Search: kony 2012
23 May Senate Foreign Relations Committee Takes on the AUMF
As several of my friends at Just Security and Lawfare have noted, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday held an, um, interesting hearing on whether the primary domestic law authorizing the use of force against Al Qaeda, the Taliban and associated forces needs to be repealed or revised. Witnesses’ written statements and (more interesting) video of the hearing is here. The hearings featured current DOD General Counsel Stephen Preston, Principal Deputy Legal Adviser at the State Department Mary McLeod, followed by former (Obama) State Department Legal Adviser...22 Jan The Haunting “I Cannot Recall (Ballad of Manus Island)”
Patrick S. O'Donnell Thank you. One of my former teachers, Richard ('Dick') Flacks, who was among the founders of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and is now professor emeritus (sociology), is an authority on protest music (especially its folk variant). Flacks co-authored, with Rob Rosenthal, Playing for Change: Music and Musicians in the Service of Social Movements (Paradigm Publishers, 2012), should anyone be interested. Patrick S. O'Donnell Thank you. Richard (Dick) Flacks, one of my former teachers, among the founders of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS),...25 Jun Court Guts SB 1070 (Immigration Still Part of Foreign Relations)
As predicted here, the Supreme Court delivered a split decision today in the Arizona immigration case. But to the extent that it’s a partial victory for supporters of SB 1070, it’s only a nominal one. Justice Kennedy’s majority opinion broadly validates federal power over immigration, leaving a very confined space for state activity. Kennedy’s opinion situates immigration law as part of foreign relations. [The federal power over immigration] rests, in part, on the National Government’s constitutional power to “establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization,” U. S. Const., Art....10 Jun Guest Post: Pakistan’s official withdrawal of consent for drone strikes
...are under no obligation to hand them over to the US. Their sole responsibility is to prevent NSA's on their soil from conducting attacks against other states. JP Precisely 12 months ago: 5 June 2012: "Pakistan on Tuesday summoned the US charge d’affaires Richard Hoagland to the foreign ministry to convey its ‘serious concerns’ over drone strikes.According to a statement issued by Foreign Office, he was officially conveyed the government’s serious concern regarding drone strikes in Pakistani territory. He was told that the drone strikes were unlawful, against international law...27 Apr Troubling Development in the Kenyatta Case (Updated) (Updated Again)
...the judges looking to regulation 55. However, without a greater and more flexible pool of available judges, the Presidency is not left with a lot of options. Alexander I'll answer directly to David K, because he is the last in the comments queue. Judge Van den Wyngaert had already complained very convincingly and very bitterly about workloads in general in her winter 2012 article "VICTIMS BEFORE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURTS: SOME VIEWS AND CONCERNS OF AN ICC TRIAL JUDGE" (Case Western Law Review), so her application to be excused from 8th...04 May Breaking the Silence — About Israel’s Assault on Gaza
...the US State Department Country Reports on Human Rights of 2012: http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2012humanrightsreport/index.htm?dynamic_load_id=204365&year=2012#wrapper I quote from the Report "Defence for Children International-Palestine (DCI-Palestine) and Breaking the Silence claimed Israeli security services continued to abuse, and in some cases torture, minors who frequently were arrested on suspicion of stone throwing, to coerce confessions." I doubt that the US State Department would quote a completely untrustworthy source as an indicator of Israeli human rights abuses. But anyway, Amos Harel, probably the most respected military analyst journalist in Israel (respected by both Left and...03 Dec Australia Ratifies Kyoto
...flaws of the first treaty (which expires at end of 2012). To quote again from a well-written recent Los Angeles Times article on the topic: "The negotiations for the next phase of the accord have the advantage of taking place when public and scientific opinions have swung behind taking aggressive steps to stabilize global warming. To be effective, Kyoto II will have to directly address the failures of the past. It will have to include the United States and force developing nations to rein in their polluting, experts said." NewStream...17 Oct What Are Romney Surrogates Complaining About?
The media and blogosphere are predictably — and justifiably — abuzz about Candy Crowley pointing out that Romney was wrong when he claimed it took Obama two weeks to label the Benghazi attack an “act of terror.” More interesting, though, is the push-back from Romney surrogates like Ed Gillespie, who said afterward that “[s]he was wrong about it, no doubt… I’ll let the American people judge for themselves in terms of the moderator and that kind of thing.” Fortunately, it’s not difficult to judge for ourselves who was...12 Feb Does Ecuador Deserve Condemnation for Ignoring Arbitral Tribunal Orders and Treaty Obligations?
...is discussed at length in my article here. Roger Alford Roger Alford I should add that Ecuador may be discounting this risk in light of Argentina's recalcitrant behavior in not recognizing and enforcing adverse investment arbitration awards. Certainly Correa has indicated that he has no intention of paying the already outstanding $1.77 billion award Occidental won against Ecuador in 2012. But Argentina's strategy may change. Obama removed Argentina's GSP benefits in March 2012 for not honoring its arbitration obligations. The U.S. is likely to do the same for Ecuador with...04 Jan US Tax Overreach: Enforcing Against Expats
...who is living long term overseas and has been keeping the US passport "just in case" or perhaps out of fear of renouncing before, is going to change their mind in 2012. I hope they staff up the embassies to deal with the tidal wave of expatriation requests that is going to hit them. Victoria I have to concur with jen. I am a long-term EU resident (on my third 10-year French residency permit) married to an EU citizen. Until last year I owed nothing (my 1040's are mostly zeros)....