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Archive: November 2011 (19 Posts)

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An Interview with Christine Sellers, Legal Reference Librarian

Posted by: Andrew Weber

This week’s interview is with Christine, a co-worker who is already familiar to loyal blog readers.  She has been instrumental in our blog’s success.  Not to provide too much a spoiler, but Christine is leaving the Law Library of Congress on Friday. We have worked together on many other projects over the last two years, some …

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Law, a Curse and Life in an Italian Ghetto

Posted by: Nathan Dorn

Although Alessandro Aldobrandini (1664-1734) was not the first in the long history of Italy’s Aldobrandini family to traverse the cursus honorum of the church’s hierarchy, his record of achievement was substantial: educated first in the Seminario Romano and later in the University of Pisa, where he attained the degree of doctor utriusque juris, he was …

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Referendum on New Zealand’s Voting System

Posted by: Kelly Buchanan

Today (currently Saturday, November 26 in New Zealand) is election day in New Zealand.  In addition to voting for a candidate standing in their district (“electorate“) and for the political party that they want in Parliament, voters will be participating in a referendum on whether the electoral system should be changed. The current electoral system …

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Laws in a Crusader State

Posted by: Nathan Dorn

On November 27, 1095, Pope Urban II declared the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont. In so doing, he inaugurated a period of centuries of intense, though intermittent, warfare fought at the peripheries of Christendom. The Crusades exist in our historical memory as a period of near constant bloodshed and destruction, but out of the chaos …

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Human Rights Day Event: Save the Date!

Posted by: Andrew Weber

The following is a guest post by Constance Johnson, a Legal Research Analyst in the Law Library’s Global Legal Research Center.  She previous guest posted on Water Rights at Star Island. On Friday, December 9, 2011, the Law Library of Congress will hold its fourth annual Human Rights Day celebration.  International Human Rights Day is actually observed on …

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The THOMAS Starting Point – Pic of the Week

Posted by: Andrew Weber

Shortly after giving me the THOMAS Memo dated January 10, 1995, Pam showed me a copy of the Library of Congress Information Bulletin that announced THOMAS in a front page story entitled “Congress on the Internet.”  I saw this screen shot and thought it would make a perfect Pic of the Week.  Note that there was …

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Lecture by Professor Allan Brewer-Carías: The Connection between the U.S. Independence and the Hispanic American Independence Movement

Posted by: Kelly Buchanan

The following is a guest post by Dante Figueroa, Senior Legal Analyst at the Law Library of Congress. On November 22, 2011, from noon to 1:30 pm, the Law Library of Congress will host the renowned Venezuelan academic, intellectual, and constitutional scholar Allan Brewer-Carías, who will present a lecture titled: The Connection between the U.S. …

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Prisoner Swap Deals Under Israeli Law

Posted by: Ruth Levush

The recent release of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit has forced Israelis to reflect again on the cost of releasing kidnapped soldiers. Shalit was abducted by the military wing of Hamas from inside Israel’s borders in June 2006 and had been held captive for over five years.  Israel agreed to release 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the …