Various news sites are reporting that four Christians have been sentenced in Iran to 80 lashes each for drinking communion wine at services and possessing a satellite antenna. Behzad Taalipasand, Mehdi Reza Omidi (Youhan), Mehdi Dadkhah (Danial) and Amir Hatemi (Youhanna) were reportedly arrested during a house service in December. These house services are efforts of Iranian Christians to practice their faith in the face of the continued Iranian crackdown on non-Muslims. The cases have been made public in the aftermath of a United Nations report criticizing the denial of religious freedom in Iran.
Kennedy family member Michael Skakel has long sought a new trial in the killing of Martha Moxley, a neighbor bludgeoned to death by a golf club in 1975. In a surprise ruling, Judge Thomas Bishop found that Skakel was denied a fair trial due to ineffective counsel. Bishop’s opinion slams Skakel’s original legal counsel, Michael Sherman, as failing basic expectations of a lawyer and suggests, as the family has argued, that he was obsessed or blinded by the media attention in the case.
Continue reading “Michael Skakel Granted New Trial Due To Ineffective Counsel”
We have become accustomed to reports of unimaginable corruption and waste in Afghanistan from bags of money delivered to President Karzai to constructing huge buildings to be immediately torn down to buying aircraft that cannot be used. The common element to the stories is the absence of any reported prosecution or even discipline for those responsible. You can simply waste hundreds of millions of dollars and continue in your government position. This week’s outrage comes from a report of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). Among huge examples of waste and delay is this little ditty: USAid paid a $300,000 charge for 600 gallons of diesel fuel. That is $500/gallon to a contractor.
Continue reading “Self-Serve: U.S. Government Paid $500 Per Gallon To Afghan Contractor”
You may recall John Pike, a 40-year-old former officer with University of California-Davis, who became infamous due to the videotape below in which he calmly sprayed kneeling students with pepper spray during a Nov. 2011 protest. He was fired for his conduct by the university. However, he has now been awarded $38,059 in workers’ compensation for depression and anxiety in dealing with the controversy.
LawDragon has released the results of its increasingly popular survey of the top lawyers in America. I was fortunate to again make the list this year.
Continue reading “LawDragon Selects Top 500 Lawyers”
We have often discussed the relatively low sentences handed out in some English cases. While our country goes to the opposite extreme, it sometimes shocks the conscience to see disproportionately light sentences. One such case is that of Ilyas and Tallat Ashar who brought a 10-year-old girl to England where she was repeatedly raped, kept in appalling conditions against her will, and used as more of a slave than a servant. That was roughly a decade of abuse. However, Ilyas Ashar, 84, who was found guilty of 13 counts of rape, was jailed for 13 years. That is roughly a year for year of confinement, rape, and abuse. Tallat Ashar, 68, convicted of benefit fraud and trafficking, got only five years.
China’s lack of food controls have previously taken its toll on its own citizens and the global markets. Last week, however, our veterinarian advised us not to give our dog Luna any dog treats made in China. It turns out that over 600 dogs are dead and thousands are sickened by Chinese dog treats. This story also allows me to post a recent picture of Luna at four months. Continue reading “Chinese Dog Treats Linked To Hundreds of Deaths and Thousands of Sick Animals”
We have previously discussed how Congress and the White House continues to spend hundreds of billions on foreign wars without pause but have failed to address an emerging global threat to humanity: antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. It is part of the lunacy that governs this nation. We spend wildly on wars while largely ignoring a threat that could endanger the entire population. Recently, Thomas Frieden, director of the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, put it in the starkest terms to try to get someone to pay attention. Indeed, Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organization, has warned that we are moving into a “post-antibiotic era.” That means “an end to modern medicine as we know it. Things as common as strep throat or a child’s scratched knee could once again kill.”
Since we have been discussing the Jets-Patriots brawl, we might as well add a story out of Texas where a coach is facing a charge of “bullying” because his team, Aledo High School, beat Western Hills High School by 91-0. Tim Buchanan will now have to answer for his actions after various parents filed complaints that he allowed his team to do so well. I find this type of objection to be mystifying. I have four kids in sports. I feel bad when they lose but I tell them that you do your best and try harder next time. Moreover, I am not sure what this coach is supposed to do. He has a really good team. Are they supposed to intentionally ground the ball? I think the demeaning thing is not losing to a better team but having your parents demand that they let you score.
Yesterday, we discussed the fight between a Jets fan and Patriots fans recently caught on YouTube. One of the issues for discussion was the focus of the media on a New York Jets fan, Kurt Paschke, punching a woman in a Patriots jersey. Many were outraged that he hit Jaclyn Nugent, 26, and that anger grew when it was learned that he was a former felon. However, the full video showed Paschke being attacked first by Nugent, at least in that incident. Well, it turns out that the police was not so confined in its search. Charges were filed Tuesday afternoon against Amanda MacDowell of Marlborough, Mass.; Jaclyn Nugent and David James Sacco, both of Boston, and Kurt Paschke of Holbrook, N.Y. I remain unclear as to why Paschke is even charged since what was shown on the video seems a legitimate act of self-defense. It may be misleading in terms of what occurred before, but he is shown hitting Nugent after she attacks him.
What is it about law enforcement and squirrels recently? We previously discussed the pepper spraying of a squirrel. Now Tennessee police officer Officer Jody Putnam has been fired after he tried to get rid of a squirrel in a Dollar General store by shooting at the animal and using his pepper spray.
We have previously discussed how many families, including my own, have abandoned football stadiums to rowdies who have turned games into a contest of obnoxious drinking, swearing, and fighting. Games are now viewed as a license what is becoming the American version of Soccer hooligans. That element was on display this week with the video below of a New York Jets fan punching a woman in a Patriots jersey. According to reports, the man is Kurt Paschke, who was previously found guilty of negligent homicide in a stabbing death outside of a pizzeria in 1992. However, the Patriots fans come off as no better in the video, including the woman, identified as Jaclyn Nugent, 26, who is seen as hitting Paschke before he hits her.
Continue reading “Jets Fan Shown Striking Woman After Jets-Patriots Game Identified As Former Felon”
We have followed the environmental meltdown in China which only recently moved to deal with a myriad of pollutants that have created cancer spikes and suffocating health conditions. Air pollution is the most obvious area of neglect and average Chinese are beginning to complain about pollution that continues to set records for unhealthy levels. I have previously discussed how my trips to China through the years have found horrendous levels of pollution where one is unable to see beyond half a block on some days in cities like Beijing. For decades, the authoritarian government posted false readings that became increasing comical, but sites like the one at the U.S. embassy has forced officials to admit to the alarming levels — as if the lack of line of sight vision did not already confirm the prior misrepresentations. This week, one regional capital, Harbin, has effectively shutdown due to levels of particulate pollution that would be considered unimaginable in many areas. Parts of Harbin are reporting levels of more than 1,000 PM2.5 — the level considered hazardous is 300. Thus, the city is over 300 percent higher than the hazardous level for human health.
We have previously dealt with judges found to be mentally disturbed but kept on the bench despite erratic behavior. The most recent case involves Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Angela Stokes who has long had a bad reputation as a judge for her domineering and sometimes bizarre conduct from the bench. Now a report from the Ohio Supreme Court’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel has concluded that Stokes may be “suffering from a mental illness that substantially impairs her ability to perform her duties as a judicial officer.” The local newspaper is calling for her resignation. As with other judges found to be incompetent, Stokes has been reelected easily. She is the daughter of former Cleveland Congressman Louis Stokes. While she has received consistently poor ratings from bar associations and newspaper editorial boards, she has easily won re-election.
No it is not the latest rock band. Fat Leonard is the nickname for the rotund contractor named Leonard Glenn Francis, chief executive of Glenn Defense Marine. The Asian company is accused of greasing the skids in the Navy with bribes ranging from prostitutes to luxury hotels to tickets to Lady Gaga concerts. Snared in the scandal are an array of top Navy officials, including an official at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and a Navy Commander known “Little Bro” to Fat Leonard. Fat Leonard was well known in Naval circles and was given his nickname because he dressed out at 6-3 and 350 pounds.
Continue reading “Fat Leonard And The Sailors: Navy Rocked By New Contracting Scandal”