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Eye For An Eye: Iranian Court Orders Man Blinded

LibertySugar — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 06:00:55 -0800

In 2004 Ameneh Bahrami, an Iranian woman, rejected a man's multiple marriage proposals, only to have him throw a jar of acid in her face and blind her. Four years later, an Iranian court has sentenced the 27-year-old attacker to be blinded, calling on the Islamic law of "qias" or equivalence.

BBC reports that Ameneh, who lost one eye and was otherwise significantly disfigured, received reconstructive face surgery in Europe; but doctors could not bring back her sight. She told the court that since the attack, she has lived in fear, and she pleaded that the man who blinded her face the same fate. The court followed her wishes.

Iranian officials hope the retributive sentence will prevent future acid attacks. Does this punishment bring the victim and society down to the criminal's level, or is it only fair that he feel the pain she does?

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Peeping Tom Laws Can't Keep Up With Technology

LibertySugar — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 10:00:14 -0800

If you're hitting the mall today to score some Black Friday deals, you might want to look out for suspicious men ready to assault you with their flashes. Camera phone-armed perverts have found it easy to snap pictures of women's private parts, and get away with it.

In Tulsa, OK recently, a man caught sticking his camera phone up a fellow shopper's skirt to take a picture of her underwear, walked away with no conviction, since the state's law held that the woman had no right to such privacy in public.

In response, Salon reports, Oklahoma lawmakers passed legislation making it explicitly illegal to take a photo of someone's private parts in public. Believe it or not, almost half of US states have similar loopholes in need of closing. Hopefully lawmakers react quickly, since these Peeping Toms can instantly post these cell phone pictures online.

Have you ever been assaulted with a camera phone . . . that you know of?

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Medical Marijuana Law Limited in California

LibertySugar — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:00:02 -0800

The California Supreme Court clarified the state's medical marijuana law yesterday, deciding unanimously that individual suppliers can be prosecuted even when dealing to patients with doctor approval. Sellers, who are not caretakers, or fellow medical marijuana cooperative members, will not be protected from the law.

Patients will most likely turn exclusively to marijuana collectives and cooperatives to get their fill. Opponents of the decision say that centralizing the source of the drug makes it much easier for federal agents to raid such dispensaries.

In 1996 California voters passed Proposition 215, which approved marijuana cultivation and use by those with doctor approval. But earlier this year, the state's high court ruled that companies could fire employees who test positive for marijuana, even if they had a doctor's recommendation.

Do you think the trend toward narrowing the legal use of medical marijuana puts the intentions of California voters up in smoke?

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Obese Air Travelers in Canada Have Right to Free Seat

LibertySugar — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:30:34 -0800

As a tall woman, I am relieved when the seat next to me on a flight ends up empty, since the space I paid for is painfully too small. As of today, obese people flying Canadian airlines officially have a right to that extra seat, at no extra cost.

The Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear airline objections to the Canadian Transportation Agency's regulation that states that people "functionally disabled by obesity" do not have to pay for an extra seat.

Earlier this year the agency implemented the nondiscrimination "one-person-one-fare" policy because those with severe disabilities had limited traveling opportunities due to the doubled price of travel. Do you think the decision is a blow against discrimination, or the beginning of a slippery slope for troubled airlines?

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Flirting With Jail? 400 Egyptian Teens Arrested For Flirting

LibertySugar — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:30:13 -0800

A not-so-playful police sting in Cairo netted about 400 teenage boys accused of flirting with girls. Just yesterday, law enforcement rounded up the underage wannabe-seducers in front of schools, universities, or other public places where teens hang out. The teens will most likely face fines.

While a crackdown on innocent flirting seems oppressive, something beyond prudish attitudes motivated the sting. Egyptian women deal with an extraordinary amount of sexual harassment and assault in public. In Egypt, two-thirds of men admit to harassing women in public.

Last month, an Egyptian court handed down a sentence of hard labor and three years in jail for a man convicted of groping a woman in public. Now it looks like officials want to teach younger males a lesson before they graduate from flirting to groping. Do you think the Casanova roundup will work?

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Phone Jammers Cut Annoying Chatter and Police Life Lines

LibertySugar — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:30:00 -0800

Can you hear me now? Probably not, if someone around you has a cell phone jammer, devices that block reception within 10 meters. The discreet gadgets are gaining popularity among theater and restaurant owners, subway riders, and others trying to silence annoying people who talk on the their cell phones in public.

Last month, Canadian police were caught in a jam on a dark highway, when they pulled over suspects carrying a jammer that rendered their radios silent. Luckily, they seized the device, and soon an official warning went out to all Canadian police. In the US first-time offenders can be fined up to $11,000. In addition, the jamming party can be charged with theft, as the airways belong to the companies that purchased them.

The idea of anyone, especially police, entering a dead zone frightens me, but I understand the frustration with obnoxious cell phone chatting. Maybe more countries can start passing cell phone bans, similar to those seen (and not heard) on France's railway or Austria's public transit, while keeping the jammers away from the bad guys.

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Justice Served? Homeless Arsonist Ordered to Pay $101 Million

LibertySugar — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:01:00 -0800

Steven Emory Butcher sleeps in a tent, but the law seems to think he's a millionaire. After setting fires in 2002 and 2006 that destroyed 160,000 acres of national forest, the homeless man was sentenced to four years in prison and $101 million in fines. While in prison, the arsonist will have to pay $100 each year toward his fine. Once he's out, he must contribute $50 a month for the rest of his life. Right now Steven lives on government disability insurance, but if he gets a job, his payments will be adjusted accordingly. Since the law requires anyone who has damaged property repay the cost of the lost property to the victim, the judge ignored how much Steven could afford. While it's crucial to send a message to arsonists that such destructive and dangerous activity will be punished, do you think the punishment fit the crime in this case?Source

Justice Served? Homeless Arsonist Ordered to Pay $101 Million

Yes. He did the crime, now he's gotta do the time, and pay the fine.

No. Making this man pay for the rest of his life is cruel and unusual punishment.

Maybe. The victim is not an individual, so they should consider the convict's income.

Other. I'll tell you in the comments.

Briefing Book! Domestic Abusers Can Purchase Guns

LibertySugar — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:30:26 -0800

Law: Supreme Court sides with domestic abusers? Court likely to uphold decision that allows those with domestic abuse convictions to purchase guns. — Jezebel
England: Has it hit bottom yet? Bank of England could slash interest rates to 0 percent. — Donklephant
GOP: What did big business say to the neocon? If they IM'd: Republican factions. — 23/6
Babies: Guess who's expecting? The pregnant man is pregnant again! — lilsugar
Northeast: Possible for fiscally conservative and socially liberal Republicans dying out in the Northeast to survive? The key is to cut spending and the size of government. – Red State

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Ugly Fruit and Veggies No Longer Banned in Europe

LibertySugar — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:30:00 -0800

In Brussels (the Belgian city, not the sprouts), EU officials have decided to lift the ban on crooked, bent, or twisted perfectly-edible fruit and vegetables. For the past 20 years, 100 pages of regulations have required that produce be uniform in appearance, and sold without any odd curves.

But not all fruit is exempt from standards of beauty — appearance regulations for apples, strawberries, citrus fruit, kiwi, lettuce, pears, peaches, nectarines, sweet peppers, table grapes, and tomatoes will still be on the books, although each country can decide whether they want to enforce them.

Produce sellers in a few countries, like Italy and France, worry that after the ban is gone, consumers will purchase less fruit and vegetables because they will be scared away by deformities. Even if you discriminate against ugly, yet edible, food, should the law be able to?

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Guard the Nukes! Rate of Nuclear Thefts Disturbingly High

LibertySugar — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:00:45 -0700

Almost 250 thefts of nuclear or radioactive material were reported last year. The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency explained this week: “The possibility of terrorists obtaining nuclear or other radioactive material remains a grave threat. Equally troubling is the fact that much of this material is not subsequently recovered.”

Experts say health consequences of a dirty bomb are minimal compared to the panic that it would cause. But, there's no need to panic quite yet —all the material stolen last year combined would not be enough to build a device.

Last week, a new commission created by Australia and Japan to bring together officials from nuclear powers and other interested parties, met to discuss the spread of nuclear weapons since the Cold War. In 2009, the commission will meet again in Washington, DC to push for the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, a treaty that still awaits US ratification.

Hopefully, other crises like the financial or climate crises don't cause world leaders to take their eyes off this dangerous issue.

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