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Archive: 2010 (104 Posts)

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British Gun Laws – What it Takes to (Lawfully) Own a Gun

Posted by: Clare Feikert-Ahalt

In my previous blog post, I reviewed an unfortunate firearms incident that prompted the use of the mandatory minimum sentencing laws.  I mentioned the stringent laws applying to firearms in Great Britain and thought it would be good to provide a brief overview of the legislation in terms of what exactly is required to lawfully …

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Maybe a Dingo Killed the Baby

Posted by: Kelly Buchanan

It’s a phrase that has entered into popular culture and one that people might use to demonstrate the Australian (“Austrayan”) accent but, just as Kirk Lazarus said in Tropic Thunder, “the dingo’s got my baby” (and variations on this quote) really does come from a true story, and a baby really did die.  The cause …

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Where to Watch Congress Online

Posted by: Andrew Weber

This has been a great year for watching Congress online!  C-SPAN launched their Video Library .  It is an incredible resource that contains: …[e]very C-SPAN program aired since 1987, now totaling over 160,000 hours, …in the C-SPAN Archives and [is] immediately accessible through the database and electronic archival systems developed and maintained by the C-SPAN …

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A Simple Case of “Do the Crime, Do the Time”?

Posted by: Kelly Buchanan

People who try to bring illegal drugs into any country are clearly taking a high risk in order to obtain the returns they seek.  In some countries, including a number in Southeast Asia, the stakes are very high indeed, as those caught with drugs may face the death penalty or a considerable number of years …

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Henry VIII is Alive and Well and Living in New Zealand

Posted by: Kelly Buchanan

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post about the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that struck Christchurch, in the Canterbury region of New Zealand, and some of the rules and regulations that seemed to have made things better for people than they might otherwise have been.  The New Zealand Government and Parliament have since tried …

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Tweeting Away

Posted by: Andrew Weber

My how time flies.  I can’t believe it was almost a year ago that we here at the Law Library of Congress entered into the twitterverse. Last October, Matt announced our @LawLibCongress account: The purpose of the Twitter feed, according to the Law Library, is “to engage Members of Congress, their staff, other law libraries, …

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Union Jack? Union Flag?

Posted by: Clare Feikert-Ahalt

For me, the topic of this post dates back to the early days of the summer when I merrily hung the flag of the United Kingdom (the Union Flag), and the English flag (the St. George’s Cross), out in the moments before the England-Germany game of the 2010 World Cup.   Thirty-two minutes and two German …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

The Power of the Internet

Posted by: Kelly Buchanan

Discussions about how public sector agencies, courts, and parliaments can best make use of online technology to provide information in different ways and engage with people have been building momentum worldwide for a few years.  In fact, earlier this month there was a big Gov 2.0 Summit held here in Washington, DC.  Clare recently blogged …