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Despite an apparent lack of Arab partner states willing to accept Gaza residents voluntarily leaving the Strip, the number of civilians departing Gaza has risen over the last month. Since the beginning of March, 1,000 residents have left the Gaza Strip, with another 600 expected to leave this week, according to Hebrew media reports. During the 2023-2024 war period, around 35,000 Gaza residents fled the Strip for other countries, often paying bribes to be smuggled out through Egypt. Some Gaza residents were also permitted to leave to receive medical treatment in other countries. The announcement of an increase in the...

The Manhattan D.A.’s office has asked a judge to block Harvey Weinstein’s defense team from calling on a psychologist to testify about false memories and the distinctly Orwellian-sounding phenomenon they refer to as “unwanted voluntary sex.” In a court filing made public on Wednesday, prosecutors responded to a series of motions made by Weinstein’s legal team, including his request to call social psychologist Deborah Davis to testify about “the accuracy and reliability of memory in disputed sexual encounters,” including “the formation of fully false memories for events that never happened.” Specifically, Davis would testify about the “phenomenon of ‘voluntary unwanted...

Health officials said Tuesday they're prepared to legally enforce the state's "voluntary" quarantine on health care workers who've treated Ebola patients. Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew declined during a news conference to comment specifically on the case of nurse Kaci Hickox, who was confined against her will at a New Jersey hospital before traveling home to Maine. But Mayhew said her department and the attorney general's office were prepared to take legal steps to enforce a quarantine if someone declines to cooperate. "We do not want to have to legally enforce in-home quarantine," she said. "We're...

(CNN) -- The "kill switch," a system for remotely disabling smartphones and wiping their data, will become standard in 2015, according to a pledge backed by most of the mobile world's major players. Apple, Google, Samsung and Microsoft, along with the five biggest cellular carriers in the United States, are among those that have signed on to a voluntary program announced Tuesday by the industry's largest trade group. All smartphones manufactured for sale in the United States after July 2015 must have the technology, according to the program from CTIA-The Wireless Association. Advocates say the feature would deter thieves from...

Alex Conant @AlexConant: "We haven't had a cohort of people living permanently in US without full rights of citizenship since slavery". Mind you, he isn’t talking only about illegal immigrants. He’s talking about any non-citizen who lives in this country permanently, including millions of Green Card holders. And by implication: Conn Carroll @conncarroll: For those of you keeping score at home, Rubio spokesman @AlexConant just compared all Schumer-Rubio opponents to slave owners If this is Team Rubio’s strategy for winning over conservatives, good luck with that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6q0slMhDw8&feature=related

Technically, nothing prevents Warren Buffett and other “Patriotic Millionaires” from donating money to the federal government right now, but, as they continue to clamor for a higher tax rate for themselves and others, it’s easy to assume they don’t know that. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) and Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) have introduced legislation to ensure they do: Dubbed “The Buffett Rule Act of 2011,” the names of the bills take a mocking swipe at President Barack Obama’s own proposed “Buffet Rule,” which conversely would close tax code loopholes to ensure that Warren Buffett and those like him no longer pay...

ABC News' Sunlen Miller Reports: On the first day of National Preparedness Month, President Obama cautioned that people “not be alarmed” but be prepared” for the second wave of the H1N1 virus this fall and gave a brief update on the administration’s efforts. “We know that we usually get a second, larger wave of these flu viruses in the fall, and so response plans have been put in place across all levels of government,” Mr. Obama said from the Rose Garden this afternoon, “Our plans and decisions are based on the best scientific information available, and as the situation changes,...

The Obama administration has used TARP participation by banks and other financial and private-sector companies to demand control over their business practices, noting that their voluntary acceptance of taxpayer funds allows the administration stakeholder rights. But how voluntary was the decision by banks to take the money? A new report from CNS and Judicial Watch shows that then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told these institutions that if they didn’t accept it voluntarily, the government would force them to take it, and that wasn’t Obama’s call: Last October, then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson ordered nine banks that the Treasury Department described as “healthy”...

Main Entry: vol·un·tary Pronunciation: 'väl-&n-"ter-E Function: adjective 1 : proceeding from the will or from one's own choice or consent 2 : of, relating to, subject to, or regulated by the will —vol·un·tari·ly adverb -Merriam-Webster's Dictionary Voluntary means voluntary, right? You know, you get to choose. But in the Brave New World Order where words are being redefined. A very relevant example for small farmers, homesteaders and pet livestock owners (e.g., horses) is the April 2006 USDA document which talks about the USDA's proposed National Animal Identification System (NAIS) being voluntary (page 1, paragraph 3). This is a switch from...

Gov. Jeb Bush during a ceremony designating Wakulla Correctional Institution in Crawfordville as a faith-based institution. Wakulla Correctional is Florida's third faith-based prison and the largest of its type in the nation. ...The prison located on Commerce Boulevard next to Opportunity Park was dedicated Wednesday as the state's third, and now the nation's largest, faith-based prison. The 1,600-inmate facility will become a ''Faith- and Character-Based Institution'' as inmates with good behavior can move to the prison and receive educational and spiritual opportunities not available at other state prisons. This is the third faith-based prison in the state, and the others...

"If we were not so used to it, we would find it odd for the government to collect money from young workers and give it to the old (mostly workers' parents)." -- Robert Barro The headline that Business Week put on Robert Barro's column quoted above was "Why Private Accounts are Bad Public Policy." And the headline that the Washington Post put on a story that referred to Barro and others was Conservatives Splitting on Social Security. Is that the real story? I would describe Social Security as a program with a dubious economic rationale and very large costs. As...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California air pollution regulators, frustrated with the failure of a voluntary plan promoted by the trucking industry, instituted mandatory requirements Thursday to clean up illegal diesel engines. Air quality groups hope California's decision once again ripples across the country, as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency struggles with the same nationwide enforcement problem. The decision applies to an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 vehicles licensed in other states that drive through California, as well as 58,000 California-licensed trucks. But the Engine Manufacturers Association suggested it will sue on behalf of its members, who believe they shouldn't have to pay...

While the most dramatic--and widely popular--trend in health care today is toward patient control over health care decision-making, state government officials in Maine appear determined to take their constituents down a path toward socialized medicine that few have tried and none has successfully navigated.This summer, the state will begin enrolling residents in its health care program, called Dirigo--the state motto and Latin for "I lead." The plan was championed by Governor John Baldacci, a Democrat who campaigned for election on the issue of national health care.Uninsured Maine residents who elect to enroll in the program will get health coverage...

<p>College students often devote considerable energies to raising hell. Marshall University's Seth Murphy has discovered a novel way of doing so.</p> <p>Mr. Murphy, student vice president at the West Virginia school, instituted opening prayers at Tuesday night senate meetings. He was rewarded with a shower of brimstone and, perhaps worse, he inspired opponents to organize a consciousness-raising session. On the bright side, all parties to the dispute are sharpening skills that will come in handy should they pursue postgraduate careers in culture-war combat.</p>

Voluntary Alternatives to Taxation Stuart K. Hayashi Most Americans believe paying taxes is a patriotic duty. Yet this very nation was founded upon people evading taxes in 1776. When individuals don’t pay taxes, the government goes after them with guns, even though they haven’t used force on anyone else. Thus, taxation is an initiation of physical force against the individual’s right to life, liberty and property. Because taxation is forcible extortion, it violates your right to property. If you don’t pay taxes, you can be jailed, hence depriving you the right to liberty. And if tax “evaders” fight tax...