International, Media, Military, Politics, Society

Israel Listed Among Greatest Threats To U.S. Intelligence

660px-flag_of_israelsvg1200px-flag_of_the_united_statessvgA document has surfaced from the intelligence budget that confirms what many have said for years: Israel continues to spy on the United States despite massive levels of U.S. aid and support. Israel is listed as one of the key targets for counterintelligence effort with China, Russian, Iran, and Cuba. Even as Israel continues to pressure the United States for the release of American Jonathan Pollard, an Israeli spy convicted in 1987, the report indicates that Israel is continuing to target the United States with espionage.

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Animals, Bizarre, Environment, Politics, Society

Huge Citrus Grower Violates Pesticide Rules And Kills Millions Of Honeybees . . . Fined $1,500

220px-Honey_Bee_takes_Nectar220px-Cropduster_spraying_pesticidesGovernment officials and environmentalists have been struggling to deal with a crisis in the loss of honeybees in the United States — a loss that threatens a major part of our economy. Pesticides are believed to be the culprit and companies have been under closer scrutiny as the crisis over the massive loss of bees worsens. Now, Ben Hill Griffin Inc., one of the largest citrus growers, has been found to have violated rules on the use of pesticides that resulted in the killing of millions of bees. However, the fine for the violation is just $1,500. By the way, that is not the maximum fine.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Military, Politics, Society

What If We Gave A War And No One Came? English Parliament Rejects Move To War

220px-Houses.of.parliament.overall.arpPresident_Barack_ObamaIn the 1930s, Bertolt Brecht asked in a poem  “What if they gave a war and nobody came?”  The question today is of course silly.  The United States will always be there for a war.  In the first rejection of a request for military action since 1782, the Parliament voted 285 to 272 against approving a military strike against Syria.  Undeterred, the White House today is saying that it is considering just bombing the country on its own and throwing aside any pretense of an international effort. By the way, that last time Parliament refused further military action was when the Crown was fighting a collection of colonies in the New World who, after independence, strongly opposed “foreign entanglements” and military ventures.  The United States of America.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, International, Military, Politics, Society

English Parliament Balks At Obama’s Latest Demand For Military Intervention

220px-Houses.of.parliament.overall.arpPresident_Barack_ObamaWhile President Obama continues to maintain that only he decides what constitutes a war and requires consultation (let alone a declaration) from Congress, there remains a modicum of democratic process in England. The Obama Administration was surprised to learn that British Prime Minister David Cameron could not simply plunge his nation into another military conflict and that Parliament did not want to blindly follow the United States into attacking Syria. They would like to wait for all of the facts to be established by the United Nations before deciding how to act. It is of course a ridiculous notion that was long ago discarded in this country. If that was the approach in the United States, we would never have been able to invade Iraq on false pretenses and spend hundreds of billions in a war that has cost us tens of thousands of dead and wounded service members. Indeed, such knowledge is steadfastly avoided by our own politicians. By simply giving Bush a blank approval, politicians like Hillary Clinton and John Kerry could later deny that they really approved of the Iraq war and insist that they were misled by Bush.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Washington Man Arrested After Allegedly Firing Arrow With Marijuana Attached Into Prison

170px-Robin_shoots_with_sir_Guy_by_Louis_Rhead_1912If David Wayne Jordan, 36, goes to prison, he is likely to be viewed as the modern Robin Hood. In this case, the man of Bellingham forest was using his skill with a bow to bring marijuana to the men of Whatcom County Jail. The arrow with a small baggie of pot missed the alleged target, the second-floor recreation area. After his arrest, Jordan insisted that he was aiming at a squirrel. Presumably, the squirrel would eat the pot, become disoriented and then fall to its death outside of the prison wall.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Politics, Society

Kim Jung-un Reportedly Has Ex-Girlfriend And Her Orchestra Machine Gunned In North Korea

2013082901321_0International media is reporting that Kim Jong-un ordered his ex girlfriend, Hyon Song-wol and members of her orchestra machine-gunned to death shortly after watching one of their popular performances. They were accused of the rather incongruous crimes of making pornography and possessing bibles. The notion of a cabal of bible-thumping pornographers would be laughable in most countries but perfectly consistent in “the second happiest place on Earth.” Indeed, the bizarre environment created in North Korea makes it very difficult to dismiss stories that would initially appear a hoax. The fact that this is considered in the realm of possibility says much about the state of North Korea.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

California Prosecutor Named As “Person of Interest” In Torching Of Lover’s Home

garibaycarladams661A California Sutter County District Attorney Carl Adams has been named a “person of interest” in the suspected arson of the Yuba City home of Sarah Garibay, 32. Garibay was the mistress of Adams, who is married and the father of three. While Adams could well be entirely innocent, but his conduct in the matter at a minimum raises questions of his fitness to continue in office.

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Bizarre, Criminal law

Breaking Bad Or Bad Break? Teenager Accuses “Shorty” Belton Of Being Crack Dealer in Murder Case

130822-Delbert-Belton.photoblog600Many people were horrified at the death of 88-year-old World War II veteran Delbert “Shorty” Belton in the parking lot of his Fraternal Order of Eagles lodge. Belton survived the Battle of Okinawa where he was wounded but lost his life in a parking lot at the hands of teenagers Kenan Adams-Kinard and Demetruis Glenn, both 16, in Spokane, Washington. Now, it has been disclosed that Adams-Kinard says that the whole thing was a crack deal gone bad with Belton as the dealer in a type of Geriatric edition of Breaking Bad. The teen said that the whole thing started when they went to get a “zip of crack cocaine from Shorty,”

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Criminal law, Politics, Society

South Carolina Prosecutor Arrested For Allegedly Dismissing Criminal Charge In Exchange For Sexual Favors

707470The attorney for the city of Union, William “Billy” Whitney Jr., 65,, has been arrested after being accused of dismissing criminal defendants in exchange for sexual favors. He was employed as a prosecuting attorney for Union in 2011 and 2012 when the alleged misconduct occurred.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International, Politics, Society

Russian Police Shut Down Art Gallery After They Show Painting of Putin In Women’s Underwear

225px-Vladimir_Putin_official_portraitRussian police have shutdown an art gallery in the latest attack on free speech under President Vladimir Putin. The police declared a painting to be illegal and pornographic because it depicted Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in women’s underwear and another of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church covered in tattoos. The paintings were seized from the Museum of Power. Last year, we saw how a protester was arrested for spitting on the image of Putin during a demonstration. It appears that after years of cultivating a cult of personality with action-hero photo ops and staged acts, Putin is not about to let a bunch of artists mock his well constructed image.

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Academia, Torts

Family Sues Frostburg University Coaches And NCAA Over Death Of College Student

football_6As most football fans know, the NFL has been struggling with rules changes to address the danger of concussions and Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in players in the wake of expanding medical research on injuries. Colleges and High Schools have implemented strict new guidelines, particularly in preventing helmet to helmet hits. None of that seems to have sunk into Frostburg University, which is accused of a shocking display of ignorance and negligence in the death of Derek Sheely, a 22 year old fullback. According to a lawsuit, Sheely was bleeding and complaining that he did not feel right, but the coach told him “Stop your bitching and moaning and quit acting like a pussy and get back out there.” Sheely collapsed a short time later and never regained consciousness.

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Academia, Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, Media, Politics, Society

Tulane Law Dean And Former U.S. Attorney Faces Questions Over Confrontation With Filmmaker On Campus

200px-Jim_Letten_US_Attorney391392_10150673300727910_1485282147_nThere is a controversy brewing at Tulane Law School where I began my academic career. The law school was the scene of a confrontation between controversial conservative filmmaker and activist James O’Keefe and former U.S. Attorney James Letten whose office handled the prosecution of O’Keefe for his entry in the office of Democrat Sen. Mary Landrieu under false pretenses. Letten is now an Assistant Dean at the law school. Letten never explained why he recused himself from the case but O’Keefe suggests that he was responsible for leaking confidential information to the media. In the video below posted and edited by O’Keefe, Letten confronted O’Keefe and accuses him of “terrorizing” his wife and violating state and federal law by appearing at the law school. Letten calls O’Keefe and his crew a bunch of “hobbits” and berates the filmmaker. While I am no fan of O’Keefe, I am afraid that I do not see the basis for the alleged crimes by O’Keefe or the basis for his being held by law enforcement outside of the law school. The school has banned O’Keefe from the campus after the confrontation with Letten.

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Academia, Bizarre, Criminal law

Teacher Admits To Sexual Relationship With 14-Year-Old Student But Is Sentenced To Only 30 Days In Jail

article-2402937-1B7BD6A3000005DC-73_306x423Stacey Dean Rambold, 54, is a former teacher who confessed to a sexual relationship with Cherice Morales, a 14-year-old girl at his high school — a girl who later committed suicide. Despite the original charge of multiple counts of statutory rape and a sentencing to 15 years in prison, Yellowstone County District Judge G. Todd Baugh suspended all of that sentence but 31 days and then gave him credit for one day in jail. That left a sentence of 30 days for statutory rape.

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Academia, Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Politics, Society

California School District Hires Contractor To Spy On Students Social Media Postings

big-brother-is-watching-you_thumbnailWe have previously discussed how students are being punished for out-of-school postings and statements on social media sites, a trend that I have criticized. Now, with the Supreme Court expanding the power of school officials to discipline students and teachers for outside activities, schools are creating their own surveillance and monitoring systems in our society. The Glendale Unified School District has hired a company called Geo Listening to monitor the conversations and postings of all of its students to detect any areas of concern. It is the latest example of how privacy in America is dying by a thousand papercuts.

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