Singapore executes Australian

The Singapore government executed Australian Nguyen Tuong Van, 25, at 6 a.m. Friday morning, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

Nguyen's twin brother, Khoa, arrived at Changi Prison in Singapore 45 minutes before Nguyen's execution to choose the spot where he would die.

Nguyen was sentenced to death after allegedly attempting to smuggle 396 grams of heroin out of Singapore in December of 2002.

Although I am not traditionally one who is fervently against the death penalty, this particular case disturbs me very much. I don't know how anyone can say execution is a justifiable punishment for drug trafficking. What really upsets me is the fact that this man was imprisoned and sentenced by a foreign country, and there was nothing his native country could do about it. I can't even begin to imagine the sickening panic Nguyen's family must have felt knowing he was all alone very far away and could be subjected to any kind of punishment that the Singapore government saw fit. I understand that he brought the situation upon himself by smuggling drugs, but it's very scary to think that one mistake in a foreign country can get you in so much trouble, and that your native government can do nothing to save you.

What I find very interesting about this whole thing is the fact that, according to a press release from Joseph Koh, Singapore High Commissioner in Australia, "the overwhelming majority of Singaporeans support this" punishment for Nguyen's crime. In Australia, where the death penalty doesn't exist, much of the population feels quite differently.

I do admit Koh makes some good points in his statement (such as the fact that Nguyen was not an unsuspecting victim), but many of his remarks seem callous and almost sarcastic: "We are touched by the pain and anguish of Mr. Nguyen's mother," etc.

In a Reuters article publised in 2002, Amnesty International spokesman Tim Parritt said that the Singapore people might scrutinize these executions more if they really knew what was going on.

Sinapan Samydorai, the president of Think Centre (an NGO in Singapore that fights against the death penalty), agreed.

"The whole education (system) doesn't touch, from very young, on human rights at all," he said.

China coal blast kills at least 88

A coal mine explosion on Sunday is responsible for the deaths of at least 88 miners in Heilongjiang, a northern province of China.

Only 97 of 221 workers have been rescued as of Monday, according to China Daily.

Officials have said that the blast was caused by a coal-dust explosion that damaged ventilation systems.

China, the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal has long been known for its high rate of mining-related deaths and injuries, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

According to a Washington Post article written by Cecil E. Roberts, the international president of the United Mine Workers of America, 6,000 Chinese miners died in fires, floods and explosions in 2004.

In February, a blast at a state-run mine in the northeastern province of Liaoning killed 214 people.

Singapore to execute foreigner on drug charge

An Australian man will soon be executed in Singapore for drug trafficking, according to a Bernama.com article.

Nguyen Tuong Van, 25, was sentenced to death by a Singapore court after he allegedly attempted to smuggle 396 grams of pure heroin out of the country in December of 2002.

Think Centre, “an independent, multi-partisan political non-governmental organization” based in Singapore which examines human rights and civil society (among other things) has been actively campaigning to keep the Singapore government from executing Nguyen. The organization has repeatedly stressed its view that sentencing Nguyen to death is “unfair, cruel, inhuman, degrading and disproportionate punishment.”

Back home in Australia, Nguyen’s legal team has tried to have the case taken up by the International Court of Justice (the judicial arm of the United Nations), but Singapore has refused to play ball, according to a News.com.au article.

According to Amnesty International, the death penalty is mandatory in Singapore for drug trafficking offenses. Anyone over the age of 18 found to be in possession of more than 15 grams of heroin, 20 grams of morphine or cocaine or 500 grams of cannabis is considered to be engaging in drug trafficking. Between 1991 and 200, Singapore executed 247 people for drug trafficking offenses.

Nguyen is scheduled to be hanged Dec. 2 at dawn.

Australian women detained over weapons charge

Four Australian women and a young boy were detained in Syria Thursday after airport officials uncovered a dismantled gun in one of the women’s carry-on luggage, according to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald.

The women, who are Iraqi-born but Australian citizens, were trying to board a plane for Bahrain, an island nation located off the coast of Saudi Arabia.

As Australia was recently threatened as a “next target” for potential terrorist attacks, authorities world-wide should be taking this matter very seriously.

This week, news organizations across the globe reported on a video which named the United States, Great Britain and Australia as future targets for terrorism.

The video was found last week in Jakarta, Indonesia, in a hide-out believed to belong to Noordin Mohamad Top, according to an article in The Times of India. Noordin is named as a “key leader” of the al-Qaida-linked Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah. Occupants of the hide-out managed to flee before the raid

Double jeopardy, British style.

Forget the Ashley Judd version of Double Jeopardy.

In the 1999 Bruce Beresford flick, Judd’s character, Libby Parsons, is told that she can lawfully kill her husband after previously being convicted for his murder when he wasn’t truly dead.

In truth, the definition of double jeopardy, according to Law.com dictionary is:

“Placing someone on trial a second time for an offense for which he/she has been previously acquitted, even when new incriminating evidence has been unearthed.”

In April, the British overturned their own form of the Double Jeopardy law with Part 10, Chapter 44 ("Retrial for serious offences") of the Criminal Justice Act of 2003.

Now a British man who had been acquitted of the 1989 murder of a pizza delivery girl is expected to be headed back to court, according to a Reuters article.

William Dunlop is accused of murdering Julie Hogg in November 1989. Hogg’s body was found hidden by a bath panel 80 days after she went missing.

Dunlop was acquitted of the crime in 1991 after two separate juries in two separate trials failed to reach a verdict in the case.

Dunlop’s case will be referred to the British Court of Appeals, according to Ken Macdonald, the British Director of Public Prosecutions.

Survey: Many Israelis ignorant about STD's

Here’s something a little off topic but still kind of interesting:

It seems that in Israel, Americans are known for their “exhibitionist tendencies.”

According to the Jerusalem Post, 21 percent of Americans enjoy having sex in front of a camera.

This was just one of the many “pearls of wisdom” revealed in Durex condom company’s annual sex survey (in pdf form).

Aside from the comment about Americans’ sexual habits, the Post’s article is interesting in that it gives unique insight into the Israeli culture. It appears the Israeli culture is one of the most ignorant when it comes to sexually transmitted diseases – about 23 percent of the population has never even heard of the most common STD’s.

This is kind of scary considering that the reported number of cases of Chlamydia, has risen 10-fold since 1994 when the STD was identified as a nationally “notifiable” infectious disease, according to a report featured on the Center for Disease Control Web site.

This coupled with the fact that the survey found 56 percent of Israelis admit to having one-night stands (compared with the average of other countries, 40 percent), is all quite disturbing.

Paris is burning...

Monday marked the eleventh day France has suffered at the hands of arsonists and rioters. Spurred by the deaths of two youths, malcontents have turned their attention to protesting poverty and perceived discrimination, according to Agence France-Presse.

Since Oct. 27, when two teenagers of North African descent were accidentally electrocuted in a Paris substation, rioters and arsonists, primarily of Arab-Muslim origin, have targeted churches, nursery and primary schools, town halls, police stations, warehouses and car dealerships, according to the AFP.

Unrest among France’s large Muslim population is nothing new. According to Answers.com, the Paris suburb of Seine St-Denis has one of the largest concentrations of Muslim people in the country and it is also home to high rates of unemployment and violence.

According to US Department of State background notes, there are more than 5 million Muslims, largely of North African descent, currently living in France.

Controversial politician Jean-Marie Le Pen’s Front National party is known for its stance against immigration, particularly Arab-Muslim immigration. In the AFP article, Le Pen says the current situation in France is nearing “the brink of civil war.”

In a 2002 BBC article, he is quoted as saying, “Massive immigration has only just begun. It is the biggest problem facing France, Europe and probably the world. We risk being submerged.”

Although I do not agree with Le Pen’s radical views about immigration, perhaps France is currently being submerged, in a way. Though such horrific violence can not be excused, perhaps it will help French leaders realize there is, at long last, a need for social change.