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Posted by Andrew Branca on December 10, 2015 68 Comments
We’re now into the second day of the defense’s case in the “Freddie Gray” trial of Police Officer William Porter, and it looks more and more like this prosecution has even less of a leg to stand on than did the prosecution of George Zimmerman. In the Zimmerman trial one could at least reasonably argue that Zimmerman made a tactical, if not legal, error in placing himself in an ambush zone, and got himself ambushed. In Porter’s case it looks increasingly like he did nothing, literally nothing, wrong in his interactions with Gray. For illustrative purposes, let’s consider the most serious of the charges for which Porter is being tried, involuntary manslaughter (essentially the same analysis applies to the lesser charges of second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment, as well, but I only have so much time for blogging). First let’s note that even the prosecution concedes that Porter committed no affirmative act that caused Gray harm. They are therefore attempting to convict him of involuntary manslaughter based on a failure to act, an “act of omission.”

LATEST NEWS

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on December 10, 2015 20 Comments
TIME magazine named German Chancellor Angela Merkel as its Person of the Year. The New York-based magazine praised “her resilience and leadership when faced with the Syrian refugee crisis and turmoil in the European Union over its currency this year.” Angela Merkel is the first women to lead Germany and last month completed uninterrupted 10 years at the helm of Europe’s largest economy. Merkel has often been referred to as the most powerful woman in the world. In fact TIME's celebratory issue’s cover story calls her “the Chancellor of the Free World.” Since President Obama has abandoned the leadership of the Free World as a matter of principle, the top job was up for grabs anyway. The problem is only the direction Merkel is steering the Western World in face of the historic migrant crisis. To give credit where it’s due, the liberal editors at TIME Magazine had quite a tough time picking this year’s winner. German Chancellor was pitted against “Black Lives Matter” activists, Islamic State’s “Caliph” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, celebrity transgender Caitlyn Jenner, and Iran’s dictator Hassan Rouhani. Republican hopeful Donald Trump was upset over the fact that judges at TIME didn’t chose him for this year’s award, and as Trump (rightly) put it, “picked a person who is ruining Germany.”

Posted by Mike LaChance on December 10, 2015 16 Comments
FBI director James Comey testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday and the big take away seems to be that the San Bernardino terrorists were "radicalized" two years ago. Rebecca Kaplan reports at CBS News:
FBI director: San Bernardino suspects radicalized at least 2 years ago FBI Director James Comey said Wednesday that the husband and wife team suspected of shooting 14 people in the San Bernardino, California last week were radicalized at least two years before the attack. Comey testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik began talking about jihad and martyrdom as early as the end of 2013, before they became engaged, married and began living together in the U.S.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on December 10, 2015 0 Comments
In July, Professor Jacobson wrote about the Huffington Post's decision to move its Donald Trump coverage to its Entertainment section.  He wrote:
It is a political decision by HuffPo to impose on readers its view of Trump in the most pernicious way — not as part of an explicit and open editorial process but by corrupting HuffPo’s own news process. In what universe, other than the liberal media bias, is a candidate currently leading national polls and all but guaranteed to be included in the first debate not a political issue? You can hate Trump’s campaign, but it’s still politics.
HuffPo was stuck with this ridiculous decision, even going so far as to beclown itself further by announcing Trump's decision to forego a third-party run on its Entertainment pages.

Posted by Jonathan Levin on December 10, 2015 19 Comments
President Obama's willful blindness toward Iran's continued development of illicit weaponry is putting Americans and our allies in ever greater danger.  Obama's superficial detente with Iran ignores its deceits, dissimulations, and resolve to obtain a nuclear capability. In the latest instance, Obama is downplaying Iran's November ballistic missile test.  U.N. Security Council Resolution 1929 provides, "Iran shall not undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using ballistic missile technology."  The November launch tested the long-range, nuclear-capable Ghadr-110 missile and was a clear violation of Resolution 1929. Nevertheless, US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power merely called for “conducting a serious review of the reported incident.” This is only the latest instance of Obama withholding, distorting or ignoring information that might threaten his Iran policy.  Previously, Obama abandoned his promise that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action ("JCPOA") would have "anytime, anywhere" inspections, agreeing instead to a drawn-out and inadequate system of notices and appeals. Caving on inspections exacerbated Obama's earlier failure to require Iran to completely disclose its preexisting nuclear program to the International Atomic Energy Agency ("IAEA").

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Posted by Erin Mundahl on December 10, 2015 9 Comments
Nearly a month after the horrific Paris terror attack, French authorities have successfully identified the third gunman who opened fire on the crowd at the Bataclan Theatre. Foued Mohamed-Aggad, 23, was born in Strasbourg in northeastern France. He spent some time in Syria in 2013 and authorities had thought he was still abroad. A lawyer for his family told press that Mohamed-Aggad's mother apparently received a text message from Syria about ten days ago which read simply: Your son died as a martyr on November 13. She contacted authorities, who used DNA testing to confirm Mohamed-Aggad's involvement. Reuters reports:
"The SMS message told her that her son had died, saying: "He died on November 13 with his brothers"," said Francoise Cotta, lawyer for the mother and her family, who said the woman got the text message 10 days ago. "She was instantly struck by the horrific thought that he might have been one of the Bataclan suicide attackers," said Cotta, adding that she was asked by the dead man's mother to get in touch with investigators. Mohamed-Aggad went to Syria in late 2013 with a gang of others from his neighbourhood in an area outside the eastern French city of Strasbourg. Seven of the group were arrested in May 2014 after returning to France.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 09, 2015 23 Comments
If you've wondered why I've been relatively absent from the website the past few days, it's because I had to deal with a completely unexpected problem regarding my Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request to the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) regarding Bassem Tamimi's appearance before third graders at the Beverly J. Martin School (BJM). In brief, and incredibly, the teachers union in the Ithaca school district appears to have instructed its members not to produce records responsive to my FOIL Request contained on personal electronic devices and email accounts. [See Update, as to whether there has been a change of position on this.] So I went to court and obtained a Temporary Restraining Order preserving records pending a court determination on the merits. Details and full copy of Court Order below.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on December 09, 2015 49 Comments
Kemberlee noted on Monday that some "American Muslims band together to call out extremists," and in addition to these efforts, another Muslim group is working to raise money for the families of the victims of radical Islamic terrorism. The Los Angeles Times reports:
Faisal Qazi had no idea the shooters who massacred 14 people in San Bernardino last week were Muslims, like himself. The Pomona-based neurologist only knew that the victims and their families were his Inland Empire neighbors, and his faith obligated him to help. Qazi started small, hoping to raise $20,000 through his health nonprofit. But Islamic scholars and leaders urged him to broaden the effort – especially after it was revealed that the assailants were Muslims -- and the campaign quickly became the most successful crowd-funding venture Muslim Americans have ever launched for the broader community.

Posted by Andrew Branca on December 09, 2015 36 Comments
Today the defendant in the "Freddie Gray" trial, Police Officer William Porter, took the stand from about 11:00am to 3:30pm to testify on his own behalf.  He testified both on direct examination by his defense attorneys and on cross-examination by prosecutor Schatzow.  (The following recounting, and particularly any quotes, is largely based upon the periodic tweets sent out by journalist Justin Fenton from his live Twitter feed (@justin_fenton) and from his end-of-day Baltimore Sun post with colleague Kevin Rector.  My independent remarks are in parenthesis.)

Direct Examination

Direct examination of Porter was begun by defense counsel Murtha.  He asked why Porter had not called for medical attention for Gray early on in the encounter, and Porter replied that he did not do so because Gray "was unable to give any reason for any kind of medical emergency," and  because he couldn't see any visible signs of a need for medical attention. Asked why he didn't seatbelt Gray into the van, Porter replied that no one gets a seat belt. He went on to explain that he has participated in one manner or another in 150 arrests involving a police van, and has never seen any suspect belted in.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on December 09, 2015 7 Comments
After the San Bernardino terror attack, California Governor Jerry Brown stopped by the city on his way out the the UN Climate Conference that is continuing this week. Brown, a leading advocate of creating climate change policies that have chilled the economy of the Golden State, was invited to speak. The reception was...unexpected.
Gov. Jerry Brown, at the conclusion of a speech here Tuesday, was heckled by a group of protesters opposed to carbon offset programs they said could hurt indigenous people. Brown, accompanied by several South American governors at a 19th century mansion in Paris, had finished brief remarks urging further efforts to counteract climate change when protesters started yelling, “No REDD.” The acronym is used by The Governors’ Climate and Forest Task Force, of which California is a part, to describe programs to promote reduced emissions from deforestation and land use. California officials have considered ways to link the state’s cap-and-trade program, in which polluters pay to offset carbon emissions, to tropical rainforests in Chiapas, Mexico and Acre, Brazil. Outside the venue, Tom Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network said that such a system could prevent indigenous people from working on their land.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 09, 2015 62 Comments
This should be interesting. When two over-sized personalities collide, neither of whom is known for backing down. On Twitter and Facebook, Benjamin Netanyahu just released the following statement: https://twitter.com/IsraeliPM/status/674653302852816896
Prime Minister Netanyahu rejects Donald Trump's recent remarks about Muslims. The State of Israel respects all religions and strictly guarantees the rights of all its citizens. At the same time, Israel is fighting against militant Islam that targets Muslims, Christians and Jews alike and threatens the entire world.

Posted by Mike Adamo on December 09, 2015 7 Comments
Last week, the group of Hamilton College activists known as “the Movement” released a lengthy list of demands to almost universal ridicule. Few Hamilton students respect the Movement’s childish and arrogant calls for public apologies, special attention, and, of course, money. Our college administrators, meanwhile, rushed to validate the protesters’ demands and feelings. “Fwd: Demands,” read the subject line of the email President Joan Hinde Stewart sent out to the campus, though she referred us benignly to the “attached message” the young scholars of the Movement had so humbly submitted for her consideration. “Certainly,” she wrote, “we always want to do better as a community and encourage discussion.” She could start by learning what a discussion is, because it sure doesn’t involve “demands.”

Posted by Andrew Branca on December 09, 2015 36 Comments
The defense has opened with a bang in the "Freddie Gray" trial of Police Officer William Porter, bringing to the stand as their first witness noted forensic pathologist Dr. Vincent Di Maio, who is testifying that Gray's death should have been ruled an accident, not a homicide. As reported by Kalani Gordon at the Baltimore Sun:
Dr. Vincent Di Maio, a forensic pathologist and former chief medical examiner in San Antonio, said Gray's injury was "so violent, it's so high-energy," that it would have immediately caused Gray to lose control of his body and his diaphragm, which is critical for breathing and speaking. "This has all the appearances of a single catastrophic injury," he said. Gray could not have suffered his severe spinal cord, then, at the fourth stop of the van in which he was injured, when Porter found him on the floor of the van and Gray allegedly asked for help, said he couldn't breathe and said he needed a medic. The injury had essentially "cut off the head from the body" in a neurological sense, Di Maio testified. He said Gray's spinal cord was 80 percent crushed.

Posted by Mike LaChance on December 09, 2015 10 Comments
It's safe to say foreign policy and national security aren't Bernie Sanders' strong points. He doesn't want to talk about ISIS and terrorism, he wants to tell you how millionaires and billionaires are stealing money from the poor. As liberal Washington Post writer Chris Cillizza notes, that's a big problem:
Bernie Sanders doesn’t want to take questions about ISIS. That’s not good. Right on cue, a Sanders spokeswoman on Tuesday morning informed reporters that they shouldn't even ask questions about the Islamic State. We are re-upping this post from Monday, as it is now even more apropos.

Posted by Jonathan Levin on December 09, 2015 21 Comments
Emerging reports indicate Syed Farook made a series of questionable banking transactions in the weeks before he and his wife killed fourteen people in their terrorist attack in San Bernardino. These transactions raise yet again the question of whether financial institutions could play a larger part in interdicting terrorists.  The transactions may have been subject to reporting requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act ("BSA"), but the reports would have come too late. Under the BSA and supporting regulations financial institutions must file Suspicious Activity Reports ("SAR") within 30 days of a variety of large, unusual or structured transactions.  A structured transaction or series of transactions is designed to evade reporting requirements or additional scrutiny.  The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Counsel's ("FFIEC") Examination Manual notes that "[s]uspicious activity reporting forms the cornerstone of the BSA reporting system." According to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ("FinCEN"), the BSA:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on December 09, 2015 6 Comments
You don't have to like Republican Presidential hopeful Ben Carson to like his campaign's new web ad. "These Hands" began airing Tuesday and unlike contentious political ads, it utilizes positive messaging.
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