Category: Politics

Politics, Society, Uncategorized

The Golden Years: China Challenged Over Age of Female Gymnasts

Even after their gold medal finish, China is facing widespread suspicion that it forged documents to use underaged girls in the competition in violation of Olympic rules. Half of the team appear much younger than 16. After China used an attractive nine-year-old girl to lip sync the opening song because the actual girl singing was viewed as too homely (here), many people believed that the Chinese are perfectly capable of such deception. For my part, I am just relieved that there is finally a legal issue at the Olympics to talk about.

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Bizarre, Environment, Politics

Bush Science: Bush Administration Seeks to Limit Role of the Scientists on Environmental Science

President Bush has long had problems with science. In his first term, Bush used his own vaulted scientific knowledge to dismiss the findings of his own EPA scientists on global warming as “junk science.” Click here. Since that time, he has led one of the most anti-environmental administrations in history and turned the United States into the global villain in opposing significant steps to combat global warming. Now, after scientists linked the threat against polar bears to global warming, Bush is moving to reduce the authority of scientists on such questions. He may have learned this technique on his recent trip to China where the government is a kindred spirit on the environment. The Chinese recently changed pollution forecasts by changing the forecasters, here.
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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics, Society

Supreme Court Considers New Religion Case Over Candy Canes

The Supreme Court has been asked to consider an interesting case out of Saginaw, Michigan. Fifth grader Joel Curry, 11, was asked to remove religious expressions contained on candy canes being sold at Heritage High School. Despite the fact that he was still given an A for the exercise, he sued for being told to remove the religious expressions from the notes attached to the candy canes.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Politics, Society

Nation on Fire: Mexicans Finally Rally Against Corrupt and Violent Police

In a case that reads like a scene from Man on Fire with Denzel Washington, Mexican police officers have been arrested in the abduction and death of the son of a wealthy industrialist. Fernando Marti, 14, was the latest victim in the kidnapping rage in Mexico. He was found dead in a trunk and his abductors proved to be members of the Judicial Police force. Mexicans are now calling for reform and and Mexico City is disbanding the force.

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Bizarre, Environment, Politics, Society

Chinese Change Weather By Changing Weathermen

The Chinese have been heralding their ability to change the weather with hundreds of rockets and artillery pieces positioned Beijing. However, when it comes to pollution, nothing is quite a effective as an old-fashioned Chinese technique: when forecasters identify the “mist” as pollution and not a natural weather cycle — shutdown access to their site and change forecasters.

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Bizarre, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Lawyering, Military, Politics, Society

Bin Laden Driver Gets 5 1/2 Years — Administration Pledges to Simply Hold Him Indefinitely

A military panel of six officers shocked the Administration by giving Osama bin Laden’s ex-driver, Salim Hamdan, only five and a half years. In a demonstration of the Administration’s contempt for even judicial rulings from its own tribunals, the Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman stated that, after serving his time, Hamdan would revert back to being an “enemy combatant” and could be held indefinitely. So, after proclaiming to the world that he received a “fair trial,” here,the Administration is now saying that the trial and sentence are meaningless.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Politics, Society

Pakistani Legislators Move to Impeach Musharraf — No Word Yet From Speaker Pelosi

The head of Pakistan’s ruling coalition has announced a move to impeach President Pervez Musharraf, who took power in a coup in 1999. Given Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s continued refusal to allow an impeachment investigation into President Bush on ever-changing rationales, it is not clear what her position might be in other nation’s impeaching leaders accused of crimes in office.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Justice, Military, Politics, Society

Bin Laden’s Driver Convicted in Military Tribunal

As expected, Osama Bin Laden’s former driver Salim Hamdan was found guilty of five counts of material support to a terror organization in the September 11, 2001, attacks. He was tried before the military tribunal and found not guilty of conspiracy to aid a terror organization by a panel of six military officers. The verdict is likely to be dismissed around the world due to the means used to secure it. The tribunals have been rightly ridiculed as kangaroo courts, even by conservatives.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Politics, Religion, Society

Microscopic People: Colorado Amendment Would Declare Fertilized Eggs To Be Persons

A proposed Colorado constitutional amendment would define a fertilized human egg as a person. The Egg-As-Person amendment is set for a vote for November — a ballot initiative that could drive religious voters to the polls to the advantage of John McCain.
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Bizarre, Justice, Politics, Society

Milwaukee Forecloses on Home of Disabled Man Over Unpaid $50 Parking Ticket

Peter Tubic might not have known in 2004 that he could not park his own broken down van in his own driveway without a proper license plate. What he surely did not know is that the $50 ticket could eventually cost him the house itself. The city foreclosed on his $245,000 home after the accumulated penalties pushed the ticket to $2,600.
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Academia, Politics, Society

Israel Restricts Universities to a Limit of 70 Palestinian Students a Year

Israel’s six most prestigious universities are fighting a limitation imposed by the military that would make them justify the acceptance of more than 70 Palestinian students as students. There is also a bar on these students taking certain courses. The restrictions raise core academic freedom — as well as raw discrimination — questions. Academics at Tel Aviv, Hebrew, Ben-Gurion and Haifa universities along with the Weizmann Institute and the Technion are launching a public campaign against the regulations. Israeli academics are concerned that the latest controversy could expand the current boycott of Israeli universities in the West.
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Bizarre, Politics, Society

Deal Gone Bad: British Reveals a Deal with a Prisoner that Led to Their Withdrawal — and Lawlessness — In Basra

Remember the British pullout that led to all of the lawlessness and killings? It turns out to have been triggered by a disastrous deal struck with a Shia prisoner, Ahmed al-Fartusi, who promised that the release of him and his men (and the withdrawal of British forces) would stop the violence. Instead, they unleashed a torrent of shootings and bombing — most directed at the withdrawing British.

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Politics, Society

CIA Intercepts Tie Pakistani Intelligence Service to July 7th bombing of India’s Embassy in Kabul

The CIA has disclosed that surveillance intercepts show Pakistani Intelligence officials planning the attack on India’s embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan — an attack that killed 54 people. The evidence also implicates the service in working with militants in Afghanistan and leaking American efforts to track down terrorists. It is a rare disclosure that is clearly designed to force action against the spy service.

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