Atlantic Sentinel

Tag: Justice

  • Netherlands’ Wilders Attacks Court After Discrimination Verdict

    Dutch nationalist party leader Geert Wilders has attacked the judges who found him guilty of inciting discrimination on Friday and vowed to appeal the verdict.

    The controversial right-wing politician dismissed the panel of judges as “Freedom Party haters” who convicted “half the Netherlands” along with him.

    He previously called the proceedings a show trial and said he would not tone down his rhetoric whatever the outcome.

    “People who want to stop me will have to kill me,” he said.

    Wilders has lived under constant protection for twelve years. (more…)

  • Muslim Registry Would Require Investigation of Thought Crimes

    As the Trump transition rolls along, the infamous “Muslim ban” has returned to the forefront.

    It all started on December 7, 2015, when then-candidate Donald Trump spoke to supporters after the San Bernardino mass shooting. He advocated a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” This proposal is still on his website.

    It has been willfully forgotten or explained away since, but the fact remains: Trump’s first instinct was to call for a Muslim ban of indeterminate length.

    It doesn’t stop there. Even in July, Trump said his plan had undergone an “expansion” and would bar individuals from places “compromised by terrorism.” This includes NATO allies like France and Germany. They “totally” meet this definition, Trump said, because they “allowed people to come into their territory.” (more…)

  • Indecisive Drug Policy Symptom of Humala’s Evasiveness

    Peru’s newly appointed anti-drug chief, Antonio Otarola, claims that his agency, Devida, is on course to meet its coca plantation eradication targets for 2014. Unfortunately, this is part of a rather worrisome picture.

    Otarola, a former defense minister, says that in the fight against the growing narcotics trade, his agency is set to reach 30,000 hectares of coca plantation eradication per year, triple the levels managed under the previous government.

    Those figures sound impressive and are in keeping with the notion that the war on drugs is a priority for President Ollanta Humala but, as ever, the realities of Peruvian politics are rarely what they seem.

    Humala’s treatment of the largest drugs trade in the world has shown no signs of any deeply considered consistent policy. Indeed, it is the lack of consistency that has been an enduring aspect of an, at times, ill considered populist term in office. (more…)

  • Eurobonds Thwarted by German High Court

    José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, announced last week that the European Union’s executive body would soon release a report on the issuance of eurobonds. Joint sovereign bonds for the nations of the eurozone could help stem Europe’s escalating debt crises. It would provide funding for countries that have been cut off from the market and virtually guarantee the solvency of countries at risk, including Italy and Spain.

    The announcement seems an attempt on the part of the commission to direct decisions away from individual states toward the political process of the EU. As the crisis has developed, the central forces have been Germany and France, Europe’s two largest economies. Although their leadership role allows decisions to be made quickly, it has also generated a sense of disorder as there has not been a clear understanding as to who is ultimately responsible. Equally, the EU has failed to provide a clear unified voice during the crisis, exacerbating market uncertainty.

    While political decisions that relate to the whole of the union should undoubtedly have the consent of those they affect, Germany is in a position of power. As the strongest economy in the eurozone, the sentiment of the government in Berlin will decide whether there is or isn’t a eurobond. (more…)

  • How One Court Case Upset American-Mexican Relations

    In contemporary American-Mexican relations, decade-old legal proceedings continue to upset amicable ties between two governments that have to closely cooperate to combat human trafficking and a deadly drug trade along their border. The particulars of the case involve a number of complicated legal questions.

    José Ernesto Medellín was a Mexican national, convicted of capital murder under Texas state law and executed in 2008 for his part in the robbery and sexual assault of two minors who were murdered by Medellín and his accomplices to prevent their identification. His case highlighted an important distinction in treaties between nations — self executing and non-self executing, both of which are recognized under international and American law. (more…)