As we wait to hear Obama's plan to reform the NSA, spare a thought for the poor rubberstamping judges of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, who are charged with the solemn duty of granting permission for pretty much every stupid, overreaching surveillance plan America's spooks bring before it in its secretive, unaccountable chambers. These hardworking civil servants have sounded the alarm that any burden on them to actually pay attention to whether surveillance is proportional, necessary and legal would put an undue strain on them: "Even if additional financial, personnel, and physical resources were provided, any substantial increase in workload could nonetheless prove disruptive to the Courts' ability to perform their duties." Oh, diddums.
Rubberstamping FISA court can't be expected to actually oversee surveillance
Lawyer charged with contempt after abandoning client: "I bet I don't appear again"
Louisville lawyer Shameka O'Neil faces a contempt citation after ditching her client during a remarkable virtual hearing last week. Calling into the court session, she claimed her client suffered from an undiagnosed mental illness only to be corrected by the client himself. Then O'Neil asked to withdraw from the misdemeanor case, and was denied by… READ THE REST
Reddit survey: What is the worst thing that is legal?
Reddit user u/Musuhubber asked, "What is the worst thing that is legal?" A lot of people weighed in, and it's hard to say which is the worst because they're all terrible: [via Digg] READ THE REST
Pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood suggests Justice John Roberts a pedophile
Lin Wood, the lawyer whose endless litigation to overturn November's election results has yet to bear fruit, last night took to Twitter to air his grievances. Most significantly, he insinuated that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts was party to the death of Justice Antonin Scalia and that he is a pedophile. "Are you a… READ THE REST
With 18 courses and over 460 hours of training, this is the CompTIA certification bundle you've been waiting for
With so many different protocols, competing frameworks, and differences of opinion floating around, it's often tough for the text industry to come together and agree on virtually anything. However, time and circumstance can occasionally come together to codify a certain app, tool, or technique as the one true way to get things done. When it… READ THE REST
Lightkey Pro predicts what you're going to write next – and can supercharge your texts, emails, and more
Thanks to machine learning, algorithms know us now as well as we know ourselves. Once artificial intelligence starts building a file on you and your habits, assessing data, then extrapolating outcomes, it becomes very clear how much we each follow our own particular patterns – and how easy it is for some smart AI to… READ THE REST
It's a desk lamp, a night light, and a gorgeous art piece – all wrapped up in one
When you buy an item to perform a task you need done, but there's such beauty to it that you'd gladly display it even if it did nothing at all, you know you've hit a sweet spot. The Tree of Lyte Motion Sensor Bird Night Light Tree and Illuminated Eggs by Lift Care absolutely fits… READ THE REST