As I mentioned in a previous post, one of the issues that Russia did not want discussed at the G-8 summit was the status of the “frozen conflicts” in the former Soviet Union. I have spent the last year and a half researching and writing a report for the New York City Bar on one such conflict in Moldova....
Did Israel deliberately target a UN outpost? Secretary-General Kofi Annan called it an "apparently deliberate" strike that "deeply distressed" him. As quoted by CNN, he said in a statement This coordinated artillery and aerial attack on a long-established and clearly marked U.N. post at Khiyam occurred despite personal assurances given to me by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that U.N. positions...
The G-8 summit starts today and Russia is getting its star turn as it hosts for the first time. It has stated that issues such as energy security, the risk of global infectious disease, and international education initiatives will be on the agenda. The Russian government views this moment in the spotlight of global politcs as a chance to...
° Two rockets hit Israeli city of Haifa on Thursday evening ° Israel targets Lebanon by land, air and sea: enforcing naval blockade, bombing Beirut airport and shelling Lebanese towns ° Jets bomb Lebanese army air base at Rayak and Baalbek TV transmitter in Bekaa Valley ° Shelling from both sides is heaviest over Lebanon's southern border ° Hezbollah targets Kiryat Shmona, Nahariya and...
The breaking story is here. She alleges that Cheney, Libby, and Rove conspired to destroy her career in retaliation for her hunsband Joe Wilson’s criticisms of the Administration’s Iraq policy after his investigation into the discredited Niger nuke connection. It will be interesting to see how much the court paper read like a standard retaliation suit or whether they will turn...
From July 15 to 17 the leaders of the Group of Eight will meet in St. Petersburg, Russia for the Group's yearly summit. The G-8 began in 1975 as the G-6—the U.S., the U.K, France, Italy, West Germany and Japan—the six largest market economies meeting in the midst of the economic turmoil of the 1970’s. The group became...
On June 24, 2005, Yasser Salihee—a 30 year old Iraqi doctor who had who also worked as a translator and a journalist—was shot and killed at a U.S. checkpoint. He had been running an errand before going swimming with his wife and daughter. Salihee had been killed by Sgt. Joe Romero, a 33 year old ex-Army Ranger and sniper...
Following up on Julian's post, I think the problem is not fully appreciating the difficulty of justifying extraordinary renditions under international law, regardless of torture. Let's say someone is picked up and rendered to another country for interrogation. If we are not at war, then the full panoply of human rights law, including the ICCPR, to which we...
Is the "tide of sex workers" arriving in Germany in anticipation of the World Cup the result of human trafficking and sexual slavery or of legalized prostitution and free enterprise? Or maybe both? The U.S. State Department is concerned but some in Germany maintain that the increase in sex workers may be just market forces at work in a...
Justice Scalia, in a bit of full contact constitutionalism, has reminded Congress about the separation of powers when it comes to the judicial citation of foreign law. According to the Washington Post:Justice Antonin Scalia rebuked fellow conservatives on Capitol Hill yesterday, saying they have gone too far in trying to prevent the Supreme Court from using foreign law in its...
The Independent has a special edition today edited by Bono. It includes Condi Rice’s list of ten favorite pieces of music. See the full list with explanations and comments here. I’ll note that there was more pop than I expected, but I’m still waiting for the first Secretary of State who will put the Clash’s London Calling at...
Robert J. Delahunty of the University of St. Thomas School of Law has posted "The Battle of Mars and Venus: Why do American and European Attitudes Toward International Law Differ?" While much has been made as to the U.S. and Europe having different views regarding international law, I think articles such as this one, which try to dig into why...
