Watch out, this one's for real. Don't open emails that say "hi" in the subject line.

The "Bagle" or "Beagle" worm arrives in an e-mail with the subject "hi" and the word "test" in the message body. If the accompanying attachment is executed, the worm is unleashed and tries to send itself to all e-mails listed in the user's address book.

It's official. The trial of Scott Peterson, charged with killing his pregnant wife Laci and unborn child, will be held in Redwood City in San Mateo County.

Mark Geragos refused to waive speedy trial and said he's ready to proceed with pre-trial motions Monday, followed by jury selection. The prosecution is asking for a two week delay. Peterson will be moved to the county jail in San Mateo tomorrow.

Typical jurors in San Mateo County are college-educated or have graduate degrees, Boyarsky said. "There are a lot of people in the computer industry, like engineers and consultants. A lot of professional people, and teachers," he said. "It's a question of which side thinks that highly-educated jurors are going to favor their particular presentation."

"I love San Mateo!" Geragos said outside court. "If I had to be anywhere in Northern California, San Mateo County is a good place to be."

The prosecution also asked to keep the trial in Stanislaus County where Modesto is situated, arguing that the survey the defense relied on for a change of venue had been tainted. The Judge denied that request, saying he had placed little weight on the survey when making his decision.

The trial promises to be a huge media event.

Up to 400 witnesses and 250 journalists are expected to be on hand for the trial, which could last four to six months.

The day after....Dean holds a slim and dwindling two point lead over Kerry. Kos says the conventional wisdom is that Iowa should be good for five to ten points in New Hampshire.

Eric Alterman at Altercation has a good take on what we learned from Iowa last night.

Say hello to Blog for the Future by SEIU (Service Employees International Union).

Avedon Carol of Sideshow on Dean's loss last night:

Look, folks, one of the reasons you were supporting Dean was because, unlike his opponents, he looked like a guy who was more interested in the urgent business of beating Bush than in merely becoming the Democratic nominee. If you aren't interested in that same project of beating Bush, and only care about electing your candidate, you're just plain not serious. And we really don't have time for that.

DNC bloggers at Kicking As* will be blogging live in real time during the State of the Union Address:

Tonight during President Bush's State of the Union Address, come back to this thread for live coverage. As Bush gives his speech, we'll deliver the facts on Bush's record that belies the promises he'll be making. Discuss Bush's speech in real time as you learn the truth about Bush's failed policies.

You can also use this as an open thread on SOTU. What did you think?

Update: There was applause when Bush said that key provisions of the Patriot Act will expire next year--then embarassed laughter-- it may have been a mistake as there was also applause when he said we need to renew it.

We're saddened to learn that former federal judge Harry Claiborne has died.

Harry Claiborne, an impeached federal judge who returned to prominence as a defense attorney and refused to allow bitterness over his downfall to cloud his colorful life and career, died Monday. He was 86. Claiborne, a shrewd defense attorney who long battled cancer and a heart condition, committed suicide, his family confirmed today.

"My road through life has indeed been a rocky one, but, my God, it has been exciting -- I'm the lucky one," Claiborne said in his folksy Arkansas drawl for an Oct. 3, 1996, Sun story.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, who as an attorney represented Claiborne during his two criminal trials and his impeachment proceedings in Congress, said Claiborne should be remembered as a man who "put his clients before anything else. "From the time I was a young lawyer coming into town, he was the first criminal defense lawyer I met," Goodman said. "He was a master of the profession. He was unparalleled as far as his ability to marshal the facts of the case and ... present them in a clear and concise way to the jury."

"He was enchanting as far as his work was concerned. I can't think of anybody I miss more in the legal community than Harry Claiborne."

R.I.P., Judge Claiborne.

From Fair and Balanced Political Bias. Go look. [hat tip to Nathan C.]

We've had several TalkLeft expenses come due at the same time, depleting our paypal reserves. If any of you would like to contribute, we'd sure appreciate it. Amazon is anonymous, paypal lets us know who you are and send a thank you note. Thanks much.

Via Center for American Progress and Atrios:

LOTT'S FLIP-FLOP: Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS), the same senator who left his leadership position after a racially insensitive comment, is once again in the middle of a racially charged issue. A few years back, Lott used a position on judicial appointments to oppose the recess appointment of Roger Gregory as the first African-American judge ever to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. At the time, Lott categorically declared that "any appointment of a federal judge during a recess should be opposed." Now, in order to help Pickering, Lott is changing his position to favor recess appointments. Lott said that "Judge Pickering's record deems this recess appointment fully appropriate."

Jury selection began this morning in the Martha Stewart trial. It may take a week to pick the jury and the selection process is taking place behind closed doors.

The trial is to determine whether Stewart, 62, is a criminal who lied to the government about unloading stock based on an inside tip about a well-placed friend - or simply a shrewd investor who saved money with a smart bet on the market.

It grew from a 2001 stock sale in which the government estimates Stewart saved about $51,000 - a tiny sum compared with her multimillion-dollar media empire. The government says Stewart saved the money by selling stock in ImClone Systems on Dec. 27, 2001 - just before a negative government report about a highly touted ImClone cancer drug sent the stock plummeting.

Stewart says she sold because she and Bacanovic, her Merrill Lynch & Co. broker, had a pre-existing agreement to sell when the stock fell to $60. But the government says she was tipped that ImClone founder Sam Waksal - a longtime friend of Stewart's who once dated her daughter - was trying to unload his shares.

The most ridiculous charge against Martha (meaning trumped up or legally manufactured) is also the most serious--that of securities fraud. The basis for the charge is Martha's public statement that in 2002 that she is innocent of the charges. The Government says she made that statement to deceive her stockholders.

The defense has characterized the charge as an unprecedented infringement on a defendant's First Amendment rights, and even the judge in the case called the charge "novel." But prosecutors say Stewart went further than simply predicting she would be exonerated, giving a "forceful, detailed and false explanation for her sale of ImClone."

What is the most damaging evidence likely to be?

There is a very interesting editorial in the Japanese Herald Tribune/Asahi on the 2004 Presidential election and Bush. We'll quote some of it:

Meanwhile, the rest of the world is watching this presidential race even more attentively than usual, wondering whether changes will emerge in the United States' fight against terror and its unilateralist action, which heavily tinges the Bush administration. The two wars that the Bush administration waged after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack demonstrated the overwhelming military strength of the United States and, in the case of Iraq, shattered what it regards as a threat with pre-emptive attacks without the approval of the United Nations and the international community.

Such a display of power humiliated the entire Islamic world and has prepared a breeding ground for terrorism and anti-American sentiment, even though it did succeed in persuading Libya to give up its nuclear development program. There are many problems the international community as a whole must address, such as the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, international terrorism, the wide gap in wealth between the rich and poor countries and global warming. Under such circumstances, global geopolitical divisions will only widen if the United States continues to cling to unilateralism.

Iowa's a done deal. Kerry, followed by Edwards, followed weakly by Dean. Gephardt dropped out, as he should. The other candidates were very nice in their praise for him. As Atrios says,

Kudos to Gephardt for defying the CW of people like me and managing to be a credible candidate.

Kerry's speech was good. Bush needs to be laid off. Ashcroft needs to go. Bring it on.

He could do it. Where did Dean misstep? Can Dean recoup? Will it be Kerry vs. Clark in New Hampshire? Can Edwards pull off the same coup in New Hampshire he did in Iowa and come in second there? Seems like he has a new lease on electorial life.

Right now, we're impressed with Kerry and with Edwards. But what will New Hampshire bring?

Max Cleland's support for Kerry as a Viet Nam vet helps. It was touching to see Kerry hug him during his acceptance speech. We suspect Cleland will be close to a fixture on Kerry's campaign trail.

Kos of Daily Kos on Dean's loss:

Loser: Dean

Ouch. Word on the ground is he had the worst media, and far too much of it. Lost his message. All those endorsements (Gore, Bradley, Harkin) directly contradicted his anti-establishment message.

Our congrats to John Kerry. He worked for this win, and he got it. So did Edwards. Loved his use of John Mellencamp's "Small Town" as a campaign theme.

Update: Political Wire on What Happened to Dean?

Eric Alterman and Laleh Ispahani make an excellent argument for restoring the right to vote to ex-felons in Is the Right to Vote a Criminal Matter? over at Center for American Progress.

Former felons are by and large without a voice in our contemporary debate and so few seem to find their disenfranchisement a political problem worth examining. This is the case, amazingly, even when the confusion — and deliberate chicanery this confusion can invite — can put the wrong man in the White House.

For more, see the Human Rights Watch report "Losing the Vote: The Impact of Felony Disenfranchisement Laws in the United States."