In the indictment against sixteen environmental activists now on trial outside Istanbul, George Soros and the Open Society Foundations (OSF) are mentioned over 300 times. Neither is in any way linked to the defendants or to the 2013 public demonstrations that took place at Gezi Park, yet somehow George Soros is accused of being the [...]
The 2021 trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the “architect of 9/11,” and the other accused will write an important page in the legal chapter of dealing with terrorism. What is not clear is if this page will solve issues, sustain them, or even create more. Ultimately, these trials will be essential not only for the [...]
“A trial is a window into the soul of a country.” –Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Under the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984, China agreed to govern Hong Kong under the principle of “one country, two systems,” which guarantees that the city’s [...]
The Georgia legislature is poised to pass a “fetal heartbeat” law similar to those recently passed in Kentucky and several other states. The bill, which narrowly cleared the House, would prohibit abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected—generally at 6 to 7 weeks into pregnancy. Because pregnancy is generally dated from the last menstrual [...]
The news on the climate crisis has been bad lately and getting worse. In the face of President Trump’s continued denial and his administration’s diligent efforts to roll back every shred of progress made by the Obama administration and to prop up an ailing coal industry, the warnings from the scientific community have only become [...]
In January 2018, following the killing of Iranians in European countries, the EU imposed new sanctions on Iran. This came after the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Iran after withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in August 2018. The International Court of Justice then issued a decision ordering the United States to lift [...]
“The enemy is the unphilosophical spirit which knows nothing and wants to know nothing of truth.” Karl Jaspers, Reason and Anti-Reason in our Time (1971) Yet again, assessments of national security threats to the United States thoroughly contradict US President Trump’s own off-the-cuff appraisals. This time it is about satellite images confirming that North Korea is rapidly [...]
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently launched an investigation into the Catholic Church in Pennsylvania. The central focus of the inquiry seeks to determine whether there have been violations of federal child sex-crimes and related crimes among Church leaders. This investigation raises a number of critical issues, including the potential impacts on American law and [...]
The Constitution provides that a President has few enumerated powers. He is head of the executive branch and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces (in times of war). That is it. A President cannot make laws. However, a President can recommend laws for Congress to consider. Also, when a bill is offered to him [...]
At the beginning of this month, the Trump administration announced a new policy that same-sex partners of foreign diplomats and employees of the United Nations will only be granted visas if the partners are married. The State Department immediately applied the policy and refused visas to unmarried partners. The Department also told partners who lived [...]
