Time, Uranium and the Legislative Process

1978 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 399-426
Author(s):  
Laurence W. Maher
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Attorney General ◽  
National Interest ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Judicial Process ◽  
Parliamentary Debates ◽  
Parliamentary Debate ◽  
The Government

On the evening of 18 November 1976 the Foreign Proceedings (Prohibition of Certain Evidence) Act 1976 passed through both Houses of Federal Parliament in less than three hours. The Federal Government claimed that the Act was urgently needed to protect the Australian national interest, which was said generally to be threatened by attempts being made to gather evidence in Australia for use in large-scale litigation in the United States of America arising put of an international uranium cartel The Parliamentary debate did little credit either to the Government or the Opposition. It is necessary to go beyond the Parliamentary Debates to make an informed assessment of the Act. When the facts are examined it becomes clear that the Government's claim that the situation was urgent was unfounded, that the appeal to the national interest was at best highly questionable and that, because of the availability of appropriate judicial process, legislative action was unnecessary. The Act is alarmingly vague and reposes wide discretionary powers in the Attorney-General. Its passage and operation have quite disturbing implications for parliamentary democracy and the principle of open government. Where uranium is concerned the Federal Government is showing an increasing tendency to use the Parliament as a cipher.

scholarly journals The Law and Practice of Government Shutdowns in the United States

Ad Americam ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 69-97
Author(s):  
Dariusz Stolicki
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Attorney General ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legal Basis ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
Applicable Law ◽  
Contingency Plans ◽  
The Government ◽  
Statutory Basis

This article analyzes the legal rules governing operations of the federal government of the United States during lapses of appropriations (commonly known as government shutdowns). After briefly explaining what government shutdowns are and when they happen, it presents the main sources of the applicable law, starting with its statutory basis – the Antideficiency Act. After analyzing the history, purpose, and text of that statute, the article presents two official opinions of the Attorney General which interpreted the Act to require suspension of non‑essential government operations during funding gaps. The article then proceeds to delineate statutory and implied exceptions to that requirement. Its second part consists of an analysis of actual administration practice during shutdowns. On the basis of agency contingency plans posted during the 2013 shutdown, it identifies the government activities that continued despite the shutdown, and briefly describes each activity’s scale and the legal basis for it being exempt from the generally applicable rules. It concludes that while there have been disputes about the administration’s handling of the shutdown, the agency’s practice was generally consistent with the legal rules, though the statutory framework itself would benefit from congressional revision and clarification.

The Shock Waves of the Haitian Revolution

Slave No More ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 164-196
Author(s):  
Aline Helg
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
Shock Waves ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Haitian Revolution ◽  
Saint Domingue ◽  
Northern United States ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Haitian Revolution

This chapter explores the shock waves caused by the Haitian Revolution and the massive slave insurrection that took both the Americas and Europe by surprise. Despite the rarity of large-scale revolts after 1794, the Saint Domingue insurrection did have a lasting impact on the slaves. The greatest lesson they retained from Haiti was that the institution of slavery was neither unchangeable nor invincible. Amid the troubled backdrop of the age of revolutions, many attentively followed the legal changes upsetting their owners, like the Spanish Códigno Negro, the French abolition of slavery, gradual emancipation laws in the northern United States, and the ban of the slave trade by Great Britain and the United States. Furthermore, after 1794, protests during which slaves claimed freedom they believed to have been decreed by the king or the government, but hidden by their masters, multiplied.

3.8 The standard layout of a treaty A treaty, like English legislation, has a standard format. At the beginning of the treaty is a preamble setting out the main goals of the treaty and the aspirations of the parties. It is divided into clusters of items dealing with similar matters. Each cluster is called a title (which roughly equates with the division of an English statute into parts). Titles contain numbered items called Articles, each one setting out a basic rule or principle. Articles can be divided into paragraphs and subparagraphs. The numbering system is Arabic and it not as dense and complex as that used by English statutes. Figure 5.3: standard layout of a treaty 5.3.9 How do obligations entered into through treaties become part of English law? If the UK government wishes all, or part of a treaty, to become part of English law it must specifically incorporate the treaty, or part of it, into the English legal system via legislation. This legislation goes through the same procedures as any other piece of legislation. If the government expects the treaty to give rise to a range of other measures over time it will usually place sections in this legislation delegating the authority to make later legal changes to others (such as the minister of appropriate government departments). This saves time as there is no need for the full legislative process in Parliament. Whilst it is still the subject of parliamentary debate, it does have a fast track procedure. In relation to treaties becoming part of English law in this way, there is always the possibility that Parliament may refuse to enact the legislation, which would leave the government in an extremely difficult situation. However, the UK Parliament is usually controlled by the political party forming the government and the government would not risk the embarrassment of failure but would guage its position in Parliament prior to signature of a relevant treaty.

2012 ◽  
pp. 132-133
Keyword(s):  
Basic Rule ◽  
The Political ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Difficult Situation ◽  
Standard Format ◽  
Parliamentary Debate ◽  
The Subject ◽  
English Law ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk

Cyberstalking

Stalking ◽  
2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham D. Glancy ◽  
Alan W. Newman
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Coercion ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Attorney General ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Behavior ◽  
Electronic Communications ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Use Of The Internet ◽  
E Mail

Cyberstalking involves the use of the Internet or other electronic communication to stalk another person. Already common, it is likely to become more common as the use of the Internet continues to grow. The characteristics of online stalkers and their victims have some differences from those of the offline stalker. Mullen, Pathé, Purcell, and Stuart’s (1999) classification may apply to cyberstalkers except for the apparently common phenomenon of child luring that may be a new category. The methods of cyberstalking, as described in this chapter, are particularly ingenious. We know little about the effect on victims, but postulate that it is similar to offline stalking. We make some suggestions that may prevent cyberstalking, as well as offer some steps to bear in mind once cyberstalking occurs. The proliferation of personal computers with Internet access in the last decade has raised concerns about a new phenomenon known as cyberstalking. The Internet can be used to annoy and harass large numbers of victims in a generic manner by disseminating computer viruses, Internet scams, and “spamming” people with unsolicited e-mail. In 1999 Janet Reno, the attorney general of the United States, defined cyberstalking as the use of the Internet, e-mail, or other electronic communications devices to stalk another person (Reno, 1999). Barak (2005) looked at the issue of sexual harassment on the Internet. He characterizes cyberstalking as one type of sexual coercion. He notes that online behavior is characterized by disinhibition, openness, venture, and bravado—an atmosphere characterized by typical masculine attitudes. He argues that the lack of legal boundaries or enforcement vehicles encourage people to do what they would not have done in offline situations. He notes the near impossibility of implementation of legal procedures on a large scale. In this chapter we will discuss what is known about the prevalence of this phenomenon, the types of cyberstalking, and what is known about the perpetrators. In addition, we will generate some hypotheses about the comparison between online and offline stalkers. We will also discuss the effects on victims and current thoughts and resources for dealing with cyberstalking.

Committees and legislatures

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Joyce
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Executive Branch ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Government Accountability ◽  
Congressional Committees ◽  
Congressional Budget Office ◽  
High Quality Information ◽  
Policy Challenge ◽  
The Government ◽  
Policy Proposals

The United States Congress, despite its poor reputation for policymaking, has substantial analytical capacity. While congressional committees possess some of this capability, most of the expertise resides in its three support agencies—the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Congressional Research Service (CRS). Within their relative portfolios each of these three agencies has provided the Congress with the ability to make policy, challenge policy proposals coming from the president, and hold the executive branch accountable. All of these agencies face the challenge of providing thorough and credible analyses within the confines of the legislative process and timetable. Further, they must maintain their credibility for nonpartisan analysis in the midst of a political environment that is only growing more polarized. These agencies supply a great deal of high quality information. The challenge for the Congress is how to make better use of this analysis in crafting more effective public policies.

Francis Lieber — His Life and His Work: Part II

1911 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 355-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernest Nys
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
International Law ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Law ◽  
Historical Dramas ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Government ◽  
Civic Duties ◽  
The City

During the fourteen years that he occupied the chair of history and political economy at Columbia College, in the city of New York, Francis Lieber displayed praiseworthy activity. This period of his life covered some restless years; the theatre of operations was of a size whose equal can be shown by few historical dramas. Terrorstricken, the civilized world witnessed a tremendous struggle, whence, fortunately, the cause of civilization was to issue triumphant. The learned professor did not content himself with zealously performing his university obligations; neither was he satisfied with fulfilling his civic duties; he threw himself resolutely into the conflict; he fought with his tongue and his pen; he made himself the organizer and representative of a ceaseless propaganda for the Union cause against the secessionists; by his advice and by his legal works he gave the Federal Government the most valuable assistance. For a long time he had been occupied with public law; he now enlarged the field of his researches and his studies, and he studied ardently the laws of war and important problems of international law. The serious events taking place before his eyes led him, too, to write his opinions and to draft The instructions for the government of armies of the United States in the field, which will ever be an honor to him.

scholarly journals Out-of-Control COVID-19 Pandemic Hampers the Nationalism

2020 ◽  
pp. 147892992097352
Author(s):  
Aly Hiko ◽  
Austin Horng-En Wang
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
The United States ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government

Early studies show that the COVID-19 pandemic causes the rally-around-the-flag effect and increases the level of nationalism among the voters after the outbreak. However, how long does this boost last? Voters may cognitively withdraw their identification to the beloved country if the pandemic is rampant in where they live as well as when the government fails to address it thoroughly. We conducted a pre-registered MTurk experiment (n = 606) on 20 April 2020, in the United States—3 months after the first confirmed case and weeks after the large-scale lockdown. Results show that US subjects who were primed of the COVID-19 in the United States significantly decreased their level of nationalism, especially among Democrats. In contrast, the priming of “COVID-19 in the world” has no effect. The negative impact of COVID-19 on nationalism could be explained by enough time as people could observe and evaluate the government’s performance after the outbreak through the partisan lens.

Urban Politics in the United States since 1945

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lily Geismer
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Urban Renewal ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Urban Politics ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Economic Restructuring ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Trends ◽  
American Cities

Urban politics provides a means to understand the major political and economic trends and transformations of the last seventy years in American cities. The growth of the federal government; the emergence of new powerful identity- and neighborhood-based social movements; and large-scale economic restructuring have characterized American cities since 1945. The postwar era witnessed the expansion of scope and scale of the federal government, which had a direct impact on urban space and governance, particularly as urban renewal fundamentally reshaped the urban landscape and power configurations. Urban renewal and liberal governance, nevertheless, spawned new and often violent tensions and powerful opposition movements among old and new residents. These movements engendered a generation of city politicians who assumed power in the 1970s. Yet all of these figures were forced to grapple with the larger forces of capital flight, privatization, the war on drugs, mass incarceration, immigration, and gentrification. This confluence of factors meant that as many American cities and their political representatives became demographically more diverse by the 1980s and 1990s, they also became increasingly separated by neighborhood boundaries and divided by the forces of class and economic inequality.

Eventual US rate rises may force budget spending cuts

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Student Loans ◽  
The United States ◽  
Stress Tests ◽  
Main Interest ◽  
Content Type ◽  
College Costs ◽  
Debt Dynamics ◽  
The Government ◽  
Spending Cuts

Subject US debt dynamics. Significance The Federal Reserve (Fed) responded to the debt bubble built up in the United States ahead of the 2008-09 crisis by lowering its main interest rate and buying bonds. The Fed succeeded in the sense that there have been no spectacular failures in recent years, unlike in Europe, where banks have failed despite passing stress tests. The aim was to support credit markets and discipline bad actors, but the policies have largely allowed the federal government to finance deficits cheaply and allowed non-financial businesses to borrow at low rates. Impacts Lower rates for even longer are raising the amount of low-rated debt being taken out with relaxed covenants; concerns could escalate. If rate tightening comes sooner and faster than expected, the government will be pressured to cut borrowing to ward off a credit downgrade. Cancelling student loans and reducing college costs will be a key topic during the 2020 election campaign.

Big Government and Prosperity in the United States

2021 ◽  
pp. 84-87
Author(s):  
Samuel Cohn
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Institutional Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Capitalist System ◽  
Business Decisions ◽  
The Public ◽  
Fundamental Point ◽  
Physical Infrastructure ◽  
The Government

This chapter focuses on big government and prosperity in the United States. A lot of Americans are fairly skeptical about the federal government. Some feel the public sector is full of bureaucrats who waste money, interfere with business decisions, and push personal agendas. Others are obsessed with party politics and despise everything from “the other party.” Both groups miss a fundamental point: big government is essential to the survival of a modern capitalist system. The government provides institutional support for the economy that capitalists cannot provide for themselves. Business will not provide defense, education, public health, physical infrastructure, and scientific research because these services are completely unprofitable.

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