论我国防灾减灾法的基本原则

任何法都有自己的基本原则,我国防灾减灾法也不例外。我国防灾减灾的基本原则是贯穿于防灾减灾法的制定与实施全过程,对防灾减灾法的制定与实施有着重要指导意义的基本准则。我国防灾减灾法的基本原则是:"预防为主、防抗救相结合"、"防灾减灾与经济社会科技发展相协调"、"政府主体、公众参与与灾民自救相结合"。     

A comparison of proposed legislative data privacy protections in the United States

The use of online consumer tracking methods has raised significant privacy concerns for consumers and policymakers for decades. Advertisers using these methods analyze web-viewing habits to predict consumer preferences and actions. The advertising industry in the United States has promoted self-regulatory principles to respond to these concerns. However, in December 2010, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission reported that these efforts “have been too slow and up to now have failed to provide adequate and meaningful protection.” President Barack Obama's administration has supported broader legislation for comprehensive protection of individuals' private data. The leading model for data privacy protection is the 1980 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data. This article examines two leading legislative privacy proposals in the context of the OECD principles. This examination concludes that, although the proposals do not provide sufficient comprehensive privacy protections, they do fill significant gaps in current U.S. privacy laws.     

Arbitration in financial dispute resolution: the final step to reconstructing the default(s) and exception(s)?

In this article, I argue for caution in embracing family arbitration as a new form of private ordering for resolving parties' financial disputes. I explain that family arbitration may be more successful than other forms of private ordering and final court hearings in enabling certain types of parties to resolve certain types of disputes. I consider why family arbitration may not become numerically significant despite its potential benefits, but may be much more important in normative terms. Lawyer-led negotiations remain the most common form of out-of-court resolution and constitute the de facto default form of bargaining in the shadow of the normative regime framed by ss 23–25 Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. Together with the transformation in approach to nuptial agreements, family arbitration may mark a normative shift towards autonomy and private ordering. I question whether this is a desirable step for family law, at least before we have resolved the underlying policy debate.     

新加坡宗教事务的法律治理

新加坡是东西方文明的交汇之地,妥善处理不同种族、宗教之间的关系至关重要。在对本国多元宗教、多元民族的基本国情充分认知的基础上,新加坡政府采取了务实的宗教政策。通过宪法和宗教自由法确立了政教分离、宗教自由和平等保护原则,制定了维护宗教和谐法,实现了宗教间的和谐与容忍,为世界各国宗教事务的法律治理树立了典范。     

论《精神卫生法》的自愿原则

为了防止正常人"被精神病",更好地保护精神障碍患者的合法权益,《精神卫生法》确立了自愿原则。该原则渊源于私法领域的自愿原则而又与其不同,是在知情的条件下对精神卫生服务的单方接受自愿。它回应了要像人一样保护精神障碍患者,彰显了精神卫生法的福利法本质。它包涵自愿诊断、自愿治疗和自愿出院三个既相互区别又相互联系子原则。非自愿诊断、非自愿治疗、非自愿继续住院治疗只是自愿原则的补充,此种例外旨在寻求患者精神健康权与社会公众安全保护的平衡。     

美国《1930年关税法》修改的法律观察

美国近日修改《1930年关税法》授权美国商务部对以中国为代表的所谓"非市场经济国家"征收反补贴税,是对来自中国的进口产品新一轮贸易保护主义的表现。WTO规则并未禁止对"非市场经济国家"反补贴,因此美国此次修法并不违反其在WTO项下的义务,但美国如果对来自中国的产品按照"非市场经济国家"使用替代国方法进行"双反"救济,依据WTO争端解决上诉机构"对来自中国的产品的反补贴和反倾销措施"报告,将很可能违反WTO协定的"适当金额"要求,构成双重救济。中国当前最重要的是积极应对现实的"双反"调查,而长远的目标则是争取美国对中国完全市场经济地位的承认。     

The Image of the Loyal African During World War II and its Postwar Use by the French Communist Party

In 1926, the United States (US) company Firestone Rubber in Akron, Ohio initiated a second practice of segregation in Liberia. The first practice began with the minority regime of the Afro-American settlers over 17 ethnic groups in the Republic of Liberia in 1847. Civil rights were unheard of in Liberia during either of these two periods. This changed when Liberian students travelled to the US on government scholarships, primarily to study in historical black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the 1940s and 1950s. When the Liberian students were exposed to the Civil Rights Movement, they fully understood the injustice of the situation in Liberia. Dr Martin Luther King, Jr and others travelled to the Gold Coast for its transition into becoming the nation of Ghana on 6 March 1957. Meetings between King and Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah led to collaborative efforts towards ending colonial racism in Africa and segregation in the US. During the Cold War, segregation in the US and Liberia was a source of shame for both nations. Liberian students returning from the US began “sit-ins” in protest against segregated Firestone facilities. The Liberian government responded by enacting its first Civil Rights Act against Firestone in 1958 and ending discrimination, except in segregated schools. This article shows, however, that it took more than another 30 years for the first decolonisation process to end the minority regime after the Civil Rights Acts of 1958, and to end the original form of ethnic segregation, which began in 1847 and ended as a result of the violent civil wars of the 1980s and 1990s.     

Cambodians in Long Beach,California

Abstract

Long Beach, California is home to the largest population of Cambodians outside Cambodia and is the symbolic and actual center of the worldwide Cambodian diaspora. Despite the significance of this community for both Cambodians and Long Beach, little is known about the social, historical, political, and economic processes leading to its formation. This paper situates the growth of the community within particular historical moments at both national and local levels through a chronological presentation of key events from the 1950s through the 1990s. The paper provides insights into the experiences of a largely refugee population and the new Asian immigration to the United States.     

A Review Of: “Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism”

The growth and dispersion of America’s immigrant population exposes increasing numbers of non-Hispanic Whites to Spanish. Yet the political impacts of that exposure depend on whether Democrats and Republicans respond in similar ways. To address that question, this article first presents survey experiments showing that exposure to Spanish increases restrictive immigration attitudes only among Republicans. To confirm the external validity of that result, the article then presents an analysis of California’s Proposition 227 indicating that support for ending bilingual education was higher in heavily White, Republican block groups with Spanish-language ballots. No such pattern appears in Democratic block groups. Together, these findings demonstrate that Spanish is a politicized symbol, provoking different responses among Whites depending on their partisanship. To the extent that other immigration-related cues produce similar effects, the salience of immigration seems likely to reinforce existing partisan divisions rather than undermining them.     

Quantity,quality, or both? Explaining investment test scores in federal community reinvestment act examinations

Abstract

Banks and thrifts are major actors in the affordable housing and community development arenas. They are often relied on to invest in low‐income housing tax credits and other projects as well as provide operating support. Banks and thrifts are explicitly encouraged to invest in such activities by the Community Reinvestment Act's (CRA's) Investment Test. Regulations require examiners to consider both quantitative and qualitative criteria in determining a large bank's Investment Test rating. The qualitative criteria are particularly important for organizations seeking investments for projects that are more innovative or complex or that offer less than stellar financial returns.

An analysis of CRA performance evaluations reveals that, of the two qualitative criteria, only responsiveness to needs has a significant impact on Investment Test scores. Moreover, controlling for investment activity leads to higher Investment Test scores for larger banks. Implications for CRA policy and implementation are discussed.