It is that time of the year for our annual blawgletting — the ABA top blog competition. We have once again been selected as one of the top 100 legal blogs (of over 3000) and nominated for the IMHO (opinion) category and it is time to release our minions upon the field of blog battle. Vote here to defend our way of life and the future of the planet.
Category: Bizarre
Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), the incoming chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, has called for WikiLeaks to be officially designated as a terrorist organization. This would, of course, allow the same designation for The New York Times and other organizations to be declared terrorists for publishing leaked stories on torture, secret prisons, or the Pentagon Papers.
While the world is reacting to leaks indicating that Saudi Arabia is funding Al Qaeda and Clinton ordered diplomats to engage in espionage, Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have called for the prosecution of those responsible for the leaks.
Continue reading “McCaskill and Graham Call For Prosecution in Wikileaks Case”
In what could prove one of the interesting lawsuits over art ownership in decades, the estate of Pablo Picasso has filed suit against a retired French electrician and his wife after they came forward with 271 previously unknown works by the artist. The estate is claiming illegal receipt of the works — a nice way of saying they were stolen. Pierre Le Guennec, 71, says that they were all gifts.
Continue reading “Trove of 271 Picasso Paintings Found in House of Retired Electrician”
The victory of the Bears over the Eagles yesterday was marred by the death of a fan at Soldier Field — the second recent death at a major sporting event this month. The man has been identified as Stewart Haverty, 23.
Continue reading “Man Falls To Death During Bears-Eagles Game in Chicago”
Just ran across this gem. Who is the funniest Supreme Court Justice? A 2005 study reported in the New York Times has the answer. Boston University Professor J.D. Wexler has conducted a survey of the transcripts of SCOTUS oral arguments, and … drum roll, please … Justice Antonin Scalia is the semi-official “Court Jester,” with 77 laughs. Justice Stephen Breyer came in second with 45, and Justice Ginsburg quipped in just four laughs. Bringing up the rear was the “Harpo Marx” of the troupe, Justice Clarence Thomas, who added zero Continue reading “Take My Scalia, Please!”
Long Island resident, Lindsay Ekizian, has filed an interesting case in Manhattan (NY) Supreme Court alleging that the Hammerstein Ballroom callously failed to allow her use of its restroom. The 35 weeks along mother-to-be asked politely if she could use the bathroom as she was filing out of the establishment after seeing a comedy act. Rebuffed at first, she explained to the manager that she was pregnant (wonder why that needed to be explained) and was in desperate need. “There’s a bathroom at the end of the block,” came the compassionate reply according to the plaintiff. Unable to make it to the nearby diner, Ms. Ekizian suffered an indignity best left to the imagination. Not sure of the theory of liability (intentional infliction emotional distress?), but if there ever was a case with jury appeal here it is.
Source: New York Post
–Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
England has continued its move toward comprehensive blasphemy prosecution with the arrest of a 15-year-old girl for inciting religious hatred by allegedly burning a copy of the Koran (Qur’an) — and showing the act on Facebook. I have written in columns and blog entries (here and here and here) about this dangerous trend in the West as citizens are arrested for blasphemy laws.
Continue reading “England Arrests 15-Year-Old Girl For Allegedly Burning Koran”
Archbishop Kenneth William Storheim of the Orthodox Church in America, has been arrested and charged with two counts of sexual assault in Canada. Families have demanded an investigation into Storheim, 64, for two years without success.
Continue reading “Orthodox Archbishop Charged With Sexual Assault”
Kristopher Allen White, 23, knows how to get himself out of a tight squeeze. White was able to force his body through bars in his cell that were only four and a half inches apart at the Haywood County Jail.
Continue reading “Man Escapes Jail By Squeezing Through Cell Bars”
In celebration of Thanksgiving, I give you our annual Turkey Torts of a few potential and actual lawsuits from this holiday. From deep-fried Turkeys to salmonella salads, the holiday gives personal injury lawyers a great deal to be thankful for.
Previously, we saw that going to the potty too long is a security risk if you are Muslim or of Middle Eastern descent or appearance. Now, going too many times is a security risk. A passenger on U.S. Airways from Fort Lauderdale to Denver was pulled off a plane after passengers reported that he went to the bathroom too often during the flight. It turned out he had to go to the bathroom a lot.
Continue reading “Small Bladder, Short Flight: Passenger Pulled Off Flight For Excessive Potty Breaks”
Professor Richard Quinn of University of Central Florida delivered this lecture after discovering that at least one-third of the class had cheated on a midterm exam.
Continue reading “Professor Confronts Cheaters At University of Central Florida”
You know those high-level negotiations with the Taliban in Afghanistan that have been touted by both the Afghan and U.S. governments? Well, it turns out that they are not so high level. In fact, the negotiator may not be with the Taliban at all. The man with whom we have been negotiated as “Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour,” one of the most senior commanders in the Taliban movement, turns out to be a nutter from Pakistan who probably could not believe everyone was negotiating with him to design the new Afghanistan. To make this FUBAR complete, one Western official admits “we gave him a lot of money.”
Continue reading “Fubar in Kandahar: Afghan and American Officials Discover That They Have Been Negotiating With Imposter for Months”
To the delight of civil libertarians and libertarians alike, the Canadian courts have been leading the world in dealing with conflicts between privacy principles and morality legislation. I am serving as an expert in the review of Canadian polygamy laws in British Columbia. In the meantime, the Ontario Superior Court may allow three prostitution laws to die this Saturday.
Continue reading “Prostitution May Become Legal This Saturday in Ontario”