Tag Archive: freedom
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Quality of life Offenses
What I Learned in Jail Last Night
Arrested for drinking a beer.
After taking away my beer, the cute-but-weathered strawberry-blonde lady cop who arrested me put me in a van with two other quality-of-life violators: an old homeless Polish man named Bogden, and a seventeen-year-old black kid named Kevia. Both were arrested for “outstretch”: taking up more than one seat on the subway, or lying down on the seats.
We sat in the van for two hours while officers tried to round up another “body,” as they’re called, for the night’s sweep. “Doin’ a big sweep on quality-of-life offenses,” I heard the baldheaded, babyfaced male cop tell someone on his cellphone. He talked with my arresting officer:
“Billy’s officially ruined the unit. It’s ovah. It’s completely ovah.” He shook his head.
“He’s the only what who really believes in what we do, though,” the lady cop sighed.
In Full: What I Learned in Jail Last Night
Related: Man charged with murder when cop chasing him has heart attack…
Apostasy in Malaysia
Three Stories
Woman jailed for ‘worshipping tea pot’
Kamariah Ali, a 57 year old former teacher, was arrested in 2005 when the government of the Muslim majority country demolished the two storey high sacred tea pot and other infrastructure of the "heretical" Sky Kingdom cult.
For the eccentric sect, which emphasised ecumenical dialogue between religions, the tea pot symbolized the purity of water and "love pouring from heaven". But in Malaysia, despite constitutional guarantees of freedom of worship, born Muslims such as Mrs Ali are forbidden from converting to other religions. Mrs Ali has already been jailed once for apostasy, for 20 months in 1992.
Malaysia rejects Christian appeal: 17 Years of Devotion dismissed as “whim”
A three-judge panel ruled that only the country’s Sharia Court could let Azlina Jailani, now known as Lina Joy, remove the word Islam from her identity card. She started attending church in 1990 and was baptised in 1998.
“You can’t at whim and fancy convert from one religion to another,” Malaysia’s Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim said.
Fact Snack: First Amendment
Is Mittens protected?
Most Americans don’t know the freedoms provided by the First Amendment:
- speech,
- religion,
- press,
- assembly, and
- petition for redress of grievances
Now you do.
Note: Contrary to popular belief, the right to own a pet is not protected.
