Yaoundé Cameroon, August 1, 2009 by U.S. Embassy in Yaounde
http://yaounde.usembassy.gov/ins_072609.html
“The independence of the judiciary, indispensable for the Rule of Law, is a permanent endeavor that requires the active participation of all segments of the society,” he told the audience. Mr. Rosenbaum’s presentation generated a lively discussion on the relevance of the idea of an independent judiciary for a country like Cameroon.
The New York Times, August 1, 2009 by Shaila Dewan
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/weekinreview/02dewan.html?_r=1
The decline, Mr. Zimring said, has shown that it isn’t necessary to accomplish major feats, like improving education or raising wages, or punitive ones, like increasing prison sentences, to bring crime down. Smart policing can have an effect. “Crime isn’t an essential part of cities as we know them,” Mr. Zimring said.
SF Examiner.com, July 31, 2009 by Bobbie Wood
http://www.examiner.com/x-9404-SF-Progressive-Examiner~y2009m7d31-Constitutional-law-scholar-on-naturalborn-issue-No-truth-to-that-claim
According to Mr. Choper, there is no truth to the claim that President Obama is not a natural born citizen even if his father was Kenyan. Mr. Choper cited the 14th Amendment, Section 1, as establishing that all individuals born on US soil are citizens regardless of the nationality of their parents.
The New York Times, July 31, 2009 by Stephanie Clifford
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/31/business/media/31privacy.html?_r=1
Paul M. Schwartz, a law professor and privacy expert at the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, said the unwitting participation by consumers makes online marketing different from offline. “Interactive media really gets into this creepy Orwellian thing, where it’s a record of our thoughts on the way to decision-making,” he said. “We’re like the data-input clerks now for the industry.”
San Francisco Chronicle, Bottom Line, July 31, 2009 by Andrew S. Ross
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/31/BUPL1914AV.DTL
The proposals include: a 6 percent flat tax. Major pushback here. Commissioner Christopher Edley, dean of UC Berkeley School of Law, called it “part of the traditional conservative agenda.”
Las Vegas Sun, July 30, 2009 by Michael Mishak
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jul/30/ruling-wage-suits-can-name-executives/
He said the opinion would not effect a sea change in litigation because those who are often responsible for financial wrongs are lower-level supervisors, who wouldn’t have the resources to pay judgments against them.”The people who are really responsible often don’t have the ability to pay, and those who do have the money, it’s hard to show they had operational control,” Rosenfeld said. “In short, you won’t always be able to nail the people who have the money.”
CNN Money, July 30, 2009 by Alan J. Auerbach and William G. Gale
http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/30/news/economy/federal_budget_deficit/?postversion=2009073004
Things aren’t as likely to go as well as President Obama hopes. The economy has already performed worse than was assumed in the budget projections, and the projections are based on heroically optimistic assumptions about the political discipline Congress will impose on itself. And, of course, the problem will deepen, continually and inexorably, after 2019, as spending on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security will grow rapidly.
The Washington Post, July 27, 2009 by Carrie Johnson
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/26/AR2009072602348_pf.html
Jesse Choper, a Berkeley colleague of Yoo’s, said he thinks “very highly” of his scholarship, even if they disagree on some issues. “This is not a person who goes around raging or screaming at people—quite the opposite,” Choper said.
The New York Times, July 27, 2009 by Chris Elmendorf and Ethan J. Leib
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/opinion/28leib.html?_r=2
We suggest a more modest role for an assembly of ordinary citizens: breaking budget stalemates. Here’s how it would work. If the Legislature and the governor fail to adopt a budget four weeks before the deadline for the new fiscal year, a group of randomly selected citizens—one from each legislative district—would be convened to resolve the stalemate.
The Oakland Tribune, July 25, 2009 by Josh Richman
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_12914491
“It has some flavor of raising taxes without actually raising taxes,” agreed David Gamage, a tax law expert and associate professor at University of California-Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law. “It may be the most obvious impact for some taxpayers because you actually see the money coming out of your paycheck, but in the context where there are only bad (state budget) options, I don’t think this is going to strike anybody as the worst option.”