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GOP argument: Don't give President Obama a blank check
Legal Business |
2008/10/24 01:49
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(CNN) -- A new Republican ad appears to suggest that Barack Obama has al but won the presidential race, an argument several vulnerable Senate Republicans may have to reluctantly embrace with only days until Election Day, an expert in campaign advertising said. Some Republicans are already planning on a Barack Obama presidency. Aimed at Kay Hagan, Sen. Elizabeth Dole's surprisingly strong Democratic challenger in North Carolina, the 30-second spot from the National Republican Senatorial Committee warns voters against Democrats holding the White House and Congress, and flatly states that if Hagan wins, the party will "get a blank check." "These liberals want complete control of government in a time of crisis, all branches of government," the ad's narrator states. "No check and balances, no debate, no independence. That's the truth behind Kay Hagan. If she wins, they get a blank check." Committee Online Communications Director John Randall denied that the ad is suggesting that GOP nominee John McCain will lose out on the White House. "The NRSC is not conceding a Barack Obama presidency," he said. "Fiscally irresponsible liberals like Kay Hagan are not the answer in these tough economic times and would only make things worse. Our ad was intended to highlight Hagan's many failings in light of the Democrats' promise to close debate should they control the executive and legislative branches of the federal government." But with polls warning of a GOP bloodbath November 4, vulnerable senators in red states may have no other option but to suggest that Obama will capture the White House and warn that the Illinois senator needs to be checked by Senate Republicans. Watch more on the fight for battleground states » "They are basically painting the picture that the presidential race is over," said Evan Tracey of Campaign Media Analysis Group, CNN's consultant on ad spending. "Overall, people prefer divided government. This is that divided government argument: 'Don't hand sole control over to one party.' " [CODE][/CODE] |
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ABA Antitrust Fall Forum
Legal Interview |
2008/10/20 16:44
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What will a new administration mean to the practice of antitrust lawand how will it affect Congress, the agencies and the courts in comingyears? What changes can be expected at the Federal Trade Commissionand Department of Justice? How will enforcement activity in the U.S.affect the international arena? How will the current state of theeconomy affect competition policy going forward?
The Fall Forumof the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law will addressthese and other issues relating to the impact of antitrust policy andenforcement on the national and global economy. Antitrust officialsand practitioners will gather at the National Press Club in Washington,D.C., Nov. 13-14 for sessions exploring the full spectrum of recent andexpected developments in antitrust law and policy. Section Chair JamesA. Wilson, conference chair Lynda K. Marshall and vice-chair David AHigbee will preside over the meeting.
Highlighting theconference will be keynote addresses on Nov. 13 by FTC Chair William E.Kovacic and U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Thomas O.Barnett. Other noteworthy speakers at the annual forum include FTCCommissioner J. Thomas Rosch; Vinod Dhall, retired acting chair of theCompetition Commission of India; Anant Raut, majority counsel,Committee on the Judiciary; U.S. House of Representatives; HouseJudiciary Committee Minority Counsel E. Stewart Jeffries; Melinda ReidHatton, senior vice president and general counsel, American HospitalAssociation; Mark D. Whitener, General Electric Company; Deputy U.S.Assistant Attorneys General Deborah A. Garza and James J. O’ConnellJr.; Randolph W. Tritell, director, Office of International Affairs,FTC; and Robert L. Hubbard, director of litigation, Antitrust Bureau,New York State Attorney General.
Programs on Nov.13 include:- Past is Prologue: Taking a Hard Look at the Last Administration’s Agenda and Accomplishments
- The Substantive Scope of Section 5 of the FTC Act: Where are the Boundaries and Where Should They Be?
- International Cooperation – Where Do We Go From Here?
- Healthcare Reform – Lessons and Guidance From the Antitrust Front
Programs on Nov. 14 include: - Transitioning to the Next Administration – What to Expect From the Agencies, the Hill and the States
- Grading the Agencies on Merger Process Reform
- The Rise of Antitrust in the Far East – A Changing Landscape
- The Litigious FTC: FTC Litigation and Administrative Process
For more information about the fall forum visit the section’s Web site at http://www.abanet.org/antitrust.
TheABA Section of Antitrust Law, with more than 9,000 members, is theleading forum for ongoing analysis of policies and developmentsaffecting competition and consumer protection law.
With morethan 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largestvoluntary professional membership organization in the world. As thenational voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve theadministration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers andjudges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legaleducation, and works to build public understanding around the world ofthe importance of the rule of law. |
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Navy Refuses to Release McCain Car Crash Records
Legal Topics |
2008/10/20 16:39
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Journalists say the U.S. Navy refuses to release documents about a 1964auto accident in which then-Lt. John McCain was involved, and injured,along with another man, outside the main gate of the Norfolk Navy Base.The Navy allegedly located the documents but refused to release them tothe National Security News Service, because "the Navy contended thatthe records could only have historical value and could not become abreaking news story."
The news service says it is working ona story about McCain for Vanity Fair magazine, "including anexamination of his conduct in Norfolk and Portsmouth in the 1960s.Despite Senator McCain's prior 23 years of service as a Naval officer,the Navy has only released general summaries of his military career,"the federal FOIA complaint states.
It continues: "Plaintiffsand Vanity Fair have developed from first-hand sources informationindicating that Lt. McCain was involved in an automobile accident onHampton Boulevard outside the main gate of the Naval Base at Norfolk,VA in July 1964. Plaintiffs' investigation has disclosed thatresponding civilian law enforcement officers recall the accident, thatanother person was injured, and that a Naval officer dispatched amessenger to take a change of clothing to Lt. McCain at PortsmouthNaval Hospital. Plaintiffs have also obtained documents showing thatlaw enforcement officers were ordered back to the accident scene toretrieve personal physical effects. The Navy has never publiclyacknowledged this information.
"The fact of assignment toPortsmouth Naval Hospital, as to any Navy hospital, is a public recordnot protected by FOIA law or regulations." Nonetheless, plaintiffs say,the Navy refuses to release the documents, which it has located, on theabsurd claim that they "could only have historical value and could notbecome a breaking news story."
The news service and itsreporter Christopher Law want to see "releasable Navy records listingassignments of Navy personnel to Portsmouth Naval Hospital in 1964."
They are represented by Mark Nagle with Troutman Sanders. |
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Typhoon Restaurant sued by Immigrant Workers
Areas of Focus |
2008/10/10 16:08
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A worker claims managers of the Typhoon! restaurant chain abusedimmigrant workers, confiscated their passports, denied them overtimeand medical care, threatened to deport them if they complained, openedtheir mail, stole their tax returns, forced them "to kowtow to theowners and purchase presents for them," and claimed to have "paid offthe Department of Homeland Security to do whatever defendants want."
SarinyaReabroy sued the nine-restaurant chain and its managers, Steve Klineand Bo Kline, in Federal Court. She says that in 2003, Bo Kline inducedher to emigrate from Thailand, where she had a good job. Upon arrivingin Portland, she says, she and her co-workers were subjected tointolerable and illegal conditions.
She claims "Typhoon! ruledthe workplace with iron fists of intimidation, coercion and harassment,targeting their Thai workers" with the abuses mentioned above, andthese abuses:
subjecting them to dangerous working conditions;
"tellingThai workers that defendant Bo Kline was 'Queen of immigration' andthat defendants have paid off the Department of Homeland Security to dowhatever defendants want;"
threatening to sue them and their families if they complained;
forbidding Thai workers to talk with "white people;"
"intentionallydeceiving Thai workers about the overtime investigation conducted bythe United States Department of Labor in 2004-2004 and the subsequentpayment by Typhoon! of $120,000 to settle the matter;"
"threatening to blacklist Thai workers for all employers both within the United States and abroad;"
"forbiddinginjured Thai workers from seeing or treating with health careprofessionals and/or refusing them access to first aid;"
"throwing dishes, utensils and food at them and propositioning them for sex;"
"displaying beheaded and dismembered Buddhas in a manner offensive to Thai workers who were of the Buddhist faith;"
"forcing the Thai workers to kowtow to the owners and purchase presents for them;"
"confiscating Thai workers' tax returns;"
and in other ways.She wants punitive damages and statutory and liquidated damages. She is represented by Beth Creighton |
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Court Stays Guantanamo Prisoner Release
Legal Topics |
2008/10/09 16:27
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The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Wednesday stayed a federaljudge's order that the Bush administration free 17 prisoners fromGuantanamo. U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina ordered the governmentto bring the prisoners to his court Friday, saying the administrationhad not proved they had broken any laws or were "unlawful enemycombatants." The three-judge appeals panel gave the Justice Departmentand the Uighurs' attorneys until Oct. 16 to submit briefs.
TheUighurs, Muslims who lived in China, face torture if deported there,Urbina said, so they must be released in the United States. Theirsupporters say a Pakistani tribe sold the men to the U.S. military forthe U.S.-offered bounty of $5,000 apiece.
Urbina's order on Tuesday set the Bush administration into a tizzy. |
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Carol Doyle Represents Immigration Detainees
Court Watch |
2008/10/08 16:06
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Federal officials refused to treat a diabetic immigration detainee'sgangrenous wound for more than two months, despite a stench so bad thatother prisoners staged a hunger strike to demand care for him, MartinHernandez Banderas claims in Federal Court. He says that when theagonizing infection became so serious that a doctor recommendedamputation, the USA discharged him from prison so it wouldn't have topay for it.
Hernandez Banderas was imprisoned at theImmigration and Customs Enforcement prison in San Diego. Among theclaims in his federal complaint are that 83 detainees have died incustody of the immigration service in the past 5 years, many of themfrom inadequate medical care.
Hernandez says his treatment wasso bad it constituted torture. He demands punitive damages. He isrepresented by Carol Doyle with Willoughby Doyle of Oakland. |
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Tokyo Broadcasting Sues ABC for Ripping off Shows
Legal Topics |
2008/10/07 16:29
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ABC's "reality" show "Wipeout" is a ripoff of Tokyo BroadcastingSystem's shows, the Japanese network claims in Federal Court. TBS saysABC's show might "more aptly be titled 'Swipe-Out, given that it isnothing more than a blatant copycat combination of protected elementsstolen from plaintiff's ... shows 'Takeshi's Castle,' 'Most ExtremeElimination Challenge,' 'Sasuke,' 'Kunoichi,' 'Ninja Warrior' and'Women of Ninja Warrior.'
TBS' complaint continues: "From themoment ABC revealed 'Wipeout' to the public, that program has routinelybeen described in the press as a 'rip-off' and 'knockoff' ofplaintiff's shows. Apparently, ABC boldly decided that it need notobtain plaintiff's permission to use the content of the shows despitethe obvious need for ABC to do so. ABC's willful and wrongful use ofPlaintiff's shows to create 'Wipeout' is egregious, inexcusable and notto be tolerated."
TBS demands punitive damages for copyright violations and unfair competition. It is represented by Stanton Stein. |
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