Monthly Archives: October 2011

The Bertelsmann Stiftung Foundation of Germany has published a study entitled “Social Justice in the OECD — How Do the Member States Compare?” It analyzed some metrics of basic fairness and equality among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.  … Continue reading →

A New York Times editorial points out:  “The vast majority of criminal cases are resolved by plea bargains: 94 percent in state courts, 97 percent in federal. For defendants, accepting a prosecutor’s plea deal is less risky than going to … Continue reading →

When 16 police officers were arraigned at State Supreme Court in New York City yesterday, more than 100 of their uniformed colleagues loudly denounced their prosecution and held a protest in the courthouse. The unsealed indictments contained more than 1,600 … Continue reading →

When a truck driver was pulled over on I-95 near here, he had no idea why.  Police found a body on top of the tractor trailer. Maryland State Police say a driver saw a man “fall” over a pedestrian overpass … Continue reading →

Atlantic Monthly has reported on a report that shows that since California enacted its current death-penalty statute in 1978, the state’s taxpayers have spent more than $4 billion on only 13 executions, or roughly $308 million per execution. As of … Continue reading →

From news reports: Stamped mail is the category that has declined most steeply in the last decade — 47 percent since 2001. “Standard” mail, the official euphemism for junk mail that until 1996 was called third class, dropped only 8 … Continue reading →

When you ride a Ferris wheel, you might wonder about the strength of the struts or the quality of the maintenance.  You can be forgiven, like the fair-goers in a small Australian town yesterday, for not thinking a light airplane … Continue reading →

Washington Post columnist Steven Pearlstein puts it succinctly:  “Take one financial crisis, fold in a federal budget crisis, add in a nasty recession and mix with two decades of rapid globalization, and what you have is a recipe for the … Continue reading →

Author Barbara Ehrenreich has documented how the wealthy and their political allies claim the rich are being demonized in these difficult times — a not-surprising thing as everyone else loses ground.  But she also points out how strong the defense … Continue reading →