Criminal law, Society

Carnegie Deli Shutdown Amid Allegations Of Dangerous Illegal Gas Line

300px-Carnegie_deli_exteriorI am beginning to think that the Almighty is intervening to get me to eat better. After the closing of our favorite hot dog joint in Chicago, Hot Doug’s, last week saw an announcement that my favorite burger place in Chicago, Ed Debevic’s, was closing its most famous location (where our family has gone religiously for years) to make way for a new high rise. Now, as my family is still reeling from the news, city officials have shutdown our favorite New York deli, Carnegie Deli. I have gone to Carnegie since I was a kid and my kids are now equal fans. However, the owners of this highly profitable deli are accused of possibly stealing gas and endangering customers.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Society

Putin Does Not Twerk: Women Jailed For Twerking In Russia

Russia-jails-women-in-twerking-video-at-WWII-memorialA Russian court has sentencing two women and a teenager to 15 days jail time for twerking. That’s right, twerking. The women filmed a dance video with twerking in front of a World War II memorial. The timing could not be worse — or better — depending on your perspective. The Putin regime is using the 70th anniversary of the Allied victory to rally citizens. The court ruled that the twerking constituted “hooliganism.” You will recall that this is the same undefined crime used to jail two members of punk band Pussy Riot to prison for two years for an impromptu protest at Moscow’s main cathedral in 2012.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Media, Society

Perils of the Press: Journalists Videotaped As They Are Attacked By Both Protesters and Police In Baltimore

kidsRussia Today is showing a less than positive image of the United States as a video shows its reporter trying to report on the protests in Baltimore last week only to be mugged on camera. Fortunately, police were in the area and apprehended the suspect. In the meantime, another disturbing video shows City Paper Photo Editor J.M. Giordano was tackled and beaten by Baltimore City police outside of Western District headquarters last night while covering the protests. The attack on a journalist by police was accompanied by the arrest and charging of another reporter for disorderly conduct.

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Criminal law, International, Justice, Media, Politics, Religion, Society

Sixty Yazidi Girls Per Month Reportedly Commit Suicide After Rape By ISIS Terrorists

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

yazidi-women-facing-wallAccording to an Iraqi based aid worker, who identified himself only as Yousif, approximately two girls a day commit suicide in the aftermath of being raped by ISIS Terrorists. The news and other corroboration of reports of inhumanity directed toward women in girls are unimaginable. Compounding the horror experienced from gang rapes in open streets, being sold into sexual slavery, or subjected to other outrages is both the stigma and shame forced onto women and girls–a furtherance of ISIS’ crimes against humanity. It also shows a macabre window into a policy of ethnic cleansing by ISIS at several levels.

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Society

Massachusetts Couple Announces That It Will Raise 5-Year-Old Biological Girl As A Boy In Controversial Transgender Case

Gender_differences_male_femaleWe have previously discussed the issues surrounding decisions to raise children according to their non-biological sex at a young age. Now, a Massachusetts couple has decided that their five-year-old daughter must be a boy and has decided to raise the child a such. I will readily admit that I am not an expert in this field, but as a parent of four I find such a decision to be highly troubling and premature. A five-year-old child seems far far too early to make such an extreme change. Indeed, this determination was made a year earlier.

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Free Speech

University of Maryland Bars Airing Of American Sniper After Muslim Students Denounce It As Offensive

American_Sniper_posterA board at the University of Maryland announced it will postpone indefinitely the screening of “American Sniper” on campus after Muslim organizations opposed the watching of the film as anti-Islamic and offensive. I have not seen the movie, but the effort to prevent other people from watching films set badly with me both in terms of free speech as well as the pluralistic values governing university communities. The movie was critically acclaimed and nominated for six oscars, including best picture, actor (Bradley Cooper) and adapted screenplay. Even people like Michele Obama have publicly proclaimed how the movie touched them. This is not to say that they are right. However, opposing other people from seeing a major artistic work is part of a growing effort to curtail free speech in the West and particularly on college campuses.

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Society, Uncategorized

Study: One-Third of Americans Have Less Than $1000 Toward Retirement

180px-United_States_one_dollar_bill,_obverseWe have previously discussed the income disparity in the country and the alarming lack of savings for a great percentage of our fellow citizens. Now a study shows that roughly one third of the population have saved less than $1,000 for retirement. Equally surprising is the estimate of what will be needed to live comfortably in the future.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics, Religion, Society

Poll: Over Sixty Percent Of Americans Support Gay Marriage

Wedding_cake_with_pillar_supports,_2009There is good news for those of us who support same-sex marriage (as well as an indication in the remarkable turnaround in public attitude in a relatively short time). According to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, 6 out of 10 Americans now support same-sex marriage and believe that states should not be allowed to define marriage as only between a man and a woman. That is a record showing for same-sex marriage.

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Bizarre, International, Military, Society

U.S. Funded Industrial Park in Afghanistan Found With Only One Business and No Electricity . . . And Missing Records

158px-flag_of_afghanistansvgWe have yet another example of how we are wasting billions of dollars in Afghanistan where a combination of incompetence and corruption continues to drain the U.S. treasury. This week, SIGAR released two reports showing how, an inspection of the $7.8 million Shorandam Industrial Park in Kandahar is an utter failure and how the money to create a sustainable source of power for Kandahar City has left the city literally in the dark. Once again, there is no indication of any discipline or action taken against those who approve such projects and oversee such failures.

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Environment, Politics

Oklahoma Study Finds Link Between Wastewater Injection And Earthquakes

Deep_injection_wellWe recently discussed how Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe, who chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee, mocked the overwhelming consensus of scientists around the world on global warming. There have been similar denials of the link between earthquakes and the highly profitable practice of injecting wastewater into the ground from oil and gas production. Now, Oklahoma geologists have found strong evidence of the long-suggested link between waste injection and the massive increase in earthquakes in the state.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Society

Probative or Prejudicial? Prosectors Allowed To Show Picture of Tsarnaev Making Obscene Gesture Before Arraignment

220px-BostonSuspect2The testimony at the penalty phase for Boston Marathon bomb Dzhokhar Tsarnaev could not be more damning in terms of the pain and suffering that he and his brother caused. Survivors detailed their suffering from injuries as well as lost loved ones with pictures that left many in tears. Such evidence is entirely appropriate as the jury debates whether to impose the death penalty on the 21-year-old defendant. One piece of evidence, however, is more controversial: the court allowed the prosecutors to show the jury a videotape of Tsarnaev flipping the bird at a camera shortly before his arraignment to show that he was not repentant after his arrest. The question is whether such a videotape is clearly probative or too prejudicial for the jury. It is a demonstration of how far the prosecutor is willing to go (even in the creation of an appellate issue) to secure a death sentence in the case.

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Bizarre, Torts

Rope-A-Dope: Leading Facial Surgeon Removed From Hospital Panel After Repeatedly Punching Patient In Face During Surgery

220px-Bellows_George_Dempsey_and_Firpo_1924Professor Ninian Peckitt, 63, is under fire this month after the facial surgeon shocked colleagues by asking another doctor to hold the head of an unconscious patient and proceeded to punch the patient in the face up to ten times “like a boxer.” Now, this was not some pay back for an insult in a bar. Peckitt wanted to move a cheekbone back into place and decided to use a more Muhammad Ali approach.

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Society

Reds Manager Under Fire After Profanity Laced Interview

Like many long-suffering Cubs fans, I have enjoyed this season immensely as the Cubs have found traction with our new line-up, including such news players as Kris Bryant and our new manager Joe Maddon. While our 150 million dollar pitcher, John Lester, appears better throwing his glove than the ball to first base, we are a lot happier with our second place position in the Central Division than our friends with the Cincinnati Reds — at least from the impressions left by Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price. Price gave a relatively brief interview about his team’s losing streak and managed to use the F-word 77 times as a noun, adjective, and what appears a conjunction. He added 11 versions of horse and cow manure. Some people are calling for him to be fired for the profane outburst but should a manager or player be fired for foul language?

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, Media

Video: U.S. Marshal Shown Rushing Woman and Smashing Her Cellphone To Stop Her Videotaping A Public Arrest

Screen Shot 2015-04-21 at 10.50.12 AMWe have another video of a police officer destroying the cellphone of a citizen who is filming an arrest in clear violation of her constitutional rights. New reports indicate that the officer holding an automatic weapon in the videotape below who is seen charging the woman and smashing her phone on the ground is a United States Marshal in California.

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Academia, Bizarre, Free Speech, International, Society

ISIS Bans Archeology and Tourism Studies At Mosul University While Cutting The Heads Of Foosball Figurines.

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A new story on life after the take over by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Mosul reveals the bizarre existence for academics at places like University of Mosul. ISIS has outlawed lessons on democracy and political thought in favor of concentrations on religious indoctrination and Sharia law. Not too surprising, ISIS also banned hotel management and tourism and archaeology.

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