Attorney Susan Elizabeth Van Note, 44, was arraigned this week on charges of forgery and first degree murder of her father William Van Note. Both William B. Van Note, 67 and his longtime companion Sharon L. Dickson, 59 died from gunshot wounds received at their home in October 2010. The case has an interesting twist: police allege that the father died as a result of Van Note presented a forged medical form allowing her to terminate life support.
Category: Bizarre
French tourist Nathalie Rollandin may have the ultimate video from San Francisco. While filming the sunset on the Golden Gate Bridge, a seagull snatched the camera out of her hands and recorded a bird’s eye view of the water and sunset.
Our erstwhile ally in Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai is responding to the brutal murder of U.S. ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and three other embassy staff in Benghazi on Wednesday. Stevens was reportedly suffocated to death by the attacking mob which attacked the consulate because of a small film shown in the United States that was deemed as insulting to the Muhammad. Karzai then offered his own take on the murders by denouncing the “inhuman and abusive act” of the . . . filmmakers.
Continue reading “Karzai Denounces Filmmakers for the Murder of Americans in Libya”
It may be the ultimate dream come true for Republicans: the Democratic National Convention saluting the brave comrades of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. That appears to have occurred according to Navy experts who have identified the images of ships used at the convention as our Russian brothers and sisters in arms. When retired Adm. John Nathman, a former commander of Fleet Forces Command, took the podium to honor America’s veterans, it appears that someone did not bother to check the identity of the warships used as the backdrop. [Update: the DNC has now apologized for the oversight]
We have discussed the plan of the new French government to impose a 75% tax on the top earners in the country, a move that in my view is better politics than economics. Now there is an alleged tort to go with the politics (Thank God). France’s richest man, Bernard Arnault, announced that he was seeking Belgian nationality. The response from the leftist Liberation newspaper was a giant headline superimposed over Arnault’s face reading “Get lost, rich jerk”. Now Arnault is suing for for “public insult” – over the offending headline’s “vulgarity and brutality.”
Othello once begged that he be thought of “one that lov’d not wisely but too well.” Democratic candidate Wendy Rosen could claim the same defense regarding voting. She voted not wisely but too well by voting in both Maryland and Florida in 2006 and 2008. She has now withdrawn as the challenger to Republican Rep. Andy Harris in the 1st Congressional District in Maryland – though it is not clear if her name can now be removed from the ballot. She waited until after the August 28th deadline for ballot changes in announcing her withdrawal.
A newly released poll by Public Policy Polling (PPP) of Ohio Republican voters contains a rather surprising statistic: roughly one in seven Republicans in the state believe that Romney was responsible for killing Osama Bin Laden. It is not clear how the businessman accomplished this act (I was hoping for an article that Bain Capital simply transferred his job outside the country and downsized him out of existence). While I have been critical of the degree to which President Obama has virtually worn the corpse around his shoulders like a campaign shawl (and Biden’s equally ridiculous claims), the poll is the final showing that the EEG is flat on any brain activity in this election.
Judge Jacqueline Hatch of Coconino County is under fire for her advice to a woman sexually abused by an off-duty police officer about visiting bars and “blaming others” for such problems. Hatch has now apologized for the advice that she gave the victim of officer Robb Gary Evans.
Continue reading “Arizona Judge Under Fire For Telling Sexual Abuse Victim Not To “Blame Others””
Lenoir City High School is teaching its students a chilling message about free speech and journalistic freedom. Earlier in the year, the school barred Krystal Myers, an honor student and editor of the school newspaper, from writing a provocative article on being an atheist at a Christian school entitled “No Rights: The Life of an Atheist”. It is the type of article that can generate some insightful discussion among high schools, but School Director Wayne Miller censored the entire article to protect the school from “disruption.” Now, the school has reportedly transferred journalism teacher Richard Yoakley for the offense of merely supporting atheist and gay students at the school. He quit in response to the pressure.
We previously discussed the taped outburst of West Virginia William “Chip” Walkins III who verbally attacked Rev. Arthur DR. Hage, 63, in a divorce case, screaming for him to “Shut up” and accusing him of telling a “damn lie.” It turns out that this was not an isolated instance.
Continue reading “Controversial West Virginia Judge Faces New Charges”
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.
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.
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.
Continue reading “Rude Awakening: Woman Falls Asleep on Scooter and Collides With Truck”
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.
Continue reading “Losing His Flock: Putin Takes Highly Symbolic Flight Alone As Giant Crane”
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.
Continue reading “Swedish Man Dies After Doctor Leaves For Lunch In Middle of Surgery”