Iran has continued its assault on free speech this week with the jailing of an artist for simply drawing a cartoon disparaging members of parliament. Atena Farghadani, 28, who is a peaceful activist and artist who sought to mock the decision to restrict birth control for women. Rather than respond to such criticism, the ruling Mullahs sent her to jail.
Continue reading “Iran Jails Cartoonist For Mocking Members of Parliament”
As we discussed earlier, FIFA has responded to the arrests of soccer officials in its latest corruption scandal with open contempt for the public and prosecutors. Sepp Blatter, 79, was reelected as FIFA’s president for a fifth term by the world governing body’s 209 member associations. FIFA officials were still be processed as arrestees in the corruption investigation in the United States, but Blatter was reelected by a group that seems little more than made men in an international criminal organization. Now, Blatter has gone public with a mocking public rebuke of everyone who has tried to reform his organization and fight corruption.
Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Weekend Contibutor
It has happened again. Several big banks have been caught with their hands in the cookie jar and are paying billions in fines for their admitted transgressions.
“On Wednesday, four large global banks — Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland — pleaded guilty to a series of federal crimes over a scheme to manipulate the value of the world’s currencies. The Justice Department accused the banks of collusion in one of the largest and yet least regulated markets, noting that at one bank one trader remarked “the less competition the better.”
That lack of oversight, coupled with the pressure to squeeze profits from a relatively middling business, set the stage for this scandal, one that unfolded nearly every day for five years. The crimes described on Wednesday also painted the portrait of something more systemic: a Wall Street culture that enabled many big banks to break the law even after years of regulatory black marks after the crisis.” New York Times Continue reading “Bankers Make a Mockery of the Law, and No One Goes to Jail”
In the ultimate signal from the FIFA leadership that it cares little about corruption or public opinion or even criminal prosecution, Sepp Blatter, 79, was reelected as FIFA’s president for a fifth term by the world governing body’s 209 member associations. FIFA officials are still be processed as arrestees in the corruption investigation in the United States, but that was not a barrier to Blatter who has been accused for years of ignoring and even encouraging corruption in the organization.
We have previously discussed the struggle that creationists have with the daily disclosures of scientific research, particularly the discovery of fossils and other items that are dates in the millions rather than thousands of years. It is hard to maintain that the Earth is less than 6,000 years old given the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. However, Canadian Edgar Nernberg has shown just how easy it is to live in denial. Nernberg was not just confronted with a fossil from over 60 million years ago, but he actually found it in his basement. However, Nernberg does not think God is trying to tell him something. He maintains that “There’s no dates stamped on these things” and it proves nothing if you just reject isotopic dating and basic geology.
Amnesty International has issued a report accusing Hamas to a campaign of abduction, torture and wanton executions of Palestinians during last year’s conflict in the Gaza Strip. The report identifies roughly two dozen Palestinians who were shot and killed by Hamas and dozens of others who were arrested and tortured.
Continue reading “Amnesty International Accuses Hamas of War Crimes”
For those of us who have been vocal critics of the flagrant and open corruption of FIFA, there is finally some good news. Swiss authorities swooped into a hotel Wednesday and arrested some of the top soccer officers on corruption charges in the United States. The police notably went to one of the most expensive hotels in the world where these officials were treating themselves to another gold-plated over-the-top meeting with views of the Alps and Lake Zurich. They were led from the five-star hotel in an early morning raid, but many will be disappointed that one official remained in his luxury hotel room untouched: Sepp Blatter (right), FIFA’s longtime president who has ruled over one of the most corrupt organizations in sports for years. While the slogan of FIFA is “For the Game. For the World,” it has been run for the benefit of its leadership for decades. This prosecution, not FIFA, can be properly embraced as “For the Game. For the World.” Continue reading ““For the Game, For the World”: Swiss Police Raid FIFA Meeting And Arrest Senior Officials in Corruption Investigation”
We have yet another triumph of Orthodoxy in the removal of all female cabinet members from an official picture with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. There are three new female cabinet members — Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, Culture Minister Miri Regev and Minister for Senior Citizens Gila Gamliel — but you would never know it from the pictures in Jewish ultra-Orthodox publications which either removed them or even replaced them in the shot with male cabinet members.
We have yet another prosecution in Egypt in the name of public morality. Reda el-Fouly is shown dancing in a low-budget clip entitled “Hands Off,” or “Sib Eddi” in Egyptian Arabic. The clip below contains no nudity but a lot of sensual moves to the music of a singer named Mena. That was enough to arrest el-Fouly and seek the arrest of her boyfriend, Wael Elsedeki.
Continue reading “Egyptian Woman Arrested For Dancing On Video for “Inciting Debauchery””
We have previously discussed the sentencing difference between the United States and the United Kingdom and other countries. While we clearly have a problem with lengthening sentences in this country, there are cases abroad that shock the conscience in the imposition of relatively light sentences. The difference is evident in the Australian case of Alfio Anthony Granata, 47, who pleaded guilty to nine counts of rape and charges of theft, threats to kill and intentionally causing serious injury that left his victim with 54 injuries. He also kept the 21-year-old Dutch backpacker for months while threatening to kill her. For all of those crimes, Granata was given only 17 years. He could be released in 13 years.
There was a bizarre twist on an all-too-familiar story in Nigeria. An irate mob of Muslim protesters set a court on fire for releasing a man, Malam Abdul Nyass, after he was accused of insulting Mohammad. The crowd demanded his death. What is a bit different is that the court was actually a Sharia court imposing Islamic law and the accused was a cleric.
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
The Dutch Cabinet voted to draft a bill to enforce a ban on wearing the Islamic burqa in various government buildings and institution. Citing what were described as security concerns, the government in a statement declared “Face-covering clothing will in [the] future not be accepted in education and healthcare institutions, government buildings and on public transport.”
Prime Minister Mark Rutte stated to journalists: “The bill does not have any religious background.”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
With all constituencies reporting, the Irish citizenry approved a constitutional amendment recognizing gay marriage: Yes 1,201,607; No 734,300.
The Constitution of Ireland permits amendment only by popular vote. A vote of the people for such amendments can provide more legitimacy and acceptance by the public and judging by the margin gay marriage will probably gain acceptance more readily. Nevertheless it does not necessarily engender full acceptance of such partnerships as over seven hundred thousand voters chose otherwise. Some institutions in Irish society will struggle to come to terms with the new direction Ireland is pursuing.
Continue reading “Gay Marriage Referendum Passes In Ireland. Unresolved Issues Will Remain”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
On Friday Irish Citizens went to the polls to vote by referendum on a constitutional amendment allowing same-sex marriage. If passed Ireland will join nineteen other nation states who have legalized such marriages and will be the first to enact the petition by popular referendum.
The topic of the referendum garnered such strong interest it is expected that a large percentage of Ireland’s 3.2 million registered voters will go to the polls. In fact, reportedly, unexpectedly high numbers returned home at their personal expense to cast votes.
Continue reading “Irish Voters Abroad Returning Home To Vote On Same-Sex Marriage Referendum”
Membership of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council (HRC) has always been a rogue’s gallery of some of the world’s most oppressive nations trying to obstruct its work or artificially rehabilitate their images. Now to add insult to countless human rights injuries, Saudi Arabia wants to head the HRC. That’s right. The country that will not allow any other religion to build a simple church or place of worship in the Kingdom. The country that executes people for apostasy for simply praying to the God of their choice. The country that imprisons and flogs women for driving, adultery, or people accused of sorcery. The country that is the greatest exporter of the extreme Sharia values that are stripping away rights in various countries. The country that cuts off the hands of thieves. The country that denies free speech and executes people in intersections for things like drug dealing. That country.
Continue reading “Saudi Arabia Moves To Take Over Top Spot On The U.N.’s Human Rights Council”
