Newspapers are reporting that the United States State Department under Hillary Clinton made the extraordinary decision to refuse assistance requested by the United Arab Emirates into the assassination of a top Hamas commander. Israel’s Mossad is widely viewed as responsible for the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhoh, which broke a host of international and domestic laws. The reports are based on Wikileaks documents and again suggests that the Administration misled the public in its position on the assassination.
Category: Society
A court in Saudi Arabia has ruled that an angry text message sent by a husband to his wife proclaiming himself divorced is binding. The man said he was just mad and did not mean it but the wife was thrilled and insisted that she was now free. The Court agreed that the SMS is a binding divorce in the Kingdom.
Continue reading “OMG We’re Divorced: Saudi Court Allows Divorce By Text Message”
I have the very sad duty of reporting that Eric Fatla, one of my first-year evening law students has died in Chicago. Eric was 26 years old. I have been informed that Eric died today shortly after 1 p.m. from the severe injuries that he sustained in his fall at the Union League Club in Chicago shortly before Christmas. I cannot express the profound sadness over the loss of Eric who was a brilliant young man with an extraordinary background and an even brighter future. As shown by the outpouring of comments on this blog and other messages sent directly to the family, Eric’s tragedy has left many in shock and disbelief. We have lost a good friend and a wonderful person at George Washington and he will be long missed by those who knew him.
Continue reading “The Passing of Eric Fatla”
President Barack Obama has finally received praise for his terror policies . . . from Bush officials. Two of the officials commonly named as responsible for allegedly criminal acts during the Bush Administration, former National Intelligence Director retired Vice Admiral Michael McConnel and former Central Intelligence Agency Director Michael Hayden, are heaping praise on Obama for going even farther than George Bush in his policies. Now, there is an ignoble accomplishment.
Continue reading “Bush Officials Praise Obama For Going Further Than Bush in Terror Crackdown”
In Rochester Hills, Michigan, prosecutors have brought a highly controversial case — criminally charging a man for reading his ex-wife’s emails without her permission. Leon Walker, 33, could receive five years for the common act of logging on to his wife’s email, an act of snooping that disclosed that she was having an affair with another man. This is the first known time where a spouse or ex-spouse has been prosecuted under the law without any evidence of commercial theft. Yet, the office of Jessica Cooper (left) appears to want to create new precedent that would radically expand the reach of the law.
Continue reading “Michigan Man Criminally Charged After Reading Wife’s Email”
A survey conducted of people in England established this year that, for the first time, the majority of that nation are not religious. Fifty-one percent of those polled reported that they have no religion — a sharp contrast to the same poll conducted in 1985 when 67% said that they were Christians.
Continue reading “For God and Country: England Now Non-Religious Nation For First Time in History”
Best wishes to everyone celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah. Continue reading “Merry Christmas To All”
I am afraid that I have some devastating news for the George Washington community. Late last night, shortly before leaving for midnight mass in Chicago, I learned that evening law student Eric Fatla had a horrible accident while visiting with his family in Chicago. He reportedly fell four stories and suffered traumatic brain injury. The family is reaching out to his friends and asking for prayers. He is given less than a five percent chance of survival and the next two days are critical.
Some judges are lionized for their record of moving cases along. Nevada judge Valerie Vega, however, is being ridiculed when she pushed jurors to work through the night in a murder case so that the trial would not interfere with her vacation plans. It appears that things that happen with Vegas do not stay with Vega.
Continue reading “Justice Delayed is a Judicial Vacation Denied: Judge Orders All-Nighter For Jury in Murder Case To Accomodate Her Vacation Plans”
In what could be one of the most significant regulatory changes since its founding, the EPA has moved toward imposing limits on greenhouse gases with a finding that such gases now present a “serious problem . . . for future generations.” The move could have widespread environmental benefits apart from climate change in forcing more fuel efficient cars and greater limitations on power plants and industrial sources.
Continue reading “EPA Moves Toward Limits on Greenhouse Gases”
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Passing through Colerain Township just north of Cincinnati, 41-year-old plumber Scott Lane, saw his nightmare unfold. His springtime cross-country trip was uneventful up to this point, but now he faced the fear that awakens motorcyclists from their sleep – a careening car crossing into his lane and heading straight for him. At the wheel, 24-year-old Amber Schwartz, her blood infused with morphine and oxymorphine, was feeling neither pain nor anxiety. Despite laying the bike down, the crash was unavoidable.
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Following the worst economy in a generation, Americans this year are poised to hand away $48 billion to the needy. In what must have pure capitalists scratching their heads, charitable donations are up more than 30% over last year. In fact, 74% of Americans are participating in the benevolence according to Convio Inc.’s annual year-end giving report.
Continue reading ““Greedy” Americans Donate $48B This Holiday Season”
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
2010 could have been the last Christmas for two-year-old Nathan Saavedra of Carpenterville, Illinois. Suffering from a rare birth defect known as “Prune Belly Syndrome,” the toddler faced months of dialysis to stave off the deleterious effects of a failing urinary tract and an uncertain future. Reading about the child’s sad prognosis in the Elgin Courier-News, prompted 38-year-old Chris Doing into “doing” something. Inspired by his own grandmother’s posthumous gift of her organs, Doing contacted the local hospital to volunteer his kidney for the child.
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
An Ohio Judge and two public defenders are in the Spirit. Hearing the plight of a formerly homeless woman attempting to expunge her record of a minor felony, the three came up with the $57.00 needed to pay her restitution and allow the Cleveland native a new lease on life. Said Judge Timothy McCormick, “it seemed like the easiest and best thing to do, especially given the season.” Amen.
Source: msnbc.com
~Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
In one of the great civil liberties victories of our age, President Barack Obama this morning signed the formal repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell — an obnoxious policy of discrimination put into effect under President Bill Clinton. At the time, many of us criticized Clinton for not having the courage to reject discrimination against gays and lesbians — even if we lost the fight on principle. Instead, we have had this insidious and hypocritical policy in place — resulting in the discharge or rejections of thousands of brave citizens. It is now relegated to the dustbin of history with the other discriminatory policies once embraced by our nation.