Post Film Violence Is Not The Answer

So what did an alleged director of the controversial film hope to accomplish?  Nakoula Basseley Nakoula supposedly directed the anti-Islamic movie that has stirred up violent protests across the world.  (But Nakoula's exact role in the production of the film has not been confirmed.  Rumours continue to circulate about the video's dissemination. Nakoula initially claimed to the AP that he was the film's writer and director. He subsequently denied that he was the director.)  Now the 55 year-old California native has abandoned his home in fear of his families safety. Nakoula apparently disguised his appearance when he left his home.  So just who is this man? 

Nakoula pleaded guilty in 1997 to possession with intent to manufacture methamphetamine.  He was sentenced to a year in jail,.  In 2010, Nakoula was charged with bank fraud.  Nakoula pleaded no contest in 2010 to federal bank fraud charges  and was ordered to pay more than $790,000 in restitution and was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison.  Prior to his bank fraud conviction, Nakoula struggled with financial problems.  In June 2006, a $191,000 tax lien was filed against him in the Los Angeles County Recorder of Deeds office. In 1997, a $106,000 lien was filed against him in Orange County.



So is it surprising that Nakoula might be a key figure behind "Innocence of Muslims?" The film unfairly denigrates Islam; however, that does not justify the violence against U.S. embassies in the Middle East and North Africa.  Why should the U.S. be targeted for the actions of a convict or even of a few loose cannons?  It simply doesn't make sense unless someone is looking for an excuse to pick a fight.  When it comes to zeoulous religious folks, experience suggests that common sense sometimes gets bypassed in favor of a strange sense of justice..

Bank Robbery Foiled by Stupidity ~by Legal Eagle 7

They say that as a whole, test scores are down in the U.S.  This leads one to believe that folks are getting dumber.  Fortunately, this downward trend in intelligence has spread to the criminals.  For example, a Pennsylvania robber was apprehended by a front door last Thursday morning.  The unidentified, 27-year-old suspect entered the Pittsburgh Citizens Bank at about 9 a.m. He demanded money from tellers and then tried to exit the building after obtaining a handful of cash.  However, after he exited the first set of doors, they locked behind him.  When he tried to exit the outside doors, they too were locked.

Perhaps the would be robber was illiterate because the bank prominently displayed its security system outside of the building including advertisement of the double doors that lock in the event of a robbery. To further demonstrate the robbers low IQ, he attempted to head butt the doors which were made of bullet proof glass.  After much futile flailing around, screaming and banging his arms and head, the suspect was released from his glass prison into the arms of law enforcement. For part of his rehabilitation, perhaps he will study English lit and read the how to guide of Bonnie and Clyde and realize it was before the day and age of modern security.

Kids Are Back In The Classroom and Teachers Are Back At It?

What a way to welcome the kids back to school.  Erica DePalo won the coveted award of  'Teacher Of The Year" last year in Essex County, New Jersey. This 33 year old teacher now faces charges of having a sexual relationship with one of her 15-year-old honors English students.  DePalo was described as being really close with the students. Now the allegation is that she was a little too close. DePalo was officially charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child.  The alleged relationship supposedly began on June 15 and ended last Tuesday.

Even though DePalo is considered innocent until otherwise proven in a court of law, the West Orange Public School district announced that DePalo has been suspended "immediately and indefinitely" much to the disappointment of her students.  While such allegations are distasteful and evidence of a growing epidemic, one can only ponder that if such allegations were true in my day, then perhaps more teenage boys might have looked forward to the start of school year.

Does Stupidity Run In Families? ~ by Friar Fred

Now, I can't say I learned this from the confessional.  After all, so many people lie behind closed doors that it becomes hard to tell fact from fiction.  But somewhere in the dark spiritual world comes certain inspirational ideas which lead to themes which leads to a scientific hypothesis.  Here's mine from behind the veiled door:  Stupidity runs in families.

Bless me father for I have sinned...  I stole my sister's crack pipe and used up her last samples.  Wow, say five "Our Fathers" and two "Hail Marys" and immediately see a shrink so that I can validate my hypothesis.  Pretty clear to me that both the victim and the perpetrator meet the criteria of being stupid.  Now sisters in the Church would never condone such a practice but how about those Kardashian sisters?  Do they really think that died jet black hair is attractive? Not that we have television. in the friary, but we certainly do talk to parishioners who regularly tune into the famous sister show. 

Lest one thinks I am picking too heavily on females due to the long hard sacrifice of celibacy, lets examine the Baldwin brothers.  Alec refused to turn off his cell phone on the runway?  Really?  How special must he think he is to warrant a disponsation from Homeland security?  And how about baby brother Stephen?  Who needs a license anyway, must have thought the younger Baldwin prior to his arrest in New York City yesterday.  There is baby Baldwin driving without a licence at 5:14 PM when he decides to perform an illegal U-turn in Harlem. Did he not realize that now days New York P.D. actually patrols Harlem? N.Y.P.D. welcomed Baldwin to the neighborhood by arresting him for driving on a suspended license.  He was given a V.I.P. tour of a nearby jail.  He was booked for aggravated unlicensed operator and released in exchange for is autograph on an order to appear in court in October where he will be arraigned.

Now some say us brothers in Christ don't get out much and perhaps that's true.  But if blood related relatives continue to demonstrate my theory, perhaps we are a little smarter to spend most of our time behind these sacred walls than you think.


~Friar Fred

Why The Senseless Killing In Chicago? ~by Legal Pub

People are outraged at the casualty reports in Afghanistan.  There were 2,000 troops killed in Afghanistan! But as awful as that sounds, 5,000 people were killed in Chicago over the same time period. And its not all U.S. cities.  For example, New York City hit a record low 193 murders in the first six months of 2012.  But more than 250 murders occurred in Chicago during that 6 month period.  Keep in mind, New York is three times larger than Chicago.
Murder is about crime, and criminals. Chicago is becoming the crime capital. Police blame gangs, weathermen blame the heatwave.  None of it makes much sense in explaining Chicago's 36 percent increase in murder. Especially when you consider New York City's 17 percent decrease in murder since last year. In fact, New York is on pace to record fewer than 400 homicides this year which would be the lowest number since 1963. Of course, the NYPD employs the controversial  "stop and frisk" policy which apparently is only used on governors in Illinois. Chicago politicians side with the weathermen; however, it has been hot all over the country. (Especially when Lady Gaga goes on tour.)  The experiment in New York suggests that crime is not inevitable.  Is Chicago willing to admit it has a problem?

Chan Wants To Know Why More Asian Topics Aren't Discussed...

Chan:  Why you not take care of your Asian readers? You never talk about stories of our land?

Legal Pub: What with the Olympics and all, who would of figured China has its own dirt bag worthy of some discussion.  Zhou Kehua, 42,  appears to be a scum bucket worthy of  western as well as eastern interest. Kehua is wanted in China. This creep hails from the southwestern city of Chongqing, China's biggest city.  Kehua allegedly shot a woman dead and injured two others outside a bank after an attempted robbery. (Xinhua news agency)  Later on Friday, a railway policeman was found dead.  It is believed that he is Zhou's tenth victim in eight years.  Zhou, a serial robber of banks in Chongqing, Nanjing and Changsha, apparently is also a serial killer.

Seems Zhou targets people withdrawing money from banks and shoots them in the head. Police and military units from Hunan and Jiangsu provinces have joined in the search for Zhou Kehua. Zhou is supposedly an expert at survival in the wild and therefore is not an easy target. Officially, Zhou is labeled a "class-A" suspect.  However, we officially name him as first class scum.  The 5.4 million yuan (US$849,000) reward is not nearly enough money to erradicateany part of this world of such filth!

All suspects are innocent until proven guilty.

The Old Legal Profession Aint What It Used To Be - by Legal Pub

Once upon a time, lawyers made a lot of money and enjoyed the respect of society.  The nobility of the profession eroded away with the ambulance chasing image of advertising.  Now the financial rewards also appear to be dwindling. Three years ago Herwig Schlunk, a Vanderbilt law professor, used salary data to calculate the economic value of a law degree.  The findings were not pretty. Schlunk updated research hasn't changed his conclusion that going to law school doesn't make economic sense. 

"My overall assessment today is much the same as it was in 2009: Law school is a very risky (and expensive) investment; it should not be undertaken lightly," he wrote in "Mamas 2011: Is A Law Degree A Good Investment Today?"  Quite frankly, based on salary and job placement data that is  worse now than in 2009, its not hard to see why the opinion has not changed. Schlunk opines that a "Hot Prospect," who attends a top-tier law school, has an 25 percent chance to get a job at a large  firm.  A. "Solid Performer," who does relatively well at a second-tier school, has an 8 percent shot of a good job.  An average student at a third-tier private law school, has a 5 percent chance of landing a good job.  In more simple terms, the opportunity cost of attending law school, including tuition and the wages those students would have earned had they entered the work force, ranged from $209,714 for to $252,441.  

The National Association of Law Placement suggests that the best-placed graduate won't earn enough to make his or her education a good investment. Only 31 percent of average students are likely to earn enough to justify the cost of attending law school. For most, law school is simply a bad investment. But for those of you future students who love to argue even when you are not getting paid, there is still a place for you in the next freshman class.