Bits and Bites From Around the World > Lights Went Out on Blinken and Lavrov; Dr. Gets Small Fine for Amputating Wrong Leg; Michigan Shooter's Parents Charged - on the Run; Homeless Man Jailed on 'Stay at Home' Order

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Lights go out at diplomatic meetings with Blinken & Lavrov

2 Dec, 2021 15:00

FILE PHOTO © Reuters / Pool

A meeting between US and Ukrainian diplomats was thrown into darkness as the US secretary of state began to speak. A similar incident took place later as Russian and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe reps spoke.

A meeting room hosting American and Ukrainian diplomats was suddenly plunged into darkness on Wednesday as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken began his remarks to his Ukrainian counterpart Dmitry Kuleba.

Blinken was in the midst of reassuring Kuleba of Washington’s “unwavering commitment” to Ukrainian sovereignty when the lights went out. Their meeting was set to take place on the sidelines of the OSCE conference in Stockholm.

A similar blackout seized the room later that day as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke with OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid and other officials. Lavrov suggested the problem was caused by an official brushing up against the light switch with their rear end.

Blinken is reportedly expected to pile on further threats of sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, should Moscow not cease troop maneuvers along the country’s own border with Ukraine. While Kiev has complained of Russia’s recent military maneuvers, claiming some 90,000 soldiers are conducting exercises near the border the two states share, Moscow has argued that it has the right to deploy troops however it wishes inside its own country.

Too bad the meetings weren't held in Tblisi rather than Stockholm. They could have spent the time singing, "That's the Night When the Lights Went Out in Georgia"!

Surgeon fined for amputating wrong limb

2 Dec, 2021 14:14

© Getty Images / Johnny Greig

In the Austrian city of Linz, the 43-year-old doctor was found guilty of inflicting bodily harm through gross negligence. According to the newspaper Salzburger Nachrichten, the defendant admitted to “making a mistake,” saying that she had marked the wrong leg before the operation began. However, she denied acting with gross negligence, with the defense arguing that the control system in place had failed.

The surgeon was fined to the tune of €2,700 ($3,060) on Wednesday, though she may end up not having to shell out half the amount. The elderly patient passed away before the case was brought to court, and the judge ordered the doctor to pay €5,000 ($5,671) to the patient’s widow in damages for the suffering inflicted on her late husband.

Austria’s public service broadcaster (ORF) cited the judge as telling the defendant she should have “looked a second or third time,” considering the seriousness of the operation. The surgeon has since moved to a different hospital and can still appeal the judgement. For now, both the prosecution and defense have taken time to consider their next moves.

According to Austrian media, the case took place in May, in the city of Freistadt. The patient was an 82-year-old man who had a history of pre-existing conditions affecting both of his legs. On May 18, he was to undergo an above-the-knee amputation on his left leg. When asked in court why she marked the right leg, the surgeon replied, “I just don’t know.”

The team tasked with the final examination of patients prior to surgery also failed to notice the mistake. It was only two days after the operation that the surgeon’s error was discovered when the doctors changed the patient’s bandages. The elderly man, who has since passed away, reportedly had to have his second leg amputated, too.

Of course, he did. For an orthopedic surgeon, a few thousand dollars is a minor slap on the wrist. It must have been a hellish trauma for the patient and his partner to go through.

Health authorities in the state of Upper Austria, where the incident took place, reassured the public that the case in Freistadt was thoroughly analyzed and security training has been updated.

Parents of Michigan shooter Ethan Crumbley, 15, go on the RUN

after being charged with manslaughter

By ASSOCIATED PRESS and SNEJANA FARBEROV FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and SHAWN COHEN

PUBLISHED: 14:47 EST, 3 December 2021

The parents of accused Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley are now on the run from police, just hours after a prosecutor announced involuntary manslaughter charges against them and revealed stunning details about the murder weapon that was a Christmas gift for the 15-year-old, whom police say shot dead four students after penning a disturbing note saying:

'Thoughts won't stop, help me.' 

Police have issued a 'be on the lookout alert' for James and Jennifer Crumbley, who were charged Friday with four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with Tuesday's deadly shooting. The charge carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald alleged that the parents ignored multiple warning signs and refused to take their son out of school just hours before the shooting took place.

Jennifer Crumbley bragged on social media about going out with Ethan to test his Christmas present - a 9mm handgun - just three days before the shooting at Oxford High School, and just one day after her husband James had purchased the gun for Ethan. 

Ethan Crumbly

During a press conference Friday, McDonald revealed stunning new details leading up to the shooting that took place Tuesday afternoon, including that Jennifer Crumbley texted her son about 30 minutes after the rampage saying, 'Ethan, don't do it,' and that her husband James called 911 to report that his gun - a 9 mm Sig Sauer SP 2022 - was missing and that Ethan was likely the shooter. 

The prosecutor revealed that James Crumbley, who - like his wife - had a prior criminal history in Michigan, bought the murder weapon from a retailer with his son there on November 26. He stored the 9mm handgun in an unlocked drawer in his bedroom, McDonald said.

The next day, Jennifer posted about the Christmas present to Instagram with the caption: 'Mom & son day testing out his new Xmas [sic] present.’ Jennifer's Instagram account has since been taken down.  

There is definitely either an element of madness or a demonic influence in this kid's life. If you can't see it in his eyes, then hear it in his words, 'Thoughts won't stop, help me.' There had to have been other signs of his problems in spite of his brother saying otherwise. 

This action by the Oakland Co., prosecutor is going to start a firestorm, but parents have to be responsible for their children. For this massacre to happen just days after getting the gun would indicate that the boy was nowhere near ready for the responsibility of handling one.

There is much more on this remarkable story on the Daily Mail.

Homeless man gets jail time for breaching ‘stay at home’ order

3 Dec, 2021 15:19

FILE PHOTO. Singapore. © Getty Images / Maverick Asio

In a “cruel twist of irony,” a man was sentenced to seven weeks in jail by a Singapore court on Thursday for breaching a Covid-19 “stay at home” order despite being homeless.

Singapore national Rozman Abdul Rahman, 40, returned from Indonesia on March 20, 2020. After an immigration officer insisted he sign a stay-home notice (SHN), he listed his estranged stepsister’s house as a place for him to quarantine – but he was actually homeless.

During the period when he was supposed to self-isolate, he lived on the streets, sleeping in a car park, and later moved to a homeless shelter. He also kept working as a security guard at a grocery logistics company. His manager claimed he was not aware that Rahman was on an SHN.

After being unable to locate him, law enforcement officers eventually found Rahman via his employer and arrested him. He was sentenced to seven weeks imprisonment on Thursday after pleading guilty earlier this year.

Well, at least now he has a home for the next 7 weeks.

“In the midst of a worldwide crisis, Rozman was left with a personal crisis of his own – homelessness. He had no place of residence. He was left to fend on the streets,” his lawyer, Azri Imran Tan, said, adding that his punishment was a “cruel twist of irony.”

He argued there “should be a distinction between those who frivolously go out and breach SHN versus those with no choice.”

While his defense asked for a short detention and fine, prosecutors accused Rahman of deliberately exposing others to the risk of Covid-19, something which could have seen him jailed for up to six months.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Lai Yan called the 13-day breach of rules “almost unprecedented.” Rahman is expected to appeal the decision.

Singapore has had one of the tightest Covid-19 measures in the world with hundreds of people fined and imprisoned for breaching self-isolation rules.

State in Malaysia Approves Public Canings for Breaking Sharia Law

Another in a series of posts documenting the 'progressiveness' of Islam. Sin is progressive, we see that in those addicted to pornography - it often progresses to child porn, and, in time, tends toward younger and younger children and more and more violent assaults. 

Islam progresses as its numbers rise. The greater the percentage of Muslims in a particular area or country, the more Islam moves toward Sharia and its legalism and barbarism. 

© Beawiharta / Reuters

A state in Malaysia governed by a conservative Islamist party has amended its laws to allow public canings for crimes against sharia law. Critics have called the move unconstitutional, with one politician saying it indicates a “bleak future” for the country.

The amendment was passed by the assembly of Kelantan to more closely align the state’s policies with Islamic criminal law, Kelantan deputy chief minister Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said, as quoted by Bernama state news agency.

“Caning can now be carried out inside or outside of prison, depending on the court’s decision,” Mohd Amar said.

“This is in line with the religion, which requires that sentencing must be done in public,” he said.

He declined to say exactly what offenses would be punishable by caning, although Reuters reported that the amendment applies to sharia crimes.

Ti Lian Ker, a member of the Malaysian Chinese Association, which is part of the ruling coalition, says public canings are unconstitutional under federal criminal law.

“This is a rewriting of our legal system and spells a bleak future for the nation,” he said in a statement, as quoted by Reuters.

While Islamic law is observed in all of the other Malaysian states, its application is restricted to family issues such as divorce and inheritance, as well as sharia crimes involving Muslims, including the consumption of alcohol and adultery. Criminal cases are handled by federal law.

The decision of the Kelantan state assembly comes as no surprise, as the state has also been pushing to adopt a strict Islamic penal code called ‘hudud,’ which would allow adultery to be punished by stoning and thievery by amputation.

The state, which is governed by PAS, a conservative Islamist party, has also banned nightclubs and cinemas.

Last year, PAS introduced a bill that would expand the powers of sharia courts and incorporate hudud into the country’s existing legal system. The proposed legislation is expected to be debated in parliament later this month.

Ethnic Malay Muslims make up more than 60 percent of the country’s 32 million people. Similar calls to implement stricter sharia law have made waves in recent years, prompting concern from members of the country’s Chinese and Indian populations, as well as other ethnic minorities.

The Wednesday amendment comes just one month after Malaysia's Health Ministry made headlines for holding a contest soliciting videos which explained the consequences of homosexuality and "gender confusion," promising a cash award of up to US$1,000. 

Homosexuality is forbidden in Malaysia. Those violating the law face flogging and up to 20 years in jail.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian state of Kelantan isn't the only government in the region to advocate for caning, or against homosexuality.

In May, two gay men were publicly caned in Indonesia’s most conservative province, Aceh, which has the authority to enforce sharia law alongside the national criminal code. 

Police Arrest Cleric Who ‘Incited’ 15yo Boy to Cut Off His Own Hand Over Blasphemy

© Alaa Al-Marjani / Reuters

Pakistani police have arrested the imam of a mosque in Okara, in the Punjab province, for inciting violence after a 15-year old boy cut off his own hand, believing he had committed blasphemy, a serious crime in the majority Muslim country.

Police filed anti-terrorism charges against the imam and arrested him, local police chief Nosher Ali told Reuters.

"Such illiterate imams of mosques should not be allowed to deliver speeches. His arrest is under the National Action Plan that hate speeches inciting violence are no longer allowed in this country," Ali said.

This is the first I've heard of the National Action Plan, but I like it. However, only time will tell if it is simply window-dressing for international audiences or if it is a genuine move toward a modern society. I have doubts that the Imam will face any consequences.

Delivering a sermon at a village in the Hujra Shah Muqeem district, some 125 kilometers south of Lahore, imam Shabbir Ahmed preached that “those who love Prophet Mohammed always say their prayers,” Pakistan Today reported.

Then he asked the gathering if anyone did not love the Prophet Mohammed.

The teen misheard the question and raised his hand. The cleric immediately singled him out from the crowd and alleged he was a “blasphemer and was liable to be killed,” Pakistan Today reported.

Members of the crowd reportedly said they knew that the boy had not committed blasphemy and that he was the victim of a misunderstanding.

However, the boy went home and rushed to cut his hand off. The act was welcomed by his father, who reportedly told police he was proud of his son and didn't want the cleric arrested.

Ah, the insanity of Islam knows no bounds! There is something intrinsically wrong with a society that allows a boy to cut off his hand because of a misunderstanding, and then praises him for it.

Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws have received international criticism over concerns they are often abused. Adopted in 1947 and tracing their roots back to British rule, the country's blasphemy laws make it a crime to insult religious beliefs. The punishment may range from several years in jail to a death sentence.

A total of 1,400 cases of blasphemy were registered in Pakistan in 2014, the Fides news agency reported, citing senior lawyer Syed Mumtaz Shah. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), local courts sentenced three people to death, six to life imprisonment, and three others to two years' imprisonment for blasphemy in 2014.

Nisar Shar, spokesman for the association of lawyers in Karachi, said that "even for lawyers it has become dangerous to do their job and defend a defendant accused of blasphemy," recalling the case of Rashid Rehman, a lawyer who was shot dead by gunmen in the Pakistani city of Multan in 2014 because he was defending a university lecturer accused of blasphemy.

‘Blasphemer!’ Pakistani Teen Cuts Off Own Hand After Mistakenly Admitting to Not Praying

© Athar Hussain / Reuters

A 15-year-old Pakistani boy has cut off his hand as a way of punishing himself for an accidental “blasphemy” he committed. The boy was praised by his parents and gained huge respect from his neighbors for the act, police told AFP.

It turns out that Mohammad Anwar raised his hand by mistake after he misheard a question from an imam, who asked the crowd at a village mosque to give a show of hands of those who had stopped praying.

The boy raised his hand and was immediately accused by the crowd of blasphemy.

After cutting off his hand he put it on a plate and brought it to the cleric, the police chief said.

The incident occurred at a village in Hujra Shah Muqeem district, 125 kilometers south of Lahore, the capital of Punjab province.

There is no need for an investigation, the police chief said, as there have been no complaints.

Adopted in 1947 and tracing their roots back to the British rule, Pakistan’s blasphemy laws make it a crime to insult religious beliefs. The punishment may range from several years in jail to a death sentence. Pakistan’s blasphemy laws have received wide criticism, as many believe they are often abused.

Saroop Ijaz, Pakistan researcher for Human Rights Watch, called the blasphemy law “an instrument of oppression,” as quoted by the Washington Post.

“It’s completely discriminatory and has resulted in a lot of mob violence. ... It is providing and enabling an environment for religious violence to take place,” he said.

The fanaticism that permeates countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan goes well past insanity as the above story documents. The martyrdom of Farkhunda takes the insanity to a terrifying level. The burning of the Christian colony in Lahore is an example of how these blasphemy laws are used for pure evil.

For instance: “Lahore, Muslims set Christian colony ablaze: new charges of blasphemy,”

And in Afghanistan: Northwoods Ministries: Farkhunda, the Martyr, the Rest of the Story