According to the Associated Press, Ms. Gibbons has been found guilty and sentenced to prison and depor­tation. No word on whipping. More to come. . . Update: 15 days impris­onment. Update II: According to The Daily Mail, the prison where Ms. Gibbons is to spend her 15 day sentence was designed to hold 200 women, and currently houses 1,500 women and children. On the other hand, Sudanese officials are rumored to have started processing depor­tation papers for this weekend, suggesting she may be sent home early. Update III: According to Rational Jenn, Fox News, &c., protesters are demanding Gibbons’ execution. According to CNN, her time served [ . . . ]

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British National Gillian Gibbons, who teaches children in Sudan, has been arrested and charged with offending religion. She had been held without charges for several days. Today, Sudanese officials filed formal charges. She faces a potential sentence, if convicted, of 40 lashes, a year in prison, or a hefty fine. She came under suspicion after the children in her class voted to name the classroom’s new stuffed bear mascot “Mohammed.” Naming a stuffed bear “Mohammed” is appar­ently offensive to Islam, and Sudan has laws against offending a religion. Allegedly, Sudan’s anti-​​​​blasphemy law is religion-​​​​neutral. The classroom contained both Muslim and non-​​​​Muslim students. Sudan is 70% [ . . . ]

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Ari Armstrong, the Software Nerd, and Gus Van Horn have recently discussed so-​​​​called “Blue Laws.” Ari discusses the Denver Post’s editorial support for a Colorado legislative push to overturn that state’s Sunday alcohol sales prohi­bi­tions. Software Nerd mentions the Supreme Court’s decision in Gallagher v. Crown Kosher Super Market of Mass., Inc., 366 U.S. 617 (1961). Gallagher is one of three cases on Blue Laws (specif­i­cally Sunday Closing laws, requiring certain busi­nesses to close on Sundays, often including alcohol and liquor retailers), decided on the same day in 1961. Gallagher and Braunfeld v. Brown, 366 U.S. 599 (1961) both concern Blue Laws [ . . . ]

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Jorja Fox, who plays Sara Sidle on CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, is leaving the show! Tonight was her final appearance! Apparently this is old hat, and had I been paying any attention to the Internets, I would have know this since August. Still, it is quite disappointing.