Chuck Berry has died at age 90. What a legend and what an enormous talent. In this video, watch him dance at about 1:17 in.

R.I.P. Chuck Berry

A federal judge in Hawaii has issued a nationwide order blocking Trump's new immigration order.

The Judge issued his 43 page Order two hours after the hearing ended. The opinion is here.[More...]

Who doesn't put ketchup on steak? They go together like coffee and milk, peanut butter and jelly, pork chops and applesauce. The only steaks I don't eat with ketchup are those in fajitas and Thai and Vietnamese steak salads (the chili-lime sauce is great.) Hamburgers and meatloaf go with ketchup, why not steak? (I'd never put it on a hotdog though, beef or not, and I never go near mayonnaise on anything. Grossest food ever.)

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Don't forget to turn your clocks ahead today. The opposition to Daylight Savings Time seems to be growing. I don't get the fuss over it. I like it, especially in the spring because it means it doesn't get dark at 5:00 p.m. any more. I don't see the difference between sleeping 6, 7 or 8 hours. It all feels the same to me (as opposed to 3 hours vs. 7 or 8 hours, which I can feel.)

Nor am I afraid of loss of melatonin from the blue light on my cable box. And I like to see the city lights out my bedroom window as I fall asleep and the morning light -- blackout shades remind me of the 1980's and Las Vegas hotels.

But that's just me. This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Donald Trump personally summoned U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara to Trump Tower after the election and asked him to stay on as U.S. Attorney. He agreed. Jeff Sessions also asked him to stay on and he said he would.

Today, he's fired. Bharara confirmed the firing on his twitter account.

I did not resign. Moments ago I was fired. Being the US Attorney in SDNY will forever be the greatest honor of my professional life.

Trump now gets another label: Double-crosser.[More...]

Today was the longest court hearing I've had in years -- 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. I forgot how exhausting it can be at the end of the day. Happily, the TL kid and his fiancee and their new puppy are coming for dinner, bringing Chinese food and all I have to do is make the Mojitos.

I haven't seen any news, so here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Outspoken criminal defense lawyer and civil rights champion Lynne Stewart has passed away at age 77 following her years long struggle with cancer. A NY federal judge granted a motion by the Government for compassionate release on Dec. 31, 2013, due to her terminal condition. Just a few months earlier, he had ruled that he could not grant her release without a request from the Bureau of Prisons. The U.S. Attorney in NY filed a request from the Bureau of Prisons.

Last month, her client in the case that resulted in her conviction and imprisonment, Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, (the "Blind Sheikh") died in prison where he was serving a life sentence for conspiring to blow up NYC landmarks. The cause of death was heart disease and diabetes, according to officials at Butner, North Carolina, where he was incarcerated. He was 78 and had been imprisoned since 1995: [More...]

As the Iraqis take back Mosul, a diminished but not extinct ISIS continues to operate on other fronts. Today it released Rumiyah 7, the seventh issue of its English magazine. Some takeaways:

No two Muslims would disagree that preparing for jihad for the cause of Allah is an obligation. Allah urged people to this duty in His book when He said, “Prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy and others besides them whom you do not know [but] whom Allah knows. And whatever you spend in the cause of Allah will be fully repaid to you, and you will not be wronged” (Al-Anfal 60). So there is no doubt that preparation is a factor that contributes to victory and success against the enemy.

By Allah’s grace, the soldiers of the Khilafah have complied with this divine command. They prepared as much as Allah has made possible for them, a good amount of which the enemy has seen, and what is coming is more severe and bitter, by Allah’s permission.

[More...]

I'm done for the day. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Wikileaks released a trove of documents about CIA hacking tools used to break into "smartphones, computers and even Internet-connected televisions."

What it means (according to Edward Snowden)"[it's the]first public evidence [of]USG secretly paying to keep US software unsafe."

The CIA reports show the USG developing vulnerabilities in US products, then intentionally keeping the holes open. Reckless beyond words.

...Why is this dangerous? Because until closed, any hacker can use the security hole the CIA left open to break into any iPhone in the world.

Although Wikileaks says Signal and WhatsApp were compromised, Snowden says the released documents show "iOS/Android are what got hacked - a much bigger problem." Others say if you're worried about being hacked, Signal is still the safest option.

Check out Sam Biddle at The Intercept, Wikileaks Dump shows CIA Could Turn Smart TVs into Listening Devices.

The decline of ISIS seems to be hastening, according to analysts, who say it's only a matter of time before ISIS is defeated, either militarily or though a negotiated settlement.

Where will their potentially thousands of fighters, referred to as transnational terrorists, who avoid capture and death, go next? Amarnath Amarasingam and Colin P. Clark take a stab a the question in the Atlantic, and say the fighters have a few options. Here are their conclusions:

ISIS fighters are unquestionably capable: Dug in to their positions, they have skillfully used tunnels and subterranean networks to move men and materials, and have perfected the production and deployment of vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices to keep their adversaries at bay.

[More...]

Former MI6 spy Christopher Steele is back home in London, and returning to work.

"I'm really pleased to be back here working again at the Orbis's offices in London today," said Steele.

"I'm now going to be focusing my efforts on supporting the broader interests of our company here. I'd like to say a warm thank you to everyone who sent me kind messages and support over the last few weeks.

About the unsubstantiated Trump dossier he worked on:

"I won't be making any further statements or comments at this time."