Meet the Domain Awareness System, unveiled today by Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. It was developed by Microsoft.

The Domain Awareness System... aggregates and analyzes information from cameras, license-plate readers, sensors and law enforcement database.

3,000 closed-circuit television cameras are connected to the system, mostly in mid and lower Manahttan.

The system allows investigators to instantly see information including arrest records, 911 calls associated with a suspect and related crimes occurring in a particular area.... It also allows investigators to map crimes to reveal patterns and track where a car associated with a suspect is located and has been in the past.

John Campbell of Campbell Live at TV3 News in New Zealand aired this 10 minute segment last night with footage from the Kim Dotcom raid played in court and live clips of Kim Dotcom's testimony describing his arrest and mistreatment.

CCTV footage showed two helicopters landing in quick succession at the sprawling home, formerly known as the Chrisco mansion, north of Auckland, in January. Five armed men exited each helicopter and then three vans and a car quickly arrived disgorging more armed men, some with dogs.

One New Zealand police officer said he had questioned the threat assessment at the time as being "over the top" for a fraud case, according to a document introduced in hearings this week.[More...]

I'll be on Daily Kos Radio with Jesse LaGreca at 11 Eastern. Listen here.

Open Thread.

Update: This has just been postponed to a later date.

If you are a Colorado lawyer and support Amendment 64, the November ballot initiative that will legalize personal adult use of marijuana state-wide, take note: Thursday there will be a "Lawyers for Amendment 64" Press Conference.

• What: "Lawyers for Amendment 64" press conference featuring Judge Jim Gray
• When: Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012 at 11:45a
• Where: Denver City and County Building (1437 Bannock St., Denver 80202)
  
• What else: Please wear professional attire!

Via Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol . [More...]

Update: RIP Marvin Wilson. The Texecution proceeded, and Mr. Wilson was pronounced dead 14 minutes after it began.

Bump and Update: The Supreme Court has refused to intervene.

Barring intervention by the Supreme court, Marvin Lee Wilson, age 54, will be executed in Texas at 6:00 pm tonight. What's wrong with Texas?

At 54, Marvin Wilson can't use a telephone book. He reads and writes on a first- or second-grade level. Those who know the Southeast Texas man say he can't match socks, he doesn't understand what a bank account is for, he's been known to fasten his belt to the point of nearly cutting off his circulation. The day his son was born, one sister recalled, he reverted to the familiar habit of sucking his thumb. His IQ, according to the most valid indicator of human intelligence, is 61, below the first percentile.

Live updates from the Arizona Republic on the Jared Loughner competency hearing.

Dr. Christina Pietz, a Bureau of Prisons forensic psychologist, is testifying. She said Loughner has a factual, rational understanding of the role of jury, judge, prosecutors, judicial proceedings. He is now able to orient time and place, he no longer hears voices or other auditory stimuli.

Loughner asked for a job at the prison. He works two jobs. He stamps return addresses on envelopes and rolls towels,tee shirts and underwear for inmates. Pietz said he loves both jobs.

He understands prison is now his life and he will never get out. Pietz says with medication, he would not be a danger to others in the general population, but he could be at risk of being harmed by other inmates.

Loughner is present in court, and has been very still. His mother is also present. Defense attorney Judy Clarke had no questions when Dr. Pietz finished her testimony.

I'll be on Daily Kos Radio with Jesse LaGreca at 11. Listen here.

Open Thread.

What's really funny about Morris' column is how he gets to Romney winning a landslide:

"Romney is currently leading in every state McCain carried plus: Indiana, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Nevada, North Carolina, and Colorado. If he carries these states, he’ll have 228 electoral votes of the 270 he needs to win.

To win the election, Romney would then have to carry Florida where he trails by two points, and either Virginia (behind by two) or Ohio where he’s down by only one. If he carries all three of these states and also wins all the others where Obama is now at 50% or less – Iowa, New Mexico, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey — he will get 351 electoral votes, a landslide about equal to Obama’s 363 vote tally in 2008." [Emphasis supplied.]

Michigan? Minnesota?? Pennsylvania??? New Jersey???? Hell, why not California? Morris actually demonstrates what a daunting task Romney has in front of him. As of now, Romney is not even contesting Pennsylvania's 20 EVs. New Mexico is a long shot at best. There's 5 EVs. New Jersey? Puhleeeaze. 14 EVs. Minnesota? 10 EVs. Realistically, Romney has no shot at any of these states. Thus, his ceiling is about 302 EVs. Romney has to win Florida, Virginia and Ohio to even be on the field. And that's granting Morris' funny numbers (which you really should not.) Romney a landslide? Impossible. He can still win narrowly. But it will be tough.

U.S. District Court Judge Larry Burns has issued this order in the Jared Loughner case:

A hearing on the defendant’s competency is scheduled for Tuesday, August 7 at 11:00 a.m. in Tucson. This Order confirms that hearing will go forward. If the Court finds the defendant competent, his counsel has requested a follow-on change of plea hearing.

Accordingly, assuming the Court finds the defendant competent, it will also consider whether
to accept the defendant’s proffered pleas at the August 7 hearing.

Our earlier post on the plea deal is here.

Kim Dotcom today released his new children's song, "Precious."

Update: Kim Dotcom testified today. He said he was punched and kicked during the raid. (For a recap of the raid, go here.) The police gave this version at the time. Photos of the mansion and panic room are here.

As to legal news, Kim Dotcom will be at the High Court in New Zealand today, where Judge Winklemann, who in June declared the raid on the Dotcom Mansion illegal and based on invalid search warrants, will be holding a continued judicial review hearing on the raid and the U.S. failure to turn over material seized during it to Kim DotCom and his codefendants.

The hearing, at the High Court in Auckland, is a continuation of a judicial review of an earlier ruling that the US government has to grant Dotcom and his co-accused access to the evidence it holds against them.

[More...]

Apparently, The Donald heard me:

Donald Trump said Monday that the GOP wants him to have a role at the Republican National Convention. “I know they want me to,” Trump said on “Fox & Friends” when asked if he planned on speaking at the convention in Tampa. “I’ll see what happens.”

I know I want him to.