When the highly anticipated movie "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" opened Friday in theaters, many fans had already seen it. The online leak of a pirated, unfinished version of the 20th Century Fox film a month ago sent federal authorities springing into action and stoked a heated conversation within the entertainment industry about digital piracy. Piracy of upcoming films is not new, but the theft of “Wolverine” is especially troubling for an industry concerned with a stalled economy and the financial bottom line
Tag Archives: legal
Mosquito Coast Bites Nicaragua’s Ortega
A separatist attempt to form a breakaway nation of indigenous people on Nicaragua’s jungle shores has the legendary Mosquito Coast buzzing once again — and posing a dilemma for leftist President Daniel Ortega.
Golfing fashion faux pas?
America’s John Daly has always stood out from the golfing crowd but this garish number, worn at the Spanish Open where he is currently competing, took this to a new high. Al-Marri made the surprise plea during a two-hour hearing in a federal courtroom in Peoria, Illinois
Former ‘enemy combatant’ pleads guilty
Ali al-Marri, once the only designated "enemy combatant" on U.S. soil, has pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to provide material support to al Qaeda, the Justice Department said Thursday. Al-Marri made the surprise plea during a two-hour hearing in a federal courtroom in Peoria, Illinois
Probe calls for Bangladesh troop deaths
Human rights groups in Bangladesh and abroad are calling for an investigation after 16 borders guards accused of participating in a bloody revolt in February died in custody in recent days. The Bangladesh military acknowledged the deaths of the Bangladesh Rifles paramilitary troops, or jawans — but insisted they were the result of illness and suicide. “Given the history of abuses by security forces in Bangladesh, there is no reason to take at face value the claim that these detainees have committed suicide,” said Brad Adams, Asia director or the New York-based Human Rights Watch, in a statement
Cheney defends dark side interrogations
No one’s enthusiastic about torture, but Dick Cheney is back in the news, talking-up some pretty tough stuff.
Zuma, South Africa’s Next President, Now Must Prove Himself
Jacob Zuma’s election as President of South Africa, all but assured as his party took a formidable lead in early results from this week’s balloting, completes an extraordinary, triumphant comeback in which he overcame prosecutions for rape and corruption and finally toppled his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki.
Senate report: Rice, Cheney OK’d CIA use of waterboarding
Top Bush administration officials gave the CIA approval to use waterboarding, a controversial interrogation technique, as early as 2002, a Senate intelligence report shows. On July 17, 2002, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, who later became secretary of state, said the CIA could proceed with “alternative interrogation methods,” including waterboarding, when questioning suspected al Qaeda leader Abu Zubaydah. The decision was contingent on the Justice Department’s determining the method’s legality.
Transgender murder, hate crime conviction a first
A Colorado man was convicted of first-degree murder and a bias-motivated crime and sentenced to life in prison for killing a transgender teen he met on an online social networking site.
Obama’s Growing Dilemma on Torture Prosecution
Less than a day after President Barack Obama told CIA employees in person that he didn’t support prosecuting them for the harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects, he left open the possibility that those who drafted the legal opinions justifying such questionable techniques could end up facing charges. The surprising statement marked just the latest step in Obama’s evolving view of the Bush Administration’s handling of terrorism cases, and it underscored the fine line he is navigating in his stated commitments to uphold the rule of law and at the same time move beyond the divisive Bush years