Olives @olives@qoto.org

https://reason.com/2023/12/22/biden-expands-pardons-for-low-level-federal-marijuana-offenders/

"President Joe Biden expanded a categorical pardon today for low-level marijuana offenders convicted on federal lands and in the District of Columbia, a move the White House says will ease the burden of a criminal record for thousands of people.

"Criminal records for marijuana use and possession have imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities," Biden said in a White House press release. "Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It's time that we right these wrongs.""

https://nichegamer.com/the-metaverse-era-exploring-the-emergence-of-virtual-worlds-and-their-influence-on-modern-gaming/ M-Metaverse?

https://nichegamer.com/japan-court-seeks-fine-streamer-johnny-somali/

"Johnny Somali, a Kick streamer who earned a negative reputation for being a nuisance in Japan and had since been arrested, might be forced to pay a large fine.

The streamer had earned the ire of many online due to his harassing of locals in Japan, whether it be by telling them he wants to drop bombs on the country, or by playing loud music and inappropriate noises in a restaurant’s kitchen. The troublesome individual also allegedly trespassed onto a construction site."

https://reason.com/2023/12/20/genre-bending-anime-spy-x-family-tackles-cold-war-espionage/ Not a Spy x Family take I expected to see but interesting.

Reminder that anti porn groups classify "spanking" as "violence" when trying to inflate their numbers. #WarOnPorn #DSA

https://tarnkappe.info/artikel/netzpolitik/dsa-pornhub-wird-von-der-eu-mit-strengen-auflagen-belegt-285431.html Interesting take on the latest #DSA controversy. #WarOnPorn

https://cdt.org/insights/cdt-files-amicus-brief-in-stark-v-patreon-supporting-the-free-speech-and-privacy-protections-provided-by-the-video-privacy-protection-act/

#Patreon files challenge to the constitutionality of the Video #Privacy Protection Act (#VPPA). This is in relation to Patreon sharing people's video watching habits with third parties*, in violation of this statute.

CDT, EFF, and ACLU filed amicus briefs against that, it seems.

* https://techpolicy.social/@CenDemTech/111620828690097888

https://www.michaelgeist.ca/2023/12/the-most-dangerous-canadian-internet-bill-youve-never-heard-of-is-a-step-closer-to-becoming-law/

"However, Bill S-210 goes well beyond personal choices to limit underage access to sexually explicit material on Canadian sites. Instead, it envisions government-enforced global website liability for failure to block underage access, backed by website blocking and mandated age verification systems that are likely to include face recognition technologies. The government establishes this regulatory framework and is likely to task the CRTC with providing the necessary administration. While there are surely good intentions with the bill, the risks and potential harms it poses are significant."

Canadian anti porn "save the children" #privacy invading bill closer to becoming law. It is presumably incompatible with Canada's constitution, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. #WarOnPorn

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/21/un-anti-torture-watchdog-australia-custody-numbers-spit-hood-ban

"The United Nations’ anti-torture watchdog has urged Australia to curb the extraordinary number of people awaiting trial or sentencing in jails and ban the use of spit hoods.

A report, released by the UN subcommittee on the prevention of torture (SPT) this week, also called for the limiting of routine strip-searches. It comes after the body visited Australia in October last year but terminated the visit after it was prevented from entering detention facilities in New South Wales and Queensland."

That's not good.

"“Children were left alone in their cells for up to 23 hours per day, amounting to de facto solitary confinement, with lighting in cells controlled from outside,” it said."

Oh no. Not solitary. That can be very psychologically harmful (I think the strip searches too can be psychologically harmful). Although, frankly, the rest of these conditions are not, are not good.

https://qoto.org/@olives/110847252096826064 I've commented on other articles regarding solitary before, although not one in Australia.

#auspol

https://reason.com/2023/12/20/this-innocent-woman-is-on-the-hook-for-thousands-after-a-swat-team-destroyed-her-home/

"In June of 2022, law enforcement arrived at a modest home on East Calvert Street in South Bend, Indiana. They threw dozens of tear gas grenades into the house, launched flash-bangs through the front door, smashed windows, destroyed the security cameras, punched holes in the walls, ripped a panel and fan from the bathroom wall and ceiling, ransacked and tossed furniture, snatched curtains down, and broke a mirror and various storage containers. The tear gas bombs left openings in the walls, floors, and ceiling. Shattered glass lay strewn across the interior, and a litany of personal belongings—from clothing, beds, and electronics to childhood drawings and family photos—were ruined.

Police had their sights set on a man named John Parnell Thomas, then a fugitive, who is now behind bars. But law enforcement didn't apprehend Thomas at the residence on East Calvert, as he did not own the home, did not have any relationship with its owners, and had never been there."

This part is for #CriminalJustice.

"A faulty investigation led police to Hadley's house. An officer with St. Joseph County attempted to locate Thomas via Facebook, concluding erroneously that he was accessing social media from the IP address tied to the Hadley residence."

This part is for #privacy.

By not compensating her, they might be in violation of the Fifth Amendment.

"AI is a bubble." It does have that vibe to it, doesn't it, lol. Quite a few grandiose promises.

Interesting to see some U.S. lawmakers questioning the authoritarian antics of the E.U.

https://journalnow.com/north-carolina-sends-6-year-olds-to-court-why-some-say-its-time-for-change/article_e2a15a82-8383-11eb-91ee-43ce7c88753b.html It could be worse. There was a case where a younger child picked a flower off a yard and they tried to nab them for "vandalism" or something. Black. #CriminalJustice

https://reason.com/2023/12/20/10-year-old-kid-offered-probation-for-peeing-behind-his-moms-car/

"A Mississippi 10-year-old has been sentenced to three months' probation for urinating behind his mother's car. But the boy's mother is refusing to sign his probation agreement, citing the stringency of the agreement's terms.

"It's just a regular probation. I thought it was something informed for a juvenile. But it's the same terms an adult criminal would have," Carlos Moore, the family's attorney, told the Associated Press on Tuesday. "We cannot in good conscience accept a probation agreement that treats a 10-year-old child as a criminal.""

"The fact that police—and prosecutors—responded so aggressively to a completely nonviolent child has led Moore to suggest that racial bias has played a role in the boy's case."

I did have that immediate thought, that they probably wouldn't have done it, if he was white. #CriminalJustice

https://www.audacy.com/krld/news/state/texas-da-loses-fight-against-netflix-over-french-film Apparently, that's what happened with Cuties. I forgot about that incident.

https://reason.com/2023/12/20/sentencing-commission-again-proposes-restricting-judges-use-of-acquitted-conduct/

"A government panel could soon limit a little-known but outrageous practice that allows federal judges to enhance defendants' sentences based on conduct a jury acquitted them of.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission published proposed amendments to federal guidelines on December 14 that include three potential options to restrict judges' ability to use acquitted conduct at sentencing—a practice that a wide range of civil liberties advocates say is antithetical to the principles of the American justice system."

#CriminalJustice