The Supreme Court struck an extraordinary blow for criminal justice reform on Wednesday, placing real limitations on policing for profit across the country. Its unanimous decision for the first time prohibits all 50 states from imposing excessive fines, including the seizure of property, on people accused or convicted of a crime. Rarely does the court hand down a ruling of such constitutional magnitude—and seldom do all nine justices agree to restrict the power that police and prosecutors exert over individuals. The landmark decision represents a broad agreement on the Supreme Court that law enforcement’s legalized theft has gone too far.
Wednesday’s ruling in Timbs v. Indiana, authored by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, is sharp and concise. It revolves around a single question of extraordinary importance. The Eighth Amendment guarantees that no “excessive fines” may be “imposed,” an ancient right enshrined in the Magna Carta and enthusiastically adopted by the Framers. But the Bill of Rights originally applied only to the federal government, not the states. After the Civil War, the 14th Amendment was ratified to apply these rights to the states, which had engaged in grotesque civil rights violations to perpetuate slavery. The Supreme Court, however, slowly applied (or “incorporated”) these rights against the states one by one, not all at once. And before Timbs, it had never incorporated the Excessive Fines Clause—allowing states to exploit their residents for huge sums of cash and property.
.
Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg poses with fellow justices during their official group photo at the Supreme Court on Nov. 30 in Washington,
Jabin Botsford/the Washington Post via Getty Images
No one tells a Supreme Court Justice when to retire. But there are currently two retirement dramas under way at the Court—one semi-public and the other semi-private—and they both have the potential to reshape the meaning of the Constitution for decades.
The public story is that of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Court’s senior liberal. Late last year, she fell and broke three ribs and, when she was being treated, doctors discovered that she had lung cancer, her third bout with cancer. She underwent surgery, apparently successfully, and the Court released word that she would need no further treatment. But, in January, she missed oral arguments for the first time in twenty-five years on the Court, and there is no guarantee that she will be there when the Justices next hear cases, on February 19th. Still, the retirement drama regarding Ginsburg is straightforward. She will hang on for as long as she can, in the hopes that a Democratic President will appoint her successor after the 2020 election.
.
With another Supreme Court vacancy, or two, President Trump’s record and influence on the future of the country will look even more secure.
Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea.Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or basket stars. About 1,500 species of starfish occur on the seabed in all the world’s oceans, from the tropics to frigid polar waters. They are found from the intertidal zone down to abyssal depths, 6,000 m (20,000 ft) below the surface.
The cloud delivers many benefits to companies and users alike, but it has one clear disadvantage: its vulnerability to cyber threats. This was brought to light this past December. Linode – a Linux cloud hosting provider – suffered from a massive attack that lasted 10 days. The DDoS attack targeted numerous systems including nameservers, application servers, and routers. It even led to a suspected account breach forcing Linode’s users to reset their passwords.
Why Did This Happen to Linode?
One of the first things a company asks after an attack is “Why me?” Cloud providers are a perfect target because they host several services and always contain personal data such as a user’s address, phone number, credit card number, and other sensitive information. Linode offers cloud infrastructure for remote customers in need of Linux servers. Integrating IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) services makes a cloud service a critical part of business performance, so taking out Linode cripples its customers’ performance as well.
Linode doesn’t know the motive behind the attack, but the attacker’s persistence was evident. The attack,intended to cripple Linode’s services and disrupt customer activity, was a success and classified as highly sophisticated by Linode and other security experts.
.
We simulated an example in a text file since we can’t get sample output from Netstat.
A couple weeks ago I interviewed the chef-owners of Joe Beef, David McMillan and Fred Morin, at Books Are Magic in Brooklyn about their new book: Joe Beef: Surviving the Apocalypse. Midway through the Q&A, the two chefs—who are legendary, along with their iconic Montreal restaurant, for bacchanalian-level eating and drinking—began discussing their recent sobriety and how it has impacted the culture of their restaurants. They spoke with such candor that I asked McMillan to talk more. Here’s what he had to say. —Julia Kramer
I was never falling-down drunk. I was never belligerent. I always got my work done. I was never unkempt. I was always clean, I was always shaved, I always performed at work. I was always kind and gracious in the dining room. But I lived in hell.
When we opened Joe Beef in 2005, we were inspired by Martin Picard at Au Pied de Cochon, by these grandiose bistros of Paris, by seafood towers, by excess. We were two portly men who ate and drank well. I was and still am very insecure about anybody coming to the restaurant and not having a spectacular meal. I want people to drink and eat to excess. I promote it.
A federal judge banned Roger Stone from speaking publicly about his case on Thursday, after hauling him back to court to answer for an Instagram post attacking her.
“Publicity cannot subside if it’s the defendant that’s fanning the flames,” U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said Thursday, making it clear that a violation of the strict gag order would mean jail for the former Trump adviser.
“Today, I gave you a second chance. This is not baseball, you don’t get a third chance,” she told Stone.
.
Longtime Trump ally Roger Stone gives an interview to Reuters in Washington, U.S., Jan. 31, 2019.Leah Millis / Reuters file
The North Carolina Board of Elections on Thursday called for a new election in the state’s 9th Congressional District after examining evidence of absentee ballot fraud on behalf of GOP candidate Mark Harris.
The five-member board, which consists of three Democrats and two Republicans, unanimously voted for the new contest. In making the motion for a new election, board Chairman Robert Cordle said the election was “tainted” and pointed to “corruption” and “mess” with absentee ballots.
The vote came after Harris, who had a 905-vote lead in the November race, abruptly said he believed a new election was warranted.
Civilians have been evacuated from the last village in Syria still held by the Islamic State (IS) group.
A convoy on Wednesday carried hundreds of men, women and children from Baghuz, near the Iraqi border.
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance have said they are waiting for their removal before launching an offensive against militants “entrenched inside”.
Those removed are being screened then taken to camps, the SDF say.
An estimated 300 IS fighters are thought to be holed up inside a tiny pocket of land.
.
Image copyrightAFP
Image caption The UN had warned some 200 families were trapped
Film and Writing Festival for Comedy. Showcasing best of comedy short films at the FEEDBACK Film Festival. Plus, showcasing best of comedy novels, short stories, poems, screenplays (TV, short, feature) at the festival performed by professional actors.
Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg poses with fellow justices during their official group photo at the Supreme Court on Nov. 30 in Washington,
Starfish
We simulated an example in a text file since we can’t get sample output from Netstat.
Photo by Chanelle Sinclair and Gabe Williams
NC race
