Year: 2012

Bizarre, Science, Society

MIT Engineers Solve Modern Riddle

By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Hard to imagine how the discussion got started, but engineers at MIT have solved one of the modern age’s most pressing problems: How do you get stuck ketchup out of the bottom of the bottle? Foolish waste of time you say? No, the inventors of the special coating claim it will save 1 million tons of the perfectly usable — but inaccessible — condiment.

The research was led by doctoral candidate, Dave Smith, whose team of researchers employed nanotechnology to invent LiquiGlide. The spray-on coating, composed of FDA approved materials, has many applications according to Smith which include food packaging for mayonnaise and ketchup as well as other industrial uses like lubricants for oil and gas pipelines and even car windshields.

LiquiGlide is unique because it’s “kind of a structured liquid,” Smith said. “It’s rigid like a solid, but it’s lubricated like a liquid.” Here’s the stuff in action:

Now, can they please start to work on keeping all those subscription cards from falling out of the magazines.

Source: msnbc

~Mark Esposito, GuestBlogger

Bizarre, Criminal law, Lawyering

Woman Admits That She Falsely Accused Convicted High School Student of Rape After He Serves His Time In Jail . . . Woman Keeps $1.5 Million Award As Rape Victim

Brian Banks was a former high school football star when he was accused of rape by Wanetta Gibson. Gibson’s name was sealed as a rape victim while Banks was publicly accused as a rapist despite his insistence that it was consensual sex. It was his word against hers and prosecutors threatened him with life imprisonment if he went to trial, so he pleaded guilty to a rape that he did not commit. He spent five years in jail. When he was released he was surprised when his “victim” asked to befriend him on Facebook. She later admitted that she made the whole thing up but did not want to give back the $1.5 million that she won in a judgment against the school district for her alleged rape. She retains the money despite admitting to lying about the rape.

Continue reading “Woman Admits That She Falsely Accused Convicted High School Student of Rape After He Serves His Time In Jail . . . Woman Keeps $1.5 Million Award As Rape Victim” →

Academia, Bizarre, Criminal law

Harvard Apologizes For Publishing The “Awards” of Ted Kaczynski as “Eight Life Sentences”

Harvard alums received a bit of a surprise when reading the status of graduates for the class of 1962 in anticipation of the 50th reunion. One graduate decided to respond and list his current profession as “prisoner” and his “awards” as “eight life sentences.” The alum is unabomber Ted Kaczynski.

Continue reading “Harvard Apologizes For Publishing The “Awards” of Ted Kaczynski as “Eight Life Sentences”” →

Academia, Media, Politics, Society

Boston Globe: Harvard Reported Warren As Minority For Years In Federal Reports

In Washington, it is often the response of politicians to allegations that get them into more trouble than the original allegations themselves. Harvard Professor and US Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren appears to be reaffirming that rule as more information surfaced that casts serious questions about her veracity over the claim to being a Native American. The latest disclosure comes from the Boston Globe, a Democratic-leaning newspaper that has been criticized for downplaying the controversy in the past. I previously discussed how claiming to be a minority is a significant act for law professors due to reporting to the federal government, the ABA, and AALS. Warren has insisted that she was unaware that she was listed as a minority, but, as a law professor, I am skeptical how such listings can occur without a professor volunteering the information. Now, the Boston Globe is reporting that Harvard listed Warren for years as a minority in reports to the federal government. Obviously, this story has particular interest to law professors, but it is being played out in the Massachusetts senatorial race.

Continue reading “Boston Globe: Harvard Reported Warren As Minority For Years In Federal Reports” →

Bizarre, Politics, Society

Will The Last Person To Leave Detroit Please Turn The Light Off?

We have been following the political and economic demise of Detroit for years. Its leading officials from city council members to the former mayor to judges to lawyers in the city have been the source of endless scandals. They have coupled a shrinking economy with expanding levels of corruption and cronyism. Now, the city is planning to simply turn off half of the street lights to try to force citizens into a small living area — leaving much of the city abandoned and dark. We previously saw how the city’s fire chief suggested just let many buildings burn down to save the cost of firefighting.

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Criminal law, Politics

Highway Robbery: Tennessee Police Are Seizing Cash From Out-of-State Visitors In Policy Called “Policing For Profit”

It appears that anyone visiting Tennessee this summer should leave their cash at home. A New Jersey man has encountered an outrageous policy among police in that state to seize large amounts of cash from out-of-state visitors without any probable cause of a crime. The practice brings a new meaning to “highway robbery.”

Continue reading “Highway Robbery: Tennessee Police Are Seizing Cash From Out-of-State Visitors In Policy Called “Policing For Profit”” →

Academia, Criminal law, Politics, Society

School Nurse Reportedly Refuses To Allow Student To Use Inhaler During Asthma Attack Because He Did Not Have Signed Parental Form

School officials in Florida’s Volusia County School are insisting that a school nurse was perfectly correct in refusing to give a boy his inhaler during an asthma attack because a medical release form was not signed by a parent. By the time the mother arrived at the school, her son was passed out on the floor. She says that the nurse watched as her son, Michael Rudi, 17, collapsed.

Continue reading “School Nurse Reportedly Refuses To Allow Student To Use Inhaler During Asthma Attack Because He Did Not Have Signed Parental Form” →

Academia, Bizarre, Science

Location, Location, Location: Scientists Find Planet Being Slowly Vaporized By Heat Of Star

It would be just my luck. I find a nice planet near a warm balmy star and purchase a place as my retirement spot. Next thing I know, all of my real estate is being sucked into space in the ultimate depreciation disaster. That is what scientists caught recently (sans the retiree) when it found the first known case of such a planet vaporized by its nearby star and gradually being sucked away.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Politics, Society

Florida Court Rules That Flashing Lights To Warn Other Drivers Of Speed Trap Is Protected Speech

Many of us were critical of the Seminole County Sheriff and prosecutors who insisted that citizens could be ticketed for flashing their lights to warn others of a speed trap. Ryan Kintner, 25, can now claim to not only have warned neighbors of a speed trap but to have protected their constitutional rights. Kintner has won his challenge under the first amendment and a court has ruled that the Sheriff and local prosecutors were misconstruing a statute and violating the rights of citizens.

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Academia, Society

Rutgers School of Law Accused False Advertising of Salaries In Excess of $130,000 For Top Students

A marketing pitch sent to prospective students by Rutgers University School of Law at Camden touted a 90 percent employment rate in the legal field for its employed graduates and top private-practice salaries in excess of $130,000 for “many top students.”

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Bizarre, Religion, Society

The Evil of “Unadulterated Freedom”: Roughly 40,000 Orthodox Jewish Men Gather In New York Stadium To Denounce The Internet

We previously saw how Orthodox Jews in New York prevailed upon the government to get rid of bike lanes in their neighborhoods to protect them from the sight of women on bikes. Now almost 40,000 men gathered in Citi Field to call for an end to the Internet as a danger to their faith. Women of course were not allowed to attend because that would also be an affront. They were allowed to watch . . . you guessed it . . . on the Internet.

Continue reading “The Evil of “Unadulterated Freedom”: Roughly 40,000 Orthodox Jewish Men Gather In New York Stadium To Denounce The Internet” →

Courts, Criminal law, International, Lawyering, Military, Politics

Pakistani Doctor Who Helped U.S. Find Bin Laden Is Reportedly Sentenced To 33 Years In Prison

The United States has long been criticized for disregarding the sovereign rights of Pakistan and other countries in launching drone attacks and military operations. Now, Pakistan has responded with a reported lengthy sentencing of the Pakistani doctor, Shakil Afridi, who helped track down Osama Bin Laden as guilty of “high treason.”

Continue reading “Pakistani Doctor Who Helped U.S. Find Bin Laden Is Reportedly Sentenced To 33 Years In Prison” →