TresSugar

The People's Court Jester

GiggleSugar — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 09:26:44 -0800

Introducing the Lord of the Peanut Gallery, otherwise known as Ole Beady Eyes. You may wonder why you keep hearing the People's Court theme and getting intros to cases with no resolution, but just keep your eye on the guy in the newsboy cap. He is either itching to get his opinion out or he's waiting for the meds to kick in.

World Wide Web of Justice: People's Court RAW

CitizenSugar — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:15:14 -0700

I'll admit, in my youth I abused TV courtroom dramas. Hey, I was young, it was summertime, and the talkshow/reality TV circuit was in its nascent stages. That's why to this day I can recite the whole opening to The People's Court. You know, "both parties have agreed to dismiss their court cases and have their disputes settled here, in our forum, The People's Court.

You can imagine my excitement about this: People's Court Raw. It takes the court concept and smashes it into YouTube, letting bickering parties upload videos of their side of the argument, and letting the Internet community decide who wins. This is why the Internet was invented - so we can all be Judge Wapner. It's so brilliant, it just might work.

Cases on the docket now and open for voting: "Why do we need 4,000 giant dog beds?" and "Do you think it's OK if guys show emotion and cry?" That's it folks, you won't hear another peep from me today, I'm going to being playing bailiff on this site.

Would you submit a case for adjudication by a jury of your Internet peers? What question would you like settled? Is it even worth it without Doug Llewelyn asking the tough questions in the lobby?

The People's Court: What's Your Verdict?

GiggleSugar — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 12:00:00 -0800

A not so little known show called The People's Court is in its ninth season of broadcast. Seriously, people--what the hell are we watching here? (You know you're guilty of tuning in at some point or another.) The show attributes itself to the rise of the entire "television court show genre" because it was the first to feature an hour's worth of "real litigants...real cases...real justice...all year long!" Right. I think the people and cases featured on the show are about as legitimate as the following Mad TV parody. So what's your verdict on The People's Court?

Front Page: HPV Vaccine Reminds Girls of Sexual Risks

TresSugar — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:00:43 -0700

A new study shows that the HPV vaccine reminds girls of risks associated with sex, such as contracting STDs, instead of giving them a license to be promiscuous as some people feared. - Salon
Wal-Mart is now selling affordable coffins. - BBC News
A Dutch court has told 14-year-old Laura Dekker that she is too inexperienced to sail around the world by herself, and she will be placed under the guardianship of child protection authorities until next year. - New York Times
A sixth person has been arrested for the gang rape of the 15-year-old California girl outside her homecoming dance. - CNN
Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates and Cambridge Police Sergeant James Crowley sat down for another beer this week, this time without President Obama. - Huffington Post

Front Page: Bush Makes Debut as Motivational Speaker

TresSugar — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:00:35 -0700

Former president George W. Bush made his debut as a motivational speaker yesterday when he spoke at the Get Motivated! seminar in Texas. - Washington Post
Senate majority leader Harry Reid says the Senate's healthcare bill will include a public option that lets states opt out. - New York Times
During a three-day sting, federal officials have arrested 700 people involved in child prostitution. - LA Times
A new study reveals that kids between the ages of two and five watch 32 hours of television per week. - AP
A French court has convicted the Church of Scientology of fraud. - BBC News

Beyonce Too Sexy For Malaysia

TresSugar — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:30:00 -0700

Beyonce won't be showing off her, um, leotards anytime soon in Malaysia. The singer has canceled her upcoming show in the predominately Muslim country because it has upset conservative Muslims who think her show is immoral.

Although Beyonce is not subject to the country's Sharia courts and cannot be tried for moral offenses, her sexy dances and costumes would nevertheless cause some outrage. The country's Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party called for the cancellation because it would promote "Western sexy performances." Well they're right about that - Beyonce definitely puts on a sexy show.

Considering a 32-year-old Malaysian model was recently sentenced to be caned for drinking a beer in a hotel nightclub, I'm not so surprised some people there aren't ready for Beyonce's jelly.

Student Fights For Right to Wear Confederate Clothes

TresSugar — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:00:00 -0700

South Carolinian teen Candice Hardwick believes her freedom of speech was violated when school officials forced her to change her clothes and turn shirts inside out because they featured the Confederate emblem. Candice, whose state still flies the Confederate flag at the state house, was even suspended from her middle school for continuing to wear the controversial logo. A federal court ruled that the school district could prevent her from wearing the clothing, but now Candice is appealing the decision.

Candice's family says she's not celebrating a past of slavery and segregation; she just wanted to honor her heritage since her family members fought for the South during the Civil War. But for many people, this argument is a smokescreen. To them, the Confederate flag unequivocally represents nostalgia for a disgraceful past, and it's not incidental that the KKK and Neo-Nazi groups use this emblem to represent their views.

If the Confederate emblem is a loaded symbol everywhere, its racial repercussions couldn't be felt more than in Candice's school district, where schools were segregated until the 1970s and separate proms were held for blacks and whites well into the 1980s. Despite Candice's arguments, the lower court ruled that Confederate clothing could disrupt learning in racially diverse schools. We'll have to wait to find out what happens on appeal. Should public schools be able to ban students from wearing Confederate clothing?

Teen Suspended For Telling Muslim-American to Take Off Hijab

TresSugar — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:00:00 -0700

Heather Lawrence, a 16-year-old from Spring Hill, FL, may want to rethink what it means to be a patriotic American.

A junior ROTC member who wants to enlist in the Army next Summer, Lawrence was recently suspended for chastising a fellow student in the halls who was wearing a hijab, saying, “Take that thing off your head and act like you're proud to be an American." She first took offense at the girl when she noticed that she didn’t stand for the pledge of allegiance. Lawrence's parents, outraged that she was suspended for five days, are thinking of taking legal action. (The girl Lawrence confronted didn't complain, but a teacher overheard the remarks and reported her.)

Lawrence’s parents say that it’s Heather’s First Amendment right to “speak her mind,” but Springstead High’s principal sees Heather’s behavior as a of violation the district’s policy against bullying and harassment. According to a school staffer who asked Lawrence why she confronted the student, her harassment seemed to have a prejudicial tinge. "She began to rant,” said the staffer, “that she was enlisting and was going to Iraq and that basically because the girl looks Middle Eastern, that makes her an enemy because all Iraqis are Middle Eastern."

We’ve talked before about how Muslim women wearing hijabs seems to set a lot of people off. As for having to say the pledge of allegiance, last year the US Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a provision in Florida law mandating that people must stand for the pledge.

What do you think of Lawrence’s treatment of the hijab-wearing Muslim-American and her subsequent suspension? When does patriotism go too far?

Britain to Impose Booze-Ban on "Antisocial" Drunks

TresSugar — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Starting today, anyone who behaves "antisocially" while drunk can be banned from pubs, bars, and other public places in England and Wales for up to two years.

Many people in Britain believe that drastic policing like this must be used to change the culture of heavy drinking. But not everyone is on board with the latest crackdowns - or booze antisocial behavior orders (ASBO). One civil liberties activist says:

It will be jelly bean ASBO for sugared-up kids next. Surely it's time to call last orders on endless new legislation.

While this is the first time antisocial behavior orders will be handed out for public drunks, British courts have been using them to curb other bad behavior for some time now. So what else counts as anti-social behavior in the UK? Earlier this month, a man was given an animal ASBO after bees from his hives repeatedly stung the neighbors. The beekeeper was ordered to move his hives. And a magistrate judge gave another Brit an ASBO for throwing shopping carts outside a supermarket two or three times per week. The ASBO makes it criminal for the man to throw shopping carts going forward. That sounds about right.

Do you think this sort of targeted justice is the best way to solve societal problems like excessive alcohol consumption? Will telling a drunk that he can't go to pubs and bars for a couple of years change anything?

Malaysian Woman Sentenced to Caning For Drinking a Beer

TresSugar — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:00:00 -0700

Not every woman around the world can enjoy the simple pleasures of life, like sipping a cold beer on vacation, without fear of physical punishment. Recently, 32-year-old Malaysian model Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno was sentenced to be caned for drinking a beer in a hotel nightclub.

After being taken into custody and transported to a prison for her punishment today, Kartika was prepared to endure the caning. Unexpectedly the Islamic Sharia court granted her a reprieve until the holy month of Ramadan is over, throwing her case into confusion. Still, officials maintain that the delayed sentence stands.

So why was she sentenced to such a punishment in the first place? Malaysia operates under two legal systems, which includes Sharia courts that can try Muslims for moral or religious offenses. Although prosecution is rare, Muslims like Kartika can be jailed for up to three years or given six strokes of a cane for drinking alcohol.

While she was spared the caning this week, Kartika is not happy about being in legal limbo and her father says: "My daughter wants the sentence to be done. I'm afraid that people will make fun of the religion."