Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - 3 hours ago
The Government filed its sentencing statement today in the case of Detroit Underwear Bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. Abudulmutallab is set for sentencing Feb. 16. Some of the counts he pleaded guilty to carry a mandatory life sentence. The Government says a life sentence is also warranted bec...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 10, 2012, 7:57 pm
The cooperation (called "mutual assistance") between U.S. law enforcement and New Zealand is not just one sided. While New Zealand has been doing the bidding of the FBI in the MegaUplad case, it's been a two way street. New Zealand has a murder case it's been working on for a while(despite the ...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 10, 2012, 7:53 pm
CNBC has a slideshow of the 12 best federal prisons to do time, as compiled by Alan Ellis, criminal defense attorney and co-author of the “Federal Prison Guidebook.” The slideshow takes forever to click through, so I'll just list them, along with any unique features Alan notes. CNBC says th...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 10, 2012, 5:39 pm
Mohammed Zazi, father of Najibullah Zazi, the Colorado resident convicted in New York of planning a subway terror attack, was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison today for obstruction of justice (lying to the FBI), conspiring to destroy his son's chemicals, goggles and paper masks (stored at his brot...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 10, 2012, 12:47 pm
President Obama's announced accommodation" looks ok to me - women get the contraceptive coverage that good science and public policy require. The perceived need to offer a fig leaf to religions (the insurance companies pay) is grating, but the substance is what matters most. Planned Parenthood ...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 10, 2012, 10:46 am
Sorry about the dearth of posting. Really busy time for me. If I can squeeze some time, I'll write about the reported Obama "accommodation" on contraceptives. My Sunday Daily Kos piece will be on the issue. Open Thread.
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 9, 2012, 9:35 pm
A New Zealand law professor asks which is worse, internet piracy or the privacy breaches of social networks and Google. He compares the MegaUpload alleged copyright violations to the practices of Google and Facebook and concludes the social network privacy intrusions are worse: The law in both ...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 9, 2012, 9:04 pm
The FBI released its files on Steve Jobs today. You can read them here. The 191-page document, released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), consists of the FBI’s 1991 background investigation of Steve Jobs for an appointed position on the U.S. President’s Export Council. The releas...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 9, 2012, 3:13 pm
8 states may vote to legalize marijuana this year. Is yours on the list? Gallup says President Obama's approval ratings are up the past few days to 49%. From The Nation: A Brief History of Drones. This is an open thread, all topics welcome.
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 9, 2012, 1:35 pm
The House today passed its version of the Stock Act, S. 2038, the "Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012.") Groups like CREW are misguided in complaining that it does not include the Leahy-Cornyn amendment (S. 1483.) It's a good thing that the Leahy-Cornyn Amendment was dropped. It sh...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 8, 2012, 10:57 am
What if Santorum wins the GOP nomination? Doesn't Trump have to launch his much clamored for run (according to him)? Oh BTW, how's that Trump endorsement working out for Romney? Here's Trump on Santorum: Rick Santorum was a sitting senator who in re-election lost by 19 points, to my kn...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 8, 2012, 8:57 am
Santorum!!! Deeper thoughts later if time permits. Open Thread.
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 7, 2012, 9:15 pm
Remember Operation Pipeline from the '90's and the DEA's ridiculous list of what cops should look for when making traffic stops? On the list were things like "fast food wrappers" in the vehicle, too much luggage, not enough luggage. (Law review article on it here, on p. 748.) It was a blueprint resu...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 7, 2012, 8:07 pm
Tonight's the night for Republican caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota. Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have all been actively campaigning in Colorado. Mitt brought out 3,000 at a rally last night in Arapahoe County, just south of Denver. The size of Newt's crowd at a rally yesterda...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 7, 2012, 7:47 pm
The Colorado Court of Appeals has ruled persons on probation may not use marijuana, even if they have a valid state license to do so. The opinion is here. The Court based its decision on federal law which it says outlaws possession and use of marijuana. (Actually, federal law only bans possession...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 7, 2012, 3:57 pm
Sledgehammers, motorized saws, assault weapons and more were used in the raid of MegaUpload founder Kim DotCom's compound. TV 3 in New Zealand has new details of the raid in an interview with a police official who attempts to justify the excessive force. Seventy-six police officers, many armed ...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 7, 2012, 12:26 pm
Karen Handel, the senior vice president of public policy for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, resigned today. Koman founder and CEO Nancy Brinker released this statement: "Today I accepted the resignation of Karen Handel, who has served as Senior Vice President for Policy since April 2011. I have k...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 7, 2012, 12:15 pm
Update: The 9th Circuit has affirmed the lower court's ruling that Prop 8 is unconstitutional. The 128 page opinion is here. The 2-1 decision found the ban -- known as Proposition 8 -- "served no purpose, and had no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 6, 2012, 9:32 pm
The Voice is back. The singers are so much better than those trying out for American Idol. They just need to get rid of their new "social media correspondent" and posting tweets onscreen. Is anyone going to watch Smash? Anonymous is now at war with Symantec. (Background here.) They publis...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 6, 2012, 3:27 pm
I'll be busy the rest of the day, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 6, 2012, 2:36 pm
12 agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice, AG Eric Holder and others for discrimination. agents hired in the U.S. who come to Puerto Rico receive a bonus for working in a so-called high-intensity drug trafficking area, which Puerto Rican ...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 6, 2012, 1:39 pm
The State Department issued a notice today that the U.S. Embassy in Syria has closed and all employees have left the country. The recent surge in violence, including bombings in Damascus on December 23 and January 6, has raised serious concerns that our Embassy is not sufficiently protected from ...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 6, 2012, 1:16 pm
Mimi Beardsley, now Mimi Alford, was a 19 year old intern for JFK. In 2003, JFK's former assistant Dave Powers, wrote a book in which he mentioned a young intern as one of JFK's paramours. She would not discuss it. Now 69, she has written a book about it. The New York Post has excerpts. The aff...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 5, 2012, 7:58 pm
Update: Superbowl video here. Better quality here or here (but 15 second commercial.) I'm tuning into the Superbowl but just for the halftime show with Madonna which is about to start. She'll sing 4 songs, 3 old and "Give Me All Your Luvin'" her new song with Nikki Manaj. She told Anderson Coope...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 5, 2012, 11:38 am
I like the Giants (+3) (15 units.) Some late Pats money seems to be coming in. Open Thread.
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 4, 2012, 10:08 pm
The U.S. military has dismissed a murder charge against Army Specialist Michael Wagnon, the remaining member of the 5th Stryker Brigade charged with pre-meditated murder in the 2010 "Thrill Kill" spree of killings and corpse mutilation of unarmed Afghan civilians. The dismissal of the case aga...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 4, 2012, 6:58 pm
Part 2 on the flip. Open Thread. Total TD Passes – Eli Manning Under 2
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 4, 2012, 6:43 pm
Megaupload's Kim DotCom may be in jail, but he's not giving up. The New Zealand Herald reports he has filed papers in the New Zealand High Court seeking the return of his seized funds and assets. Papers have been filed with the High Court at Auckland which claim freezing orders used to seize h...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 4, 2012, 6:33 pm
Looks like Newt Gingrich fizzled in Nevada and Mitt Romney will win the state's Republican caucusesby double digits. Here's the makeup of voters: 4 of 5 are Conservative, 3 out of 4 said they were tea partiers, and 1 of 4 are Mormons. Where's Romney today? In Colorado Springs, campaigning ...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 3, 2012, 7:53 pm
Yes, it's still snowing here. In other news, Lance Armstrong dodged a bullet. The U.S. Attorneys Office in Los Angeles announced the doping investigation is finally done, and no more charges will be brought. The U.S. Army made it official today that Bradley Manning will face a full courts-...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 3, 2012, 5:52 pm
There are a ton of them and I'm on them. Here's part 1 of my Super Bowl props: From first note starts until she completes saying "Brave". All wagers have action, if she restarts for any reason, wager will start from restart. How long will it take Kelly Clarkson to sing the National Anthem? Unde...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 3, 2012, 5:33 pm
It's been a busy day for Anonymous, which in addition to publishing the FBI-London police telconference call, has hacked the website of the law firm Puckett & Faraj which represents Sgt. Frank Wuterich, the marine who recently got a sweetheart deal for his role in the Haditha killings. You can view ...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 3, 2012, 1:30 pm
Anonymous strikes again. It has released a 17 minute conference call held Jan. 17, 2012 between the FBI and London's Metropolitan Police about hacking investigations into Anonymous, LulzSec, Antisec and related groups, and the cases of specific defendants and targets, such as Ryan Cleary, Jake Davis...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 1, 2012, 10:32 am
As Republicans prepare to grill Attorney General Eric Holder again over Operation Fast and Furious, the Democrats on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform have released a report. The executive summary is here. The full report is here. Shorter version: There is no evidence higher-ups ...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Feb 1, 2012, 9:55 am
Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), current Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, has always struck me as a public menace. He's now advocating more mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Other Republicans are joining him. If you don't remember...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Jan 31, 2012, 10:02 pm
Rough day at the dentist today. When I left with a prescription for pain medication, it came with a separate notice from the dentist, addressed to me, at my home address, advising me that when I fill the prescription, it will be entered in a state database accessible to law enforcement and doctors. ...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Jan 31, 2012, 9:34 pm
Carpathia Hosting has set up a website, MegaRetrieval.com, where those who stored data at MegaUpload can get in touch with EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation). EFF is offering free legal services in hopes of assisting users who legitimately stored data on MegaUpload. When the United States Gover...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Jan 31, 2012, 8:34 pm
The Florida Republican primary has been called by the news outlets for Mitt Romney. Mitt's speaking now. He says they will win in November. He says it's time for President Obama to get out of the way. He's ready to lead the party and the nation. He will begin a new era of prosperity. He will ...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Jan 31, 2012, 1:47 pm
What's your prediction for the outcome of today's Florida Republican primary? Time Magazine says Newt Gingrich is bracing for a loss and in the process of reinventing himself as a grass-roots insurgent. It says Newt is floundering because he was outstumped and outspent. Gingrich is unlikely to...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Jan 31, 2012, 9:09 am
New technology is all abuzz with news of programs that would replace those pesky 10 digit "letter-number -character" passwords we are getting accustomed to, with using our faces as our passwords to log into our protected information instead. On the one hand, it sounds Orwellian. It takes very l...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Jan 31, 2012, 2:28 am
President Obama held an online forum last night organized by You Tube and Google+. Readers submitted questions via You Tube and text. They also voted on the questions submitted by others. Obama took questions from five people via You Tube. Those were five lucky people: According to the White Ho...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Jan 30, 2012, 9:31 pm
I've updated my post on the Megaload hosting companies and potential data destruction. I think it's time for Chuck Schumer to retire. Here's his latest: $140 million for research on how to test drivers for drug use. The Obama DOJ has cited the NDAA in a brief opposing habeas for a Guantan...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Jan 30, 2012, 10:20 am
Q Poll - Romney 43, Gingrich 29. PPP - Romney 39, Gingrich 32. SUSA - Romney 41, Gingrich 26. NBC/Marist poll - Romney 42, Gingrich 27. I like the Insider Advantage/NewsMax poll, that says Newt is surging to within 5 points and has the momentum. Go Newt! I don't believe it, ...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Jan 29, 2012, 5:28 pm
"The House I Live In", by Eugene Jarecki, a documentary film that rips our War on Drugs and policies of over-incarceration, won the Grand Jury Prize for best Documentary at Sundance. Jarecki says, “We began a journey many many years ago when someone I love in the audience very much ... she inspi...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Jan 29, 2012, 2:27 pm
Nearly 400 arrests yesterday at Occupy Oakland. More of the same stories about Republican primary candidates. I'm back to "Who cares?" An op-ed in the New York Times highlights Justice Sotomayor's concurring opinion in the warrantless GPS case of U.S. v. Jones, decided last week. (Opinion...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Jan 29, 2012, 1:01 pm
The digital world is eroding our privacy. Every week, users post 3.5 billion pieces of information on Facebook. Twitter has over 100 million users. Google has over 900,000 servers. The content on social media sites reaches 80% of all internet users. The data trail we leave behind on the inter...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Jan 29, 2012, 12:53 pm
While the validity of the charges in the Megaupload indictment will take years to work its way through the courts, and many will have little sympathy because of the amounts of money the defendants earned, consider the case of British student Richard O'Dwyer. O'Dwyer set up a site in his baseme...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Jan 28, 2012, 4:00 pm
The media says Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are "trading jabs" with Mitt Romney hoping for a "knockout." The idea of either one of these guys in a boxing ring is pretty comical. Update: Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times poll just released: Curtains for Newt? He's trailing Mitt by 11 points, and the ...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Jan 28, 2012, 3:45 pm
In an interview on "60 Minutes" that airs tomorrow, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta criticizes Pakistan for arresting Shakil Afridi, the doctor that the CIA asked to run a fake vaccine program in hopes of getting DNA to confirm Osama bin Laden's presence at the Abbottabad compound. An inquiry commiss...
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Jeralyn Merritt posted an article on Talk Left - Jan 28, 2012, 2:23 pm
The New Zealand Herald has an editorial today criticizing the U.S. and FBI's co-opting of NZ police to launch the over-the-top raid at Kim DotCom's rented mansion in the MegaUpload takedown. Some 76 officers, six times as many as took out Osama bin Laden, swooped - a lot more than are deployed a...
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