Yesterday I spent the day hiking in Bryce National Park in Utah — an experience that was physically taxing and spiritually rejuvenating. Utah is one of the most beautiful places on Earth and this is the gem of Utah. What I did not expect was the heaving snow levels — three feet of snow in many places. I was not exactly prepared for a snow hikes but there was no way that I was going to stay off the trails. I tried various trails and completely two. I made a few miles on two other trails before they became impassable with deep snow. I came back to the hotel wet and cold and wiped out but blissfully happy.
Category: Society
If the allegations are true, Diego Chaar is a horrible anti-Semitic person. He is accused to yelling Allahu akbar outside of a synagogue and saying that he would cut the heads off the congregants. Yet, the case presents a potential free speech issue after Chaar is facing charges of stalking and assault.

Criminal defense attorneys have long objected to “experts” produced at trials by the Justice Department who often seem to closely follow trial theories rather than scientific or forensic data. I have handled cases where experts used by the Justice Department gave almost laughable testimony filled with errors in national security cases but courts continue to admit their testimony. This week, one such expert, FBI Special Agent Steven Kimball, fell apart on the stand when confronted with clearly conclusions over basic and easily ascertainable facts.
Continue reading “FBI Agent’s Testimony Shredded In Boston Bomber Trial”

It is unlikely that despite the company’s slogan, Applebee’s will be seeing Hiram Jimenez tomorrow. An appellate court in New Jersey ruled that Jimenez cannot sue after he was burned by a sizzling plate of fajitas.
The debate of the fairness and efficacy of quota systems heated up this week after German legislators have passed a law requiring the top 100 companies to allot at least 30 percent of the seats on their boards to women within the next two years. The bill also mandated increased in women in upper level positions for some 3,500 companies. The companies could face sanctions if they cannot find enough women to fill the quota.
Continue reading “Germany Imposes Quota of 30 Percent Women On Corporate Boards”
Rap music mogul Marion “Suge” Knight is facing a murder charge in a hit-and-run death on January 29, 2015. The video below has now been released which shows why police have treated this as a murder case (warning the video is graphic). This is the type of video evidence that makes it very difficult for a defense attorney to penetrate the minds of a jury.
Continue reading “Suge Knight Reportedly Shown In Videotape in Lethal Hit-and-Run”
There is an interesting case out of Florida where a Deputy Austin Douglas, 29, has been fired and arrested after officials say he texted photos of a suicide victim to his ex-girlfriend’s cell phone. The termination is understandable but the criminal charge is relatively rare.

Islamic State militants have continued their scorched earth campaign to wipe out anything considered non-Islamic. After destroying art and artifacts in the Mosul Museum and then the priceless ruins at Nimrud, ISIS is now destroying the ruins of the large fortified city at Hatra, one the capital of the first Arab kingdom. The site has withstood attacks since 116 with the Romans, but ISIS is using modern explosives and bulldozes to eradicate the 2000-year-old site.
Continue reading “ISIS Reportedly Demolishes Second Ancient Site”
We recently discussed the case of a Russian who was arrested for carving his name into the ancient walls of the Colosseum. Now, due to the actions of two California women aged 21 and 25, we must bear the shame of such a despicable act. The women used a coin to carve large letters of J and N into the site. We have also discussed stupid acts, including by Americans, where art has been damaged by accident. However like the graffiti by the Chinese tourist, on the Luxor temple, and the Russian tourist who carved a K on the Colosseum this was an intentional act of thoughtless destruction. He was not a stupid teenager, but a 42-year-old man.
Continue reading “Two California Women Carve Their Initials Into Colosseum and Then Take Selfie”

The brutal character of Sharia criminal law was evident in Iran this week after a man was forcibly blinded in one eye after being convicted for an acid attack that blinded another man. It was the literal application of the concept of “an eye for an eye.” We discussed the Iranian judicial ruling on blinding people for such crimes ten years ago. In this case, the man was blinded in his left eye and will later be blinded in his right eye unless “blood money is paid.”
Continue reading “Iran Blinds Defendant Under Sharia Law’s “Eye For An Eye””
Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw) Weekend Contributor
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the massive cuts to education and programs for the poor by the new Governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner. In that article, I mentioned that Gov. Rauner seemed to be parroting the budget methods of Governor Brownback in Kansas and Gov. Walker in Wisconsin, both of whose state economies have been floundering under their respective austerity programs.
Well, it seems that in Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker has gone even farther in his attempts to balance the budget on the backs of the middle class by proposing massive cuts to the Department of Natural Resources, while attempting to wrest control of various agencies from the public domain and capturing them in the Executive branch of government. Continue reading “Cutting the Great Outdoors of Wisconsin, Along With Everything Else!”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Idaho Liquor Licensees who show movies have been served with notice demanding that they not show the blockbuster Hollywood hit “Fifty Shades of Grey” while serving alcoholic beverages. The agency claims that doing so violates Idaho law prohibiting the display of sexually explicit movies while serving alcohol.
Many are wondering why the ABC singled out Fifty Shades of Grey and not various other R-Rated movies having sexual situations that dominate the movie industry.
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
The Bank of Canada moved to protect its economy from a sudden spike spock in its currency.
The Canadian Dollar spocked in value following the death of Actor Leonard Nimoy a week ago. Currency traders marked the five dollar notes and in turn succeeded in initially increasing its value. This was then followed by a run on the bank notes prompting the Bank of Canada to intervene to protect the dollar’s value.
Continue reading “Bank Of Canada: “Stop ‘Spocking’ Our Currency””

The systematic destruction of art and historical and religious sites continued this month with another crime against humanity by Islamic State militants. The extremists reject images of the human body as violations of Islamic teachings and despise earlier civilizations that were not based on their Islamic traditions. So, after destruction priceless artifacts and art in the museum in Mosul, IS destroyed the the ancient Assyrian archaeological site near Mosul. The loss is truly incalculable for humanity.
Continue reading “Islamic State Bulldozes Ancient Nimrud Site”
On the eve of the decision not to prosecute of Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown, state prosecutors are considering charges against Michael Brown’s family. While potentially explosive in light of the rejection of civil rights charges, the case is based on what is reported as criminal acts of assault and theft by Brown’s mother Lesley McSpadden and other family members.
Continue reading “Police Consider Charges Against Brown Family In Ferguson”


