Finland

* Carmen Electra filed a federal suit against a strip joint, alleging that the gentleman’s club defamed her by using a scantily clad picture of her without her prior consent, thereby insinuating that she removes her clothing for money there or otherwise endorses its sexy services. [New York Daily News]

* Happy anniversary to our favorite SCOTUS monk: If Justice Thomas sticks to his usual routine when the Supreme Court returns from its winter break, he’ll have officially gone a decade without asking a question from the bench. [New York Times]

* Aloha! Just one week after receiving a $25 million donation and changing the name of the school, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law is losing its dean to Hawaii Pacific University, where he’ll serve as president. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

* DLA Piper recently acquired Peltonen LMR, a Helsinki firm, bringing its grand total of Nordic offices to three. Unlike in the past, we hope that this time DLA Piper knows what country its new office is located in. Pssst… it’s Finland. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

* If you’ve been waitlisted by the law school of your choice, we hope that you’re a particularly patient person, because you may be waiting to find out your academic fate until April, or worse yet, July. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]

* SCOTUS decided not to hear the case about telecoms allegedly warrantlessly letting the NSA listen to your calls. So, does this mean we’re all on Candid Cellphone? [Threat Level / Wired] * We mentioned the Harvard Law grad turned alleged scam artist, John Donald Cody (a.k.a. Mr. X), last week. Check out this cool story about how the feds tracked him down after years of searching. [Arizona Republic] * A Finnish lawyer recently won the World Wife Carrying Championship, which is, I guess, exactly what it sounds like. Scandinavians are strange. [The Irreverent Lawyer] * Everyone loves stories about old people accidentally growing drugs because they didn’t know what marijuana looks or smells like. Harkens back to simpler time! [Legal Juice] * Now the TSA is apparently mistreating and humiliating terminal leukemia patients. Pardon the bluntness, but f**k you. Seriously. [San Francisco Chronicle] * At least U.S.Customs Enforcement agents can still get their jobs done without disrespecting the sick and the old. Kudos for nabbing this dude flying in from Asia wearing body armor and carrying luggage full of weapons. The TSA folks should take notes. [ABC News]