Attorney Becky Keil made news in May after claiming to have been kidnapped. She has now been charged with making up the story and is facing one count of attempting to influence a public servant and two counts of false reporting to authorities.
Continue reading “Colorado Attorney Charged With False Kidnapping Report”
Iran’s parliament has continued to follow the religious dictates of the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali no matter how bizarre or repressive. So, when Khamenei ordered people to procreate “strengthen national identity” and counter “undesirable aspects of western lifestyles,” the parliament responded by banning permanent forms of birth control like vasectomies and tubal ligations while also banning advertising of birth control in the country.
Continue reading “Iran Bans Permanent Forms of Contraception and Advertising of Birth Control”
Today the family and I are leaving Boston after three days of enjoying this great city. I spoke at the ABA conference and we decided to turn the trip into a family vacation. We are going to go from here to Cape Cod to whale watch and enjoy the ocean. For me, the highlight was visiting the North End and Little Italy yesterday. We caught various marching bands and had some great food.
There is another disturbing story involving the police seizure of cameras of a scene of alleged police abuse. The arrest of a homeless man was caught on camera in Antioch, California. The arrest turned violent and some accused the police of abuse on the man who appeared mentally disturbed. Regardless of the merits of those allegations, police then added to the controversy by demanding that witnesses turn over their cameras.
I ran over a story today from earlier this year that raises some disturbing questions about the ability of some police departments to police themselves. Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Donna Jane Watts has sued over harassment that she encountered after pulling over another officer for speeding. A video shows Watts arresting Miami Police department officer Fausto Lopez after she was able to pull him over for speeding at 120 mph. Lopez promptly explained that he was late for an off-duty job. As a result of the arrest, other officers allegedly harassed Watts for stopping a fellow officer in the commission of a crime.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has issued a report that informed Congress that it has created 439 new criminal offenses between 2008 and 2013. This staggering figure gives a glimpse into the rapid criminalization of America where there are, by some estimates, around 4,500 federal offenses alone and tens of thousands of more on the state and federal levels. Politicians continue to add crimes, which tend to be popular with voters and do not require immediate budget demands (though they add huge costs not just in enforcement but the costs of citizens themselves in being pulled into the criminal justice system).
Continue reading “CRS: Congress Added 439 New Crimes Between 2008 to 2013”
Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Weekend Contributor
It seems that a week doesn’t go by without news of the latest Big Bank agreeing to pay billions in a settlement with the government over their past and continuing abuses concerning mortgages. This past week was no exception.
“Preliminary reports say that a $16 to $17 billion settlement will soon be announced between the Justice Department and Bank of America. That would break the record for the largest bank settlement in history, set less than a year ago by a $13 billion agreement between Justice and JPMorgan Chase.” Crooks and Liars
Sixteen billion dollars is not chickenfeed! However, as we have learned in the many past settlements, the dollar amounts can be a little deceiving. Continue reading “Bank of America Escapes Jail… Again”
By Mark Esposito, Weekend Contributor
Disgraced Ex-Congressman Anthony Weiner is giving back in a big way — or so he claims. Fresh off a recent loss in New York City’s municipal elections, Weiner held the lead among Democratic mayoral hopefuls until disturbing texts with a decidedly lewd overtone were released by a 22-year-old woman he met online. Other women came forward to sink the Weiner warship but Weiner vowed to remain in politics and be active in the community despite another public humiliation for him and his wife, Huma Abedin, a former Hillary Clinton aide.
And alas, now he’s got an idea to rehabilitate his reputation and Rockaway, Queens, a neighborhood that was devastated by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Beset by rebuilding delays and high unemployment, Weiner proposes a new restaurant with a social conscience in the still reeling community. The Rockaway Restoration Kitchen is months away from it’s first fryer drop but Weiner plans to open the business and employ persons with substance abuse and criminal issues. He also wants to help the diet of the neighborhood, he claims. Rockaway, says Weiner, is a “food desert” dominated by fast food chains and pizzerias. “We want to do something sustainable for the community, while also providing healthy, local food options for the Rockaway population.”
By Mark Esposito, Weekend Contributor
A Portland, Oregon, man had a clever accomplice along for the ride on his latest alleged beer heist. 20-year-old John Jacobson was cruising the local Plaid Pantry Store when an on-duty manager asked him what he as doing with a freshly unloaded case of brewskies under his arm. John threw the beer striking the manager in the face and fled the vicinity. He then headed into the nearby Nike campus where he was sure to blend in with the other heels stacked therein.
Police with K-9 units gave chase and cornered the thirsty bandits in some bushes but not before noticing his diminutive henchman. Harkening those cartoon characters Pinky and The Brain, Jacobson was sporting his pet mouse in his pocket. Police transported the pair to the Washington County Jail where his dad picked up the pet who apparently made bond.
No word on whether John’s dad made his son’s bond. Jacobson was charged with robbery of the beer.
Source: KTVB.com
~ Mark Esposito, Weekend Contributor
By Charlton Stanley, weekend writer
The Federal Aviation Administration issues medical certificates for pilots. There are three levels of medical certificates. Class I, Class II and Class III. The most stringent is the Class I. That is an extremely rigorous medical standard, and must be renewed every six months. This level of certification is for Air Transport Pilots who haul airliners full of passengers. The Class II is for all other commercial pilots. Not as stringent as Class I, but still quite high standards. The Class III medical is for private pilots, and is good for two years. The Class III medical examination is still a strict examination. One of the requirements is to fill out a list of EVERY doctor’s visit not already reported. That means every visit to your family doctor for anything from a runny nose or worse. Do as I did a couple of weeks ago. Gashed my thumb on a piece of glass, and went to the emergency room for some stitches. Required to report that? Oh, yes indeed!
That application form is submitted to the FAA “Under Penalty of Perjury,” so errors of both commission and omission can and do result in draconian penalties. One thing that sets off alarms at the FAA is a visit to a psychiatrist or psychologist. Many veterans have not sought treatment for combat related stress problems for fear of losing their license. I know a number of former Vietnam and Desert Storm combat pilots whom I suspect suffer from untreated PTSD in silence because they know if they see a VA psychologist or psychiatrist, a PTSD diagnosis is a license killer. Yet, some of these pilots have been flying safely since the 1960s.
The requirements for passing a Third Class medical are the least strict, but are nevertheless stringent, especially if the pilot reports having sought mental health counseling.
Several years ago, in 2004, the FAA created a new class of pilot called Sport Pilot. Sport Pilots and are not required to have a Third Class medical certificate. A current and valid driver’s license will suffice. A Sport Pilot’s license is required to fly a light sport aircraft (LSA), but doesn’t need a medical certificate. A state issued driver’s license is sufficient. A Sport Pilot may not fly aircraft exceedomg the limits set by the LSA rule.
Continue reading “The FAA and NTSB vs. Common Sense and (a few members) of Congress — Updated.”
By Mark Esposito, Weekend Contributor
One of the ways we decide how sincere a witness is down at the courthouse is seeing what he said about a topic before there was anything really at stake and comparing that to what he’s saying now. Watching the scandalous political corruption trial here in Richmond for the past few days, I’ve seen plenty of “I said one thing then, but I’m saying something else now” from the various witnesses taking the stand. Take Governor Bob McDonnell’s friend and stockbroker, John Piscitelli, who upon being asked about a particular sleazy scheme to avoid the state’s gift disclosure laws –cooked up apparently by Virginia’s First Lady — answered that he was not “uncomfortable” with the deal. When his prior grand jury testimony was pushed in his face, the securities peddler cleared his throat, straightened his tie, looked around, and then remembered that , lo and behold, the aborted deal to dump stock right before the disclosure deadline and then buy it back did indeed make him feel ” uncomfortable.” Wonderful thing, a trial.
Pity we can’t put politicians on trial simply for being politicians — especially those who are simply flitting around the flame of geopolitical power hoping to catch it for themselves. Take House Speaker and Republican Party leader John Boehner, for example. The burgeoning crisis in northern Iraq caused by the jihadist crazed theocrats of ISIS has come front and center to the world stage. Crashing in from Syria, the fundamentalists, dedicated to establishing a new world order based on a universal muslim caliphate governed by sharia law, have rounded up non-muslim Iraqis, forced them to convert to Islam, and then quite ceremoniously beheaded them or when the swords got too dull, simply stolen their possessions and run the “infidels” into to the mountains. A direct by-product of the unnecessary War in Iraq II by Bush II, the teetering country is now firmly ensconced in civil war with some added religious crusaders to spice the mix.
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
It seems that in Malmö, Sweden police can stop a man for being too muscular.
Police arrested a man after they approached him, suspecting that his physique constituted reasonable suspicion of steroid use. During a field interview their suspicion grew after the man allegedly was reluctant to answer questions.
Submitted By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
No, this is not The Onion website. Reportedly Omar Borkan Al Gala and two other attractive men were deported by Saudi Arabia because they were too handsome and debauchery would ensue.
Telegraph reports the men were delegates of the United Arab Emirates for the Jenadrivah Heritage and Cultural Festival. They attracted more than just the ladies it seems.
Continue reading “Saudi Arabia Deports Men For Being Too Handsome”
I recently wrote on the issue of impeachment that has been reportedly so widely in the media. As I noted in the column and in prior interviews, there is no serious move toward impeachment by the Republicans and most of the impeachment talk has come from the White House and Democrats, including in fund-raising campaigns. Indeed, I was critical of the Washington Post column after one of the hearings in which I testified on executive over-reach. While the issue of impeachment was mentioned only a handful of times and usually to dismiss it as an option, the column was entitled “Republicans see One Remedy for Obama — Impeachment.” It seems that even denying impeachment as an option still constitutes discussing impeachment. Now The Hill newspaper has looked at the congressional record to see who is raising impeachment more often. The result was that Democrats raised the issue 20 times more often than Republicans, who barely uttered the “I” word.
A curious scene will unfold this week at the popular Arlene’s Grocery, the popular Lower East side music venue. Julia Darling, the manager of Arlene’s Grocery, has agreed to stop any man from attending the performance because the band, Bulletproof Stockings, is an all-female Hasidic rock band and leads Dalia Shusterman and Perl Wolfe refuse to perform in front of men for religious reasons.
Continue reading “Hasidic Ladies Night: New York Club Agrees To Bar Men For Orthodox Jewish Band”