Amanda Bonnen thought that she was merely expressing herself when she posted a public tweet on Twitter on May 12th complaining about mold in her Chicago apartment. The Horizon Group Management company has responded by suing her for defamation in a rare tweet tort by a business. However, tortious tweets are finding their way into court as the basis for liability claims.
Continue reading “Tweety Tort: Chicago Tenant Sued for Defamation After Sending Moldy Tweet”
Ah, those long summer nights at Camp Hamas. Who can forget them? A recent media report has shown pictures of kids reenacting the June 2006 abduction of Schalit in front of a beaming Osama Mazini, a senior Hamas political leader leading negotiations with Israel over his release.
Continue reading “Camp Hamas: Cooking, Camping . . . Kidnapping”
Former Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin left office with a signature attack on the media in which she accused of making up stories against the military and persecuting her family. There was no mention of the various Republicans describing her as an embarrassment or former McCain staffers describing her as a living nightmare. It comes down to the media and their war on America.
Continue reading “Palin: The American Media is an Anti-Military, Anti-Family Group of Liars”
Miami Herald Reporter Carol Rosenberg has been accused of sexual harassment in a complaint by Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon. In what may be the first complaint of its kind against a reporter, Gordon accuses Rosenberg of “multiple incidents of abusive and degrading comments of an explicitly sexual nature.” Gordon, 41, has added, rather implausibly, that he has “been abused worse than the detainees have been abused.” My guess is that working with Rosenberg is still a bit better than a turn on the waterboard. The question is whether she is more like Hildy Johnson, the hard-charging and tough-talking journalist — or foul-mouthed sexual harasser leaving Navy officers crushed in her path. [UPDATE: The Miami Herald has cleared Rosenberg of wrongdoing, citing lack of corroboration].
Continue reading “Navy Officer Accuses Reporter of Sexual Harassment”
The North Korean government would be a lasting source of late night jokes if it were not for the fact that it is trying to make a nuclear weapon and has been tied to such efforts by other nations. Now the Foreign Ministry has issued a series of bizarre schoolyard taunts against Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, saying she “looks like a primary schoolgirl and sometimes a pensioner going shopping.” That was from the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry — the diplomatic arm of North Korea.
Continue reading “So’s Yo Mama-San: North Korea Denounces Clinton as Looking Like a “Pensioner Going Shopping” While Clinton Calls the North Koreans “Unruly Teenagers” With Mommy Issues”
A group of rabbis were among the 30 or so people arrested in New Jersey with two mayors in a major corruption probe. Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano III (left) and Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell (right) were among those arrested in what is described as a “high-volume, international money-laundering conspiracy” where the rabbis used their their religious organizations to launder the money. There are also allegations of cash-filled envelopes going to politicians in garden-variety corruption claims.
Continue reading “Rabbis and Mayors Arrested in New Jersey Public Corruption Probe”
A newspaper in China has published an astonishing manual from a Chinese agency on how police can beat suspects without leaving marks. While crude in comparison to our own torture guidelines for waterboarding, the Chinese how-to manual is further evidence of the abusive training and tactics of the feared Chengguan (cheng guan) police, known as “urban management officers.”
Continue reading “Chinese Newspaper Reveals Government’s How To Manual for Police Abuse”
Four House Democrats have finally stepped forward to denounce the Bush-like policies of President Obama, particularly his recent signing statement proclaiming that he is not bound by federal legislation. The letter was signed by Reps. David Obey of Wisconsin, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee; Barney Frank of Massachusetts, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee; and subcommittee chairs Reps. Nita Lowey and Gregory Meeks of New York. The letter breaks from the lockstep loyalty shown Obama despite his adoption of many of Bush’s most controversial positions.
Continue reading “Democrats Denounce Obama for Bush-Like Signing Statement That He Is Not Bound By Federal Legislation”
A leading civil rights organization in China, the Open Constitution Initiative, was effectively shutdown last Friday by the Chinese government, which seized its computers and files — including sensitive files on the tainted milk powder scandal that killed at least six children and hurt hundreds of thousands.
Continue reading “China Raids and Confiscates Computers and Files of Leading Civil Rights Activists”
Fox News Strategic Analyst Lt. Col. Ralph Peters appears to view trials as something of an unnecessary expense. Here was heard this week telling Fox News that, if captured U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl, did leave his post — then “the Taliban can save us a lot of legal hassles” by killing Bergdahl. I discussed the status of Bergdahl on this segment of MSNBC Countdown.
Continue reading “Fox Analyst Suggests That Captured American Soldier Should Be Killed by Captors”
Walter Cronkite, once known as the “most trusted man in America,” is dead at 92. He passed away at a time of tremendous changes in the media, particularly at his beloved CBS. As he would say, “That’s the way it is.”
Concordia University student Brendan Colin Jones, 25, was sitting in a park when he took a picture of police confronting youths in a park. One of the officers then allegedly confronted him about the pictures and gave him a $628 ticket for sitting on park ledge.
If this week’s hearings seem devoid of serious content, it is due to the little known Ginsburg Rule. Today’s column discusses how we can restore some serious content to confirmation hearings.
With the Senate hearings about to begin on the Sotomayor nomination, this morning’s column below addresses what we ideally should be looking for in a nominee.
Continue reading “The Sotomayor Nomination and the Search for Judicial Greatness”
Sen. John Ensign’s affair is moving from the politically damaging to the downright pathetic. Ensign’s lawyer has released a statement confirming that the $96,000 given to former aide and close family friend Cindy Hampton came from his parents.
Continue reading “Family Affair: Sen. Ensign’s Parents Wrote $96,000 Check to Lover”