A very disturbing story had emerged from Gaza after the shooting of a child. People are not only alarmed at the shooting of 13–year-old Iman al-Hams, but by the attitude and lack of remorse of an Israeli officer who killedher. When confronted by other soldiers, the officer said that he did not care if she was a child and would have killed her even if she was three under the standing orders given to soldiers in the campaign. Yet, the officer, identified only a Captain R, was charged with only minor offenses after emptying all 10 bullets from his gun’s magazine into Iman when she walked into a “security area” on the edge of Rafah refugee camp last month.
Continue reading “Death in Gaza: Tape Reveals How Israeli Captain Pursued and Shot to Death a Fleeing Thirteen-Year-Old Girl”
Category: Politics
Wal-Mart Corporation already has a dark reputation for its treatment of employees, wiping out of small local businesses, and thuggish litigation practices. Now, it has decided to go to war with historians in trying to force through a huge store in the middle of one of the most important historical areas from the Civil War — the Wilderness Battlefield. As in other such cases, it has convinced local businesses to accept a Faustian bargain of the promise of taxes and jobs in return for destroying the unique character of the area.
Continue reading “Discounting History: Wal-Mart Declares War on U.S. History”
Well, the results are in and weeks of defamatory attacks on our opposing bloggers and the unrestrained use of the politics of personal destruction have paid off: the Turley blog was voted the Number One law professor blog and legal theory blog in the annual survey of the American Bar Association’s survey. Earlier, it was selected as one of the top 100 legal blogs overall. That is not bad for a blog that is only roughly a year old and it is entirely due to our regulars at the cyber bar we called the Turley blog. Your overindulgence, obsessive compulsiveness, and general lack of restraint have made us what we are today, a group of dysfunctional miscreants. But we are now the Number One dysfunctional miscreants in our category. Well done Team Turley (if I may be so bold). Not to overplay the victory, but this is the first key step to total blogosphere domination and eventual control of the time space continuum.
Continue reading “TURLEY BLOG WINS TOP SPOT IN ABA JOURNAL SURVEY”
While I believe that the efforts in Illinois and Washington to block the Burris appointment are flagrant abuses of power, there is a legitimate reason to decry the choice. It is not due to the presumptively guilty man who appointed him but the clearly innocent man he wanted to kill: Rolando Cruz.
Continue reading “Cruz Control: Past Case Haunts Burris Appointment”
Police in Elysian Fields, Texas are dealing with a relatively rare form of alleged tort and crime. Marcos Gonzalez is accused of causing the death of six-year-old Ceira Clark by electrifying his fence with 20 amps. Clark lives next door and fell on the fence on the day after Christmas.
Continue reading “Six-Year-Old Girl Killed on Electric Fence of Neighbor in Texas”
In a little covered story, a former employee of the U.S. Army’s Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Center at the Picatinny Arsenal in Dover, New Jersey , Ben-Ami Kadish, pleaded guilty to being a spy for Israel and allowing an agent of the Government of Israel, Yossi Yagur, tp photographed secret papers at his home. Yet, he is only facing five years in prison. He spied for Israel from 1979-1985.
Continue reading “Army Employee Admits to Being Israeli Spy . . . And Faces Five Years In Prison”
Happy New Year to everyone on the Turley blog. This has been an extraordinary first year of the blog which is approaching two million hits annually. The success of the blog is due largely to our regulars who continue to make this one of the smartest and most fun blogs on the web. Even with the invasion by trolls and a few uncivil moments, the blog has remained a special forum for intelligent, civil, and often witty discourse. Our impressive monthly growth (and the obvious irritation of trolls) is a testament to the fact that there remains many people who want to engage in such dialogue. 2008 was our first full year in operation and I am very grateful for the contributions of all of the regulars on this blog.
Roland Burris has filed to ask a court to compel Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White to certify his appointment by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to the United States Senate. White has refused to sign off on the appointment and the Senate democrats appear to be moving to block Burris.
Continue reading “Burris Goes to Court to Force Certification of Appointment to Senate”
Now, it is not because New Year’s Eve is my anniversary, but I am deeply aggrieved that 2008 has been extended by one second. This “leap second” was added by the ultimate big brother agency, the United States Naval Observatory under the dubious claim that it had to match the time to the Earth’s slowing spin on its axis. How do you intend to spend your unplanned 2008 second?
Continue reading “2008 Extended By One Second: Where is the Outrage?”
Now this is a defamation lawsuit that will be fascinating to watch unfold in Richmond, Virginia. Vicki L. Iseman, a Washington lobbyist alleged to have had an affair with Sen. John McCain in 1999, has sued the New York Times for $27 million. The newspaper stands by the story and this could produce a substantial ruling on the limits of defamation.
Continue reading “Iseman Cometh: Lobbyist Sues New York Times Over Story on Alleged Affair with John McCain”
Israel attacked a humanitarian boat carrying medical supplies and staff to Gaza. CNN correspondent Karl Penhaul was aboard the 60-foot pleasure boat Dignity when the patrol boat rammed the vessel, causing extensive damage.
Continue reading “Israeli Navy Rams Relief Boat Carrying Medical Supplies and Volunteers to Gaza”
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has defied his critics and selected Roland Burris to replace Barack Obama. There is now speculation that the Secretary of State will not certify the appointment or that the Senate will use its inherent powers to block Burris. I just finished an interview with CBS stating that I believe both efforts would be an abuse of power. As the sitting governor of Illinois, Blagojevich is entitled to make this appointment.
Continue reading “Balgojevich Makes Senate Pick, But Will Burris Take the Oath?”
Kosher hot dog maker Arnie Zaler may have pulled off his greatest scam. Facing 30 counts of bank and wire fraud in Denver, Zaler promised not to leave Denver if he was released on an unsecured bond. He handed over his Israeli passport and then a few days later fled to Israel on a different passport.
There is an interesting fight brewing over the planned memorial to Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The owner of the land, Svonavec Inc., refuses to sell a critical part of the needed land and the relatives want President Bush to seize the property to allow them to start construction of the memorial so that it can be finished by 2011 — the tenth anniversary of the tragedy.
Former GOP state Assemblyman George C. ”Chris” Ortloff pleaded guilty in federal court this week to a felony charge stemming from his attempt to have sex with two sisters, ages 11 and 12. A former member of the state Parole Board, Ortloff, 61, now faces a minimum 10-year prison sentence and a maximum of life in prison. He was a staunch “tough-on-crime” legislator who called for severe sentences for sex offenders.
Continue reading ““Tough-On-Crime” Legislator Pleads Guilty to”