Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Politics, Society

Spain Arrests Five Activists For Burning Picture Of King Felipe VI

felipe_prince_of_asturiaslarge-spain-flagWe have previously discussed the alarming rollback on free speech rights in the West, particularly in France (here and here and here and here and here and here) and England ( here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here). Much of this trend is tied to the expansion of hate speech and non-discrimination laws. We have seen comedians targeted with such court orders under this expanding and worrisome trend. (here and here). Even politicians have been charged under the ever-widening standard of criminalized speech. Now Spain has made clear that it is committed to the same trend of curtailing free speech. In a moment worthy of Franco, Spanish police arrested five Catalan independence activists for allegedly burning photos of King Felipe VI.  Much like arrests in Russia, destroying or disrespecting the image of the national leader is all that is required in Spain.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Lawyering

Fool For A Client: South Carolina Rapist Insists on Representing Himself And Secures A Life Plus 20 Year Sentence

8ebaa54c-366a-4112-a3e8-bc1c4a222a4b-large16x9_nathanmartinezIn Columbia, South Carolina, Nathan Martinez, 37, fulfills the stereotype of a man who represents himself and has a fool for a client. Martinez was accused of a myriad of crimes, including rape, burglary, and kidnapping. He insisted on representing himself and secure convictions on all counts and a sentence of life in prison plus 30 years.

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Academia, Society

Ze Has Arrived? Oxford Union Denies That It Barred Using “She” or “He”[UPDATED]

oxford_university_coat_of_arms-svgWe have previously discussed the move to expand the pronouns used at schools and allow students to chose a gender but also a pronoun. Indeed, at George Washington University where I teach, the school is asking faculty to list their preferred pronouns so I recently received an email from a colleague with “Pronouns: he, him, his” after his name. Over the weekend, stories appears in various sites that Oxford University has asked its faculty and students to stop using “he” or “she” entirely in favor of “ze.”  It now appears that the story was based on a policy to encourage the use of correct pronouns and not any mandate.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, International

Breaking Bad Gone Bad: Murderer Follows Television Script On Body Removal . . . With Equally Disastrous Results

nintchdbpict000282265313220px-jesse_pinkman2Stefano Brizzi, 50, clearly loved the series “Breaking Bad” — a taste shared with many of us. His other tastes however were a bit more exotic and lethal. Brizzi strangled to death police officer Gordon Semple, 59, in a sex game after meeting him on the gay cruising app. Brizzi seemed to model his life on the rather unfortunate model of Jesse Pinkman, including his ill-fated initial effort at body disposal.

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Bizarre, Free Speech, International, Politics, Religion

Saudi Woman Arrested For Removing Abaya Covering In Public

nintchdbpict0002862353491-e1480673820788We recently discussed the latest outrage a protest by Malak Al Shehri, who decided to do what most women around the world do without a second’s thought: she went out into public without covering herself up with a veil or hijab. Malak then posted herself on a public street. The result was outrage with some calling for her to be beheaded or “thrown to the dogs.” Now she has been arrested under the medieval Islamic Sharia system — religious orthodoxy masquerading as a legal system and imposed by “judges” who are little more than clerics coercing citizens to adhere to their religious views.

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Academia, Society

Penn Students Remove Portrait of Shakespeare With Black Feminist Author

william-shakespeareWe have previously followed controversies at leading universities where students have objected to reading works by white males (even as part of classic English literature courses). Now, students at the University of Pennsylvania removed a portrait of Shakespeare from a prominent location in the school’s English department because he is a white male. He was replaced by Audre Lorde, a black feminist and author who died in 1992.

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Bizarre, Society

The Invisible Hand: The “Marxist” Diner Closes After Customers Complained For Chaos and High Prices

200px-AdamSmithmarx-bioIt appears that the hidden hand of Adam Smith has claimed another aspirational enterprise that lacked economic viability. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, a restaurant was opened to offer vegan cuisine through a “Marxist” “collectivist” “worker-run” establishment called Bartertown. Employees were guaranteed a “living wage”,” no bosses, and a strong union. The problem was complaints about rising prices, unreliable service, and unpredictable hours. The restaurant changed its name recently to the Garden Diner and Cafe, but the business collapsed this month.

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Environment, International

Sweden Importing Trash After Recycling 100 Percent of Its Waste

flag_of_sweden-svg220px-recycling_symbol-svgWe have discussed previously how the United States has lost the lead in environmental sciences and policy. The latest such example is Sweden, which is now importing garbage from other countries to keep its recycling plants going. Less than 1 per cent of Swedish household waste was sent to landfill since 2011 because Swedish families are so good at recycling waste.
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Bizarre, International, Media, Military, Politics

Bolton: Russian Hacking May Be “False Flag”

John_R._Bolton200px-CIA.svgOne of the most controversial potential nominees for President-Elect Donald Trump just got more controversial. John Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has been listed as the possible second in command at State. He previously served as ambassador under a recess appointment because he was heavily opposed by Democrats and some career State Department officials. He can now likely add intelligence officials to his opposition. In an extraordinary interview on Fox News, Bolton dismissed the CIA report finding Russian interference with the election and hacking of emails. Instead, he suggested that the entire controversy could be a “false flag,” or a false story planted by parties in the United States. That would sound like the American intelligence community and specifically the CIA to many. (The FBI was widely criticized by the Clinton supporters for its own alleged influencing of the campaign). It is an entirely unsupported and rather unhinged suggestion, particularly from someone being considered for a high office. It could make an already hot potential nomination into a positively radioactive one.

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Criminal law, Media, Military

Army Reopens Investigation After Special Forces Major Admits In Interview That He Killed Unarmed Suspect in Afghanistan

maj_mathew_golsteyn_silver_starThere is an interesting criminal investigation that seems to fulfill the Washington DC adage “One week on the cover of Time, next week doing time.” The point is that sometimes press is not a good thing. That would seem the case of Special Forces Maj. Matthew Golsteyn who went on Fox News for an interview. In the course of the interview, Golsteyn appears to admit to murdering a suspect in his custody in Afghanistan. Army investigators also watch television and immediately reopened the investigation into the death of the accused Taliban bombmaker.

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Bizarre, Media, Politics, Society

Did The Clinton Campaign Try To Sack Mika Brzezinski?

220px-mika_brzezinskiIt seemed that during the campaign the media could not spend enough time on Donald Trump’s attacks on the media. I thought it was well-earned criticism and I was shocked by Trump’s lashing out at the media. This included accounts from various people who claimed that there were call made to intimidate them. However, Mika Brzezinski has now claimed that not did the Clinton campaign try to pull her off the air but that the brass at MSNBC knew about it and said nothing publicly.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Torts

Pilot In Hot Air Balloon Crash That Killed 16 Found To Have History of DUIs and A Mix Of Drugs In His Body

920x920There is a tragic reminder of the different levels of scrutiny and qualifications for pilots — airplane versus hot-air balloons. Alfred “Skip” Nichols, a pilot of a hot-air balloon, crashed last summer in Texas, killing himself and 15 sight-seeing passengers. It now appears that Nichols was taking a mix of different drugs, including the opiate pain-killer oxycodone. The result is a likely push for new regulation and a potential tort lawsuit, particularly after families learned that Nichols, 49, was convicted five times for driving while intoxicated and three times for drug offenses.
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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics

Conservative Dutch Politician Geert Wilders Convicted For Hate Speech

We have previously discussed the increasing criminalization of speech. Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders has been the focused of another of these past cases, which I have criticized as undermining free speech values. Now Wilders has been convicted of hate speech and inciting racial discrimination for espousing his far right views. One does not have to agree with Wilders — and many vehemently condemn his views — to see the implications of the criminalization of speech in Europe.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, International, Politics, Society

Suspect In Deaths Of Two Women In Kentucky Was Deported Eight Times

3b36cfdf00000578-4017688-miguel_angel_villasenor_saucedo_above_a_40_year_old_mexican_nati-m-4_14813028326593b37718e00000578-4017688-image-a-5_1481302844492As Congress and the incoming Trump Administration grapples with how to carry out Trump pledge for a crackdown on illegal immigration, a recent tragedy in Louisville has galvanized the pro-deportation forces. While most undocumented individuals lead productive lives in the United States, Miguel Angel Villasenor-Saucedo, 40, could well become the next Willy Horton for the crackdown campaign. After it was alleged that the illegal immigrant had killed two people in a hit-and-run. it was discovered that he had been deported eight times from this country. The case shows just how open our borders are when someone like this man can enter so easily after deportations.

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