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22 Mar

parents and born on U.S. soil. No Congress or Supreme Court can undo or change 'natural law.' The original authors of the U.S. Constitution did not intend that a majority decide on a legal definition, they did not intend that members of Congress determine the definition -- they determined that it should be a universally accepted definition. Harold Gielow Lack of federal clarity on the natural born citizen issue permits room for the state to act to enforce state law requiring candidates be legally qualified for the office they seek....
22.03.15 | |

06 Nov

...concentrations (e.g., 450 parts per million) and/or long-term emission reductions (e.g., emission reductions of 50% by 2050) . • Mid-term emission reduction targets for developed countries, expressed either as an absolute number (e.g., reductions of 20% by 2020) or as a range (e.g., 16-23%). • Policies and measures by major developing countries such as China, India, Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa. • Financial commitments/pledges by Western countries to assist mitigation and adaptation actions by developing countries. • Decisions addressing adaptation, technology transfer, REDD (reductions in emissions from deforestation and degradation),...
06.11.09 | |

14 Sep

Eric Mortensen, from Oslo, Norway Because few governments can actually point to a country where foreign aid has been successfully applied to generate long-term or even short-term growth. Foreign aid on the scale 0.7% of GDP simply doesn't work. Actually, it's harmful because it entrenches corrupt regimes. It's not about not wanting to help the poor, it's about not wanting to help corrupt regimes. BTW, if you go to Europe and listen to most people talk about foreign aid, invariably they talk as if more always equals better. America is...
14.09.05 | |

05 May

...second periodic report.(1) The briefing updates Amnesty International’s concerns with regard to US "war on terror" detention, interrogation and related policies, as outlined in its preliminary briefing of August 2005, and provides additional information on domestic policies and practice.' I quote from Section 10 of the briefing: 10. Long term isolation in super-maximum security confinement. Thousands of prisoners, many of them mentally ill, continue to be held in long-term isolation in "super-maximum security" facilities, sometimes referred to as Security Housing Units (SHU Units) or Extended Control Units (ECU).(121) At least...
05.05.06 | |

28 Jul

...the war on terror–any more than the executive branch has been well served by its go-it-alone posture domestically. The book focuses on domestic law not because I don’t think international law is important but because it’s something over which the United States has less short-term control. In other words, in the long run, I believe that the international community will need to significantly rethink and supplement the law of armed conflict as pertains to this kind of asymmetric warfare. And the more I think about it, the more I suspect...
28.07.08 | |

28 Jul

Erik Sapin Response... We've come across a similar dynamic in Peru in terms of CSR, where the centralized strength of the Fujimori regime has given way to the problems of developing effective government infrastructure in rural regions far from the capitol. Peru has adopted a series of laws to address the problem of Decentralization, which in our research has been largely influenced by mining projects. In a nutshell, the mines located in rural areas pay taxes to the central government, which is then unable to redistribute those taxes to appease...
28.07.09 | |

02 Apr

...In examining the meaning of a statute, its text must be the starting point. See INS v. Phinpathya, 464 U.S. 183, 189 (1984). Section 2340 makes plain that the infliction of pain or suffering per se, whether it is physical or mental, is insufficient to amount to torture. Instead, the pain or suffering must be “severe.” The statute does not, however, define the term “severe.” “In the absence of such a definition, we construe a statutory term in accordance with its ordinary or natural meaning.” FDIC v. Meyer, 510 U.S....
02.04.08 | |

18 Nov

...tradition will reveal the unequivocal failure of al-Qa’ida militants who resort to terrorist tactics on behalf of their short-term goals and long-term aims to conform with the minimal ethical and legal requirements of jihad within the legal schools. In other words, based on an ethical and legal assessment using the normative criteria common to this tradition, these militants are not entitled to characterize their actions within the rubric of jihad: “The most important weakness in the militant claim to represent true Islam is the contradiction between the end professed and...
18.11.09 | |

01 Apr

Interesting discussion of innovative ways to deal with Haiti’s long-term problems. Haiti is very close to a failed state. So it’s time to think big. Here are four out of the box choices: 1) A New Haitian Constitution; 2) UN Trusteeship; 3) U.S. Protectorate; 4) U.S. annexation and status as a territory. Read the whole article. I actually think that in a free and fair election, options 3 and 4 might prevail. And I think option 4 might achieve the best results long term for Haiti. But getting the U.S....
01.04.10 | |

25 Aug

The success of a UN Secretary General is largely dependent on two things: (1) the charisma and personal drive of the office holder; and (2) his (to date, they have all been men) ability to lead and work well with the Secretariat. On both dimensions, recent evidence suggests Ban Ki-moon appears to be in real trouble. Unless he turns things around, he is beginning to look like a one-term SG. First, Jacob Heilbrunn’s scathing personal critique, “Nowhere Man,” in the July-August issue of Foreign Policy: Ban’s flaws were obvious dating...
25.08.09 | |

05 Dec

...defeat but a psychological victory. The enemy was superficially a non-state actor whose "black pajamas" did not constitute a recognized military uniform. They bombed civilian targets and killed local officials who cooperated with the central government. We did not call them terrorists at the time because the term was not popular. Today, as the title of the original post points out, it is common to use to the term for pirates and any other bad guy with a weapon. If Tet happened today, it would probably be called a terrorist...
05.12.08 | |

22 Jun

...Congressional authorization. even if there is no authorization why would that be inconsistent with international law? after reading the weird argument by oconnell, and your response im starting to give obama more credit. BCF The reference to Charming Betsy is wide of the mark. The The issue is whether a term of art, such as hostilities, which is undefined in the text of the statute carries its accepted meaning as a term of art. The answer is yes. "[W]here Congress borrows terms of art in which are accumulated the legal...
22.06.11 | |