A few weeks ago, Kathleen Parker, a writer for the Washington Post, likened Obama to a woman because of his negotiation style, calling him the first female president. (See the article here.) Confronted with crises and criticisms, our President hasn’t responded in the alpha dog style of many male politicians. Instead, he’s a listener and talks it out. Traditionally, according to Parker, these methods are exercised almost exclusively by women. While the author is quick to commend the President on this refreshing change from the norm, she also points out that his style, especially in response to crises like the BP oil disaster, may have decreased his effectiveness. Does this mean that women, in negotiating and communicating in this talk-it-out method are also less effective? Or is that assessment only true of men who adopt that style? The article goes on to cite research from University of Minnesota Professor Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, who asserts that men can adopt feminine communication styles without the consequence of being labelled as ineffective. Parker, however, isn’t convinced that Obama hasn’t suffered for his adoption.
Additionally, women are generally viewed as effective communicators while employing “feminine” communication styles, but have been chastised for taking on styles normally ... Read more..
If you listen to the news at all, then you have undoubtedly heard the profanity filled rants that allegedly came from Mel Gibson toward Oksana Grigorieva, his ex-girlfriend and mother of his daughter. What you may not have heard are the rumors that have begun to swirl around that Grigorieva may have tried to extort Gibson with these tapes.
According to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s detectives are investigating just that.
Steve Whitmore, the spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, refused to elaborate any more into the rumors than that, stating only that “detectives will follow the investigation wherever it leads.”
Grigorieva, a 40 year old Russian singer, has used her spokesman to deny any of the allegations. Stephen Jaffe, Grigorieva’s spokesperson, was quoted saying that “there is no credible evidence whatsoever of extortion by [Grigorieva], and she stands steadfastly by that statement.”
The timing of the tapes’ release does raise an eyebrow due to the fact that the two are currently in the middle of a custody dispute over their eight month old daughter. The records in that case are sealed.
The effects of these tapes on Gibson will likely be devastating. According to The ... Read more..
“Everywhere you look” is a person trying to make a quick buck. And that’s no exception in the recent criminal case involving John Stamos, the actor who played the beloved Uncle Jesse on the popular ‘90s TGIF show “Full House.”
Scott Edward Sippola and Allison Lenore Coss, Michigan residents, were convicted on July 17 for allegedly trying to extort money from Stamos, reports CNN. The couple claimed to have photographs of Stamos nude and doing cocaine while surrounded by strippers, taken on the week he split from his wife.
They also claimed that Stamos and Coss had formed a romantic relationship that started when she was seventeen, which resulted in a pregnancy.
Stamos admitted to an e-mail exchange with Coss, which he characterized as fun, and even flirty, but says that he never considered her more than a friend. These e-mails continued until Coss asked for $680,000, in exchange for which she would not give the photographs of Stamos’ alleged inappropriate behavior to the tabloids.
At this point, Stamos said he felt “threatened and violated” and contacted the authorities, who took over the electronic correspondence. Their involvement culminated in a sting operation at Coss’s and Sippola’s home, in which FBI agents tricked Sippola and ... Read more..
The British Columbia government has plans to make what the Vancouver Sun calls “revolutionary changes” to family law in the province.
These changes will better reflect modern society, to update the Family Relations Act that was passed 30 years ago. The government’s proposal will revise the legal definition of a parent, and it will update property rules, children’s interests in parenting disputes, and even the terms that come with family legal issues, like “custody,” “access” and “guardianship.”
The proposed revisions will also look to change the nature of the separation process, rendering it less adversarial than it is now. The hope is that these revisions will make it easier for couples to find solutions to problems out of court. Such issues that they would like to move out of the courtroom would be matters like child custody and division of assets.
Vancouver lawyer Georgialee Lang had strong feelings about the proposed changes. “This is groundbreaking, absolutely groundbreaking,” she told the Vancouver Sun. “I think they’ve done a very comprehensive job.” She also said that herself and many other lawyers have wanted revisions like these for a long time.
Attorney-General Mike de Jong and his office released over 170 pages of changes that are recommended, ... Read more..
The Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., recently opened a new exhibit entitled “Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.”* Rockwell’s art speaks to filmmakers Lucas and Spielberg for its ability to tell a story. Rockwell’s storytelling can also speak to lawyers seeking to use narrative in persuasive brief writing.
The exhibit begins with a series of photographs that Rockwell used when selecting props in Back to Civvies, a painting about a soldier returning home and trying on his old (and now too-small) civilian clothes in front of his dresser mirror. The photos show how Rockwell arranged real-life props such as a bomber model and poster, college pennant, and uniform jacket with campaign ribbons to depict the pilot’s life before leaving for World War II and after coming home.
Rockwell found details from his life, often things appeared from his work room or house in his paintings. Rockwell painted his own sofa in Let Nothing You Dismay, and he painted a ship model in The Toy Maker that can be seen hanging on the wall of his studio in a photo taken almost forty years after the painting. Those details convey precision, realism, and give ... Read more..
