Rappers have long used their song to glorify their past crimes and criminal credentials. However, in England, the rap song itself was the crime for Ishmael McLean, 22, from Greenford, and Rowan Simon, 18. They are accused of using an Internet song to intimidate witnesses to the murder of Jason Johnson, 24.
Continue reading “Beating the Rap: English Convict Two Men on Use of Rap Song to Intimidate Witnesses”
Category: Media
Now I understand how Bush won Florida in 2000. It appears that 193% of voters support one of the three leading candidates.
Continue reading “The Fair and Balanced Pie: Fox Finds 193 Percent of Voters Support GOP Candidates”
Various stations have declined to air PETA’s nice little message to families for Thanksgiving.
Continue reading “PETA’s Thanksgiving Message: Enjoy Your Tortured Bird With a Heaping Bowl of Cruelty”
While today is the largest consumption of turkeys in the year, Nepal still holds the record for the largest sacrifice of animals. This week Nepal will carry out the ritualistic slaughter of more than 250,000 animals as part of the blood sacrifice to Gadhimai, a Hindu goddess of power. Most of the killings occur at and around the Gadhimai temple of Bariyapur.
Scandal has rocked the Sudoku community. Eugene Varshavsky of Lawrenceville, N.J. has been stripped of his third place position in the national Sudoku after cheating allegations were raised due to his sharply uneven performance. As a Sudoku addict, I am crushed. Not since the Black Sox Scandal and Shoeless Joe Jackson has such alleged depravity brought the great so low.
Continue reading “Say It Ain’t So-duku, Joe: Scandal Rocks the Puzzle World”
A billboard in Colorado is causing considerable controversy and gives an insight into the radical fringe of America. The billboard by car dealership owner Phil West in Wheat Ridge, Colorado combines the “birther” controversy with the suggestion that Obama is both a Muslim and a terrorist. It further makes the bizarre connection to Fort Hood — suggesting that Obama could at any time go on a shooting spree in the West Wing.
When Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari was being beaten and interrogated for 118 days as an accused spy he expected death but not the Daily Show. During his beatings, the Iranian interrogator played a segment from John Stewart’s Daily Show under the apparent belief that it is a real news program and revealed Bahari’s spy activities.
A federal judge in New Orleans has found “monumental negligence” by the U.S. Army’s Corps of Engineers in the operation and maintenance of a shipping channel called the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet. The finding allows residents to collect damages against the U.S. government after their homes were swamped by Hurricane Katrina’s floodwaters in 2005.
Continue reading “Court: Corps of Engineers Responsible for Flood Damage in New Orleans”
Donald Giles would appear to have the trifecta of mental incompetence arguments against execution. He is a paranoid schizophrenic with an IQ of 61 and a history of suicide attempts and depression. However, Jefferson County Circuit Judge Martin McDonald has ruled that Giles, 41, may be put to death if the jury so rules in his trial for the 2003 murder and robbery of Charles Goodlett.
Continue reading “Court: Paranoid Schizophrenic with IQ of 61 and Manic Depression is Eligible for Execution”
We have been following the expansion of defamation cases linked to Internet sites, here, and here. We now have an interesting Twitter case involving rock star Courtney Love, who lost her bid recently to dismiss a libel action filed by designer Dawn Simorangkir. Simorangkir claims in the lawsuit that Love “has embarked in what is nothing short of an obsessive and delusional crusade to terrorize and destroy” her.
Continue reading “Tweet Torts: Rocker Courtney Love Sued by Designer For Defamation on Twitter”
Conservative commentators continue their war on the Constitution this week with increasingly shrill rhetoric of how our laws and civil liberties are endangering us. Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly, however, achieved a remarkable low by declaring “I don’t care about the Constitution” on air in a discussion of Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to try five detainees in New York.
Continue reading “O’Reilly: “I Don’t Care About The Constitution””
President Barack Obama and his Administration set a new level of hypocrisy this weekend with calls on the Chinese government and military to end censorship and be more open with the public while barring disclosure of embarrassing photos of detainee abuse.
Continue reading “President Obama Calls On China to Be More Transparent and Open — And Then Bars The Release of Any More Photos of Detainee Abuse to the Media and Public”
There is a disturbing trial being held in Zambia where the news editor of The Post, Chansa Kabwela, sent photos of a woman giving birth in a hospital car park without assistance to highlight the costs of a nursing strike and poor government policies. She was right. The officials, including Zambia’s President, Rupiah Banda, were horrified. They immediately arrested Kabwela for distributing pornography.
Continue reading “Journalist Charged with Pornography for Sending Pictures of Woman in Unassisted Child Birth to Government Officials”
Here is today’s column from the Washington Post on the benefits of a new type of “good-faith” defense. While “religious convictions” are usually a reference to personal faith, it turns out that it has a distinct and disturbing meaning for criminal sentencing.
Continue reading ““Religious Convictions”: When Children Die, Religion Is No Defense”
It is rare on national television to have a guest refuse to speak and then just sit there, but that was the scene on Larry King Live with Carrie Prejean. It is always exciting to see legal technicalities and interpretations become the subject du jour for celebrity talk shows.
Continue reading “Larry King and a Moment of Merciful Silence”