Content and Viewpoint Discrimination: Malleable Terms Beget Malleable Doctrine

Recent scholarship has demonstrated that the Supreme Court of the United States has defined poorly and inconsistently applied two core First Amendment concepts-content and viewpoint discrimination. This article systematically explores the malleability of the Court's speech discrimination principles. Using data from The Supreme Court Compendium that categorize the ideological voting behavior of justices on the Court, the article studies decisions in three socially divisive areas of law in which content and viewpoint discrimination have been central issues of significant cases. Analysis shows that the Court's weak definitions and inconsistent applications leave the content and viewpoint concepts especially ripe for manipulation. The article concludes, therefore, by suggesting a new method of analysis that would offer more consistency.     

加强文化产业领域的知识产权保护

知识产权保护是推动文化产业发展的重要保障。目前,我国文化产业领域知识产权保护现状不容乐观,著作权保护进程缓慢,商标保护和品牌意识落后,地理标志保护严重滞后,专利权保护的瓶颈有待突破,商业秘密保护意识缺乏,民族传统文化保护遭遇海外挑战。因此,我国文化产业领域知识产权法律保护必须加强版权立法与执法,重视商标保护,实施品牌战略,创新地理标志保护,强化申请资格审查,全方位保护商业秘密,不断加强传统文化的源头保护,唯此,才能不断推进社会主义文化强国建设。     

The accumulation of lender-owned homes during the US mortgage crisis: examining metropolitan REO inventories

A key concern among policymakers and community developers in recent years has been the extent to which lender-owned homes, often called real estate owned or “REO” properties, accumulate in different local housing markets during the mortgage crisis. This paper describes the accumulation of REO properties in 356 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) from August 2006 to August 2008. It examines differences in both changes and static levels of REO activity across MSAs and compares changes in REO levels to changes in home values over the same period. Special attention is paid to 12 large MSAs with substantial levels of REO as of August 2008. A model of REO volume at the metropolitan level is estimated that includes differences in state foreclosure legal processes and timing among the independent variables. Finally, cluster analysis is used to identify a simple typology of MSAs based on REO levels and home price changes.     

鸭疫里氏杆菌外膜微孔蛋白基因的克隆和序列分析及PCR检测方法的建立

根据GenBank中的鸭疫里氏杆菌(RA)外膜磷酸盐选择性微孔蛋白(Porin)基因序列设计特异性引物,以血清1、2、6、10、11、13、14和17型RA菌株的基因组DNA为模板均扩增出大小为1 212bp的目的片段,序列比对显示该基因在8种血清型菌株间同源性均大于99.6%。针对保守性最高的357bp片段设计特异性引物,建立了PCR检测方法,对鸭致病性大肠杆菌、鼠伤寒沙门菌、鸭巴氏杆菌及鸭肝炎病毒均未扩增出目的条带,表明该方法具有较高的特异性;敏感性试验显示最小检出量为73.96pg的基因组。应用建立的PCR方法对分离自吉林、河北及北京的8个菌株进行扩增,均在357bp处扩增出清晰的目的条带,与细菌分离鉴定的符合率达100%。本研究为RA的鉴定提供了新方法,为RA外膜微孔蛋白的后续研究提供了理论依据。     

From the Airport to the Surgery to the Courtroom – Private International Law and Medical Tourism

When people wish to take legal action in relation to damage suffered due to medical procedures carried out overseas, they are faced with complex issues. First, in which country can they sue? Second, which country’s laws will govern the dispute? And third, where can a potential favourable judgment be enforced?

This article examines these private international law issues in the context of medical tourism. In doing so, particular emphasis is placed on investigating the private international law issues that would arise if an Australian citizen wanted to take action against a foreign provider of medical services, in relation to services rendered overseas.     

What Is “Law,” if “the Law” Is not Something that “Is”? A Modest Contribution to a Major Question

After proposing an alternative definition of what “law” (jurisprudential concept) is, this article demonstrates the impossibility of identifying “the law” (what law‐makers announce, relative to a particular jurisdiction) as something that is in a particular way. Rather, the law is a more or less abstract range of options. Drawing upon this conclusion, the article calls for a reassessment of how we view the role of law‐makers. We need to remove the mystery that surrounds the law so as to provide for greater transparency. This transparency can be gained by requiring law‐makers to declare their inescapable biases where they influence their lawmaking.     

MACAO＇S LEGAL SYSTEM UNDER GLOBALIZATION AND REGIONAL INTEGRATION： BETWEEN TRADITION AND EVOLUTION

Macao, a former Portuguese colony and now one of only two Special Administrative Regions of the People＇s Republic of China, is undergoing unprecedented socio-economic growth and transformation. Using Macao as an empirical case, the paper examines the challenges of regional integration and globalization on legal theories, identifies how law interacts with other socio-cultural factors, and analyzes the self-reflection and self-adjustments of a legal culture in dynamic and diverse dimensions of time and space. The paper aims to find an innovative approach to discover the progressive pattern of inertia, evolution, survival, diffusion and interaction of a legal tradition in a global context.     

泰国:2011～2012年回顾与展望

2011年7月,泰国提前举行大选,为泰党赢得选举并联合小党派组建联合政府。前总理他信的妹妹、为泰党候选人英拉·西那瓦当选泰国第28任总理,也是泰国历史上首位女总理。由于特大洪灾的影响,2011年泰国经济增长速度低于预期,新政府执政能力也经受考验。外交方面,泰柬边境冲突成为泰国本年度重要的外交事件,但两国关系随着英拉政府上台而开始出现缓和。