Comments on: Sunday Morning Links

By: nemo

nemo — Tue, 26 May 2009 13:54:43 +0000

To give an idea of just how different Japanese cultural norms are from American ones, in Japan, the age a person may legally engage in consensual sex is 13 (barring local prefectural laws) . Needless to say, this is reflected in popular entertainment, such as manga.

What that says about Japan is left to the reader. What this incident says to the US taxpayer is that despite all the horrendous debt we have accumulated (and Japan, incidentally, holds a huge amount of it), the US Federal government still thinks it’s flush enough to engage in this kind of prosecutorial nonsense. Rome is burning, and Uncle is p!ss!ng on the fires in the little waste-baskets. Damned silly…

By: Kino

Kino — Tue, 26 May 2009 09:51:11 +0000

woog , the truth is your’e a delusional threadjacker , kill yerself , do it now , do it hard !!

By: Woog

Woog — Tue, 26 May 2009 05:34:24 +0000

“You want the truth? You want the truYOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!”

Apparently.

http://frontpagemagazine.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=110

Call it what you will, but it’s much more than a ‘punch in the nose’.

By: Woog

Woog — Mon, 25 May 2009 22:38:07 +0000

I wish Dreyfuss would have left “since 9/11 not a single American has even been punched in the nose by an angry Muslim” out of the article, since there have been quite a few muslim-esque folks who have hurt and even killed a few people by, usually, running into crowds with SUVs, as well as with the occasional firearm. I left a comment to that end.

By: Michael Chaney

Michael Chaney — Mon, 25 May 2009 14:43:40 +0000

$90K story is a dead link, but found it here:

http://www.cullmantimes.com/cnhi/cullmantimes/homepage/local_story_141083738.html?keyword=leadpicturestory

By: Oatwhore

Oatwhore — Mon, 25 May 2009 14:43:30 +0000

Was that “female” prostitute really Gary Busey?

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 25 May 2009 05:27:21 +0000

The hysteria of child abuse or child pron and “hate crimes” will be remembered as bringing forth to reality the Thought Crime.

Right now you can go to jail for the artistic scribbling of an illegal thought or viewing a smattering of electrons on a screen depicting an illegal act. You need not victimize anyone for a “crime” to occur. Only the representation of a crime or the thought of it makes you guilty of Thought Crime.

Orwell was indeed a prophet.

By: Eugene

Eugene — Mon, 25 May 2009 03:30:57 +0000

Huzza! At least some good news coming out of Alabama. And the link on the deputy story is broken. I’m kind of curious if it’s the same guy who arrested me for resisting arrest back in 2004.

By: kishnevi

kishnevi — Mon, 25 May 2009 03:14:37 +0000

Not directly on topic, but–
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Cops-decry-parking-tickets-during-court-visits-45366392.html

By: Shell Goddamnit

Shell Goddamnit — Mon, 25 May 2009 03:02:49 +0000

comic book obscenity conviction has precedent

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Diana

“Diana was sentenced to a three-year probation, during which time his residence was subject to inspection to determine if he was in possession of or was creating obscene material.”

IIRC there was some back & forth about how Mr Diana was supposed to know ahead of time if something he was considering creating was obscene…leading to an actual thought crime type situation.

By: Kolohe

Kolohe — Mon, 25 May 2009 00:42:48 +0000

I hate to be ‘that guy’ but I wonder if the alternet folks et al would have the same opinions if it were white supremacists who were goaded into such an action in New York.

To be clear, I am 100% that Balko would.

The act of planting explosives, even if fake, shows a level of initiative and mens rea that is much more clear in this case than the other well known – and I definitely will say more questionable – ones (e.g ft dix, miami/sear tower)

By: Dave Krueger

Dave Krueger — Mon, 25 May 2009 00:15:01 +0000

#28 Greg N.

I guess my question is, how can the statute under which this guy is being prosecuted survive a challenge, given the reasoning in the Free Speech Coalition case? I can’t see why any of the reasoning that was used to strike down CPPA wouldn’t apply to this statute as well.

CPPA was struck down because it tied to ban material which was neither child porn involving real children nor obscene. Supposedly, Section 1466A corrects that defect by requiring the material be obscene.

By: Greg N.

Greg N. — Sun, 24 May 2009 23:06:30 +0000

Dave,

I guess my question is, how can the statute under which this guy is being prosecuted survive a challenge, given the reasoning in the Free Speech Coalition case? I can’t see why any of the reasoning that was used to strike down CPPA wouldn’t apply to this statute as well.

By: Marty

Marty — Sun, 24 May 2009 21:37:23 +0000

if soldiers are ‘dying for our freedoms’- they’re dying in vain.

27 months for prostitution? in a free country?

having your parole revoked for criticizing the govt? in a free country?

you can lose 15 years of your life for possession of pornographic comic books? in a free country?

it looks like the cops are free to steal and run amok over us… it looks like Bill O’Reilly and his fascist douchebag cronies are free to lie and manipulate to further their racist agendas… it looks like pricks like Sheriff Joe can continue torturing and humiliating people (who’ve harmed no one but themselves) without any fear of consequences…

what soldier in his right mind would sign up to defend this shit? wait, maybe they’re signing up to defend the douchebags’ freedom to run over us…

By: Aresen

Aresen — Sun, 24 May 2009 20:45:58 +0000

The NY “Terror Plot” looks a lot like FBI agents acting as agents provocateurs. As Frank noted @ #15, this is like a replay of the 1960s.

OTOH, the alleged plotters do seem to have acheived new highs (lows?) in stupidity.

By: Dave Krueger

Dave Krueger — Sun, 24 May 2009 20:26:41 +0000

Prostitution laws are proof that persecution and hate are alive and thriving in the land of the free.

By: J sub D

J sub D — Sun, 24 May 2009 19:54:08 +0000

The lady who died in Arizona prison was a prostitute. I’d be angry if she had been fined. I’m pissed she was imprisoned.* I’m outraged that she died for trying to make a buck or two performing an in demand service that harmed nobody.

* Powell, who was serving a 27-month sentence for prostitution, …

More than two goddam years. Look at her picture and ask yourself, is protecting ourselves from seeing sad people like this soliciting business in a seedy neighborhood what prisons are for?

The cop who stole 90 kilobucks ain’t gonna do a day.

By: JS

JS — Sun, 24 May 2009 18:32:39 +0000

Dave Krueger…ultimately culminating in the violent detonation of an artery in my brain leaving the walls of my computer room a bloody brain-spattered horror scene.”

Again? lol

By: Packratt

Packratt — Sun, 24 May 2009 18:04:10 +0000

@7 and @9

Well, from experience, I do know that jail guards here in Seattle do place detainees in rooms that are exposed to weather that don’t have climate controls as a form of punishment. Though, in the case I witnessed it was a particularly cold winter night and the two guys were sent in without blankets and handcuffed to a wall. They came back two hours later unable to stop shivering… all just for not shutting up after lights-out.

So it definitely isn’t a far stretch to think they do the same thing elsewhere… the infamous hot-box of old prison movie fame may indeed seem to be alive and well.

By: Dave Krueger

Dave Krueger — Sun, 24 May 2009 17:52:59 +0000

Greg N. A thorough explanation of the laws (including this case) is here.