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Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

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When I was almost fifty four, it was a very good year It was a very good year for kindly faced clerics Whose Justice Minister was an executioner And Defense Minister waged an anti-American war When I was almost fifty four.
Nearly two years ago Jeffrey Goldberg interviewed President Obama about how he would deal with the threat from Iran. Given Goldberg's support for Israel, the interview was part of an administration campaign to tell Israel and Israel's supporters in the United States that "we've got Israel's back." It's unsettling now, that Goldberg has declared that For Iran, 2013 Was a Very Good Year.
Remember that interim Iranian nuclear agreement forged in Geneva on Nov. 24, the one accompanied by blaring trumpets and soaring doves? Would it surprise you to know that the agreement -- a deal that doesn’t, by the way, neutralize the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program, just freezes the program, more or less, in place -- has not yet been implemented? Would it surprise you to learn that this deal might not be implemented for another month, or more? Or that in this long period of non-implementation, Iran is free to do with its nuclear program whatever it wishes? And that one of the things it is doing is building and testing new generations of centrifuges? Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Agency, recently said , “We have two types of second-generation centrifuges. We also have future generations which are going through their tests.” Happy New Year, everyone.

LATEST NEWS

When I saw this circulating on Twitter, I thought it had to be a hoax. And it still might be. But it's being fairly widely reported, with a Singaporean newspaper the primary English language source. Via The Strait Times, Jang's execution bodes ill for China:
THE execution of Jang Song Thaek, the No. 2 man in North Korea, took Beijing by surprise and will adversely affect bilateral relations. Beijing's displeasure is expressed through the publication of a detailed account of Jang's brutal execution in Wen Wei Po, its official mouthpiece, in Hong Kong, on Dec 12. According to the report, unlike previous executions of political prisoners which were carried out by firing squads with machine guns, Jang was stripped naked and thrown into a cage, along with his five closest aides. Then 120 hounds, starved for three days, were allowed to prey on them until they were completely eaten up. This is called "quan jue", or execution by dogs. The report said the entire process lasted for an hour, with Mr Kim Jong Un, the supreme leader in North Korea, supervising it along with 300 senior officials. The horrifying report vividly depicted the brutality of the young North Korean leader. The fact that it appeared in a Beijing- controlled newspaper showed that China no longer cares about its relations with the Kim regime.

From a reader in Texas Hi Prof- thought you might like these. On a military base in San Antonio ...

This segment between Ruth Marcus of The Washington Post (my law school classmate) and Glenn Greenwald on Edward Snowden is pretty good. It's being described as Greenwald being rude to Marcus, but I don't see it that way. I think they both did a good job. ...

The New York Times says Edward Snowden should be allowed back into the country and given clemency, but the title of the editorial, "Edward Snowden, Whistle-Blower" sets the tone for inaccuracy because the term is not legally applicable to Snowden whether you support what he...

A special gift from the Obama family intended for the godmother of the president's daughters was mistakenly delivered to an unsuspecting recipient in Illinois, after a post-office mix-up. From ABC News: A woman in the Chicago suburbs got quite a surprise when opening up a delayed Christmas...

Via Times of Israel, Israelis doubt Palestinians’ intentions, PM tells Kerry:
Speaking with Benjamin Netanyahu at a joint press conference before the first of several planned meetings between the two, Kerry said leaders on both sides of the tables already knew what would be included in a US-drafted framework agreement, but added that an agreement was “not mission impossible.” “We know what the issues are and the parameters,” he said of a potential agreement. “The time is soon arriving when leaders will have to make tough decisions,” he added, and said that he would “work with both sides to narrow differences on a framework that will set guidelines for negotiations.” However, Netanyahu, recalling Palestinian celebrations over a prisoner release earlier in the week, said he was skeptical over Ramallah’s commitment to peace. “I know that you are committed to peace; I know that I am committed to peace; but, unfortunately, given the actions and words of Palestinian leaders, there’s growing doubt in Israel that the Palestinians are committed to peace,” Netanyahu said.
From the transcript:
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: Welcome back to Jerusalem, John. I want to use this opportunity to express once again my personal appreciation and the appreciation of the people of Israel for your unremitting personal efforts to advance peace between us and the Palestinians. I know that you’re committed to peace, I know that I’m committed to peace, but unfortunately, given the actions and words of Palestinian leaders, there’s growing doubt in Israel that the Palestinians are committed to peace.

John Kerry is returning to the Middle East to present his peace plan. Two recent articles show the way the peace process is misrepresented in the media. The AP reports Israel, Palestinians Face Hard Choices.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would likely have to recognize Israel's pre-1967 war frontier as the starting point for border talks with the Palestinians, an ideological reversal that would put him on a collision course with his hardline base. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas fears he'll be pressured to recognize Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people, a step he believes would abrogate the rights of Palestinian refugees and their descendants.
The parallelism here is bogus. In the first place the idea that having the "pre-1967 war frontier" (more correctly they should be called "the 1949 armistice lines") as a basis for any peace deal is a departure from the original intent of Resolution 242. After the 1967, Six Day War, there was an international consensus that an Israeli return to its pre-war borders was a "prescription for renewed hostilities."

From a reader in Miami: Seen in Little Haiti in Miami. Says empty promises. On a significant intersection, looks like something hit it, used to be a full mural. ...

I've never been much of one for making New Year's resolutions.  But the turn of the calendar does usually prompt me to reflect on the past year, and on what the year ahead may have to offer. The new year for many is in some...

Melissa Harris-Perry is apologizing profusely for the panel discussion over which she presided, dedicated to mocking the image above. https://twitter.com/MHarrisPerry/status/418008066651455488 https://twitter.com/MHarrisPerry/status/418010148301320192 https://twitter.com/MHarrisPerry/status/418010599662960640 I have no idea what is in Harris-Perry's heart, but she has a long history of making racial issues out of non-racial events:

As a Tea Party activist, one of my earliest assignments was trying to determine where we might be helpful in an ongoing battle between seal-loving eco-activist extremists versus the citizens who wanted to enjoy the La Jolla cove area and the businesses dependent on them doing so. In 2009, I wrote:
Over the years, my thoughts on the seals’ presence at the Children’s Pool has mirrored my growing anger at the “do-gooder”, anti-humanity, liberty-crushing environmental activists who have used a combination of emotionalism, poor science, and political gamesmanship to redesign regulations and control businesses to meet their distorted worldviews. An action item for the grassroots “Tea Party” movement is to address the disparity in activism, so that the needs of all citizens can be addressed in a manner that is friendly to businesses, the people that depend upon these businesses for their livelihoods, and the environment.
Nothing has changed. However, the stench has become so bad that several of the area businesses have filed a lawsuit...including George's-at-the-Cove, where my husband proposed to me in October 1998.
A lawsuit has been filed demanding the city eradicate the "foul, noxious and sickening odors" left by birds and sea lions defecating on the rocks next to La Jolla Cove.

Barring BIG BREAKING NEWS, this will be our last post of 2013. Sit back and enjoy A.F. Branco's collection of Legal Insurrection 2013 cartoons. ...

Fun times start at midnight in New York City, and I'm not talking just about the dropping of ball. Socialist at heart Mayor Bill DeBlasio's first act will be to ban the horse drawn carriages that are one of the symbols of the tourist experience at Central Park. https://twitter.com/JonahNRO/status/418140444824854528