School May Silence Free Political Speech of Students At School, Says Court

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Imminent Violence Justifies Halting Political Speech on School Campus?

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The US Federal Court of Appeals ruled today that students wearing shirts showing the American flag were properly silenced when high school officials perceived imminent safety risks and demanded that the students leave or turn the shirts inside out to cover the flag. http://patdollard.com/2014/02/9th-u-s-circuit-court-of-appeals-rules-california-school-can-ban-u-s-flag-shirts-during-phony-holiday-cinco-de-mayo/

The setting: Cinco de Mayo celebrations in southern San Francisco, at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hills where hundreds celebrated their Latino heritage. The silenced students: Members of the student body wearing t-shirts that displayed the US flag. The questioned conduct: School officials demanded that the flag wearing students either leave the event or reverse their t-shirts to cover the US flag. The justification offered: Violent histories of gang confrontations in the community arising from pro- and anti-Latino groups led school officials to believe that students wearing US flag shirts to the Latino celebration would cause immediate violent protests and confrontations. http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2014/02/27/11-17858.pdf 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/28/us-usa-court-tshirts-california-idUSBREA1R06R20140228

William Becker, attorney for the students who were silenced, vows to appeal to the US Supreme court, asserting that the right to free political speech was sacrificed in the face of speculations about violence that should have been controllable by law enforcement and school authorities at the gathering. http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_25240543/american-flag-removal-order-justified-u-s-court

Analysts at http://HamiltonFinanceServices.com say the Supreme Court appeal won’t likely make it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procedures_of_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States

Nonetheless, the right to free political speech has been upheld by that court in unlikely appeals before. In the Cohen case, for example, a man convicted of wearing a t-shirt with the words “F___ the draft” (see footnote for the blank spot appearing after the letter ‘F’) to a 1971 protest, when the draft rose to high levels of violent controversy, had his conviction over-tuned by the US Supreme Court precisely because political speech deserves exceptional protection under the US Constitution. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cohen_v._California

VietNamProtestThe difference in today’s case: Four of the five boys elected to go home when threatened with arrest by school officials, and the fifth boy reversed his t-shirt to remain at the celebration.  No one was arrested for wearing the shirts.  If instead they had remained and been arrested for wearing the provocative t-shirts, the US Supreme Court might be compelled to hear the appeal, based on the Cohen case.  Even then, since school officials appear to have special authority on campus, they still could have been justified.

If you were deciding, should the appeal of the boys be heard by the US Supreme Court? Under what circumstances should political speech be silenced in the US?  Should school officials have greater powers over free speech on campus than law enforcement has in the community?

Footnote:  The original term used on the t-shirt of Leonard Cohen was the acronym commonly formed from the word posted on early American stockades for persons convicted of adultery, as they then defined adultery.  Those words were:  For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge.  You can probably figure out the acronym on your own.  I deleted the acronymic expression at the request of Vivaldi censors who declined to publish this post unless the historically accurate term was either deleted or obfuscated.  Hence, I have offered this obfuscatory footnote.

200 Times Stronger Glass Made With Laser Etching

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Nacre: Chalk Made Strong by Mollusks Gives Science Idea for Cracked Strong Glass

 

Most of us have dropped a glass container only to have it crack and shatter. Now, taking a tip from nature, scientists have devised a way to slightly crack glass to make it 200 times stronger than normal. http://txchnologist.com/post/78023821702/glass-gets-stronger-by-cracking-it?

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Some mollusks with their nacre, pearly inner shell, demonstrate to scientists how it is done. They use common chalk, a substance that normally flakes and cracks into dust. By setting tiny bits of chalk in offset rows, mollusks known for mother-of-pearl inner linings create a substance 3,000 times tougher than natural chalk. Applying this lesson, scientists put micro-cracks in glass to create glass far stronger than uncracked glass. http://barthelat-lab.mcgill.ca/research.html

 

McGill University’s biometric materials lab announced today its discovery of both the nacre offset chalk blocks and how lasers that make tiny cracks in glass can strengthen naturally occurring substances. http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/glass-bends-doesn’t-break-232559

 

To me, this seems like a metaphor for how people with fissures from life may become stronger.

 

hamilton.jerry

Mt. Gox Bankruptcy Filed Over Bitcoin Hack

Today Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy in Japan, where its headquarters stand. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/sns-mt-gox-bankruptcy-bitcoins-20140228,0,3681597.story

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A hack attack took over 750,000 coins from Mt. Gox accounts, worth nearly half a billion US dollars on the currency markets. http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/02/28/mt-gox-files-for-bankruptcy/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

 

Mark Karpeles, CEO of Mt. Gox, in his public apology, blames “weaknesses in the system” for the loss by his currency exchange business. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/28/us-bitcoin-mtgox-bankruptcy-idUSBREA1R0FX20140228

 

Mt. Gox has historically been the largest trader of Bitcoin, although other currency exchanges similar to that of Mt. Gox also continue trading in that cryptocoin and others. http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/28/mt-gox-files-for-bankruptcy/

 

Analysts at http://HamiltonFinanceServices.com say that while Bitcoin continues to be traded, the long term effects on NewCoin technology suddenly seem cloudy, and risks of buying or selling Bitcoins and similar digital currencies may freeze all NewCoin markets in the near future.

 

Those with no risk and no investments in digital currencies seem apathetic, but those hoping to find financial security in the new technology may have lost life savings. What about you? Have you lost anything in the Mt. Gox bankruptcy? Or how about your experience with digital currency trading in general? Any good experiences out there, or has everyone suffered bad experience?

Senator Kelly Ayotte for VP in US?

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Ayotte Supporters’ Hopes for VP Candidate Are On the Rise

 

In the US, national politics takes center stage this year, and New Hampshire primaries will lead off, so their own Senator, Kelly Ayotte, has risen to the top of the VP candidate list already. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/27/the-gop-already-has-a-2016-front-runner-for-vice-president.html

 

Is it too soon for you, as it is for me, to discuss US national politics? As a news junky, most political news seems low on the list of fun topics for me. But here’s what catches my attention today: Senator Kelly Ayotte actually seems like one worth hearing as a counter to Hillary’s apparently inevitable clime to the rostrum.

 

At http://HamiltonFinanceServices.com, the time is ripe to strategize about the next round of US national politics if you take such politics seriously. What do you think? Too early, or a good time to think of some attractive alternatives to old political personalities?

 

hamilton.jerry

Gay Rights Advocates Love AZ Governor Veto

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Gay Rights Advocates Praise Veto by AZ Governor

Arizona governor Jan Brewer made friends with gay and lesbian rights advocates today as she vetoed a bill that would protect business owners who decline service to gays and lesbians on the basis of those owners’ religious beliefs. http://www.azcentral.com/news/politics/articles/20140226arizona-jan-brewer-1062-statement.html?nclick_check=1 

A vocal religious minority in Arizona strongly disagrees with the governor’s action, while even more vocal gay and lesbian rights advocates love it.  At http://HamiltonFinanceServices.com analysts perceive a subtext of frustration by the governor, whose real focus elsewhere, such as revamping the child welfare services of Arizona, has been distracted by the rancor surrounding the proposed legislation.

If you held strong feelings of opposition to gay and lesbian rights on the basis of your religion, would you like the bill that protects you when you refuse to serve gays or lesbians?  In other words, is the law worthy of some attention?  Or, on the other hand, is this all part of a right wing conspiracy to single out gays and lesbians?  What do you think?

 

 

Wax On, Wax Off; California Marijuana Business Differs from Colorado

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Wax On, Wax Off, Marijuana Business Differs, Colorado v. California

 

Marijuana legalization hasn’t hit most states in the US yet, but the two leading states, California and Colorado, have taken different roads on the latest mj invention: Wax. Californians face federal investigation and prosecution for Wax distribution, while in Colorado the Wax business booms. http://news.yahoo.com/colo-marijuana-businesses-embrace-drug-center-dea-crackdown-015551827–abc-news-topstories.html

 

Not familiar with Wax? It’s distilled marijuana with enough THC (the active mj ingredient) that one hit lasts all day.

 

In California, things have gotten so bad that the feds are taking away people’s homes and businesses if they haven’t dotted every ‘i’ and crossed each ‘t’ for medical mj sales. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/14/us-usa-marijuana-landlords-idUSBRE85D0JA20120614

 

Seems to analysts at http://HamiltonFinanceServices.com that jumping into the mj business at this moment in history might be riskier than most business opportunities. The potential profits seem enormous, of course, but the fear and loathing of US drug enforcers should not be underestimated, either.

 

 

Would you like to start up a new mj business if your state said it was alright? What do you think?  

What’s Your Opinion on Same Sex Marriage?

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What’s your opinion on same sex marriage?  What arguments do you agree with concerning your opinion?  Is a nation the proper authority for deciding laws about this issue?  Is God solely the authority on whom people should depend for an opinion about same sex marriage?  Is your own conscience solely the authority on which individuals should depend…?  How should people reason about same sex marriage, or is reason inadequate on this and other topics?

If you pay attention to the Gallup polls in the US, you might believe that acceptance of gay and lesbian relationships (known before 2008 as homosexual relations, according to Gallup) has passed the half way point to 64% of Americans now in support.  http://www.gallup.com/poll/1651/gay-lesbian-rights.aspx

But if you look at the 2005 Texas support for a narrow definition of marriage as only between a man and a woman, you take away a very different perspective.  http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/26/us-usa-gaymarriage-texas-idUSBREA1P1VE20140226 That definition passed overwhelmingly in Texas nine years ago, yet in 2014 court decisions appear to run contrary.

In both Russia and parts of Africa, the laws strongly punish same sex marriage.  In other places of the EU or North America, the opposite seems to be gaining acceptance, meaning laws protect same sex marriage in many places.  The public opinion worldwide is really a bit confusing, to me, hamilton.jerry.  I have an opinion, of course, and if you’ll show me yours….

So at http://HamiltonFinanceServices.com (HFS) they offer their own poll question, in their usual open-ended style:  What do you think about marriage between same sex people?  Do you favor it or oppose it, and by how much do you hold that opinion, strongly, mildly, or almost not at all?  Is your opinion based on religion, politics, ideology, or something else?  What else?

The polls and court decisions seem to make the answers to such a basic question more complex than seems necessary, according to HFS analysis.  What do you think?  I, hamilton.jerry, encourage you to comment with a rich mix of words, images, and sounds that truly reflect your views, and I hope to hear from a fair cross-section, not just a vocal group of like minded souls.

 

 

 

Swiss Bank Whack-A-Mole Played in US Senate As Federal Prosecutors Get Chastised

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US Senators upset with Swiss banks, chastised US federal prosecutors for dragging their feet today.

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/26/usa-tax-swiss-idUSL1N0LU2IC20140226

 

 

 

The US tax problems seem like a pendulum, to analysts at http://HamiltonFinanceServices.com. When the pendulum swings wildly one way, it will respond with an equally wild return to the other side. In other words, the more the US politicians press the Swiss to disclose how customers hide money, the more those customers will seek even better secret stashing places. And the Swiss are not idle spectators; they have a stake in how successfully their clients hide their money, too. In the end, big money does much more than buy politicians, it makes the whole world go ’round.

 

 

 

It’s a game like WhackAMole! Have you found a good hiding spot out there? Care to share more information?

 

 

 

hamilton.jerry

 

Should California Students Sue for Better Education?

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Students Lawsuit Calls Experts To Make Case Against California Schools

 

While educating children ranks high on every society’s agendas, rarely have students sued the whole school system to make it better. The case Vergara v. California offers a big exception that might make it to the US Supreme Court. http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-teachers-lawsuit-20140126,0,4567951.story#axzz2uRgXu1JQ

 

Nine public school students aged 7 to 17 have taken the California public school system to court to argue that its policies and practices, based on 5 state laws, of giving lifetime tenure to teachers after 18 months on the job plus last in-first out hiring practices when layoffs hit gives students a fundamentally bad educational opportunity. It helps, of course, to have big money behind the students in the form of David Welch’s Students Matter non-profit advocacy organization. http://www.theexpertinstitute.com/education-expert-witnesses-testify-in-landmark-case-concerning-teacher-employment/?

 

Expert witnesses, those individuals with established reputations about specialized knowledge in their field, have testified that students in a system like California’s suffer from diminished educational opportunities directly arising from the state’s laws about tenure and lay-offs. To analysts at http://HamiltonFinanceServices.com no matter which side prevails in this case, set to end this week, it could easily be appealed to the US Supreme Court.

 

What do you think about students suing schools and states for giving them a bad education? Is this a type of law suit fit for our times? Or, on the other hand, is this just another waste of good money on a failed court system? If this approach is not the answer, what action should students push?

 

 

 

 

 

Tipping Point for Mt. Gox and Bitcoin?

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Bitcoin Investors Learn the Hard Way About Currency Exchange Risks

 

Mt. Gox, the Japan-based online exchange for Bitcoin with other currencies, halted operations this past week and continues to ignore investor requests for explanations other than that unusual activities on the exchange require halting its services. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/25/us-mtgox-website-idUSBREA1O07920140225

 

Bitcoin is the leading cryptocoin, a privately invented online form of money traded worldwide on currency markets in exchange for US dollars, British pounds, Japanese yen, and many other currencies. Mt. Gox has offered a leading exchange service for Bitcoin currency markets. Several other exchanges such as Bitstamp and BTC-E have issued statements to assure their investors that nothing like Mt. Gox’s problems has occurred in their operations. http://btctrading.wordpress.com

 

Analysts at http://HamiltonFinanceServices.com characterize the Mt. Gox cessation of services as a landmark development in the struggle for survival of cryptocoin technology, and they say failure to overcome market interference may begin a major decline in the financial value of all NewCoin technologies.

 

Have you invested in any cryptocoins lately? Which ones do you trust, or can you reasonably trust any of them?

 

hamilton.jerry