[Azred]

Originally posted by Timber Loftis: Sorry I numbered your questions, but that was for clarity. Apologies are unnecessary, especially when clarity is the result. [img]graemlins/petard.gif[/img] 1. http://www.deanforamerica.com/ Oh, him. I suppose he'll perform reasonably well. Let's keep an eye on him and see if he can make some real waves. 2. Illegal in the legal context. Actually, there are several, but the UN is a good umbrella that ties them together. The governing body of law regarding war is made up of treaties -- which are contracts, your word, your bond. Off the top of my head, the UN Treaty, several Vienna and Geneva Conventions, and some WMD treaties (like SALT agreements, etc) would apply. Each one of these is technically a separate legally-enforceable requirement. Just because we snub our nose at the UN does not mean we don't have diplomats sitting there everyday. We are still part of it. Now, the "legality" or "illegality" of going to war in Iraq is very arguable. When you get down to it, the cease fire accords (several UN resolutions over a dozen year period) Saddam was subject to likely gave the US its own right to go back in to enforce those accords if they were broken -- with or without UN approval. Focus on the white text. Enforceable by whom? The UN? Not likely, since no organization in the history of the world has ever (to the best of my knowledge) policed itself completely, correctly, and/or ethically. 3. Yes and yes. This is one of my worst hacks. But, it's the way it is. People who aren't from Chicago get stopped here and caught with handguns all the time. Possessing one is illegal here, whether or not you have a permit for the gun, and even if you are just passing through. My wife prosecutes these all the time. Misdemeanor with a fine. You can usually get off, but YOUR GUN IS GONE FOR GOOD, even if it's one of those nice $1200 ones. Too bad so sad. What I meant is this: suppose wearing green is illegal only in my town and I take a trip to visit you, whereupon I choose to wear a green shirt (which is legal in your town). Have I broken any laws? That is, do the laws governing my town apply to me even if I am in your town? 4. Actually, the US doesn't recognize the International Criminal Court, which was created by a recent Treaty that the US chose not to sign (and for good reason -- that's another thread). The UN court of general jurisdiction however is the International Court of Justice, or ICJ. Only countries can be parties to a lawsuit there. Now, the US did rescind its compulsory jurisdiction agreement after it got pissed when Nicaragua sued it for bombing a harbor in the 80's, but by then most countries had rescinded compulsory jurisdiction. In fact, almost all countries are thumbing their nose at the ICJ. So, in order to get sued there, a country must agree to be sued there on a case-by-case basis. Which, of course, has hamstrung the ICJ. ICC, ICJ, etc. they're all pretty much SOL. [img]graemlins/laugh3.gif[/img]