Stop the Trafficking in Endangered and Protected Fish and Animals

Although a “step below” in evil (below the trafficking in humans), the needless slaughter to extinction, and the illegal trafficking in endangered and protected animals, for virtually no reason of some of the rarest animals and species of animals in the world is also incredibly damaging and evil. Often, like human trafficking, it involves the international and intra-country trafficking of illegal animal products, especially for human consumption. Like Human Trafficking, it is world wide and comes in many different contexts. Again like Human Trafficking,, it exists because of the active involvement of a few, along with the tacit indifference and./or acquiescence of governments and people worldwide. Like Human Trafficking, it is illegal, and also, reflects very poorly on the status of our humanity. A famous quote by a famous author (I forget who it was and what he/she said) was something like “The measure of a society's morality and humanity is measured by its treatment of children and animals.”

Prosecuting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is a Mistake.

I was overjoyed by the Arab Spring, especially with the overall lack of violence and speed of the transition to democracy in Egypt. Compare what happened in Egypt with what is still going on in Libya, Syria, and throughout the rest of the Arab world. But prosecuting Hosni Mubarak is a mistake for Egypt and sets a bad precedent. Most of all, he does not deserve the prosecution.

Don't be fooled by the Tea Party! Tea Party candidates and Republicans (especially the Tea party and Special Interest Groups) Falsely Blame Democrats and President Obama for Economic Problems which are the Fault of Republicans and Tea Party candidates and try to do this by unfairly scaring Americans about things like China which have no relevancy. What's behind all the Tea Parties claims?

Republican special interest groups, PAC's and especially Tea party nuts continue to attack President Obama by falsely airing advertisements suggesting that the President's mismanagement of the economy will allow China to somehow “take over” America, or at lease become more powerful than America. This advertisements contain, like an onion, layers and layers of smelly lies and are false misleading scare tactics seeking to place the blame on Democrats and and unfairly criticize China for problems which are the fault of American Republicans, the tea party, and it's special interest groups.

Fact: Our budget deficit problem began a long time before China became economically powerful. Ronald Reagan, in 1980 ran on a platform of cutting the budget deficit in half. Instead, after eight years of his rule, the deficit had instead doubled.

Update to Amanda Knox Case 2011

In my original post almost three months ago, I stated that, "The DNA evidence is at worst, meaningless, and at best, exonerates her. That is because I was paying attention to the evidence submitted at the original trial. Unfortunately, the Italian Jury, Judges and Italian Prosecutor Mignini (who wanted to convict Amanda Knox for his own selfish corrupt reasons regardless of the truth of her innocence) were not paying attention to the evidence.

Last week, after this poor girl has been languishing in an Italian prison for years, her case is finally having an appeal. Fortunately, unlike the USA system (and probably because Italian trials are so bad), an appeal in Italy is like a new trial. In the USA, one has to show error which really couldn't have been attacked at the original trial. Despite public perceptions, it is much harder to win on appeal in America. In fact, it is rare to overturn a jury verdict in a criminal prosecution.

Confirmation Bias, the Secret Psychological Reason for Wrongful Prosecutions and Convictions - Cognitive Psychology and the Legal System and Process

I have been discussing the Amanda Knox and Casey Anthony cases in my blog. Both cases attracted worldwide attention because of perceived injustices. In the Amanda Knox case, there was an injustice at the hands of the Italian legal system which is not nearly as good as ours. In the Casey Anthony case, the legal system worked, despite the public perception of guilt. Both cases can be explained by a problem known as "confirmation bias" which has as its roots cognitive therapy.