Category: Bizarre

Bizarre, International, Politics, Society

Let Them Eat Cake . . . And Pay Taxes: France Government Proposes “Nutella” Tax

If Arnhem was the “bridge too far” for General Montgomery, Nutella may be a tax too far for President François Hollande. I have been admittedly critical of the massive tax increase by the Hollande government on the top earners in France. I just do not believe it makes economic sense. However, the latest tax is not simply designed to acquire more revenue but to fight the fat in France — part of a trend inside and outside the United States. The French Senate tripled the tax on palm and some other vegetable oils — a move that will significantly raise the cost of such French favorites like Nutella.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Lawyering, Politics, Society

Ohio Lawyer Forced To Admit To Child Porn For Trial Exhibit of “Morphed” Images and Then Hit With $300,000 In Damages

A case out of Ohio raises in my view some highly disturbing questions on the expanding reach of pornography laws. The Sixth Circuit has upheld a $300,000 award against an Ohio lawyer for his use of a trial exhibit in a child pornography case. Dean Boland wanted to show how an innocent picture can be converted into a pornographic picture without actually causing a child to engage in the displayed conduct. In order to avoid federal prosecution, Boland had to apologize publicly and admit to possession for child pornography. He was then hit with the damage award from the featured children despite his statement in court that these children did not participate in the depicted acts.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Politics

Voter Suppression: Arizona Woman Runs Over Husband For Not Voting Against Obama

Holly Solomon, 28, really really does not like President Barack Obama. The six-month pregnant Arizona woman was arrested for allegedly running over her husband with her SUV after learning that he did not take the time to vote for Romney last week. She believed a second term would be a disaster for her family and she appears to be right: she is now facing charges of domestic violence and aggravated assault.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, International, Media, Military, Politics, Torts

Jill Kelley Claims “Honorary” Diplomatic Status In Latest Twist In Petraeus Scandal

Last night, while discussing the Petraeus scandal on CNN, the network played a 911 call from one of the four major figures in the scandal: Jill Kelley. The call is perfectly bizarre in which Kelley, a Florida socialite, claims “honorary diplomatic” status to get the police to stop people from walking across her lawn. The dispatcher listens patiently and appears to resist the temptation to tell her that he will be sending over some honorary police to protect their honorary diplomatic residence.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Lawyering, Media, Politics

New Orleans Prosecutor Demoted In Expanding Scandal Over Anonymous Attacks On Defendant

We previously discussed the bizarre scandal unfolding in the New Orleans U.S. Attorney’s Office. 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 subpoenas. 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 continued at the Justice Department as well as the civil lawsuit. He recently admitted to posting hundreds of comments. Now the scandal has caused U.S. Attorney Jim Letten to demote his second-in-command, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jan Mann.

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Bizarre, International, Religion, Society

Egyptian Islamic Leader: Faithful Muslims Must Destroy The Pyramids and The Sphinx

With have previously discussed calls for Islamic extremists to destroy or cover up the Pyramids as an offense to Allah. Now, islamic leader Murgan Salem al-Gohary has called for the destruction of the iconic structures as well as the Sphinx — citing the Taliban as a model for such destruction when they destroyed the famous giant Buddhas of Bamiyan to the disgust and anger of the world community. Murgan Salem al-Gohary is clearly an extremist and not someone that most Egyptians or Muslims would follow. However a far more worrisome development is the huge demonstration in Egypt a few days ago calling for the country to impose Sharia law on its citizens.

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Bizarre, Politics, Religion

Texas Pastor Warns Obama Election Has Opened Path For The Rise Of The AntiChrist

Robert Jeffress, senior pastor at the First Baptist Church in Dallas, is back in the news. Jeffress once made headlines in denouncing Mormonism as a cult — he supported Rick Perry. Now, the magachurch pastor has warned his flock that the election of Barack Obama will lead to the rise of the Antichrist. He was careful however not to be too extreme. He noted that he did not believe Obama was the antiChrist because “the Antichrist is going to have much higher poll numbers when he comes.”

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Media

Street Justice: Voice of Elmo Facing Charges For Allegedly Having Sex With Underaged Boy

Word on “the street” is not good for Kevin Clash, the voice of Elmo. Clash was arrested is facing charges for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old boy. Clash insists that the accused, now 23, was 18 when they started having an intimate relationship. Truth be known, I always thought it would be tightly wound Bert who ended up in the slammer. Notably, it was the Show that appears to have reported Clash.[UPDATE: The accuser, who remains nameless, has recanted his allegations].

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Lawyering

Brooklyn Prosecutor Charged With Attacking and Choking EMT Worker In Drunken Rage

Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Michael Jaccarino, 30, was arrested this weekend after he allegedly attacked a female EMT worker who was responding to a call of an intoxicated man on the Brooklyn Bridge around 1 a.m. He’s charged with assault, criminal obstruction of breathing, menacing and harassment

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Bizarre, Society, Torts

Postal Worker Accused Of Stepping Around Dying Man In Denver In Delivering Mail

A Denver family has a notable complaint about their mail service. The Porch family alleges that a carrier delivered mail to their house and walked by the body of Dale Porch, 46, who collapsed on his porch after working “the graveyard shift” at his job. The carrier reportedly said and did nothing.

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Bizarre, International, Torts

Chinese Man Awarded Settlement After Charging That Wife Bore Him An Ugly Daughter And Concealed Her Own Prior Plastic Surgery

There is a bizarre case out of China were a man, Jian Feng, was awarded $120,000 (£75,000) in a court settlement after alleging that his wife did not reveal that she had had cosmetic surgery — a fact that he said he discovered when she had an ‘incredibly ugly’ child.

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Bizarre, Society

Getting The Shaft: Mining CEO Who Reportedly Forced Workers to Go To Romney Rally Responded To Obama’s Election With A Prayer and Layoffs

The Chairman and Chief Executive Office of Murray Energy, Robert E. Murphy became notorious during the presidential campaign by allegedly forcing workers to go to a Romney rally. Now, Murray has responded to President Obama’s re-election with a prayer and dozens of layoffs.

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Bizarre, Courts, Politics, Society

Illinois Judge Reelected Despite Being Barred From Courthouse, Suspended From The Bench, And Charged With Battery Of A Police Officer

We previously discussed the bizarre case of Cook County Judge Cynthia Brim, a judge in Markham, Illinois who has been barred from entering the courthouse without police escort and has a prior arrest for assault. Well, Cook County voters have now returned her to the bench in the election this week. She was reelected despite the fact that she is currently in court not as a judge but as a criminal defendant asserting an insanity defense. She was reelected the same week as Jesse Jackson Jr. who is currently housed in the Mayo Clinic for mental illness while reportedly negotiating his own plea bargain to criminal charges.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Society

Poll: One-Third of Americans Would Accept Cavity Searches By TSA

In past columns, I have lamented how our government has not only stripped away core civil liberties from citizens, but that citizens have become increasing passive and accepting of the loss of such freedoms. A new poll conducted by Harris Interactive offers a particularly chilling measure of just how passive and accepting citizens have become to the new realities of our internal security system. The poll found almost one third of American adults would accept a “TSA body cavity search” in order to fly. Moreover a majority believes that it is reasonable to criminalize the act of disobeying any TSA agent.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, International, Politics, Society

Ahmadinejad Denounces U.S. Elections As Too Expensive

Yesterday, we saw how a Chinese newspaper was irate about the lines faced by U.S. voters — lines entirely avoided in a country that denies its citizens any right to select its leaders. Now, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has objected to the cost of the election — citing the runaway spending on the campaigns as a “battleground for capitalists” at a democracy forum. It is unclear why Ahmadinejad was even speaking at a democracy forum except as the balance against those who like democracy. Nevertheless, Ahmadinejad has certainly been able to suppress both democracy and its costs through the use of thug squads and widespread arrests.

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