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Category: In the News

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Rugby, Apartheid, and the Law

Posted by: Kelly Buchanan

The recent passing of Nelson Mandela saw much sorrow expressed around the world, as well as a great deal of reflection and celebration of his life.  Many articles were written from a wide range of angles and perspectives.  And many people related their personal experiences of how the events and achievements of Mandela’s life had …

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To Shop or to Stop?

Posted by: Kelly Buchanan

I’m betting at least a few of our readers braved the Black Friday shopping crowds to get their hands on particular products at bargain prices.  You may have even ventured out to shop on Thanksgiving Thursday, with a number of stores deciding to open much earlier than in previous years.  Of course, as was widely …

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Soviet Law and the Assassination of JFK

Posted by: Kelly Buchanan

The following is a guest post by Peter Roudik, Director of the Global Legal Research Center at the Law Library of Congress and a foreign law specialist covering Russia and former Soviet Union jurisdictions. In a recent interview with NPR, the Librarian of Congress Dr. James H. Billington said that “the assassination of President Kennedy …

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Understanding the Aussie Election

Posted by: Kelly Buchanan

Elections for Australia’s federal Parliament will be held this weekend on September 7, 2013.  Initially, in January of this year, the then prime minister, Julia Gillard, announced that September 14 would be the election date.  But in June a new prime minister, Kevin Rudd (who is also a former prime minister), took over and in …

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How Big is Too Big for New Zealand?

Posted by: Kelly Buchanan

This past weekend New Zealand’s laws made an appearance in international news publications once again with headlines such as “South African Chef ‘Too Fat’ to Live in New Zealand” (BBC), “New Zealand Cites Obesity In Denying Chef’s Work Visa” (NPR), “Obese Man Faces Deportation” (Sky News), and “New Zealand Immigration Officials Say Man is Too …

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Iran’s Upcoming Presidential Election

Posted by: Kelly Buchanan

The following is a guest post by Dr. Sanaz Alasti who is currently a Scholar in Residence at the Law Library of Congress.  Dr. Alasti is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Lamar University and an Iranian legal scholar. On June 14, 2013, the Islamic Republic of Iran will hold its eleventh presidential election.  …

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Banning Baby Names

Posted by: Kelly Buchanan

At the start of May for the last few years I’ve seen multiple news items about the baby names that were rejected by the New Zealand authorities during the previous year (e.g., Lucifer, Prince, J, Rogue…).  The list of names, and the fact that the government is able to deem them unacceptable, draws plenty of interest …

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Marmite: A Sticky Legal Situation

Posted by: Kelly Buchanan

You may know what it is, but you may never have tried it.  Or you may have tried it and screwed up your nose at the strange salty flavor.  However, to many people – myself included – it is “black gold.”  So I panicked along with many other New Zealanders when supplies of Marmite ran …