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”
The State Bar of California will allow a remarkable graduate of UC Davis School of Law to sit for the bar exam after the intervention of the California Supreme Court. Sara Granda is a quadriplegic who was barred from sitting on the exam due to a technical glitch on her online application.
Continue reading “California Supreme Court Orders Bar to Allow Quadriplegic To Take Exam”
Stephen L. Thompson, 58, a courthouse janitor in Clark County, Indiana had a curious response to a court reporter who rebuffed his expressions of affection. Hell hath no fury like a janitor scorned.
Continue reading “Urine a Lot of Trouble, Mr. Thompson: Janitor Filmed Relieving Himself on Court Reporter’s Chair”
Despite continuing controversies associated with the expanding use of tasers, Taser International has concluded that the problem is that officers cannot taser enough people before facing the hassle of reloading. Before an enthusiastic crowd of hundreds of law enforcement officers, the company unveiled its new triple action taser X3-20.
Continue reading “Triple Your Pleasure: Taser To Introduce New Weapon That Allows Officers To Taser Three People Without Reloading”
Alexandria (Va.) Police Chief David P. Baker, 58, has been put on administrative leave after crashing his unmarked city car and then blowing 0.19 on a sobriety check — twice the legal limit. Deputy Police Chief Earl Cook has replaced him as acting chief.
Continue reading “Baker Replaced By Cook: Alexandria Police Chief Arrested for Drunk Driving”
There is a bizarre story out of China where dozens of Chinese students have seen their future wiped out by the disappearance of the manila folders containing their records. In China, these paper folders follow a student throughout his or her career with every achievement, score, and prospect for a college education. While Chinese officials say that the folders were lost in a move of an office to a floor above, reformers believe that corrupt officials sold the folders to the parents of underachieving students, who then use their records to secure valuable jobs and college entrance.
Denver police officer Derrick Curtis Saunders, 29, allegedly wants his fast food faster. Saunders is “on leave” to deal with criminal charges after reportedly pulling his weapon at a McDonald’s to speed things up behind the counter.
Continue reading “Denver Police Officer Charged After Allegedly Demanding Fast Service at McDonalds at Gunpoint”
There is another horrific story out of Pakistan in the abuse of women and girls. In this case, Assiya Rafiq, 16, was kidnapped by a group of men who proceeded to beat and rape her for a year. When police accused them of bank robbery, the men agreed to turn over a bribe — and Assiya. The Police Chief and his officers then allegedly proceeded to rape her and accuse her of bank robbery.
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”
We have seen the horror of human manipulation of animal styles (here), but this is dog is looking at years of therapy and inter-species confusion
Continue reading “HUMANS DID THIS TO ME”
Burundi authorities have secured a life sentence for an individual accused of involved in the trafficking of albino body parts for witchcraft. The victims were murdered and then mutilated to sell as parts for witchcraft ceremonies and potions.
Continue reading “Report: Albinos Murdered and Body Parts Sold for Witchcraft”
Rabbi Izhak Levy Rosenbaum of Brooklyn has been arrested for running an international human organ selling ring. Rosenbaum’s role was disclosed to the FBI by an anthropologist, Nancy Scheper-Hughes of the University of California, Berkeley, who has been studying organ markets. She described him as the “main broker” in the international trafficking of human organs — allegedly taken from “vulnerable” people in Moldova, Israel and possibly other countries and sold to wealthy recipients in the United States. Rosenbaum called himself “the matchmaker.”
Continue reading “Matchmaker: New York Rabbi Arrested As Head of International Organ Trafficking Ring”
Saudi Arabian police have arrested Mazen Abdul Jawad for the crime of speaking about his sex life in public. Shariah law makes it a crime for him to be “publicizing his sinful behavior,” according to prosecutors. Various people filed complaints after Jawad appeared on a Lebanese show called “Red Line.”
Continue reading “Saudi Arabia Arrests Man For Speaking About His Sex Life in Public”
Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin continued to leave her mark on American politics just days before leaving officer early. In a speech before a wildly enthusiastic group, Palin told fans that good Americans should “never apologize for our country.” It was a curious lesson to give children at a picnic — no matter what our nation does, we should never apologize because we are Americans. Apologies are for non-Americans to make (who should presumably also apologize for not being Americans).
Continue reading “Palin: Being American is Never To Have To Say You’re Sorry”
In yet another indication of how extreme Bush officials were in their war on terrorism, the New York Times is reporting that Vice President Dick Cheney and others pushed former President George Bush to send troops into Buffalo New York to arrest a group of men accused of terrorism.
Continue reading “Report: Bush Considered Sending Troops Into Buffalo for Terror Sweep”