Necessity, Torture and Existential Politics

This paper takes up the political theory sketched by the Office of Legal Counsel memorandum of August 1, 2002. That memorandum proposed a theory of executive emergency powers, including the power to use torturous interrogation techniques otherwise barred by domestic and international law. According to the memorandum, both the power to deploy torture and other forms of coercive interrogation, and the general freedom of the executive to direct policy in times of war, are grounded in a justification of necessity. The central aim of my paper is to explore the force and limits of necessity claims in moral and political theory. I argue that we must distinguish two concepts of rights, one that designates the protections and goals around which political institutions are built, and another that operates within political institutions, and is subject to welfarist overrides. Instances of the former are core human rights protections; instances of the latter are rights over property. We must also distinguish between two concepts of necessity, as fact and as justification. When necessity is deployed as a forward-looking justification, it vitiates the content of the principles it claims to override, and lends itself to the psychological and institutional abuses. Understanding necessity as fact, by contrast, demands that we resist the impulse towards justifying and institutionalizing the exception, while acknowledging the limits of our principles. I also pursue in this paper the parallels between the Administration’s claims of emergency power and exceptional justification, and the political theory of German constitutional theorist Carl Schmitt. As with Schmitt’s theory, the administration’s theory gains executive effectiveness at the cost of rejecting two of the deepest legacies of the Enlightenment: the inviolability of the individual and the priority of right to power

Pragmatism Regained

Jules Coleman\u27s The Practice of Principle serves as a focal point for current, newly intensified debates in legal theory, and provides some of the deepest, most sustained reflections on methodology that legal theory has seen. Coleman is one of the leading legal philosophers in the Anglo-American world, and his writings on tort theory, contract theory, the normative foundations of law and economics, social choice theory, and analytical jurisprudence have been the point of departure for much of the most interesting activity in the field for the last three decades. Indeed, the origin of this book lies in Oxford University\u27s invitation to Coleman to deliver the Clarendon Lectures in Law in 1998, one of the greatest honors for legal scholars. Moreover, unlike many law school legal theorists, Coleman\u27s high standing within the legal academy is fully matched in the professional philosophical world. Practice will surely be mined for years for its many and subtle discussions of the nature of law and legal argument. The book is a wonderful achievement, both for Coleman himself, and for the development of rigorous philosophical study of the law. Coleman\u27s first publication, On the Moral Argument for the Fault System, appeared in the flagship Journal of Philosophy at a time when work on first-order problems of law - as opposed to secondorder questions about the nature of law - was frequently disparaged by professional philosophers as mere application. Coleman\u27s early writings helped significantly to change that, by showing that deep philosophical issues of responsibility and justice were raised by our legal practices and that our concepts of justice and fault could not be fully understood apart from those practices. What Coleman brought to the field of legal philosophy was both the conceptual rigor of his graduate training at Rockefeller University as well as an interest in and sensitivity to the way risk and responsibility are actually allocated through tort law. In his own work, and in fostering the work of others, Coleman has greatly expanded the range and interest of legal philosophy, moving beyond the mainstays of jurisprudence and constitutional law to the private law of tort and contract

Fresno’s BID for downtown revitalization: an analysis of a business improvement district

Master of Regional and Community PlanningDepartment of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community PlanningJohn W. KellerIn the mid-20th century a migration took place taking residents of American downtowns to the newly-developed, master-planned suburbs. In the wake were abandoned urban cores that evolved into poorly-perceived conditions. One of the many responses to correct these deteriorating central districts was the establishment of Business Improvement Districts (BID), a public-private partnership that develops complementary services to what a city already provides and is paid for by assessments collected from property and business owners in a defined area. With more than 1,000 BIDs in existence in the United States as of 2010 (Becker, Grossman, Dos Santos, 2011), the concept has caught on as a tool utilized to bring downtowns back to life. However, despite the popularity of BIDs and their nearly 50-year existence as a planning tool, the question of how successful they are in improving the conditions of safety, cleanliness, and business growth in the districts over time needs continued analysis. This study gauges the impact of BIDs through a case study of Fresno, California and its BID, the Downtown Fresno Partnership. To measure how the Downtown Fresno Partnership has been successful or unsuccessful, interviews with Downtown Fresno stakeholders were conducted to measure the BID’s ability to change perceptions and advocate for the property owners in its boundary. Also, to measure further impacts, crime, property values and retail data was investigated. A perceived injection of new energy seems to exist in Downtown Fresno, as evidenced by the activity taking place and the change in perception of the area since the Downtown Fresno Partnership was formed in 2011. The BID has played a central role in instituting physical change to the space while it has been a strong advocate for its property owners. In its first five years of existence, the Downtown Fresno Partnership has proven to be necessary, but it is not sufficient on its own. From a planning standpoint, it is important to recognize that in order to revitalize, a community must first organize. In the case of Fresno, the BID provided an opportunity to collect formerly competing interests and put itself at the center of an underperforming downtown to alter the course towards a more vibrant and thriving area. It has established positive momentum down this path, and it is expected to be a strong voice for downtown in the future as others join in on the fully-experienced revitalized state of Downtown Fresno

The Determination of Total Energy Expenditure During and Following Repeated High-Intensity Intermittent Sprint Work

International Journal of Exercise Science 10(3): 312-321, 2017. The purpose of this study was to examine the variation in oxidative, glycolytic, and post-exercise O2 kinetic contribution during two distinct high-intensity interval training (HIIT) protocols using a 1:1 work-to-rest ratio (30:30 sec) and a 2:1 work-to-rest ratio (30:15 sec). HIIT familiarized males (n =6) and females (n = 8) were recruited for this study. All subject underwent 3 testing session, an incremental maximal exertion treadmill test and 30:30 and 30:15 HIIT protocols in a counterbalanced order. Each HIIT protocol measured oxygen consumption (VO2), carbon dioxide production (VCO2), and respiratory exchange ratio (RER) to represent oxidative contribution. Capillary blood lactate was also analyzed to represent glycolytic contribution during both HIIT sessions. Repeated-measures ANOVA revealed a relative and absolute significant difference between the oxidative, glycolytic, and post-exercise oxygen kinetics between 30:30 and 30:15 HIIT session. 30:30 displayed a greater contribution from the oxidative system while the 30:15 displayed an increase contribution from the glycolytic system and displayed an increase in EE during the post-exercise oxygen kinetics phase. Results also revealed no significant findings between the two HIIT sessions in regards to absolute EE (30:30 = 258.2 + 43 kcals, 30:15 = 261 + 43.6 kcals). The addition of blood lactate following exercise did display a noteworthy contribution from the glycolytic system. In conclusion, utilizing pulmonary gas exchange in conjunction with blood lactate depicts an acceptable EE estimation during a bout of HIIT

Objectively measuring subjectively described traits: Geographic variation in body shape and caudal coloration pattern within vieja melanura (Teleostei: Cichlidae)

© 2017, Universidad de Costa Rica. All rights reserved. Vieja melanura is a Neotropical cichlid occurring in the Petén-lake district systems of Guatemala, as well as the Río Grijalva-Usumacinta basin, and other systems in Southern México, Belize, and Guatemala. A caudal stripe, extending forward from the caudal peduncle, is characteristic of this species. This stripe is sloped downward in nearly all individuals of V. melanura, but the degree of the slope is highly variable throughout its range. The slope and shape of the stripe has previously been used in diagnosing and differentiating between species of Vieja. The purpose of this study was to use objective methods to investigate morphological variation in the caudal stripe and body shape throughout the range of V. melanura. We studied geometric morphometric analyses of body shape and empirical measurements of the slope of the caudal stripe in 215 specimens of V. melanura. We also used the mitochondrial cytochrome b marker to study population level patterns within V. melanura. Results from our analyses showed significant geographic variation in body shape and patterns of coloration with little mitochondrial phylogeographic structure. These patterns likely correspond to differences in riverine habitats throughout the species’ distribution. In conclusion, these results can be used to inform other studies of color and shape variation as it applies to taxonomy and systematics

Midgut epithelial endocrine cells are a rich source of the neuropeptides APSGFLGMRamide (Cancer borealis tachykinin-related peptide Ia) and GYRKPPFNGSIFamide (Gly\u3csup\u3e1\u3c/sup\u3e-SIFamide) in the crabs Cancer borealis, Cancer magister and Cancer productus

Over a quarter of a century ago, Mykles described the presence of putative endocrine cells in the midgut epithelium of the crab Cancer magister (Mykles, 1979). In the years that have followed, these cells have been largely ignored and nothing is known about their hormone content or the functions they play in this species. Here, we used a combination of immunohistochemistry and mass spectrometric techniques to investigate these questions. Using immunohistochemistry, we identified both SIFamide-and tachykinin-related peptide (TRP)-like immunopositive cells in the midgut epithelium of C. magister, as well as in that of Cancer borealis and Cancer productus. In each species, the SIFamide-like labeling was restricted to the anterior portion of the midgut, including the paired anterior midgut caeca, whereas the TRP-like immunoreactivity predominated in the posterior midgut and the posterior midgut caecum. Regardless of location, label or species, the morphology of the immunopositive cells matched that of the putative endocrine cells characterized ultrastructurally by Mykles (Mykles, 1979). Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ ionization-Fourier transform mass spectrometry identified the peptides responsible for the immunoreactivities as GYRKPPFNGSIFamide (Gly 1-SIFamide) and APSGFLGMRamide [Cancer boreatis tachykinin-related peptide Ia (CabTRP Ia)], respectively, both of which are known neuropeptides of Cancer species. Although the function of these midgut-derived peptides remains unknown, we found that both Gly1-SIFamide and CabTRP Ia were released when the midgut was exposed to high-potassium saline. In addition, CabTRP Ia was detectable in the hemolymph of crabs that had been held without food for several days, but not in that of fed animals, paralleling results that were attributed to TRP release from midgut endocrine cells in insects. Thus, one function that midgut-derived CabTRP Ia may play in Cancer species is paracrine/hormonal control of feeding-related behavior, as has been postulated for TRPs released from homologous cells in insects

The Two-Photon Exchange Experiment at DESY

We propose a new measurement of the ratio of positron-proton to electron-proton elastic scattering at DESY. The purpose is to determine the contributions beyond single-photon exchange, which are essential for the Quantum Electrodynamic (QED) description of the most fundamental process in hadronic physics. By utilizing a 20 cm long liquid hydrogen target in conjunction with the extracted beam from the DESY synchrotron, we can achieve an average luminosity of $2.12\times10^{35}$ cm$^{-2}\cdot$s$^{-1}\cdot$sr$^{-1}$ ($\approx200$ times the luminosity achieved by OLYMPUS). The proposed TPEX experiment entails a commissioning run at 2 GeV, followed by measurements at 3 GeV, thereby providing new data up to $Q^2=4.6$ (GeV/$c$)$^2$ (twice the range of current measurements). We present and discuss the proposed experimental setup, run plan, and expectations.Comment: 10 pages, 14 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2301.0470