My latest entry to “Things That Tick Me Off” is the new policy of credit card companies to block purchases on cards when customers simply go from state to state. We now need to call credit card companies and go through the endless series of automatic options to reach an operator to say that we are going to fly to another city on a business trip or family vacation.
Continue reading “Things That Tick Me Off: Credit Card Travel Policies”
Category: Media
Southern District of New York Judge Denny Chin has handed down an important torts ruling. Lawyer (and former boyfriend of Anna Nicole Smith) Howard K. Stern sued tabloid journalist Rita Cosby for allegedly defaming him in her book “Blond Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith’s Death.” Chin has ruled that being called a homosexual is not defamation per se.
Continue reading “Federal Judge Rules Homosexuality Not Per Se Category of Defamation”
With continuing stories of the denial of legal rights, the abuse of women (ad here and here), rise of radical Islam, and war crimes, many Americans are still unsure why we are sacrificing thousands of our citizens and billions in funding in Iraq. Now, the U.S. supported government is moving to ban books that it considers unduly “sectarian.”
Continue reading “Iraqi Freedom: U.S. Supported Government Moves to Ban Books”
Criminal defense attorney Ivan J. Bates has filed a $13 million lawsuit against the Baltimore Sun after articles suggested that he engaged in witness tampering and invoked the fifth amendment to avoid incriminating himself in wrongdoing. The Sun is standing by the reporting of journalists Melissa Harris and Julie Bykowicz.
Continue reading “Lawyer Files $13 Million Defamation Lawsuit Against Baltimore Sun”
English comedian Paul O’Grady should have known better. He tried to enter the United States with a “funny accent” and was stopped in Miami by our security officials as a suspected “illegal alien” from Cuba. It was a close call. We came within feet of O’Grady unleashing English humor on U.S. soil. (OK, he does not have a Cockney accent, but it sure ain’t good American talkin’).
Despite his past denials, memos and transcripts released by Congress show that former White House political adviser (and current Fox analyst) Karl Rove was deeply involved in the firing of the U.S. attorney in New Mexico David Iglesias . The material also shows that the White House planned the firings of Iglesias and the other prosecutors for months.
Continue reading “Bush White House Memos Show Greater Role of Rove in Firings of U.S. Attorneys”
There is an interesting murder conviction out of Louisiana where Rapper Corey “C-Murder” Miller was found guilty of second-degree murder — but after a series of bizarre problems in the jury room. When the jury first delivered a guilty verdict in the case in the murder of Steve Thomas, 16, it was rejected by Judge Hans Liljeberg due to an account that a juror voted guilty to simply get out of continued jury duty. Yet, he accepted a second guilty verdict a few hours later –even after complaints about a juror who was sleeping and quoting from the Bible (and had asked to be relieved of juror duty).
Continue reading “Rapper “C-Murder” Miller Convicted Twice of Murder in One Day in Louisiana”
Those crazy cats at the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are at it again with a new campaign entitled “McCruelty” featuring “Unhappy Meals” with a knife-wielding Ronald McDonald and bloody rubber chickens. Parents are complaining that PETA is targeting kids with the macabre meals.
Continue reading “PETA’s “Unhappy Meal”: Organization Criticized for Targeting Kids with Carnographic Images”
Bernard Baran was 19 when he was accused of abusing children at a day care center — one of a spasm of such prosecutions in the 1980s. Baran was convicted on the testimony of the children despite the fact that videotapes showed children denying that he touched them and other referring to “prizes” promised for their confirming abuse.
Continue reading “Massachusetts Man Freed After 21 Years With Discovery of Withheld Exculpatory Evidence”
The Iranian government has arrested the chief of Kahrizak jail as news accounts have documented numerous cases of the torture and killing of protesters arrested in the recent post-presidential protests. These deaths include the alleged killing of seven lawyers.
Continue reading “Iran Arrests Chief of Notorious Jail As Accounts of the Torture and Killing of Protesters Mount”
There is an incredible story out of Pakistan concerning the plight of what are called “eunuchs” in that country. The term is used broadly to refer to transsexuals, transvestites, or hermaphrodites. These marginalized individuals are forced to live in colonies and become prostitutes in a country that shuns and abuses them.
Continue reading “Pakistani Eunuchs Fight For Recognition and Rights”
The D.C. Council members have called for an investigation into the allegations of discovery destruction in the World Bank/IMF case. Given the inquiries into the case, I am posting the recent sanctions material to cut down on calls to my office. I am also posting the transcript from the last hearing. Given my role in the case, I am limited in what I can say about the case.
Continue reading “D.C. Council Members Call for Investigation of Protest Case and Resignation of Attorney General Peter Nickles”
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez continues his authoritarian crackdown in Venezuela with the closure of 34 radio stations for alleged violations of government regulations. Despite the reluctance of some liberals to denounce an obvious dictator in the making, Chavez continues to consolidate power and punish critics — particularly in attacks on the free press.
Continue reading “Chavez Shuts Down 34 “Bourgeoisie” Radio Stations”
Boston Police Officer and National Guardsman Justin Barrett has gone public to deny he is a racist and apologize to professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. for repeatedly calling Gates a “banana-eating jungle monkey,” insisting that “I have so many friends of every type of culture and race you can name. I am not a racist.”
The debate continues to rage this week over the push by Vice President Dick Cheney and others to have former President George Bush deploy active military units in a suburb of Buffalo to arrest a small group of men who were suspected of supporting terrorism (here). Nor surprising, Bush officials went to Berkeley law professor John Yoo to tell them that (surprise!) the President was not bound by the Fourth Amendment or federal law if he unilaterally declared the operation to be a national security matter. Yoo and his former colleague conclude that “the president has the legal and constitutional authority to use military force within the United States to respond to and combat future acts of terrorism, and that the Posse Comitatus Act does not bar deployment.” I discussed the controversy on this segment of Countdown.
Continue reading “Yoo Must Be Kidding: Professor Argues That Bush Could Negate Both The Fourth Amendment and The Posse Comitatus Act By Simply Declaring Deployment To Be A National Security Matter”