I had to share this video posted by a shopper who captured kids discovering a far better use of fans than just moving air.
The Bergdahl case will raise some considerable challenges for the defense in what could be one of the most notable desertion cases in modern U.S. history. That is, if it goes to trial. This would seem a case where everyone may prefer a plea. The evidence is strong against Bergdahl, though there is clearly a great deal of evidence that has yet to be released. Cases always appear stronger for the government at the time of indictment. However, what we know is pretty bad for the defense. On the other side, the Obama Administration would clearly prefer a plea to a trial that would highlight Bergdahl’s actions and the possible loss of U.S. personnel looking for a deserter (who was later traded for five blood-soaked Taliban leaders with terrorist ties). Such issues would be obvious for prosecutors to raise when discussing the appropriate punishment, if Bergdahl is convicted. However, it could be an argument that the Administration would not want pursued by prosecutors. While such interference is prohibited as “command influence” on a military case, there have been allegations of such influence in past high-profile cases, including controversies in this Administration. In this case, the pressure is likely to be considerable for prosecutors to accept a plea, though such a plea could fuel previously accusations that the case was being manipulated to avoid embarrassment for the Administration.
Below is the longer version of my column that ran in print this morning in USA Today.
Continue reading “The Bergdahl Trial: A Desertion Trial In Search of A Defense”
After months of alleged delay for political reasons until after the elections, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, 28, has been charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.
There is a bizarre story out of Los Angeles where the Los Angeles Police Department spent $22,000 (and had 38 LAPD employees work 320 hours) to bring Rene “Boxer” Enriquez, the infamous ex-Mexican Mafia leader, to an exclusive dinner for private executives. He was featured as a secret, surprise speaker for the well-heeled group called the Young Presidents’ Organization, which describes itself as “the world’s premier peer network of chief executives and business leaders.” Making things worse was the use of an invalid prior order to justify the excursion of “Boxer” Enriquez to entertain the wealthy patrons.
Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, who serves as the grand mufti of Sifaudi Arabia, is calling for Kuwait to follow the lead of Saudi Arabia and ban the construction of any Christian religious site. While Islamic leaders like the Grand Mufti are outraged with any slight or restriction of their religion, they deny the most fundamental rights of free exercise to other religions in the name of Islam. This is nothing new for the Saudi cleric and his colleagues. He previously called for all churches to be destroyed in 2012. It is not clear if this is a repeat of his announcement a few years ago or a recycling of the earlier story. However, it is a shocking position from one of the highest Islamic clerics in the world and adds an insight into the recent religious violence in places like Syria and Iraq.
Continue reading “Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia: Ban All Christian Sites”
This is one of the most impressive new inventions that I have seen recently and it is the work of two George Mason students. Engineering seniors Viet Tran and Seth Robertson have created a fire extinguisher using low-frequency sound waves to douse a blaze. Question: does this mean that there are never any kitchen fires in the home of Barry White?
Continue reading “George Mason Students Invent Device To Douse Fires With Sound Waves”
Today we have been discussing the call for disbarment against a California attorney for seeking an anti-Gay measure for the state ballot. In Texas, you have another attorney who has attracted controversy over stickers on local businesses reading “exclusively for white people.” The shirtless Adam Reposa is seen in a video defending the campaign. [Warning this story contains foul language]
Attorney Matt McLaughlin, an attorney in Huntington Beach, California, is facing a call for disbarment after he filed for a statewide resolution that would legalize the execution of gay people and make it a crime to support gay rights in the state. Anyone can file such papers and, for just $200, force the attorney general to prepare a title and a summary for the proposed new law. The question is whether this despicable act can or should be used for a bar action as conduct that shows that he is not of “good moral character.”
We have often discussed how prosecutors rarely are held accountable for botched trials due to misconduct or sending innocent people to jail. There remains a body count mentality with many prosecutors that tends to fuel such violations. One former prosecutor has proven the exception, however. Attorney A.M. Stroud III has written a letter, later published in the Shreveport Times, that took responsibility for sending away Glenn Ford (left) for the 1983 murder of Isodore Rozeman, a Shreveport jeweler — a murder he did not commit. Stroud’s letter expressed shame with his own conduct as a prosecutor and further called for an end to the death penalty in Louisiana.
Seven children are being flown to Israel after dying in a fire in Brooklyn. The fire was started by a common practice among Ultra-Orthodox jews. Since they believe God does not want them to use fire or engage in any work (including the turning on of appliances) on the Sabbath, they turn on hot plates before the Sabbath and leave them on. In this case, the hot plate caused the fire that trapped the children and badly injured their mother and another sibling. The father, Gabriel Sasson was at a religious . Lost are Eliane, 16; Rivkah, 11; and Sara, 6; and boys David, 12; Yeshua, 10; Moshe, 8; and Yaakob, 5.
I only learned today that there is a whole series of YouTube videos on how to open a beer with a chainsaw. In watching this video, tears came to my eyes as I thought: “This is why America will remain the inspiration of the world.” I cannot imagine why everyone, in seeing a chainsaw, does not think “this would be great as a beer opener.”
Continue reading “Why America Remains The World’s Greatest Hope”
One of the clerics at the Wazir Akbar Khan mosque in Afghanistan warned police not to punish anyone for the brutal murder of a woman by a mob after she was accused of burning a Koran (Quran). Despite the fact that the rumor that the woman burned the Koran appears false, even the local police chief appeared to defend the mob as just being good Muslims irate at an act of blasphemy. Police are accused of doing nothing during the attack.
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
If it was possible to add another injustice levied against Farkhunda, a woman who suffered a brutal murder at the hands of a mob in Afghanistan that insisted she burned a Koran, authorities publicly announced she was in fact innocent of these claims.
In response to this outrage, a day of national morning occurred during her funeral and burial. Various leaders including Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani strongly condemned her murder as a heinous attack. Reports of police standing nearby and indifferent to the incident lead the president to call for fundamental reforms in the nation’s police forces.
Continue reading “Woman Beaten To Death And Set Alight In Afghanistan Was Wrongly Accused”
By Cara L. Gallagher, weekend contributor
*Warning! This post contains House of Cards spoilers. Beware/Enjoy!
The Supreme Court has never been cooler than it is right now. I place the kickoff around the summer of 2013 with a Tumbler page adorably called Notorious R.B.G. dedicated to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. By last summer, the website tipped. Ginsburg had seen it and commented on her eponymous website telling Katie Couric that she’s “a fan.”
If bloodshed is any proof of adoration, this woman’s tattoo of the “Supreme” R.B.G. puts her on another level of fandom. Clearly Ginsburg is having a moment. Continue reading “Supreme Coolness”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Many are aware of Starbucks Corporation’s “Race Together” campaign where company senior management proffered to promote a dialogue on race relations among their customers. The main initial manifestation of the decision was for baristas to write the words “Race Together” on cups and encouraging a discussion on the matter. Cups were also adorned with labels furthering the message.
While there is little doubt that most persons in the United States want a harmonious relationship between all citizens, there is a question on whether such a campaign is in the interest of shareholders and customers who might be put off by such practices.
Continue reading “Should Starbucks Just Brew Coffee And Not Controversy?”