Category: Bizarre

Thousands Agree To Manually Clean Sewers In User Agreement For WiFi Services

200px-Wifi_logo300px-Sewer_coverNeither Congress nor foreign legislatures have done anything about ridiculous user contracts for services like WiFi or cable that require consumers to sign long agreements with impenetrable legal language and clauses.  It is a knowing effort by companies to impose highly disadvantageous terms in mountains of legalese.  One company however has vividly demonstrated the scam to its credit.  The WiFi company, Purple, inserted language in its standard contract that obligated consumers to clean toilets at festivals and clear sewer blockages.  Some 22,000 people signed up.

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Worst Spy Story Ever: Media Builds On Le Carre Knockoff “Tinker, Trumper, Lawyer, Spy”

I have been discussing the dubious claims of criminal liability over the meeting of Donald Trump Jr. with a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower.  As I have mentioned, there is a legitimate reason to investigate this latest undisclosed meeting, though the overheated rhetoric on possible (if not imminent) criminal charges is bizarre. This morning on CNN, Sen. Richard Blumenthal raised possible charges of espionage and treason.  Putting aside the facially weak foundation for such charges, I must again note that the underlying narrative around this meeting remains rather speculative and unbelievable. I have worked on the legal side of national security investigations for decades in both espionage and terrorism cases. As I said when this meeting first surfaced, none of this makes sense as an actual Russian intelligence operation as opposed to a rather transparent “bait-and-switch.”  If this is a Russian spy mystery, it hardly makes for a sequel of Le Carre’s “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.”

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Comey Supporters Raise A Familiar Clintonesque Defense: The Memos Had No Markings Of Classification

440px-Comey-FBI-PortraitHillary_Clinton_Testimony_to_House_Select_Committee_on_BenghaziYesterday, I posted a column in the Hill detailing how the media and various legal experts have worked mightily to avoid the fact that former FBI Director James Comey (1) leaked his memos to the media, (2) the memos were presumptively government material, and (3) the memos were likely classified and/or privileged under long-standing FBI rules.  As I said in the column and in earlier columns, none of this takes away from the underlying allegations or the importance of the investigation into possible obstruction of justice.  However, the response to the recent Senate Homeland Security majority report and the Hill Newspaper story was precisely what the column discussed: a concerted effort to deny any wrongdoing by Comey (who has assumed the position of an immaculate hero in this political narrative).  One such denial of any wrongdoing came from Comey’s friend Columbia Law Professor Daniel Richman.  Professor Richman invoked a familiar defense: the memos he was given had no classification markings – the very same defense made by Hillary Clinton and rejected by then FBI Director James Comey.

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New York Times: Trump Jr. Told In Advance That Anti-Clinton Information Was Coming From Russian Government To Help His Dad

220px-Nytimes_hqThe New York Times is reporting that “Donald Trump Jr. was informed in an email that the material was part of a Russian government effort to aid his father’s candidacy.”  That would be a significant development in supporting allegations of “collusion.”  I am still skeptical of the alleged crime of collusion and even more skeptical of the alleged crime related to this meeting.  I am also confused by the NYT story which says that the email from publicist Rob Goldstone acknowledged that the information was coming from the Kremlin but the article quotes Goldstone in saying that he had no knowledge of any such connection to the Russian government.

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Dog Racism: New York Partner Sues Condo Over Ban On Pit Bulls

Latham & Watkins partner Michelle Kelban-Carteron is in an intense litigation with the board of managers of her Chelsea Modern condo over what her counsel says is “dog racism” in a ban on pit bulls and “other potentially dangerous dogs.”  The lawsuit by the board cites instances of Luna lunging at residents and barking at other dogs in an aggressive manner.  As a result, they seek an injunction and declaration that Kelban-Carteron has breached her contract and violated the associational rules of the condo.  It also alleges the creation of a nuisance.

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Was The Meeting Between Donald Trump Jr. and The Russian Lawyer Really “Treason” or The “Smoking Gun” of Collusion?

UnknownRichard Painter, an ethics lawyer under former President George W. Bush, has declared that the meeting of Donald Trump Jr., with a Russian lawyer who claimed to have compromising information on Hillary Clinton during the campaign, “borders on treason.”  Others have said that the disclosure could be the long sought after “smoking gun” on collusion and evidence of criminal conduct.  I am afraid that I have to continue my record as something of a “buzz kill” on these stories.  There is not a clear criminal act in such a meeting based on the information that we have.  Moreover, it is not necessarily unprecedented.

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Arizona Arrest Raises Free Speech Question Of Whether Mocking Scalise Shooting Constitutes Criminal Threat

1499374902036We often debate on how one should take a mug shot. Mark Prichard, 59, went with the “I’m really happy” approach.  His crime however was less joyful.  He was arrested after allegedly making threatening comments toward Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake’s staff that referenced the shooting of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise.  There is an interesting First Amendment issue raised by some of the charges against Prichard.

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California Moves To Become Sanctuary State In Defiance Of The Trump Administration

California flagWith Congress  moving to give the Trump Administration authority to withhold grants from sanctuary cities, California is moving to become a sanctuary state.  Under Senate Bill 54, the “California Values Act,” state and local law enforcement would be prevented from cooperating with the federal government in the deportation of illegal immigrants.  The bill would bar such actions even for undocumented immigrants who have committed serious crime (given a narrow definition of “serious felonies”).

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Trump Supporter Admits Writing Anti-Trump Graffiti On School To Frame Liberals

hc-west-hartford-vandalism-suspect-arrest-0701-20170630Meet Steven Marks, 32, a Trump supporter who decided that it was a brilliant idea to write anti-Trump slogans on the Morley Elementary School in West Hartford man to frame liberals.  He succeeded (with the help of the school security system) only in implicating himself.  

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Two South Carolina Teens Arrested After Posting Pictures Of Their Adventure in Water Park After Break In

4212559000000578-4669878-image-m-60_14993131365764212558C00000578-4669878-image-a-61_1499313146228We have two more felons undone by social media habits.  Logan Brooke Larrimore, 18, and Farren Marie Lane, 18,  decided to break into a South Carolina water park and then posted pictures on Snapchat of themselves enjoying the slides and Italian ices.  It did not take long for the police to track them down and they now  facing felony charges.

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Is This Amelia Earhart?

170705-amelia-earhart-marshall-islands-1937-njs-921a_dc54c36fc9e07144008eb24d4b245ccf.nbcnews-fp-1200-800-1The search of Amelia Earhart is a mystery that seems to deepen by the year.  The latest intriguing twist is the photo above.  Marked “Jaluit Atoll,” the photo shows a short-haried woman wearing pants and sitting with her back to the camera.  Near her is a tall man resembling her co-pilot Fred Noonan.  The 1937 photo was taken on a dock in the Marshall Islands and is being cited as support for the theory that the two were captured alive and died in Japanese custody during World War II on the island of Saipan.

 

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No Taxation Without Capitalization: Colonial Williamsburg Seeks Tax Break After Losing $227 Million In Five Years

Colonial Williamsburg is one of my favorite spots in Virginia.  You can walk around the preserved city and get a sense of colonial life.  However, it appears that Williamsburg is high on history and low on profits.  The non-for-profit has revealed that it has lost $277 million in the last five years and laid off 71 workers.  Despite outsourcing work and cutting back, Colonial Williamsburg is struggling at a time when the city of Williamsburg is threatening to levy a new 7 percent admissions tax and increase both hotel and meal taxes.  The tax increases seem rather odd when the venerable institution is already struggling to keep the candles burning.  This is the main draw for the area and it would seem that the city and state could do more than impose new taxes to help support this historic area.

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“It’s About What You Believe”: Qatar Bans Wonder Woman Over Israeli Actress

Wonder_Woman_(2017_film)It appears that Qatari will be left “waiting for Gadot” for some time after the government banned the move “Wonder Women.”  The reason is that lead actress Gal Gadot (who plays Diana Prince) is Israeli.  The government joins Lebanon and Tunisia in banning the film.  The Muslim countries appear to agree with Wonder Woman in saying ” It’s about what you believe.”  Gadot believes in the Torah and that is enough for the Qatar government.  (Of course, Wonder Woman added “And I believe in love. Only love will truly save the world.”) That part is clearly not part of this decision.

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