England’s Crown Prosecution Service will now criminally charge people who say bad things about Scientology, which is viewed by some people as a dangerous cult. Anyone can be arrested if they ‘abuse’ or ‘threaten’ the Church of Scientology under the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006.
Category: Politics
Kim Jong Il has been re-elected again as North Korea’s most beloved dictator by a vote of 98.98 percent. No hanging chads or machine malfunctions, just good old North Korean politicking by the Dear One. It appears that Ron Paul received the remaining 1.02 percent.
Continue reading “Landslide in Worker’s Paradise: Kim Jong Il Reelected With 98.98 Percent of the Vote”
In a wonderful moment for both science and humanity, President Barack Obama repealed the policy of George Bush limiting federal funding for stem cell research. The policy put inot place in 2001 has slowed progress toward finding cures from some of the worst diseases like Parkinson’s disease.
Continue reading “Obama Reverses Bush Policy on Stem Cell Research”
Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav is expected to be indicted as early as this week on charges of rape and sexual assault involving multiple women who worked for the government. He will also be charged with obstruction of justice by Attorney General Menachem Mazuz.
Continue reading “Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav To Be Indicted For Rape and Sexual Assault”
Author Richard Bach once said ““Every problem has a gift for you in its hands.” But what is the problem is the gift? That is the problem being contemplated by the Obama Administration after a series of truly embarrassing gift gaffes that make the country look cheap, unsophisticated, or ignorant — or all of the above. The gaffes range from an insulting gift inadvertently given to the Russians by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to a returning of a gift to England to the lack of class in giving gifts to the English Prime Minister.
Continue reading “Beware of Obama Officials Bearing Gifts: Recent Gift Gaffes Show a Certain Lack of Tact and Sophistication in the New Administration”
In another blow for same-sex marriage advocates, the oral arguments before the California Supreme Court yesterday indicated that the majority will uphold controversial Proposition 8 and its ban on same-sex marriage.
There is another story of an abusive raid by a SWAT team this week. In January, a SWAT team raid the mobile home of Mike Hasenei, hit him in the face with a shield, knocked him to the ground, handcuffed both him and his wife, and shot their family dog.
Continue reading “Maryland SWAT Team Raids Home on Hunch, Hits Husband in Face, Handcuffs Couple, and Shoots Family Dog — and Finds No Evidence of a Crime”
The Saudi police had their version of a high-profile chase scene this week in Mecca. The culprit? A woman driving. Yes, police spotted an actual woman behind the wheel of a car, which is expressly forbidden under the country’s medieval laws. What followed was an effort by the woman to escape, a small crash, and her arrest.
Continue reading “DWF: Driving While Female in Saudi Arabia”
U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman in Chicago has held Police Superintendent Jody Weis in contempt for refusing to turn over lists of officers who have repeated complaints filed against them for abuse and violence. Weis insists that such a release of the list would diminish morale.
The constitutional fish tale from Clearwater, Florida is getting more difficult to believe with the appearance of city officials in court over their crackdown on the posting of the first amendment on the side of a fish and bait shop. As discussed earlier, Complete Angler and its owner Herb Quintero was first fined for simply painting a mural of fish on the side of the building. They were told that it constituted a “sign.” When he covered the mural with a copy of the first amendment, he was hit with another threatened fine. Now, the city has said that they would not fine him for handing the American flag but not the first amendment.
There is growing speculation that the Office of Professional Responsibility will recommend the disbarment of Professor John Yoo who currently teaches at Berkeley law school. The release of new memoranda from the Justice Department has increased calls for disciplinary action. The memoranda concludes that the President can (1) use military forces domestically to deal with any individuals President Bush considers a terrorist threat, (2) suspend free press and free speech rights, (3) arrest citizens without legal process or access to the courts, and (4) a variety of other tyrannical measures. I discussed the memoranda on this segment of Countdown.
Continue reading “Will Justice Seek John Yoo’s Disbarment?”
The continued fall of the Detroit City Council into chaos appears to have continued with a disturbing account of where white witnesses were told to “go home” and told not to speak the name of President Barach Obama. The hearing, headed by Council President Monica Conyers, leaves the impression of a major city in free fall. This is being widely reported on the Internet but appears based on a single Op-Ed from the Detroit News.
Continue reading “Meltdown In the Detroit City Council: Leaders Accused of Racist Remark”
Here is today’s column from USA Today. Yesterday, the D.C. Vote bill was temporarily pulled from the floor due to the threat of an gun rights amendment. The NRA has threatened to “score” the vote — meaning that members who vote against it would be given a lower score in the annual rankings. This is only a temporary withdrawal as Democrats scramble to deal with the challenge. A similar amendment passed in the Senate after being introduced by Sen. John Ensign of Nevada by a comfortable margin.
Continue reading “D.C.’s Speed Bump: The Constitution”
The Pew Center has released a shocking statistic: one in every 31 adults in the United States is now in the corrections system in jail, prison, probation and supervision. That is over double the rate of 1982 when one in 77 was in the system.
Continue reading “Locked Down Nation: One in Every 31 Adults Now in Corrections System”
The British medical journal has found that more than 100,000 young women were killed in fires in India in a single year — a rate three times men. Notably, the women fell within a 15-34-year age group, the very group often involved in marital disputes.
Continue reading “Study: Over 100,000 Women in India Killed in Fires in a Single Year”