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In less than a year the U.S. government has gone from being one of the chief opponents of the proposed UN Small Arms Control Treaty to being a strong supporter. Elections do matter and have consequences. As many predicted, the United States has changed its United Nations Gun Control Treaty position by joining other countries in the UN’s General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament And Peace, with a resolution calling for the drafting of an International Arms Trading Treaty. This Treaty, which will be up for a final UN vote in 2012, will regulate small arms, as well as other...

The President of the United States has no more legal right to sign a treaty that turns legislative, executive, and judicial functions of our national government over to the United Nations than he has to declare the United States an Islamic Republic and its people henceforward subject to Sharia. Nevertheless, that would be the effect of the proposed United Nations Climate Change Treaty awaiting Mr. Obama's signature in Copenhagen this coming December. The proposed treaty authorizes the establishment of a "government" to transfer wealth from industrial nations to non-industrial nations in payment of a "climate debt" which, the treaty declares,...

. . Once Again, Entertainment Industry Looks To Force Massive Copyright Changes Via Int'l Treaties from the how-the-game-is-played dept By now you should know that one of the entertainment industry's favorite tools for forcing ever more draconian copyright laws around the world is to use international treaties. Such treaties are not put together by elected officials, but appointed diplomats, often with tremendous input (to the point of allowing them to write the details) from industries that are protected. Then, once those treaties are in place, copyright maximalists just get to sit back and say "but we must make our copyright...

Berkeley would become the first city in the United States to independently try to comply with U.N. treaties on torture, civil rights and racial discrimination, if the City Council passes a measure on the issue tonight. The measure would require the city to file biennial reports to the United Nations on how - or whether - the city meets international human rights standards. In Berkeley, that could include its record on homelessness, the achievement gap among different racial groups at Berkeley High and the presence of John Yoo, a UC Berkeley School of Law professor and Berkeley resident who authored...

"A dual citizen on the other hand can’t make certain treaties under International Law" http://texasdarlin.wordpress.com/2008/11/28/natural-born-citizens-or-how-to-beat-a-subject-to-death-with-a-stick/

WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who helped vote down U.S. ratification of a nuclear test ban treaty ten years ago, said he would now consider supporting it. McCain told The Associated Press that he could support the treaty, a priority of former presidential rival President Barack Obama, if concerns are addressed before another vote.

In Russia and Italy this week, President Obama is taking steps on nuclear weapons and climate change that are in line with his pledge to rebuild U.S. alliances around the world. It's a window on what we could see in the next four to eight years: The birth of new treaties and the revival of old ones that have long been stalled, some for decades. This shift was a cornerstone of Obama's campaign. He made it clear that he sees international laws and institutions as potential "pillars of U.S. policy and influence as opposed to constraints that hinder and hobble...

The Senate is gearing up to ratify a Nixon-era U.N. treaty meant to create universal laws to govern the seas -- a treaty critics say will create a massive U.N. bureaucracy that could even claim powers over American waterways. LOST -- the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, also called the Law of the Sea Treaty -- regulates all things oceanic, from fishing rights, navigation lanes and environmental concerns to what lies beneath: the seabed's oil and mineral wealth that companies hope to explore and exploit in coming years. But critics say the treaty, which declares the sea...

Clearly many of you are in desperate need of a history lesson and perhaps a reminder of your manners. Recently too many of you have issues regarding the Great people of the Seneca Nation and the other Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. If it were not for the generosity and hospitality of the Seneca's and the rest of the Iroquois, there would be NO New York State nor would you enjoy the democratic society YOU enjoy today. Apparently Governor Patterson thinks this is the other way around. That the Senecas and the rest of the Iroquois tribes are citizens of...

There are few things that keep me up at night, but this is one of them. It may be cynicism, but more likely it’s the long sad experience of watching the courts over the years. So when your side finally wins one that should have you celebrating, and yet you walk away with a knot in your gut, it’s probably warranted. Senior Judge Laurence H. Silberman’s majority opinion in Parker v. District of Columbia was a thing of beauty, affirming armed self-defense as an individual right pre-existing the Constitution. It was almost hard to believe. Maybe that's what’s bugging me....

Some parts of the constitution need a lawyer to interpret, others are pretty straight forward, like this one: Article Two, Section Two of the US constitution says Clause 2: He [the President] shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors ... That's pretty clear, two thirds of the senate are needed to approve approve a treaty. But not if Senate democrats get their way. For Controversial...

New taxes, deep cuts to education and health care, and a restructuring of the state's economic development programs will be hallmarks of Gov. David Paterson's first budget plan to be released in two days, according to interviews of people briefed on components. The plan will come with a host of revenue raisers — increased taxes on hospitals and insurance policies, for instance — and at least one new assessment, a so-called obesity tax on non-diet soda to raise $404 million. The governor also is contemplating requiring new license plates to raise cash, reviving sales tax on clothing purchases, removing the...

Gov. David Paterson is heading near Indian Country to sign a bill that would call for the state to collect taxes on sales by Indian retailers. Despite urgings by the Seneca Nation for the governor to veto the measure, he is traveling to Oneida County to sign the legislation in Utica on Monday

Like a monster in a horror flick franchise, the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST), an omnibus treaty originally blocked by President Ronald Reagan, is back! And despite what the doomsday document's delirious spokesmen say, it's about as scary as ever. The convention is being pushed by a mix of activists, who support international law -- any international law -- and businesses, such as the International Association of Drilling Contractors, that see visions of profits dancing in their boardrooms. Treaty critics are being dismissed as ignorant fools or cynical liars.

In one of the most important international-law decisions in its history, the Supreme Court on Tuesday restored the Constitution’s prudent balance between politics and law in the quintessentially political arena of foreign affairs. Doing so, Chief Justice John Roberts’s majority opinion concurrently provided individual justice for murder victims, vindication for the rights of states to democratic self-determination, and a searing reminder of why presidential elections — which can chart the high Court’s course for a generation — are crucially important.

Do you support the Lakota Freedom Delegation's declaration of sovereign-nation status? Yes No

Angering conservatives on the critical issue of national sovereignty, the Bush Administration is supporting a plan by Senator Joseph Biden, D-De., to stage a Foreign Relations Committee hearing on September 27 in order to usher the controversial U.N. Law of the Sea Treaty to the Senate floor for a quick vote. Biden, chairman of the committee and a Democratic presidential candidate, was a leader of the effort to defeat Bush’s pick of John Bolton as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Conservatives are hoping the facts about President Reagan’s rejection of the measure, mainly on the grounds that it was a...

by Steven ErteltLifeNews.com EditorAugust 31, 2007Managua Nicaragua (LifeNews.com) -- The Supreme Court in Nicaragua is expected to issue a ruling on the nation's abortion ban in the next two weeks. The Central American nation adopted the complete ban last November that prohibits all abortions, including those for rape and incest or to save the life of the mother.Abortion advocates, led by the New York-based Americas for Human Rights Watch, have taken the law to court.The nation's high court is expected to deliver a decision in the case soon and it could result in the undermining of other pro-life laws in...

OTTAWA — It's a threat that has left-wing Canadian nationalists and right-wing U.S. congressmen in rare and dismayed agreement: a freeway, four football fields wide, stretching from Mexico to northern Manitoba. Groups on both sides of the political spectrum say the corridor - dubbed the NAFTA superhighway - is a primary goal of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) of North America established two years ago by the leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico. At separate press conferences in Ottawa yesterday, the road was held out as an example of the potentially repugnant effects of the trilateral partnership....

Saturday, April 14, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello, 'cultural diversity' – goodbye, sovereignty -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: April 14, 2007 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Henry Lamb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © 2007 A new U.N. treaty entered into force on March 18, 2007: the "Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions." This new treaty has been ratified by 56 nations, and it is only a matter of time (and who occupies the White House) before it is presented to the U.S. Senate for ratification. The purpose of the treaty is to further integrate the world into a global village by applying...

The French offer of cooperation in civilian nuclear energy development is likely to figure prominently in defence dialogue with India on Monday as Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Sunday that New Delhi wanted to deepen strategic relationship with Paris. "France has assured us of cooperating in development of nuclear energy for civil use," Mukherjee told newsmen on arrival here adding "India wants to take this process forward". The Minister's remarks came as Indo-US agreement on civilian nuclear deal is still pending with the US Congress. Impressing on the United States that the process of removing the embargo and lifting...

I seem to recall reading a law somewhere stating that ordinary U.S. citizens were not authorized to enter into negotiations with foreign governments on behalf of the United States, and that only the U.S. government had that power alone. I keep thinking I remembered reading something to that affect in the Constitution, but cannot seem to find it. I haven't looked yet in the U.S. Code but will do right after I post this. Does such a law exist or am losing it?

Nothing in the U.S. Constitution authorizes the federal government to regulate private property. Nothing in the U.S. Constitution authorizes the federal government to manage wildlife or prescribe land-use regulations within the various states. By what authority, then, has the federal government constructed the expansive bureaucracy that now forces wolves, panthers and bears on states and communities that don't want them, or levied fines, and jailed people who dare dig a ditch or dump a load of sand on their own private property? This federal power arises from the treaty clause (Article VI (2)) of the U.S. Constitution. Alabama attorney Larry...

by Mark Finkelstein July 23, 2006 - 06:47 Don't the press in general and the New York Times in particular take pride in portraying themselves as ever-the vigilant defenders of the First Amendment? But judging by an editorial in the paper this morning, the Times experiences a power loss worse than the one currently gripping Queens when it comes to defending the First Amendment rights of groups it disfavors, in this case the tobacco industry. Entitled Take the Tobacco Pledge, the editorial urges ratification of The World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, known colloquially as 'the tobacco treaty.'...

President Bush is pursuing a globalist agenda to create a North American Union, effectively erasing our borders with both Mexico and Canada. This was the hidden agenda behind the Bush administration's true open borders policy. Secretly, the Bush administration is pursuing a policy to expand NAFTA politically, setting the stage for a North American Union designed to encompass the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. What the Bush administration truly wants is the free, unimpeded movement of people across open borders with Mexico and Canada. President Bush intends to abrogate U.S. sovereignty to the North American Union, a new economic and political...

India has virtually agreed to joint policing of international waters with the United States in the 10-year defence agreement signed between the two governments in Washington. The agreement is being seen as a "back-door entry" for India into the US-led 11-nation Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) that is now claiming the right to stop and search ships not merely in coastal waters, but also on international waters, merely on the suspicion that a vessel could be carrying missile shipments. India, which has opened its waters over the past few years to the United States, is now readying for a more substantive...

Will the real Brazil please stand up? Is Brazil a poor country that needs more foreign aid from the United States -- even involuntary aid? Or is it an increasingly rich and powerful country that can seize foreign markets for itself? Indeed, is it so powerful that that it doesn't need to play by the rules? One source not to look to for answers is the Brazilian government itself, as we shall see. To an outside observer, it's apparent that the Brazilians clearly want to have it all three ways: being needy when it suits them, being export-y as they...

CROW AGENCY, Mont. The Crow Indians rode with Custer at Little Bighorn, but they have since reconsidered. On the anniversary of the battle Saturday, they cheered during a re-enactment when Indians drove a stake through his fringed jacket and carved out the heart of the soldier going by the name of Yellow-Hair in Blue Coat Who Kills Babies, Old Men and Old Women. Their revised opinion is understandable considering what has happened to them since that battle to get their valley back from rival tribes. Today it's a Crow reservation with enough land and mineral resources to make each tribe...

<p>The Arab language has many nuances. To understand an Arab phrase one has to understand the context and follow the intonation. Not everything you hear should be accepted as real. Most of our Israeli politicians are completely ignorant of understanding the outlook of our enemies, especially Palestinians. If the country's policy is based on ignorance then it is worth nothing. This is the exact image of Israeli policy towards Palestinians now.</p>

LOST: A Trojan Horse on America's Shores by Oliver North Posted Apr 1, 2005 About 3,200 years ago, the defenders of Troy, a maritime power of the day, found a large wooden horse outside the walls of their city where their foes had been encamped. Taking this "peace offering" to be a tribute to Poseidon, the god of the seas, they dragged the horse into the city that had, until then, withstood everything their adversaries could throw against it. That night, as the people of Troy celebrated "peace," Greek warriors poured forth from the belly of the beast, opened the...

During 2004, oil prices reached levels unprecedented in recent years. Many IEA member countries and non-member countries alike are concerned about oil costs and oil security, and are looking for ways to improve their capability to handle market volatility. This book aims to provide assistance. A core mission of the International Energy Agency (IEA) is energy supply security. Indeed, the Agreement on an International Energy Program (I.E.P.), the treaty signed by all IEA member countries, obliges IEA member countries to not only to maintain emergency oil reserves, but also to apply voluntary and mandatory measures for reducing oil consumption on...

Commentary "River Kwai Syndrome" Plays in Law of the Sea Frank J. Gaffney Jr. Proceedings, March 2005 Discuss this article in the eForum. In 1957, Hollywood created the unforgettable image of military men throwing themselves into a construction project, having lost sight of the fact that the result could be used by the enemy to the grave detriment of their comrades and country. Unfortunately, nearly 50 years after The Bridge on the River Kwai entered the public consciousness, the Navy seems afflicted with the same syndrome as it encourages U.S. ratification of the controversial U.N. Convention on the Law of...

NEWS ANALYSIS WASHINGTON, March 14 - Behind President Bush's recent shift in dealing with Iran's nuclear program lies a less visible goal: to rewrite, in effect, the main treaty governing the spread of nuclear technology, without actually renegotiating it. In their public statements and background briefings in recent days, Mr. Bush's aides have acknowledged that Iran appears to have the right - on paper, at least - to enrich uranium to produce electric power. But Mr. Bush has managed to convince his reluctant European allies that the only acceptable outcome of their negotiations with Iran is that it must give...

MEXICO TO PAY OFF ITS WATER DEBT TO THE UNITED STATES Perry making announcement in Mission this afternoon Mexico President Vicente Fox has agreed to pay off his country's 700,000-plus acre-feet water debt to the United States by the end of the year. Gov. Rick Perry and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs will make the announcement in Mission this afternoon. Rumors circulating in the Rio Grande Valley that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be there also, before heading to Mexico City for a formal announcement on the deal. The announcement in the Valley is due to be made...

Law Of the Sea TreatyWhy We Lose if LOST Wins By asserting UN authority over seven-tenths of the Earth’s surface, LOST would be the largest territorial conquest in history. In principle, the treaty would assert UN jurisdiction over U.S. territorial waters, and eventually over waterways within our country.It would create a huge bureaucratic entity called the “Enterprise” which would regulate and tax all commercial uses of the high seas. By taxing all efforts to develop the wealth of the seabed, the UN would be given a huge revenue stream, independent of national governments, to push its agenda for international socialism.The...

One of the first questions asked of Condoleezza Rice during her confirmation hearing, came from Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, Richard Lugar. He asked her if the administration would support ratification of the Law of the Seas Treaty. Her answer was an unequivocal "yes." Before he popped the question, with TV cameras running, Lugar said that claims by critics that the treaty would result in the loss of national sovereignty, and that the treaty authorized the UN to collect taxes--were false. Article 2(3) of the treaty says quite clearly, that: "... sovereignty over the territorial sea is exercised subject to this...

London 20.01.05 | According to Colombian daily El Tiempo, Alvaro Uribe's administration has sent to Venezuela's government a list of terrorists, members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The list contains the names of Luis Edgar Devia Silva, a.k.a. Raúl Reyes; Luciano Marín Arango, a.k.a. Iván Márquez; Germán Briceño Suárez, a.k.a. Grannobles; known members of FARC's upper echelons. Colombia alleges that these terrorists spend long periods of time in Venezuela conducting their affairs, moreover relatives of them are believed to be residing in Venezuela.

Declassified documents anger victims' families, stir up potential lawsuits Confidential documents drawn up between Seoul and Tokyo when normalizing diplomatic ties four decades ago were unveiled to the public yesterday under a court ruling, stirring up long-buried dust on victims of Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of this nation. The government's partial release of its "X-files," consisting of about 1,200 pages, awakened memories of past victims and their families - and incited new claims for compensation. "The documents will inevitably become a catalyst for compensation lawsuits from victims of the colonial rule," an official at the Foreign Ministry said. "And with...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

Weapons in Space Weapons in the Heavens: A Radical and Reckless OptionPrograms to WatchFalse Alarm on Foreign CapabilitiesNational Space Policy: Evolution by Stealth? Weapons in the Heavens: A Radical and Reckless Option Michael Krepon Of all the risky “transformation� initiatives championed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, the one receiving the least media attention is the weaponization of space. Shortly before arriving for his second tour at the Pentagon, Rumsfeld chaired a commission calling for the U.S. government to vigorously pursue “the option to deploy weapons in space to deter threats and, if necessary, defend against attacks on U.S. interests.�[1]The...

Muhammad spoke the language of violence and understood that language. He did not attack his victims because they had done something wrong. He attacked them because he calculated that he could win and he only attacked those who were weaker. He took them by surprise, when they were unarmed, attending to their daily business. Nonetheless he fabricated pretexts and excuses for his attacks. For example when he attacked the Bani Qaynuqa, the excuse was that one of them insulted a Muslim woman. When he massacred the Bani Quraiza, the excuse was that they had conspired with the Meccans even thought...

Nothing in the U.S. Constitution authorizes the federal government to regulate private property. Nothing in the U.S. Constitution authorizes the federal government to manage wildlife or prescribe land-use regulations within the various states. By what authority, then, has the federal government constructed the expansive bureaucracy that now forces wolves, panthers and bears on states and communities that don't want them, or levied fines, and jailed people who dare dig a ditch or dump a load of sand on their own private property? This federal power arises from the treaty clause (Article VI (2)) of the U.S. Constitution. Alabama attorney Larry...

<p>NEW YORK — The quality of the world's crude oil that will be produced in the near future is falling and some U.S. refiners may soon have to invest millions in their plants to refine the changing flow of crude, experts said on Thursday.</p>

For the third time in as many years, the United States is seeking a U.N. Security Council resolution to prevent the International Criminal Court (ICC) from investigating or prosecuting cases involving U.N. peacekeepers from countries that are not parties to the court. Needless to say, devotees of the court — which was established to prosecute war crimes: crimes against humanity, genocide, and the as-of-yet undefined crime of aggression — are beside themselves. A statement by a spokesman for the Coalition for the International Criminal Court is typical: "...people disagree with this double system of justice, one for Americans and...

California Environmental Law Challenged by Foreign Investors Using NAFTA; Methanex v. U.S. Hearing Open for Public Viewing June 7 To: Assignment Desk, Daybook Editor, Environment Reporter Contact: Martin Wagner of Earthjustice, 510-550-6700, Marcos Orellana of the Center for International Environmental Law, 202-785-8700, Howard Mann of the International Institute for Sustainable Development, 613-286-5383 News Advisory:WHO: Three-Member Arbitral Panel administered by ICSID (International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes)WHAT: Hearing in the case Methanex Corporation v. United States of AmericaWHERE: Ground Floor of the MC Building of the World Bank (adjacent to the Preston Auditorium), Entrance to broadcast will be the...

Predictably, the Bush administration and its media mouthpieces trumpeted the latest U.S.-China trade agreement as a solid win for the United States. Just as predictably, their conclusions are ludicrous. In the wake of the late-April trade sessions, Vice President Cheney’s visit to East Asia, and an extraordinary China press conference held by four Cabinet officials shortly thereafter, it’s painfully clear that the Chinese are running rings around the United States economically, politically, and national security-wise. The main reason: Although the administration views China policy as an exercise in public relations and election-year politicking, the Chinese view their America policy as...

(Last update: February 8, 2001)TREATIES: A SOURCE FOR FEDERAL MUNICIPAL POWER     Within the last decade, many people have been utterly astonished at the phenomenal growth and influence of the so-called environmental movement. From its "salad days" of the early seventies, this movement has blossomed so quickly that it now has the visible support of giant corporations and powerful political figures. But, there appears to be a hidden agenda behind the environmental movement with its promotion of an environmental treaty.    Quite obviously, environmental legislation is inherently the proper subject of legislation for the State, and many States currently have...

Hague Commission on International Law Makes Progress on Resolving Evidence, Service Obstacles Faced by U.S. Attorneys, Says Delegate ATLANTA, GA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 11/18/2003 -- The Special Commission of the Hague Conference on Private International Law made significant headway in resolving obstacles that U.S. lawyers face when attempting to secure service of process and evidence abroad, said an Atlanta attorney appointed by the State Department as a delegate to the commission. Glenn Hendrix, a partner with law firm Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, returned from The Hague in the Netherlands last week following the commission conference. "The U.S. delegation made...

Ineffective Steel Tariffs Now Illegal, Too NEW YORK - In a ruling that was widely expected, the World Trade Organization held yesterday that steel tariffs imposed by the U.S. last year violated international treaties, to say nothing of the Bush Administration's free-trade rhetoric. The ruling exposes U.S. exporters to more than $2 billion in sanctions unless the U.S. agrees to end quickly its illegal policy. If they go into effect, the penalty would be the biggest ever levied by one WTO member against another. As is typically the case, much of the discussion of the tariff policy has been its...

American bounty hunter Duane Lee "Dog" Chapman found himself behind bars in a Mexican prison in Puerto Vallarta in late June. Though widely hailed at home as a hero for running to ground the convicted serial rapist Andrew Luster, a Max Factor heir, Chapman quickly was arrested by Mexican officials for committing what is considered kidnapping under Mexican law when he captured the fugitive. If convicted, the bounty hunter could have spent as many as eight years in prison. Fortunately for Chapman he was released on bail by Judge Jose de Jesus Pineda, escaped to the United States and then...