Time to clean out the aggregator —
ITEM: China’s Communist dictators have granted a reprieve to the two elderly women who were sentenced to hard labor after they applied for a permit to protest at the Beijing Olympics. The detention was condemned around the world, and provided a stark reminder that the Beijing Olympics were a human rights catastrophe.
ITEM: Meanwhile, 2012 Olympicrats have already announced that the Olympic torch relay will be confined to the U.K., in the wake of the anti-China protests that plagued the worldwide torch relay leading up to the 2008 Olympics.
ITEM: Political factions in Pakistan are feuding over whether to reinstate the illegally ousted judges of the nation’s supreme court, even in the wake of Pervez Musharraf’s involuntary “resignation.” Previous post here.
ITEM: The American Political Science Association has adopted the following policy:
In locating its future meetings, APSA presumes that states with legal restrictions on rights afforded recognized same-sex unions and partnerships create an unwelcoming environment for our members in cities where we might meet. … APSA would closely examine practices on a case-by-case basis in cities within these states to assess whether demonstrated positive local practices or other Association goals warrant holding our conferences there.
The policy was adopted after several members expressed concern and indignation over the organization’s decision to hold its 2012 annual meeting in New Orleans, given Louisiana’s especially pernicious “no nothing never” ban on any recognition of any same-sex union. Eighteen states’ bigot amendments are of the “no nothing never” variety; those states would all presumably be blacklisted. This action comes on the heels of (or precedes — I’m not sure which) the current infighting at the Association of American Law Schools over calls for that group to boycott the San Diego Manchester Grand Hyatt to protest its owner’s donation of $125,000 to support California’s forthcoming vote on a bigot amendment. Previous post here; related posts here (Louisiana) and here (university hiring challenges in bigot amendment states). (Via Hunter of Justice.)
ITEM: The renegade educrats of South Iron, Missouri, are continuing their frivolous appeal to allow the Gideons to distribute Bibles to fifth grade students on school grounds during school hours. The policy, struck down by a federal district judge, was so patently unconstitutional that the school’s attorneys and insurance carrier demanded that the district cease the practice; the district superintendent resigned when the board refused. It is very likely that the civil liberties groups suing the district will be awarded attorney’s fees, which the taxpayers in the district will have to pay. Previous post here, see also here.
ITEM: Another community is attempting to tell a Jew that zoning rules forbid him from holding prayer services in his home. A “Questions” post highlighted a similar situation last week.
ITEM: The Army, continuing to lower its enlistment standards in order to meet recruitment targets, is establishing special GED preparatory facilities to accommodate the increasing number of high school dropouts trying to enlist. Recruits must possess a GED before they can commence basic training. Flagship post here.
ITEM: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, a supposedly independent and self-financing bureaucracy, is facing insolvency. As I’ve noted repeatedly, its sibling entity, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, is also likely to need taxpayer funding.