtual” Homeland

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

krg-dit-logoDespite decades of division and in many cases a denial of what is hoped for a united Kurdistan, the Kurdish people may soon have a common homeland that geopolitics has deprived them—albeit virtual.

The Kurdistan Regional Government, encompassing the northern territory of Iraq, will soon launch the .KRD Top Level Domain (TLD) and allow registration for individuals, organizations, and companies.

Though the .KRD domain is administered by the KRG’s Department of Information Technology (Iraq), the scope of the domain is envisioned to foster a common community that is presently divided among several nations such as Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey, and Armenia.

Continue reading “KRD Top Level Domain Will Provide Kurds A “Virtual” Homeland” →

Criminal law, International, Politics, Society

Amnesty International Votes To Support Decriminalization of Sex Trade

woman dancer100px-Amnesty_International_logo.svgAfter a well-publicized international debate, the delegates from Amnesty International voted on Tuesday to support a policy that calls for decriminalization of the sex trade, including prostitution, payment for sex and brothel ownership. Amnesty International has been the focused of a determined and passionate lobby campaign by celebrities opposing the move. However, the majority still found that criminalization contributes to the abuse of women and girls around the world.

Continue reading “Amnesty International Votes To Support Decriminalization of Sex Trade” →