Month: September 2012

Ryan: Prayer In Public Schools Is A State Issue

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

Paul Ryan, Republican nominee for Vice President, said he believes that states should have the right to determine if prayer in public schools is allowed. In response to a question from a campaign volunteer, Ryan said that’s “a constitutional issue of the states.” Prayer in public schools is a hot-button issue for religious conservatives. Was Ryan simply pandering to the Republican base or does he truly not support the separation of church and state?

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Muslim Cleric Arrested For Framing Christian Girl

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

We have previously discussed the case of Rimsha Masih, an 11-year-old girl who was accused of burning pages of a Quran. In an unusual turn of events, an imam at an Islamabad mosque, identified as Khalid Jadoon Chishti, has been arrested and charged with blasphemy for planting torn pages from a Quran in Rinsha’s trash bag which contained ashes.

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Keeping Abreast of Crime: Police Officer Arrested For Allegedly Pulling Over Women To Look At Their Breasts

There is a bizarre case out of Miami where officer Prabhainjana Dwivedi, 33, was arrested by the FBI for allegedly pulling over female drivers solely to look at their breasts and make “sexually suggestive conversations.” What was most striking about the story is that this was an FBI investigation based on the claim of a civil rights violation. It shows how far federal jurisdiction has extended into previously state areas.

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Former Federal Prosecutor Faces Defamation Lawsuit Over Alleged Anonymous Internet Attacks On Landfill Owner

Fred Heebe, a Louisiana landfill owner, has filed an interesting defamation lawsuit against a federal prosecutor who he claims has used anonymous identities to trash him on the Internet. Using a former FBI forensic linguist expert, Heebe has shown remarkable similarities between language used in filings by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sal Perricone and statements written by someone on media websites under the name “Henry L. Mencken1951.” With the finding that the language overlap “strongly indicates” Perricone, Heebe has filed suit and issued subpeonas. The federal case involves alleged bribes (including an almost $500,000 bribe to a state official) to close a rival landfill in Gretna, Louisiana. Heebe however was never charged with a crime. Perricone, 61, has since resigned after 21 years as a prosecutor but an investigation continues at the Justice Department as well as the civil lawsuit. He recently admitted to posting hundreds of comments.

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Rude Awakening: Woman Falls Asleep on Scooter and Collides With Truck

This incredible video shows a Russian woman falling asleep while driving a scooter down a highway. She is jolted awake when she collides with the side of a truck. The most incredible aspects of the film is that the woman does not appear seriously injured and is able to walk away.

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Losing His Flock: Putin Takes Highly Symbolic Flight Alone As Giant Crane

Vladimir Putin continued his effort to create a cult of personality around his superhero exploits this week. If you recall, after his being featured as a race car driver, great white hunter, jet pilot, oceanologist, martial artist and Hell’s Angel, Putin was shown as a scuba diver. While only having dived three times, Putin was filmed at an ancient Greek Black sea site where he “discovered” two sixth century urns under the water — one of which was in pristine condition with nary a seaweed adhering to its surface. As many of us suggested, Putin’s worshipful staff later admitted it was staged — as Putin was fully aware. Now Putin has decided to morph into a giant white crane – flying a motorized hand glider to guide young Siberian cranes on their migration to Asia while dressed in a white costume. It turned out to be an incredibly symbolic moment. Like many voters protesting his authoritarian policies, all but one crane saw through him for what he was and refused to follow.

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Swedish Man Dies After Doctor Leaves For Lunch In Middle of Surgery

A 72-year-old man died after his anesthesiologist left for lunch in the middle of his surgery to have a tumor removed at the Lidköping hospital in Sweden. Not only did the doctor leave for lunch but soon after the head anesthesia nurse took lunch — leaving a nurse from the orthopedic ward who did not know how to operate the respirator. It turns out that the machine was turned off.

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California Passes Controversial Resolution Equating Criticism of Israel with Anti-Semiticism On College Campuses

Over objections over academic freedom and free speech, the California State Assembly passed a controversial resolution (HR 35) that calls on universities to crackdown on criticism of Israel. Passed by a voice vote, the resolution includes language that equates criticism of Israeli policies and actions as “anti-Semitism.” While the resolutions original purpose is laudatory and does include clear expression of anti-Semitism, its drafters decided to include criticism of Israel and its human rights record in a measure that at a minimum chills free speech by professor and students alike. Drafted by Republican Linda Halderman, there was no hearing or debate allowed on the resolution. Just a voice vote.

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Amicus Litigant Files Cartoon Brief in Protest of Five-Page Limit Imposed By Court

We have all chafed at the limitations placed by courts on filings — limits that often require counsel to drop whole claims or issues. For Bob Kohn, the chairman and chief executive of RoyaltyShare, however, the requirement that he reduce over ninety pages of arguments into five pages was absurd. According, he filed a five-page cartoon strip as his amicus filing.

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LaBelle Pays $100,000 After Allegedly Abusing Pregnant Mother and 18-Month Old Daughter For Playing In Front Of Her Apartment Building

Patti LaBelle has long given divas an even worse name for her outbursts and public conduct. She reportedly hit a new low on Nov. 10, 2010 when she started screaming profanities at a pregnant mother, Roseanna Monk. and a little girl in the lobby of a Manhattan apartment building where she was staying. She has now agreed to pay $100,000 for the tirade in a settlement.

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The Democratic Convention and The Illusion of Democracy

While Democracy and the Democratic Party may sound similar, the party leaders again showed yesterday that one has little to do with the other. President Obama and party leaders wanted the party’s platform changed to include a reference to both Jerusalem being the capital of Israel and God. The omissions however were not accidental and a high number of delegates opposed the change, which had to be agreed to by two-thirds of the delegates. As shown in the video below, in calling for a voice vote, the leadership was shocked when it appeared that more people voted no than yes — certainly well short of two-thirds in support of the changes. That did not matter. The leadership just declared the vote as having passed by two-thirds acclamation.
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Federal Court Orders Massachusetts To Pay For Sex Reassignment Surgery For Murderer

In a major new ruling, US District Court Chief Judge Mark Wolf has ordered that Massachusetts must pay for the sex reassignment surgery of Michelle Kosilek, who was convicted of murdering his wife. The opinion in Kosilek v. Spencer, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124758, contains a long and detailed analysis by Judge Mark Wolf of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. It also contains a stinging finding of untruthful testimony by Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections Kathleen Dennehy. Michele Kosilek was originally Robert Kosilek (shown here after killing his wife Cheryl Kosilek in 1990).

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Maryland Officer Pistol Whips Teen, Accidentally Discharges Weapon, and Then Charges Teen With Assaulting Him

The video below has led to the dropping of charges against Ryan Dorm, 19, after four months in jail. Dorm was charged by Cpl. Donald Taylor who said that Dorm attacked him. However, the video shows that Taylor ran up to Dorm and struck him with his gun, which discharged – in full view of another officer.

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