Horrific stories of food contamination have become almost commonplace in China from oil skimmed from sewers to rat meat to fake eggs (here and here and here and here and here and here). While the Chinese government has jailed food safety advocates and censored many stories, it is struggling to combat massive corruption and criminal elements in its food supply system. A story this week out of the province of Shandong in eastern China tells just how massive this problem is. A criminal gang in eastern China has sold almost 100 metric tons (110.23 tons) of toxic tofu. The tofu was mixed with rongalite powder, a cancer causing chemical banned in all foods. The gang was using it to make the tofu look whiter and fresher. The gang was selling tofu sticks called “fuzhu”, a popular snack in China.
Category: International
There is an interesting case of free speech out of South Africa where Chester Missing has been gagged from sending out any more tweets or messages criticizing singer Steve Hofmeyr. The court order is based on the country’s hate speech laws, a continuation of a trend where free speech is being curtailed under antidiscrimination or hate speech laws. What is a bit different in this case is that Chester is a dummy . . . a real dummy . . . like a puppet dummy.
M. Indira Gandhi is a Hindu mother in Malaysia who is living a nightmare after her Muslim husband took her 11-month daughter after she refused to convert to Islam. The husband, who had only converted to Islam shortly before, then went to a Sharia court. The “court” refused to hear from the wife since she is not Muslim and ruled for her husband. She went to a real court, which ruled for her. However, it does not matter. It has been five years and the police in his largely Muslim nation have refused to enforce the real court order.
Continue reading “Malaysian Police Refuse To Enforce Court Order Of Custody For Non-Muslim Mother”
A New York jury has convicted Adam Tang, aka “AfroDuck,” who posted the video below from “AfroDuck Productions” showing him circling Manhattan at speeds up to 100 mph. Tang, 31, however, has now added being a fugitive to being a reckless idiot — he has fled to Canada. Remarkably, this is only a misdemeanor with a potential sentence of up to a year, but prosecutors insist, understandably, that he needs to spend time in jail. Tang turned down a two-month jail sentence in a plea offer saying that he is married to an American woman and wanted to avoid any criminal record in case it would cause immigration complications. Of course, filming himself speeding at 100 mph through Manhattan did not seem to be a “complication” for his immigration status. Nor did his later arrest history.
There is a tragic and rather bizarre fatality at a large English estate where gardener Nathan Greenaway, 33, died after being rushed to the hospital. The cause appears to be a plant that many may recall from medieval stories — wolfsbane (aka Devil’s helmet, monkshood, leopard’s bane, women’s bane, devil’s helmet or blue rocket). Aconitum is so poisonous that even if brushed against without protection it can cause can vomiting, dizziness, diarrhea, heart palpitations, and, in severe cases, paralysis of the heart and airways. The case would present an interesting tort action in the United States against the retired venture capitalist who owns the $6 million estate. The question is whether Christopher and Kathy Ogilvie Thompson were negligent to have such a lethal plant on the premises if there were no barriers or warnings. The name aconitum comes from the Greek meaning “without struggle”.
Continue reading “Death of English Gardener Linked To Wolfsbane Plant”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
A controversy has erupted in academic and student circles over the University of British Columbia’s Vantage College. The college’s campus is under construction and expected to cost the university C$ 127 million but is beginning its enrollment
Canadian Citizens are prohibited from enrolling at Vantage College. The college is marketed toward wealthy foreign students mostly from China. Tuition and living expenses are stated to be over fifty thousand dollars per year for the privilege of attending Vantage. The university offers higher perks to these students than what is afforded the university’s common students.
A colleague and Chinese expert sent me this notice which is a bit chilling for Chinese residents. The notice tells residents that “To avoid injuries and ensure that sharpshooters will not open fire after misjudging the situation, please retrain from opening your windows or hanging out laundry.”
The Washington Post is raising another instance where the Obama Administration appears to be withholding information on immigration for political purposes — further contradicting President Obama’s pledge to be the most transparent Administration is history. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection releases its annual statistics on October 10th before the elections. Someone in the Administration then ordered the statistics taken down in what the Post is calling a move that seemed to confirm the view of “the Obama administration playing politics with public information.” Notably, the Post however only wrote about the story today so any such intention worked to keep the information out of the public debate. There is a reason why these statistics would be particularly bothersome before an election.
China has long been the greatest driving force in the trafficking of endangered species parts and ivory to fuel its traditional medicine market and jewelry market. We have discussed recent cases (here and here and here) of seizures of huge amounts of illegal animal parts going to China, which also set shocking records for pollution and contamination. Throughout these continual arrests and stories, the Chinese government simply insists that they are combatting such trafficking. Now however an environmental watchdog is accusing the government itself in trafficking. the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency says that Chinese officials used a state trip by President Xi Jinping and other high-level visits to smuggle ivory out of Tanzania. Worse yet, the Chinese are accused of using diplomatic bags to load huge amounts of ivory on planes as a government-maintained illegal trafficking operation.
In torts, we often discuss no fault insurance systems but this story out of Victoria is remarkable. A woman was run over by her own car after her own dog released the handbrake on the car. Victoria’s Transport Accident Commission (TAC) still awarded her $140,000 worth of compensation for injuries to her hip, shoulders, back, and neck. The resolution of the case took over nine years.
We have previously discussed the scourge of blasphemy laws, particularly in Muslim nations, used to punish and even execute people with differing views of religion. We have a deeply disturbing new case outside of Lahore, Pakistan where a Christian couple was accused of desecrating the Koran (Quran), beaten by a mob, and then burnt in a brick kiln where they worked. The couple, known only as Shama and Shehzad, were killed at the behest of a local Muslim mullah in Kot Radha Kishan, some 60 kilometres from Lahore.
Continue reading “Christian Couple Beaten and Burned In Pakistan For Blasphemy”
Dr. Alan Black, an American professor, was arrested last month for taking a picture of a sign banning photography. That act could send him to jail for five years. Various sites have been created to rally support for Roberts who is facing an absurdly harsh legal system and a rule against photography that can only be described as pathological.
Israel has arrested and then given two days of house arrest for a rather bizarre form of expression: defecating on flags, including Israel’s flag. I cannot say that I am eager to attend a showing of the Natali Cohen Vaxberg’s scatological creations, but the sentencing clearly violates free speech protections that many of us believe are a core human right. Warning: foul language is contained in the story below.
There is a truly bizarre crime being reported in Beiliu City, China. Two officials were faced with a quota for cremated bodies under a law encouraging this form of disposal over burials. Two short of the quota, the officials reportedly employed a grave robber named Zhong to supply bodies for cremation.
Iran has denounced the latest report detailing its denial of the most fundamental human rights under its blood-soaked Sharia legal system. The report details the widespread executions of homosexuals and religious dissidents in the country in the name of Islam as well as the denial of basic free speech and association rights. The country executes people by stoning, hanging, and even crucifixion. Mohammad Javad Larijani, chief of human rights in Iran’s government, responded by calling such human rights as a Western invention and lifestyle choice. What is truly shocking is not that the troglodytes in Iran cling to their medieval system but that various countries stepped forward to praise or defend it, including Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Sudan, Syria, Vietnam, Venezuela, Yemen and Zimbabwe. Once again, the endorsement of Venezuela of the most abusive regime in the world shows the plunge of that country’s values in the Chavez and post-Chavez administrations. Notably, this report came shortly after the hanging of Reyhaneh Jabbari and shortly before the imprisonment of Ghoncheh Ghavami
Continue reading “Iran: Human Rights Are Just A Western Lifestyle Choice”