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Announcement: RRND/FND hiatus

Thomas L. Knapp — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:27:17 +0000

Don’t panic, folks — it’s not permanent. As a matter of fact, it’s not even long.

RRND has published for nearly 5 1/2 years now without missing a single non-holiday weekday edition. Sometimes it’s been web-only, a few times it’s been e-mail only, but we take our role as “the libertarian movement’s daily newspaper” seriously. It’s just that after 5 1/2 years a vacation seems in order, and we found the right time to keep it short, sweet and applicable.

Wednesday, May 21st will be the last edition before our break, and we’ll be back on Wednesday, May 28th — if not before. There might even be some light web posting during that off-period. Just nothing to count on and no email updates.

You’ve probably already noticed that that period overlaps a three-day holiday weekend, meaning we’ll miss only three editions.

You may have noticed that that period overlaps the Libertarian Party’s 2008 national convention as well, which is the main occasion for the break. Two or three of us will be at that convention (along with some of the ISIL / Laissez Faire Books folks!), and I should be doing some liveblogging from it for Third Party Watch.

Other RRND/FND editors may be spending their breaks at songwriting festivals, or just hanging out with friends, family and no newsgathering duties for the first time in more than 1,400 editions.

Watch this space for more details, and thank you for your patience and understanding.

Regards,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review

Barr enters Libertarian presidential race

Thomas L. Knapp — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:26:37 +0000

“Bob Barr, a onetime Republican congressman from Georgia, on Monday announced his plan to run for president as a Libertarian, promising to rein in federal spending and limit military involvement abroad. ‘The government has run amok fiscally,’ Barr said at a news conference. During the first quarter of this year, he said, the private sector lost millions of jobs while the federal government was ‘hiring with enthusiasm.’ Barr, who left the Republican Party two years ago, is expected to win the Libertarian Party’s nomination during its convention this month in Denver.” [editor’s note: “Expected” by whom? Reports of a coronation are premature! - TLK] (05/13/08)

IA: Hundreds abducted in meat plant raid

Thomas L. Knapp — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:23:10 +0000

“Federal immigration agents in northeastern Iowa have arrested at least 300 people in a raid on the world’s largest kosher meatpacking plant. U.S. Attorney Matt M. Dummermuth says the raid on the Agriprocessors Inc. plant in Postville is the largest operation of its kind in Iowa history and followed months of planning.” (05/13/08)

Iraq: Fourteen killed in Sadr City fighting

Thomas L. Knapp — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:21:25 +0000

“At least three militiamen were killed overnight by American troops in Baghdad’s Shiite bastion of Sadr City, the US military said on Tuesday, despite a truce agreed at the weekend. … Iraqi medical and security sources said 11 people were killed in violence overnight in Sadr City. They said another 20 people were wounded, mainly in air strikes. However, the US military denied their air attacks caused those casualties.”

Lawmakers want Bush to stop shipping oil to reserve

Thomas L. Knapp — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:18:51 +0000

“Amid daily bipartisan sniping over high gas prices, Democrats and Republicans appear to agree on at least one thing: With oil over $120 a barrel, President George W. Bush ought to stop buying crude for the government emergency reserve. Both the House and Senate are expected to approve, with bipartisan support, legislation Tuesday directing Bush to temporarily halt the shipment of about 70,000 barrels of oil a day to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Bush has refused to do so, arguing that this small amount of oil won’t impact prices and that for security reasons he wants to increase the stockpile to its full capacity of 726 million barrels. It now has about 701 million barrels, equal to nearly two months of oil imports.” (05/13/08)

Supreme Court refuses to hear forced abortion case

Steve Trinward — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:18:35 +0000

“The US Supreme Court has declined to take up a case examining whether a Chinese national should be granted political asylum in the United States because his wife was forced to abort their first child under China’s harsh population-control measures. The action, announced on Monday, means that lower court rulings rejecting the Chinese citizen’s asylum claims remain in place. At issue in the case was whether the spouse of someone who had suffered directly under the Chinese program — enduring a forced abortion or sterilization — could claim political asylum in the US.” (05/13/08)

Israel: Police raid city offices in Olmert fraud probe

Thomas L. Knapp — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:17:33 +0000

“Authorities raided municipal offices in Jerusalem on Monday as part of a fraud investigation involving Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, police said. Investigators did not disclose the substance of documents that were seized in the raid, which occurred the same day that police questioned American businessman Morris Talansky about contributions he made to Olmert’s campaigns, according to the Israeli daily, Haaretz. Police are investigating whether Olmert illegally accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from Talansky while he was mayor of Jerusalem and the nation’s Minister of Industry Trade and Labor.” (05/12/08)

Study links air pollution, blood clots in veins

Thomas L. Knapp — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:16:03 +0000

“Air pollution heavy in small particles may cause blood clots in the legs, the same condition air travelers call ‘economy class syndrome’ from immobility during flight, researchers said on Monday. Dr. Andrea Baccarelli of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and colleagues said they found the link after looking at 870 people in Italy who had developed deep vein thrombosis between 1995 and 2005. … Air pollution from automobiles and industry can contain tiny particles of carbon, nitrates, metals and other materials that have been linked over the years to a variety of health problems. While lung diseases were an initial concern, later research has indicated it may cause heart disease and stroke, possibly because it increases the rate at which blood can coagulate, Baccarelli and colleagues said.” (05/12/08)

Court to hear families on vaccine-autism link

Thomas L. Knapp — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:13:41 +0000

“For the second time this year, families claiming that vaccinations triggered autism in their young children will head to a federal court to determine whether they are eligible to collect damages from the government. The case, which begins today, offers two 10-year-old boys from Portland, Ore. — William Mead and Jordan King — as test cases for the theory that thimerosal-containing vaccines, on their own, cause autism.” (05/12/08)

MA: Activists push to repeal state income tax

Steve Trinward — Tue, 13 May 2008 04:09:26 +0000

“A group of antitax activists launched a campaign over the weekend to abolish the state income tax, setting the stage for a contentious public battle if the measure is added to the ballot this fall. After pushing a similar initiative that almost passed six years ago, a group called the Committee for Small Government is back for another round, asking voters to end the income tax and save the average taxpayer $3,600 a year. The group, led by libertarian Carla Howell, is almost certain to gather the 11,000 signatures needed to put a question on the November ballot. To say that state officials are worried about the prospect would be an understatement.” [editor’s note: Go, Carla! As this battle continues, they may get closer and closer each time, until … dare we speak? Taxachusetts sheds its moniker? - SAT] (05/12/08)

Next president might be gentler on pot clubs

Steve Trinward — Tue, 13 May 2008 04:06:45 +0000

“Ever since California voters became the first in the nation to legalize medical marijuana in 1996, the state has faced unyielding opposition from the federal government, which insists it has the power to prohibit a drug it considers useless and dangerous. That could all change with the next presidential election. As the candidates prepare for a May 20 primary in Oregon, one of 12 states with a California-style law, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois has become an increasingly firm advocate of ending federal intervention and letting states make their own rules when it comes to medical marijuana.” [editor’s note: With McCain courting the troglodyte Right, and Obama having to out-moderate Old John … fat chance of this happening! - SAT] (05/12/08)

Ron Paul, still a candidate, heads to GOP convention showdown

Steve Trinward — Tue, 13 May 2008 04:05:20 +0000

“Ron Paul has no chance of winning the Republican presidential nomination this year, but he continues to head toward the party’s National Convention with an ardent group of supporters and a second-phase strategy aimed at raising the profile of his libertarian-leaning issues. John McCain locked down the delegates he needs to win the nomination two months ago, but Paul continues to be a draw on primary ballots. Just last week in North Carolina, Paul took 7 percent of the vote along with five convention delegates. He similarly won 8 percent of the votes in Indiana, although he didn’t pick up any delegates there.” [editor’s note: If Ron has an agenda in mind, it’s still open to speculation; one can only hope it has something to do with injecting a little liberty into the GOP program somehow - SAT] (05/12/08)

Many filers denied tax rebate due to spouse

Steve Trinward — Tue, 13 May 2008 04:03:56 +0000

“When Maulit Shelat heard about the Bush administration’s plan to pump up the economy by sending out stimulus checks, he sat down with his wife and drew up a list of priorities. But Shelat is married to a foreigner who hasn’t completed the often years-long process that would let her apply for a Social Security number. Because they filed jointly, her not having that number makes him ineligible for the rebate checks that started going out last week. He is among an estimated hundreds of thousands of taxpayers — from legal immigrants to soldiers based abroad — who won’t be getting a share of the stimulus package because of a provision aimed at preventing illegal immigrants from getting rebates.” [editor’s note: Did anyone not know this was a scam to sniff out “illegals?” - SAT](05/12/08)

NY: Hamptons’ foreclosures skyrocketing

Steve Trinward — Tue, 13 May 2008 04:01:00 +0000

“Homeowners in the some of the toniest ZIP codes in the Hamptons are facing a frightening reality — they can’t afford to foot the bill for their high-priced homes, The Post has learned. In the first three months of this year, banks have launched preliminary foreclosure actions — known as lis pendens proceedings — against a record 120 borrowers in East Hampton and Southampton towns. Twenty percent of those borrowers live in homes that are worth more than $1 million, according to figures from the Suffolk County clerk. And the list gets longer every week.” (05/12/08)

High gas prices provoke symbolic protests

Mary Lou Seymour — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:42:35 +0000

“Americans facing rising gasoline and diesel prices are cycling about, saddling up, singing out and, sometimes, resorting to violent symbolism. Dozens of Alabama students are bicycling up to 10 miles each way to their rural high school. An Indiana man was arrested for belting out a protest song, ‘Price Gouge’n,’ from the roof of a convenience store. A sign-maker in Kentucky is riding his horse on business errands. And a Tennessee sheriff is investigating a more disturbing protest: a slain deer hanging from a gasoline station sign.” (05/12/08)

UK: Hi-tech tool spots child drinkers

Mary Lou Seymour — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:41:08 +0000

“The supermarket chain Budgens has installed face recognition cameras in one of its stores to stop children buying alcohol and cigarettes. It is thought to be the first time a UK retailer has used the technology to identify underage customers. The scheme is being piloted at an unnamed branch of Budgens in London. If the system recognises someone who has previously been unable to prove they are 18, a signal alerts the cashier who will refuse to serve them. Facial recognition software makes a unique template of an individual’s features by taking measurements between key points on the face.” (05/12/08)

TX: Neighbor comes to woman’s aid, shoots robber

Mary Lou Seymour — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:40:05 +0000

“Police said a man who tried to rob a donut store was shot and killed by a man who lives near the store Friday morning. The robber broke into the store in the 100 block of Roberts Cut Off Road in West Fort Worth and terrorized the woman who was working there, police said. Police said the woman, Angel Randle, ran out the back door screaming for help. The neighbor heard the pleas, grabbed his shotgun and then fatally shot the robber, police said.” (05/11/08)

GA: Law protects armed homeowners

Mary Lou Seymour — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:32:16 +0000

“In Georgia and more than 18 other states, you would be in no legal troubles, because those states have similar versions of a ‘defense of habitation’ law, sometimes known as the Castle Doctrine or, by its pejorative, the ‘Make My Day’ law. Modeled after a law passed in 1987 by the Oklahoma Legislature, and a similar one in Florida years later, the Georgia version has been tweaked and amended in recent years. Instead of justifying the use of deadly force only when the intruder makes a ‘violent and tumultuous’ entrance that causes the resident to expect to be assaulted, or causing the resident to believe that the intruder is about to commit a felony, Georgia in 2001 added a section to its defense of habitation law authorizing use of deadly force against any intruder — not a family member — who forcibly enters a residence. ‘It does give (a resident) a little more leeway to defend himself without having to ask so many questions,’ said University of Georgia Law Professor Donald E. Wilkins Jr. ‘You shouldn’t have to ask questions of intruders and then shoot to protect yourself. You ought not to have to interview them.’” (05/12/08)

UK: Housing market worst for 30 years

Mary Lou Seymour — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:30:17 +0000

“Confidence in Britain’s housing market has sunk to its lowest level for more than 30 years, figures to be published today will reveal, as property prices continue to fall and mortgage lenders restrict home loan finance. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) says that 95 per cent more surveyors reported a fall in house prices in April than a rise, the worst figure it has reported since it began publishing monthly property market surveys in January 1978. In some areas of the country, including East Anglia, the North and North-west of England, not a single surveyor reported house price increases, with 100 per cent reporting declines during April. Even in Scotland, where the housing market has been more robust in recent months, Rics says more surveyors are now reporting house price falls than rises.” (05/12/08)

China: Beer bottle solar heater

Mary Lou Seymour — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:21:37 +0000

“A Chinese peasant has made a solar water heater — using only beers bottles and hoses. The beer bottles lie on a board in rows, all connected by hoses which allow cold water to flow through them and be heated by the sun. ‘I invented this for my mother. I wanted her to shower at any time more comfortably,’ says Ma Yanjun, a carpenter, of Qiqiao village, Shaanxi Province. ‘A real solar water heater is too expensive to me, so I came up with the idea of making one on my own. I hope this invention can be promoted nationwide, and allow mothers in undeveloped rural areas to have a hot shower.’ Ma has now helped more than 20 families in the village to make and install their own beer bottle solar water-heaters.” (05/12/08)