In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Topics

28 Nov

The LA Times recently carried this op-ed by former Australian FM Gareth Evans on the successes of preventive diplomacy and peacekeeping (perhaps better described as peacemaking) missions around the world. He cites the Human Security Report 2005 for evidence that the incidence of war is on the decline, and that third-party interventions (diplomatic, sanctions, military deployments) play a large role...

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27 Nov

Results from the Egyptian elections reveal that members of a radical Islamic group, the Muslim Brotherhood, have won up to 29 more seats in the 444 seat Egyptian parliament. Members of that group now have 76 seats overall, or 17 percent of all parliamentary seats. As the Financial Times has noted, "President Hosni Mubarak’s National Democratic party still looks set...

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27 Nov

Today it was announced that former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark will join the defense team for Saddam Hussein. This is good news. It should dispel any notion anywhere in the world that this is not a serious trial with top-notch defense counsel. In the words of Robert Jackson, this should "dispose of the contention that ...

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26 Nov

Palestine moved one step closer to peace with the opening of the Rafah crossing to Egypt. With no international airport open, the Rafah checkpoint is the international gateway into Gaza.President Abbas was celebrating yesterday at the opening ceremony: "I think every Palestinian now has his passport ready in his pocket. Let them come to cross at this terminal whenever they...

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25 Nov

Less than a week after the U.S. surrendered to a NAFTA tribunal's order to eliminate U.S. duties on Canadian lumber, Canada brazenly announced yesterday that it would add a $1.28 billion subsidy to existing supports for the Canadian lumber industry. In other words, just as the U.S. dropped its duties in a good faith gesture, Canada has decided to whack...

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25 Nov

Recently declassified documents at the National Security Archives show how President Nixon and Henry Kissinger were concerned that U.S. nuclear strategy was basically only a single option: Mutually Assured Destruction. The documents show how a mix of moralism, strategy, bureaucratic politics, and even Watergate drove the National Security Council to grapple with the idea whether there could be a limited...

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25 Nov

Pinochet has posted bail and now remains free. See details here. The BBC has the best coverage of the indictments, one for tax evasion and the other for kidnapping. The coverage includes links, a profile, related articles, and background information. A full list of all news stories about the Pinochet indictments is available from Google here. As of Friday morning...

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23 Nov

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States, one of the truly great and distinctive national holidays of our country. The only obligation of Thanksgiving is that we celebrate and give thanks for the bounty that is ours. George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation is a regular fixture at Thanksgiving celebrations in many homes throughout the country. As noted here, it was...

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23 Nov

After months of whining by high-level Canadian politicians, the U.S. Commerce Department announced yesterday that the U.S. will comply with a NAFTA tribunal's decision requiring the reduction or elimination of U.S. duties on Canadian lumber. The U.S. refusal to eliminate these duties had been one of the main sources of friction between the U.S. and Canada and potentially threatened the...

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23 Nov

An Australian national convicted by Singapore of drug running is facing execution next week, causing much justifiable angst in Australia. Some are advising the Australian government to seek a provisional measures order from the ICJ to stop the execution. As Australia's Prime Minister announced today, however, such an appeal to the ICJ would be "pointless" because Singapore hasn't done anything...

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