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DAMASCUS -- Lebanese Hizbollah is an independent body which enjoys the protection of all Muslim states, Iran's Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Mohmoud Hashemi Shahroudi told foreign reporters here on Sunday. Shahroudi also called on Muslim and Arab states to back the Lebanese resistant movement, IRNA reported. The U.S has adopted a double-standard policy in its war on terror and is using it as an 'excuse' to crush nations in support of the Israeli regime, Shahroudi said when asked by the Xinhua news agency. The Judiciary official further said that the Islamic Republic is working alongside Muslim and Arab states on a...

Maryland may eventually do away with tollbooths on the state's highways, bridges and tunnels and switch to electronic toll collection. A preliminary report by the Maryland Transportation Authority concluded that converting its seven toll plazas is feasible but would cost as much as $180 million. Transportation officials initiated the study as they look for long-term savings and ways to reduce travel time and increase highway safety. "It's something we're interested in doing. It's something the industry is moving toward. But it's complicated and we're in the earliest stages," said Harold Bartlett, the transportation authority's executive secretary. At least eight states...

The Intercounty Connector, the new toll road that connects Gaithersburg to Laurel, was envisioned and created to alleviate the traffic headaches that have plagued local roads and the Capital Beltway for decades. While some trips for commuters have been cut in half, though, some officials and commuters have been left to wonder why the $3 billion highway looks so empty. Maryland Transit Administration officials say that the average ridership on the ICC - which is hovering around 21,000 cars per day - is exactly where they want to be. That's a stark distinction, though, from preliminary traffic and revenue studies,...

ICC Urges Saudi Arabia to Release the Prisoners Washington, D.C. (January 24, 2012) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Saudi Arabian officials strip searched 29 Christian women and assaulted six Christian men after arresting them for holding a prayer meeting at a private home in Jeddah. The prisoners are currently being held at Briman prison in Jeddah. “We feel humiliated because the security officials stripped searched us. They used the same glove to search several of us at the same time. Some of my friends are suffering from physical pain to their private parts due to the unsanitary...

Drivers leaving the newly opened Intercounty Connector at Exit 10 for Layhill Road have a choice listed on the big, green overhead sign: They can head south onto Layhill to go to Glenmont or travel north to go to Norwood. Norwood? “Anybody who’s lived here any length of time would say, ‘Norwood? Where’s Norwood?’ ” said Elizabeth Hartge, a lifelong resident of the area whose great-great-grandfather built the family homestead in 1855. Even local history buffs are stumped. “I wouldn’t know to call it Norwood,” said Cathy Case, interim director at the nearby Sandy Spring Museum and a resident of the...

Although Sudanese president Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir meets more than all of the requirements that qualified Libya's Muammar Gaddafi for regime change -- the U.S. has shown an alarming amount of empathy for the oppressor and his cabal in Khartoum. In fact, Gaddafi's sins pale in comparison to those of Bashir, whose transgressions were concisely enumerated by Doyle McManus in the L.A. Times on Tuesday. Because of his role as the architect of the Darfur genocide -- a campaign which claimed over 300,000 lives -- Bashir became the first sitting head of state indicted for war crimes by the International...

AP - The International Criminal Court charged former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo with murder, rape, persecution and inhuman acts Wednesday, crimes allegedly committed as his backers fought brutal battles to keep him in power after last year’s elections. Gbagbo, 66, is the first former head of state taken into custody by the court since it was established in 2002, although prosecutors also have charged Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir with genocide and Libya’s former leader, the late Moammar Gadhafi, with crimes against humanity. “Mr. Gbagbo is brought to account for his individual responsibility in the attacks against civilians committed by...

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for ousted Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo, his France-based lawyer said on Tuesday. "They (Ivorian justice authorities) showed it to him this morning,"

BRUSSELS (AP) — Some NATO members are worried that their organization may be investigated by the International Criminal Court after its prosecutor said allegations of crimes committed by NATO in Libya would be examined "impartially and independently," according to diplomats accredited to NATO headquarters. The diplomats said action to pre-empt a war crimes investigation would likely include an immediate internal legal review of all incidents in which NATO bombing or other actions caused civilian casualties. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. Currently, nearly 120 states are parties to the ICC. All European NATO...

THE HAGUE, Netherlands-- Clergy sex abuse victims upset that no high-ranking Roman Catholic leaders have been prosecuted for sheltering guilty priests went to the International Criminal Court on Tuesday, seeking an investigation of the pope and top Vatican cardinals for possible crimes against humanity. The Center for Constitutional Rights, a New York-based nonprofit legal group, requested the inquiry on behalf of the Survivors Network, arguing that the global church has maintained a "long-standing and pervasive system of sexual violence" despite promises to swiftly oust predators. The Vatican said it had no immediate comment on the complaint. The complaint names Pope...

When Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. won election as governor in 2002, he was faced with a tricky problem. He had campaigned on a pledge to build the long-delayed Intercounty Connector in suburban Washington. The highway project would cost a fortune, far more than the state could afford out of its Transportation Trust Fund, and the Republican Ehrlich had taken a hard line against new taxes. He had to come up with some way to pay the $2.6 billion it would eventually cost. The answer? He would make it a toll road. And to give his policies a semblance of geographical...

White House may regret letting judges based in the Netherlands take lead on LibyaThe Obama administration is backing the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrants for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. It is a dangerous precedent for the United States to rush to affirm the jurisdiction of this relatively new international body, particularly with a president whose counterterrorism strategy has made his name synonymous with “targeted killing.” On Monday, ICC judges granted warrants for Col. Gadhafi, his son Seif al-Islam and regime intelligence chief Abdullah Sanussi. The court said there were “reasonable grounds to believe” that the trio were “criminally responsible...

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — International judges ordered the arrest of Moammar Gadhafi on Monday for murdering Libyan civilians who rose up against him, as NATO warplanes pounded his Tripoli compound and world leaders stepped up calls for the Libyan leader to resign.The International Criminal Court said Gadhafi, his son Seif al-Islam Gadhafi and his intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanoussi are wanted for orchestrating the killing, injuring, arrest and imprisonment of hundreds of civilians during the first 12 days of an uprising to topple Gadhafi from power, and for trying to cover up their alleged crimes.

The International Criminal Court prosecutor asked judges Monday to issue arrest warrants for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and two other senior members of his regime, accusing them of committing crimes against humanity by targeting civilians in a crackdown against rebels. Luis Moreno-Ocampo says Gadhafi, his son Seif al-Islam Gadhafi and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanoussi ordered, planned and participated in illegal attacks. He said Gadhafi's forces attacked civilians in their homes, shot at demonstrators with live ammunition, shelled funeral processions and deployed snipers to kill people leaving mosques. Judges must now evaluate the evidence before deciding whether to confirm the charges...

The International Criminal Court chief prosecutor is seeking the arrest of Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi and two others for crimes against humanity. Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Col Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanussi bore the greatest responsibility for "widespread and systematic attacks" on civilians. ICC judges must still decide whether or not to issue warrants for their arrest. The Libyan government has already said it will ignore the announcement. Deputy Foreign Minister Khalid Kaim said the court was a "baby of the European Union designed for African politicians and leaders" and its practices were "questionable". Libya...

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Moammar Gadhafi is among three Libyans facing arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity, an official with direct knowledge of the case told CNN Saturday. The court's Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who said in early March that he planned to investigate the embattled Libyan leader, will announce Monday that he's seeking the arrest warrants. This was the first time the court investigated allegations as a conflict unfolded. The allegations include security forces killing unarmed protesters, forced displacement, illegal detentions and airstrikes on civilians. Investigators looked at the most serious accusations in...

Why Did U.S. President Barack Obama order a military attack on Libya? Why did he seek the permission of the United Nations Security Council, but not that of the U.S. Congress - as he is constitutionally obliged to do? Glenn Beck has explained President Obama's decision to attack Libya in terms of the United Nations' "Responsibility to Protect Doctrine"Mr Beck is right.According to Radio Free Europe Those who justify the Libyan intervention on humanitarian grounds draw much of their logic from a concept which has dramatically gained ground over recent decades. The concept is known as "R2P," shorthand for the...

In diplomacy, as in medicine, the cardinal principle in any crisis is to first do no harm. The Obama administration's approach to Libya has violated this principle in at least two respects. Having made matters worse for Libya's democratic opposition, the administration now must be willing to reverse the damage it has done. First, there's the arms embargo, imposed by the U.N. Security Council with strong U.S. support two weeks ago. Initially advertised as a measure that would weaken the Gaddafi regime by preventing it from acquiring additional weapons, the State Department this week revealed its view that the U.N....

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The U.N. resolution imposing tough sanctions against Libya marked the first time that the United States has given its support to the International Criminal Court and signified a remarkable turnaround, though it includes a key exemption demanded by the Obama administration. The resolution adopted unanimously by the Security Council on Saturday refers the actions of Moammar Gadhafi's regime since Feb. 15 to the court's prosecutor who must decide whether there is enough evidence of alleged crimes against humanity to warrant a full investigation.

American actor George Clooney is visiting the little known region of Southern Sudan. The U.N. Security Council arrived to a raucous welcome on Wednesday, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum also made a recent trip here. The high-level visits are putting the spotlight on the Texas-sized area of Sudan that is far less known to Americans than the western region of Darfur, where mass atrocities have been committed over the last decade. Southern Sudan is three months from a Jan. 9 independence vote that could see Africa's largest country break in two. The vote _ and the potential of...

Editor: It's time to retire Senator John McCain, 73, who's been in office 24 years. Contrary to how he depicts himself, McCain has been a big government globalist during his entire senatorial career. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), which is dedicated to one-world government and the relinquishment of all national sovereignties. McCain is a RINO (Republican In Name Only), a closet Democrat. Suddenly running scared, and with a $5 million campaign war chest to spend, McCain is blitzing TV with ads in support of securing the border: a 360-degree turnaround. If you're wondering why...

Mysterious Group Buys Building Next to Ground Zero For Mosque Wednesday, December 16, 2009 Jim Hoft A mysterous Muslim group with unknown sponsors has purchased a building steps away from Ground Zero. Hudson New York reported: An identified group with unknown sponsors has purchased building steps away from where the WorldTrade Center once stood — to turn it into potentially one of the largest New York City mosques. At the moment the building, the old Burlington Coat Factory, already serves as a mini-mosque: an iron grill lifts every Friday afternoon for a little known Imam leading prayers a few yards...

Expose Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf’s history, his statements in Arabic, and his organization’s appallingly incomplete tax filings. Manhattan Community Board 1 gave their nod of approval to construction of a highly contested, 15-story mega-mosque at the former Park Place Burlington Coat Factory — 600 feet from Ground Zero. But this is hardly a final word on the matter. New York City community boards function as mere advisory bodies, with no authority to make legally binding decisions for or against any proposed New York City structure. And while a motion to postpone the vote was defeated, the approval hardly represented resounding...

Senior State Department officials said Wednesday they have been given a warm reception at the Kampala review conference of the International Criminal Court, which they are attending as observers. It is another sign of U.S. re-engagement with the 12-year-old ICC, which was rejected by the Bush administration. Former President Bill Clinton signed the Rome Statute setting up the ICC. But the treaty was never sent to the U.S. Senate for ratification amid conservative concern about politicization and judicial over-reach by the court, and the Bush administration rescinded the U.S. signature in 2002.

The ICC v. The U.S. Constitution Spencer Irvine, May 17, 2010 The implications of President Barack Obama’s review of American policy towards the International Criminal Court (ICC) could have large and dangerous future results, argued three panelists during a Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom lecture. A former advisor under President George W. Bush, Lee A. Baker, pointed out that prior to the Obama administration; the U.S. Congress passed the American Serviceman Protection Act in order to protect American servicemen and women from the prosecution of the ICC. Baker reasoned that American constitutional law prevents the United States from “divesting” power...

Bill S. 1346 is fast moving forward and so is the Obama world order. An order in which we are the world and they are us....kumbaya and all that crap. The bill is all about the left's thirst for Cheney/Bushitler blood and in the end will diminish are already diminished status as a world power. Introduced by Democratic Senators Durbin, Cardin, Feingold, Feinstein, and Leahy in June ‘09 and considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee May 6th, the Crimes Against Humanity Act would more than just ”[open] the door to demands of reciprocity from other nations that seek to prosecute US military personnel and government officials for...

Changing America: human rights outweighing sovereignty and defense. Lest Senate Democrats choose to insert the language of S. 1346 into another bill, sitting en queue is The Bill Dick Cheney and the Sundry Bad Guys who prosecuted The Engagement Formerly Known as WOT TM should be worried about. So should anyone else who defends America on foreign soil. So should our allies. Introduced by Democratic Senators Durbin, Cardin, Feingold, Feinstein, and Leahy in June '09 and considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee May 6th, the Crimes Against Humanity Act would more than just "[open] the door to demands of reciprocity...

Is N.Korea a Case for the Int'l Criminal Court? Massacres of civilians, rape, torture and looting have plagued the Darfur region in Sudan for eight years. The horrors are the result of clashes between armed militants who have come to dominate the region and forces backed by the government in Khartoum. Two million people have become refugees, and more than 200,000 are believed to have died. In March last year, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for crimes against humanity. Al-Bashir could be arrested if he travels to any of the ICC's 110...

A few weeks ago I wrote a post here at NRB on a news item that got very little attention from American readers. It’s well-worth revisiting now. The Obama Administration announced through an anonymous source on or about January 31 that no one in the Bush Administration who was involved with green-lighting the water-boarding of terrorists following the 9/11 attacks would face sanctions or prosecution. I predicted that the American Left and The World of Islam would not let go of this issue, even if Attorney General Eric Holder’s (pictured above) Department of Justice did. True to my prediction the...

Red Cross Rules of Engagement Sheila Archambault, February 11, 2010 In international humanitarian law and the law of armed conflict, there has been a large change—law is no longer based on practice, or what fighting countries actually do in wars, but it’s now based on what someone said in a speech, a professor said at an event put on by the Endowment for Middle East Truth. Before, law “followed customary practices of actual armies in the field” … now there is a thinking that law “is as much the work of by standing states as participants”—we have shifted from a...

Every once in a while I like to blow off some steam and deliver a good rant. So get ready for my rant du jour... It's like a bad parody of the worst propensity of the American professoriate to be, well, as un-American as one can get. But here we have another prosaic example of yet another half-wit, left-wing professor -- this one a prof of "international law" -- using his perch in a state sponsored school, with his taxpayer's supported (and obviously undeserved) salary to help foreigners launch an attack on his own county... if this particular pinko even...

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST BUSH, CHENEY, RUMSFELD, TENET, RICE AND GONZALES; INTERNATIONAL ARREST WARRANTS REQUESTED In order to demonstrate your support for this Complaint you can contact the I.C.C. Prosecutor by letter, fax, or email as indicated below. Champaign, U.S.A./The Hague, Netherlands (19 Jan 2010). -- Professor Francis A. Boyle of the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign, U.S.A. has filed a Complaint with the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (I.C.C.) in The Hague against U.S. citizens George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, Condoleezza Rice, and Alberto Gonzales...

Finally, today, we get at least an attempt at an explanation of President Obama’s dead-of-night decision on December 16 to grant Interpol — the international police force — immunity from American law. (See here and here.) Unfortunately, in the habit to which we’ve grown accustomed, the Obama administration itself didn’t provide the explanation. It comes from Interpol’s secretary general, Ron Noble, via an informative report by Valerie Richardson at Human Events. (Ms. Richardson, who quotes from my posts in her story, was good enough to call me for comment; I regret that, because of the press of other business, I...

While our "Constitutional Scholar" president insists on full Constitutional rights for terrorists, he has at least attempted to repeal the 4th Amendment protections for Americans, with particular impact on the men and women in the U.S. military. An Executive Order dated December 17 grants full diplomatic immunity to INTERPOL, the International Criminal Police Organization. This Obama Order immunizes INTERPOL from "search and seizure," from all tax laws, from the Freedom of Information requirements, and puts INTERPOL above the jurisdiction of American Law Enforcement, American Courts, and the Constitution itself. INTERPOL was originally formed in 1923 as an information clearinghouse service...

None of us can object to a police force, or an army, because humankind is too adept at being stupid and wicked. But, when a police force or army are used against the people they are meant to protect, they become agents of the wicked who wish to control us. In an earlier article on Interpol I said that this global organisation now has complete diplomatic immunity to act as it wishes on US soil. It will not be long before it gains similar concessions worldwide. The reason it gained US approval first is that Obama has already promised America...

With the signing of an under-publicized amendment to Executive Order 12425, Barack Obama has fundamentally altered your constitutional rights. His actions are undermining your rights to protect personal privacy from a foreign internationalist police agency named Interpol. A one-paragraph executive order may seem inconsequential to many, but this action has far-reaching implications and threatens the sovereignty of America. Obama's secretive executive order amended an order issued by President Reagan in 1983. Reagan's order recognized Interpol as an international organization and gave it privileges and immunities commonly extended to foreign diplomats. Reagan opened the door to allow Interpol to operate in...

Okay, okay. I know a lot of you know about this already. For about a week I have been getting emails about Barack Obama surrendering American sovereignty to Interpol, the international criminal police force under the UN’s jurisdiction, but I honestly couldn’t believe even Obama would do that. The people emailing me were, frankly, mostly of the black helicopter crowd variety so I dismissed it is as overhyped. Then RedState regulars like Kenny Soloman and Veronica Estrada started taking it seriously. I had to pay attention. Finally, I got an email with several links from a friend saying I needed...

Wither Sovereignty? Executive Order Amended to Immunize INTERPOL In America-Is The ICC Next? Last Thursday, December 17, 2009, The White House released an Executive Order "Amending Executive Order 12425." It grants INTERPOL (International Criminal Police Organization) a new level of full diplomatic immunity afforded to foreign embassies and select other "International Organizations" as set forth in the United States International Organizations Immunities Act of 1945. By removing language from President Reagan's 1983 Executive Order 12425, this international law enforcement body now operates - now operates - on American soil beyond the reach of our own top law enforcement arm, the...

<p>IF YOU ENJOYED the election crisis of 2000, you’re going to love what Democrat leaders are cooking up for November.</p> <p>"George Soros has purchased the Democratic Party," charges Republican National Committee spokeswoman Christine Iverson. (2) Some might dismiss Miss Iverson's comment as hyberbole. However, Soros' massive soft-money contributions have indisputably given him power over Democrat strategy.</p>

Imagine if President Obama went to Oslo next week to receive his Nobel Peace Prize and was arrested for purported war crimes committed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan. This bit of historical irony would be possible under an argument being made by Luis Moreno-Ocampo, chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Mr. Ocampo claims jurisdiction over actions of U.S. troops in Afghanistan because Kabul in 2003 acceded to the Rome Statute, which established the court. He said a preliminary examination already is under way regarding possible American culpability in crimes against humanity.

Unreal. Team Obama may allow US soldiers to be tried in the Hague for war crimes. The Wall Street Journal reported, via Jihad Watch: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed “great regret” in August that the U.S. is not a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC). This has fueled speculation that the Obama administration may reverse another Bush policy and sign up for what could lead to the trial of Americans for war crimes in The Hague. The ICC’s chief prosecutor, though, has no intention of waiting for Washington to submit to the court’s authority. Luis Moreno Ocampo says...

*NEA conference call full audio and transcript here** Should the National Endowment for the Arts encourage artists to create art on issues being vehemently debated nationally? That is the question that I set out to discuss a little over three weeks ago when I wrote an article on Big Hollywood entitled The National Endowment for the Art of Persuasion?” The question still requires debate but the facts do not. The NEA and the White House did encourage a handpicked, pro-Obama arts group to address politically controversial issues under contentious national debate. That fact is irrefutable. But some have claimed that...

The Obama administration made its strongest declaration of support for the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague when secretary of state Hillary Clinton voiced regret that the US was not part of the court. But Washington is still far from joining. Hillary Clinton was speaking in Nairobi, Kenya, where she urged the government to go to the ICC to prosecute perpetrators of last year's post-election violence. It was a surprising message to come from an American representative, given that the country has long boycotted the court. Although president Bill Clinton signed the Rome Statute that establishes the court, lawmakers...

Nothing the US did in Iraq could ever constitute a war crime that could be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court. This is the view of Richard Goldstone a former chief international war crimes prosecutor and international law expert. "I don't believe that any allegation that I have read or heard against the United States leaders comes anywhere near the sorts of crimes that the ICC has been set up to investigate. Genocide, crimes against humanity, serious war crimes - it just doesn't measure up." Richard Goldstone - chief prosecutor at the war crimes tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda from...

The time has come for the United States to engage officially with the International Criminal Court. Established in 2002, the court exists to prosecute persons accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, and the United States should cooperate with all responsible efforts to combat such abhorrent acts. We should act now to develop a more formal relationship with the leading institution for prosecuting such violators. The United States has been wary of the ICC and so far declined to join the 108 nations that are members. Objections began with the Clinton administration and were magnified after 9/11. Out...

Arabization of Africa, and Its Killing Fields - by Bankie F. Bankie March 27, 2009 • We Will Islamize America and Arabize Africa – Dr Hassan Abdallah Turabi from Darfur, SudanThe whittling away of the remains of settler colonialism is proceeding with the increased development of Southern Africa. There is no parallel process of decolonisation in the Afro-Arab Borderlands, rather an internationally co-ordinated aggressive action is underway, to coral the Sudan liberation movements in places such as Darfur and in eastern Sudan, into a peace ‘laager’, with the generous dispensation of petro-dollars. Given that the area of ‘ambiguous relations’(i.e. the...

Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir must be held accountable for each and every death caused by his expulsion of 16 humanitarian aid groups from the nations Darfur region, the US ambassador to the United Nations said. Surely no person of conscience can remain unmoved by the untold misery and death that this cutoff of desperately needed food, water and medicine will inevitably inflict upon millions of innocents already huddled in the camps of Darfur, Ambassador Susan Rice told the UN Security Council today. We urge other members of this council to join us in this urgent work, Rice said. There are...

President Barack Obama's administration has dropped outright US hostility toward the world's first permanent war crimes court, but it is still a far cry from joining it, experts say. US officials say the new team is reviewing its policy on the International Criminal Court (ICC) after former president George W. Bush's administration snubbed it and drew fire that it was showing contempt for international law.

Pro Israel, pro USA black Muslims refugees from Darfur. Listen at 4:00. American and Israeli flags. hatip Atlas Shrugs. Happy Purim/Chag Sameach

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CNN) -- The International Criminal Court at the Hague issued an arrest warrant Wednesday for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for a five-year campaign of violence in Darfur. Bashir is charged with seven counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes. The warrant does not mention genocide, but the court may issue an amended warrant to include that charge later, ICC spokeswoman Laurence Blairon said. Five counts are for crimes against humanity and include murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture, and rape, Blairon said. The other two are for war crimes, for intentionally directing attacks against civilians and...