TresSugar

The Wench Is Named WHAT?!

GiggleSugar — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 10:00:00 -0700

This game show contestant works as a wench at Medieval Times, but her occupation isn't the only thing that's a blast from the past. She's got quite an imaginative name on her too. In fact, it makes me want to put on a cone-shaped princess hat and skip around on a stick horsey while waving a magical wand in the air. One, two, wheeeeeeeee! (Thanks, Best Week Ever!)

Front Page: World Leaders Arrive in Italy For G8 Summit

TresSugar — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:00:53 -0700

World leaders have arrived in Italy for the G8 summit on the economic crisis. Their host, Silvio Berlusconi, led them on a tour of the medieval town of L'Aquila, which was hit by an earthquake in April. - AP
Sarah Palin's popularity has risen among Republicans since she announced her resignation as Alaska's governor. - USA Today
Karl Rove finally testified today, as Congress tries to figure out his role in the Department of Justice attorney-firing scandal. - Politico
Google is taking on Microsoft by launching a PC operating system. - Financial Times
At least 40 people in Pakistan have been killed by suspected US drones. - BBC

Britain's Libel Laws Take Piss Out of Freedom of the Press?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:45:37 -0700

Are the British aiming to squash free speech? Robert Murat, an official suspect in the Madeleine McCann case, has settled his libel case against several British newspapers for overconnecting him to her disappearance with headlines like "Sex Secret of Madeleine Suspect: Briton ‘Shared’ the Wife of Pool Cleaner at Villa." His pay out is thought to be close to $1 million. Murat lived close to location where Madeleine disappeared and was named the first formal suspect though he's denied any involvement in her disappearance last May.

Some consider the decision great.

Murat was libelled. Not once, but many times over. Scores of reports, and many headlines too, defamed him . . . he was often treated not as a suspect by papers but as a culprit . . . papers have been pushing at the boundaries of the British contempt rule for years. More is published about British crime suspects in advance of their being charged (and sometimes afterwards) than was ever the case 20 years ago. Why? Because they have got away with it.

Seems reasonable right? Accuse a guy of killing a little girl in the papers, pay a fine? Well, this free speech and freedom of the press issue doesn't stay on UK soil - British libel laws have a passport. To see how, read more.

Here's the other side of the coin:

Perhaps you don't live in England or Wales, so you think this has nothing to do with you. You're wrong. English libel law now applies to everyone on earth. Make any accusation, anywhere in the world, and if the subject can demonstrate that a single person in England or Wales has read it, you could be sued for every penny, cent, rouble, rupee, or renminbi you possess. The Internet and the global nature of publishing ensure that these medieval laws have become the most powerful extraterritorial legislation ever drafted.

Even Sens. Joe Lieberman and Arlen Specter voiced concern over the reach of the libel grab in the WSJ, saying: "Individuals with alleged connections to terrorist activity are filing libel suits and winning judgments in foreign courts against American researchers who publish on these matters."

Maybe Richard Jewel would have had something to say on the matter? Where's the line between libel and freedom of the press?

Source

Packing Heat, Rosaries: Priests Bear Arms to Protect Churches

CitizenSugar — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:00:19 -0700

Thieves are figuring if they're already committing a sin, they might as well go large. A recent spate of church robberies is forcing some Russian priests to consider bearing arms to protect their religious icons. One such attack inside the Golden Ring in Russia (near Moscow, with long historical ties to orthodox Christianity) ended with thieves holding a priest at automatic gunpoint while they relieved the church of its prized medieval icon.

The brains behind the Glocks for Jesus plan? The police. Acknowledging that abysmal area roads would make responding to calls for help too little, too late, the authorities have advised priests to apply for licenses and carry firearms. The thieves know the police can't get to churches in time and have taken to using off-road vehicles. This combined with rising drug and alcohol addictions, fuel the thieves' quests for the valuable pieces and also makes them more violent.

The diocese does not see carrying guns as a solution, and according to a spokesman the plan is fundamentally flawed. "Of course it's nonsense for priests to have a gun. . . there must be a state program to protect churches. It is not only up to the church to defend itself because this is everyone's heritage."

Source