|
|
| Politics |
Politics, freedom, government, and law, with a hacker spin.
|
|
![[P]](/web/20030413073014im_/http://www.kuro5hin.org/images/print3.gif)
|
Cross-burning bans are constitutional in the US, sorta (Politics)
By aphrael
Tue Apr 8th, 2003 at 12:14:54 AM EST
|
|
|
We conclude that while a State, consistent with the First Amendment, may ban cross burning carried out with the intent to intimidate, the provision in the Virginia statute treating any cross burning as prima facie evidence of intent to intimidate renders the statute unconstitutional in its current form.
--US Supreme Court: Virginia v. Black
In every culture, certain things acquire meaning well beyond what outsiders can comprehend. That goes for both the sacred, see Texas v. Johnson, 491 US 397, 422-429 (1989) (Rehnquist, CJ dissenting) (describing the unique position of the American flag in our Nation's 200 years of history), and the profane. I believe that cross burning is the paradigmatic example of the latter.
--Justice Thomas, dissenting.
The United States Supreme Court today handed down its decision in the unfortunately named case of Virginia v. Black, involving the constitutionality of Virginia's law banning cross burning. According to the syllabus, seven justices agreed to overturn the Virginia law (while one wanted to send it back to the lower court for further consideration, and one wanted to uphold); that majority is further split, with four believing that a different cross-burning ban would be constitutional, and three believing that cross-burning bans are incompatible with the first amendment. While appearing at first to be a decisive victory for free-speech absolutism, the decision is in fact no such thing.
Full Story (143 comments, 860 words in story)
|
|
|
|
The Statutory Debt Limit (Politics)
By svillee
Sun Apr 6th, 2003 at 06:53:30 PM EST
|
|
|
In February, the United States federal debt reached its
current statutory limit of $6.4 trillion. For now, the
Treasury Department is taking the usual stopgap measures
involving the G-Fund, but Congress will need to increase the
limit soon to avoid a default.
Most likely, Congress will approve an increase before any
default would happen. But this time, there is actually a
smidgen of doubt, given that last year's bill to raise the limit
was barely passed by the House at the 11th hour. What would be
the effects of a government default? For one thing, it might
put a damper on the administration's New
American Century agenda.
Full Story (214 comments, 2152 words in story)
|
|
|
|
French Influence to be Removed from American English (Politics)
By kwertii
Sat Apr 5th, 2003 at 01:38:32 PM EST
|
|
|
WASHINGTON, DC, April 3 - In the wake of French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin's
scathing comments
condemning the United States' attack on Iraq, the House today unanimously passed a bill which would undo centuries of French influence on English and officially revert the spoken and written language used within the United States to English in its pre-French form.
"Renaming foodstuffs like `Freedom Fries' and `Liberty Toast' is definitely a step in the right direction, but my colleagues and I decided that it just doesn't go far enough. We must purge all French influence from our great language," said House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) at an afternoon press conference. "Us is riht micel ðæt we rodera weard."
Full Story (158 comments, 851 words in story)
|
|
|
|
Visions of Empire: Sovereignty Transformed (Politics)
By Jett
Mon Mar 31st, 2003 at 05:54:15 PM EST
|
|
|
In recent years, scholars have noted that the powers associated with sovereignty are being transformed. This transformation has been largely tied to globalization. There are a variety of processes at work in globalization which can be attributed with challenging traditional functions of sovereignty.
There is disagreement over what this transformation of sovereignty means: Is sovereignty being eroded; is it in decline? Or, is sovereignty going through a conceptual transition; is sovereignty being reconfigured?
A new system of global governance is evolving, one in which the simplicity of discrete territorial units is but one aspect of something more complex and interwoven.
This essay deals with an issue central to contemporary international relations: the on-going transformation of sovereignty.
Full Story (89 comments, 2366 words in story)
|
|
|
|
Iraq Day 6 - Heading for a Worst Case Scenario? Basra is the Key (Politics)
By harrystottle
Tue Mar 25th, 2003 at 07:24:00 PM EST
|
|
|
Early indications are worrying. Guerrilla tactics are to be expected and are
obviously Saddam's best card. But they've started much further south and with
much greater intensity than UKUSA intelligence estimated. The smart money was
on the South rising up as one to greet the liberators with open arms. It hasn't
happened. Instead we've seen the first signs of the Fedayeen
in action against the UKUSA forces. This could indicate the beginning of a prolonged
urban struggle which though not as costly as Vietnam in terms of human lives,
could tie up large numbers of UKUSA military not for months but decades. Vietnam
it will not be. Chechnya - it might.
Full Story (374 comments, 1648 words in story)
|
|
|
|
The Philosopher of Islamic Terror (Politics)
By james yonan
Sun Mar 23rd, 2003 at 08:39:28 PM EST
|
|
|
Writing for the
New York Times, Paul Berman calls him
Al Qaeda's Karl Marx.
Robert Irwin of The Guardian asks
Is this the man who inspired Bin Laden?
Jailed and tortured by Egypt's Gamal Abdel-Nasser for over 10 years,
Sayyid Qutb (pronounced KUH-tahb) produced and smuggled out of his prison
cell Fi Zalal al-Koran (In the Shadow of the Koran),
a vast commentary on the Koran before
being executed by Nasser in 1966 for his association with the Moslem
Brotherhood.
Qutb's life is a fascinating portrait into the making of a man who
inspired a generation of Islamic fundamentalists with a work that
some agree has given
historical context
and contemporary scope to the
complexity of ideas that underlie
radical Islamic thought,
while others dismiss it as a misguided
philosophical vendetta against the basic ideals of liberal Western Civilization.
Full Story (94 comments, 1230 words in story)
|
|
|
|
Why I am not a Libertarian (Politics)
By enterfornone
Sun Mar 23rd, 2003 at 12:56:52 PM EST
|
|
|
Like many people who value freedom, I once found the idea of Libertarianism to be appealing. Libertarians claim that "everyone should be free to do as they choose, so long as they don't infringe upon the equal freedom of others" and they believe that their ideology achieves this goal.
However upon closer inspection, it would appear that Libertarianism protects the freedoms of an elite few, while forcing the majority to servitude.
Full Story (354 comments, 1805 words in story)
|
|
|
|
Why Australia is in Iraq (Politics)
By HiroProtagonist
Sat Mar 22nd, 2003 at 02:34:57 AM EST
|
|
|
Australia is one of the few nations which have committed troops to military
action in Iraq. Australia's involvement in the war is unpopular with the
majority of Australian citizens. This article aims to explain the seemingly
paradoxical position of the Australian Government on this issue
Full Story (117 comments, 680 words in story)
|
|
|
|
A commander's words to his men (Politics)
By treefrog
Thu Mar 20th, 2003 at 06:40:35 PM EST
|
|
|
There is a long tradition of military commanders giving final words of encouragement to their troops before battle.
Below is a speech given by Lieutenant Colonel Tim Collins to the 1st Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment.
It seems somewhat ironic to me that our military leaders appear to be more eloquent, and have a better understanding of the meaning of what they are doing, than the politicians who instruct them in our name.
Full Story (216 comments, 372 words in story)
|
|
|
|
![]](/web/20030413073014im_/http://www.kuro5hin.org/images/header/rt_edge3.gif){kind=small}
