Category: Bizarre

Big Mullah is Listening: Iran Threatening Critics on Facebook and Other Internet Sites

Iran has continued its crackdown on critics domestically and internationally. It has sentenced protesters to death over the demonstrations contesting the presidential elections. It has also reportedly created a unit to monitor critics abroad and threatened students on Facebook. Others have been forced to surrender their access codes at airports to allow police to review their sites.
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Playing With Bad Notes: Band Teacher Allegedly Caught Writing Lewd Notes to Middle School Girls

Parents with children at the Buffalo Community Middle School are in shock after the arrest of their band leader, Martin Bartels, 53, for allegedly leaving lewd messages on the lockers of girls. He was reportedly caught on videotape and confronted in the midst of writing a third letter.

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GW Law Student to Compete on Jeopardy This Monday

Answer: Macaca . . . Question: What single word ended the career of a United States Senator? That is one question that Shekar Ramanuja (S.R.) Sidarth would likely nail on Monday when he appears on Jeopardy. Sidarth is the student who brought down Senator George Allen in Virginia when Allen referred to him as Macaca — a racial slur in South Africa and other countries. Sidarth is of Indian descent. He is one of my current students in torts. [Update: Sidarth came in second].

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Pressing the Flesh: Georgia House Speaker Resigns Amid Sex Scandal With Lobbyist

Georgia’s House Speaker Glenn Richardson ran on a family values platform as a Republican, but has been embroiled in a scandal involving his alleged affair with a lobbyist for Atlanta Gas and Light. He later tried to commit suicide and now has resigned after his ex-wife came forward with alleged proof of the affair.
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Pruning the Tree of Knowledge: Religious Advocates Vandalize Atheist Tree and Officials Demand That It Be Shortened By Eight Feet To Be Lower Than The Christmas Tree

In the Book of Genesis, the tree of knowledge was a tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9) from which God directly forbade Adam to eat (Genesis 2:17). In Philadelphia, religious advocates would prefer that it not be seen, let alone touched. The tree of knowledge is an atheist display showing books (including the Bible) as part of secular humanist values. The tree has been vandalized and hit with a series of harassing demands. These include that the 18 foot tree be cut down to ten feet — since no display can be higher than the Christmas tree. Officials also declared that the creche won a “first come, first served” status — allowing them to move the tree to a less visible spot.

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Long Island’s Les Misérables: Muslim Storekeeper’s Generosity Leads to Robber’s Redemption

This Christmas season, the most inspiring story may be one involving a Muslim store owner. It is the Long Island version of Les Misérables and Jean Valjean is played by a distraught robber in a convenience store. In May 2009, a man wielding a bat barged into the Shirley Express convenience store just as it was closing and demanded money. The owner, Mohammad Sohail, was too fast and grabbed a rifle and pointed it directly at the man, who fell to the ground weeping that he was just trying to support his family. Sohail believed him and gave him $40 and a loaf of bread. Sohail later received an apology note from the man and $50 in the mail.
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Seeing Rouge: Iran Bans Women With Makeup From Television

It is enough to make you blush, but don’t . . . it’s against the rules. The medieval troglodyte known as the Islamic Republic of Iran has issued a new directive. The state television authority has announced that it will bar any women wearing makeup from appearing on television as well as unIslamic “abnormal” music.
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Father Loses Job, Seeks Reduction in Child Support So Florida Judge Increases Payments By $300 and Then Recuses Herself for a Conflict

There is a disturbing case out of Orlando, Florida involving a curious ruling on child support. John Nelson is a father who had lost his six-figure salary as a software executive. Nelson secured a lower paying job as a teacher to support himself and pay his child support. He waited a year to get a hearing before Family law Judge Julian Piggotte to reduce his $2200 monthly payments in light of his lower income. Instead, Piggotte increased the payments and left Nelson with just $200 a month to survive. She then recused herself because her husband works with Nelson’s ex-wife at the state attorney’s office.
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Party Pooper: White House Invokes Separation of Powers to Block Testimony of Social Secretary

Usually privilege fights focus on testimony of White House staffers on conversations with President or military and state secrets. President Barack Obama, however, has invoked the separation of powers to block the testimony of Desiree Rogers, the White House Social Secretary, on the recent controversy over Michaele and Tareq Salahi. It appears that nothing less than Article II and the integrity of the Executive Branch is at stake in hearing from someone who arranges parties for the First Couple.

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The Sofa of Suspension: Michigan Attorney Suspended Following Criminal Plea and Allegations That He Used a “Couch of Restitution” To Solicit Sex From Clients

The entertainment world is quite familiar with the “casting couch” where aspiring actresses and actors are expected to grant sexual favors for parts. Now an attorney has been suspended for 180 days after being accused of using a “restitution couch” for clients to pay for legal services with sexual services. Michigan attorney Murdoch Hertzog pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault and battery in exchange for dismissal of charges of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct in 2001. Now, a panel has shown Hertzog the sofa of suspension.
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Crew Member Sues Maersk Over Hijacking of Vessel By Pirates

There is an interesting torts suit stemming from the pirating of the Maersk Alabama in the Gulf of Aden. Crew members are now accusing the celebrated captain of the ship, Richard Phillips, of causing the incident by ignoring repeated warnings to sail around the area after earlier pirate attacks.

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