Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Star Athletes Face Legal Realities? ~by Legal Pub

Sooner or later entitlement and special treatment ends.  For some athletes it is sooner rather than later. Brandon Vandenburg and Cory Batey, two ex-Vanderbilt football players were accused of raping a female student.  The defense suggested that the defendant athletes were too drunk to rape the victim. A jury apparently saw through the defense and returned a conviction for each defendant.  

Was the jury correct when they rejected a defense which claimed that the accused were only acting in conformity with a college culture which promotes binge drinking and promiscuous sex? The jury returned its verdict after only three hours of deliberation.  It is probably two hours and fifty five minutes longer than what most juries would have deliberated under the circumstances.

In 2013, the victim was a 21-year-old neuroscience and economic major.  She testified that she did not remember what happened other than waking up in a strange dorm room. However, the jury saw cell phone photos and video that Vandenburg apparently had sent during the events. Yet, despite witnesses seeing an unconscious woman partially clothed in the dorm hallway, no one called the police. 
Both defendants were convicted of four counts of aggravated rape, one count of attempted rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery.  Both defendants were tried together. Attorneys for Vandenburg argued that Brandon did not assault the victim.  However, Vandenburg was apparently recorded on video laughing and encouraging others. Batey's attorneys argued that the photos and video did not show show Cory assaulting the victim. Both defendants lawyers argued that their clients were too drunk to know what the were doing and that the college culture of binge drinking and promiscuous sex was to blame. 

The prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Tom Thurman suggested that the defendants excuses were red herrings and that athletes think that the law doesn't apply to them. "That's the culture that you really saw here . their mindset that they can get away with anything," Thurman said. Both defendants will be sentenced in March.  







Tuesday, January 20, 2015

And I Always Thought I Have to Wash My Hair Was An Excuse To Avoid A Date ~by Shell

29 year-old Ann-Marie Gray said no to a man but it just didn't work.  Consequently, Ms. Gray felt like she needed to do more.  So, in order to dodge unwanted advances, the British woman faked her own death.  What a way to avoid a date.  Mirror 
29-year-old Ann-Marie Gray went on a few dates with a man she met on a dating cite. After she decided it was not a love connection, she tried to cancel the next date.  The suitor persisted and messaged that he was on his way over. Ms. Gray messaged back: "Hi there. This is Ann-Marie's sister. I am really sorry to tell you but she was taken into the hospital last night with a very serious illness, so she won't be available for a while. Sorry about that. If or when she comes around and is feeling better, I will get her to message you."
But the gentleman caller did not give up.  He tried to visit her at the  hospital which prompted the following message from Ms. Gray, "I am really sorry to tell you but we lost her last night."
Some guy's are clueless.  The gentleman caller apparently did not get it until he saw Ms. Gray posting on the dating website a few months later. Quite frankly, I am surprised that the jerk did not ask the "imaginary sister" to meet him for coffee.

Monday, January 12, 2015

Terrorism on the Keyboard? -by Legal Pub

It is clearly a different world.  Power may no longer mean who has the most guns.  Technology may now be a better indication of one's standing in the world.  Even terrorist groups seem to grasp the importance of technology.  To further illustrate the point, hackers apparently temporarily took control of the U.S. Department of Defense Central Command Twitter and You Tube page. The cyber hackers claim to be associated with the Islamic State known as ISIS.  More specifically, "Cyber Caliphate" took over the @CENTCOM Twitter account for around a half hour. For a short period of time, the CENTCOM YouTube page  displayed ISIS propaganda videos according to NBC News.

"AMERICAN SOLDIERS, WE ARE COMING, WATCH YOUR BACK, ISIS," was a message displayed by insurgents. In a tweet, hackers warned:
"...We broke into your networks and personal devices and know everything about you.  You'll se no mercy infidels.  ISIS is already here, we are in your PCs, in each military base.  With Allah's permission we are in CENTCOM now.  We won't stop! We know everything about you, your wives and children..."


witter/CENTCOM
Another tweet published allegedly internal documents outlining multiple military scenarios involving China and the Korean peninsula. The most ironic part is that the hacking was occurring while President Obama spoke about the need for more rigid online security. Business InsiderHuffington Post.

 "CyberCaliphate" has in the past taken credit for hacking a Maryland television station and the Albuquerque Journal newspaper. The DoD website was also running very slow after the hacking started.  It is unclear why; however, power is knowledge and right now the good guys don't know.

Monday, January 5, 2015

More Controversial Police Shootings on the Horizon? ~by Legal Pub

More hot water!  Apparently San Francisco  police officers shot and killed a man near the city  police station.  The man apparently held up an air gun which looked like a handgun.  The incident occurred Sunday evening and the 32-year-old man's identity was not released.  The man was shot three times and died of his wounds. The officers were uninjured.
Prior to the incident, three officers noticed a man hanging around the parking lot of the Mission District police station.  Apparently when the officers walked toward the man, he pulled up his shirt and produced what they thought was a handgun.  It appears that earlier in the day,  the same man had asked some police officers questions about guns and ammunition.  
Will the police ever stop making news?  Even when they do their job it appears that they are scrutinized by the media.