The Pooh Pit

[Jan Van Quirm]

Duck Tours go from the London Eye (on the Waterloo side of that plaza behind the wheel) - the website

[poohcarrot]

21 quid for an adult. I lied.
I bought the family ticket for 62 of your earth pounds.

[poohcarrot]

Oh ... and Happy Easter!

Cheers Batty, but I don't do Easter.

[poohcarrot]

I haven't put a Thomas photo up.

[poohcarrot]

The latest from the "Land of the free"

In a five-four ruling this week, the supreme court decided that anyone can be strip-searched upon arrest for any offense, however minor, at any time. This horror show ruling joins two recent horror show laws: the NDAA, which lets anyone be arrested forever at any time, and HR 347, the "trespass bill", which gives you a 10-year sentence for protesting anywhere near someone with secret service protection. These criminalizations of being human follow, of course, the mini-uprising of the Occupy movement.

[raisindot]

The latest from the "Land of the free"

In a five-four ruling this week, the supreme court decided that anyone can be strip-searched upon arrest for any offense, however minor, at any time. This horror show ruling joins two recent horror show laws: the NDAA, which lets anyone be arrested forever at any time, and HR 347, the "trespass bill", which gives you a 10-year sentence for protesting anywhere near someone with secret service protection. These criminalizations of being human follow, of course, the mini-uprising of the Occupy movement.

Yes, we should always trust a British newspaper to accurately summarize American legal precedents. But here is the real story.

Strip searching: Yes, this horrible conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state laws permitting police to strip search those who were arrested and were going to be put into jails for any reason were constitutional. While, on the surface, this is designed to keep prisoners from being contraband into jail, the wide latitude of the court's ruling makes it possible for someone to be strip searched for unpaid parking tickets. This is one of the worst rulings of this nefarious court since the Dredd Scott case of 1857, which essentially said slavery was legal. Note, however, that this is not a law passed by Congress; it is a ruling on state jurisdiction.

NDAA: This act allows the U.S. military personnel to arrest and indefinitely imprison those suspected of participating in and planning terrorist activities. However, it is not clear whether under which circumstances this applies to people in the U.S. A bad federal law that should not have been signed by the Obama administration, yet one that was probably forced upon him to justify U.S. acts of killing Osama Bin Ladin and other terrorists.

Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011: This is not a new law, but simply a revision of a law that has been on the books since 1971, that makes allows the arrest of anyone who knowingly "enters (1) the White House or its grounds or the Vice President’s official residence or its grounds, (2) a building or grounds where the President or other person protected by the Secret Service is or will be temporarily visiting, or (3) a building or grounds so restricted due to a special event of national significance." The difference between the old law and the new law is the removal of the word "willingly," which has caused conjecture that someone who knew that the President was somewhere and peaked into the building could get arrested even if he didn't do this for hostile intentions. Note that there is nothing here that restricts anyone from protesting anywhere where the president doesn't happen to be. Given the history of assassinations in the U.S., and the fact that at least three people have fired at the White House since President Obama took office, I personally don't think this is an unreasonable law.

But, yes, taken together, all three of these laws do point to a regrettable curtailment of certain civil rights. Yet, the fact that numerous organizations on the left and the right have the complete freedom to protest them in person, in print, or on the web ald pressure their representatives to change these laws or vote out the president for supporting them demonstrates that the U.S. is still one of the freest countries on the planet, warts and all.

[michelanCello]

Love the pictures, Pooh!

[poohcarrot]

Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011: This is not a new law, but simply a revision of a law that has been on the books since 1971, that makes allows the arrest of anyone who knowingly "enters (1) the White House or its grounds or the Vice President’s official residence or its grounds, (2) a building or grounds where the President or other person protected by the Secret Service is or will be temporarily visiting, or (3) a building or grounds so restricted due to a special event of national significance." The difference between the old law and the new law is the removal of the word "willingly," which has caused conjecture that someone who knew that the President was somewhere and peaked into the building could get arrested even if he didn't do this for hostile intentions. Note that there is nothing here that restricts anyone from protesting anywhere where the president doesn't happen to be. Given the history of assassinations in the U.S., and the fact that at least three people have fired at the White House since President Obama took office, I personally don't think this is an unreasonable law.

Are you implying this law ONLY applies to the President?
Doesn't it apply to ANYONE who has secret service protection? eg; I'm pretty sure Herman Cain had secret service protection at some point during his ill-fated presidential bid.

Just on the off chance that the US decides to bomb Iran one day, isn't it possible that anyone protesting could be strip-searched, then locked up indefinitely with no recourse to the law?

The Brits are just as bad, by the way. The UK govt is currently trying to pass a law making it legal for them to read ALL facebook, twitter and emails.

Makes you wonder what the two countries have got planned together, doesn't it?

PS: Even YOU agree the strip-searching is a bit dodgy.

[stripy_tie]

Yet, the fact that numerous organizations on the left and the right have the complete freedom to protest them in person, in print, or on the web demonstrates that the U.S. is still one of the freest countries on the planet, warts and all.

This made me laugh did you actually see what happened to peaceful protesters the last time they tried to demonstrate in America? your country belongs to the rich.

The second anyone with a hope in hell of changing anything takes to the streets it's batons, pepper spray and tear gas as far as the eye can see.

[raisindot]

Yet, the fact that numerous organizations on the left and the right have the complete freedom to protest them in person, in print, or on the web demonstrates that the U.S. is still one of the freest countries on the planet, warts and all.

This made me laugh did you actually see what happened to peaceful protesters the last time they tried to demonstrate in America? your country belongs to the rich.

The second anyone with a hope in hell of changing anything takes to the streets it's batons and tear gas as far as the eye can see.

Sorry, my biased friend, but in most cities (including my own Boston), the Occupy protesters maintained tent cities for many, many months. Non-violent protests are generally permitted in most places by all sides of the political spectrum. The Washington Mall, for example, has hosted thousands of huge demonstrations over the years, many with hundreds of thousands of people participating. Protesters are given free rights to protest in nearly any area, as long as they do it peacefully and lawfully. Don't even try to argue with me on this; I've participated in dozens of marches and protests over the years and not once have I been tear gassed or arrested). I've also passed by hundreds of protests by right-wing crazies outside planned parenthood clinics, universities, hospitals, and other secular institutions.

There certainly have been cases (most recently in the Occupy movements) where idiot local cops did use tear gas and violence on protesters. These incidents were few and far between, and reflect more the provincial policies of stupid cops and local politicians than anything else.

[poohcarrot]

Thank God the UK isn't like the US. One cctv camera for every 14 people, peaceful protestors getting killed and kettled, every email/twitter/facebook post monitored in real time, and people getting 6 months in prison for stealing a bottle of water.

Ooops! I appear to have the first sentence the wrong way round.

[poohcarrot]

Just out of interest, Tokyo is now the proud possessor of the biggest phallic symbol in the world.
More than twice the height of the Shard in London.

[Batty]

Duck Tours go from the London Eye (on the Waterloo side of that plaza behind the wheel) - the website

Thanks, Jan. Next time I visit London, I'll be sure to take a Duck tour!

[raptornx01]

yeah, the email thing has around in this country since just after 9/11. The director of the FBI at the time quit over it.

Though, to be perfectly honest, i think they were doing it long before the law. AT least to some extent anyway.

[poohcarrot]

So J-I*b, as the resident US expert on the US, what's your take on this story, then?
Is it an attack on US freedom of speech? Is the US now prosecuting thought crime?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/ap ... ree-speech