The Washington Post is raising another instance where the Obama Administration appears to be withholding information on immigration for political purposes — further contradicting President Obama’s pledge to be the most transparent Administration is history. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection releases its annual statistics on October 10th before the elections. Someone in the Administration then ordered the statistics taken down in what the Post is calling a move that seemed to confirm the view of “the Obama administration playing politics with public information.” Notably, the Post however only wrote about the story today so any such intention worked to keep the information out of the public debate. There is a reason why these statistics would be particularly bothersome before an election.
China has long been the greatest driving force in the trafficking of endangered species parts and ivory to fuel its traditional medicine market and jewelry market. We have discussed recent cases (here and here and here) of seizures of huge amounts of illegal animal parts going to China, which also set shocking records for pollution and contamination. Throughout these continual arrests and stories, the Chinese government simply insists that they are combatting such trafficking. Now however an environmental watchdog is accusing the government itself in trafficking. the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency says that Chinese officials used a state trip by President Xi Jinping and other high-level visits to smuggle ivory out of Tanzania. Worse yet, the Chinese are accused of using diplomatic bags to load huge amounts of ivory on planes as a government-maintained illegal trafficking operation.
Through the years, I have written stories criticizing the airline industry for its nosedive in customer services and accommodations. (here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here). It now turns out that airlines are moving to make flights even more uncomfortably with “bench seating” that will allow them to stuff more passengers into a cabin. While this is better than the “standing only” sections of RyanAir, it is yet another example of how passengers are now being treated as little more than bleating sheep by airline executives who have already reduced space so that you cannot open a computer or risk knee capping.
We previously discussed the horrific abduction of Carlesha Freeland-Gaither from a street in Philadelphia and the fear that such an offender would be unlikely to leave the 22-year-old nurse alive. It was wonderful news last night therefore to learn that Carlesha had been rescued by federal officers and is now at home with her family. The alleged abductor is Delvin Barnes, 37, who has a long history of violence against women and other crimes. Notably, however, it was not his criminal recidivism but his bad debt that proved his undoing.
In torts, we often discuss no fault insurance systems but this story out of Victoria is remarkable. A woman was run over by her own car after her own dog released the handbrake on the car. Victoria’s Transport Accident Commission (TAC) still awarded her $140,000 worth of compensation for injuries to her hip, shoulders, back, and neck. The resolution of the case took over nine years.
We have previously discussed the scourge of blasphemy laws, particularly in Muslim nations, used to punish and even execute people with differing views of religion. We have a deeply disturbing new case outside of Lahore, Pakistan where a Christian couple was accused of desecrating the Koran (Quran), beaten by a mob, and then burnt in a brick kiln where they worked. The couple, known only as Shama and Shehzad, were killed at the behest of a local Muslim mullah in Kot Radha Kishan, some 60 kilometres from Lahore.
Continue reading “Christian Couple Beaten and Burned In Pakistan For Blasphemy”
Christopher Maximilian Sandau, 33, is by all accounts a perfectly good minor hockey coach in British Columbia. Nevertheless, he was fired recently by the North Delta Minor Hockey Association because of his support of Nazi propaganda and history. It is the latest example of an employee being terminated for their statements or associations outside of the workplace.
Continue reading “Hockey Coach Fired Over Facebook Postings Glorifying The Nazis”
The Justice Department has previously been held in contempt by Congress and hit with increasingly tough court orders from a federal judge over its obstruction of efforts to secure evidence in the notorious Fast and Furious operation. Many have accused Attorney General Eric Holder of acting blatantly political in withholding documents to protect Democrats from backlash before the elections. As if to prove that view, the Justice Department waited until late on election eve to finally dump more than 64,000 pages of documents congressional lawmakers have been seeking for years. The timing was almost taunting in its impact. Guaranteeing that the content could not be viewed before people voted, the Obama Administration’s long obstruction resulted in this troubling image of a politically timed release. The Administration previously admitted that it would not discuss its plans for unilateral immigration action until after voters had gone home from the polls.
Dr. Alan Black, an American professor, was arrested last month for taking a picture of a sign banning photography. That act could send him to jail for five years. Various sites have been created to rally support for Roberts who is facing an absurdly harsh legal system and a rule against photography that can only be described as pathological.
There is a deeply upsetting video (below) released by police of the abduction of Carlesha Freeland-Gaither, 27, who was forced into a car by a man as she walked home from a family party on Sunday evening. It is painful to watch the father of Carlesha beg this man not harm his daughter.
Continue reading “Abduction Caught On Tape Of Woman In Philadelphia”
A bizarre tragedy has struck at a construction site in New Jersey where Gary Anderson, 58, was hit and killed by a falling tape measure from 50 stories above. The one-pound tape measure came off a construction worker and hit Anderson who had just stopped to speak with another worker in a pick up truck.
Continue reading “New Jersey Man Killed By Falling Tape Measure At Construction Site”
Most people in Heinz Field were delighted by the Steelers-Ravens game with a win of 43-23 for the Steelers. Stephen Sapp, 29, however, appears to have decided to force his own impromptu tryout as a replacement for kicker Shaun Suisham. Sapp was allegedly kicking a steel barrier and screaming near the C Gate. Officers told Sapp to leave but he reportedly began “to violently and recklessly push and throw the steel dividers around in a dangerous, disorderly manner.” When they threatened arrest, he then allegedly kicked another steel barrier so hard that it caused it to bend, come off the ground, and hit a woman on the other side so hard in the head that she was knocked unconscious. He was then hit with a flurry of charges, including most notably bribery. Yes, bribery.
Israel has arrested and then given two days of house arrest for a rather bizarre form of expression: defecating on flags, including Israel’s flag. I cannot say that I am eager to attend a showing of the Natali Cohen Vaxberg’s scatological creations, but the sentencing clearly violates free speech protections that many of us believe are a core human right. Warning: foul language is contained in the story below.
There is a truly bizarre crime being reported in Beiliu City, China. Two officials were faced with a quota for cremated bodies under a law encouraging this form of disposal over burials. Two short of the quota, the officials reportedly employed a grave robber named Zhong to supply bodies for cremation.
Many people were horrified by the triple killing in Santa Ana when a man struck and killed three teenage trick-or-treaters on Halloween then fled the scene without stopping or calling for medical assistance. The police found the abandoned car with the help of a fast-thinking woman who followed the man. Police have now made an arrest and the accused has a long record of drunk-driving and hit-and-run. His name is Jaquinn Bell, 31.
Continue reading “California Man Arrested In Triple Killing and Hit-And-Run On Halloween”