Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Kucinich battles to Impeach
Details of the sordid affair between President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky are now common knowledge. In pithy terms, he diddled with Ms Lewinsky in the White House...and lied about it. Impeachable ? It was an example of partisan politics at its worst. One can also think of envy -- Bubba getting it was like a red flag in the face of hypocrites like Gingrich. Cost of Special Counsel Starr's investigation exceeded $40 million !
- Grounds for Impeachment (American Bar Association)
- ...............the Constitution specifies that high government officials may be impeached for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." What precisely constitutes "high crimes and misdemeanors" is, however, uncertain because the courts have not specifically defined or interpreted the term, unlike other constitutional clauses. Treason and bribery are very serious offenses against the state, and most experts agree that offenses encompassed within "high crimes and misdemeanors" are similarly serious. ("Misdemeanors" is a constitutional term that does not have the current meaning of an offense less serious than a felony.)
Did the vice president lie about Iraq? What are the costs and consequences of the lies ? The Nation
Bliss, the Movie
Honor killings, a phrase that stands above other atrocious ones like "friendly fire" and "collateral damage".
Like the infamous, now defunct Hudood Ordinance, under which muslim women in Pakistan were required to produce four male witnesses to support complaints for rape, honor killings are abominable. There is nothing honorable about honor killings.
Helena Smith writes in The Guardian about the Turkish film, "Bliss".
Turkey is not the only country where women are shot, stabbed, strangled and maimed in the name of honour. But it is the first one to really tackle the taboo issue up close. The artistic interest comes in the wake of increased coverage of honour killings by the Turkish media and a vast array of government-backed education programs. Suddenly even universities are encouraging students to highlight the issue in doctoral theses. |
