The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has ruled that Pom Wonderful was engaging in deceptive advertising over health claims in ads urging consumers to “Amaze your cardiologist” and “Drink to prostate health.” The Court found that the company lacked the medical or scientific foundation to make such claims in upholding the actions taken by the Federal Trade Commission.
There is a horrific videotape capturing the crash of a TransAsia airplane crashing in Taiwan. The plane in the videotape below appears to lose control after takeoff, clip a bridge, and then crashes into a river. That is amazing is that people survived this crash and were seen swimming from the wreckage. This video is likely to be analyzed for years not just in the crash investigation but the likely litigation over the accident.
We have repeatedly dealt with stories of parents who leave their children in cars while they gamble or party (here) or even commit criminal acts(here). This week, another such arrest was made near our school but this one involves clearly affluent parents who left their two toddlers — a 22-month-old boy and a slightly older girl — in a gray Volvo wagon while they went to a wine tasting at the upscale restaurant Ris. I hope the wine bouquet was satisfying because “the finish” was rough. They were both arrested and now face two counts of attempted second-degree cruelty to children, which carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
The teachers at Kermit Elementary School in West Texas has suspended Aiden Steward, 9, for threatening the safety of a fellow student with magic. That’s right. Aiden told a friend he could turn him invisible like Bilbo Baggins if he put the “one ring” (from J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” books) on his head in the Fourth Grade. Before he could carry out his threat, the school suspended him and sent him no doubt to Mordor in the middle earth. There appears a growing consensus: either Aiden is a real wizard or his teachers are real morons.
I have long been a critic of “excessive celebration” violations in the NFL and the growing crude and thuggish conduct of players. While some may view me a bit prudish, I find it incredibly offensive to see NFL players (or entertainers at games) swearing and making offensive gestures as millions of people, including children, are watching. The latest such transgression was committed by Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin who decided to pretend that he was defecating on a ball in Super Bowl XLIX last Sunday. While the network quickly cut away, my family (including my kids) immediately saw and understood what Baldwin was doing. Even my nine-year-old thought it was “disgusting.” The Seahawks seem determined that they will, to use their motto, “leave no doubt” that they will not comply with minimal standards of conduct in the NFL.
There is a controversy over a police incident in Groveland, Florida this month where two officers are accused of using excessive force on an 11-year-old girl while responding to a burglary call at her home over the weekend. The officers then failed to put the incident in their report to the police department.
There is an interesting ruling by Judge Donald J. Cosby of the District Court in Fort Worth on a curious property claim. Cosby has ordered Allen S. Baumgardner Sr., the owner of Baumgardner Funeral Home to return the coffin that once held the body of Lee Harvey Oswald to his brother, Robert Oswald, 80. Baumgardner was attempting to sell it for roughly $90,000 and was accused of concealing the coffin’s existence from Oswald’s family members. Cosby described that Baumgardner was engaging in “wrongful and wanton and malicious conduct.” It is a bit creepy too. Baumgardner’s slogan is “THERE WHEN YOU NEED US.” Indeed, they often appear in places that you don’t need them . . . like auction houses trying to re-sell the casket of your family member.
For conservatives, it must sound like “better red than dead” all over again. A new study in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health suggests that liberals live longer than conservatives in the United States. The researchers looked at more than 32,000 adults and tracked them over 15 years. The result was surprising: conservatives seemed to be expiring faster than their counterparts on the left. However, conservatives claimed to be happier than their counterparts in life.
Continue reading “Choose Life, Live Left? Study Finds That Liberals Outlive Conservatives”
The Islamic State has continued its campaign of religious fascism in murdering thousands and “cleansing” areas for its view of the true Islamic faith. This process appears to include the burning of books in cities like Mosul, which once held a treasure trove of ancient texts including works dating back to 5000 BC. Some 2,000 books that range from children’s stories to poetry to historical texts were burned in front of residents who were told that such texts “promote infidelity and call for disobeying Allah. So they will be burned.”
We have been following the bizarre case of the once leading national Orthodox rabbi and powerful local figure, Barry Freundel. Freundel (shown above from a YouTube clip), is now criminally charged with using a secret camera to film Jewish women engaged in the ritual bath known as a Mikva. There is now another front in the battles for Freudel’s future. He has refused to move out of a house owned by his former synagogue and will face proceedings in a jewish court or beth din.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had become a perpetual gaff machine. He would be funny if he were not so menacing in his effort to roll back on civil liberties and break down the secular traditions of Turkey in favor of Islamification of the government. He is facing growing criticism internationally and last week responded to allegations that he was trying to establish himself as a new Sultan. No, Erdoğan insisted, he really just wants to be more like Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II. As shown in other embarrassing moments recently, Erdoğan’s’s knowledge of history is even worst than his appreciation for human rights.
Continue reading “Erdoğan: I Don’t Want To Be A Sultan . . . I Want To Be A Queen”
North Carolina driver Kristen Leigh Phillips, 40, is facing misdemeanor charges after she was caught on videotape in a bizarre road road incident that left a small child screaming and a mother driver in shock. The video of the victim is below.
Continue reading “North Carolina Woman Charged In Road Rage Incident Caught On Tape”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
In keeping with an ancient American proverb: “If it can be driven, it can be driven under the influence,” Fargo police arrested Steven Anderson for allegedly driving a Zamboni ice surfacing machine while under the influence.
In a Twitter post with the hashtag “bumperzamboni,” a spectator at the arena reported that, “I’ve never seen a zamboni have so much trouble around the edges.” The incident offered a refreshing nuance to what would otherwise have been a rather ordinary and languishing youth hockey game.
Continue reading “ZUI: North Dakotan Arrested for Allegedly Driving Zamboni Under The Influence”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
We previously wrote HERE and HERE of the arrest, conviction, and sentencing to seven years Al Jazeera reporter Peter Greste for the dubious accusation of aiding the Muslim Brotherhood through their coverage of the “civil war” in Egypt. During sentencing, as we previously reported, the Court insisted that the reporters “took advantage of the noble profession of journalism … and turned it from a profession aimed at looking for the truth to a profession aimed at falsifying the truth.” It then added that “The devil guided them to use journalism and direct it toward activities against this nation.” That “devil” work was reporting on the crackdown on the supporters of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
I have long complained how SUV owners seem more likely to crash because they think that 4WD gives them magic powers and relieves them of the need to learn how to drive on snow. It appears that 4PD (four paw drive) does little more for the dog world.
Continue reading “4WD Does Little On Ice For Man . . . or Man’s Best Friend”