Free Republic

A Nobel peace prize nominee has accused the director-general of the World Health Organisation of allegedly aiding genocide in Ethiopia. American economist David Steinman accused WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, 55, of being a 'crucial decision maker' who directed Ethiopia's security forces actions from 2013 to 2015. He accused Tedros of being one of three officials who were in charge of the security services over that period, during which the 'killing' and 'torturing' of Ethiopians took place. Tedros was the country's foreign minister until 2016 when his Tigray People's Liberation Front party was in power. Raised in Tigray, he also...

Prioritizing government-owned broadband networks would be inconsistent with the Constitution’s provisions regarding private property and commerce.As part of its massive $2 billion infrastructure proposal, the Biden administration is proposing an ambitious $100 billion broadband plan. The plan overreaches, misdirecting subsidies in ways that are wasteful, such as shoveling funds to areas already served instead of those lacking service. And the plan suggests the need to regulate the broadband prices of private service providers as if they were public utilities. As a matter of policy, these aspects of the Biden broadband plan are serious enough defects. But here we want to...

US President Joe Biden removed sanctions on Friday that former President Donald Trump placed on two top officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC) reports France 24. The sanctions were among the previous administration’s more aggressive moves targeting international institutions and officials. Pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC blasted the move warning that it could have damaging affects on Israel who is the target of an investigation by the Hague for war crimes. In a tweet on Friday, AIPAC wrote: “We are disappointed the administration is revoking sanctions on the International Criminal Court officials who are pursuing a baseless and discriminatory attack...

NEW YORK (AP) - Secretary General Kofi Annan's chief of staff called the United States an "ungainly giant" that only plays by its own rules, criticizing the U.N.'s largest donor in unusually strong terms Sunday. Mark Malloch Brown said the U.S. contributed most to the development of international law in the last century, but was now the country most opposed to international constraints. "This ungainly giant of a nation that has led the world in advancing freedom, democracy and decency, cannot quite accept membership in the global neighborhood association, and the principle of all neighborhoods - that it must abide...

A special investigator will be appointed to prosecute allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan as the Government prepares to release a long-awaited report into the conduct of special forces during the conflict. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said there were a "significant number" of incidents and issues to look into, and the investigation would be "inherently complex". And he warned the process would "[require] us to deal with honest and brutal truths where expectations and standards may not have been met". "Given the likely allegations of serious and possibly criminal misconduct, the matters raised in the inquiry must be assessed,...

Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra are being eyed for possible top cabinet positions in President-elect Joe Biden's administration, said two sources familiar with the discussions. Yates, who currently serves on the advisory board to Biden's transition team, is "no doubt" being considered as a candidate to become the country's next Attorney General, said one of the two, who asked to remain anonymous because no decision has been reached.

How an Americanist devoted to destroying international alliances became the US envoy to the UNIn the heat of the battle over the Florida vote after the 2000 US presidential election, a burly, mustachioed man burst into the room where the ballots for Miami-Dade County were being tabulated, like John Wayne barging into a saloon for a shoot-out. "I'm with the Bush-Cheney team, and I'm here to stop the count," drawled John Bolton. And those ballots from Miami-Dade were not counted.Now that same John Bolton has been named by President Bush as the US ambassador to the UN. "If I were...

An attorney for the whistleblower who sparked President Trump’s impeachment now says he has two clients prepared to sue if the Trump administration follows through with sanctions against the International Criminal Court. Mark Zaid told The Post he represents a pair of US law professors who intend to file a lawsuit if sanctions prohibit or criminalize their pro bono advisory work. Trump signed an executive order this month that allows sanctions against anyone involved in an ICC investigation of Americans or US allies. The order was issued in response to a decision from the court’s appeals chamber that authorized an...

They will be arriving in peace, and hoping to carry a message. Omar Chatman, 41, is one of the organizers for 1,000 brothers and sisters in arms, a pro-Second Amendment walk planned for Saturday led primarily by Black gun owners in Oklahoma. The demonstration, which will begin at 2 p.m. at Ralph Ellison Memorial Library, is intended to bring attention to the fact that Black Americans’ constitutional rights to carry firearms are not often respected, Chatman said. All are welcome to march in solidarity with the group, which expects between 200 and 300 people to attend in what they are...

Why draw the line at Spain - why not have Republican officials tried in Cuba for maintaining a blockade? Even if the worst that happens is that former President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and all those who served in their administrations find it advisable not to visit Spain or take international flights that stop off there, it is intolerable that persecution more appropriate to Robert Mugabe should be visited upon former public servants of the most powerful democracy on earth. If such infamy has already been achieved by President Pantywaist in his first 100 days, what further disasters can the...

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The International Criminal Court has condemned the Trump administration’s decision to authorize sanctions against court staff, saying it amounted to “an unacceptable attempt to interfere with the rule of law and the Court’s judicial proceedings.”An executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday authorizes sanctions against ICC staff investigating American troops and intelligence officials and those of allied nations, including Israel, for possible war crimes in Afghanistan and elsewhere.Trump’s order would block the financial assets of court employees and bar them and their immediate relatives from entering the United States. MORE AT LINK

International officials trying to prosecute American military personnel will not be allowed to enter the United States, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Friday. “We are determined to protect the American, allied, and civilian personnel from living in fear of unjust prosecutions for actions taken to defend our great nation,” Pompeo told reporters at the State Department. Pompeo’s decision puts personal pressure on the International Criminal Court, a European-based tribunal that is trying to investigate whether “war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed” since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. The top diplomat said that the court, which was...

Dear Madam Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), I hereby report I have issued an Executive Order (the “order”) that declares a national emergency with respect to the attempts by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to assert authority over United States personnel without the consent of the United States, and over personnel of countries that are allies of the United States without these governments’ consent.The order blocks the property and interests in property of foreign persons determined by the Secretary of...

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (NEA), section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, find that the situation with respect to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its illegitimate assertions of jurisdiction over personnel of the United States...

The Palestinian Authority has told the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague that it considers itself exempt from any agreement with Israel and the United States, including the Oslo Accords, due to Israel’s plan to apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria next month, Haaretz reported Friday. The PA released a statement from chairman Mahmoud Abbas in response to the ICC’s request last week for clarification regarding Abbas’ recent declaration that he is ending all agreements with Israel and the US. This may have ramifications for questions of international jurisdiction in PA-assigned territories. Abbas announced last month that “if Israel...

Let's be honest: The ICC is not impartial, it is a "Court of the Friends of 'Palestine' There are 57 Muslim Countries in the UN that gang up against the only small Jewish State, use the ICC for a judicial form of Jihad. Opinion. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/279642

The United Nations and Interpol, the global police organization, are poised to become partners in fighting crime by jointly creating an international police force. Interpol, which is financed by 187 member nations, says the "global police doctrine" would allow the deployment of peacekeepers among rogue nations plagued by war and organized crime. "We have a visionary model," said Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble, who described the joint partnership "an alliance of all nations." He suggested that by relying on Interpol's resources, the United Nations would be able to handle international conflicts and transnational crime far better.

Law: President Obama's nominee for State Department legal adviser could be a future Supreme Court pick. He believes U.S. law should be based on foreign precedent, and even Shariah law could find a home here.We have commented many times on the opinion of a number of U.S. Supreme Court justices that American jurists should include foreign law and precedent in their decisions. In several prominent cases, this has already happened. In a speech in South Africa, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg called the March 2005 Roper v. Simmons decision, in which a 5-4 majority ruled against executing murderers who were 17...

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh is facing a new sexual misconduct allegation that appears to echo a previous accusation lobbed against him.

Today, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Appeals Chamber authorized an investigation into the alleged activities of the Taliban and U.S. and Afghan personnel related to Afghanistan. This is a truly breathtaking action by an unaccountable political institution, masquerading as a legal body. It is all the more reckless for this ruling to come just days after the United States signed a historic peace deal on Afghanistan – the best chance for peace in a generation. Indeed, the Afghan government, itself, pleaded with the ICC to not take this course. But the ICC politicians had other goals. The United States is...