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Posted by Jonathan Levin on December 22, 2015 10 Comments
The Boycott, Divest & Sanction ("BDS") movement and the broader campaign to delegitimize Israel has had a tough few weeks.  In academia and industry, the boycott campaign has been exposed as potentially discriminatory and unlawful, and yet another panel of experts has affirmed that Israel's use of force against Hamas is not only legitimate, but exemplary. Law Professors Eugene Kontorovich and Steven Davidoff Solomon of the Northwestern University and University of California - Berkeley, respectively, make the case that boycotts by academic associations are unlawful.  As one might expect, academic associations each have a stated purpose, typically to collect, share, expand and advance knowledge in the relevant field.  Profs. Kontorovich and Davidoff explain that such associations cannot legally do anything other than pursue those stated purposes, and:
Boycott resolutions that are beyond the powers of an organization are void, and individual members can sue to have a court declare them invalid. The individuals serving on the boards of these organizations may be liable for damages. Consider the American Historical Association. Its constitution—a corporate charter—states that its purpose “shall be the promotion of historical studies” and the “broadening of historical knowledge among the general public.” There’s nothing in this charter that would authorize a boycott. And an anti-Israel boycott will do nothing to promote “historical studies” or broaden “historical knowledge.” A boycott by definition restricts study and research: The explanatory material attached to the [American Anthropological Association ("AAA")] resolution, for example, says it would restrict the organization from sharing scholarly journals with Israeli universities.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on December 22, 2015 10 Comments
Earlier this year, the Center for Medical Progress exposed Planned Parenthood's baby part harvesting racket to the public. A series of undercover videos showed Planned Parenthood officials haggling with investigators over the price of fetal tissues. Now Congress is looking into Planned Parenthood's fetal tissue trade. Tuesday, Sen. Rand Paul announced Health and Human Services had opened an investigation into Planned Parenthood's use of fetal tissue.
Following the request initiated by U.S. Senator Rand Paul, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General (OIG) Daniel R. Levinson has opened an investigation, including a full audit into the compliance of HHS grantees with the fetal tissue regulations to determine whether there have been violations of the law and how the agency verifies compliance.

Posted by Andrew Branca on December 22, 2015 13 Comments
Various news agencies, including The New York Times, have reported today that there were no indictments issued by a Texas grand jury with respect to the in-custody death of Sand Bland. By all appearances, Bland had hanged herself in her cell. Bland was 28-years-old when she responded with anger and non-compliance after being lawfully pulled over in what should have been a routine traffic stop.  As a result she got herself arrested. As we wrote at the time in "Sandra Bland Arrest: Another Lesson in Non-Compliance," Bland's conduct was "a free lesson in how not to act during a traffic stop if you don’t want to get yourself arrested." Video of her conduct that triggered her arrest was captured on the patrol car's dash camera: The Grand Jury's decision to not indict apparently extends only to the circumstances around her death and the conduct of the jail staff.

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Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 22, 2015 9 Comments
Hillary Clinton flat-out lied when she claimed during the Democratic Debate on December 19, 2015, that ISIS was showing videos of Donald Trump's immigration comments as a recruiting tool. Despite the lack of any proof of the video claim, Team Hillary is refusing to apologize, and instead has fallen back on the more general claim that Trump still is ISIS's best recruiting tool:
“He is becoming ISIS’s best recruiter,” she said. “They are going to people showing videos of Donald Trump insulting Islam and Muslims in order to recruit more radical jihadists.”… When asked if Mrs. Clinton would apologize, Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said, “Hell no. Hillary Clinton will not be apologizing to Donald Trump for correctly pointing out how his hateful rhetoric only helps ISIS recruit more terrorists.”
Really? One can disagree with Trump's comments AND acknowledge that Hillary lied and Team Clinton is distracting from Clinton's own failures as Secretary of State.

Posted by Mike LaChance on December 22, 2015 9 Comments
Recently in Nashville, a man decided to kick in the door of a house. Little did he know, the homeowner was at home and armed. Things didn't turn out well for the criminal. ABC News in Nashville reported:
Man shot after kicking in door to Madison home One man is in the hospital after being shot while attempting to break in a home. Police told News 2 that a man knocked on the door of a home in the 1700 block of Cumberland Station Blvd near Madison.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on December 22, 2015 16 Comments
Last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel received a rockstar reception at her conservative party CDU's annual convention in Karlsruhe. Merkel received a nine-minute-long standing ovation from the party delegates for a speech in which she refused to put a fixed limit on migrant intake. Germany is expecting to take as many as 1.5 million migrant this year. With each migrant expected to bring 4-8 family member in the short-term, the real number for 2015 alone could be well over 7 million. However, some odd 30 party delegates dared to question Merkel's stand on mass migration -- out of roughly 3000 attending delegates. That's 99 percent approval by the party cadre for Merkel's open border policy. Even Stalin-era purges didn't East-German dictators that level of support. The British newspaper Independent reports:
[I]n her keynote address to more than 3,000 Christian Democrat (CDU) delegates at a party congress in Karlsruhe, Ms Merkel effectively threw down the gauntlet to the rest of Europe and insisted that it share the burden in helping to solve the problem. “We face the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War,” she told the party faithful. Appealing to other EU members for help she called for solidarity, saying that Europe faced a “historic test” and insisting: “The fight for a unified Europe is worthwhile – of that I am deeply convinced.” Ms Merkel conceded that overcoming the problems facing Germany, which has accepted over a million migrants in 2015 alone, amounted to a “giant task”. But the Chancellor flatly refused to accept demands from within her own ranks to set an “upper limit” on the migrant influx, or for the installation of Berlin Wall-style fortifications and controls on Germany’s borders.

Posted by Andrew Branca on December 22, 2015 63 Comments
The re-trial of Baltimore Police Officer William Porter has been scheduled for June 13, 2016,according to reporting by The Baltimore Sun. By that time the trials of the other 5 officers charged in Freddie Gray's death will have been completed.  Absent immunity, Porter therefore remains vulnerable to criminal prosecution throughout the course of those other trials, and can therefore not be compelled to provide testimony in them. This also means that Porter's statement to investigators shortly after Gray's death and his testimony in his own trial will not be admissible in these subsequent trials of the other officers, as the defense counsel in the other trials would not have the ability to "confront the witness." The next Freddie Gray trial is to be that of police van driver Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr., which is scheduled to begin in just two weeks, on January 6, 2016. Goodson faces the most serious charges brought against the officers, that of second-degree murder. He has also been charged with second-degree assault, two counts of vehicular manslaughter, and misconduct in office.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on December 22, 2015 32 Comments
The 9/11 terror attack changed the way Americans think about and law enforcement / the feds treat hijacked airlines, and San Bernardino and Paris are changing the way that Americans think about "active shooter" situations in the gun-free zones in which they tend to occur. Previously, office workers were taught to hunker down and hide (under a desk, for example) if they could not get away from the building.  This is a bad plan.  Now, however, "active shooter training" for office workers does not recommend hiding, which was often in plain sight; instead, the recommendation is to fight back—with books and other objects that can be used to "distract" a terrorist or assailant. The Washington Post reports:
Spooked by a year of high-profile rampages, hundreds of companies and organizations like NeighborWorks are racing to train their workers how to react to a shooter in their workplaces. And after decades of telling employees to lock down and shelter in place, they are teaching them to fight back if evacuating is not an option. The idea: Work as a team to disrupt and confuse shooters, opening up a split second to take them down.

Posted by Alex Ryvchin on December 22, 2015 12 Comments
Galway, Ireland. They stood huddled in the corner of the lecture theatre whispering ominously. A final pep talk perhaps, or a hasty revision of tactics. Then the leader surged forward, arms flailing, voice bellowing, clad in the colours of Palestine. ‘Get the f–k off our campus, now, you f–king Zionist, f–king prick,’ his body literally convulsing with rage. His acolytes obediently pounded the desks in wild approval. ‘We don’t want your Israeli money around here.’ Professor Alan Johnson, a respected political theorist and one of British Labour’s most astute thinkers, stoically continued his address, speaking in his characteristic soft, measured, thoughtful tones. He presented his analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, unsparing in his criticism of both sides, and stated the progressive case for peace: two states for two peoples. But the protestors weren’t there to engage with ideas, or to advance a negotiated, peaceful outcome to the conflict. They were there to ‘resist’. (language warning)

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 21, 2015 28 Comments
The Mall of America has gone to court seeking an injunction against Black Lives Matter protesters disrupting shopping at the mall on Christmas Eve day. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports on the hearing held in court today:
With a planned demonstration by Black Lives Matter at the Mall of America less than two days away, a Hennepin County judge on Monday heard arguments over whether the shopping complex has the right to a restraining order against protesters. In its request, the mall named four alleged leaders of Black Lives Matter and asked Judge Karen Janisch to prevent them from encouraging people to demonstrate Wednesday and to take down any social media messages about the event. The mall also wanted Black Lives Matter to post a social-media message canceling the demonstration and to post a copy of the judge’s restraining order, if one is issued.
I'll admit that I'm not up to speed on how 1st Amendment protections apply on a private property that nonetheless operates as a public space, a replacement for Main Street. So I express no opinion on the legalities.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 21, 2015 13 Comments
In early October 2015 we wrote about an academic study showing Democrats Moving Left Faster Than Republicans Moving Right:
The meme we’ve been hearing for years is that radical right-wing “hard liners” are hijacking the Republican party and forcing it to the right; however, an interesting new study argues that Democrats are moving more quickly to the left than Republicans are moving to the right. It also indicates that the Democrats’ move leftward has had the unintended consequence of moving state legislatures to the right.
A Gallup survey released today confirms that Democrats are moving left
Democrats' desire for a "liberal" or "very liberal" candidate has grown, from 30% in 2007 to 36% now. However, the largest share of Democrats and Democratic leaners -- 40% -- still mostly prefer a moderate candidate. This desire has shrunk somewhat from 48% in 2007. Because of these shifts, Democrats are now about as likely to say they prefer a liberal nominee (36%) as a moderate nominee (40%), while in 2007, they had a clearer preference for a moderate (48%) than for a liberal (30%)....

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on December 21, 2015 6 Comments
Upon the order of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, one of the world's richest men, Christmas in the small country of Brunei has been publicly banned. Wearing a Santa hat in public could result in a five-year prison sentence. While Brunei's Christians are still allowed to celebrate Christmas (so generous of the Sultan), those festivities are not to be disclosed to Muslim citizens for fear it might "damage their faith." The Sydney Morning Herald has the story:
Oil-rich Brunei has banned public celebrations of Christmas, including sending festive greetings and the wearing of Santa Claus hats. Muslims seen celebrating Christmas and non-Muslims found to be organising celebrations could face up to five years jail. However the country's non-Muslims, who comprise 32 per cent of the 420,000 population, can celebrate Christmas in their own communities on the condition that the celebrations are not disclosed to Muslims. Imams have told followers in the tiny Borneo nation to follow a government edict last year banning celebrations that could lead Muslims astray and damage their faith, according to the Borneo Bulletin.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 21, 2015 9 Comments
You may remember our coverage of the federal prosecution of Stanley Cohen on a charge of failing to file federal income tax returns for several years. Cohen pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, starting January 2015. It appears Cohen was just released, though it's unclear if it is to a halfway house or some other arrangement. Cohen was a particularly flamboyant character. Cohen was termed "Hamas lawyer" because of his love for and allegiance to Hamas: [caption id="attachment_111907" align="alignnone" width="500"][Sheik Ahmed Yassin and Ismail Abu Shanab] [Sheik Ahmed Yassin and Ismail Abu Shanab][/caption]Cohen re-pledged his allegiance to Hamas even as he was pleading guilty in court:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on December 21, 2015 62 Comments
In September, the Danish government placed ads in Lebanese newspapers portraying Denmark as an undesirable local for potential refugees. The intent of course, was to deter would-be refugees from choosing Denmark as a potential home. Fast forward to December and the Danes have upped the ante. New legislation would seize gold and cash from Syrian refugees. The Washington Post reports:
The government is considering a law that would allow authorities to confiscate jewelry from refugees entering the country. The proposal is almost certain to pass Parliament. "It is pretty telling about the current Danish policies that [some] are not quite sure whether this is a hoax or not," said Zachary Whyte, an asylum and integration researcher at the University of Copenhagen. In this case, it's real. "The bill presented on 10 December 2015 provides the Danish authorities with the power to search clothes and luggage of asylum seekers — and other migrants without a permit to stay in Denmark — with a view to finding assets which may cover the expenses," the Danish Ministry of Integration said in an email to The Washington Post.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on December 21, 2015 19 Comments
Monday, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham became the fourth Republican presidential candidate to call it quits. "I got into this race to put forward a plan to win a war we could not afford to lose and to turn back the tide of isolationism that was rising in our party," said Graham in a video message to his supporters. "I believe we've made enormous progress in this effort."
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