A new survey of public opinion in Zimbabwe has revealed that despite the risk of higher levels of violence and intimidation associated with an election campaign, the majority of Zimbabweans would prefer to hold elections in 2011 rather than maintain the current government of national unity.
Freedom House Condemns Violence in Bahrain and Yemen
Freedom House strongly condemns the use of force against protesters by authorities in Bahrain and Yemen and urges both governments to use restraint and to respect the rights of citizens.
Journalists’ Arrests Signal Growing Press Freedom Backslide in Turkey
The ongoing harassment and detention of journalists in Turkey, including a number who have been held for two years without trial, represents an alarming threat to press freedom.
Freedom House Condemns Crackdown on Activists and Journalists in Azerbaijan
Freedom House strongly condemns the intimidation and arrest of activists and journalists by Azeri authorities over the weekend and calls for the immediate release of all detained.
Delays in Prisoner Release Process in Cuba Condemned
Freedom House welcomes reports that the Cuban government has released well-known political prisoner Oscar Elias Biscet, but renews its criticism of the long delay in the political prisoner release process.
Freedom House Condemns Closure of Human Rights Watch in Uzbekistan
Freedom House today joins Uzbek human rights organizations in condemning the government of Uzbekistan's expulsion of Human Rights Watch (HRW) from the country, calling the move an unequivocal strike against transparency and accountability in the Central Asian state.
Demonstrators in Syria Face Harsh Government Crackdown
Freedom House strongly condemns police violence against protesters in Syria and urges the government to end human rights violations and release its political prisoners.
Hot Pakistani Actress taunts prudish Muslim Cleric on Indian National TV
From Eric Dondero:
Veena Malik fled to India for her acting career. Now Pakistan's Culture Police are on her tail, attempting to lure her back to Pakistan.
From IBNLive.com:
Pakistani actress Veena Malik has received a "death threat" from a purported Taliban commander for appearing on the Indian reality TV show "Big Boss", her media manager said on Saturday.
"Self-styled Taliban commander Ahmed Masood issued the death threat in a hand-written letter sent to Veena for appearing on the Indian show," Sohail Rashid, her media manager, said.
"Veena is in India but she will not seek asylum there or in any other country on security grounds," Rashid said.
The exchange on-air from YouTube (does not allow embedding):
CLERIC: I believe she was... promoting hollow ideologies, which are not appropriate for a famous and great person like her.
MALIK: I would feel a burden on my conscience if I had done anything wrong. I have not done anything wrong. I am just an entertainer. And if anyone can prove that while living in this country I've done anything against the law - whether Islamic law or stat law, you can punish me for that.
CLERIC: If she has not the pangs of consciense because of what she did, then I would tell her to awaken her conscience. No one in Pakistan can look at her pictures in the presence of their daughters.
[Look of utter disgust from the Actress]
MALIK: As far as Islam is concerned, Islam is a vast religion... Let me also tell you that you are not allowed to set eyes on me in your present condition. You should be punished... Clerics can look at a woman once, but if they look at her a second time they can be punished. You deserve to be punished.
Rebecca Black viral Video teaches Teens Seat Belt use not cool
A little un-intended Libertarianism?
From Eric Dondero:
According to HotAir.com the new video by Rebecca Black has 10.5 million YouTube hits.
The phrase “Rebecca Black” has been one of the top 10 highest trending terms on Twitter for a solid week, and an appearance on “Good Morning America” is in the works. It’s an Internet phenomenon.
But is there more to this cheezy pop video than just trite teeny boppism?
The Teens can be seen throughout the entire video blatantly violating California's tough seat belt laws.
V C Section 27315 of the DMV code for the State of California clearly states:
(e) A person 16 years of age or over shall not be a passenger in a motor vehicle on a highway unless that person is properly restrained by a safety belt.
Further:
Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 42001, a violation of subdivision (d), (e), or (f) is an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than twenty dollars ($20) for a first offense, and a fine of not more than fifty dollars ($50) for each subsequent offense. In lieu of the fine and any penalty assessment or court costs, the court, pursuant to Section 42005, may order that a person convicted of a first offense attend a school for traffic violators or another court-approved program in which the proper use of safety belts is demonstrated.
California has a primary offense seat belt law, meaning officers of the law may pull over anyone driving a vehicle for no other reason than a seat belt violation.
"Diversity" for the US Military, even if it means Lower Standards
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION MADNESS
From Eric Dondero:
First Gays in the Military, then "sensitivity training" for Combat soldiers, now Women in Combat and lowered standards on testing and drug use to allow for more "Minority" recruits.
Meet the new Military under the Obama administration.
Straight White Males need not apply
The Washington Times reports "Diversity panel wants military to look like U.S.- Urges change to let women in male-only combat units":
The commission says it wants the military to resemble the ethnic makeup of America. It is urging the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force to “validate” the standards — such as education, test scores, criminal records and drug use — that disqualify large numbers of blacks and Hispanics.
“Racial/ethnic minorities are less likely to meet eligibility requirements than are non-Hispanic whites, and that gap is widening,” the report says
Continuing:
Hardened combat veterans say there is a big difference between a female MP exchanging gunfire with insurgents and the upper-body physical demands of an Army Ranger or Navy SEAL engaged in intense close-in violence.
Retired General Carl Mudy is quoted on females in combat:
“I believe there is a broad lack of understanding of exactly what direct ground combat is...
“Closing with and destroying the enemy by the most violent means available — and often at eyeball-to-eyeball range — is direct combat. Moreover, the units which are trained into the teams to engage and defeat the enemy directly exist on the basis of masculine cohesion.
“I believe that female service members bring tremendous skills and talents to many sectors of our armed forces, but I believe equally strongly that they are not best suited for the unique demands associated with direct combat units.”
Bring back the Draft for enforced Diversity?
San Diego-based radio talk show host Roger Hedgecock editorializes over at Human Events "Mindless Push for 'Diversity' in the Military Won't Win Wars":
There are too many white men in the U.S. military.
So says a report released this week by the Military Leadership Diversity Commission (MLDC), commissioned by Congress to examine ways to "increase diversity" in the military. The MLDC report finds that 77% of active-duty senior officers are white, 8% black, 5% Hispanic, and 16% women (of unspecified race).
What's the answer to this "problem"? Is the MLDC recommending that white males stop volunteering for military service? Do they want to start "selecting" who among them volunteers for service? Are they recommending that there be quotas for military service, as with the public university system? Or maybe the MLDC is going to recommend a mandatory draft for minorities and females until "diversity" is achieved?
Hedgecock goes on to point out the obvious: If there are "too many white males" in the military, perhaps it has to do with the fact that they're more patriotic, love their country more, and are more willing to volunteer to serve.
Gaddafi’s Neighbors say Just leave already!
by Clifford Thies
Various sources report that the Libyan rebels are now in the air, with MIG 23 aircraft and helicopters described as the Free Libyan Air Force.
Two of Moronman Godaddy's warships are indicated to have been sunk, and his armored vehicles and airports attacked.
It is speculated that Egypt and perhaps also Algeria have had it up to here with Myanmar Queerdaffy's military attacks on his own people.
Also, that the volunteers of the the Free Libyan Air Force are being feed real time intelligence from NATO AWACs plane flying off the coast, in international waters.
Hey, Mallomar Cocoafree, getdahelloudahere!!
Trump vs. Obama: Finally, it’s on!
From Eric Dondero:
Donald Trump fires the first Salvo of the possible 2012 match-up questioning the legitimacy of Obama's US citizenship.
From the Honolulu Star/Advertiser "Possible presidential candidate Trump doubts Obama was born in Hawaii":
In an interview today with ABC’s “Good Morning America,” the developer, reality TV star and maybe Republican presidential hopeful said he doubts Obama was born in the United States.
"Everybody that even gives a hint of being a birther … even a little bit of a hint, like, gee, you know, maybe, just maybe this much of a chance, they label them as an idiot. Let me tell you, I'm a really smart guy," Trump told GMA.
"He grew up and nobody knew him. You know? When you interview people, if ever I got the nomination, if I ever decide to run, you may go back and interview people from my kindergarten. They'll remember me,” he continued. “Nobody ever comes forward. Nobody knows who he his until later in his life. It's very strange. The whole thing is very strange."
Two other GOP presidential candidates, Michele Bachmann and Mike Huckabee, have recently joked about or questioned Obama's birth place.
Libertarian Party, Republican Party cooperation for Columbus, OH City Council seats
From Eric Dondero:
According to the Columbus Dispatch, local Libertarian Party and Republican Party leaders agreed to pull some candidates for city council, in order to eliminate the need for a primary, and save taxpayer dollars.
Republicans Joe Healy and Alicia Healy and Libertarian Andrew S. Ullman agreed to withdraw from the race, leaving eight candidates for the four council seats open this year, said Brad Sinnott, chairman of the Franklin County Republican Party Central Committee.
The city charter requires a primary only if there are more than two candidates for each open seat.
Sinnott said that both parties agreed it was best to conserve their campaign resources for the November contest rather than fight one another for spots on that ballot.
"The Libertarians and the Republicans looked at the cost of a primary and took into account how wealthy the incumbent Democratic candidates will be because of the contributions from people who do business with the city and who want to influence policy decisions at City Hall," he said.
The Dispatch goes on to note that even though the two parties are cooperating in the election, for the November election they remain two separate party tickets.
Party Switch: Louisiana Republicans pick up 3rd Democrat defector in one Year
From Eric Dondero:
Yet another Democrat in Louisiana has switched to Republican.
From TheRepublic.com:
Sen. Jody Amedee, of Gonzales, switched to the GOP on Thursday, in a move announced by the Legislature's Republican delegation.
Amedee, a trial lawyer in his second term, joins a growing list of Democratic lawmakers jumping to Republican ranks in advance of this fall's election. He's the third Democrat in the Senate to switch parties in the last five months, according to the Republican delegation.
This now gives the GOP a 21 to 18 majority in the Senate. Last year, the Democrats controlled the upper chamber by a similar majority.
Girly Boy Bill sails through the North Dakota Senate
Teaching Young Men to rely on Government instead of themselves
From Eric Dondero:
The North Dakota legislature is overwhelmingly Republican. Still, a House bill to stop "aggressive behavior" amongst boys, passed easily through the State Senate. Republican Governor Dalrymple - a moderate - is expected to sign the bill.
From InForum-FargoMoorhead.com:
The Senate voted 36-10 on Thursday to approve the House’s version of the bullying legislation.
House Bill 1465 defines bullying and requires school districts to have bullying policies by July 1, 2012.
Some Republicans, mostly on the hard-right, did raise objections.
Continuing:
Sen. Oley Larsen, R-Minot, a vocal critic of the legislation, said aggressive bills to try to stop aggressive behavior in schools will be ineffective.
The bill has victims relying on the school to protect them from bullying and will promote a victim mentality that will handicap kids for life, he said.
Students need to know they will be bullied and learn how to handle those situations when they occur, Larsen said.
Sen. Margaret Sitte, R-Bismarck, said people have picked on each other since the beginning of time. Bullying prevention programs will use up valuable minutes in the school day, she said.
“This is just another example of nanny state government run amok,” she said.
Note - Senator Larsen is considered one of two or three "libertarian" Republicans in the North Dakota Legislature.
What is it about Baltimore Dem Mayors and Special Deals?
Something in the Water in the Inner Harbor?
From Eric Dondero:
Flashback! Mayor Sheila Dixon accepts gift cards in exchange for city contracts.
We reported here at LR, "Baltimore Mayor Dixon Convicted on Embezzlement charges: The Fall-out begins -Bribery, Backroom backslapping and shady Business deals" Dec. 5, 2009:
On Wednesday, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon, a Democrat, was convicted on one count of Embezzlement. Dixon accepted gift cards for Target and Best Buy from developers in return for favorable reviews on lucrative city contracts. The cards were intended for use by Baltimore's homeless.
Reports UPI:
Dixon was soliciting gift cards from a developer, then spending the cards instead of giving them to the needy as planned.
New Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake in growing Scandal over special City Contracts for John Hopkins
And now this from the Baltimore Sun "Mayor voting on deals with husband's employer City attorney investigating" March 17:
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has voted to approve more than $900,000 in deals with Johns Hopkins since her husband began working for one of its divisions late last year — a possible violation of the city ethics code.
She has voted on at least $947,000 in deals involving Hopkins since mid-December, including a $226,200 contract last week for Hopkins employees to provide HIV counseling and testing services for patients at a sexually transmitted disease clinic run by the city health department.
Rawlings-Blake voted in December to pay Bayview Medical Center $26,000 to fund a van that provides HIV and sexually transmitted disease testing in Southeast Baltimore. She voted in January to give the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health $94,000 to prevent HIV infections among men who have sex with men.
Fox Baltimore reports that the matter is being increasingly "scrutinized" by the City Solicitor.
Sidenote; And the Mayor who preceded Rawlings-Blake and Sheila Dixon? Current Maryland Governor and Democrat "Rising Star" Martin O'Malley.
No doubt, if O'Malley ever decides to run for US Senate or even higher, his record as Baltimore Mayor will come under intense scrutiny.
Agora Financial Acquires Laisse Faire Books
MOVEMENT NEWS!
Release...
March 17, 2011 (Baltimore, Md.) – Addison Wiggin, Executive Publisher of Agora Financial today announced the acquisition of Laissez Faire Books (LFB), the country’s premier Libertarian bookseller. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Commenting on the acquisition, Wiggin said, “The Laissez Faire Books purchase represents an important strategic move for Agora Financial. Fundamentally, we believe the classical economic tradition will again provide critical insight as the Western world faces ongoing fiscal crises.” He added, “LFB will provide a solid resource for our one million readers worldwide while helping our analysts ground the financial advice we provide firmly in the intellectual tradition from which so much of it is derived.” He concluded, “We're eager to write the next chapter in Laissez Faire Books storied history.”
Founded in New York’s Greenwich Village in 1972, LFB quickly earned the reputation as a leading voice in the libertarian community, often cited as carrying more printed materials on classical economics and individual liberty than any other bookstore. Additionally, the store became a venue for political discussion, lectures, book signings, and films – entirely focused on social and political issues of the day.
In the 1980s, Laissez Faire Books grew its business and developed a publishing imprint Fox & Wilkes to publish contemporary authors and re-issue major works out-of-print.
At LFB’s peak in the mid-1990s, revenues exceeded a million dollars. The company had established a customer list of nearly 30,000, and was featured in a Wall Street Journal article by Gerald Seib. However, the rise of the Internet made profitability difficult, and LFB changed ownership and location several times.
Since the acquisition by Agora Financial in late 2010, Laissez Faire Books has developed a plan to pick up where the company left off in the mid-90s. Last month, LFB reprinted and co-published with the Mises Institute Ron Paul’s The Case for Gold: A Minority Report of the U.S. Gold Commission.
Jeffrey Tucker, Editorial Vice President of the Mises Institute said, “Laissez-Faire Books has a noble heritage of providing great books to readers in the dark times before the digital age.” He added, “They have a lengthy track record of innovation and now with the resources of Agora Financial, we are looking forward to a publishing focus that will reach or exceed LFB's best years.”
Agora Financial, LLC, is a Baltimore-based publisher of over a dozen financial and investment advisory newsletters. The editors of these publications have been recognized by major media outlets for their honest, unconventional, and unbiased independent financial research.
To the Heroes of Fukushima
by Clifford F. Thies
While the prime minister of Japan calls for an evacuation of civilians from the vicinity of the nuclear power plant at Fukushima, fifty nuclear power plant workers continue to take their shifts, going in and out of the facility, to contain the damage. Like the nuclear power plant workers at Chernobyl and the New York City fireman on 9-11, these men risk their lives to save others, because of the pride they have in their work, and because of their camaraderie.
We, at Libertarian Republican, salute you and keep you always in our prayers.
From the CBC.ca "Esprit de Corps of Japan's nuclear power plants":
They have been called "the faceless 50," a band of brave technicians still working in the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant about 250 kilometres northeast of Tokyo, five days after a devastating earthquake and tsunami set off a series of explosions and other problems at the plant's six reactors.
By Wednesday, the number of workers had grown to 70, all wearing protective gear and being rotated in and out of the danger zone, often for only minutes at a time, so as to limit their radiation exposure. They work in the dark since power and generators at the plant have failed, using flashlights, like miners with headlamps working the depths of the world's deepest mines.
Charles Murray coming to Earlham College March 23rd
Charles Murray, a decorated author, political scientist and libertarian, will present “Taking Happiness Seriously” as a part of Earlham College’s Artist and Lecture Series on Wednesday. Murray feels that the American government regulates to a point that it takes away the people’s ability to be happy. His lectures and work have heavily discussed happiness, starting [...]
Notice: Libertarian Party of Indiana Bylaw changes due March 31
Changes to the Libertarian Party of Indiana Bylaws are brought to the floor of the annual convention each year. If there are any bylaw change proposals, please submit those to Executive Director Chris Spangle via email at lpinhq@lpin.org by March 31. The proposed change must be in the proposed language.