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Legal and Moral Dilemmas of Drone Strikes in a Free Society | Campaign for Liberty: "When asked about how it was possible that 16 –year-old Al-Awlaki could have been targeted, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said, “I would suggest that you should have a far more responsible father if they are truly concerned about the wellbeing of their children.” This sort of talk from high level Obama officials is disgraceful and shows a lack of respect for innocent human life."
Friday, October 26, 2012
Drones in Djibouti | Campaign for Liberty
Drones in Djibouti | Campaign for Liberty: "In March 2011, a Predator parked at the camp started its engine without any human direction, even though the ignition had been turned off and the fuel lines closed. Technicians concluded that a software bug had infected the “brains” of the drone, but never pinpointed the problem.
“After that whole starting-itself incident, we were fairly wary of the aircraft and watched it pretty closely,” an unnamed Air Force squadron commander testified to an investigative board, according to a transcript. “Right now, I still think the software is not good.”
The article goes on to note that in 2011, the Djibouti base experienced a number of crashes with the drones, having at one point lost four drones in four months. That should be particularly disturbing to readers when one considers the Federal Aviation Administration estimates that by 2020, there could be 30,000 drones flying over America."
“After that whole starting-itself incident, we were fairly wary of the aircraft and watched it pretty closely,” an unnamed Air Force squadron commander testified to an investigative board, according to a transcript. “Right now, I still think the software is not good.”
The article goes on to note that in 2011, the Djibouti base experienced a number of crashes with the drones, having at one point lost four drones in four months. That should be particularly disturbing to readers when one considers the Federal Aviation Administration estimates that by 2020, there could be 30,000 drones flying over America."
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Ohio student punished for growing his hair for charity, school says it violates dress code | Fox News
Ohio student punished for growing his hair for charity, school says it violates dress code | Fox News: "He's been growing out his hair for Locks of Love, which uses donated hair to make hairpieces for kids who have lost their own due to disease.
Aufderheide had told the school of his intentions, but on Monday was told he would be suspended. His hair is only an inch away from the 10 inches needed to donate to the charity.
Canton Local School Board President John Martin tells WJW-TV (http://bit.ly/P2g1Ch) that while he respects the student's efforts, rules are rules."
They can't see the forest for the trees!
Aufderheide had told the school of his intentions, but on Monday was told he would be suspended. His hair is only an inch away from the 10 inches needed to donate to the charity.
Canton Local School Board President John Martin tells WJW-TV (http://bit.ly/P2g1Ch) that while he respects the student's efforts, rules are rules."
They can't see the forest for the trees!
Monday, October 22, 2012
U.N. calls for 'anti-terror' Internet surveillance | Politics and Law - CNET News
U.N. calls for 'anti-terror' Internet surveillance | Politics and Law - CNET News: "one of the major problems confronting all law enforcement agencies is the lack of an internationally agreed framework for retention of data held by ISPs."
Privacy rights do make it harder for law enforcement. But some people do value privacy too. :-/
Privacy rights do make it harder for law enforcement. But some people do value privacy too. :-/
Police: Fiance of pregnant NYC woman who was stabbed to death has a wife in NJ | Fox News
Police: Fiance of pregnant NYC woman who was stabbed to death has a wife in NJ | Fox News: "The fetus did not survive."
That sure is a contorted sentence!
That sure is a contorted sentence!
Tax-Raisers Lack Compassion | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary
Tax-Raisers Lack Compassion | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "even though nearly all agree that involuntary unemployment is harmful to the individual and society, many policymakers are willing to accept it rather than focus on what can be done to prevent it."
"President Obama and his Democratic allies like to say they want to return to the Clinton-era tax rates (actually, they are proposing higher rates, given the additional taxes from Obamacare), but they leave out the fact that federal spending during the second Clinton administration was just 18 percent of GDP, not the current 23 percent. The empirical evidence (contrary to left-wing dogma) shows that economic growth and job creation slow as government gets bigger.
Those who support politicians whose policies are almost certain to produce low growth at best and then claim they care about the physical and mental well-being of the unemployed are either ignoring the historical evidence or are hypocrites. They are not compassionate."
"President Obama and his Democratic allies like to say they want to return to the Clinton-era tax rates (actually, they are proposing higher rates, given the additional taxes from Obamacare), but they leave out the fact that federal spending during the second Clinton administration was just 18 percent of GDP, not the current 23 percent. The empirical evidence (contrary to left-wing dogma) shows that economic growth and job creation slow as government gets bigger.
Those who support politicians whose policies are almost certain to produce low growth at best and then claim they care about the physical and mental well-being of the unemployed are either ignoring the historical evidence or are hypocrites. They are not compassionate."
Why Partisans Can’t Explain Their Views - NYTimes.com
Why Partisans Can’t Explain Their Views - NYTimes.com: "The real surprise is what happens after these same individuals are asked to explain how these policy ideas work: they become more moderate in their political views — either in support of such policies or against them. In fact, not only do their attitudes change, but so does their behavior. In one of our experiments, for example, after attempting to explain how various policy ideas would actually work, people became less likely to donate to organizations that supported the positions they had initially favored.
Interestingly, asking people to justify their position — rather than asking them to explain the mechanisms by which a policy would work — doesn’t tend to soften their political views. When we asked participants to state the reasons they were for or against a policy position, their initial attitudes held firm."
Interestingly, asking people to justify their position — rather than asking them to explain the mechanisms by which a policy would work — doesn’t tend to soften their political views. When we asked participants to state the reasons they were for or against a policy position, their initial attitudes held firm."
Monday, October 15, 2012
Facebook photos of undercover cop get woman arrested | Technically Incorrect - CNET News
Facebook photos of undercover cop get woman arrested | Technically Incorrect - CNET News: "You might pause to consider that -- were you an undercover cop -- you might be careful about your Facebook profile. You might wonder whether you should have one at all. You might certainly be intimately au fait with Facebook's vast array of privacy controls."
Sunday, October 14, 2012
The Malala moment: Tens of thousands rally in Pakistan for girl shot by Taliban - CSMonitor.com
The Malala moment: Tens of thousands rally in Pakistan for girl shot by Taliban - CSMonitor.com: "Tens of thousands rallied in Pakistan's largest city Sunday in the biggest show of support yet for a 14-year-old girl who was shot and seriously wounded by the Taliban for promoting girls' education and criticizing the militant group."
Friday, October 12, 2012
The Real Problem with Helicopter Parents: There Aren't Enough of Them | Brink Lindsey | Cato Institute: Commentary
The Real Problem with Helicopter Parents: There Aren't Enough of Them | Brink Lindsey | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Prior to 1995, college-educated moms averaged about 12 hours a week with their kids, compared to about 11 hours for less-educated moms. By 2007, though, the figure for less-educated moms had risen to nearly 16 hours while that for college-educated moms had soared all the way to 21 hours. Similar trends were observed for fathers: The time that college-educated dads spent with their kids rose from 5 to 10 hours, while for less-educated dads the increase was from around 4 hours to around 8 hours.
So while the time parents spend with children living at home has increased across the board, the trend has been especially pronounced among highly-educated households. The parental attention gap is growing."
"since the '70s, divorce rates among the highly educated have fallen significantly; among non-college grads, by contrast, they have stayed high."
"by the time they reach age three, children of professional parents have heard some 45 million words addressed to them — as opposed to only 26 million words for working-class kids, and a mere 13 million words in the case of kids on welfare. By the time kids start school, kids of well-educated parents are much better prepared than their classmates. Consequently, they're much more likely to receive praise and encouragement from their teachers, which means their attitudes about being in school are much more likely to be positive. Even relatively small advantages conferred early in life can thus snowball over time.
The deliberate practice that is going on constantly in well-educated homes extends beyond purely intellectual pursuits. As they march their kids through the weekly gauntlet of organized activities, the practitioners of concerted cultivation are drilling their kids in a host of skills critical to academic and economic success. Skills like managing one's time by making and keeping schedules, getting along with other people from different backgrounds on the basis of common interests, and deferring gratification in order to maximize rewards down the road."
So while the time parents spend with children living at home has increased across the board, the trend has been especially pronounced among highly-educated households. The parental attention gap is growing."
"since the '70s, divorce rates among the highly educated have fallen significantly; among non-college grads, by contrast, they have stayed high."
"by the time they reach age three, children of professional parents have heard some 45 million words addressed to them — as opposed to only 26 million words for working-class kids, and a mere 13 million words in the case of kids on welfare. By the time kids start school, kids of well-educated parents are much better prepared than their classmates. Consequently, they're much more likely to receive praise and encouragement from their teachers, which means their attitudes about being in school are much more likely to be positive. Even relatively small advantages conferred early in life can thus snowball over time.
The deliberate practice that is going on constantly in well-educated homes extends beyond purely intellectual pursuits. As they march their kids through the weekly gauntlet of organized activities, the practitioners of concerted cultivation are drilling their kids in a host of skills critical to academic and economic success. Skills like managing one's time by making and keeping schedules, getting along with other people from different backgrounds on the basis of common interests, and deferring gratification in order to maximize rewards down the road."
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