Political Asylum
From Cox and Forkum:
The Religious Basis of Property
Why religious faith and the rational principle of private property does not mix:Islamic activists in Multan, in the Pakistani province of Punjab, have threatened to burn down posters featuring images of women if city officials do not remove them within two days. On Friday, the activists smeared three billboards put up by multinational companies in the city with black paint...
...Mr Babar said: "These multinational companies want to promote obscenity, lewdness and vulgarity by showing women in different poses. "We will not let them do so." He denied the group was vandalising private property. "It is they who are acting contrary to Islamic law by promoting vulgarity," Mr Babar said. ["Pakistan Islamists in posters threat", BBC, June 6, 2003]
If the right to life and liberty were from God, then Mr. Babar would be right. But, the basis of property is not religious, but philosophical, or rather a scientific observation of the requirements for man to live in a society with other men. Only then can religion "work" within the framework of rights; but faith-based ethics should have no bearing on that framework.
“Insider Trading” Charges Against Martha Stewart
From AFP:...Martha Stewart resigned as head of her company, shortly after she was charged with securities fraud in a long-running insider trading scandal. "I love this company, its people, and everything it stands for and I am stepping aside as chairman and CEO because it is the right thing to do," Stewart said in a statement...The nine charges levelled at Stewart, 61, and her Merrill Lynch broker, Peter Bacanovic, included conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements to prosecutors and the FBI. She pleaded not guilty to all charges.
...There was no criminal insider trading charge, which analysts had suggested would be difficult to prove...the Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil charges of "illegal insider trading" in connection with her sale in December, 2001 of shares in biotech firm ImClone Systems, Inc...The SEC said it was also seeking a court order barring Stewart from being a director of any publicly traded company.
...The company share price has been cut in half since Stewart was first implicated in the insider trading scandal a year ago...If convicted on all charges, Stewart would "certainly be facing jail time," [US Attorney James Comey] said....Stewart has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, saying her trade was based on an agreement with her broker to sell the ImClone shares once they fell below a certain level.
Related: Martha and the Tall Poppies
American Gothic
From Cox and Forkum:
Road Map to Appease Terrorism
Writes David Holcberg of the Ayn Rand Institute:How did Palestinian terrorists react to the recent release of the "road map" to peace? With dozens of terrorist attacks against Israel, including five suicide bombings.
The terrorists' reaction demonstrates once again that they--and their supporters--have no desire for peace with Israel. Their attacks also demonstrate the futility of trying to end terrorism through negotiations. Terrorists--and the regimes that nurture them--can't be dealt with through reason and appeals to their self-interest. They have no self-interest. Their purpose is not to gain any values but to destroy the lives and values of others.
The Israelis, as the victims of terrorism, have the moral responsibility to hunt down the terrorists wherever they may be, and do whatever it takes to capture or kill them. This is exactly the principle the United States must follow in its own war against Islamic terrorism. The alternative is another September 11.
Tax Relief for Non-Taxpayers?
CNN quotes Tom Delay:"It's a little difficult to give tax relief to people who don't pay any taxes..."
[Hat Tip: T. Potts]