An Emirati man has taken vanity to a disgusting extreme — spending $5 million for a plate with the number 1 on it. For the vast majority of people struggling to feed their families, the auction price is obscene. Yet for local businessman, Arif Ahmad Al Zarouni, it was just something that he had to have as a matter of pride.
Category: Bizarre
Laura R. Tarrats, 42, has the distinction of being arrested for not paying bridge tolls. Now before you say that is ridiculous, you should know that Tarrats racked up roughly $16,000 in unpaid tolls on the George Washington Bridge.
Continue reading “Can You Guess What This Person Was Charged With?”
While largely ignored by the media, the Clintons have their own university scandal. Donald Trump has been rightfully criticized and sued over his defunct Trump University. There is ample support for claiming that the Trump University was fraudulent in its advertisements and operations. However, the national media has been accused of again sidestepping a scandal involving the Clintons that involves the same type of fraud allegations. The scandal involves a dubious Laureate Education for-profit online college (Walden) and entails many of the common elements with other Clinton scandals: huge sums given to the Clintons and questions of conflicts with Hillary Clinton during her time as Secretary of State. There are distinctions to draw between the two stories, but the virtual radio silence on the Clinton/Laureate story is surprising. [I have updated the original column with some additional thoughts, links, and clarifications for readers].
In yet another example of how similar extreme groups in Judaism and Islam can be, an ultra-orthodox Jewish leader has reportedly banned girls aged five and older from riding bicycles;claiming it is “immodest” and too “provocative” for men watching girls as young as six on a bicycle.You may recall the outrageous move by the city of New York to remove bike lanes in an area in New York to protect the sensibilities of Hasidic men. Previously, an influential rabbi moved to block women from driving –just as his Islamic counterparts have done in places like Saudi Arabia.
If you guessed corrupting Amish teenagers, you are a criminal justice God. Pennsylvania man Thomas Candler Felts, 25, was sentenced this week in Lancaster County Court for giving Amish teens some beer and later causing a crash with their horse-drawn buggy after yelling “Rumspringa.”
Continue reading “Can You Guess What This Man Was Charged With?”
For months, Sanders supporters have objected to what they perceive as highly biased coverage by mainstream media. The media has been condemned for its abbreviated coverage of the Clinton email scandal (including notable failures to ask follow up questions of Clinton) as well as a steady drumbeat dismissing Sanders as a serious challenger. Now, New York Times reporter Yamiche Alcindor has infuriated even non-Sanders supporters with a bizarre suggestion that Sanders is sexist for merely opposing Hillary Clinton. Despite widespread ridicule, Alcindor insists that Sanders was the one in the wrong for expressing legitimate shock at the insulting question. She later tweeted: “Some women think @BernieSanders will be standing in way of history tmrw if HRC wins & he doesn’t concede. He got testy when I asked; Oh well.”
There is a highly disturbing report out of the Federal Election Commission that, again, raises the inclination of some commissioners to curtail free speech under loose regulatory standards. A recent report indicates that two top Democrats voted to investigate former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee for what their own staff viewed as an obvious joke. In the video, Huckabee (available here) clearly is joking in a speech when he said that he hoped supporters would shower him with million dollar contributions. Indeed, if Huckabee was going to violate federal law, he would hardly have done it in an open speech. Yet, Commissioners Ann Ravel and Ellen Weintraub still threw common sense (and respect for free speech) out the window in backing a complaint against Huckabee.
We have been discussing the erosion of free speech and academic standards at our universities and colleges. What is alarming is not only the pace of such demands but the support of some faculty to stripping away core courses and historical references. The latest such example can be found at Yale University with undergraduate students have demanded that the English department abolish the prerequisite course requirement to study such writers as Chaucer, Shakespeare and Milton. Students claim that it is “unacceptable that a Yale student considering studying English literature might read only white male authors.” Of course, this is not the only course for students but simply one course designed to introduce students to “major English poets.” However, the students find it oppressive and some faculty support their cause like English Professor Jill Richards who insisted that “it is unacceptable that the two-semester requirement for all majors routinely covers the work of eight white, male poets.” The students have demanded that “It’s time for the English major to decolonize — not diversify — its course offerings.”
There was an emotional and dangerous moment in court last week when Van Terry faced the murderer of his daughter Shirellda Terry. Terry was giving his victim statement when his understandable emotions took over and he leapt over the table to attack Michael Madison, as captured on videotape.
Continue reading “Ohio Father Attacks Serial Killer After He Grins During Victim Impact Statement”
This is Erick A. Cox, 32, who was arrested for burying his boss with a bulldozer. Known as “Pork Chop,” Cox took this action after arguing this his 57-year-old boss at the construction site of a new Walmart in DeBary, Florida.
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For those supporting the British exit from the European Union, a new video could not come at a better time. EU critics have argued that Britain is being ruled by five “presidents” that no one can name and Brits have little voice in selecting. As if on cue, one of those five –Luxembourgish politician Jean-Claude Juncker — appeared in public in what appears to be an inebriated state — even playfully slapping people.
Continue reading “President of EU Commission Caught Apparently Drunk in Public Event”
We have been discussing the rollback of free speech on university and college campuses, particularly when it comes to conservatives or right-to-life advocates. As discussed recently, conservative speaker Milo Yiannopoulous has been the target of some of the most egregious effort to silence certain speakers and prevent other students from hearing opposing views. The latest such protest was held at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). After protesters blocked fellow students and faculty from entering to hear Yiannopoulous, campus police found an alternative avenue for the audience. However, a bomb threat was later called in and the room cleared by police. Once again, there does not appear to be outrage at the effort of students to block access to such speeches for other students and the denial of free speech on campus. I have no problem with protests but preventing speakers from being heard runs against the core values of an academic community.
I was on NPR yesterday on the Diane Rehm Show to discuss the Clinton email scandal. Appearing on the show was Brian Fallon, spokesperson for Hillary Clinton, who offered a new and rather implausible spin on the worsening scandal. Fallon said that Clinton was relying on her knowledge that Colin Powell used a personal email account as the reason that she thought her server was approved.
Continue reading “Clinton Offers New Explanation For Email Scandal”
The Louisiana Supreme Court has issued an interesting ruling for a new trial for two medical malpractice plaintiffs due to the conduct of Judge Timothy Ellender — conduct described as “bizarre and disturbing.” This is not the first such finding of improper conduct by Ellender, though there was a dissent based on the evidence cited for this conduct in the medical malpractice trial.
Continue reading “New Trial Ordered in Louisiana Due To Judge’s “Bizarre and Disturbing” Conduct”
If you answered the earlier mugshot challenge correctly, you are a genius. If you answer this one, you are a God. This is Colin Murphy, 23, who was arrested at a Kroger store in Cincinnati after stripping naked (apparently a trend this week) and defecated on a self-checkout scanner. I assume that folks moved to the next counter for a while.
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