According to Simon Bucks at Sky News, “the crossword editor is planning to leave a gap when he publishes the puzzle’s answers, with a note blaming the omission on legal considerations.”
Posts Tagged ‘United Kingdom’
“US to lift 21-year ban on haggis”
P.S. Not unrelatedly, a haggis-related Blawg Review #248 at Scots Law Student. More: Alex Massie, Spectator (via Katherine Mangu-Ward).
P.P.S. Jumping the gun? An email to Andrew Sullivan from someone claiming to be with USDA says the ban is under review for revision but that no decision has been made yet. And more from Katherine Mangu-Ward.
Great moments in deportation law
“An Iraqi immigrant who stabbed two doctors to death has won the right to stay in Britain after a judge ruled that he would pose a danger to the public in his homeland. … The Home Office wanted to deport him on his release to protect the British public,” but a tribunal ruled that a violation of international human rights because Laith Alani would pose a danger to the Iraqi public and himself. Presumably it’s better for the British public to face the dangers. [Telegraph]
January 20 roundup
- Renewed attention to Amirault case contributed to Coakley’s political nosedive [e.g., Jacob Weisberg of Slate via Kaus, earlier] First time a Massachusetts prosecutor has paid a political price over that episode?
- Many, many Democratic elected officials call for rethinking/renegotiating Obamacare rather than trying to force it through [e.g. Barney Frank] Blue Mass blogger: talk radio fueled ire at Coakley, let’s have FCC shut it down [Graham]
- “Big Brother and the Salt Shaker” [NY Times “Room for Debate”, Food Liability Law, earlier on NYC initiative and more] NYU’s Marion Nestle “loves” being called a nanny statist, so we’ll just go right on calling her that [Crispy on the Outside]
- Terror suspects win right to seek compensation from UK government over restrictions on their activities [Canadian Press]
- “Men Without Hats. Meaning no hard hats. Meaning The Safety Dance never met OSHA requirements. No wonder it was shut down.” [Tim Siedell a/k/a Bad Banana]
- Italian judge orders father to go on paying $550/month living allowance to his student daughter, who is 32 [Guardian/SMH, earlier on laws mandating support of adult children]
- Two informants vie for potential bonanza of whistleblower status against Johnson & Johnson [Frankel, AmLaw Litigation Daily]
- “Polling Firm Says John Edwards Is Its Most Unpopular Person Ever” [Lowering the Bar]
U.K.: “Health and safety experts warn: don’t clear icy pavements, you could get sued”
“…[T]he professional body that represents health and safety experts has issued a warning to businesses not to grit public paths – despite the fact that Britain is in the grip of its coldest winter for nearly half a century. … The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents expressed its disappointment that public safety was being neglected because of fears of possible litigation.” A past president of the British Orthopaedic Association said: “If people want to clear pavements, they should just do it. I would have thought it’s a public service and it is a shame we have ended up with a culture where if someone slips, they want to sue someone. People need a bit of grit, in both senses.” [Telegraph] Update: IOSH, the health and safety group, says newspapers misstated its position and that it is indeed in favor of businesses’ gritting public paths (h/t commenter Yossarian).
“Law firm offers divorce vouchers for Christmas”
No word about reconciliation coupons, though, in this promotion by a London law firm. [Ananova, The Lawyer]
U.K.: £300,000 bill in fight over 7 sq. yards of “worthless” land
Cheltenham, U.K.: “A businessman is facing a £300,000 legal bill after losing a boundary battle with his neighbour – over an area of land of just seven square yards.” About half of that represents the loser-pays bill that will be handed to Martin Charalambous and his partner for pursuing a legal campaign through appeal whose cost far exceeded the value of the land. [Daily Mail, Telegraph, This Is Gloucestershire]
“British Restaurant Makes Customers Sign Plum Pudding Release”
The High Timber restaurant in London is seeking to protect 
itself because it follows the traditional practice of including the occasional coin or silver charm for lucky diners to happen upon. [Zincavage] Similarly in this 2005 dispatch (supermarket pudding); for the parallel custom of baking figurines into New Orleans king cake, see these posts.
Poole townspeople to get a real Christmas tree
The $22,800 fake one, though purportedly superior on health and safety grounds, was unpopular and got vandalized. [U.K.: “Beresfords lawyers who profited from sick miners lose appeal”
“Two former lawyers whose firm earned £136 million by handling compensation claims for sick miners lost their appeal yesterday against being struck off for dishonesty.” [“struck off” = disbarred] The firm secretly kicked back more than $1 million to a union official to get the work, and made improper deductions from the sums owed to clients. “Mr Beresford banked more than £30 million — which bought him a jet, Aston Martins and a Ferrari — from fees paid to his firm by the Government for its work on coal health claims.” [Times Online]