We had a ball yesterday visiting Alcatraz. This was my fourth visit and I enjoy it every time. More importantly, the kids liked it (passing the bored teenager test with flying colors). One added feature this year was one of the last survivors of the prison, who was signing his book in the book store when we visited.
Continue reading “Alcatraz and the Beauty of the San Francisco Bay”
Researcher Igor Yakymenko has announced that his team has found a link between cancer and cell phones through a new meta-study — a study of hundreds of other studies. The results include findings of a variety of illnesses linked to long-term cell phone use from headaches to skin ailments to cancer.
Continue reading “New Study Finds Link Between Cell Phones And Cancer”
James Andres Bassos has an interesting lawsuit against Etihad Airways for a flight from Sydney to Dubai. Bassos charges that he was forced to sit next to a “grossly overweight” person and, as a result, injured his back in having to contort his body during the flight. The court in Brisbane, Australia decided that Bassos has a legitimate claim and declined to dismiss he lawsuit.
Continue reading “Passenger Sues Airline After Being Forced to Share Sit With Obese Individuals”
You know that you have arrived at San Francisco airport when this sign greets you in front of your arrival gate. Yes, the Turleys have gone West to find fun and fortune (or at least a family wedding and some beaches). I will try to post each day but that will depend on the signal. (We will be spending a four or five days in Yosemite National Park for the wedding).
Continue reading “From San Fran To Yosemite To La Jolla: The Turleys Invade The Golden State”
CBS is reporting that a family near Dallas had a true surprise at their surprise birthday party for Yoly Nava’s mother when a $60 cake from El Rancho Market was found to have a large pair of scissors baked into the cake. No this was not part of a prison break, just an apparent added ingredient. Two things were a bit surprising. First was the response of El Rancho and second was that a cake from El Rancho actually costs $60.
As expected, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell upheld Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s four-game Deflategate suspension. What is notable however is one fact released by the NFL. Brady allegedly met with NFL investigators, including Ted Wells, and then (after being informed of the need to examine his cellphone) ordered minions to destroy his phone. In a criminal case, such an action could be viewed as obstruction — a separate chargeable offense.
Continue reading “NFL: Brady Ordered His Cellphone Destroyed After Meeting With NFL Investigators”
In Zimbabwe, Cecil the lion was a believed to be a rare animal that was relatively safe from trophy hunters and poachers. After all, the 13-year-old lion wore a GPS collar as part of a research project with Oxford University and lived in a reserve funded by various governments and organizations to keep animals safe. Indeed, Cecil was something of a beloved celebrity. What park rangers did not count on was combination of corrupt tour operators, a foreign hunter, and an array of others seeking to lure the lion out of its protected area. Officials say that hunters paid $55,000 for the fun of shooting Cecil and then cutting off his head and skinning him. He was lured out of the park with bait so that he could be killed for sport. The culprit was allegedly a US dentist Walter Palmer from a small town near Minneapolis. Palmer loves to kill large animals and then pose with their bodies in postings on social media.
The University of California admissions department has updated its applications to reflect alternative genders. However, the school has not simply added “transgender” or a third option. Instead, it has added six gender identity categories.
Continue reading “University of California Gives Students Six Gender Identity Categories”
For those who are already upset about the prospect of the country again being given simply a choice between a Bush or a Clinton in the general election, they might not want to read the recent interview of President George W. Bush and Bill Clinton in Time magazine. In a revealing aside, Bush shrugs off the real significance of the result of the election so long as it is either a Clinton or a Bush: says it really does not matter so long as it is either a Bush or Clinton: “What difference does it make,” he said at the time, “if the order is Bush/Clinton/Bush/Obama/Clinton or it is Bush/Clinton/Bush/Obama/Bush?” It appears that we have a dynastic democracy.
With so many families struggling these days to make ends meet, new Los Angeles Clippers forward Josh Smith may have chosen an awkward way of introducing himself to his new fans. Smith told the media that it will be a bit harder on his family to make ends meet but that they were persevere with his salary. The Smith family will be somehow struggling on a $7 million salary.
Despite the determination of investigators at the State Department and intelligence agencies that Hillary Clinton did use her personal email system to handle confirmed classified information (and potentially compromised “hundreds of classified emails”), Clinton dismissed such allegations and assured the public that it is “pretty clear” that there was no classified information on her personal email system — a system that she used rather than the secure State Department system.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Obama Administration is preparing to release one of this country’s most notorious spies in an effort to placate Israel in the aftermath of Iranian agreement. Jonathan Pollard, an Israeli spy, betrayed his country and was arrested as he attempted to flee to the Israeli embassy in 1985. He was not only convicted of espionage but the Justice Department and intelligence agencies have long maintained that he did untold harm to the national security. The question of the release of Pollard has always raised interesting political, social, and legal questions. Thirty years is certainly not an insignificant amount of time and Pollard reportedly has health issues. My greatest concern is one of special treatment, particularly on sentencing policy for other national security cases. (For full disclosure, I have handled and continued to serve as lead counsel in national security cases). Continue reading “Concession or Coincidence? Pollard Reportedly To Be Released In Aftermath Of Iran Deal”
In a major development on the Clinton email scandal, the New York Times is reporting that the inspectors general for the State Department and the intelligence community have asked the Justice Department to open an investigation into whether there was mishandling of classified information by Hillary Clinton using a personal email account while secretary of state. While the newspaper referred to the action as a criminal referral, the Administration quickly moved to counter the story and insist that it is not technically a criminal referral. We have previously discussed this story and the insistence of Clinton that she did nothing wrong in maintaining a private email system and that none of the emails were classified. I disagreed with both premises as well as expressed great skepticism over Clinton’s insistence that she was really not trying to control her emails and insulate them from review but rather simply did not want to carry around two phones. According to the New York Times, investigators believe that Clinton’s email archive contained “hundreds of potentially classified emails.” Nevertheless, the Justice Department appears to be moving to counter any expectation of a criminal investigation against the former Secretary of State under Obama. We have previously discussed the special treatment historically given powerful figures in violating national security rules or practices.
The Jefferson Jackson Bailey dinners are famous events for the state Democratic Party in Connecticut. However, as part of the backlash against historical figures who owned slaves, the NAACP demanded that both names be stripped away from the dinner and the state Democratic Party agreed.
Continue reading “Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson Dropped From Democratic Events”
British Prime Minister David Cameron has long been a target of civil libertarians criticizing his dismissive attitude toward basic rights and particularly speech and privacy rights in that country. As if to prove his critics right, Cameron has publicly made comments that can be best described as Orwellian and some have gone as far as describing as fascistic. In calling for new extensive powers, Cameron said “For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens: as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone. It’s often meant we have stood neutral between different values. And that’s helped foster a narrative of extremism and grievance.” It seemed like a scene out of V for Vendetta as Cameron called on citizens to give up their rights to fight the threat of terror.