In 2006 as the Human Rights Council was being set up, I wrote an opinion piece on this website in which I shared, among other aspects, my impressions as to how the Council would shape up. Experience thus far produced mixed assessment. The transition from the Commission to the Council took a couple of years, [...]
Search Results for: Akshita Tiwary
Self-Regulation of Over-The-Top (OTT) Content under the Indian Regime: A Missed Opportunity?
On 16th February 2021, the Supreme Court of India asked the Central Government to take measures?to regulate content on over-the-top (OTT) video streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. A bench headed by the Chief Justice of India asked the Indian Government to submit a reply to the Public Interest Litigation seeking the [...]
The future of the Islamist terrorist groups in Afghanistan and their eagerness to control the country in order to expand their influence all over South Asia will be ascertained by the end of April, 2021, depending on the extent to which US President Joe Biden is agreeable to go ahead with the decision of his [...]
As of the second week of February 2021, there have been a total of 466 COVID-19 cases registered in Cambodia, 443 recoveries and 0 deaths. Cambodia is managing the COVID-19 pandemic well in comparison to global superpowers. This achievement can be contrasted with the United Kingdom, where there have been a total of 3,817,176 cases, [...]
Looking Beyond "America First": Thought-Based Legal Strategies for Long-Term Survival
“The egocentric ideal of a future reserved for those who have managed to attain egoistically the extremity of `everyone for himself’ is false and against nature.” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Phenomenon of Man From time immemorial, world politics have been rooted in Realpolitik or power politics. Although such patterns of thinking are normally [...]
Rising Above Realpolitik: America, Jewish Thought and International Law
“The loftier the soul, the more it feels the unity that there is in us all.” – Rabbi Avraham Kook By any reasonable standard, the belligerent nationalism of Realpolitik or power politics makes no sense. After all, without exception, this zero-sum mantra of “everyone-for-himself” clearly undermines every country’s national security. Most perplexing, perhaps, is that [...]
It’s Exhausting Being White: The Sick Rush to “Healing” from the Capitol Insurrection
Photo Caption: In the early 60’s Ben and Dorothy Davis integrated the all-white Brookside Elementary School in Montclair, New Jersey I watched the debates in the House with respect to impeachment. I was struck by all the citations to Lincoln’s Second Inaugural by all sides in the debates, with his emphasis on healing of the [...]
“There exists a deep-seated conviction among Americans that the Constitution is an expression of the Higher Law, that it is, in fact, imperfect man’s most perfect rendering of eternal law.” – Presidential scholar Clinton Rossiter Introduction: Following recent Trump-inspired attacks on the United States Capitol, a second impeachment of the President is now under active [...]
Turkish parliament passes law regulating non-governmental organizations
The Turkish Parliament passed a law Sunday aimed at controlling terrorism after two days of debate. Entitled the “Law on Preventing the Financing of the Spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction,” the new legislation includes controversial amendments to an existing law on aid collection. These amendments enable the government, led by President Tayyip Erdogan, to [...]
Presidential Crimes and Pardons: Donald J. Trump and America's "Higher Law"
“The safety of the people shall be the highest law.” – Cicero, On the Laws Abstract: From the beginning of his sordid presidency, Donald J. Trump has shown willful indifference to the security and justice of the United States, including unwillingness to find relevant fault with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, to separate himself from baseless conspiracy [...]