Monthly Archives: November 2003

Cat in The Hat, The Movie, Falls Flat

Posted on November 21, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

The film does not shine
It's a ripoff, they say
Which we knew in advance
From the adverts they play

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Posted in Kultcha | 1 Comment

Is “Is the Blogosphere Sexist?” The Right Question?

Posted on November 21, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

David Pollard (who has a wonderful, wonderful Blog called How To Save the World asks, Is the Blogosphere Sexist?. I think it's a fine essay, but I wonder if it's the right question.

First, I'd like to know, 'Compared to What'? I teach on a faculty that has far fewer women then men, so I'm prepared to believe there is a fair amount of sexism remaining in society. (On the other hand, we have had three female Deans in our fairly short history, including one whose ghost all but still walks the halls, so it's not all bad news here.) So the question may not be “are blogs sexist” but rather “to what extent to do blogs replicate or transcend existing patterns of behavior”.

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Posted in Blogs | 1 Comment

Alcee Hastings Won’t Run For Senate

Posted on November 20, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

Hastings Decides Against Fla. Senate Bid. Well, although he had a shot at the nomination, he had no real chance to be elected. Which is sort of a shame, as he is a very impressive human when seen up close.

I guess this partly explains the mystery of Hastings's endorsement of Lieberman — Hastings didn't care about the tactical implications for a Senate race because he wasn't making one.

Posted in Florida | 2 Comments

Notes From FTAA Fontlines

Posted on November 20, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

FTAA IMC. It looks from this page as if the police in Miami are on a hair trigger — which fits with everything we've been reading in the local press for the last couple of weeks. It would be tempting to dismiss this web page as agitprop — and it may be — but certainly the cops came armed for bear.

The mainstream media reports, Thousands march peacefully after early clashes. It starts off with how great things are, but the further you go into the article, the less great they sound — although so far at least there have been no major incidents, just many minor ones.

Even the boosterish Herald reports,

Among those arrested today: Marc Steier, an attorney with Miami Activist Defense, which defends the rights of protesters. He said he was seized by police early this morning and charged with obstruction of justice as he attempted to assist protesters.

''I didn't last 25 minutes on the street,'' he said.

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Posted in Miami | Comments Off on Notes From FTAA Fontlines

Money Map: A Great Way to Display Information

Posted on November 20, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

This is a simply wonderful way to display one type of information: a map of the US showing where candidates are getting their money. (Via Joho The Blog.)

Posted in Internet | 1 Comment

More Arar

Posted on November 20, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

Here's some general information relating to the Arar case, including a timeline and a discussion of one of the relevant limits on the use of torture. The last two links suggest that it was the Canadians who fingered Arar to the US authorities, although whether they did so a routine matter or in the hopes that the US would do Canada's dirty work is not addressed. The Canadians do say that they never expected Arar to be sent to Syria, and didn't get advance warning of the transfer, although if that was the point of the exercise why would they?

  • Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) Arar timeline
  • Wikipedia Entry
  • Lawyers Committee Urges Investigation Into US Actions in Syrian Torture Case (Nov. 7, 2003), which says,

    Article 3 of the Convention on Torture, to which the United States is a party, states:

    No State Party shall expel, return ('refouler') or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture…. For the purpose of determining whether there are such grounds, the competent authorities shall take into account all relevant considerations including, where applicable, the existence in the State concerned of a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights.

    U.S. treaty obligations and policy have been implemented through regulations issued by the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and the State Department, that codify the United States' commitment not to send individuals to another country where they are likely to be tortured. Among other protections, these binding regulations require that individuals facing deportation or extradition be given an opportunity to be heard on the likelihood of torture in the country to which they are facing return. The Arar case suggests that either those procedures are not being followed, or that they are inadequate.

  • Ottawa asks U.S. for explanation of Arar case, but turns down public inquiry (Nov. 5, 2003)
  • Joseph Reagle, You Might Know a Terrorist, and Pay For It
  • Amnesty Canada
  • Canada supplied information used against Arar, says solicitor general (Nov. 19, 2003)

One should not be especially hopeful about the domestic Canadian inquiries unless Parliament or the Prime Minister set up a special independent panel, as the track record of police self-investigation in Canada isn't great. The standard police complaints body lacks the authority to get information from the security services, much less any means by which it can even send queries to the US side.

Posted in Civil Liberties | Comments Off on More Arar