Month: November 2015

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SCOTUScast - OBB Personenverkehr AG v. Sachs – Post-Argument SCOTUScast

On October 5, 2015, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in OBB Personenverkehr AG v. Sachs. This case involves a dispute regarding whether federal courts have jurisdiction over a lawsuit brought by Carol Sachs against OBB Personenverkher--the Austrian national railroad--when her legs were crushed by a train in Austria while she was using a Eurail Pass that she had purchased in the United States. -- The question before the Supreme Court is twofold: (1) whether common law principles of agency apply in determining whether an entity is an “agent” of a foreign state under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA); and (2) whether, under the first clause of the commercial activity exception of the FSIA, a tort claim for personal injuries suffered in connection with travel outside of the United States is “based upon” the allegedly tortious conduct occurring outside of the United States, or the preceding sale of the ticket in the United States for the travel entirely outside the United States. -- To discuss the case, we have Edwin D. Williamson, who is Of Counsel at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.
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The Gist - 150 Foiled Terrorism Plots

On The Gist, a look at what technologies have been the most helpful in deterring another major terrorist attack. Our guest Dr. Gary LaFree is the director of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, a Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence led by the University of Maryland. During our interview, he mentioned the Global Terrorism Database, for which he’s a principal investigator. For the Spiel, what Mike watched on TV. Today’s sponsors: SAP HANA. SAP HANA helps the world’s best companies get the answers they need to become more agile, develop new streams of revenue, and predict the future. Run SAP. And Run Simple. Visit sap.com/reimagine to learn more. Harry’s, the shaving company that offers German-engineered blades, well-designed handles, and shipping right to your door. Visit Harrys.com for $5 off your first purchase with the promo code THEGIST. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus.

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SCOTUScast - Mullenix v. Luna – Post-Decision SCOTUScast

On November 9, 2015, the Supreme Court decided Mullenix v. Luna without oral argument. The question in this case was whether a police officer who shot at the car of a fleeing and purportedly armed suspect, killing him in the process, was entitled to qualified immunity from suit. The Fifth Circuit had affirmed the lower court’s denial of qualified immunity to the officer. -- By a vote of 8-1 the Supreme Court reversed that determination, holding that the officer was entitled to qualified immunity because existing Supreme Court precedent did not place the conclusion that the officer acted unreasonably “beyond debate.” -- The opinion of the Court was issued per curiam. Justice Scalia filed a concurring opinion. Justice Sotomayor filed a dissenting opinion. -- To discuss the case, we have Joshua A. Skinner, who is an Attorney at Fanning Harper Martinson Brandt & Kutchin, P.C., in Dallas, Texas.
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Social Science Bites - Ted Cantle on Segregation

The concept of “community cohesion” rose to prominence in the detritus of Bradford and Harehills, Burnley and Oldham, Northern English towns where 14 years ago rioting broke out between Asian and white communities. Called on by the Home Office to investigate the roots of the riots, sociologist Ted Cantle – until then the chief executive of Nottingham City Council for more than a decade and before that director of housing in Leicester City Council –led an investigation that produced Community Cohesion: The Report of The Independent Review Team, a document better known now as the Cantle Report.

The report introduced two terms into the public conversation, “parallel lives” to describe how communities could exists side by side and yet in mutual exclusion and incomprehension, and “community cohesion,” which in its most general sense is the idea of not living parallel lives.

In this Social Science Bites podcast, David Edmonds discusses one key component of parallel lives – segregation – that prevents cohesion. “[P]eople who lived in these parallel lives,” Cantle explains, “had no understanding of the other, they could easily be dealing with prejudices and stereotypes, they had no opportunities to disconfirm them, they had no opportunity to really challenge their own race’s views, or their own views about another faith.” In the podcast, Cantle adds that approaching these issues from several perspectives, specifically through different disciplines, leads to a better understanding on the underlying dynamic than any 'siloed' approach.

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The Gist - Was Paris a Tactical Mistake?

Immediately after the Paris attacks, French President François Hollande called the terrorism “an act of war.” Then on Meet the Press, White House staffer Ben Rhodes went further, saying, “We’ve been at war with ISIS for quite some time.” How does ISIS conceptualize this state of affairs? On The Gist, Max Abrahms from Northeastern University examines the Islamic State’s seemingly paradoxical motives. For the Spiel, we ponder the role of leaders in the face of a handful of motivated killers. Today’s sponsors: Stamps.com, where you can buy and print official U.S. postage right from your desk using your own computer and printer. Use the promo code THEGIST to get a no-risk trial and a $110 bonus offer. Hardball With Chris Matthews on MSNBC. Chris Matthews knows how Washington works from the inside out. After 40 years in politics, he has the guts and the know-how to get to the heart of today’s issues. Watch Chris on Hardball, weeknights at 7 Eastern, only on MSNBC. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus.

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Start the Week - France Special

Andrew Marr was in Paris on Friday to record a special edition of Start the Week about France. Hours later the Paris attacks happened. This programme is not about these attacks or Islamic State or the French role in the war in Syria, but it is a conversation about the political, cultural and religious fault lines in France from the 19th century to today. As BBC Radio 4 plans to broadcast a retelling of Emile Zola's 20 novel cycle, Les Rougon-Macquart, the journalist Anne-Elisabeth Moutet explores whether Zola is a 19th century gateway into understanding modern France. The novelist Agnès Desarthe has set her latest novel at the beginning of the 20th century and mixes the intimate with the great events of French history. The French Resistance is one of France's heroic myths and is central to the country's identity, but the historian Robert Gildea says the reality is far more complex. And contemporary France in all its complexity is represented in Karim Miské's thriller set among the radical Islamic preachers, Christian fundamentalists and corrupt police officers in one of the poorest suburbs of Paris. Producer: Katy Hickman.