Originally posted by Randy
The law is not nearly as clear as Kulstad implies. The Justice Department maintains that online gambling is banned by the 1961 Wire Act, which prohibits anyone “engaged in the business of betting or wagering” from using “a wire communication facility for the transmission in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or wagers or information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers.”
Solution: Get a wireless network going.
:bigsmile:
Originally posted by Randy
These companies have surrendered their First Amendment rights without a fight, allowing the government to silence speech it doesn’t like by floating a legal theory that almost certainly would fail if it were tested in court. Their capitulation illustrates the chilling effect of vague laws in the hands of ambitious prosecutors.
This is what baffles me the most. This legal theory most definately wouldn’t hold up in court – there are just too many variables in the equation.
Originally posted by Randy
The WTO’s arbitration panel apparently was convinced by Antigua and Barbuda’s argument that the ban on Internet wagering is a trade barrier aimed at protecting the American gambling industry. “The U.S. says it wants open competition,” said Antigua and Barbuda’s WTO representative, “but it only wants free trade when it suits the U.S.”As if to confirm the double standard, U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., called the WTO ruling “appalling,” saying, “It cannot be allowed to stand that another nation can impose its values on the U.S.” What does Goodlatte think the U.S. is doing when it treats gambling operations that other countries consider legitimate businesses as criminal enterprises? By similar logic, American publishers could be prosecuted for posting material that a foreign government considered indecent or seditious.
©2004 Creators Syndicate, Inc.
No kidding. Their idea of “free trade” has crippled the British Columbia softwood lumber industry – with major job loss, economic hardships, closing of mills, etc.
This article hit many nails squarely on their heads.