Recently, we followed the crackdown on a Catholic newspaper by the Malaysian Islamic religious council and government over its use of “Allah.” Now, the council is pursuing the Malaysian Bar for using the word on its website in two online polls on whether any particular race has exclusive rights to the word.
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A street in East London was evacuated after workers from the Water company found what they believed was a grenade after moving a fire hydrant cover. It turned out to be a replica of the “Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch” from the the 1975 film Monty Python And The Holy Grail. Unfortunately, the street has been free of killer rabbits for years, but with the removal of the golden device, residents may soon be looking for a replacement.
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Among the academics making the news this week is former Naval Academy professor Patrick Harrison, 66. It is not the type of publicity a professor craves. He is charged with raping a 12-year-old girl while teaching at the Academy. What is interesting about this case is that the alleged victim took 15 years to come forward with the claims.
Ok, there is the rule against perpetuities, but I cannot find a rule against petatuities. PETA President Ingrid Newkirk has released her will that includes giving her body to PETA for the suggested purpose of people eating her flesh and making leather goods from her skin.
The Israeli Military Advocate General Avichai Mandleblit is investigating accounts of religious extremists pushing soldiers to view the Gaza invasion as a “religious war” against gentiles. In the meantime, human rights groups are calling for the removal of military’s head chaplain, Rabbi (and Brigadier General) Avichai Rontzki, who told soldiers that it was “immoral” to show mercy to the enemy in the operation.
While Congress attempts to get back roughly $170 million in bonuses paid to executives at American International Group (AIG), AIG is suing the U.S. government (its largest shareholder) for $306 million in tax payments. Between bailouts, bonuses, and tax refunds, it is getting difficult to tell how has what amount of the public fisc.
Continue reading “After Using Federal Bailout Money To Award Massive Bonuses, AIG Is Now Using Public Funds to Sue the Government To Get Back $306 millions in Tax Payments Tied to Offshore Tax Havens”
Jade Puckett in Houston, Texas spent her wedding night in a wedding gown in a cell with twenty other women at the Harris County jail after she and her new husband were pulled over in a sobriety roadblock. Police say that Puckett became belligerent and was arrested. She is not contesting the charge (which was pleaded out as public intoxication), but she has filed a complaint over her abusive treatment by Harris County officers. That complaint appears to have considerable merit.
The Corcoran State Prison in California has given the world a glimpse of Charles Manson at 74. As the founder and director of the Project for Older Prisoners (POPS), I want to reaffirm that he is not viewed as a good POPS candidate.
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In Whitehead, Indiana, Michelle Owen, 24, was allegedly so focused on incriminating her ex-boyfriend for downloading child pornography that she forgot about picture showing her engaged in sex acts with a dog.
The first names of AIG executives who received millions in bonuses have been released. Some executives are now suggesting that the company should pay for private security — which would presumably come from public funds. These executives include , labeled “Jackpot Jimmy by New York newspapers. He is James Haas, 47, an executive VP and the co-leader of North American marketing. Also named are Douglas Poling, 48, the unit’s general counsel, as well as a director, executive vice president and chief administrative officer, and Jonathan Liebergall, 43, a unit director and head of municipal finance.
A mother has sued the Church of Scientology after her son, Kyle Brennan, 20, committed suicide. He was on antidrepressants, but his father Thomas Brennan allegedly took away the prescription drugs as part of his Scientology beliefs. After only one week with his father in Clearwater, Florida, Kyle committed suicide. His mother, Victoria Britton, has sued the sister of Scientology’s worldwide leader, David Miscavige.
Most law professors relish any reliance of a court on their academic writings. This may not be what Seton Hall Law Professor Robert Martin had in mind. Martin wrote about his experience as a juror in the New Jersey Law Journal after he and his co-jurors found a grocery store liable for $876,000. A New Jersey appellate court has now ruled that the publication is a sufficient reason to overturn the verdict based on his described conduct.
Continue reading “Publish and Perish: Law Professor’s Writing on His Jury Experience Leads to the Overturning of Verdicts”
Recently, the aunt of Gambian President Yahya Jammeh died and he reportedly blamed witchcraft. Now, Amnesty International reports the President’s personal guard and both police and army forces have abducted up to 1000 villagers to force them to drink a vile liquid from witch doctors brought in by the government. They were forced to drink potions that reportedly killed two and sickened many others.
Aleyda Uceta, 30, has been arrested after she allegedly punched and bite Principal Rudolph Moseley Jr. of Roger Williams Middle School in Providence, Rhode Island. Moseley had just informed her that her 11-year-old son would be suspended for refusing to go to a room for misbehaving children.
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The chain store Petland has been accused by The Humane Society of selling sick puppies and using a supplier that is little more than a puppy mill with horrible conditions, The Hunte Corp of Goodman, Mo.