JURIST - Forum: Sovereignty, Atrocities and Accountability

Remarkably, the United States Supreme Court and the International Court of Justice are addressing nearly identical issues at the same time: the application of sovereign immunity in suits for war crimes and other atrocities. Although the two courts may be unlikely to look to each other for guidance, the very existence of parallel cases about still unresolved issues speaks volumes.

It tells us that the notion of jurisdictional immunity for states is no longer automatic. It drives us to think about the role of sovereign immunity as a bar to jurisdiction and, more importantly, about the limited recourse victims of atrocities have to find justice through retribution and restitution. Finally, it spurs us to think about the policy considerations that rarely come to light amid technical discussions of statutory interpretation.

Hak Nyatakan Pendapat Bukan untuk Jatuhkan SBY - news.okezone.com

JAKARTA - Meski kian gencar menggalang dukungan untuk menggulirkan usulan hak menyatakan pendapat, inisiator hak angket Century / Tim 9 membantah rencana itu dimaksudkan untuk menjatuhkan pemerintahan Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"Jangan ada lagi yang mengatakan hak menyatakan pendapat itu untuk menjatuhkan pemerintah, hak itu hanya menguatkan peran DPR," ujar anggota Tim 9, Akbar Faizal dalam jumpa pers di kediaman Jusuf Kalla, Jakarta, Minggu (4/4/2010).

Statue fight in Indonesia only partly about Obama

JAKARTA, Indonesia - For Rosono Rachmat, every memento marking a personal tie to Barack Obama is a precious thing indeed.

Rachmat, who goes by the nickname Nono, cherishes, for example, an elementary school class picture of himself standing with the wide-eyed boy who grew up to become the president of the United States. He wouldn't part with that photo for any amount of money, he says.

So Rachmat is baffled by an ongoing controversy over a statue erected in a public park to commemorate the four years Obama spent here in Indonesia's capital, where he lived until age 10 and was referred to as Barry.

The 43-inch bronze statue, financed by several of the president's Indonesian supporters, shows a boy dressed in shorts, T-shirt and sneakers, holding a butterfly in his outstretched hand with the words: "The future belongs to those who believe in the power of their dreams."

JURIST - Paper Chase: Pakistan lawmakers weigh bill to curb presidential powers

[JURIST] Pakistani lawmakers were weighing a constitutional bill Friday that would greatly limit the powers of President Asif Ali Zardari [official website], reversing the expansion of presidential powers under former military leader Pervez Musharraf [BBC profile, JURISTnews archive]. If passed by both houses of parliament, the 18th Amendment Bill would transfer presidential powers to the office of the prime minister [official website], effectively reserving the presidency as a figurehead. Among other changes, the president will no longer have the power [ANI Report] to dissolve parliament, dismiss the prime minister, or appoint the chief of the armed forces. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani [BBC profile], who would be eligible for a third term under the legislation, stressed that the bill would strengthen Pakistani institutions [Pak Tribune report]. Zardari expressed hope that the bill would be passed as soon as possible[press release].

JURIST - Paper Chase: Indonesia constitutional court rejects challenge to broad anti-pornography law

[JURIST] The Indonesian Constitutional Court on Thursday rejected a challenge to a controversial anti-pornography law. The law was purportedly designed to protect younger generations from pornographic and lewd materials. Critics challenged the bill for being too broad, discriminating against women, and targeting aspects of Indonesian tradition and culture, but the court rejected those arguments.

Intense lobbying behind health reform - Chris Frates - POLITICO.com

Behind President Barack Obama’s public push to pass sweeping health care reform, there was an equally intense behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign to influence the legislation and the outcome of Sunday’s historic vote. Powerful interest groups worked almost around the clock last week, meeting with wavering Democratic lawmakers and huddling with leadership staff to push reform over the finish line.

Regenerasi PDIP Masih Andalkan Trah Soekarno

"Sebenarnya, selama ini Megawati menggadang-gadang Puan yang akan dipersiapkan menjadi pemimpin PDIP, namun belakangan Megawati dan orang-orang ideologis kecewa terhadap sikap politik Puan yang lebih pragmatis. Ini membuat Megawati dan kelompok ideologis mencari jalan tengah dengan mengusung Prananda untuk menempati posisi wakil ketua umum," kata peneliti senior Lembaga Survei Indonesia (LSI) Burhanudin Muhtadi, di Jakarta, Selasa (30/3).

What's the Point of Nuclear Weapons on Instant Alert? - ABC News

In the next few weeks, President Barack Obama will publish his delayed Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), setting out the role nuclear weapons play in US defence.

A Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.,...

(USAF/Getty Images)

This is Obama's opportunity to end one of the most dangerous legacies of the cold war: the nuclear missiles the US and Russia keep ready to fly in minutes. The signs are that he is unlikely to take it.

This leaves the questions why does the US keep its nuclear weapons "on alert", and are they really needed?

The NPR is expected to state that the US will not use its nukes to attack a country that does not itself have nuclear weapons - as long as that country complies with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty - and it may renounce nuclear weapons as a response to chemical or biological attack. It may also say 2500 "spare" US nuclear warheads will be destroyed.

Blood given for democracy

BANGKOK - 'I DID this to show the spirit of Thai people fighting injustice,' said Chuleeporn Ruangsinprasert, 52, as a syringe of her blood was poured into a bottle for a messy show of political defiance.
Standing in a white tent littered with dirty cotton swabs, the retired university worker had joined thousands of red-clad protesters taking part in a mass blood collection to be spilled at the gate of the premier's office. 'This is special, it is coming from my heart. I want to give my blood for society so we are no longer controlled by the elites who have all the power,' added Ms Chuleeporn, as she pressed her small puncture wound.

On health vote, Democrats are polls apart - Josh Kraushaar and James Hohmann - POLITICO.com

So far, none of the Democrats agonizing about how to vote on health care reform has announced, “I’m just going to do whatever is most politically expedient.”

But on the chance — call it a hypothetical — that this might actually be the decisive factor, wavering lawmakers find themselves confronted with a disorienting barrage of polls and even more disorienting arguments about what the polls really mean.

It’s been an odd sideshow to this week’s climactic showdown on Capitol Hill: Even in a city obsessed with polls, they have rarely played such a public role — openly wielded as weapons or shields by both sides — in the final stages of a legislative debate.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34680.html#ixzz0iduiumgz