Eideard

Sugarcreek, Ohio – This village is as sweet as its name. Main Street climbs gently from a tidy railroad crossing, past a few gift shops to the simple brick First Mennonite Church…

This postcard from a gentler and simpler America is about as unlikely a place imaginable for the news that broke in September: one of Sugarcreek’s own, a prominent member of what some people here call the Plain Community, was under arrest, accused by federal prosecutors of running a Ponzi scheme that betrayed his neighbors’ trust and wiped out more than $16 million of their savings.

The news media made the obvious comparisons…

But the most intriguing aspect of Monroe Beachy’s story is how different it seems from Bernie Madoff’s — and from almost every other story with a “Ponzi scheme” headline over the years.

While victims of Mr. Madoff’s fraud, like most Ponzi victims, condemned their accused betrayer in court as a monster, many of Monroe Beachy’s investors have said in court that it is more important to forgive him than to recover their money.

While the Madoff case and others like it have inevitably created conflict between longtime investors fighting to keep their fictional profits and more recent investors trying to recover lost principal, some Beachy investors urged that their own share of his estate should be given to those in greater need.

And while Mr. Madoff’s wife and sons instantly became social pariahs in Manhattan, Mr. Beachy’s wife and children remain at his farmstead here, living peacefully with their neighbors…

It became the forum for a rare bankruptcy court battle over religious freedom, with Mr. Beachy’s Amish and Mennonite creditors insisting that the court’s way of dealing with his downfall could not be squared with their faith or with his…They formed their own committee to resolve the crime. There were two confounding contradictions: [1] all the creditors were not members of their faith and bound by the same methods or conclusions; [2] we still live in a constitutional republic where civil law takes precedence over religious rote.

Last March, Federal Bankruptcy Judge Russ Kendig in Canton, in the federal courthouse closest to Sugarcreek, ruled that “delegating insolvency proceedings to a religious body” would be unconstitutional…

No part of this story contrasts as sharply with the real Bernie Madoff case as what happened next…

“We are agreed among ourselves to accept your ruling as the will of Almighty God in this matter,” they wrote, after thanking him for considering their point of view so carefully. “If there is anything which we can do as members of the Amish-Mennonite community to facilitate the bankruptcy process and help bring it to a speedy conclusion please do not hesitate to contact any member” of the committee.

Unlike most American flavors of fundamentalist religion, these folks recognize and respect the law of the land over their religious beliefs. They call it God’s Will. An interesting way around the contradictions of their belief system; but, it leaves our constitution intact and doesn’t waste months and years trying to wear down the court system.

RTFA. It is a long and convoluted tale. One not without illustrations of every human frailty – even for folks who assay that frailty results from the supernatural.

Mom — and the unpaid-for bodywork Mom is wanted in Germany for

The mother of a German national suspected of one of the worst arson sprees in Los Angeles history appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge Tuesday in the German government’s effort to extradite her on fraud charges…

His mother, 53-year-old Dorothee Burkhart, was arrested by Los Angeles police during a traffic stop on December 28, a day before the first of 52 fires, mostly in parked cars, that investigators suspect were part of a series of arsons.

The son, who was arrested Monday, was charged with one count of arson of an inhabited dwelling. He is likely to face additional charges as the investigation moves forward, said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa…

It did not appear that she knew her son had been arrested a day earlier on the arson charge…

A federal extradition complaint said she is wanted in Germany on 19 counts of fraud, including an allegation that she defrauded the doctor who performed breast augmentation surgery on her in 2004. The other fraud charges center on rent and security deposits for apartments in Frankfurt, Germany, the complaint said.

Dorothee Burkhart left Germany last October for California, where she lived with her son in a Hollywood apartment, according to the extradition complaint.

Investigators seized press clippings of arson attacks in Germany from the apartment, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity…

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said officials believe — and hope — the fires were set by one person. But they will proceed as though others may be involved until they know for sure, Beck said…

Los Angeles County Reserve Sheriff’s Deputy Shervin Lalezary, who draws a salary of $1 a year, was hailed as a hero for arresting Burkhart. Lalezary, an Iranian-born lawyer who moonlights as a deputy, pulled over a van in Hollywood driven by a man who resembled the person seen on the surveillance video. With the help of backup officers, he then arrested the driver, Burkhart.

This will probably put a crimp in mom’s new career in California. Apparently, she’s been advertising her services for “sensual tantra massage” and offering “full body hot oil body to body sliding massage”.

An Egyptian court has ordered a halt to forced virginity tests on female detainees in military prisons.

The case…was filed by Samira Ibrahim, a woman who said the army forced her to undergo a virginity test in March after she was arrested during a protest in central Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

Human rights organisations say that there have been many other such tests by the military…

Al Jazeera’s Jamal Elshayyal, reporting from Cairo, said the verdict was cheered by hundreds who had gathered inside the courtroom to hear the ruling read out.

“Today’s verdict to ban any form of virginity test [in military prisons] will be seen by many as vindication for their criticism of the military over the past few months,” our correspondent said…

On January 3, one soldier is to face court martial in the case of the so-called virginity tests, charged with “public indecency and not following orders”…

On March 9, army officers violently cleared Cairo’s Tahrir Square and held at least 18 women in detention. Women said they were beaten, given electric shocks, subjected to strip searches while being photographed by male soldiers, then forced to submit to “virginity tests” and threatened with prostitution charges.

Overdue. But, then – there’s a lot that’s overdue in Egypt. Most of which is just as criminal as this brutal treatment of women.

Daylife/Getty Images used by permission

An artist arrested for applying body paint to a nude model in New York’s Times Square will have charges against him dropped if his models strip naked only after dark, according to a court agreement.

Police arrested Andy Golub, 45, in July and charged him with violating public exposure and lewdness laws. He has been painting nude models for about three years.

Golub’s lawyer, Ronald Kuby, argued that New York laws do not prohibit public nudity in the name of art, and a compromise was reached that was the basis of the court ruling. Under the agreement, “he is permitted to paint bare breasts any time, anywhere, but the G-strings have to stay on until daylight goes out,” Kuby said after a hearing in Manhattan criminal court…

Golub, of Nyack, New York, said he likes to paint nude models because their bodies have energy and dynamism that he finds lacking in canvas.

“I feel that when I do live body painting it’s a good thing, a positive thing,” he said.

Charges against Golub will be dropped in six months if he abides by the terms of the agreement and is not arrested again. Charges against Karla Storie, a model from Texas arrested with him, will be dismissed if she too is not arrested again in the next six months.

Golub said he was planning to return to criminal court today and paint a nude model in a park near the courthouse. After the sun sets.

Daylife/AP Photo used by permission

A Saudi court has sentenced a woman to 10 lashes for challenging a ban on women driving in the conservative Muslim kingdom…

The sentence was reported two days after Saudi King Abdullah granted women the right to vote and run in municipal elections. He also promised to include them in the next all-appointed consultative Shura Council in 2013.

“Flogging is a cruel punishment in all circumstances but it beggars belief that the authorities in Saudi Arabia have imposed lashes on a woman apparently for merely driving a car,” Philip Luther, an Amnesty regional deputy director, said in an emailed statement…

Under Saudi Arabia’s strict Islamic laws, women require a male guardian’s permission to work, travel abroad or even undergo some medical surgeries. They are not allowed to drive.

While there is no written law banning women from driving, Saudi law requires citizens to use locally issued licences while in the country. Such licences are not issued to women, making it effectively illegal for them to drive.

In May, as pro-democracy protests swept across the region, some women in Saudi Arabia called for their right to drive. A campaign called Women2Drive issued calls on social media such as Twitter and Facebook to challenge the ban.

Some women posted on twitter that they drove successfully in the streets of Jeddah, Riyadh and Khobar while others said they were stopped by police who later let them go after signing a pledge not to drive again.

Isn’t a boycott of such a backwards nation overdue? Retain the minimal contacts required for commerce and communications – but, suggest tourists avoid this theocracy like the plague.

UPDATE: The King evidently felt enough heat to force the court to withdraw the sentence.

Stanley Wong, Florence Leow eat curry with friends including Liang Meizi from China
Daylife/Reuters Pictures used by permission

It takes a lot to start a mass campaign with political overtones in Singapore, but there’s no better catalyst than food. Tens of thousands of people in the Southeast Asian city-state said they would cook or eat curry on Sunday in a protest highlighting growing anger over increased immigration.

The campaign began after an immigrant family from China complained about the smell of curry from a Singaporean Indian neighbor’s home and local officials brought about a compromise.

A Facebook page devoted to the row after reports were published in a local newspaper has drawn over 57,600 members, many of who said they were cooking curry on Sunday in a show of solidarity with the Indian family.

“Because we live in Singapore and Singapore is such a cramped place, neighbors should understand each others’ culture,” said Stanley Wong, a 37-year old accountant who helped organized the Facebook page…

“The case could create problems with the integration of foreign nationals,” said Florence Leow, a freelance writer in her 40s who also was one of the organizers of the event. “Through this event we hope to cook and share a pot of curry and get to appreciate and embrace our culture.”

The influx of immigrants is a sensitive subject in Singapore, where only about two-thirds of the people are citizens. Many Singaporeans say the city-state’s relatively easy immigration policies are attracting too many foreigners, making it more difficult to find jobs and pushing up prices of homes.

The Facebook page for the curry cook-in has about 4 times as many followers as the four candidates in the coming presidential election. Most folks who’ve commented about the event – at least those I bumped into while choosing which reporting to source as a link – feel what’s important is getting to know each other’s cultures more than anything else.

My Italian grandfather’s naturalization papers are one of the items permanently on my desk. The Scots-Canadian contingent came here when even less seemed to be required. They all fit into a society concerned with growing the economy and industries nationwide – instead of being run as a fiefdom for corporate thugs who only cared about the highest possible profits from whatever country they set up shop in – that year.

An Israeli family has been given legal permission to extract and freeze eggs from the ovaries of their 17-year-old daughter, who died in a road accident.

The ruling by the magistrates court in the town of Kfar Sava sets a legal precedent in Israel and, according to a lawyer with 10 years experience in similar cases, is possibly the first of its kind in the world.

According to the Ha’aretz news organisation, the family of Chen Aida Ayash agreed for her organs to be donated following her death a week after she was hit by a car. She was declared brain dead on Wednesday.

They also petitioned the court in Kfar Sava, where they live, for permission for her eggs to be harvested and frozen.

Ha’aretz quoted a medical source as saying the family had requested that the eggs be fertilised with donated sperm, as embryos stand a better chance of surviving the freezing procedure than unfertilised eggs, but the court denied permission for fertilisation at this stage…

The Ayash family has made no public comment…

If you’re not harming a human being – and in this case you’re beyond any possibility of consent or denial – I think the courts should stick to parking tickets. Family is family and so what if her parents may not have an idea of what we they wish for the future – yet. Who is being harmed?

Who is the witness? Who complained?

The sensitive issue of women wearing the burka was thrust back into the spotlight this earlier this week when a magistrate dismissed a case against Carnita Matthews, 47, who had been accused of making a false complaint against the police.

Last year Miss Matthews was sentenced to six months’ jail for falsely claiming that a highway patrol officer had tried to remove her burka when he stopped her for a random breath test.

But during her appeal it emerged that, because the complainant was wearing a burka when she appeared at a Sydney police station to report the incident, officers could only see her eyes, and ultimately could not be sure that Miss Matthews was the woman who made the false claim.

Miss Matthews’s barrister, Phillip Boulten SC, told the court: “All we know is that a woman in a black burka came with a man in a brown suit with an envelope, and that’s it.”

Judge Clive Jeffreys allowed the argument, ruling that he was “not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that she made the complaint.” Following the decision, Mike Gallacher, the New South Wales police minister, said he would ask police to show how people wearing the burka – which covers the whole body except the eyes and hands – could be better identified.

One option, to be used when anyone refused to show their face because of religious reasons, was to provide a fingerprint, which could also be used on statutory declarations and other statements to ensure they were authentic, he said.

The full veil is banned in France and Belgium, but enforcing the bans has become difficult. Last week the first women to be summoned before a European court for illegally wearing the garments were refused entry, because they would not remove their face coverings.

The music goes round and round… And simple remedies still are the best.

A plumber who used the internet to highlight his wife’s affair with a director of one of the world’s largest financial companies will appear in court on harassment charges. Lawyers believe the case could help define the limits of free expression on the internet.

Ian Puddick, 41, from east London, was incensed after learning that his wife had conducted a 10-year relationship with her boss, a director of Guy Carpenter, a reinsurance company that advises clients on risk management.

Puddick set up a series of websites, a Twitter account and a blog to draw attention to the affair, alleging that the director, who he named, was pursuing an affair with his wife on the company’s time and expenses – a claim rejected by Guy Carpenter. The company maintains Puddick’s actions forced the director to leave his position due to stress.

Puddick’s legal team are expected to use the three-day hearing at Westminster magistrates court to examine the actions of the City of London police, which dispatched its serious crime unit to raid his home and office in search of evidence. Plus an anti-terrorism squad.

Puddick’s legal team is seeking to summon a number of Guy Carpenter’s executives to appear at his trial, a move that promises unwanted publicity for a company that likes to keep a relatively low profile. Internal Guy Carpenter emails obtained by Puddick’s legal team and seen by the Observer show that the firm employed a subsidiary – Kroll, a global private investigation agency used by many blue chip companies – in its quest to establish that Puddick was waging a harassment campaign…

Michael Wolkind QC, representing Puddick, said his client intended to defend his actions. “This case is about Mr Puddick’s right to express his feelings about another person’s immorality. Ian Puddick dared to speak out about his wife’s affair and it has cost the public £1m for the extraordinary investigation carried out by an unusually enthusiastic police alongside an elite security firm.”

Puddick’s legal team say his home has been burgled and files were stolen as well as some valuables. However, following a police investigation, there is nothing to suggest that Guy Carpenter or Kroll were involved in any illegal activity.

Puddick is now reconciled with his wife.

Phew! At least they got that part sorted.

Think about all the data — photos, videos, text messages, calendar items, apps, call log, voice mail, and e-mail — on your cell phone right now. If you’re arrested, could the police search your cell phone? And would they need a warrant?

That depends on which state you’re in.

In California, it is legal for police to search an arrestee’s cell phone without a warrant — ever since a January decision by the California Supreme Court. California civil rights advocates are pushing back. The Electronic Frontier Foundation is supporting California Assembly Bill SB 914, which would require police in that state to get a warrant before searching an arrestee’s cell phone…

Meanwhile, in Florida, an appellate court decision upheld warrantless cell phone searches, defining the phone as a kind of “container.” This case may be considered by the Florida Supreme Court.

A similar Georgia appellate court decision upheld a warrantless search of a cell phone found in an arrestee’s car (not on her person).

In contrast, the Ohio Supreme Court has barred warrantless cell phone searches…

The pattern appears to be that around the U.S., some state and local police officers are taking the initiative to search arrestees’ cell phones. In some cases this yields information relevant to the alleged crime, which has contributed to indictments and convictions.

Only then do some of these cases wind up in appellate or state supreme courts in a process that often takes years.

If you’re concerned about police or anyone else getting into your cell phone, a basic precaution is to configure your phone’s security settings to always require a passcode or pattern to access any of the phone’s data or functions.

According to Catherine Crump of the American Civil Liberties Union, “The police can ask you to unlock the phone — which many people will do — but they almost certainly cannot compel you to unlock your phone without the involvement of a judge.”

Police are supposed to protect and serve within the definitions of law and Constitution. Snooping without oversight from a court – as gutless as many judges may be – is outside the mandate of American law and order.

Yes, this isn’t the first time that fear and whimpering leads to police-state solutions. Cops have been portable gangs used to suppress unions from organizing, people from protest and dissent. But, the eventual reaction from the people of this land is rejection of Big Brother as judge and jury on the street.