THE OTHER SHOE DROPS: Updates To Previous Posts
† We Fight Them Over There So We Don’t Have To Fight Them Over Here?: The Dutch government plans to ban Iranian grad students from studying nuclear science at its universities, so they do not get “access to special training or teaching that could contribute to nuclear proliferation activities in Iran and the development of systems for transmitting nuclear arms,” reports Agence France-Presse. The
† Multiculturalism Vs. Animal Rights (second item): In March 2007, NM became the 49th state to make cockfighting illegal (LA’s ban takes effect next month), and has since tried to stamp it out - with little success, reports The New York Times:
[L]ight penalties - a first offense is a petty misdemeanor - have not only failed to stop the fights, they continue to attract cockfighters from four of
“It seems they’re always one step ahead of us,” said Robyn Gojkovich, who in May became the state’s first full-time animal control investigator. …
Some police officers in this state say the pressure for stepped-up enforcement from the animal rights lobby has become so intense that resources are being diverted from more serious crimes, like drunken driving and amphetamine abuse. …
Others defended the raids, citing ties between cockfighting and other criminal enterprises, like illegal gambling.
“You aren’t going to take down a cockfighting ring with two or three people. This is not a friendly card game. There’s a lot more going on,” Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White tells the paper.
† Turkish Court Rules In Favor Of Secularism, Modernity And Feminism (second item): Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic AKP party is not going to go down without a fight. The government controlled Anatolia news agency announced that 21 people have been rounded up – including two retired generals, the chairman of Ankara's chamber of commerce and a prominent pro-secular journalist – as part of an investigation into “Ergenekon,” a pro-secular/nationalist group allegedly trying to overthrow the government. According to The New York Times:
No charges have been filed, and details about the alleged plot were sketchy Sunday. Some newspapers close to the government have said the suspects were plotting a series of events - such as mass demonstrations and violent clashes with police - that would lay the ground for an army takeover. …
Secularists see themselves as the defenders of the modern secular ideology espoused by Turkish national founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and oppose groups they say want to impose Islam on society. …
Critics have denounced the arrests as an attempt to silence government opponents.
“'Those who believe in Ataturk, in the secular republic are under attack,” said Deniz Baykal, leader of the opposition Republican People's Party.
† Updates To Previous Posts (Carrying The Torch For The “Genocide Olympics,” second item): At a press conference held on the island of Hokkaido, Japan, before the annual meeting of the Group of Eight nations convened, President Bush explained that he was loathe to boycott the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Beijing, because it would be an “affront to the Chinese people.” For his part, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, announced his intention to attend as well: “I would not want Chinese to become unhappy. We are neighbors, after all.” Considering that other than issuing half-hearted “apologies” Japan has never taken responsibility for WWII war crimes - for instance the rape of Nanking and the Bataan Death March – it would appear that the opening ceremonies of the Genocide Olympics are a “must-see” for committers and condoners of crimes against humanity.
† Is The Iraqi Criminal Justice System More Efficient Than Ours?: The Associated Press describes the case against accused courthouse killer Brian Nichols “as open-and-shut as they come” - the government had “hordes of witnesses” and “hours of surveillance video.”
Plus, Nichols not only confessed to police, but his own defense team conceded he had murdered Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes, court reporter Julie Ann Brandau, Sheriff's Deputy Hoyt Teasley and federal agent David Wilhelm three years ago.
Nonetheless, “frustrated prosecutors are trying to keep the death penalty case on track as defense lawyers engage in maneuvers to whittle down the prosecution's mountain of evidence,” the AP reports:
Both sides must contend with a case that has wound through more twists than an airport thriller: A state-funded defense of at least $1.8 million, outraged lawmakers, an alleged escape plot, allegations that a prosecutor committed crimes of her own and the district attorney suing the presiding judge, who later stepped down.
The developments have alternately astonished and outraged a community trying to close the books on the shootings that stunned
While this circus was going on outside the Fulton County Jail, Nichols is believed to have been hatching a plot to escape with the help of his paralegal girlfriend and a couple of sheriff's deputies.
Little wonder, then, that as jury selection finally gets under way it may be next to impossible to find 12 impartial jurors “to decide one of the most notorious cases in modern
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