via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow on 3/22/12
The Gnome Experiment by Kern (via /.)
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Garden gnome dispatched to poles, equator, elsewhere, to measure gravitation...
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Matt Gertz: NRA's Push For "Stand Your Ground Laws" Continues
via Media Matters for America - County Fair by Matt Gertz on 3/21/12
The National Rifle Association's effort to pass Florida-style "Stand Your Ground" laws in other states has continued unabated in the wake of the February 26, Florida teenager Trayvon Martin was confronted, shot, and killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman.
Since Martin's tragic death, media outlets have noted the role of the state's laws in providing Zimmerman with a legal self-defense claim that may prevent him from ever being successfully prosecuted. According to Mother Jones, Florida courts have found that under that statute, a "defendant's only burden is to offer facts from which his resort to force could have been reasonable" while "the State has the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self-defense."
16 states have reportedly passed similar legislation since Florida's 2005 adoption of the statute, often with the strong support of the NRA. This is no coincidence; the NRA has been affiliated for years with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which has pushed model legislation expanding when it is legally permissible to use deadly force through its network of conservative state legislators.
The controversial circumstances of Martin's death have not slowed the NRA's effort to push for the passage of such laws: The organization's lobbying arm spent the weeks following his death promoting similar statutes in Iowa, Alaska, and Minnesota.
- On March 16, the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) criticized the Judiciary Committee chairman of Iowa's state Senate for failing to hold hearings on "NRA-initiated HF 2215, the Stand Your Ground/Castle Doctrine Enhancement." According to NRA-ILA, the bill would "remove a person's 'duty to retreat' from an attacker, allowing law-abiding citizens to stand their ground and protect themselves or their family anywhere they are lawfully present." The group urged supporters to contact state Senators and tell them to support the bill. NRA-ILA previously told supporters to contact Democratic members of the Iowa House after they "left the Capitol building in an attempt to block consideration of these pro-gun bills" on February 29.
- On March 14, NRA-ILA urged Alaskan supporters to contact their state Senators and tell them to support House Bill 80, which it termed "important self-defense legislation that would provide that a law-abiding person, who is justified in using deadly force in self-defense, has 'no duty-to-retreat' from an attack if the person is in any place that that person has a legal right to be." NRA-ILA also promoted the bill on March 5, March 8, and February 29.
- On March 5, NRA-ILA executive director Chris W. Cox criticized Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton for vetoing House File 1467, which Cox said "would have removed the duty to retreat for crime victims currently mandated under Minnesota state law and precluded victims from facing prosecution for lawfully defending their lives." NRA-ILA also urged supporters to contact Dayton and urge him not to veto the bill on March 1 and February 29.
The NRA has referred to Florida's statute as "good law, casting a common-sense light onto the debate over the right of self-defense." The organization is unlikely to be satisfied until that "common-sense light" has been spread across the country, regardless of what tragedies occur in the meantime.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Watch live: the 2012 Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate chaired by Neil deGrasse T...
via The Verge - All Posts by Bryan Bishop on 3/20/12
The revelation that neutrinos may be able to move faster than the speed of light rocked the scientific community — until it was discovered that may not have been the case after all. This year's Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate takes on this very question itself. The debate will be hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium (and upcoming On The Verge guest), and will feature top minds from UCLA, CERN, Boston University, and several others. It's happening right now, so hurry over to the American Museum of Natural History's site to see the debate unfold.
Simon Maloy: FLASHBACK VIDEO: #Fox Defended #Florida's "Stand Your Ground" Law
via Media Matters for America - County Fair by Simon Maloy on 3/20/12
In April 2005, then-Florida governor Jeb Bush signed the state's "Stand Your Ground" bill into law, allowing Florida residents to defend themselves with deadly force in any "place where he or she has a right to be," with "no duty to retreat" and a reasonable belief that "it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm ... or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony." The new law drew sharp criticism from gun control groups who argued that it allowed carriers of concealed weapons to shoot to kill without threat of prosecution, or even arrest. It is currently at the center of the controversy surrounding the February 26 shooting death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.
At the time of its enactment, Fox News' Andrew Napolitano and Sean Hannity defended the Florida law and dismissed the concerns of critics. Napolitano even blasted the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence for "misrepresenting" the law, even though he didn't actually know what the law said.
Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law went into effect on October 1, 2005. Since then, as Mother Jones has pointed out, Florida courts have argued that if a defendant claims self-defense in a shooting, the "defendant's only burden is to offer facts from which his resort to force could have been reasonable," thus making it "surprisingly easy to evade prosecution by claiming self-defense." The law is at issue in the Martin shooting, as the shooter, George Zimmerman, claimed self-defense and has thus far not been charged with a crime.
Shortly before the law took effect, the Brady Campaign went to Florida airports and handed out fliers that cautioned "visitors to take 'sensible precautions' and to be aware that altercations on highways, in nightclubs or on the beach could provoke a shooting."
Trayvon Martin’s Last Phone Call, Moments Before Tragic Death #FL
via ThinkProgress by Judd Legum on 3/20/12
“He said this man was watching him, so he put his hoodie on. He said he lost the man,” Martin’s friend said. “I asked Trayvon to run, and he said he was going to walk fast. I told him to run but he said he was not going to run.”
Eventually he would run, said the girl, thinking that he’d managed to escape. But suddenly the strange man was back, cornering Martin.
“Trayvon said, ‘What, are you following me for,’ and the man said, ‘What are you doing here.’ Next thing I hear is somebody pushing, and somebody pushed Trayvon because the head set just fell.
The new information about the phone call casts further doubt on the account George Zimmerman, Martin’s killer, told the police. The Miami Herald reported Zimmerman told the police “he had stepped out of his truck to check the name of the street he was on when Trayvon attacked him from behind as he walked back to his truck.”
You can find out everything you need to know about Martin’s tragic death here.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
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