Category: Society

Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Media, Politics, Society

Women Banned From Voting in Parts of Pakistan Under New Agreement

Pakistan flagIn parts of Pakistan, women are now banned from voting after an local politicians and religious elders came to an agreement. Obviously, they were all men in Hangu and parts of Malakand, districts of the north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is all part of the Purdah traditions of the deeply conservative Islamic Pastun tribes in the area. Local mosques recently placed men with batons to beat any women who tried to vote in parliamentary elections. Now, all women are simply banned from voting.

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Congress, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society, Uncategorized

Bankers Make a Mockery of the Law, and No One Goes to Jail

200px-Jamie_Dimon

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” →

Bizarre, Society

Blackhawks Head To The Stanley Cup But Should The NHL Move To Deal With The Ducks

200px-ChicagoBlackhawksLogo.svgWe had a great party with friends to watch the seventh and final game of the Western Conference Championship last night. I was, of course, thrilled by the crushing win by the Hawks and the return of the team to the Stanley Cup. This is the third Stanley Cup appearance for the Blackhawks in five years. They have won five Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926 as part of the “Original Six” NHL teams with the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers.

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Academia, Environment, International, Science, Society

Creationist Finds 60 Million Year Old Fossils In His Basement But Maintains That It Proves Nothing

imrs.phpWe 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.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics, Society

FEDERAL COURT HEARS SEPARATION OF POWERS CHALLENGE

800px-Capitol_Building_Full_ViewThe hearing on the Administration’s motion to dismiss the House challenge was heard yesterday in Washington, D.C. as reported widely in the media. (Wall Street Journal, NBC, Daily Mail, Rollcall, New York Times,AP, The motion is now under advisement and the parties will wait for a decision on whether the House can be heard on the merits of this historic challenge. If the Court rules against the motion, the parties will then be able to present their arguments on the merits of the constitutional challenge. If the Court rules for the motion, the case can proceed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for review. (Thanks to Claire Duggan for the photographs)

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Academia, Military, Society

Scientists Find Likely Identity of Intact Skeleton Unearthed at Waterloo Site

Battle_of_Waterloo_1815There is a remarkable story out of Belgium where researchers have not only identified a 200-year old skeleton discovered beneath a parking lot at the Battle of Waterloo site as a German soldier, but identified the soldier as 23-year old Friedrich Brandt, was a member of the King’s German Legion of British monarch George III. The pictures shown here actually reveal the minimal still lodged between Brandt from the wound that killed him.

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Criminal law, Society, Uncategorized

Georgia Officer Indicted In Shooting Of Unarmed Driver

ernest-satterwhite7389335_G A Georgia grand jury has indicted former police officer Justin Gregory Craven (left) for the shooting death of an unarmed driver, Ernest Satterwhite, 68, through his car window following a car chase. What is interesting about the case is the grand jury rejected homicide charges and the prosecutors then asked and received a charge for discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Lawyering, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

FEDERAL COURT TO HEAR HISTORIC CHALLENGE OVER SEPARATION OF POWERS

220px-Meade_and_Prettyman_CourthouseAt 10 a.m. tomorrow morning, Judge Rosemary M. Collyer of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia will hear argument on the motion to dismiss filed by the defendants in U.S. House of Representatives v. Burwell, et al., No. 1:14-cv-01967 (D.D.C.). The defendants are the Departments of Health and Human Services and Treasury, and the secretaries of those two executive branch agencies. The Administration is seeking to prevent the Court from reaching the merits of this historic case, which was authorized by an affirmative vote of the entire House of Representatives on July 30, 2014, and which the House filed for the purpose of protecting our constitutional structure.

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Criminal law, International, Society

“For the Game, For the World”: Swiss Police Raid FIFA Meeting And Arrest Senior Officials in Corruption Investigation

Flag_of_FIFA.svgSepp_Blatter_Nov_2013_ZurichFor 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” →

Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International, Politics, Religion, Society

Dutch Cabinet Backs Partial Burqa Ban

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

170px-Burqa_Afghanistan_01The 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.”

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International, Politics, Religion, Society

Gay Marriage Referendum Passes In Ireland. Unresolved Issues Will Remain

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

Flag_of_Ireland_svgWith 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.

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

Irish Voters Abroad Returning Home To Vote On Same-Sex Marriage Referendum

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

100px-Coat_of_arms_of_Ireland.svgOn 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.

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Academia, Free Speech, Politics, Society

New Calls For Termination of Saidi Grundy After Disclosure of Prior Criminal Impersonation Of Another Woman

GrundyPic-150x150Boston_University_seal.svgThere are new calls for the termination of incoming Boston University sociology professor Saida Grundy after disclosure that she has a criminal record from Michigan. Grundy has become the best known academic at BU before even starting her academic career at the institution . . . for all the worst reasons. However, at the risk of being called an apologist, I again believe that this is not grounds for termination and that BU should allow Grundy to assume her teaching post.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Politics, Society

Saudi Arabia Moves To Take Over Top Spot On The U.N.’s Human Rights Council

200px-Coat_of_arms_of_Saudi_Arabia.svgMembership 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.

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