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Archive for the ‘Europe’ Category

How long before this shows up on CSI?

April 3rd, 2009 | 2 Comments

For many years, police in Germany have been searching for a female serial criminal. The woman’s DNA had shown up at 39 different crime scenes, including seven murders, committed over a period of fifteen years. Her DNA was found over and over again: in bottles, tank lids, on bullets – and once even on a [...]

State emphasis on niceness reaps nastiness

March 30th, 2009 | 3 Comments

The Tyranny of Nice in the UK. Renowned political philosopher Kenneth Minogue remarks on a paradox at the heart of contemporary British society. For many years, government policies and public institutions have been based on compassion, empathy, and concern; yet, increasingly, the result is a society manifesting the opposite qualities—indifference, lawlessness, and violence. Young offenders [...]

Bishop Nazir-Ali resigns to work with persecuted Christians

March 29th, 2009 | 1 Comment

Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, one of the Church of England’s most outspoken leaders, has unexpectedly announced his retirement as Bishop of Rochester, effective 1 September. He will turn 60 in August and could have remained in office for another ten years. Instead, he now plans to minister to Christians in Muslim-majority nations who face harassment and [...]

No church discipline for Dutch atheist pastor

March 27th, 2009 | Comments Off

Klaas Hendrikse, pastor in the Protestant Church of the Netherlands, wrote a book entitled Believing in a God who does not exist: manifesto of an atheist pastor. Two church regional authorities have decided that disciplining an atheist pastor would entail “protracted discussion” and other unpleasantnesses they’d rather avoid. Ecumenical News International has the story. The [...]

Foreign women imprisoned in brothels in Northern Ireland

March 26th, 2009 | 1 Comment

In the past year, Northern Ireland police have rescued women from Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Far East who were imprisoned in homes and forced to work as sex slaves. Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris detailed the extent of the illegal sex trade at the launch of a new support service to help victims. The [...]

Armenia proposes to restrict sharing of religious beliefs

March 24th, 2009 | Comments Off

Armenia’s Parliament has given first readings to a new Religion Law and a Criminal Code amendment banning proselytism. The Religion Law would require religious bodies to sign up 5000 adult citizens before being granted legal status. Human rights and religious groups are deeply concerned about these proposals, which would stifle freedoms of religion and speech [...]

Abortion biggest factor in Russia’s demographic collapse

March 23rd, 2009 | 1 Comment

Historian J. Wesley Bush, who blogs at Russian Policy Daily, translates portions of an interview with the head of Russia’s Family and Childhood Foundation.  Note the bit on forced abortions (emphasis added). Chastnyi Korrespondent has an interview with Sveta Rudneva, head of the “Family and Childhood” foundation of Russia. Like many Russians, she’s worried about [...]

“If women were in charge we wouldn’t be in this economic mess”

March 20th, 2009 | 1 Comment

Because, as we all know, women never spend more than they earn. That inane claim was made by a co-host of a morning TV talk show in Britain.

Rowan Atkinson defends free speech in “gay hate” law

March 19th, 2009 | 1 Comment

Speaking at a meeting in the British House of Lords on Tuesday, renowned comedian Rowan Atkinson strongly opposed a scheme to remove free speech protection from the offence of “homophobic hatred”. Mr Atkinson, famous for his roles in Blackadder and Mr Bean, told Peers in the House of Lords: “Do I think that I would [...]

Azerbaijani journalist in interrogation ordeal

March 16th, 2009 | 1 Comment

Idrak Abbasov, the Azeri journalist who broke the story of Azerbaijan’s deliberate destruction of a medieval Armenian cemetery, has been subjected to an intense interrogation by state security agents. He was restrained and blindfolded before being aggressively questioned for hours, after which he had to be treated in hospital. He has been ejected from Nakhichevan, [...]

Border checks could be discriminatory

March 4th, 2009 | 1 Comment

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission has issued a warning that monitoring people crossing the border could be discriminatory.  Apparently, “human rights” are more important than national security. The Human Rights Commission in the North has warned that plans to introduce checks on people crossing the Border may lead to racial discrimination. […] The Northern [...]

Prosecutor forbidden to discuss alleged Albanian atrocities

March 3rd, 2009 | 1 Comment

Carla Del Ponte is one fearless prosecutor. Her investigations of Sicilian mafia, Slobodan Milosevic, and Rwandan genocide earned her powerful enemies and death threats. Her memoir Madame Prosecutor is proving extremely controversial—so much so that she has been forbidden to talk about it. She alleges that the United Nations and NATO failed adequately to investigate [...]

Parents object to one-armed children’s TV show host

February 28th, 2009 | 1 Comment

About a month ago, a charming young woman named Cerrie Burnell (at right) became a presenter (host) on the BBC children’s TV show CBeebies. She has proved a very controversial choice, for the BBC soon received complaints from parents that Ms Burnell was scaring their toddlers. How exactly does she scare children? It’s her appearance: [...]

UK honour-based violence hotline gets 30 calls per month

February 26th, 2009 | 1 Comment

Last June, the Cambridgeshire Constabulary set up a helpline for issues related to honour-based violence and forced marriage. An average of 30 calls per month have been received, resulting in 61 investigations. Chief Constable Julie Spence gives a few examples of calls to the hotline: contact from women as young as 14 fearful of being [...]

News flash: Discipline curbs bad behaviour

February 26th, 2009 | 1 Comment

Ofsted, the British government’s education watchdog, has made an astonishing discovery. Back to basics discipline in school would curb bad behaviour […] Traditional rules such as banning children with shaven heads and those wearing designer trainers or gang colours have proved effective in maintaining order at the best comprehensives, according to a report by Ofsted. [...]