Meet William "Billy" Burton. He's a Thalidomide baby born with short arms and twisted hands. In 1992, at age 29, he was traveling abroad and ran into financial difficulties. He attempted to smuggle 12 pounds of marijuana from the Philippines to Australia.

Interrogated without counsel and under duress, Billy was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. When sentenced, he was eligible for release in 8 years. But the Philippines later changed its laws on parole and retroactivity and his minimum time to serve on a life sentence became first 30 years, then 40 years. He wouldn't get released until 2032.

Now 48, and having served the past 19 years at the maximum security New Bilibid Prison, south of Manila, this week Billy was granted a conditional pardon due to his deteriorating health by Philippines President Benigno Aquino III . He's been released to go home to Britain.

Here are some happy photos of him being released from prison.

His release is the culmination of a 20 month effort by organizations in Britain, including Fair Trials International and supporters of the UK Thalidomide Trust. Foreign Office minister Jeremy Browne says he also was supportive.

The madness continues in Indonesia. Schapelle Corby, an Australian serving 20 years for having 4 kilos of pot in her boogie board (which she denied knowing was there) skipped Christmas mass at Kerobokan prison because there were so many reporters. She had been recommended for a reduction of 1.5 months. Now she may not get it. The prison warden says:

This will be a special point against her [getting future sentence cuts] and I will report it to the Australian Consulate,” he said. “She has failed to meet all the requirements for a remission.” He also said he would report her to the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, which oversees the Directorate General of Corrections.

“She is a naughty child and unappreciative of Kerobokan Penitentiary,” he said. (my emphasis.)

[More....]

Kim Jong-un, the youngest son of Kim Jong-il, who died this weekend, will be his successor. His son has been being groomed for the job since at least 2010 when he was made a four-star general:

Mr. Kim’s s youngest son, Kim Jong-un, was promoted on Sept. 28 to the rank of four-star general, a prerequisite for his ascendancy to power. The elder Mr. Kim, who is said to be in poor health after apparently suffering a stroke in 2008, has hurried the succession of his son in recent weeks.

Here is North Korea's official statement of Kim Jong-il's death. Reuters has this timeline of his rule.

The media is full of articles about Kim Jong-il and how he turned North Korea into a communist state. The BBC reports citizens of North Korea are mourning his death. [More...]

Paris Hilton is tweeting up a storm about how much she loves Bali. It's her first visit. She tweeted a few hours ago, "Make a wish. 11.1l.11"

Since I've stood up for Paris on TalkLeft so many times during her various legal difficulties, I thought I'd ask her a favor. I tweeted her in reply:

[More...]

The cause of the helicopter crash today that killed Mexico Interior Minister Francisco Blake Mora, the most visible force behind President Calderon's War on Drugs and Mexico's second most important officical, is unknown and under investigation. Some will speculate drug gangs may be responsible, as they did after a similar crash of another Minister a few years ago. The pilots were air force pilots with 20 years experience. This was the first crash of this kind of helicopter, a Super Puma TPH-06 in 6 years. The Mexican Government has six of them.

I saw conflicting reports as to whether Blake Mora was en route to a judicial meeting or a prosecutor's meeting. The answer isn't hard to find. He was headed to a meeting on judicial reform attended by judges and prosecutors.

Despite diplomatic relations being restored with Bolivia yesterday, Vice President Vice President Alvaro Garcia said today the DEA is still unwelcome there.

[Garcia]says the Drug Enforcement Administration "was a mechanism of political blackmail" and is not welcome back.

The DEA was expelled from Bolivia in 2008 by by President Evo Morales.

An appeals court in Great Britain has refused to invalidate Sweden's extradition warrant for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. He now has two weeks to appeal to the country's highest court.

Here is the ruling.

Mexico has released its 2011 murder statistics for January through August. Murders are down in Juarez, the border city in Chihuahua, which has been known as the most violent area in Mexico.

While it remains exceedingly bloody, Juarez is far safer than it was in 2010: with 1,065 murders through August, it is on pace for just under 1,600 murders, a murder rate of roughly 120 per 100,000 residents. In 2010, the city registered some 3,000 murders and a murder rate of roughly 250 per 100,000.

Murders are also down in Baja California Norte, home to Tijuana and Mexicali. On the other hand, murders are up in Guerrero, especially Acapulco. [More...]

As we all know from the travails of Schapelle Corby, the laws of Indonesia and Bali suck.

The latest travesty is "The Bali Boy," a 14 old from Australia, on vacation with his parents, who has been jailed since Oct. 4 when police say they saw him stop and buy $25.00 worth of marijuana (3.6 grams) from a street dealer who had approached him.

[More...]

Muammar Gaddafi has been killed by fighters in Libya.

[His death] was announced by several officials of the National Transitional Council (NTC) and backed up by a photograph of a bloodied face ringed by familiar, Gaddafi-style curly hair.

"He was killed in an attack by the fighters. There is footage of that," the NTC's information minister, Mahmoud Shammam, told Reuters.

Apparently, it has occurred formally now. A NYTimes Editorial today said:

Last year, President Obama’s speech to the United Nations was full of promise and determination to advance Palestinian statehood through negotiations with Israel. This year, his address was about lowering expectations and a dispiriting realpolitik as the president spoke of how “peace is hard” and vowed to veto the Palestinians’ bid for statehood if it came to a Security Council vote. Mr. Obama had no choice but to stand by Israel, this country’s historic ally. [. . .] But there should be no illusions about the high cost both Israel and this country will pay if this stalemate is allowed to drag on any longer.

There is plenty of blame to go around. The main responsibility right now belongs to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel who refuses to make any serious compromises for peace.

In a meeting with bloggers yesterday, Bill Clinton explained that part of this is due to the changing demographics of Israel, with many newcomers having little respect for the Palestinian position and driving for more land on the West Bank. Josh Rogin of Foreign Policy provides more detail on Clinton's remarks on the Israel- Palestine situation.

Statues are being pulled down in Tripoli:

Rebels surged into the Libyan capital Sunday night, meeting little resistance from troops loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi and setting off raucous street celebrations by residents hailing the end of his 42 years in power.

Congratulations to the Libyan people. Good luck with the future of your country.