2005

Lawmaker Will Keep Promise to Run Naked Through Town

Saying he did not want to break an election promise, New Zealand legislator Keith Locke will run naked through an Auckland suburb. Locke, a member of the Green Party, stated publicly that he would run through the streets naked if…


Germans Told Not to Smile for Photos

Germany’s interior minister, Otto Schily, ordered passport officials on Thursday not to accept new passport photos in which the applicant is smiling. Germany’s new biometric passports are intended to be used with facial-recognition computer scanners, which apparently work best when…


Hey, Hey, Hey! It’s Trademark Infringement!

Bill Cosby has successfully wrested control of a domain name mentioning “Fat Albert” from a cybersquatter who was allegedly using it to divert Internet traffic for commercial purposes. Those who searched for and clicked on www.fatalbert.org (for whatever reason they…


Indian Rat Surveillance Department Comes Under Fire

The Hindustan Times, which I of course read religiously, reported Monday that the New Delhi city government agency that is responsible for catching rats apparently has not actually caught any rats at all in over ten years. Although (according to…


Undisclosed-Ghost Defense Asserted in Lease Case

The defendant’s lawyer says he “has deeply held beliefs regarding spirits and demons” that “require him to avoid encountering or having any association with spirits or demons.”



“Real Men Study Law”

Bruce Reed, in Slate Magazine: [I am] still reeling from revelations about [John] Roberts’ youth in [a] fascinating psychological profile from Sunday’s Washington Post. The article recounts one especially telling episode. Young Roberts was considering a graduate degree in history,…



Saddam Unhappy with Legal Team; Fires 1,499 of Them

The AP reported this week that Saddam Hussein, facing charges for genocide, murder, torture, and a shitload of unpaid parking tickets, has fired everyone on his legal defense team except for one attorney, Khalil al-Dulaimi. Evidently, that means Khalil will…