CIVIL LIBERTIES & OTHER NEWS
CIVIL LIBERTIES & OTHER NEWS
OREGON GAS TAX THREATENS CIVIL LIBERTIES
http://www.washtimes.com/business/20050309-120530-6737r.htm
ANDREW JOHNSON, WASHINGTON TIMES - A planned program in Oregon would tax drivers by the number of miles they travel instead of by the amount of gasoline they use to compensate for an expected loss of revenue caused by increasing use of more fuel-efficient vehicles. Officials in California and Washington also are considering imposing a mileage tax as a way to drum up more money. . . The mileage fee, which would be computed whenever a person pumps a tank of gasoline at a service station, would replace the state's fuel tax and compensate for a projected loss of revenue resulting from increased use of hybrid and other fuel-efficient vehicles, Oregon officials say. . .
Vehicles would be fitted with a Global Positioning System, or GPS, that can tell when a car is being driven in state and out of state, Mr. Whitty said. When a person fills his gas tank, a device on the gas pump would read the in-state mileage recorded by the car's receiver and send the information to the service station's billing system, eliminating the fuel tax and tacking on the mileage fee. . .
Civil libertarians say the use of GPS technology in vehicles is a privacy violation because of the potential to track a person's whereabouts. Such concerns are based on inaccurate information because the technology would be used only to record whether a driver is traveling within a certain zone -- in state or out of state -- not the exact location, Mr. Whitty said. Organizations such as the San Diego-based Privacy Rights Clearinghouse maintain the technology could be used for recording more than mileage. "Today maybe they're tracking whether you're in the state or not, [but] tomorrow who knows what they'll track," said Beth Givens, director of the organization.
GIRL SCOUTS OF AMERICA GO TO RESCUE OF GIRL TICKETED FOR SELLING COOKIES
http://www.wnbc.com/news/4263089/detail.html
WNBC NY - The Girl Scouts of America is promising to come to the defense of a Long Island girl who was ticketed for selling scout cookies in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The flap happened over the weekend when 13-year-old Grace Marie Louis and her father, Howard Louis, were delivering cookies to their old neighborhood. They have since moved to Bethpage, Long Island, but the girl has gone back to the Brooklyn neighborhood for the last seven years to sell her girl scout cookies.
Her father had set up a card table next to their van to sort out the orders, and that's when a police captain and an another officer from the 94th Precinct came by in an unmarked car and shouted "Get over here, police."
The 55-year-old father wasn't sure they were legitimate police so he told his daughter to get in the van. The police ticketed Louis for selling cookies without a permit. The NYPD said Louis was selling the cookies from the table and the officer didn't see any Girl Scouts nearby. The Girl Scouts of Nassau County said Grace Marie has been one of their top cookie sellers since she joined the scouts in kindergarten. She's sold about 600 boxes for her Troop 3019. But she's afraid to go back to Williamsburg to finish making her deliveries.
The scouts said they will provide an attorney to the family when the father appears in Manhattan Criminal Court on April 11.
GREAT MOMENTS IN PROTEST
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/health/thehealthnews.html?in_page_id=1797
DAILY MAIL, UK - Two women who bared their breasts in protest were arrested and dragged away as Britain's Prince Charles arrived for an official function Tuesday in New Zealand's capital. The two women, described by police as taking part in "unrelated" protests, were later charged with disorderly behavior.
One woman climbed atop a wall, bared her chest and shouted "shame, shame" as Charles walked toward the City Art Gallery doorway. . . In an apparent protest against the monarchy, the woman had the message "Get your colonial shame off my breasts" scrawled across her chest and stomach. Reporters said the prince appeared to look in the woman's direction and smile as he entered the gallery.
AN AMERICAN woman has sent her tax payment to the IRS in an envelope stamped "LESBIAN MONEY."
HUNTER THOMPSON'S DEATH STIRRING QUESTIONS
NY POST PAGE SIX - Hunter S. Thompson's mysterious death really a suicide? There are some serious irregularities surrounding the demise of the gonzo author, who was found shot to death in the kitchen of his Woody Creek, Colo., ranch on Feb. 20, and local cops seemed to have done a lackluster job of investigating.
Police reports obtained by the Rocky Mountain News note that cops arriving on the scene heard shots being fired, that Thompson's son, Juan, was allowed to be alone with the body, and that there was something odd about the gun Thompson supposedly used to kill himself.
Before his death, Thompson seemed in good spirits and was not known to be depressed. And considering his long-winded style, the absence of a note seems strange - he'd typed only the single word "counselor."
There were no eyewitnesses to the shooting, only an "earwitness" - Thompson's wife, Anita, who was on the phone with him at the time and who later drank scotch with the corpse. Her account of the incident is inconsistent: She alternately has said that she heard a loud, muffled noise and that she heard nothing but clicking.
The behavior of Juan, who was in the house at the time of the shooting, also was unusual. Pitkin County Deputy Sheriff John Armstrong said that when investigators arrived on the scene they heard shots, but Juan assured them he had merely been firing off a salute to his dead dad. Investigator Joseph DiSalvo also let Juan enter the kitchen alone and drape a scarf over the body.
And in his report, Deputy Ron Ryan noted the semi-automatic Smith & Wesson 645 found next to Thompson's body was in an unusual condition. There was a spent shell casing, but although there were six bullets left in the gun's clip, there was no bullet in the firing chamber, as there should have been under normal circumstances.
DiSalvo said he did not check the gun, adding, "I think a bullet from the magazine should have cycled into the chamber" unless there was a "malfunction." A spent slug was found in the stove hood behind the body.
MEXICAN MAYOR ORDERS COPS TO READ ONE BOOK A MONTH
http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,6109,1432483,00.html
JO TUCKMAN, GUARDIAN - Police in a sprawling working-class suburb on the edge of the Mexican capital are to fight crime with a new weapon: books. The leftwing mayor of Nezahualcoyotl, Luis Sanchez, has ordered all 1,100 members of the municipal police to read at least one book a month or forfeit their chance of promotion. "We believe reading will improve their vocabulary and their writing skills, help them express themselves, order their ideas and communicate with the public," Mr Sanchez said. "Reading will make them better police officers and better people."
The list of recommended titles includes Mexican stalwarts such as The Labyrinth of Solitude by Octavio Paz, weighty classics such as Don Quixote, simpler gems such as The Little Prince and a number of crime novels. Once the program starts at the end of the month, there will be regular tests to verify that officers have read the books they name.
HOW TO GET PEOPLE OUT OF YOUR OFFICE
http://www.slackermanager.com/slacker_manager/2005/03/the_unspoken_la.html
[From the Slacker Manasger]
THE THOUSAND YARD STARE - When you're done listening, but your conversational counterpart isn't done talking, consider the Thousand Yard Stare. Simply gaze at something way in the distance. Even if there's nothing but an unadorned wall behind them. This is so unnerving that most people stop talking almost immediately. . .
THE SLOW CLAP - When your conversational counterpart says something particularly inane, the Slow Clap may save you some words you'd later regret. Three claps, adequately spaced, is usually sufficient to drive the point home. . .
THE STAND - Sometimes you've just got to get someone out of your office/cubicle so you can resume your solitaire game . . . Just stand up. Take it easy, though. Too fast and you look like you're about to rush to the restroom. Too slow and you look like you're stretching your legs. No need to say anything upon rising. Just stand. . .
THE LIP SMACK . . . To implement the Lip Smack, simply pretend that you're chewing gum loudly. The slower the better. Envision a cow chewing cud--that's about the rhythm you're aiming for. Don't be afraid to show that tongue. . .
THE FAST WALK - Incorporate The Fast Walk into your daily routine and watch people stay away from you. Turn it on as soon as you park the car at the office. The Fast Walk says you're busy. Combined with crossed arms, it says you're really, really angry. . .
OREGON GAS TAX THREATENS CIVIL LIBERTIES
http://www.washtimes.com/business/20050309-120530-6737r.htm
ANDREW JOHNSON, WASHINGTON TIMES - A planned program in Oregon would tax drivers by the number of miles they travel instead of by the amount of gasoline they use to compensate for an expected loss of revenue caused by increasing use of more fuel-efficient vehicles. Officials in California and Washington also are considering imposing a mileage tax as a way to drum up more money. . . The mileage fee, which would be computed whenever a person pumps a tank of gasoline at a service station, would replace the state's fuel tax and compensate for a projected loss of revenue resulting from increased use of hybrid and other fuel-efficient vehicles, Oregon officials say. . .
Vehicles would be fitted with a Global Positioning System, or GPS, that can tell when a car is being driven in state and out of state, Mr. Whitty said. When a person fills his gas tank, a device on the gas pump would read the in-state mileage recorded by the car's receiver and send the information to the service station's billing system, eliminating the fuel tax and tacking on the mileage fee. . .
Civil libertarians say the use of GPS technology in vehicles is a privacy violation because of the potential to track a person's whereabouts. Such concerns are based on inaccurate information because the technology would be used only to record whether a driver is traveling within a certain zone -- in state or out of state -- not the exact location, Mr. Whitty said. Organizations such as the San Diego-based Privacy Rights Clearinghouse maintain the technology could be used for recording more than mileage. "Today maybe they're tracking whether you're in the state or not, [but] tomorrow who knows what they'll track," said Beth Givens, director of the organization.
GIRL SCOUTS OF AMERICA GO TO RESCUE OF GIRL TICKETED FOR SELLING COOKIES
http://www.wnbc.com/news/4263089/detail.html
WNBC NY - The Girl Scouts of America is promising to come to the defense of a Long Island girl who was ticketed for selling scout cookies in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The flap happened over the weekend when 13-year-old Grace Marie Louis and her father, Howard Louis, were delivering cookies to their old neighborhood. They have since moved to Bethpage, Long Island, but the girl has gone back to the Brooklyn neighborhood for the last seven years to sell her girl scout cookies.
Her father had set up a card table next to their van to sort out the orders, and that's when a police captain and an another officer from the 94th Precinct came by in an unmarked car and shouted "Get over here, police."
The 55-year-old father wasn't sure they were legitimate police so he told his daughter to get in the van. The police ticketed Louis for selling cookies without a permit. The NYPD said Louis was selling the cookies from the table and the officer didn't see any Girl Scouts nearby. The Girl Scouts of Nassau County said Grace Marie has been one of their top cookie sellers since she joined the scouts in kindergarten. She's sold about 600 boxes for her Troop 3019. But she's afraid to go back to Williamsburg to finish making her deliveries.
The scouts said they will provide an attorney to the family when the father appears in Manhattan Criminal Court on April 11.
GREAT MOMENTS IN PROTEST
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/health/thehealthnews.html?in_page_id=1797
DAILY MAIL, UK - Two women who bared their breasts in protest were arrested and dragged away as Britain's Prince Charles arrived for an official function Tuesday in New Zealand's capital. The two women, described by police as taking part in "unrelated" protests, were later charged with disorderly behavior.
One woman climbed atop a wall, bared her chest and shouted "shame, shame" as Charles walked toward the City Art Gallery doorway. . . In an apparent protest against the monarchy, the woman had the message "Get your colonial shame off my breasts" scrawled across her chest and stomach. Reporters said the prince appeared to look in the woman's direction and smile as he entered the gallery.
AN AMERICAN woman has sent her tax payment to the IRS in an envelope stamped "LESBIAN MONEY."
HUNTER THOMPSON'S DEATH STIRRING QUESTIONS
NY POST PAGE SIX - Hunter S. Thompson's mysterious death really a suicide? There are some serious irregularities surrounding the demise of the gonzo author, who was found shot to death in the kitchen of his Woody Creek, Colo., ranch on Feb. 20, and local cops seemed to have done a lackluster job of investigating.
Police reports obtained by the Rocky Mountain News note that cops arriving on the scene heard shots being fired, that Thompson's son, Juan, was allowed to be alone with the body, and that there was something odd about the gun Thompson supposedly used to kill himself.
Before his death, Thompson seemed in good spirits and was not known to be depressed. And considering his long-winded style, the absence of a note seems strange - he'd typed only the single word "counselor."
There were no eyewitnesses to the shooting, only an "earwitness" - Thompson's wife, Anita, who was on the phone with him at the time and who later drank scotch with the corpse. Her account of the incident is inconsistent: She alternately has said that she heard a loud, muffled noise and that she heard nothing but clicking.
The behavior of Juan, who was in the house at the time of the shooting, also was unusual. Pitkin County Deputy Sheriff John Armstrong said that when investigators arrived on the scene they heard shots, but Juan assured them he had merely been firing off a salute to his dead dad. Investigator Joseph DiSalvo also let Juan enter the kitchen alone and drape a scarf over the body.
And in his report, Deputy Ron Ryan noted the semi-automatic Smith & Wesson 645 found next to Thompson's body was in an unusual condition. There was a spent shell casing, but although there were six bullets left in the gun's clip, there was no bullet in the firing chamber, as there should have been under normal circumstances.
DiSalvo said he did not check the gun, adding, "I think a bullet from the magazine should have cycled into the chamber" unless there was a "malfunction." A spent slug was found in the stove hood behind the body.
MEXICAN MAYOR ORDERS COPS TO READ ONE BOOK A MONTH
http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,6109,1432483,00.html
JO TUCKMAN, GUARDIAN - Police in a sprawling working-class suburb on the edge of the Mexican capital are to fight crime with a new weapon: books. The leftwing mayor of Nezahualcoyotl, Luis Sanchez, has ordered all 1,100 members of the municipal police to read at least one book a month or forfeit their chance of promotion. "We believe reading will improve their vocabulary and their writing skills, help them express themselves, order their ideas and communicate with the public," Mr Sanchez said. "Reading will make them better police officers and better people."
The list of recommended titles includes Mexican stalwarts such as The Labyrinth of Solitude by Octavio Paz, weighty classics such as Don Quixote, simpler gems such as The Little Prince and a number of crime novels. Once the program starts at the end of the month, there will be regular tests to verify that officers have read the books they name.
HOW TO GET PEOPLE OUT OF YOUR OFFICE
http://www.slackermanager.com/slacker_manager/2005/03/the_unspoken_la.html
[From the Slacker Manasger]
THE THOUSAND YARD STARE - When you're done listening, but your conversational counterpart isn't done talking, consider the Thousand Yard Stare. Simply gaze at something way in the distance. Even if there's nothing but an unadorned wall behind them. This is so unnerving that most people stop talking almost immediately. . .
THE SLOW CLAP - When your conversational counterpart says something particularly inane, the Slow Clap may save you some words you'd later regret. Three claps, adequately spaced, is usually sufficient to drive the point home. . .
THE STAND - Sometimes you've just got to get someone out of your office/cubicle so you can resume your solitaire game . . . Just stand up. Take it easy, though. Too fast and you look like you're about to rush to the restroom. Too slow and you look like you're stretching your legs. No need to say anything upon rising. Just stand. . .
THE LIP SMACK . . . To implement the Lip Smack, simply pretend that you're chewing gum loudly. The slower the better. Envision a cow chewing cud--that's about the rhythm you're aiming for. Don't be afraid to show that tongue. . .
THE FAST WALK - Incorporate The Fast Walk into your daily routine and watch people stay away from you. Turn it on as soon as you park the car at the office. The Fast Walk says you're busy. Combined with crossed arms, it says you're really, really angry. . .
posted by T. Scott Brineman at 10:40 PM
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