INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY? NOT WITH U.S. CUSTOMS

Francisco Rivera, 40, and Alfonso Calderon, 34, each spent an ENTIRE YEAR in prison because police found 30 pounds of marijuana inside their SUV at a checkpoint. Mexican authorities described the marijuana as being old and deteriorating. This is because it was put there by the previous owner whose SUV was seized by the U.S. Customs Service for marijuana smuggling. U.S. customs then sold the SUV to the two men at an auction without, apparently, first checking the SUV for hidden drugs.

Bill Of Rights -- Void Where Prohibited By Law

They were jailed because, the judge said, they failed to prove their innocence. Is this how it now works in the United States? They were released from prison by a federal appeals court in Mexicali. Neither man had ever been in trouble with the law before.

If you buy used cars, you should be concerned, very concerned, that this could happen to you or someone you know. If you rent hotel rooms, you should be very concerned that they'll find someone else's drugs in the room and they will send you away. If you go anywhere where people have been, you could be in trouble. Does anyone else have a problem with this?

They are now suing U.S. Customs for negligence and are happy to be back with their wives and daughters.

Source. Summary by Jerry Lerman

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GLOBAL WARMING GETTING SHAKY

The Guardian's recent report on Earth's climate fluctuations leaves THIS sentence to the very last: Stott says: 'The fluctuations indicate the cold periods are the calamitous ones - which suggests all our fears about global warming may be misplaced.' How odd!

Here is the original article about Julian Simon's debunking of the "Green" doomsayers that started the now famous Bjorn Lomborg off on his pilgrimage towards reality. And here is a useful summary of what Lomborg found when he investigated the facts about Greenie claims.

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THE MOST BENIGN OF THE EMPIRES

Although I was born half a world away from London, I was born a British subject. All Australians were in 1943 -- the year of my birth. So the reality of the British Empire is not far back in the past at all from my point of view. I grew up with maps of the world that had the red of empire everywhere and was proud of it. So I found an article by Niall Ferguson interesting and persuasive. Summary:

The British Empire covered 25 per cent of the globe and, as the world's biggest investment banker, its influence stretched even farther. In his new book, Niall Ferguson argues that the Empire was a force for global good, and that its demise was caused less by nationalist movements than by the cost of its efforts to keep more malign imperial powers at bay

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CIVILITY IN JAPANESE HISTORY

In response to my recent postings that point out that Japan has claims to civilization that are in some ways superior to the claims of Christian countries, I received the following email:

Hi Jon,
I am a steady reader of your blog, but what you said about Japan being more peaceful than Europe from 1591 to 1900 is not true. There were many civil wars between the major clans in Japan during lasting up to the Meji restoration in 1868.

The peasants were forceably disarmed, all the guns imported from the Dutch were confiscated. There was a large local gun manufacturing of copies of the Dutch guns but that was destroyed too. The Samurai were able to rule with swords over the peasants because of this. The Christian religion was suppressed the simple expedient of killing all that could found.

Missionaries in the late 1900 found a hidden group of these Christians that had been isolated for 300 years. All ships above 50 tons were destroyed and any one who went by ship to China or Korea were killed to insure that Japan remained isolated. That all I can remember off the top of my head.

But I like your blog a lot so keep up the good work.
Best Wishes,
Rich.

Rich is of course right about Japan�s exclusionist policy during the Tokugawa Shogunate but otherwise he appears to be confusing events surrounding the establishment of the Shogunate with events later on. I quote the Encyclopedia Britannica under the heading: Japan: The enforcement of national seclusion:

The seclusion policy was instrumental in enabling the Tokugawa bakufu to establish a prolonged peace of nearly 300 years

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ELSEWHERE

Razib at Gene Expression has some interesting thoughts in reponse to my recent postings on Christianity and civilization.

Michael Darby has a story about the Khmer Rouge that should make you love all Leftists and also reports on Muslim craziness going on in the USA itself.

The Wicked one has some jokes plus some MOST heretical thoughts about the American revolution.

Chris Brand has news of vampires, cannibalism and polygamy!

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Comments? Email me: jonjayray@hotmail.com.
If there are no recent posts here, check my HomePage for a new blog address.

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