ht CSPAN Junkie

An Afghan journalism student is sentenced to death for downloading an article on women and Islam.  His trial lasted 5 minutes, and he had no attorney.  Eh, what a country!

• Strategiefans liebten Command & Conquer: Alarmstufe Rot, der Teil wurde nicht umsonst der inoffizielle beste Teil der ganzen Serie. EA veröffentlich nun genau dieses Game völlig gratis! Weitere Informationen + den Download findet ihr hier.

• Keine PC Konvertierungen in naher Zukunft für Fable 2, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed und Gears of War 2.
• Neues (abgefilmtes) Gameplay Video von Mirror's Edge Klick - Ebenso könnt ihr euch die offizielle Vorstellung auf der EA Pressekonferenz auf der E3-Messe ansehen.

Ganz besonders freue ich mich ja bekanntlich auf Fallout 3. Nun wurden endlich Gameplay Videos (in HD Format natürlich) veröffentlicht, die alle Aspekte des Spiels zeigen. Sie sind in fünf Abschnitten aufgeteilt und machen Lust auf mehr!

• Part 1: Escape
• Part 2: Megaton
• Part 3: The Wasteland
• Part 4: Super-Duper Mart
• Part 5: Tenpenny Tower

Filmempfehlungen:

The Dark Night

You Kill Me

Eden Log

Death Sentence

Michael Clayton

After the first installments of Harry Potter and The Lord Of The Rings rocked the global box-office back in 2001, American  movie studios started buying the rights of every fantasy book they could find in the hope of striking cinematic gold. Barely any executive was able to shout "cha-ching" however, as only a handful of these opportunist films have proved successful, namely Disney's The Chronicles Of Narnia and New Line's The Golden Compass (sure, it bombed in the US, but it was huge everywhere else). Indeed, in their rush to shell out movies about magical worlds, studios seem to have mostly forgotten what made Potter and Rings so successful: it's not only an established fanbase and an otherworldly setting, but mainly faithfulness, and a creative team truly invested in the source material.

Which brings us to Eragon, which is adapted from the first book in Chistopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle. The movie was directed by first-timer Stefen Fangmeier, a visual effects supervisor on films such as A Series Of Unfortunate Events, and adpated to screenplay form by Peter Buchman (Jurassic Park III). It stars newcomer Edward Speleers in the title role, as well as Jeremy Irons (Kingdom Of Heaven), Sienna Guillory (Resident Evil: Apocalypse), Robert Carlyle (28 Weeks Later), John Malkovich (Beowulf), Garett Hedlund (Death Sentence), Djimon Hounsou (Never Back Down), Rachel Weisz's voice (Definitely, Maybe) and pop singer Joss Stone in her first (albeit brief) film role.

Eragon's story goes pretty much like this: Once upon a time, peace was kept by an order of knights with special abilities. One of these knights turned to evil however, and betrayed his comrades, killing them all (or did he?) and establishing himself as ruler of everywhere. Years later, a young blond male living at his uncle's farm stumbles upon something stolen from the evil lord. After his family is killed, he is recruited by a wise old ex-knight and sets on a journey to join a small band of dedicated rebels, to whom the stolen item could prove extremely useful. Along the way, they will venture into one of the enemy's fortresses to rescue the young princess who stole the thing in the first place. Sound familiar? Review and trailer after the jump.

Yes, Eragon can be pretty much be described as Star Wars in a Lord Of The Rings setting... Jedi Knights become Dragon Riders, Luke becomes Eragon, Obi-Wan becomes Brom, Princess Leia becomes Princess Arya, the Death Star plans become Saphira the dragon, the Rebel Alliance becomes the Varden, etc... At one point, Eragon even looks up at the sky, longingly observing the sunset. Elements of The Lord Of The Rings and, apparently, The Dragonriders Of Pern are also thrown in for good measure. However, all this was in the book, which was very well-received, so why would the film be any different?

Many elements contribute to Eragon being an extremely disappointing film. This could have been a huge franchise for Twentieth Century-Fox, so it's baffling that they chose to put it in the hands of Fangmeier, who may be a very talented effects guy, but has virtually no directing experience (all he did was direct Galaxy Quest's second unit). However, while Fangmeier's inexperience is surely an issue, I don't think it's the main one. Nor is the acting, which ranges from decent to quite solid. No, one of Eragon's biggest problems, in my opinion, is its length. Indeed, most of the recent successful fantasy movies have been more than two hours long (with the notable exception of The Golden Compass). Barely more than 90 minutes long, Eragon feels like it should be much, much longer. Take the first two Harry Potter and Narnia books, which are a bit more than 200 pages long, while their respective movies each clocked in at about two hours and thirty minutes. By comparision, Eragon is around 500 pages long, and I swear to you this hampers the film. Events seem to happen one after the other, with little room for development and explanation, such as Eragon apparently mastering the elven language in under ten minutes. You can plainly see where scenes were taken out, and this is one film which could truly gain from an extended/director's cut. Also, there's the fact that most of the film's props look ridiculously fake.

So should you dismiss Eragon as the turd everyone makes it out to be? Not really. Despite its many flaws and bad choices such has the long stark black nails every villain sports and its awkward handling of the clichéd storyline, the film is much better than, say Uwe Boll's BloodRayne or Jeremy Irons' previous fantasy effort, Dungeons & Dragons. The special effects aren't groundbreaking, but they're good enough. The cinematography is quite decent, though not to the level of The Lord Of The Rings. And sure, the storyline is conventional, but it's a convention that has proven it's worth time and time again. Also the score by Patrick Doyle (Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire) is excellent and features a memorable, heroic theme. To conclude, if The Lord Of The Rings is the Dark Knight of fantasy movies, then Eragon would be Fantastic Four.

Eragon was critically bashed upon its release, and was a box-office flop in the US, though it performed quite well overseas. The possibility of a sequel is however extremely unlikely and Fox seems to have missed its fantasy franchise opportunity, ironically in a play to make more money (epic fail). As for Stefen Fangmeier, he's gone back to visual effects work, most recently in this summer's Wanted.

Verdict: don't expect much out of it, but a decent alternative if you're tired of rewatching Star Wars and The Lord Of The Rings. Eragon currently hold a 5/10 on IMDB and a 15% on Rotten Tomatoes.

More "Movies Of The Day"

Kévin Bacon est un peu comme le bon vin, il se bonifie avec l'age. Alors oui, il n'a toujours pas eu LE rôle qui lui permettrait de recevoir (ou juste être nominé) pour la consécration suprême mais il possède dans sa filmographie des rôles tellement puissant, tellement marquant que l'on en vient encore à se demander comment cela se fait-il qu'il n'ai pas reçu d'oscar alors que des acteurs comme Eddie Murphy l'ont reçu... C'est un acteur qui possède un charisme et une présence tel qui peut se permettre de tout jouer, du salaud intégral (Sleepers) à la personne fragile (the woodsman) en passant par le beauf suprême (Tremors)...

Je vais quand même donner une petite filmographie pour bien le situer... Kévin Bacon, c'est 54 films en tant qu'acteur, des films tels que Mystic River, Apollo 13, Tremors, Footloose, JFK, Sleepers, Hollow Man, Wild Tinhgs et j'en passe, mais c'est aussi un réalisateur (2 films et 3 épisodes de la série "the Closer").

Mais là, je vais parler des films "The Woodsman" (2004) et de "Death Sentence" (2007). Le premier étant un drame intimiste et le second un film de vengeance sec et violent, mais les 2 ayant un point commun, ils montrent le réel talent de cet acteur.

THE WOODSMAN

petit synopsis:Après douze années de prison pour pédophilie, Walter revient dans sa ville natale pour commencer une vie nouvelle. Il s'installe dans un appartement en face d'une école primaire et décroche un job dans une scierie. Note d'espoir dans la solitude des jours, il y rencontre Vickie, une femme au franc parler qui refuse de le juger à la lueur de son passé.
Mais on n'échappe pas à sa part d'ombre. Walter a perdu tout contact avec une sœur qui désormais le fuit et vit dans la peur que ses collègues ne découvrent un jour son véritable passé. Harcelé par un détective qui soupçonne quelque lourd secret, Walter doit lutter contre ses anciens démons qui se réveillent lorsqu'il se lie d'amitié avec une jeune fille rencontrée dans un parc...

C'est un film bouleversant, touchant, triste, mélancolique qui ne fait pas le voyeurisme ou dans la gratuité, on assiste ici à une tranche de vie, mais au lieu d'avoir encore une fois un avocat ou gars travaillant dans la pub, cette fois la réalisatrice à choisi de montrer un ex-pédophile qui va essayer de se revenir dans le monde... un monde où l'on est jugé non pas sur nos actes présent mais sur nos actes passés, un monde triste, morose mais bien réel qui finalement nous montre que le plus cruel n'est pas celui que l'on croit... Un film au antipode de ce que fait le ciné US habituellement car cette homme est loin d'être un héros, mais il est aussi loin d'être le monstre que tout le monde dit.

Kevin Bacon est tout simplement magistral il se fond complètement dans le rôle de cet homme détruit de l'intérieur, qui essaye tant bien que mal de vivre avec ses démons qui le poursuivent sans cesse. Il joue avec une telle justesse, une telle sincérité que l'on en arrive à avoir réellement de la compation pour cet homme.

DEATH SENTENCE

Attention, c'est un film qui divise les foule, pourquoi? Parce qu'il parle de la vengeance, mais sans prendre de point de vue, il pose le spectateur en simple témoin, ce qui pour certaine personne trouve la démarche plutôt déplaisante... Pour ma part, ce qui m'a motivé à voir ce film, en dehors de Kevin Bacon bien sûr, c'est que c'est la 3ème film de James Wan, petit "génie" qui à réalisé le 1er Saw.

Synopsis:Un soir, alors qu'il fait le plein d'essence avec son fils aîné, Brendan, Nick Hume va croiser la route d'un gang. Son fils n'y survivra pas.
Bien qu'arrêté, le coupable, Joe Darly, est vite libéré. Pour Nick, il n'est pas question qu'il puisse s'en tirer ainsi. Ravagé par la douleur et assoiffé de vengeance, il décide de prendre les choses en main et de punir lui-même l'assassin de son fils.

Comme je l'ai dis plus haut le film va nous poser en tant que spectateur d'une descente au enfer, une descente au enfer qui va se faire en plusieurs étapes, toute plus destructrice les unes que les autres. Le film montre que personne ne ressort intact d'une vengeance, mérité ou pas... Le film montre comment en quelque seconde l'être humain bascule du côté sombre, comment un père est prêt à tout pour honorer la mémoire de son fils... Ici Pour son 3ème film, pas de réalisation clipesque comme pour Saw, le film est un "polar" nerveux, sec, violent, qui lui aussi dépend une Amérique complètement détruite... et rongée de l'intérieur.
Encore une fois Kevin Bacon éblouit en père de famille tranquille qui perd tout du jour au lendemain et qui ayant perdu ses points de repères dans le monde bascule dans une folie meurtrière... Il est sidérant, passant de la personne tranquille presque invisible au gars au crane rasé et au regard de fou qui fait réellement froid dans le dos... et qui fait passer Hannibal Lecter pour un petit pd...

Voilà, je n'ai pas trop voulu faire long, mais j'espère que je vous ais vraiment donné envie de voir ces 2 films...

Using his obesity as a shield, he says that it would be difficult to find veins for the lethal injection to be administered, and that medication is has taking for migraines may diminish the effectiveness of drugs the Ohio prison uses in its execution process. Cooey weighs 19 stones and is 5ft 7. He was taken to the death chamber at the Ohio prison in 2003. He was granted a last-minute stay of execution by a federal judge. His lawyers claim that he had poor veins when he faced execution five years ago and that the problem has been worsened by weight gain.

The doctor hired by the Public Defender's Office said in documents filed with the court that Cooey's weight, combined with the potential drug resistance, increases the risk he would not be properly anaesthetised during his execution. Cooey’s public defender-Kelly Culshaw Schneider said that if the first drug doesn’t work, “the execution is going to be excruciating”. This is not the first time such a case has been seen in the US. Two years ago, convicted killer Jeffrey Lundgren claimed that he was at greater risk of experiencing pain and suffering because he was overweight and diabetic. He was put to death after a federal appeals court rejected his claim. If Cooey’s claim is rejected his execution will take place on October 14.

Murderers on death row willingly committed the crime and , therefore, willingly exposed themselves to death penalty. A person who committed murder wouldn't have adminstered anasthesia before killing the victim so how could he or his advocate expect a painless death. Murder could have been committed in a fit of rage or in self defence but expecting leniency after committing rape and murder is too much.

Obviously a man who has 86 wives is sick but what he needs is help not death.

The BBC reports that the Islamic authorities in Nigeria will sentence this man to death.

In my earlier post, I recommended investigation but I would NEVER support death sentence. It is not the appropriate measure. Who is judging who in this matter?

The weak women who are the victims of sexual abuse in this situation should be empowered to live independent lives. The others who may become victims in the future should receive proper education.

The governments of Northern Nigeria should wake up from their backwardness and laziness. They should stop hiding under imported religion and strange cultures to suppress their fellow humans.

Police in Germany used special technology to 'un-swirl' his face in child sex abuse pictures posted on the internet and an Interpol manhunt tracked him down in Thailand but yesterday Christopher Neil was smiling as he started a 3 year and 3 month sentence in a Bankok prison.

Despite Neil appearing in hundreds of child pornography pictures, the Thai judge was lenient because Neil pled guilty. He was ordered to pay 60,000 Baht (£955) to the parents of one of his victims while he still faces trial over abusing the boys younger brother.

When asked to comment on his sentence Neil said he was "OK" with it and it was "Fine".

I have to say, this sends out a terrible message for all the dirty paedophiles who are using Asian Countries, such as Thailand and Cambodia as in Neil's case, that it is fine to abuse and rape its children. I have to wonder why a judge, in any country, who is faced with a pervert like this would not sentence them to at least 40 years. I think it should be manditory, such as in cases like Christopher Neil, when a paedophile is caught in pictures or in videos abusing children, that they are castrated and given 40 years in prison. I think that would send out a pretty strong signal. A slap on the wrist such as this is not enough. It's the same in Scotland and the rest of the UK. Legislation on any type of child abuse should be stringent. Even the death penalty wouldn't be too harsh. Even torture...yes, thats it... they should be castrated, tortured for a few years...then hung...then fed to pigs.

Sometime prior to the creation of our world there was a coup in heaven. Lucifer, the angel of light, led a rebellion of angels against God and these demons were cast down to the earth. Later on God created Adam and Eve in his image and placed them in a garden of perfection. The couple was tempted by Satan in serpent form and they disobeyed God by eating from the wrong tree in the garden, from which they were forbidden to eat. It seems like a small thing, but the essence of the eating of the forbidden fruit was to make oneself your own god instead of following God. God separated himself from Adam and Eve and told them they would die for their sin. Of course sin is the reason that everyone dies.

People are not inherently good, we are sinners. We lie, we cheat, we steal, we kill and those of us who don't do these things regularly consider doing them mentally. People often say, "If I obey the 10 commandments I will go to heaven." The problem is that everyone has broken at least one of the commandments at one time or another. So we have this problem because we are separated from God's perfect holy presence and yet we think we can behave and get into heaven. The essence of the 10 commandments is that our best isn't good enough and so we need a Savior who can cover our sin and bring us back into right relationship with God.

So God sends his son Jesus to die for us on the cross to be a blood sacrifice (blood is what God requires to cover sin) to pay for our sins. Without that sacrifice the sin is not covered and God cannot allow you to enter heaven. It's not a matter of being a good person or even going to church. It's about whether you trust in Christ to save you from hell.

What people don't realize is that there is a war for the souls of mankind being waged every hour of every day. Satan and his demons want to drag everyone on earth to hell. You see all the devil has to do is to get you to worship yourself and do what feels good to you. It's not hard because it comes natural to us. Yet, because people like doing their own thing more than doing things God's way they paint God as a bigot who hates them.

Hell was not made for people, but for the devil and his angels. Yet if there is to be a heaven then there must be a hell as well because if God lives in heaven and people hate God where do you think they would live? Hell is God's plan to eradicate evil from heaven. However, God does not send anyone to hell, rather they choose hell instead of trusting in Christ.

I can't speak for how God handles everyone's final destination. My personal view is that God does not send children to hell. However, for those of us who are presented with a choice to follow Christ I think we are held accountable for our decision to reject Christ's sacrifice. The Bible says there's no other name by which we must be saved than the name of Jesus. If you don't know him, then maybe you should pray and ask him to live in your heart because he promises salvation for those who call on his name.

HELLO GENTLE READERS,

I wrote a blog a while back telling you of getting news from two separate doctors saying I probably would not live out the year. Borrowing an Araphoe phrase, I titled the blog "Only The Rocks Live Forever" because it seems to state the temporary nature of this plane of existance with simplicity and elegance. I am one of the Vioxx victims and have developed Congestive Heart Failure and the beginnings of Kidney Failure. I got some amazing responses from this entry, mostly from Native Americans. Bonnie (a Cherokee) wrote, "Greetings, Tom. In the words of Chief Seattle, 'There is no death, only a change of worlds'. In my words, "Es-ta-u", be strong". Having had a Near Death Experience, I know that this world is not the end-all-be-all of existance but, I was touched to the point of tears that others would take some of their precious time to communicate with me.

As odd as it may seem, this "death sentence" has been a most liberating event. I have, by necessity, been freed from the constraints of permanance. If, for example, this is to be my last conversation with a friend, make it pleasant. If this is to be the last song I play, let it be fun. If these are to be the last clothes I wear, let them be comfortable. If this is to be the last time I have sex, well, let's do it again! I wish I could have known this emancipation earlier in life. I would be a better person today. Living as though this life is a temporary gift is like waking up every morning to Christmas. My life is awesome!!

To quote Mark Twain, "The news of my death has been greatly exaggerated". In a recent medical visit, the doctor said, "It looks as though your health has stabilized. You may outlive me. You won't be running any marathons, though".

I hope I never tire of this "temporary", precious gift of life. Merry Christmas, ya'll!

Tom Vickers

P.S. I may start training for a marathon. Nah, not likely.

[caption id="attachment_307" align="alignnone" width="300" caption=""can't you see, i'm clearly TOO FAT to die!""][/caption]

Ok. 

WHAT just happened!?   Yea, I guess I see his point.  It would suck to suffer from a migraine while you’re being put to death…  OR maybe the reason it would suck is because you’re staring an inevitable, unknown, eternal doom right in the eyes?    Oh, poor wittle Richard…oh wait, I mean, poor waaaaaay too fat Richard.

Whaaatttt?!?
I'm not spreadin' rumors or anything!

He admits it - and so do his lawyers!
::: Well, the lardbutt part at least - the rest is a well-founded editorial opinion :::

Cooey's the assface you see here:
<---

While sitting on Ohio's Death Row for the 1986 rape and murder of two women, Cooey has surmised that he is too much of a blubberhead to have that pesky little death sentence thingy carried out -- and he got all suey about it just in case people weren't listening.

His lawyers filed suit in federal court arguing that the murdering rapist they represent had poor veins when he faced execution five years ago and the problem has gotten worse as their murdering rapist client has packed on the pounds. They also say prison officials have had difficulty drawing blood from the murdering rapist they represent.
::: my heart bleeds 4 u, murdering rapist!!! :::

Attorneys for the big fat murdering rapist also say a drug their rapist-murderer fat fuck of a client takes for migraine headaches could affect the execution process.
::: if only :::
And a physician hired by the Ohio Public Defender's Office said Cooey's fatassness, combined with the potential drug resistance, increases the risk he would not be properly anesthetized.
::: I got a cure for that ... Zzzzzzttt! :::

This story puts me in mind of the time I took my first steer to the packing plant for processing.

I'd said my (extremely tearful) goodbyes to Sir Loin at P&B MeatPacking and was walking toward the office when I heard about 4 quick squeals that were quite obvously not from delight.

Just then, a stubby guy in a bloody apron burst through a set of swinging doors.
Making a beeline for the back wall, he was muttering a healthy string of obsenities juuuust audible enough for an 11-year-old girl to memorize.

I giggled.
He stopped.
He turned around.
I swallowed my gum.
He grinned.

Then he spat on the floor, turned back toward the wall, reached up, grabbed a shotgun mounted above a homemade 'Cash Only' sign and disappeared back through the swinging doors.

Seconds later I heard *chhkkk chkkk* pump.
Then a blast.
Then silence.

That's how they have to do it sometimes when the charge can't make it through the pig's fat.

I'm thinking a shotgun shell might be the perfect solution for the fatass murdering rapist asshole pig on Ohio's death row who thinks he is just too much for the quiet chemicals of lethal injection.

Worth a shot, right?

via Clarion Ledger

PARCHMAN — Before he died Wednesday evening, death row inmate Dale Leo Bishop apologized to his victim's family, thanked America and urged people to vote for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1');

Bishop, 34, was pronounced dead by lethal injection at 6:14 p.m. - the second inmate put to death in Mississippi in two months. Earl Wesley Berry, 49, was executed May 21.

The execution culminated a flurry of last-minute appeals that began late last month seeking to save Bishop's life.

A Lee County jury convicted Bishop in 2000 of participating in the murder of Marcus Gentry, who was beaten to death in December 1998 with a claw hammer. His body was found along a logging road near Saltillo.

Bishop did not deliver the fatal blows. He became only the eighth person put to death who did not directly kill his victim among the more than 1,100 executed since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976 - not including contract killings.

Described as talkative in his final hours, Bishop visited with family, including his parents, and finished his last meal - three pieces of pineapple supreme pizza, cherries-and-cream-flavored ice cream and root beer. He declined a final shower and sedative.

Bishop's final words were: "God bless America. It has been great living here. That's all."

Bishop called Gentry's beating death on Dec. 10, 1998, a "senseless and needless act." Earlier in the day, Bishop described the fatal beating as "a fight that had gone too far," state Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps said.

About an hour before Bishop was executed, the nation's high court denied his last appeal. Gov. Haley Barbour had denied clemency earlier Wednesday.

"Justice has been rendered for this horrible crime," Barbour said in a statement after the execution.

Bishop, who was mentally ill, asked a judge for the death penalty after he was convicted.

Gentry's mother, Kathy Gentry, and uncle, Gerald Gentry, witnessed the execution. They did not speak to the media, but a victim's advocate read a written statement from them.

"We had to relive all the memories and emotions from that December," part of the statement said. "The pain and loss that this man helped put on us will never be forgotten. We lost Mark not by chance but by the choice of two ungodly men."

The other man convicted of Gentry's murder, Jessie Johnson, who was tried separately, is serving a life sentence.

Protesters have used the disparity in the two sentences to illustrate the injustice they say is inherent in the death penalty. Under Mississippi law, an accessory before the fact can be convicted of the same crime someone else commits.

Gentry's family members said they felt "a small piece of justice" was served.

Bishop's ex-wife, Tonya Cunningham, his nephew, David Wolf, and his attorneys also watched the execution. None spoke to reporters later.

Though Bishop eight years ago had asked a judge for the death penalty, officials said he had changed his mind.

"He wants to live, at least that's what he indicated to us," Epps said a few hours before the execution. "He said when he asked to be sentenced to death he was at a low point in his life. He was getting separated, and his wife was taking their three kids."

C. Daryl Neely, a policy adviser to Barbour and execution witness, said Bishop was writing Wednesday afternoon when he and Epps visited him at his cell.

"One of the things he wrote was, 'A man who takes no action has no regret,' " Neely said. "I asked him what that meant, and he admitted there are some things in his life he regrets."

Helping kill Gentry was one of them.

Epps said he asked Bishop about Johnson. "He indicated to me he thought Johnson should be where is now - on death row," Epps said.

On the night Gentry was killed, he, Johnson, Bishop and Ricky Myhand had been riding around and drinking beer. An argument began after Johnson accused Gentry of getting Johnson's brother in trouble with the law.

Johnson hit Gentry over the head with a hammer, and Bishop grabbed him in a headlock and hit him, according to testimony. When Gentry jumped from the car and fled, Bishop ran after him and took him back to the car, where he was hit and kicked numerous times. Bishop acknowledged holding Gentry while Johnson struck him.

Myhand reported the killing to police. He was not charged.

At trial, forensic pathologist Steven Hayne testified there were 23 injuries to the head, neck and hand produced by a blunt object.

In January of this year the Afghan journalist Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh was sentenced to death in a behind-closed-doors hearing that lasted three minutes. According to RFE/RL:

Local and international media groups have condemned the verdict against Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, which family members say followed a "secret trial" at which Kambakhsh had no legal counsel.

Pic: Shamas ul-Rehman Moomand, the death sentence judge.

Why the death penalty? Because of an article he was accused of publishing:

Kambakhsh's brother and other sources said the article had in fact been taken off the Internet and Kambakhsh had simply distributed copies of it among fellow university students. Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, a journalism student at Balk University who also worked for the newspaper "Jahan-e Naw" (The New World), was arrested in late October over a controversial article that commented on verses in the Koran that were about women.

Pic: Rahimullah Samandar of the Independent Journalists Association condemns the arrest and verdict.

And those ulterior motives?

"We feel very strongly that this is a complete fabrication on the part of the authorities up in Mazar, designed to put pressure on Parwez's brother Yaqub, who has done some of the hardest-hitting pieces outlining abuses by some very powerful commanders in Balkh and the other northern provinces," IWPR country manager Jean MacKenzie says.

The Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), a nongovernmental group that helps train journalists in troubled spots, has meanwhile accused the authorities of prosecuting Kambakhsh in order to punish his brother, a contributor to IWPR publications.

His appeal process has been somewhat of a Kangaroo court process with a belligerent judge haranguing Kambakhsh and berating the defense attorney. The bizarre courtroom atmosphere was pointed to by Joshua Foust at Registan. The outcome is still in doubt at the moment and Kambakhsh remains in jail.

Photo via Kabul Press:

Reporters Without Borders has been involved in advocating for Kambakhsh as strongly as possible and provided this update at the beginning of July:

A forensic doctor’s report presented at the appeal court’s hearing on 15 June confirmed that Kambakhsh was tortured by the security forces after his arrest.

And there is a mix of good news and bad news:

Hundreds of Afghan journalists and writers took part in demonstrations yesterday in 15 provinces to call for the release of Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, a young journalist under sentence of death. This exemplary show of solidarity came as Kambakhsh’s appeal against his conviction has ground to a halt in Kabul and no date has been set for the next hearing.

Pic: Protests in support of Kambakhsh.

So what will be the outcome? I don't believe Kambakhsh will be executed. If the Afghan government executes Kambakhsh there would be a severe foreign backlash and likely the withdrawal of (numerous?) NATO/ISAF members from Afghanistan. And at the same time I do not want an outcome like that of Italy's intervention for the convert to Christianity who was to be sentenced to death. Wisking Kambakhsh out of the country to become a refugee in Europe (abeit a celebrity one) does not do anything to solve the main issue here, which is the basic right of free speech in Afghanistan. There has to be a precedent that will deter Afghan judges from issuing similar verdicts in the future.

For the time being, Kambakhsh languishes in jail.

There have been 218 post-conviction DNA exonerations in the United States.

• The first DNA exoneration took place in 1989. Exonerations have been won in 32 states; since 2000, there have been 154 exonerations.

• 16 of the 218 people exonerated through DNA served time on death row.

• The average length of time served by exonerees is 12 years. The total number of years served is approximately 2,694.

• The average age of exonerees at the time of their wrongful convictions was 26.

Races of the 218 exonerees:

134 African Americans
59 Caucasians
19 Latinos
1 Asian American
5 whose race is unknown

Mistaken identifications are the leading factor in wrongful convictions
Mistaken eyewitness identifications contributed to over 75% of the more than 210 wrongful convictions in the United States overturned by post-conviction DNA evidence.

• Inaccurate eyewitness identifications can confound investigations from the earliest stages. Critical time is lost while police are distracted from the real perpetrator, focusing instead on building the case against an innocent person.

• Despite solid and growing proof of the inaccuracy of traditional eyewitness ID procedures – and the availability of simple measures to reform them - traditional eyewitness identifications remain among the most commonly used and compelling evidence brought against criminal defendants.

What should be done

police, prosecutors & witnesses who falsely convict should be held criminally responsible to those who have been found not guilty at a later time, a lump some from the city or jurisdiction of the arresting officer,

and all future wages of the arresting officer, DA and witnesses who purger themselves for good measure.

This would go along way toward setting an example to police to get their facts straight before ruining another life. And also DA's would think twice about bringing a case to trial on shaky evidence.

False arrest is no laughing matter.

Feel free to post your views on this subject.

Pook-a-bee

Photo artwork by Coach Cassandra

It takes a lot of strength to stand in the frightening space of "I don't know." There's this push - by society, our families, ourselves - to have everything figured out and broken down into nice, neat little steps.

But, then life happens. Emotions come crashing in. Confusion swirls all around. And we find ourselves losing our grasp on who we thought we were and questioning everything.

And to that end I scream, "Hallelujah!"

Because we don't figure out who we are when we've got it all figured out. Nope. We learn who we are and what we're made of through that dark space of I don't know because it inspires us to open doors and windows into our soul.

We feel misery and we search for more.

We feel pain and we search for healing.

We feel confused and we begin to question.

So that we can discover who we really are beneath our careers, our roles, our clothes, our makeup.

And we are beautiful.

We are talented.

We are playful.

We are sensitive.

We are human.

And as much as I hate feeling confused, I know that it is a gift from God. It is a message from my deepest knowing that is asking me to slow down, shine that light of awareness, and throw open a new window. Yes, it's scary. And uncomfortable. But, it's worth it. Because pretending I've got it all figured out and hiding behind perfectionism is a death sentence I'm not willing to serve.

Eye for an eye, what comes around goes around, etc etc etc. There are people walking this earth that should not be clasified as humans and for that reason they should be put down the same as any dog that mauls someone. (often the dog isn't even at fault and they are still killed)

Unfortantely, as is often the case, his appeals will drag out for years and we'll pay for his room and board out of our tax money. I'll feel great about that come next pay day.

with frequent
deliberation
he peers out
the open window
hoping someday
for the sunshine
of a reprieve

Bones 3WW weekly three word wednesday prompt: frequent, open, someday; photo: Jail bars Boise 2006, dalipsit, flickr

Falk Sher, a court administrator, said Judge Shoaib Ahmad Roomi also sentenced the man, Shafeeq Latif, to life in prison and fined him $75,000 on a separate charge of desecrating pages of Islam's holy book, the Quran, in 2006.

Latif was accused of making derogatory remarks about Muhammad.

The trial was held in the eastern city of Sialkot after police arrested him in a nearby village.

Latif's lawyer was not immediately available for comment, but Sher said the defendant had the right to appeal.

Under Pakistan's blasphemy laws, anyone who insults Muhammad can be punished by death. Scores of people, including Muslims and minority Christians, are facing trial under the laws, which human rights groups have demanded be abolished.

New York-based Human Rights Watch urged the government on Tuesday to abolish the death penalty in a country where nearly a quarter of all inmates are on death row.