A new report by Amnesty International reveals in chilling detail how an al-Qaeda affiliate took control of Yemen Abyan province and unleashed a “human rights catastrophe” of Sharia-based “justice” from beheadings, crucifixions, and amputations. In one case, a woman accused of sorcery (a charge we have seen in other Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia) was beheaded and her head then paraded through the streets of a town.
Category: Society
We previously discussed the exodus from France of top earners after the imposition of a confiscatory 75% tax rate. Now England is facing the same shift, according to a new report. More than 16,000 people declared an annual income of more than £1 million during 2009-10. That number fell to just 6,000 this year. This appears to be a combination of people leaving Britain and concerted efforts to avoid income.
American citizens are again bracing for a new round of deep cuts into social programs and increases in tax rates. At the same time, the Obama Administration is extending military and non-military operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan at the costs of billions of dollars. Now, in addition to billions in aid, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is seeking bids to build a five-story complex for the Israeli Air Force for as much as $100 million. This amount could literally fund thousands of needed science and math teachers around the United States or fund historical programs eliminated due to shortages of a few million dollars in Congress.
Below is my column today in the Sunday Chicago Tribune on the recent denial of review by the Supreme Court in the Illinois eavesdropping case that we discussed earlier.
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Lindsey Stone, a 30-year-old Massachusetts native, has been terminated because of the photo (shown left) she posted on her Facebook page. Lindsey worked for LIFE (Living Independent Forever), a Cape Cod-based nonprofit organization that assists adults with learning disabilities. Jamie Schuh, who took the photo, and Lindsey’s supervisor at LIFE, was also terminated.
Beth Dickison Richards, 37, in Florida makes a mean tuna sandwich. Richards, a Central Florida mail carrier, reportedly confessed to trying to murder her husband by poisoning Gregory Lawrence Richards’ tuna sandwich. As with the Ronald Dahl’s “Lamb to the Slaughter,” the evidence might have been destroyed (though not the blood test evidence) if Gregory did not stop eating the sandwich and complain of feeling ill.
Continue reading “Florida Mail Carrier Allegedly Tries To Kill Husband With Poisoned Tuna Sandwich”
by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger
“I was a peripheral visionary. I could see the future, but only way off to the side.” – Steven Wright
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
“Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim.” – George Satnayana in “Life of Reason, Reason in Common Sense”
This last week an artist became the message of his own art. While this may be poetic, it is also an injustice and a abridgement of his 1st Amendment rights. Fake Soviet style propaganda posters appeared around New York City corresponding to the opening of the U.N. General Assembly. They are the work of 29-year-old street artist Essam Attia, who although he works anonymously like the street artist Bansky, did sign some of the works “Essam”. The NYPD’s initial response seemed to be proportionate to the act when Police Department spokesman Paul Browne shrugged the stunt off with a bad pun. “[It] appears to be NYPD critics subjecting us to a droll attack”, he said. The actual disproportionate response has ended up with Essam Attia being arrested and charged with 56 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument, grand larceny possession of stolen property and weapons possession – the last charge stemming from an unloaded and unregistered .22 caliber pistol under the artist’s bed.
Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger
One of the sad lessons one learns, if they live long enough, is that permanency is an illusion. There was a time when most Conservatives in the United States actually cared about the country and its’ people. It’s not that I’m wistful for some bygone era that exists only in my mind, because I’m well aware that the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s were tumultuous times for many including myself. Nor do I have any great love for Dwight Eisenhower and/or Barry Goldwater who I did not vote for in 1964. Yet with all their conservative beliefs, these were men who actually understood something about the needs of people and the motives of some who would call themselves religious leaders. Many of us who have lived long lives remember when the public political discussion in this country contained actual, factual debate, containing depth of ideas, rather than the invective we hear today. The Republicans of the Eisenhower era understood that there was a social contract that existed in this country to ensure that there was a healthy, financially flourishing Middle Class, which is the engine that drives a prosperous modern society. Also Barry Goldwater, who was known as “Mr. Conservative” understood the danger that the Religious hucksters had for his party and the necessity of politicians to compromise. He would ridicule those prominent politicians in his party who would reject the ideas of evolution and blind themselves to science. He also really did believe that government had no business prying into essentially private matters. I disagreed with him on most things, but I at least could respect him, which I can’t do for many prominent politicians of today.
What happened? You know I’ve written about my theories in many of my guest blogs, what are yours?
Pat Robertson remains something of an enigma. Just when you dismiss him as a religious wing nut who says that God gives him tips of who will win elections; atheists want people to be miserable; and causes earthquakes to punish Haitians as Devil worshippers. Then Robertson turns around and calls for the legalization of marijuana and now called for evangelists to stop suggesting that the Earth is only 6000 years old when every scientific fact points to the contrary. I wish he would just pick one side of the sanity/insanity line and stick with it because this is getting confusing.
Connecticut State Trooper Aaron Huntsman, 43, has been charged with larceny for allegedly stealing jewelry and cash from the victim of a fatal motorcycle crash on Sept. 22. There is perhaps no greater violation of public trust for an offer than the robbery of a deceased victim. If convicted, for that reason, Huntsman would likely face heavy aggravators on sentencing, pushing the sentence higher.
There is a bizarre case out of New Orleans where Alabama football fan Brian H. Downing has begun serving a two-year sentence for “teabagging” an unconscious LSU fan outside a Bourdon Street restaurant — a vile humiliating act that was videotaped and posted on YouTube. The victim is also suing Downing in tort. Notably, Orleans Parish Criminal District Judge Karen Herman commented at sentencing that he “chose wisely” in accepting the plea bargain — indicating that she would have hit him with an even higher sentence for the disgusting act.
Washington, D.C. had the worst high school graduation rate in the country in 2011 — down roughly 20 percent from just two years ago. The drop appears partially the result of a new (and better) accounting system that tracks actual students rather than allowing a ridiculous calculation method that tended to inflate numbers. Nevada had the lowest graduation rate of any state (62 percent) and D.C. did worse than Native American reservations (61 percent). The best state was Iowa with 88 percent followed by Vermont and Wisconsin (both at 87 percent).
Continue reading “D.C. Schools Post the Lowest High School Graduation Rate In The Nation”
There was a justified outcry recently when a video surfaced (below) of an Ohio man William Bailey making fun of a young girl with cerebral palsy at a bus stop. It is a brief video but enough to enrage a nation. Now, Canton Municipal Judge John A. Poulos ordered the maximum sentence for Bailey, who pleaded no contest to reduced misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and aggravated menacing. I realize how emotionally charged this case has become, but should mocking be treated as a criminal act?
There is another lawsuit against a police department for shooting a family dog without provocation. The latest victim is Rosie, a 3-year-old Newfoundland belonging to Charles and Deirdre Wright in Washington state. Rosie got loose and ended up in the backyard of Lora Perry. Perry said that police came and shot and killed Rosie who was not being aggressive in any way in her yard. The Wrights have now filed a civil rights suit.
Continue reading “Washington State Family Sues Over Killing Of Dog in Neighbor’s Backyard”
We have another chilling tale of the plight of women in some traditional Islamic areas. A woman known as Nurbanu had divorced her husband when she found him in bed with another woman. The husband than responded to the divorce by throwing acid in her face — an all-too-common crime against women in the Middle East. The woman was disfigured and blinded, but the husband received only one year of jail for the crime. Nurbanu said she was then coerced to remarry him and he now allegedly continues to beat her. Warning the picture below is graphic and disturbing.