Legal and Legislative News

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Hackers Clone E-Passports

Wired News

by Kim Zetter

August 3, 2006

A German computer security consultant has shown that he can clone the electronic passports that the United States and other countries are beginning to distribute this year.

The controversial e-passports contain radio frequency ID, or RFID, chips that the U.S. State Department and others say will help thwart document forgery. But Lukas Grunwald, a security consultant with DN-Systems in Germany and an RFID expert, says the data in the chips is easy to copy. The whole passport design is totally brain damaged," Grunwald says. "From my point of view all of these RFID passports are a huge waste of money. They're not increasing security at all."

TeenScreen - Normal Kids Labeled Mentally Ill

The Sierra Times

by Evelyn Pringle

August 2, 2006

Despite years of public outcry, based on recommendations by Bush's New Freedom Commission to screen all school children for mental illness, TeenScreen is now being administered in the nation's public school system.

Children are being regularly diagnosed with one, or more, disorders chosen from the close to 400 listed in the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV" (DSM), also known as the psychiatric "Billing Bible." The list of mental disorders to chose from when diagnosing children mentally ill with TeenScreen, are "voted" into the Billing Bible by members of the American Psychiatric Association, and include, among others, conduct disorder, avoidant personality disorder, mathematics disorder, reading disorder, disorder of written expression, general anxiety disorder, nightmare disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and factious disorder.

No Car Insurance? Soon, You'll Get No Mercy

Woman Motorist

by Michelle Groh-Gordy

July 27, 2006

California legislators now are rolling out a three-phase plan with the sole intent of making uninsured motorists in California a thing of the past. As of Jan. 1, insurance agencies are required to electronically submit evidence of financial responsibility

If you are pulled over on or after July 1 of this year, the excuse that you left your car insurance card in your other pants will no longer fly. As of that date, law enforcement will have access to the current status of your insurance, as well. The final ax will fall on October 6, 2006. As of that date, the California DMV will be required to suspend the registrations of uninsured motorists.

Court rules teen must have cancer treatment

MSNBC (VA)

July 21, 2006

A judge ruled Friday that a 16-year-old boy fighting to use alternative treatment for his cancer must report to a hospital by Tuesday and accept treatment that doctors deem necessary, the family's attorney said.

Stepanovich said he will ask a higher court on Monday to stay enforcement of the order, which requires the parents to take Abraham to Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk and to give the oncologist their written legal consent to treat their son for Hodgkin's disease. The lawyer declined to release the ruling, saying juvenile court Judge Jesse E. Demps has sealed much of the case.

Witness protection a world of closely held secrets

San Diego Union Tribune (CA)

by Mark Sherman

July 19, 2006

An old mobster once gave Joseph Paonessa some advice that, if a bit chilling, has served him well during his many years working in the federal witness protection program.

"He said, 'Kid, three people can keep a secret when two of them are dead,'"said Paonessa, a senior official in the U.S. Marshals Service. When managing a program that has relocated and provided new identities to 18,000 people, keeping a tight lid on information is more than a fond wish.

Scoop: Evelyn Pringle: Merck Not Losing Sleep Over Vioxx

Scoop Independent News

by Evelyn Pringle

July 18, 2006

Merck's top management team reportedly remains un-phased by Vioxx litigation woes. In fact, Prudential Equity Group analyst, Timothy Anderson, says Merck's CEO, Richard Clark, specifically told him that "Vioxx does not keep him up at night."

According to Mr Anderson, "the company believes that lower court cases will be overturned on appeal, and it is even considering trying to reintroduce Vioxx." "A reintroduction might help Merck's legal case," Mr Anderson states, "as long as the FDA or its advisers do not decide that Merck's risks really do outweigh its benefits."

Able beings should be allowed to refuse medical treatment

The State News (MI)

by Caitlin Scuderi

July 18, 2006

The Constitution protects our will as human beings. This document states that we have the inherent right to pursue happiness. This same document forbids cruel and unusual punishment. Both of these rights seem to fall within what Abraham is doing.

Being independent, informed persons, we should be able, not only to refuse treatment, but to seek alternative methods of recovery. Abraham is legally a minor. However, with his parents' consent and agreement, he should be able to refuse chemotherapy without any legal ramifications. Years after Cowart's release from the hospital, he still believed that he should have been able to refuse treatment. In cases where a future is possible, it is safe to say that any means possible should be taken to ensure that that future is reached. However, do the means always justify the end?

Increasing adoptions: A good idea gone wrong?

MSNBC

by Lea Thompson

July 13, 2006

COVINGTON, Ky. - Almost 10 years ago, Congress passed a law that gives states bonuses if they can get children languishing in foster care adopted quickly.

It sounds like a great idea, but now some child welfare experts say those bonuses have turned into nothing more than bounties that are putting some children at risk. When Kentucky Child Welfare Supervisor Pat Moore learned two children were about to be adopted into a home with a convicted felon, she went to her bosses.

3 Charged With Stealing Coca-Cola Secrets

Washington Post

by Harry R. Weber

July 6, 2006

ATLANTA -- Coca-Cola and Pepsi are usually bitter enemies, but when PepsiCo Inc. got a letter offering to sell Coke trade secrets, it went straight to its corporate rival.

Six weeks later, three people face federal charges of stealing confidential information, including a sample of a new drink, from The Coca-Cola Co. and trying to sell it to PepsiCo Inc.

Microsoft Offered Multiple Concessions To Adobe In PDF Dispute

Information Week

by Aaron Ricadela

July 5, 2006

A variety of options were on the table, including Microsoft shipping Adobe's Flash and Shockwave with Windows Vista.

Microsoft said Wednesday it had offered multiple concessions to Adobe Systems, including shipping Adobe's Flash and Shockwave software with Windows Vista, to try to resolve their dispute over document formats. Adobe confronted Microsoft earlier this year over the planned ability for Microsoft's upcoming Office 2007 software to create files in the Portable Document Format, a technology Adobe developed.

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