1,721,014 research outputs found
Game of Bombs: President Barack Obama’s Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime
Full text linkOne of President Barack Obama’s favorite solutions to reducing or halting armed conflict in the world centers around his often-stated desire to rid the world of nuclear weapons. While this simplistic formula for a more peaceful world has certainly been voiced by other occupants of the oval office, the world is, and always has been, an extremely dangerous place, and the machinations of competing spheres of power in a “Game of Thrones” will always exist in human history. Coupled with an aggressive Russia and China, the dangers associated with the new era of radical Islamic extremism rubricate the need to view the naiveté of President Obama’s vision of a planet without nuclear weapons with great caution, particularly when a large part of the so-called Obama solution calls for the unilateral weakening of America’s nuclear arsenal.
To the serious student of history, the maintenance of a welltrained military—armed to the teeth with the best weapons availble— is far more than a political or philosophical issue; it is an absolutely vital component to the national well-being of any freedom-loving nation, including the United States of America. Simplistic epigrams about “peace and brotherhood” achieved through unilateral reductions of America’s nuclear arsenal only encourage the probability of war by non-democratic entities. In the modern era, a well-provisioned nuclear arsenal serves as a significant deterrent to aggressive behavior by those rogue nations who possess nuclear weapons
Proposal for a New Executive Order on Assassination
Full text linkBoth clarity and respect for the rule of law demands that a new executive order on assassination be enacted that properly defines the term “assassination” and is couched in the legal parameters of self-defense. In prosecuting the War on Terror, the United States has confronted myriad issues concerning how best to deal with the new threat of al-Qaida-styled terrorism and those rogue nations that support terrorism. The two principle documents associated with these concerns are the National Security Strategy of the United States of America ( National Security Strategy ) released by the White House on September 17, 2002 and Executive Order 12,333 banning assassination.
Executive Order 12,333 is deficient and should be replaced by a new executive order which clearly defines the circumstances under which individuals may be lawfully targeted for death by military forces--either in peacetime or war. Alternatively, if the President does not replace Executive Order 12,333 with a new and more precise executive order, two interlocking principles militate against overturning Executive Order 12,333. The first of these reasons regards properly interpreting the most common definition of assassination; the second considers the proper use of armed force under the rule of law. Those who advocate that the ban on assassination should be lifted without modification are essentially advocating that the United States should be able to engage in unlawful killing or murder
Reshaping American Jurisprudence in the Trump Era – The Rise of “Originalist” Judges
Full text linkOne of the factors that is often cited as a key reason why President Donald J. Trump was elected as the forty-fifth president, was his pledge to the American people to make America great again by appointing conservative judges to the bench, particularly when it came to filling any vacancies that might open on the United States Supreme Court. Since the never ending fight for securing an ideological majority on the Supreme Court is always viewed with great concern by both political parties, many wondered whether then candidate Trump was simply telling potential voters what they wanted to hear, or if he would actually keep his word. In turn, others pondered exactly what Trump-a former Democrat now Republican from New York-meant by the word conservative. As the Trump Administration is now well past its midpoint, the firmly stated promises of then candidate Trump in this regard can be measured against a factual record of accomplishment
Into the Star Chamber: Does the United States Engage in the Use of Torture or Similar Illegal Practices in the War on Terror
Full text linkBecause of the dangers presented by al-Qaeda style terrorism, the United States has crafted a variety of robust anti-terrorism responses. One of the more controversial of these is the indefinite detention of suspected enemy combatants, and the associated question as to whether the United States can and does employ torture.
Many prominent voices, such as Professor Alan Dershowitz, have advocated a judicial exception allowing torture as an interrogation tool in special instances, but the United States has struggled to find an appropriate balance between civil liberties and security concerns. To succeed in the War on Terror, the U.S. cannot allow itself to slip into a mentality in which the State recognizes torture as a necessary evil.
Torture today is universally prohibited, both by fixed international law and customary practice. Despite this, the practice continues to flourish. The United States, however, should not succumb to such practices which violate the democratic principles that make up the rule of law. America’s strongest weapon in the War on Terror is its uncompromising commitment to civil freedoms and liberties. The United States can only ride the crests of the waves of history so long as it follows a rule of law rooted in human rights and democratic principles. It will drown in a sea of hypocrisy if it trades in civil liberties to further its own security
Storm Clouds on the Horizon of Darwinism: Teaching the Anthropic Principle and Intelligent Design in the Public Schools
Full text linkProfessor Addicott’s article addresses the future legal ramifications that the fledgling intelligent design movement and the scientific concept known as the Anthropic Principle will have on the teaching of Darwinian evolution in public schools. Both ideas are associated with the concept that an “unnamed” intelligent designer is responsible for the creation and sustainment of life. Predicting that the Supreme Court will ultimately allow, for instance, school boards to incorporate intelligent design in the science curriculum, he believes neither of the two ideas violate the Establishment Clause and cannot be “dismissed as yet another back door attempt by creationists to get a sectarian religious idea into the public schools.”
In tracing the evolution/creation debate, Professor Addicott clearly establishes all the interested segments in the controversy to include the Fundamentalist creationists and “Darwinian activists.” Interestingly, in evaluating how the Court will view intelligent design, Professor Addicott explores what he terms the “Darwinian paradigm”―arguing that Darwinian activists may have already violated the Establishment Clause by making Darwinian evolution its own religion
Globalization, climate change, and indigenous peoples in the Arctic:an interface between free trade and the right to the culture
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Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
The Strange Case of Lieutenant Waddell: How Overly Restrictive Rules of Engagement Adversely Impact the American War Fighter and Undermine Military Victory
Full text linkA rules of engagement (“ROE”) Review Board should be created in order to provide an impartial review process for service members facing adverse administrative action for violations of ROE. Politicians defining the ROE, rather than military experts, create rules that are so restrictive and confusing that they ultimately run counter to the military objective of victory. A violation of a ROE can be a criminal offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but violations are issued arbitrarily, and often the military does not charge the service member with a crime, instead using adverse administrative measures to impose punishment.
While service members charged with crimes have numerous due process rights, their rights in administrative actions are far more limited. This injustice provides a chilling effect on other service members who may now choose inaction when faced with a difficult decision on when to use force. n autonomous ROE Review Board that functions outside of the chain of command may prove useful in revealing ROE that should be repealed
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