Currently viewing the tag: "suit"
In my scoop about Hosni Mubarak’s vanity pinstripe suit, I had embedded an Arabic video.
MEMRI has now translated that video:
The problem with the Egyptian analysis is that they made it sound like the photo was taken very recently, although I can see from the photo’s EXIF information that it was taken in October, 2009.
I knew that this story would be popular, so I put a watermark on the photo of the suit with his name on it to stop people from stealing it:
But I was not obnoxious enough….and my photo is being cropped by other bloggers without credit and are getting picked up in news stories again without any credit to me.
Alas, another scoop that got away from me.
Suit You
Raging Moderate, by Will Durst
Doesn’t matter which side of the budget battleground you stick your rhetorical bayonet in, one thing we can all agree on is… our government is broke. Broke. Broke. Broke. Broke. Broke. Broke. Broke. Stone broke. Like a ceramic pocket watch in a gravel blender broke. Destitute. Down and out. Indigent. Flat busted. Hard up. Cleaned out. On the skids. Short of currency. Devoid of money. Insufficient funds. Negative cash flow. Penniless. Pauperized. Poverty stricken. Impecunious. Decidedly un-prosperous. Financially strapped. Insolvent. Not currently considering any luxury acquisitions like gum. Residents of Church Mouse City with moths the size of pterodactyls flying out of our wallets. Dirt poor without the dirt. Tapped.
It’s not like there isn’t any money. Plenty of people, corporations and foreign countries are swimming in it. The question is: how do we get us some? Answer: We take it. The American Way. Utilize those 110,000 civil service workers in the Department of Justice wasting away while accessing Internet porn pretending to rewrite regulations nobody will read when they could be suing people. And settling out of court. For hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of money. And repeat.
This country is an injured party and should act accordingly by exacting retribution. No more Mr. Nice Guy. We got lawyers. Let’s use them. Tell people they will pay through the nose if they dare screw with the US of A ever again. Because we are about to file suit for redress en masse. A couple of suits. We get our suits to file suit on their suits. Which will suit us just fine.
Sue Rupert Murdoch for felonious malfeasance for distilling all political discourse into “Us good-them bad.”
Sue McDonald’s for child endangerment and threatening Homeland Security by producing a generation of kids too fat to fight.
Sue China for malicious intent by encouraging our insatiable consumerism.
Sue Madison Avenue for violating simple common human decency by propagating the stereotype that kicking a man in the crotch is amusing.
Sue the British to stay in practice. They’re known for settling.
Sue BP for illegal dumping, gross negligence and disorderly conduct.
Sue Egypt for copyright infringement by poaching that whole democracy thing.
Sue Halle Berry for mental cruelty.
Sue France for contempt.
Sue John Boehner for criminal impersonation of a pumpkin.
Sue Toyota for unlawful assembly.
Sue record companies for willful desecration of the English language.
Sue “The View” for abusing national noise abatement standards.
Sue the Birthers for contributing to the delinquency of the stupid.
Sue Las Vegas for usurping federal authority by imposing taxes on the mathematically challenged.
Sue Mexico for failing to maintain a habitable domicile.
Sue BP again for sabotage and looking at us funny.
Sue Glenn Beck for engineering an intellectual Ponzi scheme resulting in an epidemic of cerebral bankruptcy.
Sue the Kardashians for reckless disregard of human dignity and societal vandalism.
Sue Donald Trump for the unlawful destruction of whatever endangered species pelt is stapled to the top of his head.
Sue BP once more, for unlawful flight and running away from the scene of an accident.
Sue Joe Biden for the same reasons.
Will Durst is a San Francisco-based political comic who writes sometimes. This is an example. Copyright ©2011, Will Durst, distributed by the Cagle Cartoons Inc. syndicate. His column is licensed to run on TMV in full.
Mubarak’s narcissism apparently knew no bounds.
I saw an Arabic news video that showed what appeared to be Hosni Mubarak wearing a suit that had his name sown in, repeatedly, as the pinstripe pattern:
So I went hunting for the original photo, and, sure enough…it’s there! HOSNYMUBARAK, over and over again.
Here is what the original photo looks like:
And here’s what it looks like up close:
Who knew we were spelling his name wrong all this time?
(The photo was taken in October of 2009.)
A New York state appeals court has ruled that a gay man married in Canada has the right to inherit the estate of his late husband, despite claims by the husband’s family that their marriage was invalid.
While same-sex couples can’t wed in the state, J. Craig Leiby and H. Kenneth Ranftle were legally married in Canada, so Leiby is entitled to recognition as the surviving spouse in a dispute over Ranftle’s estate, the appellate judges said. Ranftle died Nov. 1, 2008. His brother Richard contested the will and challenged the legitimacy of the marriage, saying it violated state policy.But the state Supreme Court’s Appellate Division wrote, “New York’s long-settled marriage recognition rule affords [recognition] to out-of-state marriages” that are valid where they are made.
And once again we thank former Gov. David Paterson!
Full text of the court’s ruling.
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Almost $ 500,000 in tax money could soon be spent to settle a decade-old fight between Fort Lauderdale and developers over the fate of a prime piece of beach property.
City commissioners next week will consider paying the money rather than risk a trial over of the ill-fated Palazzo Las Olas project. Developers of Palazzo sued for more than $ 40 million after city officials killed plans for an urban village of condos and shops on city-owned land at Las Olas Boulevard and South Birch Road.
The settlement would remove a roadblock to current city plans to redevelop the beach. The city wants to use the property at the heart of the lawsuit for a park and promenade along the Intracoastal Waterway as well as for restaurants, a visitors center and a parking garage.
“It’s the most economically efficient course of action for us to take,” Mayor Jack Seiler said. “The city gets to move on and put this chapter behind us.”
The Palazzo debacle symbolized both the building boom and subsequent anti-development furor in Fort Lauderdale in the early part of the 2000s.
The decisions surrounding the project pre-date Seiler as well as the other four current commissioners. No one remains in office who hired the developers or who later rejected the plans.
Commissioners met behind closed doors in December to discuss the possibility of a settlement. They would take $ 475,000 from cash reserves that the city set aside as insurance in the case.
The FBI allegedly told an informant who infiltrated a California mosque to dig up dirt on the immigration status, sexual activities, business problems and drug use of members of the community. A discrimination lawsuit filed against the Bureau this week charges that they hoped to use the information to convince those members to become FBI informants.
Craig Monteilh, whose aggressive tactics as an informant in 2006 led worshipers at the Islamic Center of Irvine to file a restraining order against him, is now cooperating with the plaintiffs in a lawsuit that accuses FBI agents of violating the constitutional rights of hundreds of Muslims.
The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on behalf of three Muslim plaintiffs, claims that the FBI violated the constitutional rights of Muslims by targeting them indiscriminately because of their religion. It requests unspecified damages and a court order to return or destroy all the information that Monteilh gathered.
“The trust within the community has been broken,” Ameena Mirza Qazi, a lawyer from CAIR representing the plaintiffs told TPM in an interview. “The community feels under psychological siege at this time.”
Qazi said she hoped the lawsuit would shine a spotlight on how the FBI spies on the Muslim community. “The overall scenario is not unique to Southern California,” she said. ‘What is unique is that in this case we have confirmation of what went on, because of the informant.”
“We want a court to say that it’s wrong to target a community because of religious affiliation when there is no link to criminal activity,” she said.
The lawsuit says FBI Special Agent Kevin Armstrong and FBI Special Agent Paul Allen of talked with Monteilh about obtaining dirt on members of the Muslim community — “immigration issues, sexual activity, business problems, or crimes like drug use” — that could be used to convince them to become informants.
“Agents Armstrong and Allen instructed Monteilh to pay attention to people’s problems, to talk about and record them, including marital problems, business problems, and petty criminal issue,” the suit says.
“Agents Armstrong and Allen on several occasions talked about different individuals that they believed might be susceptible to rumors about their sexual orientation, so that they could be persuaded to become informants through the threat of such rumors being started,” the lawsuit claims.
Monteilth also “attended religion classes given in Arabic even when he did not speak Arabic, and questioned 17 and 18 year olds about religious doctrine and politics,” according to the suit.
One of the plaintiffs in the suit is a well-known Imam in the area; the other two are worshippers who were tasked with teaching Monteilh about the Islam faith.
An ex-con, Monteilh began working for the FBI in 2003. In 2006, he was asked to infiltrate the popular Islamic Center of Irvine, where he started attended prayers five times a day and donning an Islamic robe.
In May 2007, Monteilh recorded a conversation in a car with two worshipers, in which Monteilh suggested blowing up buildings. In the tape, one man agrees with Monteilh. But a few days after the conversation, the two worshipers contacted the Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and reported Monteilh as a potential terrorist. Other worshippers told mosque leaders that they were scared of Monteilh and felt as though he was trying to entrap them. In June 2007, the mosque obtained a restraining order against the informant.
His relationship with the FBI deteriorated shortly afterwards and, after threatening to go public, Monteilh says he signed a non-disclosure agreement in exchange for $ 25,000. In December 2007, Monteilh was arrested on a grand-theft charge and went to jail for 16 months.
The lawsuit is embedded below.
Lawsuit Accusing FBI Of Violating Muslim Community’s Constitutional Rights
A Washington, D.C. court dismissed a former employees charge of defamation against the pro-Israel group AIPAC in what could be the conclusion to a long-running, ugly saga that featured allegations of everything from spying to using pornography on the job.
AIPAC fired the staffer, Steve Rosen, amid an FBI inquiry into his handling of classified information. Rosen sued claiming that AIPAC’s stated reason for firing him, that his actions "did not comport with standards that AIPAC expects of its employees," was defamatory.
Superior Court Judge Erik P. Christian found (.pdf) that the statement was "not provably false," and thus can’t be defamatory, granting AIPAC’s motion for summary judgement.
Who ever heard of jihad terror activity being plotted in a mosque? This kind of surveillance is outrageous! “Lawsuit alleges FBI violated Muslims’ freedom of religion,” by Jerry Markon for the Washington Post, February 22 (thanks to all who sent this in):
An FBI informant who infiltrated a California mosque violated the constitutional rights of hundreds of Muslims by targeting them for surveillance because of their religion, the ACLU and a Muslim group said in a lawsuit Tuesday.
The lawsuit, filed against the FBI and seven of its agents and supervisors, focuses on the actions several years ago of Craig Monteilh, a paid FBI informant. Monteilh has said he was instructed to spy on worshipers at an Irvine mosque in a quest for potential terrorists, allegations that prompted fierce criticism of the FBI from some Muslims in Southern California and nationwide.
The lawsuit alleges that Monteilh was ordered by his FBI handlers to conduct “indiscriminate surveillance” of Muslims, violating their First Amendment right to freedom of religion. Filed on behalf of three Muslim plaintiffs, the 64-page document seeks class action status, unspecified damages and a court order instructing the FBI to destroy or return the information Monteilh collected.
“The FBI should be spending its time and resources investigating actual threats, not spying on every American who happens to worship at a mosque,” said Peter Bibring, a staff attorney for the ACLU of Southern California, which filed the complaint along with the Los Angeles office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
FBI officials declined to comment on the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, but empasized that they are careful not to violate civil liberties when they use informants and do not target anyone based on religion or ethnicity. [...]
FBI and Justice Department officials say that they have gone to great lengths to maintain good relations with Muslims and that the Monteilh case is not representative of those efforts. Some Muslims say the revelations about Monteilh have seriously damaged their relationship with the FBI….
No Muslims ever say that revelations about jihad terror activity have seriously damaged their relationship with the FBI, and that consequently they will redouble their efforts to demonstrate their loyalty to the U.S. and wholehearted rejection of jihad terror and Islamic supremacism.
Ali Malik, a plaintiff in the lawsuit who helped teach Monteilh about Islam at the Irvine mosque, said the Muslim community has yet to recover from Monteilh’s actions.
“A lot of people now see the mosque as a place where the government can just come in and spy on you,” said Malik, who says he has been questioned by the FBI several times since his dealings with Monteilh. “It’s going to take a long time to heal those wounds.”
Of course the wounds are all on his side. There are no wounds on the psyche of non-Muslims from the use of mosques to preach hatred; to spread exhortations to terrorist activity; to house a bomb factory; to store weapons; to disseminate messages from bin Laden; to demand (in the United States) that non-Muslims conform to Islamic dietary restrictions; to fire on American troops; to fire upon Indian troops; or to train jihadists. No, none of that calls for any action on the part of Muslims at all to try to heal the wounds of non-Muslims, or to cooperate with inspection of mosques. One would think that “moderates” who deplored “terrorism” and had nothing to hide would be eager to welcome law enforcement personnel into their mosques so as to make sure they weren’t used as bases of operations by members of the Tiny Minority of Extremists™.
Shirley Sherrod has issued a statement addressing the defamation suit she filed against Andrew Breitbart in D.C. Superior Court last week. Sherrod was forced to resign from her USDA job last year, after Breitbart posted an edited video of a speech she gave to a Georgia NAACP chapter.
“This lawsuit is not about politics or race,” Sherrod said in a statement sent to Media Matters by her attorney Thomas Clare. “It is not about Right versus Left, the NAACP, or the Tea Party. It is about how quickly, in today’s internet media environment, a person’s good name can become ‘collateral damage’ in an overheated political debate. I strongly believe in a free press and a full discussion of public issues, but not in deliberate distortions of the truth. Mr. Breitbart has never apologized for what he did to me and continues — to this day — to make the same slurs about my character.”
Sherrod also said that although she knows her suit could attract “intense” media interest, she does not currently intend to speak about it further.
The lawsuit alleges that Breitbart was “angered by the NAACP’s claims of racism against the Tea Party” and used Sherrod “to further his own agenda of counter-attacking the NAACP with claims of racism.” In addition to Breitbart, the suit also names Breitbart.tv head Larry O’Connor and a “John Doe,” who allegedly edited the original video of Sherrod’s speech, as co-defendants.
A news release responding to the suit on Breitbart’s Big Government website refers to Sherrod as “a central figure in the Pigford ‘back-door’ reparations case” and suggests that the suit was timed in response to Breitbart’s reporting on the government’s restitution payments to black farmers.
Last year, after the NAACP released the full version of the video edited by Breitbart, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs publicly apologized to Sherrod.
TSN |
NFL says players' union is 'surface bargaining' so it can file suit
NFL News By Jason La Canfora NFL Network The NFL is confirming that it filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) on Monday. … NFL files complaint vs. NFLPA, alleges sham bargaining SportsBusiness Journal: NFL files unfair labor practice charge against NFLPA NFL files charge against union with labor board |
TPM has obtained the complaint filed by Shirley Sherrod in D.C. Superior Court against Andrew Breitbart. The suit alleges that Sherrod was forced to resign last year after the defendants “ignited a media firestorm by publishing false and defamatory statements.”
Three defendants are named: Breitbart, Breitbart.tv head Larry O’Connor and a “John Doe,” who allegedly edited the original video of Sherrod’s speech, and “whose identity has been concealed by the other Defendants,” according to the complaint.
The complaint alleges that the defendants “defamed Mrs. Sherrod by editing and publishing an intentionally false and misleading clip,” which went on to do “extensive and irreparable harm to Mrs. Sherrod and her reputation.”
The suit asks for Breitbart’s post and the video to be pulled down by Breitbart and O’Connor, as well as for an order to prevent the defendants from “engaging in future tortious conduct against Mrs. Sherrod,” and seeks compensatory damages of no less than $ 5,001 and additional punitive damages.
“Most difficult for Mrs. Sherrod is her inability to continue in a career that she loved,” the complaint states.
Read the whole complaint here.
The latest on Edwards:
[F]ormer senator and Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards testified earlier this week in a civil lawsuit his former mistress brought against a former aide over a purported sex tape involving the politician and mistress.
Rielle Hunter, a former campaign worker who gave birth to Edwards’ daughter, has sued one-time Edwards aide Andrew Young and his wife, alleging that they took the sex tape and photographs of Edwards with her daughter from her.
No details have been released about Edwards’ deposition, but it could be of interest to federal investigators looking into possible criminal activity involving campaign funds during his 2008 presidential run.
Legal experts told WRAL that his testimony could be used to cross-examine Edwards if he took the stand during a criminal trial.
 Fox News |
NFL, Cowboys hit with class action suit over Super Bowl tickets
Fort Worth Star Telegram Two men — one from Tarrant County and one from Pennsylvania — have filed a federal class action lawsuit seeking more than $ 5 million for Super Bowl fans who were denied seats or were assigned temporary seating with obstructed views … Fans Sue NFL Over Super Bowl Seat Saga Green Bay Packers fan reaction: NFL collective bargaining agreement NFL team owners and Players' Association reps meet in Washington DC to further … |
 USA Today |
Suit filed over unfinished Super Bowl seats
Pittsburgh Post Gazette Eagan Avenatti, a Los Angeles-based law firm, filed a class-action lawsuit Tuesday against the Dallas Cowboys, owner Jerry Jones and the National Football League seeking damages for Super Bowl ticket holders … NFL Oddsmakers See 70% Chance of Labor Lockout, League's First Since 1987 Super Bowl XLV NFL Commercial: Adds To 49ers Fan Woes? Fans Sue NFL, Cowboys over Super Bowl XLV Debacle |
