[Editor's Note: This piece was first published at the Huffington Post] According to Chief Justice Roberts, judges are baseball umpires who apply rules impartially to disputes. As neutral actors, judges make everyone play by the rules but do not take sides themselves. But with members of Senate locked in a heated debate whether Obama or the next president should name … [Read more...] about The Caustic Side Effects of Looking to Supreme Court Justices as Umpires
democracy
Free Speech Definitely Doesn’t Mean Cost Notwithstanding Speech
The recent post by pugster about rioters in Hong Kong brought to my mind some thoughts I had as the Umbrella Revolution was flaming out a couple of years ago. One of the arguments many people in the West used to denigrate the HK and Mainland government in support of the Umbrella movement was that the rioters had a right to block streets and shut down districts to get their … [Read more...] about Free Speech Definitely Doesn’t Mean Cost Notwithstanding Speech
How would this story be reported if it were China asking Apple for a way to get into a Terrorist’s phone?
Interesting story from NYT today titled "Judge Tells Apple to Help Unlock San Bernardino Gunman’s iPhone." Here is an excerpt: WASHINGTON — A judge in California on Tuesday ordered Apple to help the F.B.I. unlock an iPhone used by one of the attackers in the assault in San Bernardino that killed 14 people in December. The ruling handed the F.B.I. a potentially important … [Read more...] about How would this story be reported if it were China asking Apple for a way to get into a Terrorist’s phone?
The Ouster of Hung Hsiu-chu
Over the weekend, the KMT nullified Hung Hsiu-chu’s nomination and selected party chairman Eric Chu to lead the ticket in the Jan. 16 election. George Koo wrote a piece about it last week. I typically don't comment that much on populist politics since they are fleeting, shallow, and often end up, when on look back, just dust in the wind. Here are some of my takes: … [Read more...] about The Ouster of Hung Hsiu-chu
Case Study on Democracy and Rule of Law: Japan and the World at a Crossroad?
Recently, the Japanese Parliament passed controversial legislation pushed by Abe to allow Japanese forces to fight abroad for the first time since 1945. Here is how Reuters reported it: Japan's parliament voted into law on Saturday a defense policy shift that could let troops fight overseas for the first time since 1945, a milestone in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to … [Read more...] about Case Study on Democracy and Rule of Law: Japan and the World at a Crossroad?