Category: Society

Free Speech, Media, Society

Should Starbucks Just Brew Coffee And Not Controversy?

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

200px-Starbucks_Coffee_Logo.svgMany are aware of Starbucks Corporation’s “Race Together” campaign where company senior management proffered to promote a dialogue on race relations among their customers. The main initial manifestation of the decision was for baristas to write the words “Race Together” on cups and encouraging a discussion on the matter. Cups were also adorned with labels furthering the message.

While there is little doubt that most persons in the United States want a harmonious relationship between all citizens, there is a question on whether such a campaign is in the interest of shareholders and customers who might be put off by such practices.

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Media, Science, Society

A Concerning Look At Privacy In Cloud Computing

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

300px-Rolling-thunder-cloudThere is an interesting video on Slashdot of an interview with Tom Henderson, principle researcher at Extreme Labs, Inc. He provides a primer into his well founded concerns on privacy in the world of cloud computing. His research has led him to the position of distrust of companies hired to store data on behalf of users as opposed to the advantages of these users self-storing and archiving. It is reminiscent of the convenience placed above privacy that is coming to a greater magnification today and likely to be more so into the future.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, International, Society

The Ultimate Product Placement: Mexico Reportedly Gives MGM and Sony $20 Million In Tax Breaks To Clean Up Its Image In New Bond Film

Mara_Salvatrucha_MS13Spectre_posterMexico appears to have found a solution to the aversion of tourists and businesses in going to the coutnry with rising drug-based violence, kidnappings, and corruption: they are bribing movie moguls to scrub the image of the country in major movies. MGM and Sony reportedly ordered changes to the new James Bond movie to give positive views of Mexico and drop the image of a Mexican villain. Now that is product placement.

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Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Religion, Society

Afghan Mob Burns Woman Alive For Burning A Copy Of The Koran in Kabul [UPDATED]

220px-Mosque_of_the_King_of_Two_SwordsWe have another story of a Muslim mob murdering a person for offending Islam. A woman named Farkhunda, 32, in Kabul had reportedly burned a copy of the Koran inside a riverside shrine. She was then set upon by a huge mob that burned her alive and then threw her into the Kabul river. This was deemed the moral response to an immoral act by the crowd. [Update: It turns out that the accusations against Farkhunda may be untrue and that she was actually defending what she viewed as the degrading act of selling amulets in a mosque when she was attacked]

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Politics, Society

Illinois School Holds Blacks-Only Student Event For “Affinity Grouping”

150px-OPRFHighSchoolLogoNRouseThere is an interesting controversy at Oak Park and River Forest High School in Oak Park (outside of Chicago) where the school allowed students to hold a black-student only meeting. OPRF held a “Black Lives Matter” assembly on Feb. 27 but barred parents of white students who tried to participate. Principal Nathaniel Rouse (right), the assembly’s organizer, insisted he thought black students would speak more freely among members of their own race as what is known as affinity grouping. It might also be called racial segregation at a public school. What if white students wanted to engage in “affinity grouping” by excluding minority students?

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Criminal law, Politics, Society

The Usual Suspects? Study Finds Majority of Police Abuse Cases Involve Same Small Group Of Officers

143px-Chicagopd_jpg_w300h294There is an interesting study out that a relatively small number of officers are responsible for over half of police abuse claims. We have seen similar results in studies of malpractice cases of doctors. Yet, this small group of officers not only tarnish the reputations of all officers but cost massive amounts of money. Marketplace reports that Chicago paid out more than half a billion dollars over 10 years in police misconduct cases. This is a city that is facing junk bond status and the threat of insolvency.
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Bizarre, Media, Politics, Society

No Schock: Illinois Member Who Lavishly Spent Public and Campaign Resigns

Highclere_Castle_(April_2011)_893514Illinois Republican Rep. Aaron Schock has resigned after a rather bizarre few weeks. He caused something of a national sensation when his office was decked out like a study at Downton Abbey. He was then accused of spending like of Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham. Schock resigned effective March 31 after weeks of controversy over his lavish spending from government and campaign accounts. It is a cautionary tale for other members. You might want to stick with those government issued desks and pictures of the Washington Monument at the office.

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Religion, Science, Society

George Washington University Investigates Swastika Postings As Possible Hate Crime

150px-GWUlogoGeorge Washington University President Steven Knapp last night sent an urgent message to all students and faculty and employees regarding the disturbing discovery of swastikas at the International House, which houses 176 Greek students. The first appearance of swastikas appeared a few weeks ago and then again yesterday on the bulletin board of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. It is clearly a hateful demonstration and the university has worked with the campus Rabbi to counsel students who might have been traumatized by the postings. However, the letter below indicates that the University is treating the posting as a possible hate crime and seeking assistance from the police. A colleague wrote me last night after receiving the email to ask if the posting of such an image is really a hate crime now. It is a good question, though one that some faculty or students might not feel comfortable in raising in fear of being viewed as insensitive.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Media, Politics, Society

Obama Administration Celebrates National Freedom of Information Day By Deleting Federal Regulation On The Freedom of Information Act

President_Barack_ObamaIt has been years before anyone seriously in the Administration has claimed that it is “the most transparent Administration” ever — as President Barack Obama once pledged. The Obama Administration instead has set new lows for its pursuit and prosecution of whistleblowers and reporters as well as classifying and withholding information on potentially embarrassing actions or programs. For that reason, there was not much surprise that the White House chose this week — with the National Freedom of Information Day and the Sunshine Week — to remove a federal regulation that subjects its Office of Administration to the Freedom of Information Act.

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Columns, Criminal law, Politics, Society

Playing Red Light, Green Light With Citizens

220px-Modern_British_LED_Traffic_LightBelow is today’s column in USA Today. The column was actually written after I went to Chicago for Christmas and experienced firsthand the speed traps created by the city to trap drivers. My home town is a case study of the twisted logic that goes into fleecing citizens. Chicagoans are paying the highest cost for parking in the nation after outgoing mayor Richard Daley Jr. signed away a 99-year-lease to all city meters (and later accepted a job with the firm that negotiated the deal).

Illinois also has the second highest property tax rates in the country; the highest cell phone taxes in the country; and the highest restaurant taxes of any major city. Even if you try to flee the city taxes, you are hit with the nation’s highest airport parking fees in the country.
To put it simply, citizens are tapped out. Instead of raising taxes further, the city decided to find a way to generate revenue and actually blame the citizens. It installed a system of cameras that would make Kim Jong-Un blush combined with the shortest yellow lights in the nation.

Now Emanuel has backed down after years of his Administration dismissing complaints from citizens. His close reelection rather than decency appears the motivation. In the past, his government has defended the patchwork system of lights. Chicago officials insisted that other cities are also using the three-second light, including Boston and New York City. However, in New York, no red light camera tickets are issued until 0.3 seconds into the red light and Boston does not have red light cameras at all (and use the three-second yellows only downtown). However, Chicago is not alone in this perverse revenue grab.

The column is below:

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Lawyering, Society

The Jinx: Robert Durst Arrested After Airing Of HBO Documentary On His Three Alleged Murders

16DURST2-master315-v2There is an old criminal defense saying that “one day on the cover of Time, next day doing Time.” That appears to hold for Robert A. Durst, who recently agreed to be interviewed for a documentary for HBO, “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst,” on his suspicion for the murder of his wife and two other people. The producers uncovered new evidence and Durst was arrested in New Orleans after checking into a hotel under an assumed name.

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Bizarre, International, Media, Politics, Society

Erdogan Is Becoming A Control Freak

erdogan-with-warriors

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

The bizarre world that churns inside Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s presidential palace reached a new zenith with the unveiling of surveillance control rooms inside, giving him unprecedented ability to personally spy on seventy seven million Turkish citizens. In a feat of technical engineering rivaling that of George Orwell’s Big Brother, the president will certainly enjoy the spectacle of his new spyglass.

According to Al-Monitor, the system has 143 displays that allow President Erdogan to tap into closed-circuit television systems in the streets of eighty one of Turkey’s provinces along with its government’s Mobile Electronic System Integration (MOBESE) and those used in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

With the system about to become live, Erdogan will now be able to personally watch all public demonstrations, city life, military and police operations, and other events he finds of concern.

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Environment, Science, Society

A Leading Cause of NYPD Officer Deaths Is 9-11 Related Illnesses

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

215px-NypdpatchThe 9/11 terrorist attack on New York City continues to affect the lives of many, especially those first responders who dared the situation and served with courage and Honor.

The tragedy manifests in manners that are beyond the emotional scars that might remain with individuals. The health effects to the body may persist for many more years. Inhaling of and exposure to toxins and carcinogens in their various forms continue to haunt the New York Police Department and other agencies more than a decade later.

According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, a website devoted to memorializing the line-of-duty deaths of all law enforcement officers serving in the United States and its territories, 9/11 related illnesses are the second leading cause of death among officers of the New York Police Department. This encompasses over two hundred years of records for each of the various single categories.

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Academia, Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Politics, Society

Faculty Sign Letter Claiming Widespread Academic “Admiration” For Anti-Flag Resolution At UC Irvine

The_University_of_California_Irvine.svg200px-flag_of_the_united_statessvgLike many people, I was disappointed by the effort at University of California at Irvine to ban the American flag. Yet, as a university professor, I have seen some senseless efforts by students who can bring more heat than light to some issues. The response has been a bit overblown, including a call for a state constitutional amendment, when the ill-conceived and insulting resolution was vetoed by a later school board. Moreover, the resolution never involved a ban on the American flag from the school but just from one area of the school. However, the report of a letter from some UC faculty has left me baffled in its suggested support in among academics for the premise of the resolution. While we all have different political and philosophical viewpoints, the flag represents first and foremost the protection of such differing viewpoints and the right to express them. We clearly have our problems and historical regrets, but the flag is a unifying symbol of our values, including the free speech rights that allow us to criticize our government and our history.

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