Scope of the "Actual Innocence" Exception in Criminal Appeals

There's an interesting post over at the Split Circuits law blog examining a recent decision by the federal district court for the Eastern District of Louisiana regarding the "actual innocense" exception for barred claims on appeal. Check it out: E.D. La. Reports Uncertainty of Whether "Actual Innocence" Exception Applies to Noncapital Sentencing Errors.

Thomas Nagel on Teaching Intelligent Design

According to the Post-Darwinist blog, atheist philosopher Thomas Nagel has joined the ranks of those supportive of discussing Intelligent Design theory as part of the public school science curriculum. Here's the story: philosopher says teaching students about intelligent design should be okay. Teach the controversy!

"Murmur of maternal lamentation"

What is that sound high in the air Murmur of maternal lamentation Who are those hooded hordes swarming Over endless plains, stumbling in cracked earth Ringed by the flat horizon only What is the city over the mountains Cracks and reforms and bursts in the violet air Falling towers Jerusalem Athens Alexandria Vienna London Unreal

--T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land (1922).