We have periodically been faced with a particularly twisted class of criminals who destroy nature, including historic trees (here and here and here), out of some deep-seated anger or objectification. The latest victim is “The Senator,” a 125-foot-tall bald cypress tree in the Longwood’s Big Tree Park in Florida. It was believed to be the oldest of its kind in North America and the fifth oldest tree in the world. Now it is a burned out trunk.
I have warned for years about the Martian menace and the lack of preparations of anti-Martian devices. Now the Martians are throwing rocks at us and all we can do is collect them. This is a picture of a Martian meteorite that hit near Foumzgit, Morocco in July 2011 and recovered last month.
David T. Peters, 66, of Streetsboro, Ohio chose this unfortunate teeshirt before being arrested for internet child porn. We have seen other arrestees with poor taste in booking attire, but Peters is certainly competing for the top spot.
Continue reading “Can You Guess What This Man Was Arrested For?”
Democrats and independents have often challenged the use of churches by GOP candidates for campaigning and voter registration drives. The same concern would appear raised by the remarks of senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett this Sunday at Ebenezer Baptist Church where she appeared to be stumping for the President — followed by a voter registration drive at the church.
In Florida, Melbourne police Officer Derek Middendorf is accused of beating a 66-year-old man suffering from dementia. A dash camera shows Middendorf delivering a kick to the stomach of Albert Flowers, then punching him after Flowers falls to the ground. The video also shows another officer running over and tasing Flowers in the face. The beating left Flowers in the hospital for a month. Yet, the police department only issued a written reprimand for one of the officers turning off the dash camera and audio equipment. A written reprimand. That’s it.
Recently, two former TSA screeners, 44-year-old Coumar Persad and 31-year-old Davon Webb were convicted of stealing $40,000 from a passenger’s luggage at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. The amount of cash and the involvement of TSA officers obviously makes the story notable. However, what I found quite remarkable was the sentence that they received; six months in jail and five years probation. That is a remarkably light sentence for federal employees involved in a major theft while using public authority and resources.
Continue reading “TSA Agents Steal $40,000 From A Passenger . . . And Receive Just Six Months In Jail”
Bed, Bath, & Beyond is recalling its metal tissue boxes after California health officials found a shipment to be radioactive. The boxes made in India appear to have been made from metal irradiated with cobalt-60. The “Dual Ridge Metal Boutique tissue boxes” are not exactly weapons of mass destruction but they do present a health risk.
Continue reading “Bed, Bath & Beyond Tissue Boxes Found To Be Radioactive”
There is an interesting article published in Appetite Magazine showing the results of a study by German and Swiss academics into the effect of color on food consumption. The Scientists found that eating from red plates and drinking from red cups reduced the amount that people ate by forty percent.
Continue reading “Want to Lose Weight? Think Red”
Scientists at the French National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris have published findings in Nature Geoscience that has challenged assumptions about the moon Titan, one of Saturn’s sixty moons and a focus of scientists because of the presence of an atmosphere and potential for life. Benjamin Charnay and Sébastien Lebonnois created a computer model that simulates the atmosphere on Titan and the model yielded some interesting results showing that the moon has two different boundary layers and the lower produces methane clouds, dune movement on the surface and wind patterns.
Continue reading “Titan Has Heat . . . And Two Atmospheres”
Yesterday, my column “10 Reasons The United States Is No Longer The Land Of The Free” ran in the Sunday Washington Post. I have been heartened by response to the column. However, a few commenters continue to suggest that the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) does not allow for the indefinite detention of citizens. This claim is being advanced by Senator Carl Levin (D., Mich.) in emails and fax messages to voters. I wanted to respond to Senator Levin’s points which are detached from language of the law and the clear intent of the majority of Senators. I would also like to address those who have stated that our liberties are not at risk when such powers will not affect most Americans.
Continue reading “Indefinite Detention of Citizens: A Response To Senator Carl Levin”
We have spent considerable time on this blog discussing the dangers of Sharia system in various Muslim countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia, particularly in the treatment of women and girls. However, in any free nation, citizens should be allowed to resolve their own disputes through private mediation or religious adjudications. This is what is happening increasingly in England where Muslims are circumventing the court system in favor of Islamic courts and Sharia law. The growing influence of Sharia courts has raised concerns among women’s groups and such reliance should come with added vigilance to ensure that all of the parties are truly consenting to such faith-based adjudications.
Continue reading “English Citizens Increasingly Turning To Sharia Courts”
This is a bizarre story. We are all familiar with the island of Montecristo from the famous novel by Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo. If you go to the uninhabited island, however, you are likely to find not the treasure from the book (or Red Beard’s treasure, as has long been rumored to be buried there). What you will find are rats. Lots of rats. One for every square yard of island. Now, the Italian military is planning to literally bomb the island to kill the black rat (Rattus rattus) population — and save the island.
Foreign Policy magazine has published an article that deals with an intelligence crisis that the Bush and Obama Administration appear to have buried away from public view. Internal memos reportedly detail how Israeli Mossad agents posed as CIA agents in the recruitment and running of operatives. Previously, Israel was criticized by various countries for using their passports and stolen identities of their citizens to kill a target in Dubai. The article suggests that Israel used U.S. money, passports, and identities for the false flag operation. What is fascinating is that the U.S. was accused (not surprisingly) of conducting the operation of cover support for Jundallah — a Pakistan-based Sunni extremist organization in 2007 and 2008.
Continue reading “Uncle Shem Wants You? Israel Accused of Using U.S. Passport and Fake CIA Identities To Recruit Operatives”
Respectfully Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger
On Monday we celebrate the life of the Reverend Martin Luther King and honor him for his work with the Civil Rights movement. One of his most famous speeches was the 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech that he gave in Washington, D.C. to a crowd of thousands. In that speech he laid out his vision and hopes for the Civil Rights movement. I would like to review some of his words and discuss if his dream came true for African-Americans and minorities throughout our country. “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” ‘ Huffington Post Continue reading “Did Martin Luther King’s ‘Dream’ Come True?”
Submitted by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger
Freedom of speech is a well established right in this country and rooted in the 1st Amendment. “Congress shall make no law [. . .] abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press”. The U.N.’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 19 reads, “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” Within the United States and our jurisprudence there are some exceptions to this freedom, but by in large (up to this point in history) the restrictions are both reasonable and necessary: the Miller test for obscenity, child pornography laws, laws prohibiting speech that incites imminent lawless action, restrictions on fighting words, regulation of commercial speech such as advertising, copyright and patent laws protecting authors and inventors control over their work, and the prohibition of slander and defamation.
Let’s be clear here that the subject isn’t just free speech, but anonymous political free speech.
Here at Res Ipsa Loqitur, there is a long standing policy of allowing anonymous posting to comments and protecting poster’s anonymity. The decision to post under your own name or not is entirely yours. This policy encourages free speech while allowing that having an unpopular or minority point of view should not have negative political consequences for the speaker or unnecessarily complicate their lives simply for expressing their views. Many political insiders and Washington professionals have told Professor Turley that they enjoy reading this blog and have enjoyed posting anonymously. The only posters here required to use their real identities are the guest bloggers and the requirement is voluntary. None of us were coerced into using our real names. When offered the honor of being a guest blogger, it was simply (and I think I speak for all the guest bloggers when I say fairly) a requirement in assuming editorial responsibilities. However, all of this raises an important question.
Do you have a right to anonymous political free speech?
According to the Supreme Court, you do. According to the Department of Homeland Security, you don’t. They’ve hired General Dynamics to track U.S. citizens exercising this critical civil right.