[PEN-L:222] Helms-Burton

[James Devine <jdevine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

As pen-l people know, the US Helms-Burton act (the subject of a possible
treaty between the US and other rich contries) punishes those businesses
that invest in properties "illegally expropriated" from US citizens. If
this act actually is put into place, it seems to set a precedent for
punishing all those who invest in properties illegally expropriated from
the American Indians, i.e., based on broken treaties. A lot of us will have
to move.

On a different topic, after my 12-day experience with jury duty, I find
myself agreeing with Alex Cockburn and others that juries are an important
democratic institution that need to be defended (and extended, as with the
Fully Informed Juror movement). The jurors I met were almost all very
common-sensical and I respected their opinions (even though I'm sure none
of them had ever heard of Hegel or Althusser). However, the voir dire
process failed to screen out one police officer (a "meter maid"); she
started with the assumption that anything the cops said was the absolute
truth. Anyway, it was a "hung" jury, voting 7 to 5 to acquit. The defendant
was accused of driving under the influence of alcohol, but it was unclear
that he was driving the vehicle.

in pen-l solidarity,

Jim Devine jdevine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx &
http://clawww.lmu.edu/Departments/ECON/jdevine.html
"It takes a busload of faith to get by." -- Lou Reed.