Crisis Begets Opportunity

Parking Tickets Issued on Wrecks while Stockholm Burns

"While the Stockholm riots keep spreading and intensifying, Swedish police have adopted a tactic of non-interference. 'Our ambition is really to do as little as possible,' Stockholm Chief of Police Mats Löfving explained to the Swedish newspaper Expressen on Tuesday. Swedish parking laws, however, continue to be rigidly enforced despite the increasingly chaotic situation. Early Wednesday, while documenting the destruction after a night of rioting in the Stockholm suburb of Alby, a reporter from Fria Tider observed a parking enforcement officer writing a ticket for a burnt-out Ford." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingParking Tickets Issued on Wrecks while Stockholm Burns

Eleven people across UK arrested for making ‘racist or anti-religious’ comments on Facebook

"The murder of soldier Lee Rigby has provoked a backlash of anger across the UK, including the attacking of mosques, racial abuse and comments made on social media. Eleven people have been arrested around Britain for making 'racist or anti-religious' comments on Twitter following the brutal killing in Woolwich on Wednesday. The incident has also prompted a huge increase in anti-Muslim incidents, according to the organisation Faith Matters, which works to reduce extremism. Before the attack about four to eight cases a day were reported to its helpline. But the group said about 150 incidents had been reported in the last few days, including attacks on mosques." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEleven people across UK arrested for making ‘racist or anti-religious’ comments on Facebook

Colorado Gun Control Law Is Unenforceable, Say 54 Of 62 Colorado Sheriffs

"A gun control law set to go into effect in July specifies that anytime that a gun owner allows anyone to have control of his gun for over 72 hours, that person to receive the gun must go through a background check. Of Colorado’s 62 sheriffs, 54 are publicly protesting the law. It is unenforceable, they say. The law has other unenforceable features, such as banning rifle magazines that could possibly be expanded to hold more than 15 rounds. Anyone who owns such a magazine cannot sell it or lend it. The sheriffs are part of a lawsuit in federal court. The lawsuit says the law is unconstitutional. The state committee that heard testimony allowed only one sheriff to testify." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingColorado Gun Control Law Is Unenforceable, Say 54 Of 62 Colorado Sheriffs

Pentagon Unilaterally Grants Itself Authority Over ‘Civil Disturbances’

"The lines blurred even further Monday as a new dynamic was introduced to the militarization of domestic law enforcement. By making a few subtle changes to a regulation in the U.S. Code titled 'Defense Support of Civilian Law Enforcement Agencies' the military has quietly granted itself the ability to police the streets without obtaining prior local or state consent, upending a precedent that has been in place for more than two centuries. The most objectionable aspect of the regulatory change is the inclusion of vague language that permits military intervention in the event of 'civil disturbances.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPentagon Unilaterally Grants Itself Authority Over ‘Civil Disturbances’

Hundreds of Bangladesh textile plants shut indefinitely

"The textile industry’s main trade body said all operations at the nearby Ashulia industrial zone on the outskirts of Dhaka were being suspended until further notice. Shahidullah Azim, of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the decision was made 'to ensure the security of our factories'. Most of Bangladesh’s top garment factories are based at Ashulia and there has been 'virtually no work' there since the April 24 Rana Plaza tragedy, Azim said. Ashulia is home to around 500 factories which make clothing for a string of major Western retailers including Walmart, H&M, Tesco and Carrefour." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHundreds of Bangladesh textile plants shut indefinitely

Flying the Government Skies

"The sequester cuts about $637 million from the FAA, which is less than 4% of its $15.9 billion 2012 budget, and it limits the agency to what it spent in 2010. The White House decided to translate this 4% cut that it has the legal discretion to avoid into a 10% cut for air traffic controllers. Though controllers will be furloughed for one of every 10 working days, four of every 10 flights won't arrive on time. The FAA projects the delays will rob one out of every three travellers of up to four hours of their lives waiting at the major hubs. Congress passed a law in 2009 that makes such delays illegal -- if they are the responsibility of an airline." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFlying the Government Skies

Ron Paul: What No One Wants to Hear About Benghazi

"Neither side wants to talk about the real lesson of Benghazi: interventionism always carries with it unintended consequences. The US attack on Libya led to the unleashing of Islamist radicals in Libya. These radicals have destroyed the country, murdered thousands, and killed the US ambassador. Some of these then turned their attention to Mali which required another intervention by the US and France. Previously secure weapons in Libya flooded the region after the US attack, with many of them going to Islamist radicals who make up the majority of those fighting to overthrow the government in Syria." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul: What No One Wants to Hear About Benghazi

3D printed guns are going to create big legal precedents

"Defense Distributed is headed for some important, possibly precedent-setting legal battles with the US government, and I’m worried that the fact that we’re talking about guns here will cloud judges’ minds. Bad cases made bad law, and it’s hard to think of a more emotionally overheated subject area. So while I’d love to see a court evaluate whether the internet should be treated as a library in law, I’m worried that when it comes to guns, the judge may find himself framing the question in terms of whether a gun foundry should be treated as a library." Continue reading →

Continue Reading3D printed guns are going to create big legal precedents

3D printed guns are going to create big legal precedents

"Defense Distributed is headed for some important, possibly precedent-setting legal battles with the US government, and I’m worried that the fact that we’re talking about guns here will cloud judges’ minds. Bad cases made bad law, and it’s hard to think of a more emotionally overheated subject area. So while I’d love to see a court evaluate whether the internet should be treated as a library in law, I’m worried that when it comes to guns, the judge may find himself framing the question in terms of whether a gun foundry should be treated as a library." Continue reading →

Continue Reading3D printed guns are going to create big legal precedents

Biometric Database of All Adult Americans Hidden in Immigration Reform

"The immigration reform measure the Senate began debating yesterday would create a national biometric database of virtually every adult in the U.S., in what privacy groups fear could be the first step to a ubiquitous national identification system. Buried in the more than 800 pages of the bipartisan legislation is language mandating the creation of the innocuously-named 'photo tool,' a massive federal database administered by Homeland Security and containing names, ages, Social Security numbers and photographs of everyone in the country with a driver’s license or other state-issued photo ID." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBiometric Database of All Adult Americans Hidden in Immigration Reform