ToaKraka
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User ID: 108
ToaKraka
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23d ago
It seems like a pretty obvious joke to me (leading in a straight line from Hoffmeister25's joke and No_one's getting wooshed).
ToaKraka
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23d ago
Particularly hilarious is that the father's three sentences were run concurrently, rather than consecutively—so he did not receive any extra penalty for the third pregnancy (or, indeed, for the second one).
ToaKraka
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23d ago
Personally, I find it quite amazing and hilarious that hentai plots can regularly be found lurking in real-life court opinions.
ToaKraka
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23d ago
Someone charged in my state with sex with two minors under 15 would be held without bond or with a million dollar cash bond.
New Jersey court rules appear to recommend bail of 150 to 300 k$ for this crime. I don't know what the judge's rationale was in not imposing bail.
Someone charged in my state with sex with two minors under 15 would be looking at life in prison with no parole.
Under New Jersey law, the maximum sentence for this crime (sex with a minor under 13, or with a minor between 13 and 15 by a parent/guardian/etc.) is life with the possibility of parole after 25 years. In this case, the criminal received the minimum sentence of 25 years without the possibility of parole, running concurrently for all three instances.
Just released is a new house-design simulator, Architect Life. It actually uses lines like proper CAD software, rather than brown bricks like House Flipper and Minecraft. Design your dream house now! (Or just get QCAD for free.)
ToaKraka
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23d ago
Very interesting article: Under shadow of Trump warning, Africa pioneers non-dollar payments systems
Africa's push for local currency payments systems, once little more than an aspiration, is finally making concrete gains, bringing the promise of less costly trade to a continent long hobbled by resource-sapping dollar transactions.
The move by Africa to create payments systems that do not rely on the greenback mirrors a push by China to develop financial systems independent of Western institutions. Countries like Russia, which face economic sanctions, are also keen for an alternative to the dollar.
But while that movement has gained a sense of urgency due to shifting trade patterns and geopolitical realignments following President Trump's return to the White House, African advocates for payment alternatives are making their case based on costs.
"Our goal, contrary to what people might think, is not de-dollarisation," said Mike Ogbalu, chief executive of the Pan-African Payments and Settlements System, which allows parties to transact directly in local currencies, bypassing the dollar.
Africa's commercial banks typically rely on overseas counterparts, through so-called correspondent banking relationships, to facilitate settlements of international payments. That includes payments between African neighbours.
That adds significantly to transaction costs that, along with other factors like poor transport infrastructure, have made trade in Africa 50% more expensive than the global average, according to the UN Trade and Development agency.
It is also among the reasons so much of Africa's trade—84%, according to a report by Mauritius-based MCB Group—is with external partners rather than between African nations.
According to data compiled by PAPSS, under the existing system of correspondent banks, a $200 million trade between two parties in different African countries is estimated to cost 10% to 30% of the value of the deal.
The shift to homegrown payments systems could cut the cost of that transaction to just 1%.
Using currencies like the Nigerian naira, Ghanaian cedi or South Africa's rand for intra-Africa trade payments could save the continent $5 billion a year in hard currency, Ogbalu told Reuters.
Launched in January 2022 with just 10 participating commercial banks, PAPSS is today operational in 15 countries including Zambia, Malawi, Kenya and Tunisia, and now has 150 commercial banks in its network.
ToaKraka
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23d ago
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In January 2021, a person jaywalks across a road. He is returning to his car from a bakery, carrying "a box of custard cups", so his vision is obscured. He trips over a large pothole (4 ft × 1 ft × 2 in or 1.2 m × 0.3 m × 5 cm) and breaks a hip. Accordingly, he sues the municipal govt.
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The trial judge dismisses the lawsuit. In a different case, a person sued over a sidewalk that for 18 years had been obviously dangerous and near which the municipal govt. had repeatedly done repair work, and that was sufficient to prove that the municipal govt. had notice of the dangerous condition. However, in this case, the pothole was quite small at first and grew larger only gradually, and it existed for only six years. (Indeed, it was genuinely recognizable as a pothole only for two years, according to Google Street View's photographs.) This is not sufficient evidence for a jury to find that the municipal govt. knew or should have known of the dangerous condition, since nobody reported it until after the accident.
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The appeals panel reverses and remands for trial. Between 2018 and 2019, the municipal govt. made several repairs immediately adjacent to the pothole. And, between 2018 and 2020, the municipal govt. was seeking to get a grant from the state govt. for resurfacing this road, and was actively inspecting the area for problems to be included in that resurfacing project. All this is sufficient for a jury to find that the municipal govt. knew or should have known about the pothole, even though nobody reported it until after the accident.
(The pothole was temporarily patched in March 2021, and was permanently fixed by the resurfacing project in July 2021.)
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March 2019: A mother notices something strange about her two daughters, 12-year-old "Kelly" and 13-year-old "Taylor". She brings them to the hospital, and is surprised to learn that they are both pregnant. Taylor gives birth a few days later. In police interviews, the daughters do not provide any leads, and deny that the mother's romantic partner is the culprit.
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June 2019: Kelly gives birth. The police obtain a DNA sample from the romantic partner.
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September 2019: The DNA test shows that the romantic partner is the father of both babies. The father is arrested and is charged with fifteen felonies, and then is released on his own recognizance (zero bail; this isn't mentioned in the opinion, but is indicated on the docket).
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March 2021: Taylor gives birth again. Presumably the father made the most of being out on bail.
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August 2022: The father pleads guilty to three felonies—impregnating Taylor at age 12, impregnating Kelly at age 11, and impregnating Taylor again at age 13. He is sentenced to 25 years in prison (without the possibility of parole).
ToaKraka
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24d ago
You seem to imply in your first comment ("I have a suicide attempt from nearly a decade ago on my record"; "I tend to forget what abject misery feels like until I feel it again. If it's genetic, I don't want my kids to feel it") that you suffer from depression. As a person who contracted depression after around five and a half years of employment, I can say that my life ABSOLUTELY REVOLVES AROUND the promise of retirement and unlimited relaxation (just a year and a half away!!!), and "living a relatively normal life, passion be damned, just doing whatever I can tolerate" is impossible while my relaxation time is crippled by working.
Do the calculation! You may be pleasantly surprised at how quickly your retirement date is approaching.
ToaKraka
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24d ago
IMO, step 1 in devising a long-term plan is figuring out your financial outlook. At what age do you expect to be able to retire in your current position vs. in your alternative scenarios? If you're in the US, you can use the Consumer Expenditure Survey of the Bureau of Labor Statistics as a baseline budget (size of consumer unit by income before taxes: one person, < 15 k$/a). Plug that into a spreadsheet and add some assumptions for investment growth, inflation, and life expectancy.
ToaKraka
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24d ago
Several are described in the debate transcript.
Can you really call this measure "overplaying one's hand" when it passed with literally 73 percent of Parliament's lower house in favor? Surely, such a gigantic supermajority must reflect the will of the voters.
(A bunch of Labour MPs voted against it, too. It was 291–25 for Labour, 8–96 for the Conservatives, 63–2 for the Liberal Democrats.)
ToaKraka
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25d ago
The transcript of the debate appears to support your uncharitable description. Antoniazzi:
Although abortion is available in England and Wales under conditions set by the Abortion Act 1967, the law underpinning it, which dates back to 1861—the Offences Against the Person Act—means that outside those conditions, abortion remains a criminal offence carrying a maximum life sentence. Originally passed by an all-male Parliament elected by men alone, this Victorian law is increasingly used against vulnerable women and girls. Since 2020, more than 100 women have been criminally investigated, six have faced court, and one has been sent to prison. The women affected are often acutely vulnerable. Victims of domestic abuse and violence, human trafficking and sexual exploitation; girls under the age of 18; and women who have suffered miscarriage or stillbirth, or have given birth prematurely, have faced invasive and prolonged criminal investigations that cause long-term harm.
The fact is that new clause 1 would take women out of the criminal justice system, and that is what has to happen and has to change now. There is no way that these women should be facing what they are facing.
I implore colleagues not to lose sight of the moral imperative here: namely, vulnerable women being dragged from hospital bed to police cell on suspicion of ending their own pregnancies. This is urgent. We know that multiple women are still in the system awaiting a decision, accused of breaking this law. They cannot afford to wait.
We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to put an end to this in a simple and secure manner. This is the right change at the right time, so I implore colleagues who want to protect women and abortion services to vote for new clause 1. Let us ensure that not a single desperate woman is ever again subject to traumatic criminal investigation at the worst moments of their lives.
ToaKraka
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25d ago
Apparently, the UKGBNI is set to completely decriminalize abortion in England and Wales when performed by the woman (not when performed by a doctor). According to Reuters and BBC, under existing law abortion by a doctor is legal up to 24 weeks and a woman can perform an abortion on herself with prescribed pills up to 10 weeks. In contrast, the new law—approved by 73 percent of the House of Commons—appears to permit abortion right up to the point of birth when it is performed by the woman.
Text of the law (on pages 108–109 of the PDF; part of a much larger bill):
Tonia Antoniazzi, NC1
To move the following Clause—
Removal of women from the criminal law related to abortion
For the purposes of the law related to abortion, including sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929, no offence is committed by a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy.
Member's explanatory statement
This new clause would disapply existing criminal law related to abortion from women acting in relation to her own pregnancy at any gestation, removing the threat of investigation, arrest, prosecution, or imprisonment. It would not change any law regarding the provision of abortion services within a healthcare setting, including but not limited to the time limit, telemedicine, the grounds for abortion, or the requirement for two doctors’ approval.
ToaKraka
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28d ago
(4) No(ish). The left lane is a lane. We should utilize all lanes. When traffic is slow it is better to use them all and it would be stupid chaos if people were passing, merging, then being passed in the left lane.
Clarification: "Passing" includes "going faster than vehicles in the right lane", not just "performing a 'passing maneuver' of moving from the right lane to the left lane, passing a single car or platoon of cars that's in the right lane, and moving back to the right lane". An at-capacity two-lane highway following this rule would be composed of two full lanes with the left lane moving slightly faster than the right lane, not a full right lane and an empty left lane.
ToaKraka
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28d ago
(4) No, when there is traffic all lanes should be utilized.
Clarification: "Passing" includes "going faster than vehicles in the right lane", not just "performing a 'passing maneuver' of moving from the right lane to the left lane, passing a single car or platoon of cars that's in the right lane, and moving back to the right lane". An at-capacity two-lane highway following this rule would be composed of two full lanes with the left lane moving slightly faster than the right lane, not a full right lane and an empty left lane.
ToaKraka
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28d ago
Interstates around here are normally 2 lanes wide, there is always traffic, and there are frequent cloverleafs with on ramps and offramps right next to each other. If people only utilized the left lane for passing traffic would be much worse because of less throughput on the roads and slowdowns due to contention merging on and off the interstate.
Clarification: "Passing" includes "going faster than vehicles in the right lane", not just "performing a 'passing maneuver' of moving from the right lane to the left lane, passing a single car or platoon of cars that's in the right lane, and moving back to the right lane". An at-capacity two-lane highway following this rule would be composed of two full lanes with the left lane moving slightly faster than the right lane, not a full right lane and an empty left lane.
ToaKraka
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28d ago
build trains (not busses) going from commuterville to the downtowns everyone actually works in
You're forgetting that downtowns are dying. Prominent transit critic Randal "Antiplanner" O'Toole has proposed for several cities bus plans that have many small hubs rather than one big hub.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
28d ago
Example laws in this vein:
NJ Statutes tit. 39 ch. 4 § 97.1
No person shall drive a
motorvehicle at such a slow speed as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law.
PA Consolidated Statutes tit. 75 ch. 33 § 64
Except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law, no person shall drive a
motorvehicle at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic.Except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law, whenever any person drives a vehicle upon a roadway having width for not more than one lane of traffic in each direction at less than the maximum posted speed and at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, the driver shall, at the first opportunity when and where it is reasonable and safe to do so and after giving appropriate signal, drive completely off the roadway and onto the berm or shoulder of the highway. The driver may return to the roadway after giving appropriate signal only when the movement can be made in safety and so as not to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic.
A pedalcycle may be operated at a safe and reasonable speed appropriate for the pedalcycle. A pedalcycle operator shall use reasonable efforts so as not to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic.
IN Code tit. 9 art. 21 ch. 5 § 7
A person may not drive a
motorvehicle at a slow speed that impedes or blocks the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with the law. A person who is driving:
on a roadway that has not more than one (1) lane of traffic in each direction; and
at a slow speed so that three (3) or more other vehicles are blocked and cannot pass on the left around the vehicle;
shall give right-of-way to the other vehicles by pulling off to the right of the right lane at the earliest reasonable opportunity and allowing the blocked vehicles to pass.
ToaKraka
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28d ago
When I look up this case by its two docket numbers in the Pennsylvania court system, the appellate docket sheet includes an order sealing the record, and the trial docket sheet doesn't show up at all. So this juvenile proceeding presumably is closed to the public.
ToaKraka
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29d ago
ToaKraka
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29d ago
I find learning about random legal stuff like the necessary evidence for conspiracy and murder to be reasonably fun, personally.
My grandpa got a case of the molesties when I was a kid, and I am horrified that people's objection to this is that it was sexual and not that he was forcing me to do something I didn't want to do. Eight-year-olds don't want to French kiss their grandpas! They don't want to get sticks shoved up their noses or wake up at 7 AM either. If we children had our agency respected, none of that stuff would have happened.
This is in the context of discussing school as an imposition on autonomy, so it should not be assumed that the molestation occurred at age eight.
New York–Philadelphia corridor: 70–75 °F (21–24 °C) and sunny
The aforementioned temperatures prevail around May and September.
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