North Korea has added yet another infamy to its record: the execution of Ri Hyon Ok, 33, for distributing Bibles. As is often the case, North Korea tacked on a charge of spying for South Korea and the United States — as if the two countries would enlist a spy who divides her time between surveillance and evangelical activities.
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Category: Society
As expected, President Barack Obama attempted to backtrack from his statements yesterday denouncing the police for the “stupidity” of their arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates. In today’s statement, Obama insisted that when he referred to their stupidity he did not mean to malign them. While “stupidity” is not a term of endearment, it can apparently be used without any negative connotations for the arresting officers — even when linked with the nation’s history of racism and profiling abuses.
Continue reading “Obama: I Did Not Mean “Stupidity” As a Slight of the Cambridge Officers”
Cambridge Police Sergeant James M. Crowley is considering a defamation lawsuit, according to his lawyer. The possibility of a lawsuit adds an intriguing element to this controversy over the arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. The Massachusetts Police Commissioner Robert Hass has also come out to criticize the comments of President Barack Obama denouncing the actions of the police as “stupidity” and suggesting that it was a case of racial profiling.
Continue reading “Report: Sgt. Crowley Considering Defamation Lawsuit in Gates Controversy”
In what may be the first disbarment for a lawyer’s conduct as a jury member, Francis T. Fahy has been disbarred for misconduct in a story that we previously discussed.
Continue reading “San Francisco Attorney Disbarred Over Jury Vote”
There is an interesting fight brewing in Silverton, Oregon. The people of Silverton received national attention with the election of Stu Rasmussen, the nation’s first openly transgender mayor. Now, however, a complaint has been filed against Rasmussen who showed up in a swim top and miniskirt to meet with local kids. A parent has charged that Rasmussen showed “too much skin” while Rasmussen insists that it was too “hot and sticky” to wear anything else.
Continue reading “Pressing the Flesh: Complaint Filed Against Transgender Mayor for Showing “Too Much Skin””
Tyler Heilman, 24, was shot and killed outside of his home in Kastoa, Minnesota by Deputy Sheriff Todd Waldron. The shooting is particularly controversial because Heilman was unarmed and wearing only a speedo swimsuit.
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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”
We have yet another case of an employee being fired for activities outside of work. The case of former Fort Myers beach, Florida town manager Scott Janke, however, is a bit different. He is being fired because of his wife Anabela Mota Janke’s work as a porn star. Mayor Larry Kiker called a city council meeting without Janke present and secured an unanimous vote of 5-0 to terminate his contract because of what his wife does for a living. Kiker’s action runs afoul of the privacy and free speech and free association rights of this couple. Yet, he is relying on a contract that allows Janke to be fired for good cause, bad cause or no cause at all.
Continue reading “Florida City Manager Fired After Disclosure of Wife’s Work as Adult Film Star”
Rhode Island Judge Michael Forte has a curious concept of free speech and a dangerous view of judicial authority. Forte recently issued an order banning the sister of a father in a custody battle from commenting on the case on Facebook. Michelle Bouthillier Langlois, 41, has been defending her brother Michael from domestic-abuse allegations.
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This is a case where there is no one to sue, let alone to blame, beyond yourself. Viorel Firoiu was having constipation problems after eating cherries and decided to try work things out with the use of two hammers that had to be removed by doctors. This may come as something of a surprise, but he had been drinking. It brings a new meaning to being hammered.
President Barack Obama’s press conference took a surprising turn when the President decided to weigh in on the controversy over the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. by the Cambridge Police. While admitting that he did not know all of the facts, the President called the police stupid in their response to the call of a suspected break in.
Continue reading “Obama Weighs in on Gates Arrest — Denouncing Police As Acting “Stupidly””
Who needs the WWF when you have the Korean legislature? When the Grand National Party pushed through a bill relaxing restrictions on the media, opposition members decided to tables the matter by throwing actual table and chairs while charging the podium. This is only the latest just gladiatorial event in the main hall of the Korean National Assembly.
Continue reading “When Legislators Attack: South Korean Legislature (Again) Erupts Into Brawl”
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.”
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A new videotape (below) has emerged of alleged abuse by a circus of elephants. This video by an undercover PETA activist shows Ringling Bros. employees beating elephants in ‘The Greatest Shows on Earth.” We have previously followed such lawsuits against the circuses, here.