Daily Archives: July 7, 2012

Ron Paul's next revolution: Internet freedom

Posted: July 7, 2012 at 7:11 pm

Ron Paul, the man who brought 'End the Fed' into Republican mainstream now has tabbed Internet freedom as a new crusade to be carried on by his son Rand in the Senate.

It doesn't have quite the ring of "End the Fed," but Ron Paul's next revolution is a little more tuned in to the 21st century: the battle for Internet freedom.

The Texas congressman and GOP presidential candidate made eliminating the Federal Reserve the cornerstone of his libertarian political program for more than three decades. Alongside his son, Sen. Rand Paul (R) of Kentucky, however, the Paul movement is going to shift gears to online liberty after Paul pre's bill to audit the Fed gets its moment in the sun in the House later this month. (The bill will die there, however, as it has no prospects in a Senate controlled by Democrats.)

The announcement, built into a manifesto called "The Technology Revolution," released today, from the Paul-backing grassroots group Campaign for Liberty, raises three questions. What does the family Paul want out of Internet freedom? Will they be successful? And what does the change do for the libertarian movement more broadly?

The manifesto builds its case around two fundamental views: the Internet moves faster than government's ability to regulate it and the main obstacles to economy progress and individual freedom online come from government intervention.

"Around the world, the real threat to Internet freedom comes not from bad people or inefficient markets we can and will always route around them but from governments' foolish attempts to manage and control innovation," according to the manifesto.

But it's not just government that draws libertarian ire.

"The road to tyranny is being paved by a collectivist-Industrial complex a dangerous brew of wealthy, international NGO's, progressive do-gooders, corporate cronies and sympathetic political elites" that want to shackle the Internet, according to the manifesto.

Success in this struggle is, like so much else in the Paul canon, about keeping meddling hands out of the way so that markets and individuals can make their own decisions.

"Technology revolutionaries succeed because of the decentralized nature of the Internet which defies government control," according to the manifesto.

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Muhammad Ali given 2012 Liberty Medal

Posted: at 7:11 pm

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali was awarded the 2012 Liberty Medal, the Philadelphia-based National Constitution Center announced. March 24 file photo. UPI/Art Foxall

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PHILADELPHIA, July 6 (UPI) -- Boxing legend Muhammad Ali was awarded the 2012 Liberty Medal, the Philadelphia-based National Constitution Center announced.

The Liberty Medal is awarded annually to a person or organization that is working toward ensuring liberty for people worldwide.

Ali's selection for the award was made public Thursday by the center. Officials from the center said Ali has been an champion of constitutional principles while working to expand the concept of "We the people," the Philadelphia Inquirer reported

Center president David Eisner said Ali "will be the face of the Constitution's 225th anniversary."

"Muhammad Ali symbolizes all that makes America great, while pushing us as a people and as a nation to be better," he said.

A formal award ceremony to honor Ali will be held in Philadelphia in September. Because Ali's movement and speech have been deteriorating due to Parkinson's disease, his wife, Yolanda, will speak at the ceremony on his behalf, the report said.

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San Jacinto County offers ways to cut costs for Liberty County Jail

Posted: at 7:11 pm

As Liberty County seeks to cut costs to operating its jail facility, San Jacinto County offers possible ways to save money by housing inmates and demonstrating how a county can run a jail cheaper than private contractors.

San Jacinto County recently renewed its jail contract to house inmates for Trinity County at a rate of $38 per day. If Liberty County has 155 inmates in jail, they can pay $71.12 per inmate. The amount paid is on a sliding scale. As more inmates are housed, the price decreases. If it falls below 150, the price is the actual cost plus 15 percent.

San Jacinto County has had previous experience with housing inmates from other areas such as Polk County. At one time, San Jacinto was housing 50 inmates for Polk County, according to Capt. Thomas J. Bartlet, jail supervisor.

Bartlet said that his jail has the capacity and staff to house extra inmates from other counties and has actively sought such arrangements in the past. He supposed that they could house Liberty County inmates with adjustments made for transporting inmates to court and coverage of medical costs.

San Jacinto County Jail has an average daily inmate population of 73.08 inmates, according to Bartlet. The jail is supervised by Bartlet and is operated by four Sheriffs Office deputies, 12 jailers and an administrative assistant for a total of 18 county employees operating a jail that can house up to 144 inmates. The annual budget is approximately $1.8 million.

The inmate number includes female inmates and segregated inmates which require special detention facilities, according to Bartlet.

Liberty County has contracted with Community Education Centers, a private jail operation company, to run their county jail. There are 55 CEC employees at the jail, which consists of 31 correctional officers and the rest are support staff positions such as medical personnel, clerks and human resources. The annual jail budget for Liberty County is approximately $4 million.

The Liberty County Jail has a capacity of 389 which is 303 at the new jail and 86 at the old jail. They currently house approximately 170 inmates per day due to a personal recognizance bond program which releases first-time, nonviolent offenders to reduce costs instead of keeping them in jail while they await trial.

The new program has reduced the daily inmate population by approximately 100 inmates which has saved the county $1 million during its first year.

While on the surface, the prices seem very competitive when contrasted with Liberty County, other factors make the option not as simple as comparing prices, according to Wes Hinch, Liberty County Attorney.

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Liberty hold off Sky

Posted: at 7:11 pm

ROSEMONT, Ill. Cappie Pondexter scored a team-high 19 points, including a pair of key late free throws, and the LIberty held off a late Sky comeback for a 64-59 victory on Friday night.

The win was the second straight for the Liberty (6-9) and first in two tries over Chicago.

I knew they would make a run at home, Pondexter said. We showed we really wanted to win. We had to dig deep at the end and take control of the game. We had to settle down and take their momentum away.

Chicago (8-6) trailed 61-59 following Sylvia Fowles bank shot with 1:23 left, but missed a chance to tie on a turnover with 48 seconds to play.

Pondexter, fouled on an inbound pass with 19.3 seconds left, hit two free throws to open a four-point Liberty lead.

We just told them to win it on defense and rebounding, Liberty coach John Whisenant said. We had trouble scoring and I knew it would be that way. We missed some baskets that were easy, but so did they. They missed some putbacks. Ill take the way it was.

Essence Carson had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Leilani Mitchell had 12 points and Kara Braxton added 11 for the Liberty.

Fowles paced Chicago with 20 points, while Tamera Young added 16. The Sky shot 6 for 21 from the free-throw line and their 28.6 percent from the line was a franchise low.

We just threw it away, Fowles said. We had no sense of urgency. I dont know why. We missed free throws, 10 missed layups. Weve been talking about this since Day 1. The coaches do everything they need to do to prepare us for the game. Its so frustrating. This is not OK. I dont know what its going to take. Weve got to dig deep and win as a team.

Pondexter had seven first-quarter points including a 3-point play with 11.3 seconds left as the Liberty opened an 18-14 lead. Chicago hit just three of 11 free throws and went 5 for 14 from the field.

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Liberty upend Sky 64-59

Posted: at 7:11 pm

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) -- Cappie Pondexter scored a team-high 19 points, including a pair of key late free throws, and New York held off a late Chicago comeback for a 64-59 victory on Friday night.

The win was the second straight for the Liberty (6-9) and first in two tries over Chicago.

''I knew they would make a run at home,'' Pondexter said. ''We showed we really wanted to win. We had to dig deep at the end and take control of the game. We had to settle down and take their momentum away.''

The Sky (8-6) trailed 61-59 following Sylvia Fowles' bank shot with 1:23 left, but missed a chance to tie on a turnover with 48 seconds to play.

Pondexter, fouled on an inbound pass with 19.3 seconds left, hit two free throws to open a four-point Liberty lead.

''We just told them to win it on defense and rebounding,'' Liberty coach John Whisenant said. ''We had trouble scoring and I knew it would be that way. We missed some baskets that were easy, but so did they. They missed some putbacks. I'll take the way it was.''

Essence Carson had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Leilani Mitchell had 12 points and Kara Braxton added 11 for New York.

Fowles paced Chicago with 20 points, while Tamera Young added 16. The Sky shot 6 for 21 from the free-throw line and their 28.6 percent from the line was a franchise low.

''We just threw it away,'' Fowles said. ''We had no sense of urgency. I don't know why. We missed free throws, 10 missed layups. We've been talking about this since Day 1. The coaches do everything they need to do to prepare us for the game. It's so frustrating. This is not OK. I don't know what it's going to take. We've got to dig deep and win as a team.''

Pondexter had seven first-quarter points - including a 3-point play with 11.3 seconds left - as New York opened an 18-14 lead. Chicago hit just three of 11 free throws and went 5 for 14 from the field.

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‘Free speech’ zones scratched

Posted: at 7:10 pm

WILLIAMSBURG When City Council considered creating free speech zones in the Historic Area to cope with loud demonstrators and street preachers, the idea raised the threat of a lawsuit from the Rutherford Institute, a conservative civil rights group.

The city is apparently backing down. The new solution isnt to tell speakers where they can speak, but how loud. Staff is recommending tweaking the noise ordinance to 75 decibels during the day and 65 decibels at night on public streets and sidewalks. The current ordinance is 65 and 55, respectively, within 10 feet.

The chiming of church bells would be exempt, along with activities by Colonial Williamsburg such as the Revolutionary City street theater.

City Manager Jack Tuttle said Friday, We hope this will solve the problem without raising the objections we heard to the previous proposal.

The citys initial response was to ponder demonstration areas that were well away from the restaurants. The earlier idea would have moved them and ban amplification without a permit. Tuttle said the new approach doesnt address amplification. Its not amplification, its a decibel level, he said.

City police have portable decibel meters. They can respond to the complaint by measuring the noise level and ticket offenders, Tuttle said, though theyre likely to clam up at the sight of an officer.

Violation would carry a $300 fine for a first offense and $500 for a second offense within 12 months. A subsequent offense carries up to a year in jail and up to a $2,500 fine.

Want to go? City Council will review the issues at the regular July meeting at 2 p.m., Thursday, July 12, at the Stryker Building, 412 N. Boundary St.

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Turkey should encourage free speech, not crack down: OSCE

Posted: at 7:10 pm

VIENNA: The OSCE on Friday encouraged Turkey to promote more free speech rather than cracking down on it, following a rise in the number of reporters in prisons over the past year.

"Freedom of expression cannot stop at speech deemed appropriate by the authorities," Dunja Mijatovic, the media representative of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, said in a statement.

"Authorities should fight speech they deem offensive by encouraging more speech and greater debate of all issues of public importance," she added.

She also said she hoped charges "will be dropped soon" against Ahmet Sik, a Turkish journalist, who with a dozen other suspects has been charged with allegedly plotting against the Islamist-rooted Turkish government.

Sik and another prominent journalist were freed in March, a year after being arrested, but they still face prison terms of up to 15 years if found guilty.

In April, the OSCE said the number of journalists in jail in Turkey had risen to 95 from 57 a year ago, calling it a "worrisome" trend.

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