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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Sixteen tenured professors at DePaul University College of Law have filed a complaint with the American Bar Association over the firing of Dean Glen Weissenberger, which we have been following on this blog. The termination appeared to be retaliation for Weissenberger objecting to the University taking too much of tuition dollars.
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.
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.
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Various media outlets have obtained a report of an independent investigator which suggests that Gov. Sarah Palin violated ethics laws by accepting private donations to pay her legal debts. Palin was presumably aware of this investigation when she suddenly announced her resignation recently — referring directly to the various ethics charges as one of the reasons that she resigned.
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The Jerusalem Post is reporting a shocking interview with a member of the Iranian paramilitary Basiji militia — the group accused of some of the worst atrocities in the crackdown on protesters following the recent disputed presidential election. The source is a member of the infamous Basiji. He discussed, among other things, how he and other guards would routinely rape young girls after compelled marriages in jail — because Iranian law forbids the execution of a virgin and it would have been immoral not to rape them before killing them.
La Jolla divorce attorney Steven Liss, 53, was arrested this week on suspicion of four counts of solicitation to commit murder, false imprisonment and spousal battery. Police allege that Liss has been seeking help from various people to kill this wife Karen. One could certainly think that, if the allegations are true, there were better options like . . . a divorce. One day later, however, he was released with prosecutors saying that they need more evidence.
Continue reading “California Divorce Lawyer Arrested on Suspicion of Planning to Kill His Wife — And Then Released for Lack of Evidence”