Bizarre, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics, Religion, Society, Uncategorized

Introducing the Cyber Burka: Iran Outlaws The Virtual Intermingling Of The Sexes

150px-muslim_woman_in_yementhumb_at_computer_silloetteThere are times when Iran and other sharia-based countries look like characters out of a Fellini film. This week, Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued another fatwa to Muslims that left the rest of the world chuckling. Khamenei has outlawed participation in social networks that include both men and women. He wants something akin to a Cyber Burka for women to avoid even getting as little as a tweet from a man who is not a family member. Adding to the absurdity, he used his website (which presumably has both men and women) to make the announcement.. He also has a Facebook but presumably any future “friends” will be male.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Society, Torts

Family Calls N.C. Police To Home During Son’s Schizophrenic Episode . . . Police Repeatedly Taser The Boy, Pin Him On Ground, and Then Shoot Him

vidal8n-1-webThere is a troubling case out of Boiling Spring Lake, North Carolina, where a family says that police were called to assist them with their son, Keith Vidal, 18, who was having a schizophrenic episode. After tasering and holding down the boy, an officer shot and killed him. The family says that the police pointed out that he had a screwdriver but they say that the screwdriver was tiny and could not have hurt anyone and that Vidal, who was being held down by multiple officers, was only 90 pounds.

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Politics, Religion, Society, Uncategorized

Too Sooner For Satan? Temple Asks Oklahoma Legislature To Allow It To Add Statue To Baphomet On State Grounds

satan_statueIt is a scene that would warm the cockles of every Satanic heart. In Oklahoma, the Satanic Temple has unveiled the design for a 7-foot-tall statue of Satan that it believes would go nicely at the Oklahoma state Capitol. After all, the legislature put a Ten Commandments monument on the site in 2012. So why not the comforting image of Baphomet, a goat-headed figure with horns, wings and a long beard for children to gather around and take strength from on school visits? While it seems a tad unlikely that the Oklahoma legislature (which has a history of intermingling Christian faith with legislation) will add a Satanic element to the Capitol grounds, it forces the question of why it is permissible to depict one religion in exclusion of others.

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Academia, Bizarre, Society

Coldageddon II: After National Mockery For Canceling School On Day With 18 Degree Weather, Fairfax Orders Two Hour Delay For Wednesday

mqdefaultClearly Fairfax County School officials do not watch our scientific polling. While our polls shows (at the time of this posting) over 94 percent of readers criticizing the decision to cancel classes over cold that ranged from 8 to 18 degrees, Just as a follow up . . . I was just notified that the Fairfax County officials have ordered a two-hour delay for the morning. That is a delay ordered for a day with a projected temperature of a low of 25 and high of 32. There is no snow or icy roads.

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

French Government Officials Call For A Ban And Prosecution Of Comedian For Hateful Speech

220px-DieudoWe have previously discussed the alarming rollback on free speech rights in the West, particularly in France (here and here and here and here and here and here) and England ( here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here). Much of this trend is tied to the expansion of hate speech and non-discrimination laws. Often these cases involve vile or obnoxious speech, but such speech is the test of our values. We do not need laws to protect popular speech. One case in point is French comedian Dieudonne M’Bala M’Bala, who likes to target Jews in his popular shows. He has already been hit with fines approaching $100,000 for his jokes and there is no a move to have been prosecuted criminally. For jokes. Bad even sick jokes to be sure. But jokes.

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Academia, Bizarre, Society

Coldageddon: Washington Panics In the Face Of Eight Degree Weather

mqdefaultI know that I have previously complained about the snowphobia that grips Washington, D.C. the minute a flake descends from the clouds. I have long been mystified by the closures of schools and businesses with even a dusting of snow. Then there are the spontaneous car crashes that seem to follow immediately after a flake hits a car hood. However, nothing prepared me for today. All of the school in Fairfax are closed because it is cold. That’s right. No, snow. No freezing rain. It is eight degrees so schools are closed. That is clearly really cold. But does it require cancellation of schools? The forecast today is sunny with a high of 17 degrees. [Update: As of noon, it was sunny, 19 degrees, and rising in McLean.]

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Bizarre, Congress, Criminal law, Justice, Politics

Notes From America’s Animal Farm: Clapper Now Did Not Lie But Was Confused And Shocked

Robert-Litt220px-James_R._Clapper_official_portraitThe Obama Administration continues to struggle with questions of why it has blocked any investigation, let alone prosecution, of James Clapper (right), director of National Intelligence, who previously acknowledged lying before the Senate. Not only has Clapper not been fired, but Obama has asked him to help oversee the “reforms” of the very abusive program that he helped run and then lied about to Congress. It is part of America’s Animal Farm where government officials can commit crimes with impunity while pursuing others like Snowden for arrest. Yet, the questions persist about Clapper so the Administration sent forth National Intelligence general counsel Robert Litt (left), who promptly made it far worse.

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Criminal law, International, Politics, Religion, Society

BBC: Taliban Commander Sends Eight Year Old Sister On Suicide Mission

158px-flag_of_afghanistansvgEven for people who have followed the utter depravity and hatred of Muslim militants in places like Afghanistan, the BBC report from Helmand province yesterday truly shocked the conscience.  BBC is reporting that an eight-year-old girl was found approaching a police checkpoint wearing a suicide vest.  She is thought to be the sister of a leading Taliban commander.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Politics

NSA Refuses To Confirm That It Has Not Spied On Congress While Secret Court Renews Massive Surveillance Program

NSA logo smallBernieSandersSen. Bernie Sanders asked the National Security Agency (NSA) a question that one would have thought would be easy to answer: has the NSA spied on Congress with its massive surveillance programs? The answer that came back was chilling in what it did not say. The NSA would only assure Sanders that it has “the same privacy protections as all U.S. persons.” That must be a bit unnerving for Congress since it has allowed the NSA to strip citizens of the most basic privacy protections.

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Congress, International, Military, Politics

Nine Years After U.S. Took Fallujah, Al Qaeda Retakes The City

300px-thumbnail220px-Defense.gov_News_Photo_041108-M-8205V-003Many of us on this blog have been critical of the Iraq war from the outset as a war based on a false claim by the Bush Administration and then perpetuated by political cynicism by both Democratic and Republican leaders who did not want to be accused of “losing” the war. The costs were paid by soldiers and taxpayers in a war where the U.S. was often openly opposed by government figures and demonized in many parts of the country. It was clear that we were propping up a government that could not maintain order or loyalty across the country. Now, shortly after our withdrawal of combat troops, one of the most costly “victories” of the war — Fallujah — has been retaken by Al Qaeda as militants threaten additional takeovers in the country. Despite this history, members of Congress are already complaining that we should have continued the ground war longer at the cost of more American lives and billions of dollars.

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Criminal law, Society

Iowa Man Arrested In DUI Case After His Level Of Intoxication Exceeded Measurement on Breathalyzer

bildeThere is an interesting case out of Iowa City where Levi B. Carter, 28, has been charged with drunk driving. Nothing uncommon there. However, Carter was arrested at his home after a passenger called police following a crash into a street sign. He was found at home with a blood alcohol content nearly six times the legal limit.

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Criminal law

German Architect To Plead Guilty In Fatal Fire

12-579989_9_1images-2We have previously discussed the interesting case of German architect Gerhard Becker, 49, who was criminally charged for his negligent designs at a Hollywood Hills mansion, particularly a fireplace that was designed for exterior use only. The case raised the question of where we draw the line between civil and criminal liability. It now appears that that line will be drawn with Becker on the criminal side. He has reportedly decided to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter. It is a case that will likely be discussed among architects and builders for years to come. However, Becker’s conduct is sufficiently extreme that it should not be taken as a criminalization of negligence in design. Yet, there is likely to be other cases where victims will demand the same criminal charges against architects in the aftermath of fires or collapses or other problems.

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Criminal law, Lawyering

West Virginia Lawyer Arrested in New Year’s Shooting Over Pizza Delivery

Conrad_Jamison1-150x148140103_22112_640West Virginia lawyer Jamison Conrad is facing a serious criminal charge that could result in not just his incarceration but his disbarment He is charged with with being an accessory after a malicious wounding. Conrad allegedly helped cover up a shooting by his friend, Michael Underwood, 30, in a dispute over a pizza delivery. The video below was released by the police of the struggle and shooting. You can see one of the two bullet wounds on the back of the shirt of the victim, of Charlie Scott, 23, in the light blue shirt. You can also see Conrad picking up the cellphone of Underwood, which the police claim is evidence in the crime.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society

Edward Snowden And The Public Interest Defense: Part 2 – The Risk To Power of The Popular Will

By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

This is the second of a multi-part article on the Public Interest Defense and its application to the the Edward Snowden situation. The defense is not recognized in America but other nations have considered this legal mechanism to provide an appropriate way to deflect criminal charges from whistleblowers like Snowden. You can read the first installment of the series here.

The Trial of Publius Horatius

Publius Horatius (The Younger)
Publius Horatius (The Younger)

When last we met Publius Horatius, soldier of Rome, he had saved the Eternal City from disaster in an epic battle of champions and then was quite ceremoniously convicted of  treason against the state for the murder of his sister thus preventing the Senate from dealing with her traitorous grief over one of the fallen foe of Rome. In a clever legal maneuver made at the secret behest of the Roman king, Tullus Hostilius, who distrusted the designs of the Senate in passing him this hot potato of a case,  Publius invoked the ancient right of every Roman citizen to a provocatio ad populum — a direct appeal to the people of Rome. Readers of the Christian Bible will likely recall that Paul of Tarsus was likewise accorded this right by virtue of his Roman citizenship, though by this time Rome had moved from a republic to an empire and the appeal was made to Cæsar himself.#

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Bizarre, International, Science, Society, Uncategorized

Your Sunday adrenaline fix

Submitted by Charlton Stanley, Guest Blogger

Since it has been somewhat tense around here, I thought a bit of adrenaline might relieve some stress. There is a curious thing about aviators. We hate high places. If you can get a typical pilot on a roller coaster or Ferris wheel, you have accomplished something. Oh sure, there is the occasional outlier who doesn’t mind, but few pilots I know are willing to get out on high places. I once knew a Marine Harrier fighter pilot who went over to a friend’s apartment for a cookout. The friend lived on about the 14th floor. The grill was out on the cantilevered balcony. This tough Marine fighter pilot would not go out there, even when bribed with beer.

I have some theories why this is so, but that involves rather dense aviation psychology research discussion that might give some of our readers a math headache, and is beyond the scope of the #1 Legal News & Analysis Blog on the intertoobz. At any rate, some of us would like to be able to ride a real roller coaster without getting any higher off the ground than we are willing to fall. Quite a feat for a designer to build a fast roller coaster that does not go any higher than the average pilot is willing to fall without a parachute. The Austrians and Swiss have accomplished just that.

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