There is a controversial measure introduced in Tennessee by State Sen. Kerry Roberts to make the Bible the official book of the state. Roberts insists that this is just a recognition of the historical importance of the book and not any elevation of the Bible over other books of faith. That is less convincing to many who view the measure as an official endorsement of, if not an entanglement with, Christianity.
It appears that the Communist censors of China are concerned about more than just discussion of the absence of civil liberties. It appears that one of the greatest concerns for Communist censors is any proof that its Communist leaders are capitalists. Networks like Sina Weibo and Wechat have deleted all discussion of the Panama Papers leak which names several members of China’s elite, including President Xi Jinping’s brother-in-law, as hiding huge amounts of money in foreign accounts. Mao warned that “There is a serious tendency towards capitalism among the well-to-do peasants.” It appears that the well-to-do peasants have discovered foreign bank accounts.
Just two weeks ago, Judge Paul Watford of the United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit was on the short list for the Supreme Court. Now he is back in the news with a notable decision where the court rejected the appeal of Hector Magallon-Lopez despite his showing that the police lied about the reason for the critical stop in his case. Watford, applying past Supreme Court cases, ruled that it does not matter if the police lied about the stop in the case. That led to an interesting exchange with a concurring colleague on the meaning of the controversial Whren case.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan basically called President Barack Obama a liar this week after Obama said that he spoke to Erdogan about his concerns with the crackdown on journalists in Turkey. Erdogan said it never happened and accused Obama of essentially speaking behind his back. As we discussed last week, Erdogan has moved beyond his arresting of critics in Turkey to seeking the prosecution or censorship of any critics abroad. His comments further reflect his authoritarian definition of free speech as speech that by definition excludes any criticism of him.
Cyprus is following the precarious path of countries like France and Russia in criminalizing one side of the historical debate over the genocide of Armenian Turks by Turkey. It is now a crime to deny that Ottoman Turks committed genocide against Armenian Turks a century ago, according to a resolution passed Cypriot parliament. While a French court later struck down its law, the addition of Cyprus among countries criminalizing historical debates is chilling and disconcerting.
Continue reading “Cyprus Criminalizes The Questioning Of The Armenian Genocide”
He was known as Prophet Shamiso Kanyama in Zimbabwe and he instructed his followers to bury him alive as part of his ritual to cleanse their house of evil spirits. They did and were surprised when they dug him up to find out that he was dead. Now the family involved in the ritual is accused of murder despite the “Prophet” demanding that he be buried.
There is an interesting development in the Clinton email scandal. The investigation has entered a particularly dangerous stage for Clinton with a key aide receiving immunity and interviews scheduled for key associates. The danger is that statements given prosecutors can differ and contradict each other or, worse yet, contradict Clinton. Moreover, such statements could be unknown to Clinton when she speaks with investigators. For that reason, many are likely to view a recent announcement with considerable suspicion that the top four staff members to Clinton have agreed to be represented by the same attorney, Beth Wilkinson. That would allow a degree of coordination or at least confirmation of differing statements or accounts. Since Wilkinson is not allowed to represent multiple clients with conflicts, it would also create a situation where the statements must not conflict in significant ways between the clients and, if they do, she would likely have to remove herself — a move that would likely be known to the Clinton counsel and highlight a potential problem with a given associate. She will represent former Chief of Staff Cheryl Mills, Deputy Chief Jake Sullivan, Mills’ deputy Heather Samuelson, and Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines.
This is pretty hilarious. When children and adults spotted two criminal suspects running across a field in Surrey, England, they saw a National Police Air Service helicopter searching for the men. They acted quickly and formed an arrow pointing to where the two men ran. Police attributed the fast arrest to the Easter Egg hunters.
Given the Wall Street poll showing that one-third of Sanders voters are not willing to vote for Hillary Clinton in the general, the outburst by Clinton over the “lies of Sanders” is not going to improve those numbers. While Clinton dismissed the young person as a Sanders supporter, she is not. She is an uncommitted Greenpeace volunteer. Various media sites have challenged Clinton’s denial of receiving money from the fossil fuel industry and Sanders went on television to repeat the basic allegation. They say that she has received a great deal of money from people in the industry and her PAC has continued to take such money. They argue that she is again making a technical defense (direct contributions from companies to the campaign are not at issue because such donations would be illegal). At issue is the fact that Clinton has refused to sign the pledge of Sanders not to take fossil fuel money. Like the recent Clinton campaign demand that Sanders change “his tone,” this videotape will only likely cement the opposition of many Sanders supporters and prompt them to vote in the fall for Green Party candidate Jill Stein or other candidates. Ironically, Clinton once attacked President Obama on this very point: for taking money from individuals in the industry.
There is an interesting controversy surrounding the hit musical “Hamilton” on Broadway. I have not yet seen the play on a trip to New York but I have been told by friends that it is terrific. Frankly, as a constitutional law professor, any play based on the Framers is a must-see. However, the play now has a more contemporary legal character after a complaint about its casting call. The casting notice put out by the play tells white actors that they need not apply.
The United States continues to give overwhelming support to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he continues his expansion of authoritarian power, the dismantling of secular government in favor of Islamic rule, and the destruction of free speech and the free press in the country. Now Erdogan’s insatiable appetite for censorship and sanctions of critics has extended to outside of Turkey where he is demanding that critics be silenced. Not only has his thuggish security details been criticized for roughing up protesters in Europe and the United States, but Turkey is demanding action from governments against his critics.
As recently discussed in terms of the Japanese killing hundreds of whales despite falling demand for whale meat, Norway is continuing its commercial whaling operations despite the fact that so few Norwegians want to eat whale that the country is just giving the whale meet to feed animals on fur farms.
Continue reading “Report: Norwegian Government Using Tons Of Excess Whale Meat As Animal Feed”
There is an interesting controversy out of Marquette University, which has moved to suspend and possibly fire Professor John McAdams after his criticism of a junior faculty member Cheryl Abbate in a free speech dispute. Abbate was recorded by a student in saying that his views against same-sex marriage were not appropriate to be voiced in her class. The response of the university has some problematic elements for a free speech perspective.
We have been following how universities across the country have seen an increase in claims of “micro aggressions” and impermissible “cultural appropriation” (here and here). Now that tension has become physical at San Francisco State University after student Bonita Tindle reportedly attacked a white student named Cory Goldstein for wearing dreadlocks. The claim seems to capture the race to bottom on campuses where an ever widening array of words or symbols are declared racially or culturally insensitive. However, this was so bizarre, I checked to confirm that it was not an early April Fool’s joke. Yet, various news organizations are reporting it and a YouTube video shows the attack.
The Saudi Arabian government is again reaffirming the extremist Islamic system under Sharia law this month in pushing not just for more severe punishment for homosexuals but more prosecutions of people who are viewed as espousing or encouraging homosexual views on social media. One such major victory for the Saudi religious police came this week with the arrest of a Saudi doctor for raising a rainbow flag outside his home in Jeddah. After his arrest, the doctor insisted that he had no idea that the rainbow was a symbol for gay rights. Yet those champions of Islamic purity in the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice still charged him.