Month: December 2001

Zimbabwe to Take Final Step Toward Police State

Zimbabwe, which just a few years ago was on its way to fulfilling its destiny as an African economic jugernaut, is now detouring into a full blown police state with the introduction of a bill that would end all pretenses that the country is anything but Robert Mugabe’s personal fiefdom.

According to SMH.Com.AU, the bill would make it illegal to “excite people or express dissatisfaction with the president, the government or the police.” This will effectively outlaw all opposition to Mugabe and put a rubber stamp on his roundup of journalists and opposition politicians.

The chairman of Lawyers for Human Rights, Tawanda Hondora, is quoted by SMH.Com.AU as saying that this bill is far more extreme than anything that either European colonialists or the apartheid regime in South Africa ever tried to impose on African nations.

Zimbabwe is likely to be a living hell for years to come.

Source:

Liberty and speech stifled in laws ‘as bad as apartheid.’ Peta Thornycroft, SMH.Com.AU, December 20, 2001.

Are China’s Data on Fish Stocks Reliable?

The BBC recently reported on a dispute between Canadian researchers and China over China’s official fish catch figures.

The Canadian researchers published a study in Nature recently suggesting that world fish stocks were likely much lower than previously estimated, largely because the researchers contended that China’s figures on its annual fish catch were unreliable and exaggerated.

Over the past ten years, the Chinese fish catch has steadily increased which the researchers claimed was “unrealistic.”

For its part, China responded by claiming that the statistics are in fact. Chinese official Yang Jian told the BBC that fishing was such a small part of the Chinese economy that there wouldn’t be any incentive for local officials to falsify data.

On the other hand, exaggerating data seems to be endemic among Chinese bureaucrats, so they might just be exaggerating such data out of sheer habit.

Source:

China says ‘fake’ fishery statistics correct. The BBC, December 18, 2001.

Animal Liberation Front Recounts 2001 'Accomplishments'

There is a lot of back and forth over whether or not animal rights terrorism is really terrorism. Fortunately the folks at the Animal Liberation Front have been kind enough to provide a laundry list of their assorted crimes which might be a nice eye opening look at what the terrorist group considers to be a good year. Here’s the complete text of the press release from the Frontline Information Service,

Here are some totals for the year of 2001 from actions on the frontlines for animal liberation. Please remember this list is far from complete; it simply represents the crude numbers of actions known by the ALF Press Office. Numerous actions, especially minor property destruction ones, typically are never reported on or claimed by anyone. The following actions were claimed by either the Animal Liberation Front or similar organizations or anonymous individuals. ELF actions are included when they targeted animal abuse businesses.

Business targeted:

6 Bank of New York offices or facilities
5 research labs
4 Bank of America offices or facilities
4 animal breeders
3 Stephens Inc. offices or facilities
3 fur farms
3 McDonalds
3 Dairy Queen
3 meat stores
2 Burger King
2 Pizza Hut
2 factory farms
1 fur store
1 hunting store
1 pet store
1 wild horse facility
1 circus animal train

Damaged property:

approx. 70 windows or glass doors
approx. 10 vehicles and 1 yacht
3 fires set

Animals rescued or released:

3000 mink
1030 ducks and unknown numbers of ducklings
468 chickens
200 horses
62 pigeons
50 geese
42 beagles
28 rabbits
10 ferrets

Source:

Animal Liberation totals for 2001. Frontline Information Service, Press Release, December 16, 2001.

Creationism == Terrorism (Gag)

New York Times columnist Anthony Lewis is retiring and I have two words for him — good riddance. Lewis used his last column as an opportunity to take a swipe at people who happen to believe that the Bible is literally true by comparing such people to the 9/11 terrorists. Lewis wrote,

I have been writing it for 32 years. As I look back at those turbulent decades, I see a time of challenge to a basic tenet of modern society: faith in reason.

No one can miss the reality of that challenge after Sept. 11. Islamic fundamentalism, rejecting the rational processes of modernity, menaces the peace and security of many societies.

But the phenomenon of religious fundamentalism is not to be found in Islam alone. Fundamentalist Christians in America, believing that the Bible’s story of creation is the literal truth, question not only Darwin but the scientific method that has made contemporary civilization possible.

Religion and extreme nationalism have formed deadly combinations in these decades, impervious to reason. Serbs in the grip of religion and mystical nationalist history killed thousands and expelled millions in their “ethnic cleansing” of Bosnia. Fundamentalist Judaism and extreme Israeli nationalism have fed the movement to plant settlements in Palestinian territory, fueling Islamic militancy among Palestinians.

Fundamentalist Christians dare to question Darwin and the scientific method? But I thought the entire point of the scientific method was to question provisional facts and theories?

I happen to think the creationists are wrong, but to lump Fundamentalist Christians and creationists in with the 9/11 terrorists is absurd.

This argument makes about as much sense as does the argument by someone like George Gilder who points out that the worst human rights violations of the 20th century were all carried about by men who rejected Christianity — therefore, Gilder argues, it is atheism, humanism and paganism which are responsible for mass murder.

UK Man Released After 3 Years in Jail on False Rape Charge

In March 1998, Roger Beardmore, 37, was sentenced to 9 years in jail for repeatedly raping a young girl. The victim testified at his trial that between the ages of three and six she had been raped several times while visiting the farm the man lived at.

Earlier this year the girl retracted her statement saying that she had “put a man in prison for no reason.” The girl apparently made up the story in an effort to receive more attention from her mother, but as one of the judges who heard her retraction put it, she now wanted to “right a wrong which had been keeping her awake, crying all night.”

Beardmore was released on bail in May, and formally cleared of all charge on Dec. 14.

Source:

Prisoner cleared after girl admits rape lie. Laura Peek, The Times (UK), December 15, 2001.

Gun Control and 9/11

The best line about gun control and the 9/11 attacks comes courtsey of the New York Times‘ John Tierney in an article about war-related toys,

American males’ fascination with guns doesn’t seem so misplaced now that they’re attacking Al Qaeda’s fortress. No one is suggesting a Million Mom March on Tora Bora.

Second-best gun related quote comes from a piece by Lisa Snell talking about her 5-year-old’s reaction to seeing the 9/11 attack on television,

My mother-in-law called from Baltimore before 7:00 AM [Pacific] to tell us to turn on our television. My five year old saw the live coverage of the second plane crashing into the WTC. He immediately went and found his Spiderman t-shirt and told me that he and Gavin would not be at school when I picked them up because they were going with the Power Rangers to save the world. He urgently wanted to get to school to call a meeting with Gavin and Tanner, his five-year-old compadres, to decide what to do—a typical reaction from a boy who lives and breathes bad guys versus good guys. People are always talking about how bad television is for children and they seldom talk about how bad their schools are for children. Yet, I would rather be on a highjacked airplane with someone inoculated by Power Rangers than someone who believes the message of every school institution: that weapons are bad and that the authorities and the government will solve all problems and protect you.

Amen. At the moment, my daughter alternates between Power Rangers and Batman (we watch the extremely violent Justice League cartoon together). Someday, when I have nothing better to do, I’ll write up a summary of psychological studies of children and mock violent play (it ain’t necessarily a bad thing).