Still busy after all these days . . .

Open Thread.

So it appears Lindsay Lohan was captured on camera at the jewelry store wearing the exact $2,500 necklace she will be charged with grand theft this afternoon in court in LA. Her assistant returned the necklace to the police before the search warrant for her house was executed.

So: One of a few things happened: Lindsay tried on the necklace, liked it, and told her assistant to make the arrangements for her to have it on a loaner basis --and the assistant forgot and didn't tell the store. So the store, not having the lending paperwork filled out, thought it had been stolen. Second case scenario: Lindsay tried on the necklace and it is so light she didnt' realize she still had it on when she left the shop. As soon as she was told the police were going to do a search warrant, she told her friend to bring it back Third case scenario, Lindsay tried on the necklace to see if it would go with a specific outfit she had at home. She asked the salesgirl if she could take it home to match with the outfit, promising to return to either buy it or return it. She had other things on her mind for a few days and forgot, and as soon as the news of a search warrant surfaced, she had her assistant return it.

Whichever one it is, it sounds like Lindsay will say (1) borrowing jewelry is her and everyone else's customary practice and stars have assistants to deal with the paperwork; she never intended to permanently deprive the store of the necklace (I bet we'll hear that once she wore it at home with her clothes she decided and asked for it to be returned -- maybe even say she told her aide to return it. [More...]

It's stopped snowing but the temperature will go down to 8 below tonight.

Dinner for a cold night: Homemade chicken soup with matzoh balls, a toasty baguette with brie cheese, and arugula salad with pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and balsamic vinaigrette.

Now for The Good Wife. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Remember the Pennsylvania juvenile court judges who were charged with taking $2.6 million in kickbacks from private juvenile jails to sentence kids to serve time, even for trivial offenses? Two judges pleaded guilty to the "Cash for Kids" scheme, with plea agreements calling for 87 months. The federal judge rejected the plea agreements and new Indictments with a slew of more charges were filed.

One of the two judges pleaded guilty again, but the other, Mark Ciavarella, went on trial yesterday, in federal court. Opening arguments and testimony began today. [More...]

Tea Partiers helped defeat a House Bill to extend three controversial provisions of the Patriot Act until December. The provisions expire next month:

The Patriot Act bill would have renewed the authority for court-approved roving wiretaps that permit surveillance on multiple phones. Also addressed was Section 215, the so-called library records provision, which gives the FBI court-approved access to "any tangible thing" relevant to a terrorism investigation.

The third deals with the "lone-wolf" provision of a 2004 anti-terror law that permits secret intelligence surveillance of non-U.S. people not known to be affiliated with a specific terror organization.

Obama sought a three year extension. Senate Republicans want to make them permanent. It is likely to be a temporary victory:

Republican leaders will bring the bill back to the floor under a rule, where it will almost certainly secure the 218-vote threshold.

There are 720 inmates awaiting execution on San Quentin's death row. U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel, who placed executions on hold in 2006 due to concerns that the chamber was antiquated and did not ensure a humane death, toured the new $900,000 death chamber today.

Judge Fogel didn't indicate whether his concerns have been satisfied, and will issue rulings later. He toured the old facility in 2006. Here's how the old procedure worked, according to San Quentin Operational Procedure No. 770. The 2007 revised protocol is here, but that too was declared invalid Then the state enacted Cal. Code Regs. tit. 15 3349 et seq. Here is Judge Fogel's September, 2010 ruling after the 9th Circuit remanded his decision on that.

Keith Olbermann is going to Current TV where he'll host a one hour nightly news show and serve as Chief News Officer.

Why? Will he offer anything different enough from what you can get elsewhere to make you learn a new channel number and tune in and watch? I think he'll disappear. Seems more than a bit like Dan Rather going to HDNet after leaving CBS. In case you missed John Stewart's take on MSNBC and Olbermann's leaving, it's below: [More...]

It's not quite the blizzard of 2006 (more photos here), but there's really a lot of snow falling and it's cold -- 1 degree right now. Tonight may get down to 8 below (and that's actual temp, wind chill will be much lower.)

While I get up to speed on the news (I'm not driving anywhere today), here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

(Thanks to Skippy for making the graphic.)

Newsweek reports that some people are addicted to anxiety and actually seek it out.

Researchers who study emotion regulation—how we cope, or fail to cope, with the daily swirl of feelings—are discovering that many anxious people are bound and determined (though not always consciously) to cultivate anxiety. The reason, studies suggest, is that for some people anxiety boosts cognitive performance, while for others it actually feels comforting.

....In some cases, the need to experience anxiety can lead to a state that looks very much like addiction to anxiety.

At the other end of the spectrum, are those who have turned "F**k it" into a mantra. Check out this video, F**k It, The Ultimate Spiritual Way. (It's only 1 minute but I won't embed it because the title doesn't have asterisks.) You can also take the "F**k It" course at a gorgeous retreat called The Hill That Breathes in Urbino, Italy. [More...]

Wikileaks Julian Assange is fighting his extradition to Sweden. Today, a witness who doesn't like him released a statement saying Assange is being framed.

Here is Gordon Rudlin's statement.

His lawyers released this statement.

The hearing will continue tomorrow.

Former President George W. Bush is the subject of the an Indictment by human rights groups in Switzerland. You can read it here.

Bush canceled his trip to Switzerland so the Indictment can't be filed as there is no jurisdiction without his personal presence. The Center for Constitutional Rights says he needs to be careful with his future international travel plans.

The Preliminary Bush Torture Indictment was prepared so that it could be used for individual victims to file cases against George Bush in any country where the Convention Against Torture provides jurisdiction.

...Swiss law requires the presence of the alleged torturer on Swiss soil before a preliminary investigation can be open. The complaints could not be filed after Bush cancelled, as the basis for jurisdiction no longer existed.

BTD is busy today and I'm off to the jail. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.