In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Holder Leaning Toward Appointing Torture Prosecutor (Updated)

12 Jul

This according to Newsweek: Holder, 58, may be on the verge of asserting his independence in a profound way. Four knowledgeable sources tell NEWSWEEK that he is now leaning toward appointing a prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration's brutal interrogation practices, something the president has been reluctant to do. While no final decision has been made, an announcement could come in...

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11 Jul

Yesterday the Obama Administration released the report of the Intelligence Community Inspectors General. It is an important and interesting story about the Bush Administration's Presidential Surveillance Program (PSP). Jack Balkin has more here and here and Andy McCarthy here. The most gripping story in the report is the fight between the White House and the Department of...

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11 Jul

PBS will be airing an important documentary about the ICC, The Reckoning, on July 14.  Here is PBS's description of the film, which is directed by Pamela Yates, who received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2008: Over 120 countries have united to form the International Criminal Court (ICC) — the first permanent court created to prosecute perpetrators, no matter how powerful, of...

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10 Jul

Thanks, Eugene, for the thoughtful reply.  I look forward to your subsequent posts and will leave a more substantive reply until then.  For now, I just wanted to offer a few thoughts. 1. I don't think anyone should feel "better" if removing the settlers qualified "only" as a crime against humanity, instead of as genocide.  Both are incredibly grave crimes, and...

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09 Jul

First of all, welcome back!  I always enjoy your contributions to OJ (and your scholarship generally), even when I disagree with you.  So I hope you won't think me too ungracious a host if I raise some (pointed) questions about your most recent post.  I would be genuinely curious to hear your responses. I am, as I have pointed out ad...

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09 Jul

The President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus, has signed the act of Parliament ratifying the Rome Statute, thus completing the Czech Republic's accession to the ICC.  All of the members of the EU have now joined the Court. Congrats, Czech Republic!...

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08 Jul

I am going to be on lite-blogging status for a while, due to a pinched nerve and muscle tear caused - everyone please take careful note - not by my athletic and extreme sports lifestyle, but by bad ergonomic habits at the keyboard.  Let me assure you, at this moment you do not want to be me. However, while spending my...

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08 Jul

The case of Diallo v. Maryland presents a tragic story of a diplomat father and his prodigal son. In October 2006, David Reeves left a party in suburban Baltimore looking for drugs. He approached Abdel Diallo and asked if he had drugs for sale. Diallo said no. Reeves became angry and aggressive, and a struggle ensued. Both Diallo...

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07 Jul

Coming Anarchy has pointed out this article from The Daily Telegraph about the increasing calls for Flanders to secede from Belgium and how this may be aided by the rise of the EU. Before getting to the main issue, I just have to note the snarky opening from the article: The notion that breaking up a country as insignificant as Belgium could lead to anything more...

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07 Jul

As widely reported, in Moscow yesterday President Obama and Russian President Medvedev signed a Joint Understanding for the Start Follow-on Treaty. Here's how the White House fact sheet describes it: On April 1, Presidents Obama and Medvedev agreed in London that America and Russian negotiators would begin work on a new, comprehensive, legally binding agreement on reducing and limiting strategic offensive...

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06 Jul

For those of you who aren't F1 racing fans -- which I hope is all of you -- you might have missed the charming comments about Hitler that were recently offered by Bernie Ecclestone, the head of the league: In an interview with London's The Times newspaper, Ecclestone expressed a preference for "strong leaders," citing former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher...

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