As Ken mentioned yesterday, we are extremely grateful for our readers. Lest we grow too comfortable with our incessant pointed discussions, please feel free to offer us any constructive criticism for how to improve OJ in 2009. We really do want to know if we are barking up the wrong tree. So please fill out the survey below...
Dan Drezner, a political scientist at Tufts and well known public intellectual aka blogger, has a short column at The National Interest from early December asking why it is that so many of the important foreign policy jobs in the Obama administration are going to lawyers, rather than to public policy or foreign affairs school graduates. Dan starts with Dani...
The Wall Street Journal has a front page news story today that will not surprise anyone who follows the daily life of the United Nations - Andrew Higgins and Steve Stecklow, "U.N. Push to Stem Misconduct Flounders," WSJ, December 26, 2008, A1. It seems to be behind the subscriber wall (maybe not), but anyway here is a bit: An American-backed drive...
To all OJ readers, Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate it, and the loveliest holidays and best wishes to everyone everywhere. Peace and goodwill on earth, and may you and your families and loved ones look forward to a good new year. I know I speak for everyone at OJ in saying that we are honored to have...
Since 1955 NORAD (and its predecessor CONAD) has tracked Santa’s each Christmas Eve and has answered questions for boys and girls about his progress. NORAD’s Santa tracking service uses interactive maps updated every few minutes at http://www.noradsanta.org. As Santa stops in each location, you can click an icon to learn more about that part of the world. There are also...
Great interview in Newsweek by Rod Nordland of Somali pirate Shamun Indhabur. My favorite quote is the pirate's plea for good government: Why has there been such an increase Somali piracy? In Somalia all the young men are desperate. There is wide unemployment in the country, there are no sources of income. One of the only sources we have had...
Medecins Sans Frontieres has published their list and report of the top-ten humanitarian disasters of 2008. Africa suffers its disproportionate share: Massive forced civilian displacements, violence, and unmet medical needs in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Iraq, Sudan, and Pakistan, along with neglected medical emergencies in Myanmar and Zimbabwe, are some of the worst humanitarian and medical emergencies in the world,...
The Third Circuit recently had to determine whether a "joint statement" between Germany and the United States regarding Holocaust settlement created a private right of action for alleged violations of Germany to pay interest on the $10 billion DM settlement fund. It presents an interesting question of whether the document should be interpreted to create a private right of...
Two interesting articles today about countries that want the ICC to get involved in their internal problems. First, the Indian government apparently wants the Court to prosecute Pakistanis who are responsible for masterminding terrorist attacks, including the recent attack in Mumbai: "[h]ighly placed government sources have told TIMES NOW that decks are being cleared by New Delhi to get the...
Scott Horton has a typically excellent post today at Harpers.org discussing the perversity of right-wing commentators who defend the use of torture. But I was troubled by the following comment about the ICC, which he offers in agreement with an old editorial by David Rivkin and Lee Casey: Rivkin’s history is much like that of Reynolds and Goldberg. Back when the...
We interrupt the regularly scheduled Sundays with Stendhal to raise an issue of crucial importance, at least for OJ readers in the northern hemisphere above a certain latitude ...
Having finally resolved the disclosure issue, the Lubanga trial is set to begin on January 26, a little more than one month from today. Unfortunately, the problems with the case continue: The senior trial lawyer in charge of the first case to be tried at the International Criminal Court has been taken off the case little more than...
