Amnesty International has released its report on the global use of the death penalty in 2011. The full report is available here. The U.S. ranks 5th in the world for the number of executions. The only countries executing more people were China, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq, Great company we're in.

MegaUpload news: Turns out, the same major studios behind the push to take MegaUpload down tried to make licensing deals with it and have MegaUpload host copyrighted content.

In Toulouse news, slain gunman Mohamed Merah will be flown to Algeria for burial. And footage from his recorded videos of his killings were mailed to Al Jazeera. Police don't know whether he mailed them the night before he was killed or an accomplice mailed them the day he was killed. Al Jazeera turned them over to police.

I'm about to watch The Voice and Smash. This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Health care arguments in the Supreme Court, Trayvon Martin, and the Toulouse killings are still dominating the news. Dominique Strauss-Kahn's motion to dismiss the civil case brought by Nafissatou Diallo will be heard Wednesday. The hearing won't address the underlying allegations, only issues of diplomatic immunity.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

I pick Louisville (+1 1/2) over Florida, Ohio State -3 over Syracuse, Kansas over North Carolina over and Kentucky over Baylor.

Open Thread.

Open thread.

Someone agrees with me:

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Hillary Clinton's protegee and replacement in the Senate, says she'll ask the Secretary of State to run for President in 2016. [...] "I'm going to be one of the first to ask Hillary to run in 2016," Gillibrand told BuzzFeed, saying she "certainly hope[s]" Clinton will run for president.

"I think she would be incredibly well-poised to be our next Democratic president," Gillibrand said. "I think she's extremely well prepared. I think her experience as Secretary of State has not only elevated her stature and experience, but she's proven she's someone who can get things done and I think she'd be an outstanding candidate."

Also this: "Gillibrand's words also a rebuke to her own governor, Andrew Cuomo, who also appears to be positioning himself for a future White House run." STOP Cuomo!!!

Speaking for me only

The picks:

Wisconsin +4 over Syracuse; Michigan State -5 over Louisville; Ohio State -7½ over Cincinnati; North Carolina -10½ over Ohio; Marquette -1½ over Florida; Indiana +9 over Kentucky; Baylor -6 over Xavier; NC State (+8) over Kansas.

Open Thread.

I'll be offline this afternoon, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Welcome, Spring.

Brooke Mueller, Charlie Sheen's ex-wife, got a deferred judgment deal yesterday to felony possession of less than 4 grams of cocaine in Aspen. She'll be on supervised probation for three years.

[Judge Gail] Nichols asked her what would happen if she runs afoul of the law again during her deferred sentence.

“Ohhh, I’m in big trouble,” Mueller said.

Anyone see Michelle Obama on Letterman last night? [More...]

The Colorado House has passed a bill limiting the authority of prosecutors to charge juveniles as adults. The bill is here. It limits the offenses for which a juvenile can be subject to direct filing as an adult to class 1 felonies, class 2 felonies, crime of violence felonies for prior violent juvenile offenders, and violent sex offenses. It also allows judicial oversight.

If, after a preliminary hearing, the district court does not find probable cause for a direct-file-eligible offense, the court shall remand the
case to the juvenile court. The bill also provides for a reverse-transfer hearing for juveniles who fall within a specified class, which juveniles may petition the adult criminal court to transfer the case back to juvenile
court after the preliminary hearing.

Another reason not to like neighborhood watch groups. Vigiliante justice is no justice at all. Leave policing to the police.

Dancing With the Stars starts again, and it appears the show has learned a lesson and not repeated casting mistakes of seasons past like Nancy Grace and Bristol Palin. Maybe it can get back to being about dancing.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Fun fact - when Peyton Manning played for the University of Tennessee, the Florida Gators beat his team 4 straight times.

Go Gators!

Open Thread.

3-5 ATS yesterday. Today will be better. The picks (bracket winners in bold):

Georgetown -4½ over NC State; Michigan State -7 over St Louis; North Carolina -8½ over Creighton; Norfolk State +14 over Florida; South Florida -3 over Ohio; Kansas -8 over Purdue; Xavier -4 over Lehigh; Florida State -2½ over Cincinnati.

Open Thread.

Bad day for me investment wise yesterday. 5-11 ATS (though it was not as bad as that seems as I made a large investment on one of my winners, North Carolina.) More than that, my brackets are busted as 2 of my Final 4 selections, Mizzou and Michigan, were bounced. My bracket is finished. That said, the Gators looked great and had their bracket cleared when Mizzou went down (of course Norfolk may be a monster.)

Games remain to be played. Here are today's picks (bracket winners in bold): Kansas State +4½ over Syracuse(7 units), Gonzaga +7½ over Ohio State (3 units), Murray State +5½ over Marquette (6 units),Vanderbilt -1 over Wisconsin, Va Commonwealth +6 over Indiana (5 units), Kentucky -11 over Iowa State (6 units), Colorado +7½ over Baylor (3 units), New Mexico +1½ over Louiville.

Open Thread.