There is an interesting case out of Florida where a Deputy Austin Douglas, 29, has been fired and arrested after officials say he texted photos of a suicide victim to his ex-girlfriend’s cell phone. The termination is understandable but the criminal charge is relatively rare.
Islamic State militants have continued their scorched earth campaign to wipe out anything considered non-Islamic. After destroying art and artifacts in the Mosul Museum and then the priceless ruins at Nimrud, ISIS is now destroying the ruins of the large fortified city at Hatra, one the capital of the first Arab kingdom. The site has withstood attacks since 116 with the Romans, but ISIS is using modern explosives and bulldozes to eradicate the 2000-year-old site.
Continue reading “ISIS Reportedly Demolishes Second Ancient Site”
We recently discussed the case of a Russian who was arrested for carving his name into the ancient walls of the Colosseum. Now, due to the actions of two California women aged 21 and 25, we must bear the shame of such a despicable act. The women used a coin to carve large letters of J and N into the site. We have also discussed stupid acts, including by Americans, where art has been damaged by accident. However like the graffiti by the Chinese tourist, on the Luxor temple, and the Russian tourist who carved a K on the Colosseum this was an intentional act of thoughtless destruction. He was not a stupid teenager, but a 42-year-old man.
Continue reading “Two California Women Carve Their Initials Into Colosseum and Then Take Selfie”
The brutal character of Sharia criminal law was evident in Iran this week after a man was forcibly blinded in one eye after being convicted for an acid attack that blinded another man. It was the literal application of the concept of “an eye for an eye.” We discussed the Iranian judicial ruling on blinding people for such crimes ten years ago. In this case, the man was blinded in his left eye and will later be blinded in his right eye unless “blood money is paid.”
Continue reading “Iran Blinds Defendant Under Sharia Law’s “Eye For An Eye””
Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw) Weekend Contributor
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the massive cuts to education and programs for the poor by the new Governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner. In that article, I mentioned that Gov. Rauner seemed to be parroting the budget methods of Governor Brownback in Kansas and Gov. Walker in Wisconsin, both of whose state economies have been floundering under their respective austerity programs.
Well, it seems that in Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker has gone even farther in his attempts to balance the budget on the backs of the middle class by proposing massive cuts to the Department of Natural Resources, while attempting to wrest control of various agencies from the public domain and capturing them in the Executive branch of government. Continue reading “Cutting the Great Outdoors of Wisconsin, Along With Everything Else!”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Prior to marijuana legalization in Washington, enforcement of state marijuana laws were, as with the various other states, primarily enforced by city police, county sheriff’s departments, and the state patrol.
Now the driving force behind state efforts has mostly shifted to the Washington State Liquor Control Board and the Washington Department of Revenue for licensing and revenue collection for state licensed producers, processors, and retailers. The medical marijuana aspect is currently unregulated by the state. There does remain, however, the illicit trade which still provides contraband marijuana and remains the largest supplier of the substance.
Yet when we look at other regulated substances such as alcohol and tobacco, local law enforcement officers rarely intervene in the illegal trade. The primary agency responsible for enforcement of these substances’ statutes is that of the Liquor Control Board.
Should enforcement of the marijuana laws be deferred by traditional law enforcement as well?
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Idaho Liquor Licensees who show movies have been served with notice demanding that they not show the blockbuster Hollywood hit “Fifty Shades of Grey” while serving alcoholic beverages. The agency claims that doing so violates Idaho law prohibiting the display of sexually explicit movies while serving alcohol.
Many are wondering why the ABC singled out Fifty Shades of Grey and not various other R-Rated movies having sexual situations that dominate the movie industry.
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
The Bank of Canada moved to protect its economy from a sudden spike spock in its currency.
The Canadian Dollar spocked in value following the death of Actor Leonard Nimoy a week ago. Currency traders marked the five dollar notes and in turn succeeded in initially increasing its value. This was then followed by a run on the bank notes prompting the Bank of Canada to intervene to protect the dollar’s value.
Continue reading “Bank Of Canada: “Stop ‘Spocking’ Our Currency””
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
A man in Wenatchee, Washington was charged with Felony Possession of Marijuana With Intent to Deliver for what began as a text message. Unfortunately for him, his offer to illegally sell marijuana mistakenly went to a friend of a deputy sheriff.
After the incident, described in a Probable Cause Statement by a detective with the Columbia River Drug Task Force, Braxton Whited probably should consider reviewing his cell phone’s contact list.
The systematic destruction of art and historical and religious sites continued this month with another crime against humanity by Islamic State militants. The extremists reject images of the human body as violations of Islamic teachings and despise earlier civilizations that were not based on their Islamic traditions. So, after destruction priceless artifacts and art in the museum in Mosul, IS destroyed the the ancient Assyrian archaeological site near Mosul. The loss is truly incalculable for humanity.
Continue reading “Islamic State Bulldozes Ancient Nimrud Site”
On the eve of the decision not to prosecute of Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown, state prosecutors are considering charges against Michael Brown’s family. While potentially explosive in light of the rejection of civil rights charges, the case is based on what is reported as criminal acts of assault and theft by Brown’s mother Lesley McSpadden and other family members.
Continue reading “Police Consider Charges Against Brown Family In Ferguson”
We previously discussed the decision of Harvard to create a women-only hours at the college gym. It appears now that McGill University, an equally world-class academic institution in Montreal, is being asked to offer the same accommodation to female students who do not want to work out around males. student Soumia Allalou, 23, insists that women should not be forced to at a gym with male students. However, others raise the question of gender discrimination in barring male students solely due to their sex rather than their conduct. Allalou is a Muslim and wears a hair covering.
Continue reading “McGill University Asks To Create Women-Only Hours At School Gym”
While China is moving to block the airing of a documentary on pollution, India is moving to block the airing of a documentary on the scourge of its country: rape. India has long been accused of having a rape culture where women are blamed for their own victimization and the caste system (and poor legal system) continues to frustrate efforts to hold rapists accountable. That dire situation for women led to the much acclaimed documentary by British filmmaker Leslee Udwin, “India’s Daughter.” The Indian government is so opposed to letting its citizens hear about such abuses that it is now threatening the BBC for airing the banned documentary.
Continue reading “India Ministry Moves To Block Airing Of Documentary On Rape”
Just last December, we passed the 24,000,000 mark and today we hit 25,000,000. We have used these moments to give thanks for our many regular readers around the world and give you an idea of the current profile of readers on the blog. We continue to rank in the top legal blogs in the world and we are continuing to see a growing international readership. As always, I want to offer special thanks for our weekend contributors: Mike Appleton, Larry Rafferty, Charlton Stanley, Darren Smith, and Kimberly Dienes. I particularly want to thank Darren who has continued to help manage the blog and help out folks who encounter posting problems. The increasing traffic on the site is gratifying and reaffirms that there are many people looking for mature and civil debate. While we have some who cannot resist personal attacks, we try to discourage such posters and this site remains remarkably civil for its size. Due to litigation demands, I appreciate all of the effort by the vast majority of posters to keep discussions civil and non-personal. Even among the top ten sites, I believe that we offer a unique forum of different views and backgrounds in the discussion of law and politics (and a few quirky items).
So here is our current profile:
As expected, the Justice Department announced Wednesday that it will not prosecute former Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown. The case followed the same pattern that we saw him the Zimmerman investigation: a premature entry into the case, Attorney General Eric Holder making public comments assuring a federal response, a long investigation, and a leak from the Justice Department preparing people for the rejection of any charges. In both cases, some of us questioned the timing of the entry of the federal investigators and the weak basis for a civil rights investigation. (For a prior column, click here) In the end, the Justice Department found much of the same inconsistencies detailed by the grand jury and the police in the Ferguson case.