Category: News

It’s curious that after announcing the Nexus One would be coming to Verizon, Google’s now directing people to the HTC Incredible instead. Then again, Verizon never said they’d carry the Nexus One. UPDATE: Google confirms no N1 on Verizon: More »

Acquisitions of failed U.S. banks by Bank of Montreal and Toronto-Dominion Bank over the past two weeks may be forcing Royal Bank of Canada to play catch up, Michael Goldberg, an analyst at Desjardins Securities says.  

"With BMO and TD active, there is likely to be increased attention on Royal," Mr. Goldberg said in a note to clients.

"However, this may put pressure on Royal's stock price because it may be viewed as more likely to make a much more significant and dilutive acquisition to strengthen its relatively weak US commercial banking platform."

Late Friday, Bank of Montreal said that Harris Bank, its US commercial banking operating platform, was selected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. bidding process as the buyer of the failed AMCORE Bank of Rockford, Illinois. Harris acquired US$2.5-billion in assets, including US$2-billion of loans, and assumes US$2.1-billion of deposits.

A week earlier, TD said it had been selected as part of a FDIC auction, the buyer of Riverside National
Bank of Florida, First Federal Bank of North Florida and AmericanFirst
Bank, also located in the sunshine state. 

Mr. Goldberg said the BMO deal will likely be viewed as a positive by investors, however, it is not expected to have any material impact on its capital position or earnings.

He added that both the BMO and TD acquisitions demonstrate the willingness of Canadian banks to bolster their U.S.-based operations.

David Pett

Take a look at this new hot-hatch Fiesta that isn’t a Ford ST. It’s actually known as the Ford Fiesta S1600 and is essentially a standard 118-hp Zetec S with an enhance bodykit and some racy touches on the inside and it’s only available in the UK.

“Based on the popular Fiesta Zetec-S – with a generous standard specification that includes alloy pedals and Quickclear windscreen – the sporty Fiesta S1600 interior adds heated, stitched leather sports seats with standard side-airbags, leather steering wheel, handbrake cover and gearknob, plus Motorsport-branded floor mats and scuff plates,” Ford said in a statement.

Click here to get prices on the 2011 Ford Fiesta.

All we know is, Ford has already promised us a global 2012 global Ford Focus that will get a version of the 4-cylinder Ford EcoBoost engine. A high-performance Ford Fiesta, most likely powered by a 4-cylinder EcoBoost as well, has also been recently spotted driving around Dearbon.

Hit the jump for the high-res image gallery.

Ford Fiesta S1600:

– By: Kap Shah

Just a quick heads up for those who want to get a taste of Split/Second. Disney and Black Rock have released a demo for it on Xbox Live. PS3 owners have to wait a while to get their

Oscar-nominated darling Gabourey Sidibe made her debut as host of Saturday Night Live over the weekend, and not everyone is convinced that the supersized beauty, 26, really brought the funny.

While Entertainment Weekly called the showing “funny,” a visibly nervous Gabs flubbed her lines in almost every sketch — a fact that made her the object ridicule in comments plastered across the Twitterverse. The Wall Street Journal’s Speakeasy Column even got in on the hazing, branding “Cherry Battle” Gabby’s digital short with Andy Samberg “so not funny it hurts.”

Yikes! We’d love to hear your thoughts on Sidibe’s SNL debut. Take a peek at the Precious star playing a bad state employee in the “2010 Public Employee of the Year” skit.

San Francisco, CA, FPL Group

FPL Energy Services, Inc., a growing Energy Service Company with two federal contracts, and a subsidiary of FPL Group – the US leader in energy from wind and solar systems, is looking to expand the solar/renewable development team.

We are seeking a senior level electrical engineer with experience in solar photovoltaic design for commercial grid tied and utility scale systems. Candidate shall have a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and a California Professional Engineer’s license. The candidate will be responsible for performing site visits to determine the panel layout, selecting and analyzing the appropriate PV system hardware, determining the power generation, and determining the interconnection requirements. In addition, the candidate will be responsible for leading feasibility studies for solar photovoltaic systems. Position will be based out of the San Francisco Bay area in California. Position may be filled at a lower level.

Requires 10 years of electrical design experience, with experience in designing PV systems in the range of 200kW to over one MW. Travel to support the project development activities is required. Work schedule is M-F 8-5, with additional hours as needed. Ability to obtain additional Professional Engineer licenses and having a LEED AP certification is a plus.

Please apply at www.fplcareers.com and reference 1000377.

¿Cómo va a plantear Google su sistema de navegación GPS paso a paso gratis, como un producto para aumentar el valor de la plataforma Android o como un instrumento para intentar reforzar su apuesta en las búsquedas locales? Viendo los últimos anuncios, parece que quieren hacer ambas cosas. En España ya apuntan que con el Nexus One que ofrecerá Vodafone habrá navegación gratis en Mayo, aunque en el tema de si darán la funcionalidad en otras plataformas marean la perdiz. Primero aseguraron que estaría en varias, para luego matizar que “no aseguran que vaya a estar para iPhone” (PcWorld).

Desde que Google anunciara su irrupción ya teníamos claro que el mercado de la navegación GPS iba a quedar tocado ante el desafío de lo gratis. Las reacciones no se hicieron esperar, con Nokia a la cabeza y lo único que queda es ver cómo el resto de la competencia acaba aceptando lo que no tiene vuelta atrás: la navegación básica paso a paso por GPS va a ser gratis y quien quiera cobrar va a tener que ofrecer mucho más valor. ¿Qué cabe esperar por parte de Google? Amortizar varios meses ofreciendo Google Maps Navigation sólo para Android para hacer más atractiva la plataforma (en eso anda Nokia con su publicidad en estos momentos); a medio plazo lo llevarán al resto de sistemas con una cuota de mercado significativa porque si no lo hacen ellos, lo harán otros.

Relacionado: Tomtom Go: Tomtom frente la navegación gratis en los móviles y los navegadores de los coches, Motorola Milestone y por qué se vende más que Nexus One

Technology: CDMA
Announced Carrier: Sprint
Announced Release Date: May, 2010

The BlackBerry Bold 9650 was created for consumers using a CDMA carrier.  The 9650 version of the Bold supports 3G technology, includes WiFi, a 3.2MP camera with video capture, 512 MB flash memory, and optical trackpad.  We will update the remaining specs when they become available.

 

Spirals on Revolving Bike Wheel Exercise Weak Eyes

DR. OTTO THOMPSON, an optometrist of Waukegan, “Illinois, in exercising and strengthening weakened eyes of patients, makes use of an old bicycle wheel covered with a dark cloth and marked with a spiral yellow line that ends at a colored “flasher.” The patient is instructed to look at the yellow line and, as the wheel turns clockwise, his gaze eventually reaches the flasher, whereupon the eye movements start all over again.

The treatment is based on the principle that eye muscles need exercise just like any other muscles of the body if they are to remain strong and one’s eyesight is to be at its best.

Defying Death in a Parachute

Credited with 275 official parachute jumps, W. F. Scott, familiarly known as “Scotty,” holder of the Navy record jump of 15,200 feet, tells here of some particularly close calls in which he brushed elbows with the Grim Reaper. Scotty is jumping again now after a two months’ enforced vacation caused by an automobile accident, after which his life was despaired of — ironic testimony to the relative safety of air and land travel!

by W. F. SCOTT
Champion Parachute Jumper of the Navy

FOR sheer thrills none of my experiences during ten years of parachute jumping can compare with those of the summer and fall of 1928. On July Fourth I made a successful jump on Lake Keuka, near Hammondsport, N. Y., but the wind caught my ‘chute and entangled the harness so that I was dragged through the water with my head partially submerged, for two miles. On August 15 I dropped on a Washington apartment house in the heart of the city after encountering six different cross winds, was barely able to catch the ledge of the building top, couldn’t quite reach the fire escape just below, and had to hang suspended for several minutes before three policemen came to the rescue. Only five days later I landed full tilt on a group of high tension wires of 35,000 voltage, on the edge of Boiling Field, Washington.

That July Fourth experience was a terrific battle with death. Never will I forget it, for only by a miracle am I now alive to describe it. My purpose in going to Hammondsport was not only to make an exhibition jump but to make an official test of a new type of rubber suit designed to save the lives of aviators who are forced to resort to their ‘chute over a body of water.

Now, I’m barely five feet tall, yet this suit was made for a man who measures five feet eight. However, I was sealed in the contraption, which was all in one piece, including the stockings. Sealed in is right. The front of the suit was laced up with heavy thumbscrews against rubber gaskets. Rubber bands were placed around my wrists and adhesive tape bound around my neck mighty tight. So tight, in fact, that when I jumped I thought I was going to choke when the wind struck me full force.

The plane was an O-L-8, a new amphibian. With Lieut. Harvey Bowes at the controls we sailed out, 9 miles from Ithaca, into the center of beautiful Lake Keuka, which is 5 miles wide, 22 miles long and at least a couple of miles at its deepest point. The jump from 4,000 feet was satisfactory enough, but when the ‘chute snapped open, about 1200 feet below my leap, an enormous hole ripped open along the back of the rubber suit, due, no doubt, to the shock of the wind against the heavy harness around my body.

However, everything else seemed to be all right until I hit the water. Always, of course, a jumper aims to disengage the parachute from his body as soon as he lands. This I attempted to do, but I was so badly entangled that I failed. Meanwhile the wind and water were waging a fierce struggle for supremacy over what was to be my fate, the water pouring into the gaping hole in the rubber suit, thereby tending to pull me beneath the surface, and the wind spasmodically catching hold of the ‘chute and forcing it along the water at a fast rate of speed.

Bear in mind also that the rubber suit itself weighed about 20 pounds dry, with five additional pounds of lead in the sole of each shoe, presumably for the purpose of maintaining my body in an upright position at all times while in the water.

Pretty soon the suit acted just like a giant bucket of water attached to my person, dragging my head beneath the surface every now and again. And now a sudden gust of wind caught the ‘chute, just as Captain H. C. Richardson, in charge of the test, noticed my plight and headed for me in his speed boat from a point perhaps 200 yards away. Whereupon for over two miles I was in a helpless, and apparently hopeless, situation. Inextricably entangled in the harness, which was still strapped to my body, I was hurtled, at dizzy speed, through the water, occasionally rolling over the surface, but more often with my nose exposed to a six-inch covering of water.

For perhaps half of that terrible ride I was fully conscious, able to observe almost everything that was going on, but utterly unable to help myself. Then all went blank. However, Captain Richardson told me afterwards that my face had been completely submerged for six minutes before he and his assistants were able to drag me out. Even then my face had turned blue in color. But quickly they took me to the nearest dock, offered first aid for almost an hour, shot a stomach pump into me and let me lie down for a spell. Only Captain Richardson’s rare presence of mind and speed of action saved my life, combined with the fact that the rescue party was able to locate me, thanks to the fact that the parachute and harness were able to float on the surface, thereby rendering them visible to the rescue party for hundreds of yards.

My experience of August 20, 1928, was easily the second most thrilling of a lifetime. A big movie company that makes news reels wanted to take some pictures of myself and three other Navy men jumping simultaneously from a plane over Boiling Field, Washington. The film was to be called the “race to earth,” but it might well have been termed “the race with death.” I won the pictorial race handily enough, but almost lost my life during the venture.

From a 1500 foot elevation we all jumped from a Navy Ford transport. Once my ‘chute was open and I was speeding towards the earth, 1 took careful note of a. spot on the field where I wanted to land, but a strong wind blew up suddenly and upset my plans. Imagine my horror to realize, when only a couple hundred feet from the ground, that I was likely to drop full tilt on a group of high tension wires of 35,000 voltage, near the roof of a hangar!

Unfortunately, however, it was too late for me to accomplish much towards guiding the ‘chute, so within a few seconds I found myself suspended on one of those dangerous wires like a canary on a perch. True enough, the wires were barely six feet from the ground, but since I measure only five feet from head to toe, I wasn’t any too near the ground at that particular moment. By some miracle, however, none of my body actually was touching the wires, though my ‘chute was wrapped around them, and at any moment I might make a contact that would mean my death.

Nevertheless, I somehow contrived to undo my breast strap and both leg straps, but while so doing, my right toe barely touched a section of the wire, with the result that a great wall of flame shot out, badly scorching several shroud lines on the ‘chute. But I scrambled quickly to the ground and asked an attendant at the field to have the power shut off. This he did immediately, so that I was able to recover my ‘chute without further damage to it.

Talk about a strong wind blowing you all over the heavens! I’ll wager I’ll always remember the events of August 15, 1928, when I was fortunate enough to set a new Navy altitude record of 15,200 feet.

My pilot, Lieut. Ernest W. Litch of the Naval Air Station near Washington, took me up in a Vought Corsair biplane for what I hoped would be a record jump for all Navy parachute men. When we reached 15,200 feet I signalled Litch that I was ready and then, when he had slowed down to the customary jumping speed of 80 miles an hour, I poised for a brief moment to visualize the scene below. The capital city looked like a tiny park from the great height of 3 miles.

For this particular jump I took the precaution of wearing two parachutes, one of the regulation seat type and the other of the back type for emergency use. However, the first one opened up satisfactorily enough. \et I soon found myself well nigh helpless before a strong north wind which carried me well over the city. I was like a cork bobbing about in a strong sea, for no sooner did I find myself down to an elevation of 5,000 feet, than a south wind caught me and started swinging the ‘chute back towards the Potomac River from whence I had come.

Now, the average parachute jump takes only from 30 seconds to one minute, so one can well imagine how I felt when, after being aloft 15 minutes, I began to realize that I would be lucky to even make a safe landing, let alone a good one. All the while, of course, as I neared the earth I kept looking about for a possible landing place. Two hundred yards or so from the ground, in one of the most crowded sections of the city, I was forced to conclude that my best bet was to try to land on a nearby apartment house. I was unable to make the roof, however, but skimmed over it, my feet catching in a radio aerial.

Fortunately for me, the ‘chute caught on the ledge at the top. But I couldn’t quite reach down far enough to catch the fire escape six feet below, so I just hung there. Meanwhile hundreds of people were watching me from the ground, and to add a bit of humor to my hazardous situation, an excited woman threw open a window in an apartment nearby, and while I swung like a pendulum with each new movement of the wind, she entreated me if I wanted a glass of water.

I assured the good lady that I did not, and while so doing three policemen came to my rescue, raised a ladder to the roof, and I managed to clamber down the fire-escape to safety.

How does it feel to make a jump? Well, there’s a new kind of thrill most every time, depending largely on how the winds and currents are behaving. But generally the first sensation is of a rushing wind and a terrific descent. Then, after you pull the rip-cord you get something of a jolt as the ‘chute opens. After that it’s all pretty much plain sailing until you hit the ground, granted that you know how to guide your giant parasol.

This is entirely a matter of proper manipulation of the shroud lines, whereby you are able to pull the side of the ‘chute in the direction you want to slip, assuming that the wind is not blowing particularly hard. In thus maneuvering your shroud lines you also are able to increase your rate of descent since a parachute works on the principle of a column of air massed directly underneath the lifeboat of the air.

Different jumpers have their own individual methods of leaping from a plane, but I believe that it is possible to make this generalization: if you are in an open cockpit plane, then stand where the trailing edge of the lower wing fastens on to the fuselage, forming a V,’ and dive towards the tail, fall as far as you desire, and then release the ‘chute. On the other hand, if you are in a cabin type of closed plane, you simply dive straight forward out the door.

GE partners with Nissan to advance the understanding and state of technology for enabling the electric vehicle infrastructure.  …

… "there are a number of potential issues that must be studied and quantified, such as whether clusters of electric vehicles will tax the local electrical distribution system, including transformers. " …

Via GE: Electric car smart charging

As I mentioned previously, the spring game is not a preview of the upcoming season. However, you can learn some things from it. Here are a few things that I learned about the offensive line.

Mike Adams will be the left tackle this year.

If the spring depth chart missing any indication of competition between Adams and Miller wasn’t enough, or all the talk about Adams being leaner and stronger during practice didn’t convince, the spring game erased any doubt in my mind about who the starter will be at LT.

That is not to say that I think Adams will be dominant or finally live up to the Orlando Pace comparisons. I just think that he has clearly separated himself as the best left tackle on the roster.

I observed Adams getting beat off the ball without even getting a hand on his man on at least one occasion. I also watched as the scarlet team ran the ball almost exclusively to his side on a scoring drive.

The flashes of greatness combined with Andrew Miller failing to impress makes Mike Adams the clear starter at LT going into the summer. I am not the only one to think this.

If Adams can stay focused and continue to improve over the course of the summer and fall, Ohio State will have the answer to one of the very few questions facing the team heading into the season.

On that note, I would like to make a general observation about spring practice.

Has an Ohio State team ever had so few question marks heading into a season? On top of that, has an Ohio State team ever had its question marks so conclusively answered during spring practice?

LT is one of the few positions that might still be up in the air going into the summer (more on the others as we get to them) and I would hardly call it up in the air at this point.

I am extremely happy with the players who stepped up this spring, including Mike Adams.  All of the questions that I had at the beginning of the spring were answered, and relatively quickly.

This is good, because outside of the question marks, the rest of the team are proven starters returning from a Rose Bowl championship squad. On that note…

J.B. Shugarts is primed to have a dominating season.

As I was watching the offensive line in the spring scrimmage, I couldn’t help but notice Shugarts. Time after time he stopped the pass rusher across from him cold in his tracks, including but not limited to bull rusher extraordinaire John Simon.

I was very impressed with Shugarts’ performance and look for big things from him this year.

I still think Marcus Hall will move to guard.

Even though he is #2 on the depth chart at RT and I think he will stay there this season, I don’t think his natural position is on the edge.

First, he appeared to struggle mightily with pure speed rushers off the edge, including on the very first play of the spring game.

Second, he is too good to keep off the field. J.B. Shugarts will still be around at RT next season, but Ohio State will be looking to replace Bryant Browning at guard.

It only makes sense for Hall to follow in the footsteps of his fellow Glenville alumni and replace Browning at guard in 2011. For now though, he is the best back up RT in the conference, and that’s not bad either.

Boren, Brewster, and Browning are solid in the middle.

They took care of business last year, they are going to take care of business this year.

With Shugarts coming into his own at RT and Adams apparently making strides at LT, this offensive line is going to be one of the cornerstones of Ohio State’s championship run next season.

Since our last report on online work based on Elance statistics, a full financial quarter has passed. The result on Elance: $20 million more for freelancers. Boosting over $260 million since its birth, Elance has risen above any other online new-media-related marketplace, hovering around the #550 position in Alexa’s global Internet traffic … (read more)

You may recall a few weeks back that we wrote about how the Labour party in the UK had come under fire for a really bad campaign poster that portrayed an opposing candidate from the Conservative party as if he were a character in a BBC television program — photoshopping the candidate’s head onto the a promotional shot from the TV show. Labour ended up pulling the poster after the ad seemed to only help the competition — but also after some questioned whether or not Labour (the party in power that had drafted the infamous Digital Economy Bill) was infringing on copyrights of the TV show in using the image from the show. Eventually, Peter Mandelson, the guy who basically wrote the Digital Economy Bill and was its main champion, took “responsibility” for the poster.

So it’s a bit bizarre to hear that Labour and Mandelson have put out a second, quite similar, poster that appears to be just as questionable on the copyright front. Misterfricative writes in to alert us to a new controversy over yet another campaign poster involving the Conservative candidate photoshopped into an image from a BBC television program. Once again, the poster has been “withdrawn” over other aspects of the controversy, but it certainly looks like this should be Mandelson’s second strike, right? After all, these posters are supposedly his responsibility. If he wants to set a good example, perhaps he should cut off his own internet access. But I guess he shouldn’t worry. After all, as Mandelson himself pointed out, once kicked off, he can pay up in order to file an appeal.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

Last week, FOX’s musical hit Glee prompted big laughs and even bigger ratings during its eagerly-anticipated “Power of Madonna” episode. In tribute to The Material Mom, the cast of did a remake of the 1990 “Vogue” video — starring Jane Lynch’s “Sue Sylvester” as the pop diva.

Check out this side-by-side comparison of the Glee version vs. Madonna’s original. So downright uncanny at times you can’t tell the difference!

The online conversation between Gary Becker and Richard Posner is one of my favorite things on the web. Currently they are taking on the the idea of the US implementing a value-added tax. First a bit from Becker, as excerpted by me:

1) A flat VAT tax would be more efficient for two reasons than a progressive income tax that raises the same revenue: it does not discourage savings relative to consumption, and it induces fewer distortions on other behavior because it has flat rather than rising tax rates. A flat income tax eliminates the effects of rising tax rates, but still distorts savings behavior.

2) The downside of a value added tax to anyone concerned about growing government spending and taxing is very much related to its upside; namely, that a VAT is a more efficient and relatively painless tax. … For example, the VAT rate in Europe started low but now ranges from 15 to 25%, and averages about 20%. In Denmark, for example, the VAT rate was 9% in 1962, but quickly rose to 25% by 1992, and has remained at that level.

3) However, the problems is that a VAT would be introduced not as a partial or full substitute for personal and corporate income taxes, but rather as an additional tax. This would make it much easier to close the fiscal gap by maintaining or increasing government spending and overall tax levels.

4) Since high taxes and high levels of government spending would discourage economic growth and raise rather than lower the overall distortions in an economy, I am highly dubious about introducing a VAT into the federal tax system unless accompanied by a major overall of this system. One big improvement that does not involve a VAT would be to flatten the present income tax rates and greatly reduce the various exemptions, so that the tax basis is widened. Even then it is necessary to be vigilant about combating the incentives government officials have to increase flat taxes over time, whether they are flat income taxes or flat value added taxes.

Now Posner:

1) Because (assuming no exemptions) the tax base for a VAT is so broad—all goods and services—a VAT can generate enormous tax revenues at a low tax rate, which reduces the distortionary effect of the tax. … The VAT also avoids the double taxation of savings under a corporate plus individual income tax system, further encourages savings by making consumption more costly, and reduces the disincentive effects of heavy income taxation. … Of course the benefits of the VAT are greatest if it is substituted for income taxes and other inefficient taxes rather than being added to the existing tax system to generate additional tax revenues.

2) Becker’s main objection to the adoption of the VAT by the federal government, which is similar to the objection to taxes on Internet sales and indeed any new taxes that do not merely replace existing taxes, is that by increasing government revenues it will increase the size of government relative to the private economy, and if (as is doubtless true) government is less efficient, the result will be a reduction in economic welfare. … I agree but on the other side of the issue is our awful fiscal situation.

3) In light of the nation’s fiscal bind, the imposition of a federal VAT becomes a more attractive prospect. One immediate beneficial effect, provided that the VAT was not entirely additive to existing taxes but was coupled with some reduction in corporate and payroll taxes, would be a reduction in export prices and therefore an increase in exports and hence a reduction in our trade deficit, which is a contributor to our public debt. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade permits VAT to be rebated on exports, thus lowering the cost to the foreign buyers.

4) More important, the VAT would increase federal tax revenues with minimal distortion because it is an efficient tax. To the extent (even if modest) that it replaced less efficient taxes, it would increase economic efficiency and thus increase the rate of economic growth. Most important, by discouraging consumption in favor of savings, a VAT would reduce the interest rate on our public debt and the Treasury’s dependence on foreign lenders.

The saga of the Android 2.1 upgrades continues, with Motorola Europe posting on its Facebook page that the upgrade for the Milestone has been delayed.

"We regret to say the UK 2.1 update has suffered further delays and been pushed back at least another 2 weeks. Additional operator approvals are now required which were not planned for originally. As we don’t want to cause any further disappointment, we will now post about the update only once the launch date is 100…% confirmed. Sincere apologies for the frustration caused and thanks for your continued patience."

The good news is they’re taking their time to get things right. Bad news is it’s taking time. Hang in there, folks. [Facebook via TheUnwired’s Arne Hess on Twitter]

[JURIST] French Justice Minister Michele Alliot-Marie and Jordan’s King Abdullah II met Sunday to discuss increasing cooperation between France and Jordan’s judicial and legislative branches and strengthening the ties between the two countries. Alliot-Marie told reporters that France would send legal experts to Jordan to help strengthen its court system. Sunday’s talks follow the protocol signed by France and Jordan last April to enhance the countries’ legal cooperation. The protocol provides for the exchange of current legal and judicial releases and research highlighting the countries’ judiciary, and underscores revisions of Jordan’s current civil and criminal laws.
Jordan has employed a series of legal reforms to address the concerns of many human rights groups. Last year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Jordan to restore its rule of law by ending extrajudicial detentions of crime victims, personal enemies, and persons freed by the courts. Per the 1954 Crime Prevention Law, which is currently in effect, government officials have the power to order administrative detentions on mere suspicions of improper behavior rather than on the showing of evidence that a crime has been committed. HRW asserted that the formulation and application of Jordan’s Crime Prevention Law violates international standards as well as Articles 7 and 8 of the Jordan Constitution, which states that “Personal freedom shall be guaranteed,” and that “No person may be detained or imprisoned except in accordance with the provisions of the law.” The HRW report alleges that Jordan officials frequently circumvent the judicial system under which potential defendants are afforded due process and also that the subjects of such extrajudicial detentions are often the victims of crimes rather than the perpetrators themselves.