The Malaysian Islamic Development Department, a religious government body, has begun a campaign to force restaurants and cart owners to rename hot dogs to avoid offending Muslims. The reason, Director Sirajuddin Suhaimee explained with a straight face, is that “In Islam, dogs are considered unclean and the name cannot be related to halal certification.” So chains like Auntie Anne’s has been told it cannot receive halal certification without calling hot dogs something else.
Category: Media
Bobby Brown, a professional NBA player with the Houston Rockets, has secured a position for himself in the Moron Hall of Fame a recent trip to China after he decided to improve the Great Wall of China by first drawing his name on the stone and then bragging about it. In fairness, it was just in chalk but it was still a uniquely stupid and disrespectful act.
We have been discussing the growing limitations and litigation over copyright and trademark claims in this country. U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison granted a temporary injunction in a trademark infringement suit filed by the University of Houston Law Center against the Houston College of Law (formerly known as the South Texas College of Law). Judge Ellison found that there was a sufficient showing that the new name and the school’s red-and-white colors infringed the trademark of the University of Houston Law Center. The Houston College of Law dominantly features a warning that it is not affiliated with the Houston Law Center on its website and material. The opinion is linked below.
There was an interesting segment on CNN last week where CNN anchor Chris Cuomo reminds viewers for it is illegal for them to “possess” Wikileaks material and that, as a result, they will have to rely on the media to tell them what is in these documents. The legal assertion is dubious, but the political implications are even more concerning. Polls show that many voters view the media as biased and this is a particularly strong view among supporters of Donald Trump who view CNN and other networks openly supporting Clinton or attacking Trump. More importantly, the mainstream media has reported relatively little from the Wikileaks material and has not delved deeply into their implications, including embarrassing emails showing reporters coordinating with the Clinton campaign and supposedly “neutral” media figures like Donna Brazile, formerly with CNN, allegedly slipping advance question material to Hillary Clinton. The credibility of the media is at an all-time low and most voters hardly feel comfortable with this material being reported second-hand or interpreted by the mainstream media. So is it really illegal for voters to have this material?
Continue reading “CNN: It Is Illegal For Voters To Possess Wikileaks Material”
The Wikileaks disclosures have confirmed what many voters believe about Washington as insiders craft dishonest accounts, betray friends, and coordinate with the media to engineer elections. It is the Game of Thrones without the redeeming characters. However, one of the most raw passages of alleged double-dealing comes from an email sent by Vice President Joe Biden’s closest aide to Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. In the email, Klain pledges fealty to Clinton and seems to remind Podesta that he paid dearly to show his allegiance . . . by helping guarantee “the Biden demise.” While not reported in the mainstream media, the Washington Times and conservative sites have been reporting a surprise email exchange. I cannot find a response from Klain as to whether this is an authentic email or what he allegedly meant by the exchange.
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor.
Yesterday, police in Turkey served arrest warrants on one hundred, eighty nine appeals court judges and prosecutors in the latest post-coup attempt purges. Since the July, 15th military coup, seeking the ouster of dictator Recep Erdogan, thirty-two thousand individuals are currently in jail and over one hundred thousand were sacked from their jobs under the questionable accusation of aiding dissident Fethullah Gulen.
Ankara’s chief prosecutor attacked the judiciary, members of the justice ministry, the Court of Cassation (Turkey’s top appellate court), and the Council of State (the highest administrative court).
The purges are part of seemingly never ending act of paranoia by a dictator bent on returning Turkey to authoritarianism.
Continue reading “Turkish Government Raids Judiciary, Arrests 189 Judges And Prosecutors”
As we previously discussed, Twitter has become a lightening rod for the free speech community — repeatedly accused of content-based censorship and a liberal bias. Twitter was recently accused of a departure from the policy of unfettered free speech in the filtering of negative comments against President Barack Obama. Then Twitter banned Milo Yiannopoulos in a very disturbing move against a conservative speaker. Now, Twitter is back in the news targeting another conservative. After releasing two viral videos, Project Veritas Founder and President James O’Keefe was barred from access to his Twitter account for 12 hours (with review for a permanent ban). Twitter again appears to have little explanation for suspending another conservative other than the content of his speech.
Continue reading “Conservative Filmmaker James O’Keefe Suspended By Twitter”
Yesterday, I had the odd experience of walking into my torts class only to have a student proclaim “all stand for Justice Turley.” Unbeknownst to me, Libertarian Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson had publicly stated that I was on the top of his list for Supreme Court nominees. While I am not ditching my day job just yet, I am honored by Governor Johnson’s consideration. If nothing else, it got my students to stand up as I entered the class. I had assumed that the class was recognizing the achievement of my Chicago Cubs in clinching of a spot in the National League Championship, but this is even better.
Continue reading “Libertarian Presidential Nominee Gary Johnson Names Top Pick For The Supreme Court . . .”
I have long been a critic of the Supreme Court justices engaging in public appearances where they hold forth on contemporary issues and even pending matters before the Court. I have been particularly critical of the late Justice Antonin Scalia and Associated Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who clearly relished appearances before ideologically supportive groups. I have called this trend the “rise of the celebrity justice.” Recently, Justice Ginsburg started another firestorm over public comments where she joked that she would move to New Zealand if Donald Trump is elected. Ginsburg apologized for that latest public controversy, though I discussed in a column how the incident spoke to a much larger problem on the Court. While she express “regret” in that instance, it did not deter Ginsburg in continuing to speak publicly and hold forth on contemporary issues, though she did make a curious distinction on this occasion.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has held on to power as he and his predecessor Hugo Chavez ruined the strongest economy in Latin America with their “Socialist Revolution.” They combined disastrous economic policy with a crackdown on civil liberties, including unrelenting attacks on journalists and political dissidents. With the vast majority of the nation calling for his resignation and new elections, Maduro and his cronies in government have delayed any elections while allowing the country to descend further into economic and social chaos. However, it is not like he is doing nothing. He has created a new award: the Hugo Chavez Peace Prize. The first winner? The paragon of peace . . . Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Continue reading “Venezuela Awards First Hugo Chavez Peace Prize To Vladimir Putin”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor.
A nefarious, existential threat was recently vanquished by the post-coup censorship offices of Turkish President Erdoğan. No, it was not the PKK, nor ISIS, nor Fethullah Gülen. It was SpongeBob SquarePants and Smurfette, broadcast on a Kurdish Language children’s television network.
The media crackdown in the aftermath of the failed coup in Turkey has led to closures of dozens of news services and thousands of firings among journalists. Cartoon networks can now become labeled as seditious.
Apparently, SpongeBob’s cohort Squidward Tentacles nefariously slithered into the fabric of the state’s security apparatus and cunningly attempted to dismantle it from within. His ink: it sows discord by fueling the printing presses of subversives.
Continue reading “SpongeBob SquarePants Posed Existential Threat To Turkey”
It often appears that no natural disaster can occur without some religious group claiming divine retribution. The latest example is Hurricane Matthew, which Andrew Bieszad, a contributor to the Christian website Shoebat.com, claimed as God’s retribution for this country tolerating homosexuality.
Continue reading “Fundamentalists Declare Hurricane Matthew To Be Divine Punishment”
We previously discussed the bizarre arrest of leading Gay YouTuber Calum McSwiggan in Los Angeles. Now McSwiggan has been charged with felony vandalism. It is a truly odd turn over events for the an online personality who allegedly filed a fake police report that he had been beaten and attacked by three men in West Hollywood last June. He originally said that the men also damaged a Lexus, which police now say that McSwiggan damaged.
Continue reading “Gay YouTuber Charged In Alleged Fake Attack”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor.
While it might seem to many a prima facie case where a dissident, Kurdish Journalist will risk their safety if deported to a country known for its ghastly mistreatment of members of the press, a Swedish Migration Court ruled that Journalist Kamran Mirzaian will be instead deported to Iran, citing no proof that he will suffer threats to himself or his freedom.
Iran is an internationally recognized pariah with regard to its oppression of journalists and is ranked the 11th worst of 180 countries according to Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index. Journalists subject facing capital crimes in Iran include Briton Salman Rushdie, the seven-year imprisonment of an economics journalist critical of the government’s financial policies, and horrific murders of journalists arrested for “crimes” involving ordinary journalism
Continue reading “Kurdish Journalist Fears Execution If Sweden Deports Him To Iran”
Top women chess players are considering a boycott in the face of a decision by the World Chess Federation (or “Fide”) to hold the world championship in Iran where female grandmasters will be required to play in hijabs to avoid arrest by the Islamic morality police. It is another example of an international organization disregarding the interests of competitors in cutting deals with countries like Iran. Not only is Iran an authoritarian theocracy, but the country denies women, journalists, political dissidents and others basic rights. One would think that a condition of being considered as host would be a guarantee that competitors will be afforded their human rights.