(2.5.2005) What Do Jakarta and Omaha Have in Common? Smoking bans, either enacted or proposed. Smoking is a foul, disgusting habit, but those really don't satisfy the necessary conditions for a ban. (2.5.2005) Communism: So Bankrupt It Perverts Everything Czech Republic still trying to recover its sensibility after years of living under Communist rule, which taught the maxim "Whoever doesn't steal deprives his family". Under Communism, that was true. And how tragic. (2.5.2005) Plane Crash in Afghanistan Possibly 100 dead (2.5.2005) Court in India Says Constitutional Law Trumps Religious Law Decision says a Muslim woman is due a fair alimony settlement under civil law, even though Islamic law makes no provision for it. (2.5.2005) China's Horrifying Policy Against Women Between cultural favoritism of male offspring and a draconian government policy against families with multiple children, China has 20% more boys under the age of five than girls. It's even more dramatic in some provinces. Cheap access to ultrasound and abortions, along with weak moral safeguards on the rights of newborn children, has led to one of the worst human tragedies anywhere -- essentially the foeticide or infanticide of an estimated 20 to 30 million baby girls. |