There is yet another terrible crime associated with India’s caste system. In Patna, eight members of a family where shot, beheaded, and thrown into a river after Ratan Mandal, 21, a poor villager, married Kanchan Kumari, 18, above his caste in secret. Fifteen people from the wealthy girl’s family have been charged.
Continue reading “India Family Shot and Beheaded in “Honor Killings””
In Queens, New York, a pedestrian was struck by a van and dragged 19.8 miles without the driver realizing that he had a body beneath his vehicle. The van was the second vehicle to hit the man and what is most remarkable is that it does not appear that either the first car or second car were hit-and-run drivers.
Continue reading “No Charges in Case of Man Dragged 19.8 Miles Under Van”
Turley bloggers we have arrived. Stephen Colbert last night embraced my testimony against the D.C. voting rights bill with the type of clinging and infectious hug not seen since the Sadie Hawkins dances at the French Leper Colony.
Continue reading “With Friends Like This . . . : Stephen Colbert Endorses Turley Testimony”
There is an interesting case filed in Dallas, Texas where attorney Evan Lane “Van” Shaw has sued 193rd District Judge Carl Ginsberg (left) after the judge alleged that Shaw was stalking him. He is suing the judge for libel and slander. The case raises provocative questions about not just recusal but defamation.
Continue reading “Texas Lawyer Sues Judge Over Stalking Comment”
England continues to use criminal laws and travel bans to punish individuals for controversial speech. One such controversial writer, Dutch politician Geert Wilders, now says that he is going to try to get into the country despite a ban to contest the use of such laws to punish free speech. He was invited to visit the country by a member of Parliament.
Continue reading “Right-Wing Dutch Politician Geert Wilders Challenges British Ban Over His Writings”
Florida Judge Thomas E. Stringer Sr. has resigned after the disclosure of his dealings with a stripper, Christy Yamanaka, 48. Stringer was accused of helping Yamanaka of hiding assets from their creditors. The allegations were previously discussed on this blog.
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Amanda Gessner, 19, may have the shortest singing career in history. Police in Drexel Hill say that a surveillance camera caught Gessner signing “The fire department is going to be mad at me” before she started seven fires.
In yet another crackdown on free speech over criticism of a religion, the editor and publisher of The Statesman has been arrested for running an article that contains material insulting to Muslims. The Statesman’s editor Ravindra Kumar and publisher Anand Sinha were arrested in Calcutta.
Former New York Mets player Roberto Alomar has been sued by his former girlfriend, Ilya Dall, 31, who says that Alomar gave her AIDS from unprotected sex. Once rare in torts, claims of negligent or intentional exposure to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) has become much more common in American courts under theories of negligence or battery or infliction of emotional distress. She is suing the Puerto Rican baseball star for $15 million.
The Fresno Police Department is investigating two officers videotaped beating a homeless man during his arrest. In the video below, the man, Glen Beaty, 52, is shown on the ground receiving hits to the head. Police Chief Jerry Dyer acknowledged that ‘the initial reaction of people that view this video will be one of disbelief.”
Continue reading “Beating Beaty: Video Shows Fresno Police Repeatedly Hitting Homeless Man”
Peanut Corporation of America owner Stewart Parnell has invoked his privilege against self-incrimination to refuse testimony before Congress. It was the smart move. Parnell is in the same position as Roger Clemens and other baseball players accused in the steroid scandal. The most likely charge that they faced was not from the original allegations but their testimony before Congress, the grand jury, or statements to investigators.
Continue reading “No Nut: Peanut Company President Parnell Takes the Fifth Before Congress”
Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, the top-ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, is under fire for using Twitter to tell reporters that a group of officials were going to Iraq and Afghanistan. Anonymous sources have criticized Hoekstra for putting the entire delegation at risk by the security breach. It was an ironic twist for Hoekstra who has led calls for tough measures on staffers and other members accused of releasing classified or sensitive information, including my former client Larry Hanauer, a House Intelligence Committee staff member who was later cleared of all charges of leaking such information.
Pittsfield Township likes its lawns uniform and is willing to use criminal law to enforce its lawnacratic rule. Stanislav Voskov thought that he was doing a good thing by growing an environmentally friendly lawn by allowing various natural plants to grow without mowing. Pittsfield spotted some weeds of over ten inches and brought down the law on the lawn. Now, Judge Cedric Simpson has rule that Voskov must join the Stepford-like community in his lawn appearance.
Continue reading “Lawnocrats: Michigan Man Loses Case to Grow Environmentally Friendly Lawn”
This has been a uniquely bad week for civil libertarians. The Obama Administration appears to be rushing to dispel any notions that Obama will fight for civil liberties or war crimes investigations. After Eric Holder allegedly assured a senator that there would be no war crimes investigation and seemed to defend Bush policies, Harvard Law Dean Elena Kagan, Obama’s Solicitor General nominee, reportedly told a Republican senator that the Administration agreed with Bush that we are “at war” and therefore can hold enemy combatants indefinitely. In the meantime, Obama himself seemed to tie himself in knots when asked about investigating war crimes and leading democrats are again pushing for a symbolic “truth commission.” I discussed these issues in this segment of Countdown this week.
Continue reading “Top Obama Aides Embrace Bush’s War on Terror Rhetoric and Enemy Combatant Policy”
Indian newspapers are reporting that an Indian company is about to introduce a rival to Coca Cola: Cow Urine soda. This ultimate un-cola (or ungulate cola) is made with a base of gau ark (cow urine) though they prefer to call it gau jal (cow water). My doubts about the authenticity of this story have been dispelled by the widespread report in India, where there are long-held views of the health benefits of cow waste, including tooth paste and face powder. I personally like the cow dung after shave to give me that cudly feel in the morning.
Continue reading “The Real Thing: Indian Company Introduces Cow Urine Soft Drink”