News & Media

I don’t want to comment extensively on this – but suffice to say that I am delighted to report that evidence in the Argentine Money Trail case will be open to the public. This is a bright day in otherwise dark days for the Argentine press. The Order is here. The court held that matters surrounding the Argentine debt crisis “cannot be litigated in secret. Doing so would limit the public’s understanding of the court’s final decision and, therefore, risk weakening the judicial power, which depends upon public access and trust. See Richmond Newspapers, 448 U.S. at 591 (citing In

For any of you who have followed the case affectionately dubbed “Rakofsky v. The Internet, it is over. This was one of the most unsupportable defamation cases I have ever seen filed. There were clear defenses, which ultimately prevailed. But, since it was filed in New York, which does not have a real Anti-SLAPP law, the parties were subjected to years of litigation and defense costs. And this highlights why we need Anti-SLAPP laws nationwide. All across the country, we find defamation cases filed – not because any plaintiff really believes that it can win, but because the plaintiff knows

An Argentine journalist credited with breaking the news of a prosecutor’s suspicious death has been forced to flee the country, fearing for his own safety. Damian Pachter of the English-language Buenos Aires Herald is currently in Uruguay, en route to Israel. In 1994, the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association in Buenos Aires was bombed, leaving 84 dead. (source) To date, nobody has been held responsible for the crime, but Argentina and Iran reached a 2013 deal where they would jointly investigate the crime. Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman in 2013 released an indictment in which Iran and Hezbollah were accused of being behind

The Nebraska Supreme Court reminds us in Steinhausen v. Homeservices of Nebraska, 289 Neb. 927 (Neb. 2015) that rhetorical hyperbole is not actionable as defamation. I can assure you that total idiots nationwide will fail to get the memo. In this case, someone referred to a home inspector as a “total idiot.” Nitz argues that in the context of the Hotsheets— which she refers to as a place for HomeServices agents to “express their opinions without pulling punches”38—the phrase “total idiot” is not “a factual statement that [Steinhausen] is mentally defective.”39 Steinhausen responds that “[i]diocy is verifiable” and “can be

Audrey Dunham is comedian Jeff Dunham’s new (vintage 2012) wife. Before she married him, she was Audrey Murdick. Jeff’s ex-wife is Paige Dunham. Paige is accused of registering AudreyDunham.com, AudreyDunham.net, AudreyDunham.us and AudreyDunham.biz. Apparently though, she registered those names before Audrey Murdick became Audrey Dunham. But, according to the complaint filed by Audrey’s lawyers, she did so in anticipation that Murdick would change her name. Meow. “Defendant knew at the time she registered the Accused Domains, that Plaintiff would soon change her name to AUDREY DUNHAM.” It also seems that Audrey Dunham filed for, but has not yet received, a

Guest post by Dr. Marty Klein The first issue published by Charlie Hebdo after a dozen staff members were assassinated is out. Instead of the typical print run of 50,000, they printed (and sold) three million copies. Newsworthy? Of course. Was the cover apologetic, conciliatory, or “balanced”? Hell, no. Newsworthy? Of course. But when CNN reported that the magazine had resumed publishing, it was unwilling to show the cover. The cover breaks no American laws, is not “obscene,” and features neither nudity nor violence nor libel. So why the CNN blackout of this historic event? An anchorwoman explained: “It is

Mount Holyoke College cancels “The Vagina Monologues” because women who don’t have vaginas got their feels hurt. (source) No. Fucking seriously. “At its core, the show offers an extremely narrow perspective on what it means to be a woman…Gender is a wide and varied experience, one that cannot simply be reduced to biological or anatomical distinctions, and many of us who have participated in the show have grown increasingly uncomfortable presenting material that is inherently reductionist and exclusive,” the email, obtained by Campus Reform, said. (source) This is the same All-women’s Mount Holyoke College that recently decided to admit men

By Robert Horne Friends describe Jean Cabut, 77, as a man who tried to laugh as much as possible. An interviewer once asked the esteemed French cartoonist if laughter and drawing could bring him through the economic crisis of the press. (source) His answer is haunting. “I try. You can try, but sometimes there are delicate subjects. Sometimes laughter hurts, but humor and mockery are our only weapons.” (source) Unfortunately, for his fellow French citizens and the civilized world at-large, there has been very few opportunities to laugh since Cabut and 11 other heroes of free expression were gunned down

I hate to interrupt the obituaries of the Charlie Hebdo martyrs (and I use that term with all reverence). I had promised myself that we would publish nothing else until all 12 were done. But this story demands that I interrupt. I am sure that all of the Charlie Hebdo 12 would approve. Raif Badawi is a Saudi Blogger who called for an end to Saudi theocracy. For this “crime” he received a sentence of 10 years in prison, 1,000 lashes, and a fine of 1 million Saudi Arabian riyals (about US$266,600) The official crime was “Insulting Islam” (source) The

By Robert Horne & Marc J. Randazza Franck Brinsolaro was a married father of two and a police officer. His assignment was to guard Stephane Charbonnier, editorial director of Charlie Hebdo. Brinsolaro’s protection was necessary because of constant death threats against Charbonnier from Muslim extremists. (source) Brinsolaro knew his job protecting Charbonnier was dangerous, but he also understood the importance of the idea of free thought and expression. We know this because he was married to a journalist. His wife, Ingrid Brinsolaro, is the editor of the Awakening Normand, Bernay. (source) A husband of a journalist and bodyguard to a

By Robert Horne As a copy editor, Mustapha Ourrad lived his life behind the scenes; cleaning up the work of his colleagues to make sure they put their best work out for readers. Copy editors know their lot in life is making others look good, and we do it with a great sense of pride. Copy editors don’t get the pats on the back or the awards, but without good copy editors, neither would those whose name appears on the plaque. I know because I once worked as a copy editor at local newspapers in the Southern United States. Ourrad

By Alex J. Shepard Phillipe Honoré was born in Vichy, France in 1941. Which, all told, was not a great year to start out. He was a self-taught artist, cartoonist, and regular contributor to Charlie Hebdo who started his career early; he was only sixteen when his cartoons started getting picked up by French newspapers. Honoré is one of the original gang of Charlie Hebdo, as he was a contributor to its predecessor, Hara-Kiri Hebdo, along with John Cabut and Georges Wolinski. He also drew cartoons for several other publications, including Le Monde, Libération, and Les Inrockuptibles. (source). What struck

By Theresa M. Haar Bernard Verlhac was better known as Tignous. His pseudonom is a derivation of “teignoux” which translates roughly to “scabby” or “repugnant” or “nasty.” He was a cartoonist with a reputation for never being excessively polite, proper, or demure. And for that, those who knew him not only loved him, but respected him deeply. Tignous literally wrote the book on how to shock as many people as possible on all possible subjects. In addition to being a well-regarded political newspaper cartoonist for well over twenty years, Tignous authored nine books. One of his earlier works, published in

According to eyewitnesses, “Do you want to kill me?” were the last words spoken by police officer Ahmed Merabet. “Okay, chief” were the last words that he heard before he was shot in the head on a Paris sidewalk. Officer Merabet was 42 years old, married, and Muslim. Officer Merabet did not work at Charlie Hebdo. He was a beat cop, assigned to patrol the neighborhood where Charlie Hebdo’s offices are located. It was probably a pretty good beat. The neighborhood is known for the breadth of its fine dining and wines. Biographical information on Officer Merabet is still sparse on

Frédéric Boisseau was the janitor at Charlie Hebdo. As such, there is not much I can find about him online. He was not an illustrious artist. He was not famous, until today. As I sat down to try to write 12 profiles of the 12 Charlie Hebdo martyrs, I came across his name. I thought at first, perhaps he had not really signed up for this. After all, he was apparently sweeping the lobby when they killed him. But, he worked at Charlie Hebdo for 15 years — including both before and after the 2011 bombing. (source) I can not

Much has been written about Charlie Hebdo Editor, Stéphane Charbonnier. Obviously, since he was the man at the helm. But, let us remember that 11 other heroes died on January 7. I am doing my best to learn all of their names, and a little something about them. Pictured here is Georges Wolinski. He was the editor in chief of Charlie Hebdo from 1961-1970. (source) He is quoted as saying “humor is the shortest way from one man to another” (source) His obituary in Le Monde makes him sound like a consummate libertine. It describes him as having a taste

I lower the flag to half mast today with the second heaviest heart I have ever felt upon doing so. I did not feel this way on 9/11. I felt this way on the day they bombed Boston – because that was my home. Today, our home was attacked. I don’t mean France. I don’t mean Paris. I don’t mean Charlie Hebdo. I mean our freedom of expression. Ours. A group of lowlives attacked and killed at least twelve people at the offices of a satirical magazine for no other reason than they disliked its sense of humor. They believed

Dershowiz moved to intervene. Analysis to follow, but the documents are here: Motion to Intervene Declaration of Alan Dershowitz

Remember the Harvard prof who tormented a restaurant over $4? He’s reconsidered his prior position: “Having reflected on my interaction with Ran, including what I said and how I said it, it’s clear that I was very much out of line,” Edelman wrote. “I aspire to act with great respect and humility in dealing with others, no matter what the situation. Clearly I failed to do so. I am sorry, and I intend to do better in the future. I have reached out to Ran and will apologize to him personally as well.” (source) Good enough for me. We all

It is about time – Flori-duh is finally churning out married same sex couples. All I can say is “welcome to first class citizenship.” (source)