Category: International

Bizarre, Free Speech, International, Media, Society

Bank Of Canada: “Stop ‘Spocking’ Our Currency”

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By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

The Bank of Canada moved to protect its economy from a sudden spike spock in its currency.

The Canadian Dollar spocked in value following the death of Actor Leonard Nimoy a week ago. Currency traders marked the five dollar notes and in turn succeeded in initially increasing its value. This was then followed by a run on the bank notes prompting the Bank of Canada to intervene to protect the dollar’s value.

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Academia, International, Military, Religion, Society

Islamic State Bulldozes Ancient Nimrud Site

285px-Portal_Guardian_from_Nimroud._British_MuseumFlag_of_the_Islamic_State.svgThe systematic destruction of art and historical and religious sites continued this month with another crime against humanity by Islamic State militants. The extremists reject images of the human body as violations of Islamic teachings and despise earlier civilizations that were not based on their Islamic traditions. So, after destruction priceless artifacts and art in the museum in Mosul, IS destroyed the the ancient Assyrian archaeological site near Mosul. The loss is truly incalculable for humanity.

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Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics, Society

India Ministry Moves To Block Airing Of Documentary On Rape

tfi_a374ada7f4d26fb1c8aba2084f645c7aWhile China is moving to block the airing of a documentary on pollution, India is moving to block the airing of a documentary on the scourge of its country: rape. India has long been accused of having a rape culture where women are blamed for their own victimization and the caste system (and poor legal system) continues to frustrate efforts to hold rapists accountable. That dire situation for women led to the much acclaimed documentary by British filmmaker Leslee Udwin, “India’s Daughter.” The Indian government is so opposed to letting its citizens hear about such abuses that it is now threatening the BBC for airing the banned documentary.
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Environment, Free Speech, International, Politics, Society

Clearing the Air: China Moves To Block Airing Of Documentary On Dangers Of Smog

Screen Shot 2015-03-05 at 7.56.54 AMChina has a different approach to clearing the air. We have discussed the record pollution measured in Beijing and the past efforts of the Chinese government to prevent people from talking about the shroud of pollution choking its population. Now the government censor have blocked the airing of a documentary on China’s smog — the 104-minute film Under the Dome by well-known former news anchor Chai Jing. While it has been viewed by more than 200 million times online, the censors are cracking down to prevent others from learning about the dangers of the smog levels in China.

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Academia, Bizarre, International, Media, Politics, Religion, Society

Saudi Arabian King Gives Controversial Islamic Cleric Top Award

220px-Dr_Zakir_NaikSaudi Arabia has long been criticized for its extreme religious beliefs as part of its devotion to Wahhabism. Now the Kingdom has generated more controversy by giving one of Saudi Arabia’s most prestigious prizes to Zakir Naik, an Islamic school who said that the Koran (Quran) “allows Muslims to have sex with female slaves” and seemed to support Osama Bin Laden, at least to the extent to which he was “fighting the enemies of Islam.” Saudi Arabia’s new King Salman gave Naik the King Faisal International Prize (KFIP) 2015 personally.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International, Society

American Posts Criticism Of His Company In United Arab Emirates On Facebook . . . Company Brings Criminal Charges And Has Him Arrested Upon His Return To The UAE

AR-150309877We have previously discussed the common criminalization of speech found in Muslim countries (and the increasing criminalization seen in the West). The most recent victim is Ryan Pate, a civilian helicopter mechanic who was arrested for a derogatory comments made on Facebook in the United States toward his employer in the United Arab Emirates, Global Aerospace Logistics. After he returned to the United Arab Emirates, he was promptly arrested at the request of the company. This again is one of our closest allies that denies the basic protections of free speech not only to its citizens but even to Americans speaking in the United States.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics, Religion, Society

American Blogger in Bangladesh Hacked To Death By Islamic Extremists

Avijit_RoyAnother blogger has fallen victim to Islamic extremists. Avijit Roy, a Bangladesh-born U.S. citizen, was hacked to death during a walk with his wife in Dhaka as both were returning from a book fair at Dhaka University. How did he insult Islam? No, it wasn’t a cartoon or a satirical poem. He wrote about religious intolerance so they hacked him to death.

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Animals, Bizarre, International, Media, Society

South African App Helps Calculate Price Of A Bride

lobola-calc-1By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

If you have wondered how many cows your hand in marriage is worth, a new app may provide you with some important information–and more importantly, can you command More Cow (wedding) Bell.

Robert Matsaneng, a 26-year-old South African software developer, developed an app to measure how much Lobola the bride may expect from her potential suitor. Lobola is a custom in the Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele and Swazi cultures where the bridegroom pays the family of the bride for her hand in marriage. Payment is made in the form of currency and live cows. The family of the bride sets the initial price.

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Free Speech, International, Politics

Critic Of Vlad Putin Assasinated
Boris Nemtsov †
Boris Nemtsov †

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

In another setback for political change in Russia, opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down by several men who shot him four times in the back while he traversed a bridge along with a Ukrainian woman. Boris was to speak before a peace rally denouncing Russian involvement in the hostilities in the Ukraine, economic policies, and other issues.

Boris, a former deputy-prime minister, is an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The crime scene was within two hundred meters of the Kremlin.

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Criminal law, International, Religion

Jihadi John Unmasked

jihadi-john-split-without-credit-1-762x428Jihadi_JohnWe finally have a face to go with the name of the infamous Islamic State murderer known as “Jihadi John.” He is Mohammed Emwazi and is shown here in a Pittsburgh Pirates hat from his time at the University of Westminster. He turns out to another militant from a well-off family and someone who seemed successful in society as we have seen in other cases. This will make it easier for the United States which, according to Attorney General Eric Holder, has made capturing or killing Jihadi John a priority.

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Academia, International, Media, Religion, Society

Islamic State Posts Video Of Destruction of Mosul Museum

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Yesterday, we discussed another massive book burning by Islamic State as well as reports of the destruction of ancient art pieces. The latter report appears true after ISIS posted a video of its militants taking sledgehammers and drills to ancient art work and statues going back to the 7th Century. The actions are reminiscent of the infamous destruction of the famous giant Buddhas of Bamiyan.

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Academia, International, Religion, Society

Islamic State Burns Over 8000 Rare Books As Demonstration of Faith

AQMI_Flag.svgThe_House_of_Leaves_-_Burning_4We have previously discussed the burning of rare books by Islamic State. Now, a new report says that the group has burned more than 8,000 rare books and manuscripts in Mosul. They then reportedly bombed the Mosul Public Library according to the director of the library. A new video also shows ISIS fighters smashing works of art, including a 9th Century figure.

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Academia, Bizarre, International, Science, Society

Study: The Gerbils Did It

250px-GerbilBurying_Plague_Victims_of_TournaiI had one as a kid named Garibaldi. Millions of people embraced them as pets. However, a study is attributing one of the greatest plagues in history to the cute little rodents: the bubonic plague. While long blamed on rats hiding away on ships, the scientists at the University of Oslo in Norway now believe that the 14th Century plague began with gerbils via the Silk Road.

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Criminal law, International, Politics, Religion, Society

Indonesia Under Fire For Executing Mentally Ill Man As He Begged For Last Rites

images-2125px-Flag_of_Indonesia.svgAn execution in Indonesia had led to the withdrawal of ambassadors after an international outcry over the treatment of Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira, a Brazilian man who was a paranoid schizophrenic accused of drug dealing. Moreira was reportedly dragged from this cell and denied last rites with a priest. He soiled himself and was quickly hosed down before being thrown in front of a firing squad.

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