Academia, Animals, Bizarre, International, Science

Russian Scientists Discover Fully-Grown Mammoth With Running Blood

220px-Steppe_mammoth_sizeThere is an exciting discovery out of Siberia where Russian scientists have discovered a fully-grown female mammoth preserved in the ice. What is different is that not only does this animal have well-preserved muscle tissue but actual liquid blood. Yet, the godless scientists at the Institute of Applied Ecology are likely to be disappointed. Scientists were not only surprised to find running blood after pricking the body but found that the blood continued to run in the 10°C below zero temperature at the site. That leads them to believe that the mammoth’s blood has some type of “cryo-protective properties” previously unknown to scientists.

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Society

Harvard College Dean Resigns In Wake Of Leak Scandal

174580_167846826769_6484182_nWhile Eric Holder refuses to resign and Obama refuses to fire him, another leading citizen appears to be moving toward a resignation after her own controversial leak investigation scandal. Harvard Dean Evelynn Hammands is leaving her post as undergraduate dean in the wake of a controversy over her ordering the searches of the emails of junior faculty to determine who spoke with the media on a recent cheating scandal. In my view, it was an outrageous act that contravened both academic and privacy principles.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, International, Politics, Religion

Empty Altar: Iran Arrests Leading Christian Minister and Drags Him Off Altar In Middle Of Services

220px-Echmiatsin_altair170px-Ali_Khamenei,The Iranian government is continuing its crackdown on non-Muslim faiths this month with a shocking arrest of a minister in the middle of a service at Iran’s largest Persian-language Pentecostal church. One can only imagine the response of Muslims in the country if a Muslim cleric was arrested in the middle of a service in another country. However, the Iranian government pulled Pastor Robert Asserian off the altar and literally dragged him out of the church. The move is viewed as a warning to non-Muslims before the June 14 presidential election to replace President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Politics, Religion

Arizona Legislator Leads Colleagues In Double Prayer To Repent For Prayer By Atheist Member The Day Before

steve-smithWe recently celebrated the showing of tolerance in Arizona when the legislators allowed an atheist member to give the opening “prayer.” Democratic Representative Juan Mendez, of Tempe, is an atheist and opened the session by asking his colleagues not to bow their heads but look at each other. That did not sit well with Arizona State Rep. Steven Smith who proceeded the next day to give not one, but two prayers. The second prayer was to express “repentance” of the secular invocation offered the day before by Mendez. He was joined by half of the Arizona lawmakers in using prayer as a condemnation of Mendez and atheists.

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Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society

FIRE ERIC HOLDER

holderericHere is today’s column in USA Today calling for the firing of Attorney General Eric Holder (I have added a couple lines removed in editing). Holder is not the only individual who needs to leave federal office but he is the first. Equally responsible are his deputy, James Cole, and Ronald Machen Jr., the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia who played critical roles in the investigation of journalists with Associated Press and Fox News. Notably, Obama reportedly “fired” IRS Director Steve Miller (who was reportedly already leaving) over the IRS scandal though there is no indication of any knowledge on his part. In Holder’s case, he was personally involved in targeting journalists (in the Fox case) and launched an attack on the media that has been condemned by a wide array of public interest and media groups. Yet, Holder has been asked to hold a simple meeting with aggrieved media representatives by Obama.

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Bizarre, International, Society

Chinese Teen Identified In Desecration Of 3,500 Luxor Temple

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We previously discussed the disgraceful defacing of a wall of the 3500 year old Luxor Temple in Egypt by a Chinese tourist. The wall survived thousands of years in pristine condition only to fall victim to a Chinese tourist. We now have an identification of culprit according to Chinese newspapers: Ding Jinhao, 15, from Nanjing. The graffiti reads “Ding Jinhao visited here” in Chinese.

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Criminal law, Society, Uncategorized

Zimmerman Loses Key Evidentiary Battle

trayon-martin-picture1tmgunhandsmWe previously discussed the effort of the defense team for George Zimmerman to introduce text messages, pictures, and history showing that Trayvon Martin had a history of discipline and drug problems. Judge Debra Nelson ruled today that most of this evidence would be kept out despite the fact that Zimmerman’s history and prior statements will be likely introduced. Zimmerman is arguing that it was Martin who attacked him and that this evidence shows a troubled teen with an obsession with guns and gangsta culture.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Full Moon or Just A Waning Crescent? Virginia Mother Sentenced To Jail For Disorderly Conduct In Allegedly Mooning School Bus Driver

Image.aspxA recent story caught my eye out of Suffolk, Virginia. A bus driver was shocked when a mother allegedly mooned the bus after a confrontation last November with roughly 45 students onboard. The mother, Lisa Grant, 34, admits that she was upset that the driver sent a note home with her middle school son for misbehaving. She apparently thought yelling at the bus would be an appropriate response to the claim of misconduct. However, the videotape below shows the bus driver as equally irritated and loud in the confrontation and there remains a controversy over whether a true moon appeared along the roadside.

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Animals, Constitutional Law, Courts, Environment

PETA Accused Of Pursuing Bloggers After Criticism Of Its Animal Shelter

100px-Peta.svg People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is famous for its public displays designed to shock and sometimes disgust people (here and here and here). However, PETA appears a bit thin skinned this week with legal attacks on critics who accused the organization of killing animals in a Virginia shelter. PETA reportedly is asking a court to give it the personal information, email addresses, phone numbers, and other data for three bloggers who reacted to an April 2 posting by a no-kill shelter advocate. One of the bloggers called PETA “animal Kevorkians.”

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Criminal law, International, Media, Politics, Society

Interpol Rebuffs Putin On Demand For Whistleblower’s Arrest

Interpol_logo225px-Vladimir_Putin_official_portraitThere is an interesting conflict that has arisen between Interpol and the Putin government. Putin’s government has demanded the arrest of UK-based fund manager William Browder for his alleged tax evasion and told Interpol to put him on its list of wanted individuals. In a rare denial, Interpol decided that the Putin regime was pursuing Browder for offenses “of a predominantly political nature” and refused to assist the Russians.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics

Leading Blogger Arrested In Vietnam In Major Crackdown On Free Speech

130528084704_truong_duy_nhat_464x261_truongduynhatfacebookTruong Duy Nhat, 49, is a leading blogger in Vietnam who has been challenging the government on its authoritarian laws. The Communist government has now responded by arresting him for “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe on the interests of the state.” This truly Orwellian charge could result in a seven year sentence for the blogger.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Politics, Society

Meet Ronald Machen: The Obama Administration’s Media Menace

Ronald_Machen_US_AttorneyWhile Attorney General Eric Holder is legitimately taking the heat for his scorched Earth policy toward journalists and whistleblowers.  His deputy, Jim Coles, is also being criticized for signing off on the investigation of the Associated Press. However, a third prosecutor has largely escaped attention in the scandal and is equally worthy of immediate termination for his role in this scandal.  He is Ronald Machen Jr., the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.  As with Holder, Machen was a friend and campaign contributor to Obama when he was selected to serve as U.S. Attorney.  He proceeded to discard any concern for the freedom of the press in his investigation, particularly his pursuit of sources for Fox reporter James Rosen.  He was also involved in the refusal to prosecute Holder for contempt of Congress in refusing to turn over critical documents in the “Fast and Furious” scandal.

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Bizarre, Torts

Mississippi Man Run Over By Lawn Mower While Trying To Escape Yellow Jackets

250px-Grass_dsc08672-nevit250px-European_wasp_white_bgThere is an interesting tort lawsuit out of Jackson, Mississippi where Everardo Garfias is suing Husqvarna Professional Products Inc. and Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A., the maker of his Husqvarna lawnmower after it ran over him. Garfias had just been attacked by yellow jackets when he jumped off his lawnmower. The lawnmower however did not shut off and ran over him — severely cutting his legs and completely severing one of his knee caps. Garfias was working for a lawn service company at the time of the accident.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, International, Society

Femininity and The Felon: Polanski Laments How Pill Is “Masculinising” Women

220px-Roman_Polanski_Emmanuelle_Seigner_Césars_2011As many on this blog know, I am not a big fan of Roman Polanski and his successful evasion of arrest for the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in 1977. Many folks in France continue to rally behind Polanski who has successfully fought extradition for decades. Now, during the unveiling of his movie “Venus in Fur,” a satire on sexism starring his wife Emmanuelle Seigner, Polanski decried the loss of real women and how birth control pills are “masculinising” women. Of course, it is some small degree of progress that Polanski is actually focusing on fully grown women at this point. Yet, most women would find him a rather unwelcomed expert on anything dealing with females given his continued fugitive status as a child rapist.

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