Olives @olives@qoto.org
Software Engineer. Psy / Tech / Sex Science Enthusiast. Controversial?
Free Expression. Human rights / Civil Liberties. Anime. Liberal.
Joined May 2023
Olives
boosted
"The United Kingdom is unusual in having no single written constitutional document that can be enforced by the courts. Instead it has a political constitution, which relies heavily on norms and conventions. When challenges arise, it rests on a shared understanding of the rules and the principal actors being willing, for the most part, to abide by them—the “good chaps” theory of government."
Not going well at all.
@tripu "Defend legal rights"
"Get rid of all legal restrictions on speech"
"Defend due process."
"Diminish official interference into people’s personal and family lives."
"The United Kingdom is unusual in having no single written constitutional document that can be enforced by the courts. Instead it has a political constitution, which relies heavily on norms and conventions. When challenges arise, it rests on a shared understanding of the rules and the principal actors being willing, for the most part, to abide by them—the “good chaps” theory of government."
A Constitution would be one way to achieve that.
You should probably also contact lawmakers to oppose the proposed "age verification" (unconstitutional privacy invasion) bill in Alabama (it seems to be for porn, although there are also mentions of "fighting access to trans content").
https://reason.com/2023/11/06/due-process-demands-stricter-standards-for-restraining-orders-that-negate-gun-rights/ The Second Amendment folks might be interested in this one.
"In 2019, the local San Diego affiliate for NBC News broke a shocking story: components of the federal government were conducting surveillance of journalists, lawyers, and activists thought to be associated with the so-called “migrant caravan” coming through Central America and Mexico.
The Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security, the agency’s watchdog, later reported that the U.S. government shared sensitive information with the Mexican government, and U.S. officials had improperly asked Mexican officials to deny entry into Mexico to Americans to prevent them from doing their jobs."
As someone else is talking about them, I'll also talk about them.
ECPAT (short for "Every Child Protected Against Trafficking") isn't really a "child rights" group. It seems to be one of those "anti trafficking" groups. According to one activist, their founding seems to have included a merger of religiously motivated groups, this should come as a shock to precisely no one.
The so-called "anti-trafficking sector" tends to be extremely conservative (think of how they fundraise), criminal justice focused, relies on misleading (or outright false) data, tends to be religious, and doesn't take accountability for the "collateral damage" they dole out.
One of their advisers (a quite annoying person who has occasion argued with privacy activists) appears to be married to a politician from the British Conservative Party. He frequently makes incoherent (and paranoid) rants about the tech sector for not implementing whatever crazy rights violating idea that has been cooked up by someone. It's unclear whether he has any actual expertise in anything, none appears to be listed.
They have strong criminal justice associations (and they naturally advocate for maximum power, no safeguards, and no accountability for cops), and seem to also have strong associations with religiously motivated groups. I haven't seen them advocate *against* any sort of collateral damage, in any capacity, including to minors (remember, they don't actually care about their rights, only their screwed up ideology), which comes of their advocacy.
Revised the post a bit. Naturally, I did not loosen the no bs / nonsense stance.
Should I watch it?
I'm gonna be sad once I finish Bocchi The Rock! since I'll likely only want more. Wrapped up episode five just now. #anime #BocchiTheRock
"The kill switch mandate forms a critical element of the 2021 infrastructure law. Car manufacturers are bound by the legislation to incorporate advanced driving technology designed to proactively assess a driver’s performance and, if deemed impaired, limit or completely prevent the vehicle from functioning. Hailed initially as a safety feature, it also raises privacy concerns, providing unprecedented access to personal information and individual freedom of movement."
https://mashable.com/article/cybrothel-fulfills-a-fantasy-but-may-have-risks Baseless and dubious speculation from a British dominatrix.
Science (from British scientists) already showed that doll owners view / treat dolls differently from how they might human beings (namely, that a doll is an inanimate object, and a person is a person).
I suppose they might lead to less business for humans, although that is not necessarily a bad thing, and no one is owed a customer.
https://netchoice.org/biden-releases-ai-red-tape-wishlist-in-new-executive-order/
"“Biden’s new executive order is a back-door regulatory scheme for the wider economy which uses AI concerns as an excuse to expand the President’s power over the economy. There are many regulations that already govern AI. Instead of examining how these existing rules can be applied to address modern challenges, Biden has chosen to further increase the complexity and burden of the federal code,” said Carl Szabo, NetChoice Vice President & General Counsel."
"The Supreme Court seemed unsure on Monday that the government should be able to skirt a lawsuit after incorrect reporting left a Pennsylvanian man with damaged credit.
Reginald Kirtz sued the government for reporting delinquency on his loans even though he paid off their balance. Kirtz took a credit hit for the error and claimed the government’s mistake violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The government says its sovereign immunity offers protection from Kirtz’s suit, but it’s not clear whether the Supreme Court agreed."
https://www.courthousenews.com/massachusetts-court-puzzles-over-lifetime-tobacco-ban-for-gen-z/
"A Boston suburb’s controversial bylaw that prohibits tobacco sales to anyone born in 2000 or later — forever, no matter how old they get — puzzled the Massachusetts Supreme Court at oral arguments Monday.
The town of Brookline implemented the first-of-its-kind restriction in 2021 with the goal of phasing out smoking entirely by making it illegal to sell tobacco to an entire generation, for their entire lifetimes.
But it wasn’t clear if the bylaw was valid under a 2018 state statute that raised the smoking age in Massachusetts to 21 and prohibited any local rules that are “inconsistent” with it."
"The Supreme Court refused Thursday to halt a Texas man’s execution to review faulty expert testimony that landed him on death row for a stabbing three decades ago.
The justices did not provide an explanation for their ruling on the emergency application. There were no noted dissents."
https://www.courthousenews.com/google-meta-win-fight-over-moderation-at-eu-court/
"The EU’s second-highest court on Thursday sided with tech giants in a fight over digital regulation, finding Austria overstepped its authority.
Google, Meta and TikTok succeeded in fighting off an attempt by Austrian regulators to crack down on illegal content online by imposing stricter regulations than what is required in Ireland — where all three companies are registered — at the European Court of Justice."
"Voters in some of the highest-profile school board elections across the U.S. rebuked conservative candidates in local school board elections who want to ban books and restrict classroom conversations on race and gender.
In recent years, down-ballot elections have become proxy votes for polarizing national issues. Liberal and moderate candidates took control in high-profile races Tuesday in conservative Iowa, as well as swing states Pennsylvania and Virginia."
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/11/its-time-oppose-new-san-francisco-policing-ballot-measure
"San Francisco Mayor London Breed has filed a ballot initiative on surveillance and policing that, if approved, would greatly erode our privacy rights, endanger marginalized communities, and roll back the incredible progress the city has made in creating democratic oversight of police’s use of surveillance technologies. The measure will be up for a vote during the March 5, 2024 election."
Since the usual suspects are calling on people to contact leaders to support the #chatcontrol, I think it's only reasonable for anyone who opposes it to do the same.
Software Engineer. Psy / Tech / Sex Science Enthusiast. Controversial?
Free Expression. Human rights / Civil Liberties. Anime. Liberal.
Joined May 2023
