London and the world is reeling from the video from yesterday of two Muslim men who killed and mutilated the body of an English soldier and then asked people to film them as they raved about their atrocity. The men reportedly screamed “Allah Akbar” as they butchered the soldier. A man now identified as Michael Adebolajo is shown promising onlookers that “you and your kids will be next.” In the midst of this horror scene however there was inspirational moments including a woman who gets off her bus to confront Abebolajo covered in blood and holding a meat cleaver.
We have all had it happen. You are sitting in a restaurant or walking on the street when you accidentally hit your phone and dial an unintended call. A friend or relative then has to sit and listen to you discussing an order or chatting with a taxi driver. Scott Simon, 24, however, may have the worst butt call story of all. Pompano Beach police say that his phone dialed 911 as he was discussing his plan to kill a man. The police tracked him down just minutes after the man was killed. Presumably, this was a Nokia just fulfilling its promise of “connecting people.”
I have previously stated that I fail to see the basis for criminal charges in the IRS scandal. Prior administrations have faced allegations of targeting opposing groups and such matters have been treated as abuses but not crimes. Yet, various news sites are reporting this morning that Lois Lerner, the director of the IRS division, will invoke the Fifth Amendment before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Her counsel asked the Committee to withdraw the demand for her testimony in light of her intention to refuse to testify on the grounds that it may incriminate her.
We have previously discussed the continued prosecution of minors for engaging in sexual conduct under state laws. These laws have a sexist record of boys prosecuted for having sex with a minor where girls were treated as the victim, even when the sex was consensual and both were minors or close in age. There is a new case out of Indian River, Florida that is equally troubling. Kaitlyn Hunt, 18, is a senior in high school and is facing felony charges for engaging in a sexual relationship with another girl at her school. Despite an outcry against prosecuting Hunt for consensual sex, the prosecutor has refused to drop the charges of two counts of lewd and lascivious battery of a child 12 to 16 years of age. Assistant State Attorney Brian Workman has insisted that he will only agree to a plea deal where she would accept one felony conviction and a two-year sentence of home confinement. Such a plea would likely put Hunt on the sex offender registry for life.
We have yet another case of police being accused of beating a citizen for filming them in public. Makia Smith says that Baltimore police beat her up and smashed her camera when they filmed them beating a man in the street. She is now suing the Baltimore Police Department, Police Commissioner Anthony Batts and police Officers Nathan Church, William Pilkerton, Jr., Nathan Ulmer and Kenneth Campbell in Federal Court.
As the scandal over the attack on the press continues in the Associated Press investigation, another such attack has come to light. The Obama Administration in 2010 investigated Fox News correspondent Jeff Rosen and the FBI treated him as “at the very least, either as an aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator” for merely speaking with a source. It was a perfectly Nixonian moment — yet another example of how Obama has adopted many of the same abuses as Richard Nixon. While journalists, public interest groups, and even Democratic members have denounced the attack on the media in the Associated Press investigation, Obama stepped forward to defend the investigation and praise the work of the Justice Department. He doubled down on those complaining about his Administration’s shocking record on whistleblowers and reporters by saying that he would make “no apologies” for the greatest attack on the media in decades.
Submitted by Charlton Stanley (Otteray Scribe), guest blogger
Dr. Isaac Ray
The relationship between mental health and the legal system is a turbulent one at best. One major problem is they speak two different languages. For example, insanity is a legal term found nowhere in any psychiatric or psychological diagnostic manual.
There are several key words used commonly by both professions, but which have quite different meanings. The words “validity” and “reliability” are part of the vocabulary of science. To a scientist, the word validity means that a test measures what it claims to measure. When a test is intended to measure depression or anxiety, the user can assume it measures depression and anxiety.
Reliability refers to the repeatability of a test or measurement. If we give the same test to the same subject several times, all the scores will fall within the standard error of measurement 95% of the time.
When an attorney uses the word validity, it means, Binding; possessing legal force or strength; legally sufficient.
The legal interpretation of the word reliability suggests the subject matter is trustworthy, and that one can rely on it. However, when a scientist says something is reliable, it means whatever is being tested will get the same results with every retest, within the Standard Error of Measurement.
An examination of the literature of both professions reminds us of the quip attributed to George Bernard Shaw, “[We] are two peoples divided by a common language.”
When I was in graduate school, a well-known attorney gave an invited lecture to the student body. The speaker made several sweeping generalizations about the mentally ill; all of them displaying a stunning ignorance of facts. Then he turned his venom on those in the mental health professions, referring to mental health professionals scornfully as, “Soul doctors.” I would like to say people like him are rare, but they are not. I have known judges who, quite literally, did not believe in mental illness. We had one of those in our area who, mercifully, retired a few years ago. People like that remind me of those misogynistic knuckle-draggers who don’t believe there is such a thing as rape.
Now, back to the stormy relationship between the legal system and mental illness.
This video shows a police officer fighting with a young man over math and declaring “I do not have to prove shit to you” when confronted over his math. The officer dismisses the “genius” who tries to tell him that double .08 is .16.
Rickey Christopher, 23, obviously does not like jury duty. Many people feel the same but he is fast making jury duty into the worst chapter of his life. Christopher was previously dismissed from jury duty for repeatedly showing up late. Then when he was ordered to appear for possible contempt of court, stemming from his jury duty, he failed to appear. There is now a warrant out for his arrest from Oklahoma County District Judge Ray C. Elliott. It is a good thing that such charges are generally handled without a jury. It would be hard to find 12 peers of Christopher to appear on time to try the case.
There was an interesting confrontation in Seattle this week where a man flew a drone just feet away from a family home. The drone was camera-equipped and the mother called police. Before the man left, he insisted that he had a right to use a private drone to surveil his neighbors. No it is not John Ashcroft’s neighborhood. I wanted to clarify a couple of points before others take to the air for some private snooping.
This video shows a confrontation between a couple in Cotati, California and police after the police were called to investigate a domestic violence complaint. The couple tells the police that they were simply yelling in an argument and refused to allow the police to enter without a warrant. The police respond by kicking down the door and tasering the couple.
The Norwich police was called to a public disturbance this week in a reported clash between Star Wars fans and Doctor Who fans at a Sci-Fi convention. The Sci Fi turf war reportedly erupted when Norwich Sci Fi Club treasurer, Jim Poole, a Star Wars fan, appeared at the rival club’s event at the University of East Anglia and tried to get an autograph from Doctor Who actor Graham Cole. It appears that there were no true Jedi masters who could use their Jedi mind control trick. Of course, this does not work on some species and Dr. Who is not human.
A Tibetan monk named Kardo was reportedly beaten to death by Chinese police after they found him in possession of recordings of speeches by exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
Convicted Philadelphia abortion doctor has reached an agreement with prosecutors to avoid the death penalty: he has waived his right to appeal in exchange for a sentence of life without parole. I have no problem with the conviction of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 72, who performed late abortions in violation of state law under the most gruesome and horrific conditions. However, the use of the threat of the death penalty to waive appeal is a serious concern for civil libertarians.
Many of us have raised concern over the same voices in Congress who called for attacking Iraq, Libya, and other countries are now calling for yet another intervention in Syria. While many of the Syrian rebels forces have been tied to extreme Islamic groups, senators like John McCain and others want us to send weapons to these forces. This could be a repeat of what we saw in Afghanistan where we trained and equipped radical groups that then turned on the United States. The video below captures just how strange our bedfellows in Syria may be with a leading commander filmed as he ate the heart cut out of a Syrian soldier. The video shows how little we know about many of these groups and the increased savagery on both sides of this civil war. The video shows Abu Sakkar – the prominent founder of rebel group Farouq Brigade.
London and the world is reeling from the video from yesterday of two Muslim men who killed and mutilated the body of an English soldier and then asked people to film them as they raved about their atrocity. The men reportedly screamed “Allah Akbar” as they butchered the soldier. A man now identified as Michael Adebolajo is shown promising onlookers that “you and your kids will be next.” In the midst of this horror scene however there was inspirational moments including a woman who gets off her bus to confront Abebolajo covered in blood and holding a meat cleaver.
