Not at a computer for a while. Here is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Did George Zimmerman catch a break or step on a landmine by getting a new judge today? His case will be presided over by Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Lester, Jr. The first judge who was next in line to succeed Judge Recksielder declined the case because he used to practice with Mark O'Mara and O'Mara is godfather to one of his children.

Next in line was Judge Kenneth Lester, Jr. He now has the case. At the very end of a long Orlando Sentinel article, it discloses that Judge Lester is married to a long-time homicide prosecutor in the state's attorney's office in Orange County. (Orange County is adjacent to Seminole County and includes Orlando. It's also the county that filed battery charges against Zimmerman in 2005.) See updates below)[More..]

In the 7th grade, it was quite the ritual. I'd rush home from school, turn on the TV in my parents' bedroom, call a girlfriend on the phone, and we'd watch American Bandstand. We dissected every moment -- who was dancing with whom, who was wearing what, how they wore their hair, which guy looked the cutest that day, and which couple reportedly was breaking up. (We got that info from fan magazines.) My friends and I weren't the only ones. So many people are saying the same thing today on Twitter, Facebook and in blogposts. It was almost like a reality TV show.

The show aired from Philadephia back then, with, of course, Dick Clark as host.

Dick Clark, the "world's oldest teenager" died today at 82. R.I.P. Dick, and thanks so much for the memories.

The LA Times has photos of U.S. troops in Afghanistan posing with body parts of dead Afghans.

The troops were with the 82nd Airborne Division. In one instance, their mission on the first such occasion was simply to :

Check out reports that Afghan police had recovered the mangled remains of an insurgent suicide bomber. Try to get iris scans and fingerprints for identification.

They did the same while investigating another suicide bombing a few months later. The photos were given to the Times by a soldier in the division. A criminal investigation has been launched:

It is a violation of Army standards to pose with corpses for photographs outside of officially sanctioned purposes," said George Wright, an Army spokesman. "Such actions fall short of what we expect of our uniformed service members in deployed areas."

[More...]

While I was suspended yesterday for my bad commenting behavior, Atrios named Tom Friedman Wanker of the Decade. I demurred in that I believe Fred Hiatt the most worthy of the title. But score one for Atrios, as Friedman delivers on cue.

I suppose I could take the time to explain the wankerificness of Friedman's column today, or link to other blogs explaining it, but is it really necessary? I think not.

Speaking for me only

Stuff happening I'm sure. I'll try to get to it at some point today.

Open Thread.

I'm short on time to follow the news today. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Update: Frontline tonight: The Real CSI

Najibullah Zazi testified today in the trial of Adis Medunjanin, his alleged co-plotter in a planned attack on the New York subway system.

In his opening on Monday, defense attorney Robert Gottlieb accused the government of using “inflammatory rhetoric” about al-Qaida and terrorism to prevent jurors “from seeing the truth about this case.” The lawyer conceded his client had sought to support the Taliban’s struggle against U.S. forces in Afghanistan, but denied he ever agreed to kill American civilians for al-Qaida.

“The truth is that Adis Medunjanin is not a terrorist,” he said. “Mr. Medunjanin never planned to bomb the New York City subways.”

George Zimmerman's neighbors are speaking up. Three of them tell Reuters they told police they saw Zimmerman had injuries and bandages the day after the Travon Martin shooting:

Jorge Rodriguez, Zimmerman's next-door neighbor, told Reuters that when he saw Zimmerman the day after the incident, "he had two big, butterfly bandages on the back of his head, and another big bandage...on the bridge of his nose." He was talking to a police detective in his driveway.

Rodriguez's wife Audria also said she saw the bandages and a third neighbor, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, agreed with the Rodriguez couple's account. "I saw two bandages on the back of his head, and his nose was all swollen up," said the witness, who had watched from a nearby second-floor window.

The neighbors say they were interviewed by Sanford police, but don't recall being contacted by anyone with the state prosecutor's office. My take: [More...]

As anticipated, Mark O'Mara has filed a formal request to recuse Judge Jessica Recksiedler because of the potential for a conflict of interest due to her husband being a law partner of Mark Nejame, who has been hired by CNN to provide analysis on the case.

O'Mara told the judge on Friday (video of status hearing here) he had discussed NeJame with his client, and that NeJame had contact with the Zimmerman family and maybe even Zimmerman himself, and that while he wasn't sure of all the facts involved in the relationship between Zimmerman and NeJame, and Zimmerman's family and NeJame, he believed NeJame had "agreements" or "waivers" in place based upon their contact. His concern was that the Zimmerman's might continue to give NeJame information as "exclusives" or just as additional insight.

Curiously, NeJame today says he never met with or talked to Zimmerman and implies he never met with Zimmerman's family. [More...]

Gary Lozow is one of Denver's most prominent criminal defense attorneys and a terrific guy. Yesterday morning, a driver ran a red light at a busy intersection and crashed into his car, sending it upside down into a creek, where it became submerged in water, with Gary locked inside. Here's the video.

Passersby and two security guards from an adjacent medical center jumped down a 14 foot embankment to reach the car, got it unlocked using a block of concrete they found, and pulled Gary, who was unconscious, out of his vehicle. The water was so cold, one of the rescuers required medical attention. Another seriously injured his leg. The creek was so high, had he not been pulled quickly from the car, he would have drowned. [More...]

John Anthony Borell III of Toledo, Ohio, aka "ItsKahuna", age 21, who allegedly is part of CabinCr3w and affiliated with Anonymous, appeared in federal court in Salt Lake City today. He's been charged with computer intrusion for hacking into the Utah Police website and accessing its database. The Affidavit for the criminal Complaint, available here, says:

CabinCr3w is a defined group of individuals, two of whom use the Twitter accounts @ItsKahuna and @Anonwormer, who associate and conspire to differing levels to hack computer systems. CabinCr3w specifically targets law enforcement agencies, non-governmental organizations associated with law enforcement; and the personal lives of those who work in law enforcement related fields. While CabinCr3w is a distinct and definable group of individuals, their activities are justified by the concept of Anonymous,-and their activities are ascribed thereto.

The FBI identified Borell through his Twitter posts and messages, Facebook page, online chats and pastebin postings. The Complaint alleges he admitted on Twitter and in chats that he was responsible for the Utah hacks. [More...]