Add to the long list of PATRIOT Act provisions unrelated to terrorism: The law’s renewal included long-sought wiretap provisions for federal antitrust cases.
Scottish Rights
Smoking is banned in Scottish pubs and restaurants, and violations come with a stiff £50 fine. The rest of the U.K. is to follow Scotland next year.
Illegal Cooking
The New York Times Magazine reports that New York City health inspectors are cracking down on shrink-wrapped food in restaurants because it does not fit any existing food handling regulations. Fines of $300 result despite no indication that the method is dangerous.
Evil Seed
After the U.S. Department of Agriculture approves Monsanto’s plans for a herbicide-resistant alfalfa seed, anti-biotech forces sue, saying the department should do “a full environmental review” of the seed’s impact on everything from international trade to dairy cows.
Tap Room
A retired AT&T technician says that in 2002 he helped the National Security Agency set up a secret Net traffic tap at a San Francisco switching center. The tap allowed the feds to monitor both phone and Internet communications of AT&T’s U.S. customers without pesky warrants.
Dark Justice
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press finds that during the last five years more than 450 criminal cases in the U.S. District Court in D.C. were conducted in complete secrecy. These cases were not just sealed but off the docket completely, leaving no record of what happened or to whom.
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