Monthly Archives: September 2013

Do Humanitarian Concerns Give the U.S. A Right to Bomb Syria?

"Nancy Pelosi suggests that the U.S. should bomb Syria to save children. Does the U.S. have a right to defend children in Syria by bombing government installations? Even if some international lawyers devised some new sort of argument in support of U.S. bombing by basing it on some humanitarian rationale, the U.S. would still have a very difficult case to make. The U.S. has basically forfeited even such an imagined or hypothetical right by its earlier actions of supporting the rebel side. If it bombs Syria now, it is part of a pattern of having chosen the rebel side." Continue reading →

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US Senate panel approves use of force against Syria

"President Barack Obama's plan to conduct punishing military strikes on Syria passed its first congressional hurdle Wednesday, paving the way for a full Senate debate on the use of force. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved an amended resolution 10-7, with one senator, the chamber's newest member Edward Markey, voting present, that authorizes US military intervention with a 90-day deadline and bars American boots on the ground for combat purposes. 'What we've done today is a step in the right direction. I hope it makes a safer world,' said Senator Dick Durbin. The chamber's number two Democrat voted against the war in Iraq, but he insisted that 'this is different.'" Continue reading →

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How “Your” Government Works

"The Obama administration has announced the formation of a panel of “outside experts” to review the NSA’s surveillance practices. And a wide-ranging, diverse collection of experts they are; when it comes to institutional backgrounds and viewpoints, they span the entire spectrum from A to B. They remind me a bit of the space shuttle crew in an episode of The Simpsons: 'They’re a colorful bunch … There’s a mathematician, a different kind of mathematician, and a statistician.' If you think all this insider involvement in policy represents 'regulatory capture,' or the corruption of an originally pristine system by campaign money and lobbyists, you’re missing the point." Continue reading →

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Mexico leader to discuss alleged U.S. spying with Obama

"Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said Wednesday he would voice concerns about alleged US spying on his emails to US counterpart Barack Obama, warning it would be illegal if proven true. The new claims of spying in Latin America came two months after allegations of widespread US electronic espionage in the region that infuriated allies and rivals alike. 'If it is proven that an action took place, with the use of espionage means, this is clearly not permitted and it is outside the law,' Pena Nieto told reporters during a layover in Canada on his way to Saint Petersburg." Continue reading →

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Florida man cites ‘Bush doctrine’ after pre-emptive killing of neighbors

"Lawyers for a Florida man this week cited President George W. Bush’s pre-emptive war in Iraq and the 'Bush Doctrine' as a defense after their client killed two neighbors and attempted to kill a third on Labor Day. According to officials in Titusville, Woodward had snuck up on his neighbors while they were having a Labor Day barbecue. Police responding to the scene found that Gary Lee Hembree, Roger Picior and Bruce Timothy had all been shot. Hembree and Picior were later pronounced dead. Blake survived, even though he had been hit 11 times. In their motion, Woodward’s attorneys claimed that the victims had called him names and threatened to 'get him.'" Continue reading →

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Leaked Sony ad for QX10 and QX100 lens cameras

"Sony still hasn't announced its QX10 and QX100 lens cameras, but the flood of leaks just isn't slowing down. An official video ad for the QX10 and X100 has now surfaced on the web, offering the best glimpse yet at how Sony envisions consumers using these unique products. In the clip, we see that linking the QX10 and QX100 with a smartphone will be a simple, one-touch process — at least with Sony's own Xperia hardware — and you'll be using the PlayMemories app to control each lens. Sony is also trying to push ease of use here, with one user effortlessly sliding his phone into a cradle before casually snapping images on the street." Continue reading →

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Watch What Happens When the Camera is Turned On Cops

"There are now over 50,000 SWAT raids annually in America — the types of raids that were designed for and then perfected in the streets of Fallujah and Kandahar. Without radical restraints on the state’s power to initiate and dispense lethal force through its law enforcement agencies, our rights to life, liberty, and property are and will continue to be severely threatened. Yet despite the fact that U.S. law enforcement eerily resembles East Germany’s Stasi with even greater technological tools to inflict terror, all it takes is a tiny little camera on a cop’s chest to drastically minimize abuse, arbitrary coercion, and makes cops act like the peace officers they are intended to be." Continue reading →

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Huntington continues arresting people who record police encounters

"Another Huntington police officer is accused of falsely arresting a person for recording his on-duty actions. In the complaint filed Aug. 22 in U.S. District Court, the Thomases allege Officer Brian Lucas arrested Xavier for watching him conduct a traffic stop at a convenience store last year and detained Martin for filming the arrest on his cell phone, which was deleted by another officer. The suit comes on the heels of a settlement reached earlier this month between the City and another resident who alleged three officers falsely arrested him for filming them perform a traffic stop at a housing project two years ago." Continue reading →

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Syracuse’s ‘most prolific sex offender’ lied to acquire government job

"Despite having hired the man Syracuse police call the ‘most prolific sex offender’ in the area, Syracuse city officials confirmed to CNY NY that they don’t plan on changing their hiring practices or checking into the background of current employee. On the application, obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request, Carrigan was twice asked and twice lied about whether he had ever been convicted of a crime, felony or misdemeanor. When he was fired from his DPW job after a 2012 arrest for having oral sex with a 15-year-old boy, the city refused to amend its policy on background checks. Carrigan was a level three sex-offender when he applied for the job in 2009." Continue reading →

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Australian postal workers who send porn from work e-mail will no longer be sacked

"Emailing pornography on work addresses should not automatically be considered a sackable offence, an Australian workplace tribunal has ruled. The Fair Work Commission made the decision after considering a case in which three postal workers were fired after it was found they used work email addresses to send or distribute sexually explicit material. The commission said the terminations of the workers — all of whom were long-standing employees of Australia Post — were too harsh, it confirmed on Wednesday." Continue reading →

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