I have made no secret of my dislike for monarchies — an illogical and wasteful system of government, including the maintenance of “figure head” royal families as in England. The lunacy of such systems was brought home with the visit of Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn to one of Cambodia’s poorest areas (where sanitation is virtually unavailable). The government will spend over $40,000 to build her a luxury toilet for one night with silver railings, tile roofing, and air conditioning. It will them be disassembled after her departure. This is taking the concept of a hereditary throne too far.
Category: International
This disturbing picture shows one of two Franciscana dolphins that were pulled from the water by bathers at an Argentinan resort and then passed around for pictures and petting. The crowd continues to manhandle the dolphins until one died and was just discarded on the sand by these thoughtless swimmers and beachgoers. The Franciscana dolphins have been diminishing in number.
Continue reading “Rare Dolphin Killed After Being Passed Around For Selfies On Beach”
A Nigerian lawyer is testing the belief that you can never have too many lawyers. Prominent lawyer Rickey Tarfa is charged with the obstruction of justice and attempting to pervert the course of justice. Justice Aishat Opesanwo was expected a robust defense but not a 90-lawyer team to show up in his court. Yet, as Oscar Wilde noted, “Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.”
President Barack Obama and other leaders have stressed that the greatest victims of Islamic extremism are not Christians and Jews but Muslims. This week produced another tragic example. Yemen’s top Salafi cleric Samahan Abdel-Aziz, also known as Sheikh Rawi, was found in the southern port city of Aden, Sudan after he gave a sermon denouncing the Islamic State and Islamic extremism. He had been tortured before he was killed.
There is a shocking interview circulating on the Internet that purportedly (I have no way to confirming the translation) shows the “Grand Mufti of Gaza” Hassan Al-Laham holding forth on such subjects as how to best beat your wife, including the advice not to hit them in a way that “makes the face ugly.” He also reminds women that they cannot refuse sex with their husbands under the Koran and must please him in accordance with the principles of Islam. He is also asked for guidance on such issues as whether to allow women to shop during the holidays. Of course, this discussion strikes most sane people as two raving lunatics engaging in a delusional fantasy. Yet, this is a high ranking cleric who apparently holds sway with many people. You are left with the bizarre image of people dutifully writing down such advice as “beatings — yes; but try not to make her ugly.”
In a direct violation of international rules governing these sporting events, the Iranian government barred women from entry to the Beach Volleyball World Tour event on Kish Island. The FIVB had expressly required Iran to guarantee that women would be allowed to enter and watch the matches. However, the Iranians barred them anyway at the five-day competition.
Continue reading “Iranian Women Barred From International Volleyball Competition”
We have been following reports on climate change that appear to support the view that major changes are occurring around the world. This week, NASA released figures showing that, after setting records in 2015, January was was the warmest on record. In another story, Australian wine producers are faced with changing grapes due to the sharp change in climate in that country. As someone who loves Australian reds, the news hits particularly hard and captures the range of subtle and substantial changes that will have to be made in light of the worsening situation.
China is again showing that it remains an authoritarian government fearful of its own people learning the truths of history or politics. This week, China barred Yang Jisheng, 76, a former journalist with China’s official news agency, from traveling to the United States to accept a Harvard University prize for Tombstone, a 2008 book uncovering the devastating toll of the Great Chinese Famine of 1958-1961.
We recently discussed the highly disturbing cases of 12 protesters who called for the boycotting of Israeli products. France’s Supreme Court (the Court of Cassation) upheld the shocking prosecution of the twelve anti-Israel activists in a blow to free speech. Now, England is moving to bar local councils, public bodies and even university student unions from boycotting “unethical” companies.
Continue reading “England Moves To Bar Support For Israeli Boycott Movement”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
One aspect of American politics I find particularly disappointing is the lack of substance inherent in political platforms of both the Republican and Democrat parties. Since most voters in the United States have only experienced the politics resident in our country, I thought in light of this year’s election it would be worthwhile to experience another point of view that is removed from our current political ideologies.
It seems unfortunate that most of what we see today are mere soundbites of half a dozen topics considered to be of utmost importance to each of the parties — seemingly only designed to inflame emotions and provide the voter with very little information which can be ambiguous at best.
I present to you a political platform from another nation, and political perspective: the 2016 Fine Gael manifesto.
Continue reading “How Does An Irish Political Party Manifesto Differ From Those In The United States?”
Pakistan is the latest Muslim country to ban a holiday as a threat to Islam. In this case, it is not Christmas but Valentine’s Day. The Interior Ministry has proclaimed that the harmless holiday is now deemed an “insult” to Islam and banned by order of Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan (right). Khan is one of the leading and most senior members of Pakistan Muslim League.
Continue reading “Pakistani Government Bans Valentine’s Day As “Insult” To Islam”
I read about a fascinating new scientific study where Emmanuel Virot and colleagues at the Ecole Polytechnique and ESPCI ParisTech have concluded that there is a critical wind speed, of around 42 m/s (90 mph), at which almost all tree trunks break – regardless their size or species. Thus, under a simple scaling law, the critical wind speed is largely independent of the tree’s diameter, height or elastic properties.
Continue reading “Study: Trees Break At Same Wind Speed Regardless Of Size or Species”
Spanish Puppeteers Alfónso Lázaro de la Torre and Raul García Pérez could be headed to prison after a decision by Judge Ismael Moreno Chamarro. The Court noted that the two men performed for children in a play that included “the hanging of a doll dressed as a judge, the stabbing of policeman, the rape of a nun and her later stabbing with a crucifix”. That is certainly a large measure beyond the Punch and Judy shows that we grew up with. However, the question remains whether such shows, as disgusting as they are, should be turned into criminalized speech or left to civil liability and public pressures.
Continue reading “Spanish Court Orders The Arrest of Puppeteers For Glorifying Terrorism”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Three weeks ago, we featured an article describing the plight of dozens of academics who faced arrest after signing a peace petition. These advocates were declared enemies of the Republic of Turkey. Now President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government will put on trial a Turkish professor who placed onto an exam questions referencing PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.
Ankara University professor Resat Baris Unlu faces charges for spreading “terrorist propaganda” after presenting his students a question comparing two documents written by the founder of the proscribed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who is currently serving a life sentence.
Israeli Culture and Sports Minister (and former Brigadier General) Miri Regev has a curious view of democracy. Regev is the author of a “cultural loyalty” bill that would allow fines or withdrawing support for any institution for a host of free speech violations, including “the denial of Israel’s democratic nature.” Thus, the bill would allow Israel to punish those who challenge its commitment to democracy so that Israel can show that it is a democracy. Follow? Let’s try again. If someone denies Israel is a true democracy, they will be punished of using their free speech to criticize the government. Well, the important thing is that it all makes sense to Regev. It is taken from the same oxymoronic lesson book as “the beatings will continue until morale improves” or “destroying a village to save it.”
