Christopher Hitchens captures here exactly why the death penalty is a mistake in the case of Saddam Hussein. I have been surprised throughout the process at the IST how many American human rights lawyers have worked for and with the tribunal, knowing that death by hanging was a likely outcome. Surely, if there is one "international norm" that...
I also wanted to add a brief perspective on the Hussein decision as an example of the interrelationship of domestic and international law and politics. The verdict likely will have little impact on most voters’ perspectives, but the tight and arguably tightening polls--compare the various polls on pollingreport.com--suggest that even tiny shifts might make a difference. Whether or...
From the October 3, 2000, Bush-Gore presidential debate:MODERATOR: New question. How would you go about as president deciding when it was in the national interest to use U.S. force, generally? BUSH: Well, if it's in our vital national interest, and that means whether our territory is threatened or people could be harmed, whether or not the alliances are -- our...
I will have more to say when the IHT's written decision is available, but here are a few quick thoughts on Saddam's conviction. First, until this morning, I did not believe that the U.S. had orchestrated the timing of the verdict. But then I learned that the written decision will not be released until Thursday "for technical reasons." So...
Great news on the conviction of Saddam Hussein. Here is how Iraq the Model, who is part of Pajamas Media and one of the top Iraqi bloggers, expressed his views regarding the news of Saddam Hussein's conviction: I was overwhelmed with joy and relief as I watched the criminals being read their verdicts. For the first time in our region...
You know your policies in Iraq are a disaster when Richard Perle -- he of the infamous phantom libel suit against Seymour Hersh, and one of the neoconservative architects of the war -- says that invading Iraq was a mistake. From this week's Vanity Fair:Three years later, Perle and I meet again at his home outside Washington, D.C. It...
HISTORY & DEVELOPMENT OF ISLAMIC LAW The Origins and Elements of Sunni and Shi’a Jurisprudence WHEN: Monday, November 6, 2006; 6:30 to 9 p.m. WHERE: New York City Bar Association (42 West 44th Street) The New York City Bar Association will present what may very well be the most distinguished panel of academic Islamic law scholars ever assembled for the public in the Western Hemisphere....
As I stare out at the grey, rainy day here in Eugene, my thoughts turn to recent bad news about our atmosphere and oceans. Three publications from the past few weeks indicate the climate change is likely to have a massive economic impact, the world’s fish stocks are on the verge of collapse, and Canada is not complying with...
The story here (not clear why this should have been in the Metro section of the Times, although there are more column inches here than this kind of story usually gets). This isn't the first migration-related case for the Commission, and it won't be the last (especially with the recent proliferation of law school human rights clinics, with a...
In a case that is already fueling a debate in Africa, and which may become an example of how local law enforcement in North America and Europe should handle the brutal practice of female genital mutilation, an Ethiopian immigrant in the US state of Georgia was found guilty yesterday of aggrevated assault and child cruelty for cutting his own two-year...
Privacy International, a human-rights organization that was formed in 1990 to track surveillance and privacy invasion by governments and corporations, has released the results of its 2006 international privacy survey. Using primarily quantitative data, the survey scored and ranked 36 countries -- all of the members of the EU and 11 benchmark countries, including the U.S. and New...
I've always believed that one of the least appreciated, but most powerful arguments against torture is that it harms not only the victim, but the torturer, as well. If this story is true -- and there seems to be no indication that it isn't -- the sad case of one of the first women to die in Iraq makes...
