Rep. Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has been found guilty of violating ethics rules in accepting Caribbean trips from a corporation. In a classic move, the House ethics office has decided not to find violations by four other members of the Congressional Black Caucus who also took the free trip in 2007 and 2008 because they were unaware that it was paid for by the corporation. How about the idea of not going on paid trips at all? I have long argued for a complete ban on such travel, here. The other four members were Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, who is chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee; Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick of Michigan; Donald M. Payne of New Jersey; and Delegate Donna Christensen of the Virgin Islands.
Continue reading “Rangel To Be Admonished For Violating House Rules on Free Trips”
Month: February 2010
Dutch bobsledder Edwin van Calker and this four-man team pulled out of the Olympic competition after the driver said that he was terrified of using the track. It is a major slap at the Canadian designers who have been criticized since the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili on the luge track.
Continue reading “Dutch (Re)Treat: Bobsled Driver Refuses to Race on Canadian Course”
Question: what is the only thing scarier than one of the world’s largest indoor shark tanks? Answer: one of the world’s largest indoor shark tanks with a crack.
Continue reading “Question of the Day: What is Scarier Than One of The World’s Largest Shark Tanks?”
Zombies are free to again walk the streets of Minneapolis due to another zombie-friendly decision from the federal courts. The federal court of appeals ruled that a group of protesters dressed as zombies could sue the police department and individual officers for wrongful arrest in a 2-1 decision. The dissenting Judge Colloton immediately had his brains sucked out after being pursued by rampaging zombies.
Continue reading “Zombies! The Undead Return to the Streets of Minneapolis”
The United States has unveiled the design of its new $1 billion high-security embassy in London. It is an impressive design by Kieran Timberlake, the Philadelphia architect despite its hefty price (a record for an embassy). Timberlake won a competition of dozens of architects, here.
Continue reading “United States Unveils $1 Billion London Embassy Plans”
A Montgomery County Middle School teacher had a 13-year-old girl escorted from the classroom after she refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance in clear violation of federal law.
Continue reading “Maryland Teacher Orders Student Escorted From Classroom By Police After Refusal to Say the Pledge of Allegiance”
We previously read about bands of men roaming the streets of Jerusalem and other cities to break up mixed couples of Israeli women and Arab men, here. Now, there is a report that one city has created a formal program to locate such women and “treat” them outside of Tel Aviv.
Continue reading “Israeli City Establishes Program to Locate and “Treat” Israeli Girls Who Date or Marry Arab Men”
Prominent Saudi cleric Shaikh Abdul-Rahman al-Barrak has issued a fatwa calling for “Modernisers” who object to the strict segregation of men and women in the Kingdom to be killed in the name of Islam.
Continue reading “Separate But Lethal: Leading Saudi Cleric Calls For The Killing of People Who Oppose The Segregation of The Sexes”
SeaWorld animal trainer Dawn Brancheau, 40, was killed Wednesday at SeaWorld Orlando during a show by Tillikum, a whale involved in two other deaths. While police say Brancheau slipped, onlookers insist that the whale knocked or grabbed her. One onlooker on the video below stated that the whale appeared to be acting strange in the prior show before the incident.
Continue reading “Killer Whale Kills Trainer At SeaWorld”
Dubai has released the names of new suspects in the alleged Israeli hit on Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.
They identified 15 new suspects including six new British names, as well as the names of three more Irish passport-holders, three French and three Australian. That brings the total to 26 suspects.
The six Britons were named as Philip Carr, Gabriella Barney, Stephen Drake, Mark Sklar, Daniel Schnur and Roy Cannon.
Police also confirmed that the credit cards were all issued by MetaBank of the United States. They believe that head of the team was using a fake French passport under the name Peter Elvinger, and used a credit card issued by DZ Bank of Frankfurt.
For the full story, click here
Ever wondered how many members it would take to be told about torture before anyone went public or cried foul? Well, we now know it is somewhere above 68. The CIA has revealed that at least 68 U.S. lawmakers between 2001 and 2007 were briefed on torture. That obviously included many Democrats who later worked to avoid investigating torture and have been relatively silent as the Obama Administration has blocked any prosecution for torture or war crimes.
Continue reading “The Shameful Sixty-Eight: CIA Papers Reveal 68 Members Knew of Torture Program”
There is an interesting libel case out of England that once again shows what I believe is the fundamental flaw in the system’s treatment of defamation cases. Simon Singh is being sued by the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) for his criticism of their profession in what would be treated as non-defamatory opinion in the United States. England has a extremely broad interpretation of defamation that chills speech and allows major corporations and associations to pursue critics with threats of financial ruin.
Continue reading “Writer Appeals Defamation Ruling For Commentary Criticizing Chiropractic Treatment for Certain Ailments”
In Kentucky, Dr. Douglas Rank, 51, is being held in the stabbing of a woman, Misty Luke, 32. The psychiatrist is charged with first degree assault.
Continue reading “Dr. Rank: Kentucky Psychiatrist Held in Stabbing of Woman”
It is a moment that may top the fall of the French skier in the first five seconds of her Olympic run, here. Top speed skater Sven Kramer lost his second gold medal after winning the 10,000m after his coach mistakingly sent him into the wrong lane — resulting in his disqualification.
Continue reading “Improper Lane Change: Olympic Skater Loses Second Gold Medal After Coach Directs Him To Wrong Lane”
Baset Chaudhry of the Trinity Squash team has apologized for screaming in the face of Yale opponent Kenneth Chan. Trinity beat the Bulldogs in the finals, but the win was spoiled by Chaudry’s taunting of at the end.