In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Recent Posts

27 Dec

There are too many fast-breaking reactions and early analyses of today's assassination of Benazir Bhutto to summarize adequately at this stage. But I was struck that Mayor Michael Bloomberg issued his own statement, focusing on the connection between New Yorkers -- in particular the 100,000 Pakistani-Americans who call New York home -- and the violence and threats to democracy...

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27 Dec

Foreign Policy has compiled a series of short descriptions of important but often-overlooked stories from the last year. Here’s FP’s lead in:In 2007, the surge in Iraq, Ahmadinejad’s antics, and the chaos in Pakistan dominated the news. But behind the front pages, a number of important stories flew under the radar. From Osama’s fall from grace to the rise of...

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27 Dec

I often wonder, as I sit happily ensconced in my ivory tower, what the world of international criminal law looks like to the average American. I now have my answer, courtesy of Rush Hour 3, perhaps the first Hollywood movie since Judgment at Nuremberg to revolve around the fast-paced, sexy world of ICL. The opening scene of the film takes...

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26 Dec

NPR (radio, how quaint!) is running a terrific series on their morning show marking the tenth anniversary of blogging. Check out this timeline of the blog, which includes details of how the word "weblog" morphed to "we blog," to just "blog," both a noun and a verb. The part airing this morning (listen here) focuses on blogs and...

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25 Dec

This story by Robert Carroon provides the historical background of the 1863 poem “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (pictured left). This poem is especially appropriate for any Christmas celebrated in the midst of war. Happy Holidays to all! In March 1863 a seventeen year old native of Cambridge, Massachusetts, slipped away...

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24 Dec

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 services have uses interactive maps updated every few minutes at www.noradsanta.org. As Santa stops in each location, you can click an icon to learn more about that part of the world....

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23 Dec

President Bush has signed the Genocide Accountability Act of 2007. As I noted last month, the Act provides for conditional universal jurisdiction over the crime of genocide. 18 USC sec. 1091 previously provided as follows:(a) Basic Offense.— Whoever, whether in time of peace or in time of war, in a circumstance described in subsection (d) and with...

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23 Dec

Noted without sarcastic comment:The Serbian Defense Ministry has announced an agreement to sell $230 million in military equipment to Iraq. In September and November, Defense Minister Abdul-Qadir al-Obaidi became the first top Iraqi official to visit Belgrade since the fall of Slobodan Milosevic. Milosevic had close ties to fellow former dictator, Saddam Hussein of Iraq. During his trips, Obaidi discussed developing a...

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22 Dec

I thought that I Am Legend was at the top of my Christmas movie list — but then I read about My Enemy's Enemy, a new documentary by Kevin Macdonald that explores the possibility that the capture and subsequent murder of Che Guevara in Bolivia was orchestrated by...

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20 Dec

It's been a tough December for Alberto Fujimori, the former President of Peru. Two weeks ago, a Peruvian court sentenced him to six years in prison for ordering an illegal warrantless search of an apartment owned by the wife of his murderous intelligence chief, Vladimiro Montesinos — the first time a former Peruvian head of state has been convicted...

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20 Dec

Time Magazine’s Person of the Year is Vladimir Putin (runner up Al Gore; sorry Al). The article, the wittily titled "A Tsar is Born” is here. Here’s a brief excerpt (highlights added):He is clear about Russia's role in the world. He is passionate in his belief that the dissolution of the Soviet Union was a tragedy, particularly since...

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