Monthly Archives: September 2012

The Republican Party’s Slave Labor Lobby

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“For several years, high-profile Republican lobbyists, led by former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed and convicted felon Jack Abramoff have used their influence to exempt the Marianas – especially Saipan – from minimum wage laws and other workplace regulations. This has benefited a Chinese-owned fabric consortium that uses slave labor – mostly female workers.  Owing to the influence exercised by Reed and Abramoff, the clothing manufactured in Saipan is labeled ‘Made in USA.'”

http://prolibertate.us/index.php/the-republican-party-s-slave?blog=7

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Tennessee: Improper to Arrest Someone for Passing DUI Test

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“‘We interpret the slightly more colorful comments made by the trial court in its ruling from the bench on the defendant’s suppression motion as a finding, as a factual matter, that the defendant passed all of the field sobriety tests that he was given,’ Judge John Everett Williams wrote for the three-judge panel. ‘The state is not required to perform field sobriety tests on an individual prior to arresting him or her for driving under the influence. However, if the state chooses to administer such tests, it may not simply disregard the results if the individual involved performs them successfully.'”

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/38/3889.asp

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September 5th: Jury Rights Day

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“The trial was most notable for the way in which the court tried to bully the jury. When the jury did not come back with guilty verdicts, but a verdict that simply said ‘guilty of speaking to an assembly,’ the court refused to accept that outcome and ordered the jury to return to their deliberations. When the jury returned with a verdict that acquitted Mead of all charges, the court ordered the jury to prison! Next, the jurors filed a writ of habeas corpus challenging the legality of their imprisonment.  Soon after, an important legal precedent was set for jury independence: jurors cannot be punished for voting their conscience.”

http://www.policemisconduct.net/today-jury-rights-day/

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LAPD continues controversial anti-terrorism spying program with little oversight

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“The Los Angeles Police Commission recently approved weighty new revisions to the LAPD’s controversial Special Order 1 policy and the agency’s intelligence guidelines amid strong public opposition, enabling police officers to continue to gather, record and share intelligence and information based solely on observed behavior.  SO1 enables police officers to single out behavior or activity they deem to be ‘suspicious’, and then file a report on the citizen or make a stop.  SAR guidelines detail that innocuous activities like taking pictures or using binoculars can be seen as potentially criminal behavior.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/09/05/lapd-continues-controversial-anti-terrorism-spying-program-with-little-oversight/

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Democrats Retreat on Civil Liberties in 2012 Platform

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“What a difference four years makes.  In 2008, Democrats were eager to draw a contrast with what they then portrayed as Republican excesses in the fight against Al Qaeda. Since then, the Obama administration has in many cases continued the national security policies of its predecessor—and the Democratic Party’s 2012 platform highlights this reversal, abandoning much of the substance and all of the bombast of the 2008 platform. Here are a few places where the differences are most glaring.”

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/09/democrats-retreat-civil-liberties-2012-platform

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Democrats and “Internet Freedom”

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“Both major US party platforms endorse ‘Internet freedom’—but for both parties the phrase comes with important caveats. Last week, the Republicans called for ‘vigorous enforcement of current laws on all forms of pornography and obscenity,’ as well as the preservation of the ban on online gambling. The Democrats are silent on pornography and gambling, but they make the case for ‘vigorous’ copyright enforcement efforts.”

http://c4sif.org/2012/09/democrats-and-internet-freedom/

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Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales blasts UK Internet snooping

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“Jimmy Wales, the Wikipedia founder, has sharply criticised the government’s so-called ‘snooper’s charter’, which will track the internet, text and email use of all British citizens, as ‘technologically incompetent’.  Wales said that Wikipedia would move to encrypt all its connections with Britain if UK internet companies, such as Vodafone and Virgin Media, were mandated by the government to keep track of every single page accessed by UK citizens.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/09/05/wikipedia-founder-jimmy-wales-blasts-uk-internet-snooping/

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Web inventor warns governments: Internet has no off switch

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“Tim Berners-Lee, the British inventor of the World Wide Web, on Wednesday warned governments that attempts to block the Internet were doomed to failure due to its scattered structure.  Speaking at the launch of a league table showing which countries use the web most effectively, Berners-Lee said the lack of a global Internet ‘off-switch’ meant authoritarian regimes could not stem the influx of digital information.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/09/05/web-inventor-warns-governments-internet-has-no-off-switch/

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No shooting at protest? Police may block mobile devices via Apple

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“Apple has patented a piece of technology which would allow government and police to block transmission of information, including video and photographs, from any public gathering or venue they deem ‘sensitive’, and ‘protected from externalities.’  And while the company says the affected sites are to be mostly cinemas, theaters, concert grounds and similar locations, Apple Inc. also says ‘covert police or government operations may require complete ‘blackout’ conditions.’”

http://rt.com/news/apple-patent-transmission-block-408/

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German Study: Tax Competition and Fiscal Decentralization Limit Income Redistribution

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“Fiscal competition makes it difficult for governments to expand the welfare state to dangerous levels. In other words, it is a way of protecting governments from the worst impulses of their politicians.  I can’t resist sharing one additional bit of information from the Feld-Schnellenbach paper. They compare redistribution in several nations. As you can see in the table reproduced below, the United States and Switzerland benefit from having the lowest levels of overall redistribution.  It’s no coincidence that the U.S. and Switzerland are also the two nations with the most decentralization.”

http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2012/09/04/study-from-german-economists-shows-that-tax-competition-and-fiscal-decentralization-limit-income-redistribution/

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