Are the Russian Spies a Pretext for the Internet Kill Switch?
Earlier this week it was announced that a few Russian spies had been captured operating in the U.S. That’s interesting, and I’m actually surprised that the media hasn’t made a big deal out of it. Because it’s not. The Wall Street Journal cites a number of sources that say this story, with even as little attention as it has garnered, is still blown out of proportion. Philip Shenon at The Daily Beast indicates that “The Justice Department and the F.B.I. have been unable to point to a single significant piece of classified information that the so-called spies obtained during their many years in the United States; none of the suspects is accused of espionage.” Daniel Drezner, at Foreign Policy calls it the “lamest espionage conspiracy….ever.” What … Read entire article »
Filed under: American Politics, Legalese, Police State
Smoking is Healthier than Fascism: Law Bans Adverts, Labels for “Light”, “Mild” Smokes
From the ridiculousity files: a new US law bans the sale and advertisement of cigarettes which use the words “light”, “mild”, or “low” in their packaging. This, I do not understand at all. Of course the tobacco companies still make what were previously known as “light” cigarettes, they just aren’t allowed to label them that way any more. Philip Morris USA, who makes the Marlboro brand cigarettes, notified their customers before this law took effect, informing them that the packaging would be changing, but the contents would remain the same, urging them to ask for their smoke of choice by color (e.g., Marlboro “Lights” are in a gold colored package). The FDA already doesn’t know what to do about this, and various activist groups are calling it deceptive advertising, a means … Read entire article »
Filed under: Legalese
A Lawyer Admits – Jury Nullification is a Right of the People
A lawyer friend of mine started talking the other night about how the jury is really the most powerful component in the entire legal system, because they have the power to nullify laws. I hinted around the topic and he confirmed that jurors definitely do have the right to nullify laws and render verdicts as they see fit, but also confirmed that as a lawyer he is not allowed to inform jurors of this right. I didn’t corner him in to this admission, he came right out and said it. However, the examples he was trying to describe were all strawman varieties. Now maybe this was for simplicity of trying to explain the concept to the other people we were talking with, none of whom were at all … Read entire article »
Filed under: Legalese