Category: Society

Society

Man v. Snow: The Eternal Struggle Continues . . .

IMG_3930
We are all hunkered down in our house with two feet of snow outside with drifts of around five feet. My Chicago upbringing however is hardwired. I cannot stay inside the house with a snow covered driveway. I just can’t. So I have cleared my driveway and can now drive to the wall of about three feet of snow on the street. In Virginia, they call snow removal “Spring.” However, I can drive up and down my driveway in a personal triumph against winter.

Continue reading “Man v. Snow: The Eternal Struggle Continues . . .” →

Criminal law, Media, Politics, Society

Report: Clinton Emails Contained Human Intelligence Classified At Highest Levels

Hillary_Clinton_Testimony_to_House_Select_Committee_on_BenghaziThere is another surprising report out today on the Clinton email scandal. Fox News Reporter Catherine Herridge is reporting that at least one of the emails on Hillary Clinton’s private server contained extremely sensitive information identified as “HCS-O,” the code used for reporting on human intelligence sources in ongoing operations. We previously discussed the disclosure that emails had been identified with Special Access Program information that even the Inspector General could not review without added clearances. In the meantime, some in the Clinton camp may be singing “Let It Snow, Let It Snow.” The State Department is citing the winter storm for yet another delay in releasing the remaining emails — possibly pushing their release past the first primary contests. Any break would likely be welcomed, particularly after a growing number of people including Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates have said that Clinton’s decision to use an unsecure private email system probably resulted in the emails being hacked by various hostile powers.

Continue reading “Report: Clinton Emails Contained Human Intelligence Classified At Highest Levels” →

Bizarre, Politics, Religion, Society

Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Declares Chess UnIslamic

We have previously discussed the wacky views of Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh like declaring that Twitter is “the source of all evil and devastation.” Now the grand mufti has ruled that chess is forbidden in Islam even though Arabs helped spread chess around the world after conquering Persia in the Seventh Century. Yet, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s supreme Shia religious authority, has previously issued rulings forbidding chess. Likewise, after the 1979 revolution in Iran, chess was declared haram, or forbidden.
Continue reading “Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Declares Chess UnIslamic” →

Congress, Criminal law, Politics, Society

Inspector General: Clinton Emails Contain Special Access Material Above The Top Secret Level

Hillary_Clinton_Testimony_to_House_Select_Committee_on_BenghaziFox News and NBC are reporting that Congress has been informed that Hillary Clinton’s unsecure home server contained information classified at levels higher than previously known, including classified Top Secret/Special Access. That would represent some of the most sensitive information to U.S. intelligence. I have held a TSSCI clearance since the Reagan Administration and I am again astonished by the remarkably bad judgment in the use of this server.   In dealing with this type of information, it is generally restricted to SCIF and other highly restrictive access rules.  Indeed, the limitations impose restrictions that have many of us grumbling constantly about the time and travel needed to deal with such documents in a safe and secure manner.  CNN is reporting that “several dozen” new emails have been identified at the high classification level.

Continue reading “Inspector General: Clinton Emails Contain Special Access Material Above The Top Secret Level” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics, Society

Federal Court Rules Against Obama Administration’s Withholding Documents From “Fast and Furious” Investigation

ajacksonUS-DeptOfJustice-Seal_svgIn a major victory for Congress, U.S. District Judge Amy Jackson Berman rejected the executive privilege claims of the Obama Administration in withholding documents from a House Committee looking into the Fast and Furious “gun-walking” scandal. I have long maintained that the refusal of the Administration to turn over material to this and other committees is denial of congressional authority protected under Article I. The case is Comm. on Oversight & Gov’t Reform v. Lynch, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5713.

Continue reading “Federal Court Rules Against Obama Administration’s Withholding Documents From “Fast and Furious” Investigation” →

Free Speech, International, Politics, Society

Iranian Council Disqualifies Virtually All Reformers From Running For Office

200px-Voter_Cast_his_vote_in_ballot_box-_Iranian_presidential_election,_2013_in_Sarakh_3Ali_Khamenei,Iran’s idea of an election has always been something of a curiosity. No more so than this week. The Guardian Council, an unelected group composed of Muslim clerics and hardliners, disqualified all but 30 of the 3,000 reform candidates seeking to appear on ballots for the parliamentary elections. Six of the 12 members of the Council are clerics selected by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Continue reading “Iranian Council Disqualifies Virtually All Reformers From Running For Office” →

Academia, Bizarre, Courts, Society

Poll: Ten Percent of College Graduates Believe Judge Judy Is On The Supreme Court

220px-Judge_Judy_next_to_paintingWe will occasionally have polls that leave me deeply depressed and the recent poll, conducted by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, is such a case. When college graduates were asked, ten percent said that they believe Judith Sheindlin, aka “Judge Judy,” serves on the Supreme Court. That’s right, Judge Judy.

Continue reading “Poll: Ten Percent of College Graduates Believe Judge Judy Is On The Supreme Court” →

Academia, Environment, Politics, Society

Study: Rate of Heat Absorption Of Oceans Has Doubled Since 1997

earth-screensaver_largeWe have another study indicating the rapidly worsening situation due to global climate change. A study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, shows that the amount of man-made heat energy absorbed by the seas has doubled since 1997. That absorption is much higher than anticipated and portends greater threats to ocean life as well as the continuing worsening of intense storms.

Continue reading “Study: Rate of Heat Absorption Of Oceans Has Doubled Since 1997” →

Academia, Bizarre, Society

Conservationists, Hunters, and Historians Losing Fight To Protect Teddy Roosevelt’s Famous Badlands Ranch From Gravel Company

1452694218969One of the thrills for many people in North Dakota has been to visit the Elkhorn Ranch of former President Teddy Roosevelt in the Badlands along the Little Missouri River. While long listed as one of the “11 most endangered historic places” in the nation by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Elkhorn Ranch was the beloved location where Roosevelt hunted, bred cattle and began his writings on conservation. Although the government U.S. Forest Service purchased 4,400 acres, including the ranch, in 2007 as part of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, it did not acquire the mineral rights. Now, over the intense objections of Roger Lothspeich, owner of Elkhorn Minerals, intended to mine gravel and destroy much of the area around the historic site. In response to a national outcry from historians and hunters, Lothspeich said “There is a lot of gravel to mine. I will keep on mining year after year, for years to come, and will not stop until I get all the gravel. That’s the type of individual I am. I just don’t give up.”

Continue reading “Conservationists, Hunters, and Historians Losing Fight To Protect Teddy Roosevelt’s Famous Badlands Ranch From Gravel Company” →

Bizarre, International, Religion, Society

Fifteen Year Old Boy Mistakenly Raises Hand In Mosque and Is Accused of Blasphemy But Then Praised After He Cuts Off His Own Hand

UnknownThere is a truly horrific story out of Pakistan that reveals the sheer insanity that can be instilled in an entire community through religious orthodoxy. News reports indicate that Mohammad Anwar, 15, cut off his own hand after being told that he had committed blasphemy by failing to pray enough. His act was reportedly celebrated by the community as a wonderful testament to his Islamic faith.

Continue reading “Fifteen Year Old Boy Mistakenly Raises Hand In Mosque and Is Accused of Blasphemy But Then Praised After He Cuts Off His Own Hand” →

Environment, Politics, Society

A Simple Diet For A More Civilized Age

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

foodI thought I would take a break from the legal discussions and move to something just as important–actually more so: the healthy diet.

Over the years I have come to appreciate this diet with its numerous aspects that can help not only your own well being, but it actually can contribute toward more sustainable agribusiness model.

I found that it is mostly a waste of money to subscribe to or purchase various diets that are mass marketed. This method I follow eliminates that requirement and the food actually tastes better in many ways.

So, I offer you another choice, and free of any program costs or subscriptions.

Continue reading “A Simple Diet For A More Civilized Age” →

Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics, Religion, Society

Turkey Arrests Dozens of Academics Who Signed Peace Petition As Enemies of the State

220px-Recep_Tayyip_ErdoganTurkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s increasingly authoritarian rule is again evident this week with the rounding up of dozens of professors for simply signing a petition denouncing military operations against Kurds in the south-east of the country. The signatories of the petition included famous linguist Noam Chomsky and the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek. Erdoğan responded angrily to the letter, which was denounced as “terror propaganda” and he called on the judiciary to act against their alleged treachery. Supporters of Erdoğan and nationalist students have been intimidating academics by marking their doors and threatening professors who signed the petition calling for peace.

Continue reading “Turkey Arrests Dozens of Academics Who Signed Peace Petition As Enemies of the State” →

Bizarre, International, Society

Unfriending Decision: Germany’s Highest Court Rules “Friend Finder” To Be An Unlawful Marketing Practice

200px-Facebook.svggavel2There is an interesting ruling out of Germany where the country’s highest court declared Facebook’s “friend finder” feature to be unlawful as a deceptive marketing practice. The case was filed by the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (VZBV).

Continue reading “Unfriending Decision: Germany’s Highest Court Rules “Friend Finder” To Be An Unlawful Marketing Practice” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Society

Supreme Court Strikes Down Part of Florida’s Death Penalty

13scotus-web-master180A nearly unanimous Supreme Court struck down part of Florida’s capital punishment system this week. It found that Florida had given judges part of the role of jurors in determining whether to impose the death penalty. Only Associate Justice Samuel Alito (who has a pronounced record opposing rights for criminal defendants) voted to uphold the law. The case is Hurst v. Florida, No. 14-7505.
Continue reading “Supreme Court Strikes Down Part of Florida’s Death Penalty” →

Courts, Lawyering, Society

Orleans Parish Public Defender Announces That His Office Will No Longer Accept Serious Felony Cases

UnknownMiles_Ehrlich,_judgeAcross the country, public defenders are facing rising case loads and either stagnant or underfunded budgets. While prosecutors tend to receive ample support due to their popular function, public defenders are often given resources begrudgedly in budgets. Now, the Orleans Parish Public Defender’s office has had enough. Faced with serious ethical problems in handling so many cases with so few lawyers, the office announced that starting Tuesday it would begin refusing felony cases with the potential for lengthy sentences. Chief Defender Derwyn Bunton first threatened this action nearly two months ago but has now made good on the threat.

Continue reading “Orleans Parish Public Defender Announces That His Office Will No Longer Accept Serious Felony Cases” →