May 28, 2015

Rikers Island (NYC) Inmate Saves Guard From Rape By Fellow Convict




[From article]
A skinny inmate slipped inside the so-called “A station” bubble through the small crack and opened the security door. A team of inmates then took down the assailant, Raleek Young, 27, until other officers arrived.
During the attack, Young, who is 5-foot-9 and weighs 290 pounds, pulled down his pants and began masturbating while choking the officer, court records show.
He dragged the officer into an adjacent bathroom and blocked her from opening the security door.
[. . .]
The majority of the attack was caught on video, a source who watched the tape said.
[. . .]
“There must be accountability,” Seabrook fumed Monday. “Officers are assaulted every day, and (Bronx DA Robert Johnson) has the audacity to say, ‘Not today, bring him back at another time.’ I will not tolerate it. I will not stand for it.”
Young was arraigned Monday in Bronx Criminal Court. He is facing a slew of new charges, including: attempted rape, sexual abuse, forcible touching, and assault and harassment.
The criminal complaint says Young ripped off the correction officer’s sweater and “placed his lips on her mouth and about her face.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/exclusive-rikers-island-inmates-save-prison-guard-rape-article-1.2135187

EXCLUSIVE: Rikers Island inmates save prison guard from rape by fellow convict
BY REUVEN BLAU 
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS 
Tuesday, March 3, 2015, 2:30 AM

Three Masked Men Shoot at LAPD, Arrested




[From article]
Officers were patrolling the area when three men wearing black ski masks ran up and opened fire, according to police.
After a brief search, all three suspects were taken into custody. Police continued to search for a weapon.

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/03/03/3-men-wearing-black-ski-masks-open-fire-on-lapd-officers-in-south-la/

3 Masked Suspects In Custody After Allegedly Firing At LAPD Officers In South LA
March 3, 2015 6:40 AM

University of Minnesota Bans Ridiculing Terrorists




[From article]
When Vice Provost of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Danita Young Brown apologized to students for a student group throwing a fiesta on the grounds that it might offend the Chicano and Latino students, we printed Goldy Gopher with a sombrero on the front cover. After the Charlie Hebdo attacks, we put a drawing of Muhammad on the cover, asking for speech over terror.
We do these things to show support for students’ right to say what they want on campus.
But the Student Service Fees Committee (SSFC) is now putting our rights in danger.
[. . .]
Sadly, this is not the first time that the Minnesota Republic has had to deal with censorship issues at the U of M. Earlier this year, a stack of our publication was found in the garbage next to our newsstand. Our newsstands have also been vandalized and signs promoting the Minnesota Republic have been ripped up and thrown on the ground.
The Minnesota Republic has dealt with all of this, while the U of M has stood by and allowed it to happen. Whether it is offensive speech or not, all speech on a public university campus should be protected.
Students on campus should not have to feel as though the university is spying on them, waiting for a chance to strip them of their First Amendment rights. Instead, students—especially on a public campus—should be undeterred in their discourse and dialogue on any issue.

http://campusreform.org/?ID=6329

You can't make fun of terrorists at the U. of Minnesota
Allison Maass
Minnesota Campus Correspondent
@allisonmaass
Mar 03, 2015 - 12:09 PM EDT

Minimum Acceptable Penis Size In Civil Society; Does Size Matter?




[From article]
The enduring question now has a scientific answer: 13.12 centimetres (5.16 inches) in length when erect, and 11.66 cm around, according to an analysis of more than 15,000 appendages around the world.
In a flaccid state, it found, the penis of the average Joe is all of 9.16 cm in length and has a girth of 9.31 cm.



http://news.yahoo.com/penis-size-researchers-long-short-065620878.html

Penis size: researchers provide the long and short of it
March 3, 2015

* * *

[From article]
It’s an age-old question asked by men and women all over the world: Does size really matter when it comes to the relationship between a man and a woman?
Now, in a new video created by Cut, women of all ages have attempted to solve the debate, offering up their personal opinions on just how important the size of a man’s penis really is in the bedroom.
The video, which features women aged between 18 and 50, begins with a perfect example of a participant trying her best to avoid the question by asking a few of her own. 'As in height or width or strength? There's so many different sizes!' she says, looking embarrassed. [. . .]
There are giggles aplenty throughout the clip and many are reluctant to go into any details after offering up their often vague answers. 'It depends' and 'it's how you use it' were popular responses for many of the participants.
[. . .]
What is most interesting about this video is that there seems to be a generational gap between the answers. For example, only two of the women interviewed under the age of 30 reply with a firm 'Yes', whereas more than half of the women aged between 30 and 39 insist that size really does matter.
From ages 40 to 50 the 'No's were back in the lead, but one woman aged 45 did muse on the role age may play in the importance of size.
'When I was younger, I would say no, but as I'm older, I think yes,' she says.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3080494/Does-size-really-matter-Women-aged-18-50-offer-opinions-centuries-old-debate-insisting-confidence-important-size.html

Does size REALLY matter? Women aged 18 to 50 offer up their opinions on the centuries-old debate - and most insist confidence is more important than size
By VALERIE SIEBERT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 15:34 EST, 13 May 2015 | UPDATED: 17:39 EST, 13 May 2015

Police Surveillance Technology May Cause Poor Cell Phone Service




[From article]
As the ACLU notes, stingrays "also gather information about the phones of countless bystanders who happen to be nearby," which means police could be keeping tabs on your location and other info, sans warrant.
Now, a newly released document indicates that the local reach of the devices may be interfering with cell service, too. Because of how the stingray functions, "its use has the potential to intermittently disrupt cellular service to a small fraction of Sprint’s wireless customers within its immediate vicinity," wrote FBI Special Agent Michael A. Scimeca.

http://theweek.com/speedreads/542184/government-spying-might-making-cell-phone-service-crappy

Government spying might be making your cell phone service crappy
12:03 p.m. ET

Julius Caesar's Assassination




[From article]
In 45 BC, Rome was emerging from five years of civil war and policy debates concerned the very nature of the Roman Republic. Caesar had just been declared Dictator for Ten Years by the Roman senate, and sought more.
He believed that the Republic was an entity whose time had come and gone, and that “only his genius offered the people of the empire peace and prosperity.” The Roman Senate, having grown comfortable with their own power, believed otherwise.
Caesar understood how to nurture the love of his people. His soldiers were well-paid, and he passed laws (over the Senate’s objections) helping the poor, including protecting them from abusive government officials.
[. . .]
In early 44 BC, in tribute to Caesar’s recent military victories, the Senate proclaimed him Rome’s Dictator in Perpetuity, and there had long been talk that Caesar sought to be King, an unacceptable occurrence for many Romans.
[. . .]
Cassius, a general and senator, had several motives for wanting Caesar dead.
In addition to fearing his ambition, he had been passed over for several high-level positions and faced rumors that Caesar slept with his wife.
[. . .]
They decided to kill Caesar in the Senate House. They felt it would be the safest place, since no weapons were allowed in the Senate, several senators were involved and Caesar’s other friends would not be there to protect him.
[. . .]
As he made his point, Cimber “disrespected Caesar by coming up to him with his hands out instead of keeping them humbly beneath his toga. Then, Cimber took hold of Caesar’s toga and held it so tightly that he kept Caesar from getting up.” Finally, Cimber “pulled the toga from Caesar’s shoulder.”
[. . .]
Caesar likely received 23 stab wounds and died within minutes.
[. . .]
Antony and Octavian divided Rome and its territories between them, and after Antony’s death, Octavian became Caesar Augustus, founder of the Roman Empire.
[. . .]
“Far from condemning Caesar as a tyrant, people mourn him as a martyr. Caesar’s genius and his sympathy for the poor live on while his war against the Republic in favor of one-man rule . . . [is] forgotten.”

http://nypost.com/2015/03/01/the-real-story-behind-the-assassination-of-julius-caesar/

The real story behind the assassination of Julius Caesar
By Larry Getlen
New York Post
March 1, 2015 | 6:00am

Deadly Bacteria Released At Tulane University Lab




[From article]
A dangerous, often deadly, type of bacteria that lives in soil and water has been released from a high-security laboratory at the Tulane National Primate Research Center in Louisiana. Officials say there is no risk to the public. Yet despite weeks of investigation by multiple federal and state agencies, the cause of the release and the extent of the contamination remain unknown, according to interviews and records obtained by USA TODAY.
The incident has raised concerns that bacteria from the lab may have contaminated the facility's grounds and though initial, limited tests didn't detect it, some officials are pressing behind the scenes for more action, records show. The safety breach at Tulane's massive lab complex 35 miles north of New Orleans is the latest in a recent series of significant biosafety accidents at some of the most prestigious laboratories in the country where research is performed on bacteria and viruses that are classified as potential bioterror agents.
[. . .]
"Human error is always the first explanation you should consider for a laboratory accident," Ebright said. "The easiest way to transfer something from one place where it's supposed to be, to another where it isn't supposed to be is by a worker moving from one place to the other."
Sloppy biosafety practices can result in pathogens being tracked out of labs on shoes, coats, gloves, hands or other materials that weren't properly sterilized before being removed, he said.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/03/01/tulane-primate-bio-lab-bacteria-release/24137053/

Deadly bacteria release sparks concern at Louisiana lab
Alison Young
USA TODAY 
6:13 p.m. EST March 1, 2015

Feds Raid Texas Political Meeting




If they're concerned about illegal courts, why not arrest the Sharia courts operating in Texas?

[From article]
Members of the Republic of Texas, a secession movement dedicated to restoring Texas as an independent constitutional republic, had gathered Feb. 14 in a Bryan, Texas, meeting hall along with public onlookers. They were debating issues of currency, international relations and celebrating the birthday of one of their oldest members. The group, which describes itself as “congenial and unimposing,” maintains a small working government, including official currency, congress and courts.
According to MySanAntonio.com: “Minutes into the meeting a man among the onlookers stood and moved to open the hall door, letting in an armed and armored force of the Bryan Police Department, the Brazos County Sheriff’s Office, the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office, agents of the Texas district attorney, the Texas Rangers and the FBI.
“In the end, at least 20 officers corralled, searched and fingerprinted all 60 meeting attendees, before seizing all cellphones and recording equipment in a Valentine’s Day 2015 raid on the Texas separatist group.”
[. . .]
“You can’t just let people go around filing false documents to judges trying to make them appear in front of courts that aren’t even real courts,” Hierholzer, who led the operation, told the Houston Chronicle.
“The Republic has a lengthy list of qualms with the federal government, among them that Texas was illegally annexed in 1845,” wrote TeaParty.org. “But most of their complaints have to do with the behavior of the American legislature and executive. Robert Wilson, a senator in the Republic, equated politicians in Washington, D.C., to the ‘kings and emperors’ of the past, and sees Texas independence as part of a worldwide movement for local control.”
[. . .]
Hierholzer determined a “show of force” consisting of officers from city, county state and federal law enforcement to serve a search warrant for an alleged misdemeanor crime was appropriate due to the potential for physical resistance by the group.
[. . .]
The raid has angered many people. “The tactics used went well beyond what was necessary to address a few individuals over a matter of disputed paperwork,” reported Information Liberation. “It is clear that full-blown raid was performed to intimidate and harass every member of the group. … The irony of the situation is that the thuggish tactics employed by the police and federal government actually validate the concerns of the members of the Republic of Texas and other Americans who would prefer independence from the United States federal government.”
No arrests were made, and the case is still under investigation.

http://www.wnd.com/2015/03/feds-raid-texas-political-meeting/#PokDUHViu5JGcJBM.99

FEDS RAID TEXAS POLITICAL MEETING
Fingerprint, photograph all attendees, seize phones
March 1, 2015

White House Revealed Its Fear and Discomfort Using Military Force




[From article]
But the Obama administration’s reaction to the Israeli prime minister’s appearance suggests Netanyahu’s is more than just another speech. An administration that disdains the use of disproportionate force has been, to say the least, disproportionately forceful in its efforts to undermine Netanyahu’s message and discredit the messenger. What is Obama so worried about? What is he, if we may put it indelicately, so scared of?
We can get a clue from the almost equally disproportionate reaction of Obama’s surrogates to Rudy Giuliani’s suggestion that Barack Obama doesn’t love his country. Why, really, should anyone care about Giuliani’s comment? We have no crime of lèse majesté in this country. But Obama defenders did care. Did they suspect Giuliani had struck a nerve?
[. . .]
Obama is very much in the mainstream of modern progressive thought in his embrace of cosmopolitanism and his distrust of nationalism. He’s not interested in riding a high horse equipped, as he would see it, with patriotic blinders or nationalist spurs.
Netanyahu, by contrast, is a patriot and a nationalist. He’s an Israeli patriot and nationalist. But he also appreciates the historic role and accomplishments of the great nation-states of the West. History—the history of the Jewish people, but not only the Jewish people—is always on his mind. He is inspired by the example of Ze’ev Jabotinsky—and also of Winston Churchill. He appreciates the legacy of David Ben-Gurion—and also of Harry Truman.
[. . .]
But Netanyahu won’t be speaking only to the Obama administration, which has, after all, made clear its lack of interest in listening to Netanyahu and whose allies won’t be there to listen. He’ll be speaking to the American people.
So he can echo Churchill in appealing to them and warning that, in the struggle in which we’re engaged, “many disappointments and unpleasant surprises await us.”
[. . .]
It will be a moment that could cause us to reflect on what kind of people we are, and, with new leadership, what kind of deeds we might once again be capable of.
As it will be a moment of vindication for Zionism, the cause to which he and his family have dedicated their lives. In past episodes of Jews’ being consigned by the world to their fate, they were powerless to fight. And so the world (and not a few Jews) became accustomed to Jews’ playing the role of victim. On March 3, something remarkable and historic will happen. The prime minister of Israel, speaking on behalf of not only his country and millions of Jews, but on behalf of the West itself, will command the world’s attention as he declares his refusal to appease the enemies of Israel and the West.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/netanyahu-s-moment_867715.html

Netanyahu’s Moment
MAR 9, 2015, VOL. 20, NO. 25

Updated: Harvard University Sex Survey. One-Fourth Had No Sex At All. Professors, Administrators and Civil Rights Lawyers Curious What It Is.


Posted May 19, 2015 7:59 PM ET; Last updated May 28, 2015 8:38 PM ET



[From article]
A quarter of Harvard’s graduating class said they missed out on sex in college — down from the 58 percent who came to campus virgins, according to data compiled by the The Harvard Crimson.
Still, last year’s class was not much more experienced: 21 percent said they graduated virgins.
Campus players seem to be few and far between. Nineteen percent of men and only 7 percent of women reported having 10 or more sexual partners in college.
Of the seniors who were having sex, 43 percent of students said they always used a condom, while 31 percent said they sometimes, rarely or never used a condom.

http://nypost.com/2015/05/28/a-quarter-of-harvard-grads-have-never-gotten-laid/

A quarter of Harvard grads have never had sex
By Connor Ryan
New York Post
May 28, 2015 | 4:53pm

* * *

[From article]
But the school isn’t trying to understand a problem. It’s trying to cover its behind. These surveys have been recommended by the Office of Civil Rights, and schools can point to them if they are ever investigated by the feds.
The university also seems to be casually adopting the “affirmative consent” doctrine that has become popular on campuses around the country.
[. . .]
This survey is so badly written that one wonders whether its results would even pass muster in the kind of peer-reviewed journals in which Harvard professors regularly publish. But then, the goal here isn’t science. It’s politics.

http://nypost.com/2015/04/20/harvards-wacky-campus-sex-survey/

Harvard’s wacky campus-sex survey
By Naomi Schaefer Riley
April 20, 2015 | 7:55pm
New York Post

* * *

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2015/4/22/sexual-conduct-survey-update/

More Than One-Third of Students Respond to Sexual Conduct Climate Survey
By MARIEL A. KLEIN and THEODORE R. DELWICHE
Harvard CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
April 21, 2015

Updated: Minnesota Joins Wisconsin Declaring Avian Flu Emergency


Posted April 24, 2015 5:09 PM ET; Last Updated May 28, 2015 8:31 PM ET



[From article]
US farmers have been forced to kill almost 40 million chickens and other birds, causing egg prices to soar as a deadly version of the avian flu attacks the poultry industry.
An outbreak of a particularly infectious version of the bird flu, believed to come initially from wild ducks and geese, has spread into 15 US states and two Canadian provinces, requiring the mass slaughter of egg-laying chickens and turkeys in particular.
That has turned into an 80 percent surge in the wholesale price of eggs, and a more modest hike in turkey meat costs, which could last for the rest of the year even if the flu outbreak can be successfully contained, according to industry officials.
The midwest state of Iowa, the largest US egg producer, has seen some 25 million birds, mostly chickens for egg production, killed.

http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-us-egg-prices-soar-as-avian-flu-batters-poultry-industry-2015-5

ScienceMore: AFP Bird Flu Farming Agriculture
US farmers have been forced to kill nearly 40 million birds because of avian flu

PAUL HANDLEY, AFP
MAY 22, 2015, 9:03 PM

* * *

[From article]
Minnesota declared a state of emergency on Thursday over a fast-spreading strain of avian flu that has led to the extermination of more than 7.3 million birds in the country. It followed Wisconsin's action on Monday.
The highly pathogenic H5N2 strain of bird flu has been identified on 46 Minnesota farms in 16 counties and affected more than 2.6 million birds in the state.
State health officials said they were expediting prescriptions for the antiviral drug Tamiflu for farm workers and others who have been in direct contact with infected flocks. No human infections have been reported in this outbreak.
"There's no reason for anybody in the state of Minnesota to be concerned about their own health," Governor Mark Dayton said at a press conference on Thursday after declaring the state of emergency.
Federal and local public health authorities have said the risk of human infection is low.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/23/us-health-birdflu-minnesota-idUSKBN0NE2JP20150423

Thu Apr 23, 2015 7:42pm EDT
Minnesota declares state of emergency over bird flu in poultry
BY P.J. HUFFSTUTTER

Updated: Bird Flu Appears in Iowa


Posted May 1, 2015 10:35 PM ET; Last updated May 28, 2015 8:30 PM ET



[From article]
US farmers have been forced to kill almost 40 million chickens and other birds, causing egg prices to soar as a deadly version of the avian flu attacks the poultry industry.
An outbreak of a particularly infectious version of the bird flu, believed to come initially from wild ducks and geese, has spread into 15 US states and two Canadian provinces, requiring the mass slaughter of egg-laying chickens and turkeys in particular.
That has turned into an 80 percent surge in the wholesale price of eggs, and a more modest hike in turkey meat costs, which could last for the rest of the year even if the flu outbreak can be successfully contained, according to industry officials.
The midwest state of Iowa, the largest US egg producer, has seen some 25 million birds, mostly chickens for egg production, killed.

http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-us-egg-prices-soar-as-avian-flu-batters-poultry-industry-2015-5

ScienceMore: AFP Bird Flu Farming Agriculture
US farmers have been forced to kill nearly 40 million birds because of avian flu

PAUL HANDLEY, AFP
MAY 22, 2015, 9:03 PM

* * *

[From article]
Bird flu has been identified at five new sites in Iowa, including a commercial egg-laying operation in Buena Vista County that houses an estimated 5.5 million birds, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship said on Thursday.
If highly pathogenic avian influenza is confirmed at the egg-laying site by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the total number of U.S. cases would surpass 20 million birds, the most in U.S. history

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/iowa-reports-more-probable-bird-flu-cases-205502231.html

Iowa reports more 'probable' bird flu cases
Reuters
April 30, 2015
Reporting by Julie Ingwersen

Auburn University Lab Tech Charged With Selling Date Rape Drug





[From article]
A chemistry lab technician at Auburn University was arrested Friday after allegedly selling a large amount of date rape drug, police say.
[. . .]
Al.com, citing court documents, reports that Howard sold an undercover agent more than 20 ounces of a liquid substance known to incapacitate women. Another undercover agent was able to buy nearly a gallon of the same substance. Howard also showed the agent that he had a weapon, authorities say.
Lab tests would confirm that the liquid was a controlled substance called 1,4-butanediol.
When the substance is ingested, it is converted into Gamma Hydroxybutyric Acid (GHB), which is commonly known to be a date-rape drug, the US Attorney’s Office says.
An affidavit says Howard told an undercover agent that he “probably had five different girls pass out on him” while they were using the drug.

http://nypost.com/2015/05/27/college-lab-tech-arrested-for-selling-date-rape-drug/

College lab tech arrested for selling date-rape drug
By Fox News
New York Post
May 27, 2015 | 2:31pm

Extensive Sexual Abuse at NYC Horace Mann High School




[From article]
More than 60 students were sexually abused at Horace Mann School in the Bronx from the 1960s to 90s, double the number of victims than originally believed, according to a scathing report released Wednesday.
Those students were abused by 22 school employees, according to troubling findings detailed by the Horace Mann Action Coalition, a nonprofit group founded by alumni to tackle the sex-abuse scandal, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
The report found that abuse came at the hands of both male and female school staffers, who worked as coaches, teachers and department heads.
The report also said a headmaster, school chaplain and dean of guidance were involved – although their names were not mentioned in the WSJ report on Wednesday.

http://nypost.com/2015/05/27/over-60-students-sexually-abused-at-horace-mann-group/

Over 60 students sexually abused at Horace Mann: group
By David K. Li
New York Post
May 27, 2015 | 10:38am

UK Restricts Immigration






[From article]
Latest figures show net migration hit 318,000 in 2014, three times David Cameron's target of 'tens of thousands'.
Some 284,000 came to Britain in search of work last year, 70,000 more than in 2013.
Latest figures also show that in the year to January to March, the number of EU nationals in work rose by 283,000, higher than the 279,000 rise in British nationals who had a job.
Ministers say they want to deter companies from hiring workers from around the world by imposing a fee on businesses who refuse to employ local people.
The Queen announced that 'measures will be introduced to control immigration', which will include reforming immigration and labour market rules to reduce the demand for skilled migrant labour and crack down on the exploitation of low skilled workers.
[. . .]
It will also be made harder for illegal migrants to access services, with landlords given more powers to evict illegal tenants.
Banks will be forced to take action to close accounts held by illegal immigrants.
Data released last week revealed that there were 5,053 foreign offenders who were subject to deportation action living in the community in the first three months of this year. This was a rise of almost a fifth compared to the same period in 2014.
The Home Office said the main factor contributing to the rise was an increase in police checks for overseas criminal convictions on foreign nationals going through custody.
[. . .]
'We have toughened the law by cutting the number of grounds on which criminals can appeal deportation and speeding up removals so that more are deported before the end of their sentences.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3099332/Firms-hit-new-tax-hiring-foreign-workers-instead-employing-young-Brits.html

Firms to be hit with new tax for hiring foreign workers instead of employing young Brits
Home Secretary Theresa May to consult on new visa levy on businesses
Money raised would be used to fund apprenticeships in the UK
New offence of working illegally with police given power to seize wages
Banks ordered to check accounts against databases of illegal workers
Satellite tracking for foreign criminals awaiting deportation
By MATT CHORLEY, POLITICAL EDITOR FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 09:11 EST, 27 May 2015 | UPDATED: 11:58 EST, 27 May 2015

New York City Corrections Officers Union Scrutinized By US Attorney





[From article]
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s office appears to be focusing in part on claims in a union official’s lawsuit alleging the improper investment of union funds. Among the allegations in the lawsuit is that Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association President Norman Seabrook made a risky $5 million investment into an unnamed hedge fund last year without union board approval.
[. . .]
The investigation comes as Bharara negotiates a class-action lawsuit against the city claiming systemwide brutality against inmates by jail guards at the Rikers Island jail complex.
Abuse, neglect and corruption at Rikers have been the subject of increased media attention for more than a year after the AP first reported on claims of widespread brutality in the lockups and the gruesome deaths of mentally ill inmates.

http://nypost.com/2015/05/27/fbi-probing-nyc-jail-guards-union-over-investments/

FBI probing NYC jail guards union over investments
By Associated Press
New York Post
May 27, 2015 | 7:23pm

Cambridge, MA Attorney Indicted For Witness Tampering, Fellow Lawyers Say "We all Do That"





[From article]
Now, lawyers want to know where the line is, and whether it’s a federal crime to execute an everyday tactical maneuver.
“I’ve done this countless times. He may have chosen his words poorly, but this is a good, honest lawyer,” said Terrence Kennedy, a criminal defense attorney and current member of the Governor’s Council who is not involved in the case. “I am outraged by the indictment. I’m outraged by the way it was handled. Criminal defense is a minefield, and any of us can get blown up.”
The indictment states, “Defendant Flaherty provided the victim with an envelope containing $2,500 cash and instructed the victim, among other things, that if anyone ‘from the court,’ contacted the victim, ‘just (expletive) ignore it because they will never bother you.’”
If the allegations are true, he may have violated certain ethical rules. But that’s a far cry from federal witness tampering — a charge that carries with it a maximum 20-year sentence. That’s enough to intimidate criminal defense attorneys who are trying to keep a case out of court.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2015/05/lawyers_decry_fed_indictment_against_timothy_flaherty

Lawyers decry fed indictment against Timothy Flaherty
Say tactic a common one
Thursday, May 28, 2015
By: Bob McGovern
Boston Herald

Progressive Policies Making United States A Poor Nation



[From article]
The conditions that lifted North America so far above the economic norm were a unique combination: available land and resources, a smaller, pro-development government, disparate post Renaissance and mostly post Reformation immigrants that shattered traditional classes, and an industrial revolution supported with European capital. But as ever, time having passed, things are changed. Few of the listed conditions remain unaltered and America’s economic direction shows it.
The defining American middle class is devolving toward poverty. The 1970’s brought an undeniable economic retreat: the disappearance of the traditional middle class housewife into the workplace. A declining standard of living was heralded as a feminist triumph. The linked map illustrates the accelerated middle class economic decline since the 2008 financial crash; today, 20% of American families include no workers and most Americans receive government benefits.
[. . .]
Politicians who promise free goodies and painless cures for sad economies can’t afford stagnant ones; they require published recovery, preferably quickly. So government and its client media tell us we are recovering. They point to the currently 5.4% unemployment rate as evidence. They don’t mention that the rate isn’t computed as it once was. The older computation remains available at shadowstats.com, where U–3 Unemployment surpasses 20%. A different useful government statistic is the Labor Force Participation Rate, the percentage of the available workforce that is working. That has (quietly) declined to late 1970’s levels; there is no real recovery. Stocks and real estate have been inflated by the Federal Reserve’s flood of funny money while the middle class, largely dependent upon wages, has declined.
Using reality and disregarding propaganda, we see progressing American impoverishment reflecting general government policy. “Progressive” economic policies have amounted to promising a free lunch, for which the bill has arrived. Government/union cronies can force wages up; government can circumvent markets with legislated wages/prices and regulatory distortions, but none can repeal the ultimate operations of economics that simply reflect human behavior. America’s economically excessive labor costs are in unadmitted, forced decline to meet world competition.

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/05/impoverishment_americas_new_normal.html

May 27, 2015
Impoverishment: America's New Normal
By Jack Curtis

Larry Klayman, Fighting For Your Rights, Sues Clinton Foundation Under RICO Statutes



Attorney Larry Klayman, Founder Freedom Watch


[From article]
The lawsuit, filed by Larry Klayman of Freedom Watch, includes a legal request to have the Florida judge seize the private server on which Hillary Clinton and her aides hosted their emails while she served as secretary of state.
Klayman has filed dozens of lawsuits against the Clintons and other prominent politicians.
The racketeering, influenced and corrupt organizations, or RICO, case alleges the former first couple and their family philanthropy traded political favors for donations or generous speaking fees for Bill Clinton while his wife was the nation's chief diplomat.
"Negotiations by email about influencing U.S. foreign policy or U.S. Government actions to benefit donors to ... The Clinton Foundation or sponsors of speaking engagements would not be captured on a U.S. Government email account because her emails would not be with a U.S. Government official," Klayman said in court documents obtained by the Washington Examiner
[. . .]
"It's a perfect RICO case, it fits completely," Klayman said of the lawsuit. "Our Congress doesn't even have the guts to subpoena her documents. They'd rather get on Fox News. So we felt had to bring that case. Somebody's got to do it."
Klayman said a major reason for his lawsuit involves the fact that Cheryl Mills, then-chief of staff to Hillary Clinton, and the secretary of state herself "lied to the lower court" in by claiming there were no documents related to a pair of Freedom of Information Act requests he filed in 2012 while knowing those records actually did exist on the private server.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/clinton-foundation-hit-with-racketeering-lawsuit/article/2565069?utm_campaign=Fox%20News&utm_source=foxnews.com&utm_medium=feed

Clinton Foundation hit with racketeering lawsuit
BY SARAH WESTWOOD
MAY 27, 2015 | 5:00 AM

Updated (3): Columbia Law School Postpones Exams Due to Stress from Protests, Harvard Law Students, "Me Too!"


Posted December 8, 2014 9:21 PM ET; Last updated May 28, 2015 4:37 PM ET



That does it. I'm petitioning my landlord, and my credit card company for an extension from paying rent, and monthly card payment. Too much emotional and psychological stress, from this national media propaganda campaign. The University of Virginia responded to a report in Rolling Stone magazine by suspending fraternities on campus. Who needs laws and rules? Who needs courts and police? Universities don't need no stinkin' laws. Media drives the nation and Harvard Law School. This campaign shows the strength of the current student body and faculty in their willingness to uphold laws and the constitution of the United States. The law school community prioritizes fairness and justice for all. Who needs the law? What is it that you expect law students and law professors to support? What is law anyway? "Just words." as Harvard Law School graduate, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick would say. If the current crop of students cannot maintain rational thought processes after reading political propaganda, what can be expected of them when they are practicing law? Does relaxed rectitude explain the popularity of the Obama-Holder doctrine, which permits selected individuals to ignore inconvenient laws?

[From article]
The Texas SCV's design caused a commotion because the organization's logo includes the Confederate battle flag. The Texas committee that approves specialty plates approved the SCV plate before it disapproved it because an official considered the plate "controversial." The Texas Transportation Code says that the state may refuse to create a plate "if the design might be offensive to any member of the public." Yes, any.
A district court rejected the SCV's contention that this decision was unconstitutional, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit held that specialty plates are private speech, so the state had violated the First Amendment by engaging in viewpoint discrimination against the SCV.
Texas is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, probably in vain. The SCV's brief notes that "every circuit to address a specialty plate program enabling private parties to submit their own specialty plate designs has held that the plates constitute private speech, the First Amendment applies, and regulation has to be viewpoint neutral."
[. . .]
The new entitlement aims to spare the people this burden. At many American colleges and universities, where thinking goes to hibernate, freedom of expression is restricted for the purpose of sparing the delicate sensibilities of the most exquisitely sensitive people on the campuses. The First Amendment is construed to stipulate that there shall be no abridgement of free speech — unless the speech annoys, saddens, angers, dismays or otherwise discombobulates the emotional equilibrium or intellectual serenity of any listener.
Inevitably, this entitlement is expanded to include the right to assume a fetal position and be absolved of burdens if news of some event in the wider world distresses some students. So, Columbia University Law School recently allowed students to postpone final exams if these frail flowers felt that their performance would be "impaired" because they had been traumatized by the fact that grand juries in Ferguson, Mo., and New York did not indict police officers in cases involving Michael Brown and Eric Garner.
Columbia evidently is training lawyers for a United States so tranquil it will not need any lawyers.

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/will121814.php3

A license to debate: State takes aim at the First Amendment
By George Will
Published December 18, 2014

* * *

[From article]
Similar requests have been made at Georgetown Law and Columbia Law School.
[. . .]
The wave of activism was sparked by the decisions of Ferguson and Staten Island grand juries not to indict two police officers in separate cases that led to the deaths of two unarmed black men.

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/12/10/law-students-petition-school/

In Light of Grand Jury Decisions, Law Students Petition for Exam Extensions
By TYLER S. OLKOWSKI,
Harvard CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
December 10, 2014

* * *

Eric "White People Are Cowards" Holder's Law Degree Is From Columbia University School of  Law.

Updated December 9, 2014 10:34 PM ET

[From article]
Columbia University Law School has granted exam extensions to students who feel under stress due to the failure of Grand Juries to indict in the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner.
Now students at my alma mater, Harvard Law School, are demanding similar treatment, as well as excoriating the HLS administration for not publicly feeling their pain.

The Coalition at Harvard Law School created a website for the exchange of letters.
I have confirmed with the Harvard Law communications office that the letters are authentic.
[. . .]
[Group Signers]
Harvard Law School Affinity Group Coalition:
Harvard Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, Executive Board
Harvard Black Law Students Association
Harvard Middle Eastern Law Students Association
Harvard Muslim Law Students Association
Harvard Native American Law Students Association
La Alianza
Lambda
Supero

In support:
ACLU
Harvard Law School Chapter Advocates for Human Rights
Harvard Defenders
Harvard Environmental Law Society
Harvard Journal on Racial and Ethnic Justice
Harvard Law School Feminist Coalition
Harvard Law School Justice for Palestine
Harvard Law Students for Reproductive Justice
Harvard Law Students for Sustainable Investment
Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project
Harvard Student Representative Board, Executive Officers
National Lawyers Guild
Students for Inclusion
The Harvard Asia Law Society
Unbound: Harvard Journal of the Legal Left

http://legalinsurrection.com/2014/12/harvard-law-students-also-demand-exam-delay-due-to-ferguson-and-garner/

Harvard Law students also demand exam delay due to Ferguson and Garner
Posted by William A. Jacobson
Monday, December 8, 2014 at 5:15pm


* * *

[From article]
Columbia Law School is permitting students claiming to be impaired due to the emotional impact of recent non-indictments in the Michael Brown and Eric Garner matters to postpone taking their final exams.
[. . .]
Columbia Law School is permitting students claiming to be impaired due to the emotional impact of recent non-indictments in the Michael Brown and Eric Garner matters to postpone taking their final exams.
[. . .]
But anyone so unstable as to be incapable of preparing for and taking exams due to grand jury proceedings not involving themselves or their families should be given an indefinite leave of absence in which to get better.
What is really behind the request for postponement of exams? I suspect it’s the fact that the students in question would rather protest with their friends and perhaps disrupt New York City than read cases, review lecture notes, or whatever it is that students do these days to prepare for exams. In addition, the students in question presumably want the law school to take their side on what they take to be a political question. In other words, this is, in part, a power play.


* * *

[From article]
four professors have made themselves available for that purpose. The four are: Katherine Franke, Conrad Johnson, Olati Johnson, and Susan Sturm.
Who are these professors and what are they likely to say to support traumatized students? The law school’s website answers the first question.
Katherine Franke’s research centers on U.S. racial history; feminist theory; queer theory; sexual and gender rights in global contexts. Her principal areas of teaching are feminist and critical race theory; law and culture; civil rights law; critical legal thought. She is the director of the Center for Gender and Sexuality Law.
Conrad Johnson directed the law school’s fair housing clinic, which specialized in civil rights litigation. He is co-creator of the law school’s first distance-learning offering, the seminar in race-conscious remedies (such as racial quotas). The law school’s website says that he’s a nationally recognized leader in diversity in legal education.
Olatunde Johnson came to Columbia after serving with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the ACLU National Legal Department, for which she was senior consultant on racial justice. Her areas of expertise include anti-discrimination Law, equal protection law, and “public interest” law practice.
Susan Sturm is a professor of law and “social responsibility.” Her areas of expertise include employment discrimination and race and gender.

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2014/12/how-to-talk-to-a-traumatized-law-student.php

POSTED ON DECEMBER 8, 2014
BY PAUL MIRENGOFF
HOW TO TALK TO A TRAUMATIZED LAW STUDENT

* * * 

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2014/12/columbia-law-school-and-the-apotheosis-of-newspeak.php

POSTED ON DECEMBER 8, 2014
BY PAUL MIRENGOFF I
COLUMBIA LAW SCHOOL AND THE APOTHEOSIS OF “NEWSPEAK”