Stephen Colbert adopted the persona of a senior citizen on Monday to highlight Rep. Donna Edwards’ (D-MD) disagreement with President Barack Obama on whether to cut Social Security benefits. “Imagine I’m an old woman in your district,” Colbert proposed to Edwards, who…
“This could be a career ender for Michele Bachmann”
With a special investigator soon to be appointed by the chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court, the ethics cloud hovering over Rep. Michele Bachmann could quickly become a major problem for the Tea Party hero, experts tell Salon.“This is very serious,” said Craig Holman, a government ethics lobbyist at liberal-leaning watchdog group Public Citizen. “It’s not Watergate, or at least not yet, but these are a series of allegations that are each serious on their own, and when you put them all together, this could be a career ender for Michele Bachmann.”Ken Boehm, chairman of the conservative-leaning National Legal and Policy Center, told Salon that we should wait to see what investigators find — indeed, no wrongdoing has been reported so far — though he acknowledged the escalating scrutiny could be a major headache for the congresswoman down the lineContinue Reading… … Read More
Salman Rushdie: Artists are in danger
PERHAPS TO HIS DISMAY, the prolific novelist and essayist Salman Rushdie may be best known for the fatwa Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued against him for his fourth novel, The Satanic Verses (1988). He is, of course, more than a once-persecuted writer. Mr. Rushdie is the author of 11 novels, three collections of essays (one co-written), two children’s books, one book of nonfiction, numerous essays, and most recently Joseph Anton: A Memoir. A man of many accolades, he is a public intellectual, a father, a citizen, a man.Continue Reading… … Read More
Salman Rushdie: Artists are more vulnerable than ever
PERHAPS TO HIS DISMAY, the prolific novelist and essayist Salman Rushdie may be best known for the fatwa Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued against him for his fourth novel, The Satanic Verses (1988). He is, of course, more than a once-persecuted writer. Mr. Rushdie is the author of 11 novels, three collections of essays (one co-written), two children’s books, one book of nonfiction, numerous essays, and most recently Joseph Anton: A Memoir. A man of many accolades, he is a public intellectual, a father, a citizen, a man.Continue Reading… … Read More
Baby returned to parents after mix-up over ‘neglect’
The five-month-old child had been temporarily taken from his family after his parents – a Californian couple – were involved in an argument with doctors over the course of his treatment following a medical check-up they took him to after he began exhibiting signs of flu. Sammy Nikolaev has been in protective custody since April 24, when the police and Child Protective Services (CPS) had forced their way into the Nikolaevs’ California apartment after the family took the child from the hospital without proper discharge. The CPS claimed the boy had suffered “severe neglect” at the hands of his parents.“After five hours of deliberation and analysis of factual information presented by both sides, the judge decided to dismiss all charges against the parents”, the Russian Consul in San Francisco, Evgeny Avdoshin, told RIA Novosti.“In line with the verdict, the baby will remain with his parents”, he added.Avdoshin also said that the US court has fully respected the rights of Aleksandr Nikolaev – a Russian citizen – as a parent and that everything was according to proper procedure.Yet just a few days ago, a completely different picture of distrust and accusations was being painted.“I was pushed against the building, smacked down,” Alex said.“I said, ‘Am I being placed under arrest?’ He smacked me to the ground and yelled out ‘I think I got the keys to the house!’” Alex later told reporters,“It doesn’t seem like parents have any rights whatsoever.” During the commotion in the driveway Anna had set up a camera pointing at the door. At least four police officers, who did not have a warrant, are shown on film barging into the home followed by CPS workers demanding Sammy.“I’m going to grab your baby, and don’t resist, and don’t fight me, okay?” one policeman can be heard telling Anna.The family’s lawyer, Joe Weinberger, had also expressed his disbelief at how anyone could barge into a home and take a child into custody over neglect once a doctor ruled that the child was not in any danger whatsoever.However, he also admitted that the parents had not taken the proper care when, firstly, removing Sammy from the hospital without following procedure, and secondly, neglecting to tell the doctor that another professional had declared there was no threat to the child’s wellbeing.The initial news had quickly gained widespread media coverage and public attention in both Russia and the United States. … Read More
US tourist to stand trial in N. Korea
The announcement comes amid a tense standoff between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States, with Washington and Seoul conducting joint military drills and Pyongyang threatening to launch an attack against US Military bases and South Korea.Kenneth Bae, known in Korea as Pae Jun-Ho, has been in police custody since arriving with a tourist group in North Korea’s northeastern city Rajin on November 3, 2012.”The preliminary inquiry into crimes committed by American citizen Pae Jun-Ho closed,” state news agency KCNA reported on Saturday. “In the process of investigation he admitted that he committed crimes aimed to topple the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) with hostility toward it.”His crimes were proved “by evidence,” the report said, adding that Bae would “soon be taken to the Supreme Court of the DPRK to face judgement.”It is not clear what type of punishment Bae, 44, might receive, although North Korea’s criminal code usually metes out life imprisonment or capital punishment for such offenses. A South Korean newspaper published unsubstantiated claims that Bae may have been carrying video footage of North Korea executing dissidents.In 2009, former President Bill Clinton traveled to Pyongyang where he successfully negotiated the release of two US journalists with former leader Kim Jong-il. The two had been charged with crossing into the North illegally.Bae, reportedly a tour operator of Korean descent, is the sixth American to be arrested in North Korea since 2009.Rhetoric between Pyongyang, Seoul and its ally Washington flared in recent weeks following a UN decision to tighten sanctions after North Korea defied international warnings and conducted an underground nuclear bomb test on February 12, the third such test by the reclusive state.Pyongyang rejected on Friday a call for negotiations to reopen a joint industrial complex operated by the North and South. Seoul said it would remove all its remaining workers from the Kaesong factory complex, which is situated just inside North Korea.North Korea has already removed some 53,000 workers and blocked access to the complex in response to joint South Korean and US Military maneuvers, which Pyongyang said are a threat to its national security.Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned against aggravating the Korea crisis with military drills. “One just shouldn’t scare anyone with military maneuvers and there’s a chance that everything will calm down,” he told journalists as he met with US Secretary of State John Kerry on the sidelines of a summit of G8 foreign ministers in London.Two days later, on April 12, Lavrov said Russia would welcome a fresh round of talks on Swiss soil in an effort to resolve the crisis: “If we can re-establish that, Russia would, of course, support it.” … Read More
Whistleblower Outgunned in Michigan
Michigan senior given 7-day notice to move after trumped-up gun complaint on her legally owned firearm. … Read More
