tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15392155629017989152011-09-04T03:43:17.964-07:00Commenting on legal, social, and political issues and developing creative legal solutions.Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.comBlogger551100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-88692355965082923642009-01-09T11:19:00.000-08:002009-01-09T11:31:41.652-08:00

From the TILDS list....View what is being described as the "great OLC document dump of 2009" here.Included are such goodies as 2002's, Whether false statements or omissions in Iraq's weapons of mass destruction declaration would constitute a "further material breach" under U.N. Security Resolution 1441, which notes, "[I]t is well established that the word 'and' is capable of more than one

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-54608116902388330232008-11-28T10:14:00.000-08:002008-11-28T10:21:12.642-08:00

From WSJ, via ATL, "More Legal Work Moves to India, Including 'Sexy Stuff'."Just for fun, read the comments and see how any industry feels about outsourcing/foreign competition when it intrudes on its profits.One favorite: I just can’t believe our worthless bar associations aren’t up in arms about this. But I do have to take a bunch of worthless CLE classes every year, so that’s cool.

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-19144471005283254082008-11-28T09:18:00.000-08:002008-11-28T09:43:30.196-08:00

The attacks on Mumbai create a risk/reward opportunity for international law.The Risk: The U.S. is emerging from seven years of struggling to form a coherent and pragmatic system for dealing with terrorist attacks. The election of Obama, repudiation of torture ("enhanced interrogation"), Guantanamo, and other policies presented a real chance to create a better rule of law for states to apply in

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-59440848641456282512008-11-07T20:07:00.000-08:002008-11-07T20:10:54.545-08:00

Rosalyn Higgins' address to the UN General Assembly.

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-28293670957259165302008-11-07T11:34:00.000-08:002008-11-07T11:36:49.212-08:00

From the Russian News and Information Agency....Abkhazia has announced that it is reinforcing its border with Georgia saying that the current situation resembles the run-up to Georgia's invasion into South Ossetia.

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-1841615350436280462008-11-07T08:35:00.000-08:002008-11-07T09:10:23.386-08:00

BBC reports that about 10,000 Georgians came to a rally to protest against Pres. Saakashvili. The complaint--he used indiscriminate force when Georgia used military force in South Ossetia prior to Russia's invasion.

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-27856881729208224222008-10-27T14:52:00.000-07:002008-10-27T14:55:35.250-07:00

Well,Oil has dropped significantly at the same time credit has dried up.It makes me wonder if speculation did drive the price of oil up to record levels. The inference being that oil was high when futures trading was high. Credit has dried up which makes it harder to engage in massively leveraged futures deals. Oil prices drop.Entirely circumstantial, and does not look at other variables, but

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-10008916638904828122008-10-03T12:37:00.000-07:002008-10-03T12:48:21.092-07:00

Lot's of the "debate" around the bill amounts to House members saying "it's not perfect, but we have to do something." Of course the "something" is authorizing the Treasury to use federal funds to buy up billions of dollars of assets for which there is no known value and no market.The goal, as I see it, is to clean up the balance sheets of firms who purposely took on liabilities which they did

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-638392415187897832008-10-03T12:34:00.000-07:002008-10-03T12:37:34.467-07:00

Catherine Rampell at the NYTimes liveblogging the House Debate on the Bailout Bill.

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-52525522026902639082008-09-30T11:01:00.000-07:002008-10-03T12:48:51.369-07:00

One reason this meltdown has been so bad is because every financial institution has been affected. They all are exposed to instruments linked to mortgages, and all are severely leveraged. I have seen numbers that there are $1 trillion in mortgages tied up in this meltdown, but that there is $62 trillion in paper linked to the performance of those mortgages. Leverage.Now imagine if only Bear

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-39766082935895799852008-09-28T12:16:00.000-07:002008-09-28T12:29:01.081-07:00

As I previously blogged, two looming questions in the Bailout are: (1) how to value the assets the Treasury will purchase and (2) who are the beneficial counterparties to the nominal bailout beneficiaries. The Treasury has put forth its answer on the former (greater than market prices) and the answer to latter is apparently Goldman Sachs.  In a story by Julie Creswell and Ben White in today's

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-32841587941464953492008-09-24T20:17:00.000-07:002008-09-24T20:21:46.179-07:00

The best concrete proposals for limitations and conditions yet.James K. Galbraith and William K. Black at TheNation.com provide 8 points to consider.

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-11249576385601880982008-09-24T12:04:00.001-07:002008-09-24T12:08:23.517-07:00

Naomi Klein (The Shock Doctrine) posted a column at CommonDreams.org that captures a lot of the spirit surrounding the bailout, at least from those who think that Main Street should not bail out Wall Street.A choice quote reflective of a lot of public sentiment:This spectacle necessarily raises the question: if the state can intervene to save corporations that took reckless risks in the housing

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-37942857069724608012008-09-24T07:49:00.000-07:002008-09-24T08:13:23.756-07:00

Rebecca Christie and Jody Shenn reporting on new developments in the mortgage backed securities bailout at Bloomberg.Essentially, Bernanke and Paulson plan on paying greater than "market" rates (currently at "firesale" prices because there is no private market) for the securities.From the article:The government can help restore liquidity to the banking system by buying depreciated assets at "a

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-62895174075501244632008-09-22T11:33:00.000-07:002008-09-24T08:14:36.573-07:00

David Sirota (channeling Naomi Klein and Tom Frank) raises five questions about the propriety of the Bailout Bill over at InTheseTimes.He primarily raises the issue of lack of oversight/writing an effectively blank check which is hot on some of my listserves. With action imminent, we will see where everything falls when the dust settles.For my two cents, the major questions beyond oversight are:

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-90796959097494705032008-09-19T09:15:00.000-07:002008-09-22T11:45:37.617-07:00

David Stout in the NYTimes today, "Paulson Explains Need for Plan to Buy Mortgages"Paulson reasoning that this needs to be done, and is far more than a rescue of Wall Street, but is needed to protect ordinary people:“Their retirement savings, their home values, their ability to borrow for college” and their chance to find and keep good jobs depend on it, he said.The plan seems to be for Fannie

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-71519660750678752832008-09-16T11:14:00.000-07:002008-09-16T11:32:50.652-07:00

As reported in the NYTimes, the McCain campaign has laid out a four point financial regulation plan:All financial institutions must have a "safety and soundness regulator,"Greater consumer protection, e.g. easy-to-read mortgages,Improved corporate governance, e.g. putting executive compensation to a shareholder vote, and"the last piece is sort of the systems stability issues."Not much substance,

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-65599943667895515242008-09-11T08:53:00.001-07:002008-09-11T08:54:13.151-07:00

Follow up article by Ms. van Duyn at the FT.

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-54431731368269869722008-09-10T20:42:00.000-07:002008-09-24T08:15:29.783-07:00

.....the more they stay the same.Two stories highlighting this principle.First, Russian strategic bombers land in Venezuela. Apparently payback for the missile bases in Eastern Europe, Russia comes and plays in the U.S's backyard a la Cuban Missile Crisis.Second, forget free trade and non-discrimination. The Pentagon has re-opened bidding on the lucrative refueling project which had been

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-76917100985212526212008-09-09T06:59:00.001-07:002008-09-09T07:10:36.096-07:00

Aline van Duyn at the FT has a piece of reporting on the effect of US intervention at Fannie and Freddie.Apparently the act of being placed in "conservatorship" is equivalent to bankruptcy, and triggers many of these "insurance" contracts. The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) is working on a protocol to address the situation.This protocol will likely allow adherents to

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-63078439408701397952008-08-29T06:41:00.001-07:002008-08-29T06:42:55.919-07:00

Check out International Law Reporter for the reports of the ICTY and ICTR reports.

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-22784945897301846322008-08-19T09:18:00.000-07:002008-08-19T09:23:35.167-07:00

From the International Center for Dispute Resolution (ICDR):ICDR Y&I is pleased to announce its first event in Brazil! ICDR Y&I, in cooperation with LCIA YIAG and ICC YAF, will join with ITA and CBAR to present this special 3-hour program on September 21, 2008, on the eve of the 4th ITA Americas Workshop and the 8th Annual Congress of the Comite Brasiliero de Arbitragem on September 22-23, 2008.

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-31942112257938286212008-08-18T12:29:00.000-07:002008-08-18T12:33:40.366-07:00

Ali Ettefagh on Russian global strategies, and the divergence in U.S. and European responses in today's Wash Post:America has been busy with old-fashioned territory grabs and the eastward crawl of NATO towards Ukraine and Georgia, aiming for relatively modest oil reserves in the Caspian region. However, Russia has been nursing a modern global strategy that leaps over borders. Russia has cut

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-55067566219214996472008-08-17T11:42:00.001-07:002008-08-17T11:52:11.827-07:00

As follow up on my prior post on Rwanda's claims that France was complicit in genocide in Rwanda, here is a link to a an article by Stephen Kinzer in the International Herald Tribune on the same.Kinzer, writing on the release of a 500 page report by Rwanda, notes:The report, commissioned by the government and prepared by a panel that heard from more than 150 witnesses, is not only a devastating

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-15976165859308086812008-08-14T09:55:00.000-07:002008-08-14T10:14:25.218-07:00

Via the FT, more settlements in the Auction Rate Securities blow up:Regulators have accused banks of misrepresenting ARS as liquid, cash-like instruments. The collapse of the $330bn market in February highlighted the risk in the long-term securities, whose interest rates are periodically reset at auctions. The gist: Investors are stuck with a product which was sold to them as a money-market with

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-55693907770043394582008-08-08T11:01:00.000-07:002008-08-08T12:24:17.623-07:00

There was the Special Court for Sierra Leone; the ICTR for Rwanda, and now ICC indictments (or pending indictments) of a number of Africans, including the sitting head of state of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir.A quiet critique (previously blogged) has been emerging that the ICC is using Africa as its laboratory. Another critique is that the ICC will never go after someone, let alone a sitting head of

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-31807884037679535172008-08-08T10:46:00.000-07:002008-08-08T11:01:01.750-07:00

The FT has a really interesting piece on the Credit Crisis today.The piece begins with a nice quote from the post-Black Monday days and flashes forward to the present where (some) of the same conditions (computerized trading and equity index futures) were in play. What's old is new, forgetting the lessons of history, etc...The interesting bit is in two parts. First, it calls for more regulation--

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-90629860591141150402008-07-30T22:08:00.000-07:002008-07-30T22:21:18.347-07:00

New post from Shahid Buttar over on Huffingtonpost.  It is the second of a four part series, and critiques what he sees as a politicization of the court, and the court's political use of its power, especially in re-writing constitutional doctrines in pursuit of recognized right-wing policies.Part I addressed the politicization of voting rights.Part III will explore the failure of traditional

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-50767658848751760512008-07-28T09:41:00.000-07:002008-07-28T10:02:49.567-07:00

A quick read of the Monica Goodling report shows some interesting information.For example, Secretary of State Rice is too liberal for the DoJ:Several candidates interviewed by Goodling told us they believed that her question about identifying their favorite Supreme Court Justice, President, or legislator was an attempt to determine the candidates’ political beliefs. For example, one candidate

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-47425139599383666322008-07-28T06:26:00.000-07:002008-07-28T06:53:14.184-07:00

A friend referred me to this recent (but not burning hot) post by David Sirota at InTheseTimes.com.The idea: Add Union Membership into the Civil Rights Act.The goal: Change corporate behavior. Sirota writes:For example, because the Civil Rights Act bars racial discrimination, businessesare motivated to try to prevent bigotry: They want to avoid being sued. This iswhy no company brags about being

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-87090439588208310422008-07-25T09:17:00.000-07:002008-07-25T09:22:21.459-07:00

From the Council on Foreign Relations via the Washington Post, Stephanie Hanson writing on the ICC and Africa:The prosecutor of the ICC has encouraged self-referrals, and the only suchreferrals have been from African countries. While the ICC has received some1,700 communications to investigate alleged crimes in 139 countries, 80 percentof these communications have been found outside the

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-50436842134684658732008-07-25T07:53:00.000-07:002008-07-25T08:03:29.104-07:00

Check out CAAFlog's analysis on the evidentiary ruling in Hamdan. I'll post the ruling when I find it.UPDATE: Here is the ruling, other available on the DoD website.

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-18167114654214508992008-07-09T08:18:00.000-07:002008-07-09T08:22:03.829-07:00

As widely noted, former Secretaries of State James Baker and Warren Christopher are pushing for a redraft of the War Powers Act.As reported in the LA Times:The proposed law would require the president to notify Congress of any plans forcombat lasting, or expected to last, longer than one week and require Congressto vote on a resolution of approval within 30 days of being notified. Militaryactions

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-12185916960551465622008-07-08T07:57:00.000-07:002008-07-08T08:14:44.670-07:00

Gideon Rachman has a nice piece on the International Criminal Court in today's FT. It largely relates a lot of the "peace vs. justice" concerns which have been debated for awhile, notably by Doug Cassel.The debate essentially says that ICC prosecutions, which demand justice and accountability, are a roadblock to peace because they eliminate the incentives of parties to a conflict to end it if

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-13975070799620304072008-07-02T11:52:00.000-07:002008-07-02T12:09:16.997-07:00

While there are definitions of "terrorism" in international law, a potent reminder of the subjective nature of that classification was pointed out by CNN.This story relates how Nelson Mandela, of all people, was just removed from the United States' terrorism watch list, and can now get a visa without special permission.Without resorting to an argument of terrorist/freedom fighter, the fact that

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-59738904612589769082008-06-18T14:04:00.000-07:002008-06-18T14:13:03.104-07:00

From the National Institute of Military Justice, U.S. Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) introduced the Boumedine Jurisdiction Correction Bill, H.R. 6274, yesterday.The bill proposes to provide a habeas equivalent to persons held "in the part of Cuba leased to the United States" (McMurdo Station in Antarctica would apparently still be fair game).It also gives exclusive jurisdiction to "[T]he courts

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-84871251698915344212008-06-05T14:43:00.001-07:002008-06-05T14:54:00.953-07:00

The Financial Times has a nifty flash presentation on global oil here (you can register for free).One of the neat features is that it shows rough global oil flows. A bit of quick addition shows the following:U.S. oil from Middle East--2.276 million barrels per day (bpd)U.S. oil from elsewhere--9.748 million bpdRest of the world's oil from Middle East--10.796 million bpdThis begs the question of

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-91526682204137187972008-06-03T08:08:00.000-07:002008-06-03T08:19:31.249-07:00

I have updated my links to include International Law Prof Blog.It is what its name suggests, and features Mark Wojcik (Chicago, John Marshall Law School), Cindy Galway Buys (Carbonadale, Southern Illinois University School of Law), Michael Peil (St. Louis, Washington University School of Law), and Cyndee Todgham Cherniak (Toronto, Lang Michener LLP).I am very proud to say that I studied EU Law

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-30111780257206403762008-06-03T07:57:00.001-07:002008-06-03T08:22:01.815-07:00

There is a new candidate for who to blame for high oil (and other commodity) prices--institutional investors.As reported in the FT, George Soros is expected to tell Congress that:rising oil prices are the result of a number of fundamental changes and factors in the market, but that the relatively recent ability of investment institutions to invest in the futures market through index funds is

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-16269826938293248912008-06-01T12:29:00.000-07:002008-06-01T14:28:48.831-07:00

Not to overly rely on the Sunday NY Times for material, but I couldn't help remarking on "The Problem With the Corporate Tax," by N. Gregory Mankiw (Harvard econ prof., Bush and Romney adviser).The gist of the article:"In fact, a corporate rate cut would help a lot of voters, though they might not know it."While recognizing that the proposed McCain reduction of the rate from 35 to 25 percent

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-63742603435679289362008-06-01T12:10:00.000-07:002008-06-01T12:24:16.910-07:00

Gretchen Morgenson has another story on the front page of the Sunday NY Times business section on credit derivatives, and those instruments are again described as "insurance contracts."  I am really surprised there has not been a deluge of people writing in to nuance this description and assure regulators that, of course, these instruments may look like insurance (and are supposedly used like

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-63117708510856477922008-05-26T21:31:00.000-07:002008-05-26T22:04:38.975-07:00

The Sunday NY Times business section had two stories which had an interesting overlap.First, Gretchen Morgenson, in reporting on how Fairfax Financial Holdings profited from credit derivatives, described those financial instruments as "insurance contracts that allow investors to bet for or against a corporation's bonds." (Good luck getting anyone in the financial industry to give you an opinion

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-8142936076690235952008-05-24T08:53:00.000-07:002008-05-24T09:08:00.003-07:00

Yes, Apparently judicial activism is back on the conservative radar with the California Supreme Court decision on gay marriage. Judicial activism is one of the great myths of conservatives. Not only does it critique courts for exercising essentially any form of constitutional review (See, e.g., Marbury v. Madison), but it is based in a false "separation of powers" argument.The classic version

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-48065638775726034332008-05-23T09:20:00.000-07:002008-06-03T08:07:11.886-07:00

Linda Greenhouse on the dearth of 5-4 decisions this term (although there are still 32 decisions yet to come).While quoting political scientists on the supposed "election effect" on the Court, i.e. not wanting to create or become an issue in an election year, she also noted the narrowness of the decisions....the lethal injection and voter ID decisions hewed closely to the facts of each case.

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-37441579085174528972008-05-22T08:23:00.001-07:002008-05-24T08:47:15.478-07:00

You would have thought that after complaining for over 20 years about disguised Canadian subsidies (in the form of below market stumping fees) to its softwood lumber industry, the U.S. would think twice before giving new support to its own softwood producers.Think again...I was watching Bloomberg three nights ago and saw it reported that there was a more favorable depreciation schedule for the

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-38495045747300119932008-05-22T08:15:00.000-07:002008-05-24T08:48:07.893-07:00

Yesterday was filled with stories about how gas and oil prices are reflecting supply and demand, as opposed to being driven up by speculation, and that the "windfall" profits go to the oil producers and not traders on Wall Street. Bloomberg reported a different angle in this story that:Oil's rally to a record above $135 a barrel came as traders bought crude to cover wrong-way bets that prices

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-61779593193474654462008-05-16T10:07:00.000-07:002008-05-24T08:47:42.213-07:00

SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON RACISM, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, XENOPHOBIA AND RELATED INTOLERANCE TO VISIT THE UNITED STATES16 May 2008The United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Doudou Diène, will undertake a country visit to the United States from 19 May to 6 June 2008 at the invitation of the Government of the United

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-74428866653576065142008-05-16T09:13:00.000-07:002008-05-16T09:19:02.316-07:00

I have settled in at my job now, and hope to re-start my blogging. In the meantime, here is a story on the continued saga of expropriations in Bolivia, this time in the telecom sector.

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-16467017848200993612008-01-24T07:19:00.000-08:002008-01-24T07:27:43.394-08:00

The Invisible College Blog is a new international law blog, merging two prior sites. It looks to be an interesting site, and is loaded with people who, like me, got hooked on international law through moot courts. The backgrounds of the people include a collection of focused academics, international criminal law specialists, and general internationalists.Check it out.

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-7661274843954129852008-01-19T21:46:00.000-08:002008-01-24T07:50:12.820-08:00

The topic of international law in U.S. courts may have reached its peak after the Supreme Court ruled that juvenile death penalties were unconstitutional in Roper v. Simmons (2005), but it continues to be a popular topic for scholarship. Recent contributions include:Judge Diane Wood (a personal favorite as well as "L" alum) spoke at Duke in November;Northwestern Prof. John McGinnis has

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-84012256715946430962008-01-18T14:46:00.000-08:002008-01-19T21:46:31.936-08:00

I am now an associate at Depres, Schwartz & Geoghegan, where I will work on a variety of legal matters including ongoing federal litigation in the N.D. of Illinois and the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.I will continue my duties as coach of the DePaul moot court team competiting at this year's Niagara International Moot Court Competition. This year's problem deals primarily with NAFTA rights

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-14615061436252633142008-01-18T14:04:00.000-08:002008-01-19T11:45:16.278-08:00

Florida and Allstate are apparently in the middle of a rather nasty dispute. Last October, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation issued subpoenas to certain Allstate companies to testify at congressional hearings scheduled for Jan. 15 and 16.Allstate officials appeared, but were less than forthcoming. In response, Florida's insurance commissioner suspended Allstate from writing any new

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-5047786374096747152008-01-18T07:22:00.000-08:002008-01-18T13:19:22.665-08:00

The Financial Times is hosting a live online Q&A with Dr. Robert Kagan of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the FT's own Gideon Rachman on January 22 on the topic of "illiberal capitalism."So, what is this "illiberal capitalism"? Rachman describes it as a marriage of capitalism with a large state role in the economy. It also consists of economic liberalization without

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-26988648636037565082008-01-17T09:31:00.000-08:002008-01-17T11:41:50.068-08:00

The International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) is a World Bank body formed under the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes Between States and Nationals of Other States. ICISD is the primary forum for resolving foreign investment disputes, and is incorporated into many bilateral investment treaties (BITs).Last May, Bolivia gave notice that it was

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539215562901798915.post-56298835353904713042008-01-16T08:41:00.001-08:002008-01-16T12:14:35.671-08:00

The Nevada Supreme Court ruled against Rep. Kucinich in his suit to force NBC to include him in the Tuesday Democratic debates.The Court's rulings included:The District Court had no jurisdiction over the sec. 315(a) claim under the Federal Communications Act because Kucinich failed to first bring his complaint through the FCC; andThere was no contract NBC could breach because of lack of

Michael Persoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349926997952681872noreply@blogger.com0