CNN has an article on today's bail hearing in the case of George Zimmerman, accused of second degree murder with penalty enhancements in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. CNN reports:

Special prosecutor Angela Corey has the burden of showing why bond should not be set or that it should be high. The burden is referred to as "proof of guilt is evident or presumption of guilt is great." Corey would have to convince [Judge] Lester that a jury would convict Zimmerman.

I think that's an inadequate description. Corey's burden of proof at the bail hearing to establish the "proof of guilt is evident or the presumption great" is not the same burden as applies to a jury. At trial, a jury must find proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Zimmerman committed the charged crime. Under established Florida case law on bail hearings involving capital and life charges, Corey's burden is higher. [More...]

The Orlando Sentinel polled its online readers. Only 35% believe Zimmerman can get a fair trial. Most blame the media coverage. The best response is the first one currently showing by Diane Panacek of Altamonte Springs.

The slanted media coverage continues unabated. The most ridiculous question I saw asked today was by an MSNBC interviewer named Tammaron Hall who told her legal guest that Zimmerman's attorney wanted him to appear in civilian clothes instead of an orange jumpsuit, and asked him, "Is that a bizarre request or something you would often hear?" If she's that ignorant of court proceedings, what is she doing interviewing anyone about them? (The commentator says it's a "sensible request" and then compares the request to one made for convicted murderer Scott Peterson.)

Also, apparently neither noticed that Zimmerman wore a gray jumpsuit at his last court appearance. The orange jumpsuit comes from his booking photo in 2005 in Orange County.

Two of the Chinese Uighur Muslim detainees at Guantanamo, ordered freed three years ago by a federal judge in Washington, were finally able to leave Gtimo yesterday. They went to El Salvador. They have spent ten years at Gitmoo.

AThe freed men are Hamat Memet, who turns 34 next month, and Abdul Razzak, whose age is not known.

Two down, 169 to go, not counting the 5 9/11 detainees who will be tried in a military commission proceeding.

Today is the 17th anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing, in which 168 persons were killed and hundreds more injured. It was then, and remains today, the largest act of domestic terrorism in the history of the nation. The Government's investigation into the bombing was, until 9/11, the largest criminal investigation the Government had ever undertaken.

Timothy McVeigh was found guilty and executed in 2001. Terry Nichols was tried in both federal and state court and sentenced to life in prison, a sentence he is currently serving at Supermax in Florence, Colorado.

Speculation has never ceased about whether McVeigh and Nichols acted alone or were aided by others who either went undetected or were ignored during the Government's investigation.

Next week you can get greater insight with the release of Oklahoma City: What the Investigation Missed--and Why It Still Matters by investigative journalists Andrew Gumbel and Roger Charles.[More...]

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.”