USA - The Wealth Gap and the Law: "How the law follows the wealth gap in modern-day America" - by Neil Macdonald

Americans all stand equal before the law, children are taught in this country, regardless of wealth or race or social status. Because this is a classless society.

Of course, children here are also told that a nocturnal fairy will exchange old teeth for cash.
The bitter truth, more obvious by the year, is that law enforcement in the U.S. is actually the enforcement of the class system itself.

If you are poor, you understand that. If you are wealthy, you probably understand it, too, but in another way altogether.

For a member of the American underclass, a minor brush with authorities can turn into the kind of Kafkaesque despair that most Americans associate with places like Egypt or Russia or Iran.

So the story of Kalief Browder, detailed earlier this month in the New Yorker — "Three years on Rikers without trial" — could only have been a shock to the readers of that magazine, who are generally members of America's elite, and therefore largely shielded from judicial abuse.

Long story short, Browder was arrested wrongly for robbery and assault. And for the sin of refusing to cop a plea he was imprisoned in New York's fearsome Riker's Island jail, mostly in solitary, for three years without trial, before prosecutors gave up and admitted they had no case.

Keeping him locked up didn't seem to bother anyone; Browder, a juvenile delinquent from the Bronx, belongs to the nuisance class, and that was enough.

Such treatment, it goes without saying, simply would not happen to a kid from the preppy confines of Sag Harbor or Montauk.

Read more: How the law follows the wealth gap in modern-day America - World - CBC News

France: Madame, Mademoiselle: in France these are about sex, not respect - by Marie Darrieussecq

In France men are addressed as Monsieur and women as Madame or Mademoiselle. While a Monsieur is a monsieur no matter what, a Madame is a married woman and a Mademoiselle an unmarried woman. Until now all official forms have been printed with these three tick boxes, relating to what the French call civilité (a word that covers marital and civil status).

This week a circular from the prime minister instructed government offices "to avoid using any distinction of this nature … 'Madame' is to replace 'Mademoiselle' as the equivalent of 'Monsieur' for men, which gives no indication of their marital status". But I fear that yet another circular is not going to change this tenacious practice. Back in 1967 and again in 1974 a circular from the ministry of the interior stated that "Madame" should be the equivalent of "Monsieur". But things have only got worse with the internet. If you don't fill in the marital status box, you cannot submit forms, because these are "required fields". It happens with my taxes, social security and all kinds of bookings, especially for the Eurostar ... on the French form. On the English form I can tick "Ms" and no one pesters me about my private life.

A "Madame" is also of course a brothel keeper: leaving us in no doubt that "Mademoiselle" refers first of all to a sexual state: being a virgin. When I am asked to tick my civilité I am in fact being asked to give information about my sex life — single or married, available or not. It is this aspect that the two feminist groups who campaigned for the change have been protesting about.

A French law of 1986 makes it clear that a person is entirely at liberty to choose the name by which they are known. But a married woman is constantly reduced to her husband's name, and even to her husband's first name. So we read of the death of "Madame Robert Dupont": even in death, the woman has been eliminated entirely.

For more: Madame, Mademoiselle: in France these are about sex, not respect | Marie Darrieussecq | Comment is free | The Guardian

The Netherlands: Are Geert Wilders and his lawyer Bram Moskowicz trying to ridicule the Dutch legal system ? ©

It is interesting to see how Geert Wilders and his laywer Bram Moszokowicz  are trying to turn this court case against Wilders  into a public spectacle, and more important, how they are trying to move the focus of the trial away from the prosecution claims that Wilders not only used discriminatory language against a religious faith, but also singled out specific ethnic immigrants as being unwelcome in the Netherlands.

The statements made by Mr. Wilders, and  if proven in court that he made them, are punishable by Dutch law (art. 147 Sr, art.137c Sr and art. 137d Sr.8.).

Among some of the Public statements Wilders made :  "if Muslims want to stay here, they must tear out half the Quran and toss it."  and  "close the borders, no more Islamic people into the Netherlands, many Muslims out of the Netherlands, denaturalize Islamic criminals."

Dutch and most European laws are contrary to the US First Amendment doctrine, which considers freedom of speech as an overruling  constitutional right, and by law allows all forms of  public or private expressions, be it discriminatory, anti-religious, hate enticing, pro-Nazi, or whatever.

Therefore, if during this trial the court in Amsterdam falls into Mr. Moszokowiczs trap by letting the case move into a public discussion about the existing Dutch laws versus freedom of expression (as interpreted in the US), it could turn into a very long case and probably also have political implications.

On the other hand, it can be expected that given the fact that Mr. Wilders, who is being prosecuted under Dutch law, and based on the available evidence of what Mr.Wilders has stated in public, could be found guilty and go to prison.  ©

EU-Digest

Sexuality: Transsexual in Hong Kong fights to marry her boyfriend

In a landmark court case in Hong Kong, a woman who used to be a man will fight for the right to marry her boyfriend. The transsexual, who remains anonymous, has been blocked from doing so by the Hong Kong authorities.


While transsexuals who have undergone surgery are allowed to marry in mainland China, the EU, the US and elsewhere, Hong Kong's Immigration Department, which runs the marriage registry, has refused her request.


For more: BBC News - Transsexual in Hong Kong fights to marry her boyfriend

BBC NEWS: Islam film Dutch MP Geert Wilders to be charged

Anti Geert Wilders cartoon

For the complete report from the BBC NEWS click on this link

Islam film Dutch MP Geert Wilders to be charged

A Dutch court has ordered prosecutors to put a right-wing politician on trial for making anti-Islamic statements. Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders made a controversial film last year equating Islam with violence and has likened the Koran to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf.

"In a democratic system, hate speech is considered so serious that it is in the general interest to... draw a clear line," the court in Amsterdam said. Mr Wilders said the judgement was an "attack on the freedom of expression". "Participation in the public debate has become a dangerous activity. If you give your opinion, you risk being prosecuted," he said.

Note EU-Digest: Even though we have expressed indignation about the Geert Wilders Islam movie, it is unacceptable in a democratic society to prosecute someone for expressing his or her opinion. Freedom of expression also includes the above cartoon of Mr. Wilders head being chopped off. If we accept these kinds of legal procedures in a democratic society we can just as well start chopping off hands Saudi Justice style of people who have been caught stealing or the head of someone who has committed adultery?