We have been discussing the rapid decline of civil liberties in Venezuela after the socialist takeover by Hugo Chavez and his successor, Nicolas Maduro. The denial of free speech and free press protections only increased as Chavez/Maduro destroyed one of the most productive economies in Latin America and turned it into an economic basket case. Now, the “red revolution” can take credit for reducing the judicial system to a virtual caricature of itself. The Venezuela’s Supreme Court ruled this week that the media cannot publish videos of lynchings because such true images would produce “anxiety and uncertainty” among citizens. The Maduro government has been trying to prevent citizens from seeing such images as it denies the social and economic meltdown in the country.
The United Nations this week vividly demonstrated how power not principle governs its humanitarian efforts. For a fraction of a second, the UN showed courage in the inclusion of Saudi Arabia on a listing of countries that “kill or maim children” and “parties that engage in attacks on schools and/or hospitals.” Saudi Arabia was included due to its widely denounced bombing campaign in Yemen which has indiscriminately killed civilians and children. Saudi Arabia immediately demanded that its name be removed from the list or it would kill funding for UN programs. It is the same type of threat leveled at the United States Congress that the release of long-sealed pages on Saudi involvement in the 9-11 attacks (and lifting a ban on suing the Kingdom) would result in the Saudis divesting U.S. holdings and undermine the economy. While Senators expressed outrage at the threat and voted to lift the ban, it was later learned that a poison pill amendment was put into the bill to allow the Administration to simply bar such lawsuits.
Continue reading “Saudi Arabia Threatens To Pull Funding From U.N. Due To Listing In Critical Human Rights Report . . . U.N. Promptly Caves And Removes Saudi Arabia”
We have been discussing the destruction of national parks and artistic works. However, the acts of vandalism in Tasmania this week are truly shocking after someone gratuitously destroyed 8,000-year-old Aboriginal artworks.
Continue reading “Ancient Tasmanian Hand Prints Destroyed By Vandals”
British student Natasha Uttamsingh, 22, has been found guilty of lying about being raped by her boyfriend and sentenced to jail for 15 months. We have previously discussed how false rape accounts are often not punished (as in the case of the infamous Duke Lacrosse rape case) or lightly punished. There has been a variation of sentences for false rape charges but they vary greatly, including just a few weekends in jail. (here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; and here).
Continue reading “English Student Given 15 Months For False Rape Claim”
We have been discussing the growing number of idiots who are leaving graffiti and destroying national and state parks. now, a group of infamous Canadian juveniles who called themselves “High on Life” are under investigation after videotaping themselves water skiing behind an RV on the Booneville Salt Flats. This is an area that strictly prohibits vehicles during periods when the area is wet because of the damage to the area. What is particularly disturbing is that this group has repeatedly violated such rules at national parks with little punishment or sign of reform. We previously discussed how our rules protecting national parks are meaningless due to the lack of enforcement or serious punishment. We need to pursue a formal banishment law for our parks to apply to such individuals.
An Emirati man has taken vanity to a disgusting extreme — spending $5 million for a plate with the number 1 on it. For the vast majority of people struggling to feed their families, the auction price is obscene. Yet for local businessman, Arif Ahmad Al Zarouni, it was just something that he had to have as a matter of pride.
Laura R. Tarrats, 42, has the distinction of being arrested for not paying bridge tolls. Now before you say that is ridiculous, you should know that Tarrats racked up roughly $16,000 in unpaid tolls on the George Washington Bridge.
Continue reading “Can You Guess What This Person Was Charged With?”
While largely ignored by the media, the Clintons have their own university scandal. Donald Trump has been rightfully criticized and sued over his defunct Trump University. There is ample support for claiming that the Trump University was fraudulent in its advertisements and operations. However, the national media has been accused of again sidestepping a scandal involving the Clintons that involves the same type of fraud allegations. The scandal involves a dubious Laureate Education for-profit online college (Walden) and entails many of the common elements with other Clinton scandals: huge sums given to the Clintons and questions of conflicts with Hillary Clinton during her time as Secretary of State. There are distinctions to draw between the two stories, but the virtual radio silence on the Clinton/Laureate story is surprising. [I have updated the original column with some additional thoughts, links, and clarifications for readers].
In yet another example of how similar extreme groups in Judaism and Islam can be, an ultra-orthodox Jewish leader has reportedly banned girls aged five and older from riding bicycles;claiming it is “immodest” and too “provocative” for men watching girls as young as six on a bicycle.You may recall the outrageous move by the city of New York to remove bike lanes in an area in New York to protect the sensibilities of Hasidic men. Previously, an influential rabbi moved to block women from driving –just as his Islamic counterparts have done in places like Saudi Arabia.
If you guessed corrupting Amish teenagers, you are a criminal justice God. Pennsylvania man Thomas Candler Felts, 25, was sentenced this week in Lancaster County Court for giving Amish teens some beer and later causing a crash with their horse-drawn buggy after yelling “Rumspringa.”
Continue reading “Can You Guess What This Man Was Charged With?”
The corruption of Nigeria has long been breathtaking. Indeed, what would normally be alarming (like a politician with millions in cash in his room) is treated as perfectly understandable in Nigeria. Take the recent theft reported by Senate President Bukola Saraki, who said that ₦300 million(about $1.6 million) disappeared from his room. Police are questioning aides as well as some members of the security detail but not pressing on the fact that Saraki had huge amounts of cash sent to his hotel room.
For months, Sanders supporters have objected to what they perceive as highly biased coverage by mainstream media. The media has been condemned for its abbreviated coverage of the Clinton email scandal (including notable failures to ask follow up questions of Clinton) as well as a steady drumbeat dismissing Sanders as a serious challenger. Now, New York Times reporter Yamiche Alcindor has infuriated even non-Sanders supporters with a bizarre suggestion that Sanders is sexist for merely opposing Hillary Clinton. Despite widespread ridicule, Alcindor insists that Sanders was the one in the wrong for expressing legitimate shock at the insulting question. She later tweeted: “Some women think @BernieSanders will be standing in way of history tmrw if HRC wins & he doesn’t concede. He got testy when I asked; Oh well.”
There is a highly disturbing report out of the Federal Election Commission that, again, raises the inclination of some commissioners to curtail free speech under loose regulatory standards. A recent report indicates that two top Democrats voted to investigate former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee for what their own staff viewed as an obvious joke. In the video, Huckabee (available here) clearly is joking in a speech when he said that he hoped supporters would shower him with million dollar contributions. Indeed, if Huckabee was going to violate federal law, he would hardly have done it in an open speech. Yet, Commissioners Ann Ravel and Ellen Weintraub still threw common sense (and respect for free speech) out the window in backing a complaint against Huckabee.
Below is my column in USA Today on the striking similarities between Richard Nixon and Hillary Clinton, particularly with regard to the staffers surrounding them. Both tended to blame others about being, to paraphrase Nixon, “kicked around.” However, there are deeper and rather disturbing patterns emerging that are shared by the two leaders in my view.
We have been discussing the erosion of free speech and academic standards at our universities and colleges. What is alarming is not only the pace of such demands but the support of some faculty to stripping away core courses and historical references. The latest such example can be found at Yale University with undergraduate students have demanded that the English department abolish the prerequisite course requirement to study such writers as Chaucer, Shakespeare and Milton. Students claim that it is “unacceptable that a Yale student considering studying English literature might read only white male authors.” Of course, this is not the only course for students but simply one course designed to introduce students to “major English poets.” However, the students find it oppressive and some faculty support their cause like English Professor Jill Richards who insisted that “it is unacceptable that the two-semester requirement for all majors routinely covers the work of eight white, male poets.” The students have demanded that “It’s time for the English major to decolonize — not diversify — its course offerings.”