Just finished reading Death’s Acre, all about the “Body Farm,” (which is the world’s only facility dedicated to understanding how human bodies decompose), and how the information gleaned from that facility has helped to solve crimes. It’s written by the founder of the body farm, Bill Bass, and a journalist co-writer. If you can handle […]
Archive | Law
FREEEEEEEEDOM!
Two (sort of) freedom of speech issues are in the news in Europe lately. I think I disagree with the way they’ve handled both of them. 1. The EU has passed a law making it illegal to deny genocides (or claim that they were less than they were). This only works for genocides that fall […]
The Law. Plus Bonus Trivia!
When you’re shopping for a couch, especially online, you may notice that certain sellers outside your state will sell you the couch without charging sales tax. You may think to yourself that this is a pretty good deal (especially if the shipping is free). But note that the law in your state probably says that […]
Kash for Kidneys
Apparently, if you need a new kidney, Iran is the place to be. There’s no waiting list, because donors are at the ready. In Iran, donors get paid about a third of the average national annual salary to donate. Iran says: 1. In the chain of people helping to get a kidney from donor to […]
Parents Who REALLY Want to be Grandparents
In Israel, courts just allowed parents to use their dead son’s sperm to impregnate a woman he never met. (Link) In short, the soldier died, and the parents had his sperm extracted from his dead body. They then advertised to attract women who might want to be impregnated by this sperm. They found one, and […]
Gattaca
The President calls for a ban on genetic discrimination. (Link) I betcha this will be a very important topic of our future world. As the (very short) article says, banning this kind of discrimination would have at least two effects: 1. It would eliminate the fear that people might have about getting checked for possible […]
Condi’s Counselor
John Bellinger, the top lawyer at the State Department, is guest blogging this week at Opinio Juris. (Link) Bellinger will write a post a day (allowing comments from the masses), followed by posts by “Guest Respondents,†who will comment on what he said. If this isn’t a sign of the power of blogging today, then […]
No ID Flying. Yes, Again.
I’ve posted before about flying without showing any ID. In that story, a guy named John Gilmore challenged people to fly without showing their ID. He doubted that they’d be able to without being harassed. As it happens, the travelers made it through without a problem, but they had to submit to a tougher physical […]
Law
I love reading smart non-fiction writers. I love finding a flaw, or an unexplained item, then having the writer point it out and polish it away. The writer says, “you may be thinking, ‘if X then Y.’ But that’s not true because A and B.†And I say, “yeah! I was thinking that!†I can […]
Freedom to Lie
Ok, first of all, alert readers may notice that it’s been more than a week since my last post. I’ve been house-sitting, away from my computer, and sick with a cold. As you can see, I subscribe to the shotgun approach to excuses, but coincidentally, they all happen to be true. Onwards: David Duke made […]