Category: Bizarre

Bizarre, Criminal law, Media

South Carolina Man Arrested For Assaulting Reporter On Live Television

Justin Moore, 20, has learned assaults are best committed in some place other than before a live audience on evening news. Ashley Taylor, 23, was doing a live report on rising crime for WMBF in the area. Moore seemed intent on confirming the story by shoving her out of the way, grabbing her microphone and screaming “I am that nigger!” into the camera. He was later arrested by the Myrtle Beach Police Department.

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Bizarre, International, Society

Sexist Legos? Feminist Group Denounces Lego For LadyFigs

Feminists have launched a campaign of criticism against the Danish company, Lego, over its new line of figures called LadyFigs. Lego has added subtle curves to its new “LEGO Friends.” Not exactly soft porn, mind you. Just characters without the traditional blocky form. Nevertheless, SPARK executive director, Dana Edell,”They have little breasts and they have fancy hair.”

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Bizarre, Criminal law

Pooper Scooper: Maryland Man Arrested After 20 Years of Defecating In Neighbor’s Yards

Kelly Erwin, 48, is accused of being a serial dumper. Not trash or industrial waste, mind you. Erwin, the coach of a girl’s Lacrosse team called the “Scoopers,” is accused of defecating in the driveways and yards of neighbors in Maryland. What I found most interesting, however, was the first response of police to Erwin.

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Bizarre, Free Speech, Lawyering

Your On-Line Reputation

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

Many of you will remember the misinformation campaign uncovered by Lottakatz during the ABA competition two years ago. The campaign gave a 100 vote surge and final victory to The Legal Satyricon, a blog run by Marc Randazza.

We also previously discussed the $2.5 million award against blogger Crystal L. Cox (left). Cox was a cause célèbre, as a crusading blogger, with her claims of journalistic privilege and that she deserved protection under Oregon’s shield law. Cox is represented by Eugene Volokh, and Cox’s motion for a new trial was recently denied. Randazza had consulted with Cox on her case, but she decided not to work with him.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Politics, Religion, Society

Catholic Bishop: Obama Acting Like Hitler and Stalin

What happened to those homilies about the prodigal son and rendering unto Caesar what is Caesar’s? Parishioners were surprised with this Sunday’s homily by Peoria Bishop Daniel Jenky comparing President Barack Obama’s health care policies to policies of Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin.

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Bizarre, Free Speech, International, Religion, Torts

Mel Gibson Threatens Defamation Lawsuit Against Joe Eszterhas

The release of a tape taken of Mel Gibson in Costa Rica by the son of screenwriter Joe Eszterhas has prompted a threat of a defamation lawsuit by the actor. Not only did Eszterhas release the tape secretly made by his son during an argument with Gibson, he accused Gibson of not wanting to proceed with the film “The Maccabees” because he hates Jews.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, International

Police Arrest Alleged Canadian Pedophile Who Posed As Justin Bieber

For those of us with kids, Internet predators are a constant fear. Canadian Lee Moir, 34, may be the worst nightmare among that criminal element. He is accused of posing as Justin Bieber to entrap girls in Canada, United States, France, Australia, and the Philippines. The Toronto resident was arrested in the United States in Essex County in a international cooperative effort between the U.S. and Canada.

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Bizarre, Congress, Society

Trademark Wars: Lawsuits Filed Over Ownership of “Yuuup!”

I have repeated complained about the ludicrous scope of U.S. copyright and trademark laws in allowing people to claim common terms, symbols, and expressions (here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here). Now, R&B singer Trey Songz is in court in a dispute with Storage Wars personality Dave Hester over rights to profit from the word “Yuuup!”

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Bizarre, Congress, Politics, Society

Stones Fly In City Of Glass Houses: Congress and the White House

As a longtime critic of congressional junkets and travel, I am a bit confused by the effusion of shock and contempt by our congressional leaders in both parties over the recent Nevada conference by GSA employees. There is no question that the conference was outrageous and an abuse. However, these are the same people who have spent hundreds of millions on trips that have long been denounced as little more than paid vacations and long fought for the right to be wined and dined by lobbyists and other interests at swank hotels and restaurants (here and here and here). In the meantime, recent reports show that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has cost the taxpayers $860,000 to fly back and forth on weekends to his home in California. That is almost the exact amount spent at the Nevada conference. They sound like a city of Claude Rains, “shocked, shocked” by the allegations as they rush to make their private flights on government aircraft.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

An Unarmed California Man Threatens to Kill Himself — Police Allegedly Arrive And Hit Him With A Stun Gun and Then Shoot Him To Death

Police in Keyes, California are investigating why police officers killed an unarmed 32-year-man after first shooting him with a stun gun. Family members called police to tell them that George Ramirez was suffering from depression and threatening suicide. The Stanislaus County sheriff’s deputy is now on administrative leave. According to reports, Deputy Art Parra Jr. has been on the force for six years.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Courts, Lawyering

Dicta or Diatribe? Appellate Judge Writes Opinion Denouncing Limits on “Cowboy Capitalism”

D.C. Circuit Judge Janice Rogers Brown has long been controversial since her nomination was opposed by many for what were viewed as extreme view as a member of the California Supreme Court. She was finally confirmed in a deal in the Senate that many denounced as a surrender by Democrats. Now Brown has used an opinion to denounce “powerful groups” and courts for limiting “Cowboy capitalism” that she says has been “disarmed” in America.

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