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Jnes is a free, fast, Nintendo Entertainment System emulator for the PC. Its emulation capabilities include graphics, sound, input devices, and emulating quite a few memory mapping boards found in most USA games and a few popular japanese ones.

Jnes boasts a fairly intuitive user interface that makes playing NES a little more enjoyable. Kaillera internet play is available for those adventurous enough to play online. One of the coolest features is the included database of Pro-Action-Replay and Game Genie cheats.

What´s New in version 1.0.2:

• bugfix: full screen filters were broken
• bugfix: video dialog would accidently clear the filter while changing resolutions
• bugfix: rewrote mapper 23 (vrc2) vrom handling to fix Crisis Force

Homepage: http://jabosoft.com/
Download: jnes_1_0_2.exe
File Size: 342KB

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Değerli Arkadaslarım,

Aklimda bu haftasonu termik santrallerle ilgili önemli konular vardı, Pazar sabahı onları burda- bu blog sayfasında sizlerle paylaşayım istedim

Ben termik santral yapımı, tasarimi, pazarlanması, satışı, proje yönetimi, işletimi konusunda mezuniyetinden itibaren (1973) çalışmış bir makina mühendisiyim.

Benim ve benim gibi makina muhendisliği konusunda eğitim almış bu konuda yıllarca çalışmış kişilerin doğrudan termik santral karşıtı olması herhalde beklenmez. Biz termik santral yapmak , tasarımını gerçekleştirmek, inşaa etmek, ve düzgün çevreye zarar vermeden işletmek için eğitim aldık. Toplum bizi bu amaç için eğitti, yetiştirdi, kaynaklarını seferber etti, biz de en iyisini yapmak, topluma daha çok enerji, daha çok elektrik, daha iyi çevre şartlarına uyumlu santral kurmak için çalıştık, bugünlere geldik

Doğrudan termik santrallere karşı olmak bence komik, anlamsız hatta absürt bir durumdur. Konudan anlamasanız, diyelimki otelci, cevreci, veya TIP doktoru olsanız, yine elektrige ihtiyacınız var, otelci iseniz yazın otelinizde klimalar çalışacak, havuz filtresi sirküle olacak, Doktor/ Cerrah için ameliyat masasında cihazlar çalışacak, lambalar yanacak, sterilizasyon yapılacak, en azından lambanız, kaloriferiniz, bilgisayarınız çalışacak,

Termik santralleri doğru tasarımla, çevreye en az zarar verecek şekilde, en uygun yerde, tüm filtreleri yapılmiş çalışır şekilde inşaa etmek gerekir. Güneş santralleri geceleri çaışmaz, rüzgar santralleri rüzgar esmezse çalışmaz, güneş ve ruzgar santralleri çalışmadığı sürelerde devreye girecek eşdeğer kapasitede termik santrali sıcak hazir beklemede tutmak zorundasınız. “Rüzgar, güneş bize yeter” demek, bu konuyu hiç bilmeyenlerin ifadesidir, sadece gunes ruzgar degil, termik, hidrolik, nukleer her tür santrali uygun oranda, düzgün tasarımlarla, çevreye en az zarar verecek şekilde ve yerli kadrolarla yapmak gerekir

Enerji, elektrik üretimi olmadan toplum gelişemez, refah seviyesini yükseltemez. Toplum kültürel, sosyal olarak ta ilerlemeli, ama elektrik olmadan opera seyredemezsiniz, trafik ışıkları olmadan karayolunda gidemezsiniz, aksamları evinizde rahat aydınlık sıcak ortamda oturamazsınız

Enerji üretimi şarttır, elektrik üretimini artırmak zorunludur. Herkes elektrik ister, ancak kimse kendi arka bahçesinde istemez. Bu açmaz nasıl düzelecek?

Düzelecek, yatırımcı düzgün yerde, çevre ile barişık, yerli insanla barişık santral yapacak, filtreler çalışacak, derin deniz deşarji doğru düzgün olacak, ortam hava su kirlenmeyecek, insanlar aldatılmayacak,

“Ben CED raporu yazdım, işte burda gel bak oku incele”- demek komiktir, CED raporunu pdf yapar internet sayfası açar koyarsın, hepimiz okuruz, varsa itirazımız yazarız

Ekonomisi batmiş (Yunanistan) bir ülkenin müteahhitlik firmasına (Metka) Türkiye’de 770 MWe Denizli Kaklık köyünde hemde Çardak havaalanı uçak iniş koridoru üstünde kombine çevrim santrali inşaatı işini vermek, aynı firmaya Samsun Terme Kozluy da 870 MWE başka bir kombine çevrim santrali işini vermek başka bir absürt durumdur. Bizim firmalarımız bu artık basit santral tasarımını, inşaasını, montajını, işletmesini yaparlar, bu tip yabancı firmalarin yurtiçi santral yapımına kanuni olarak karsi çıkmak en doğal hakkımızdır- Kendi yerli mühendislik istihdam hakkımızı sonuna kadar savunmak şarttır

Aynı şekilde Amasra’da olanlar başka bir absürt / anlaşılmaz durumdur. Ortada anlaşılmaz, uyduruk hatta yer yer komik bir CED raporu vardir, bazı milletvekilleri “Bartin için en iyisi neyse yapılacaktir” seklinde anlaşılmaz bir ifadenin arkasına saklaniyorlar. Benim eski oto tamirci ustamda detaydan kacmak isteyince oyle diyordu, hemen baska bir usta buldum, internet ortamında BartınPlatformu olarak ortaya çıkan yerel gurubu tebrik ediyorum. Yatırımcının kendini anlattığı bir internet sayfası yok, ama BARTIN halkının var, çok güzel, internet sayfası henüz baslangıç aşamasında ancak ilerleyen günlerde cok daha iyi olacak eminim. Ortada yanlış işler var, bunları gelecek nesillere birakmadan şimdiden çözmek zorundayız

Yalova’daki 100 MWe ithal kömür santrali için yatırımcının ve yerel halkın ayrı ayrı tanıtım internet sayfaları var, yatırımci yerli halkı, çevredeki eğitimli emeklileri ikna edecek, güven tazeleyecek, eski yanlışlarını tekrarlamayacak, külü tutacek, filtreleri en iyi şekilde çalıştıracak, derin deniz deşarjını düzgün yapacak, bütün bu işler için yerli mühendisliği sonuna kadar kullanacak. Biz mühendisler bu yurdun insanlarıyız, yabancı firmaların yaptığı gibi işi bitirip kaçmak bizde yok,

Gerze’de olduğu gibi “Biz en iyi termik santrali yapacagiz, zaten yapmaz isek devlet kontrol eder ve santrali kapatır” demek yanlış bir ifadedir, çevre konusu sadece kamu kurumlarına, Çevre bakanlığına bırakılmayacak kadar önemli bir konudur. Çevreye ne kadar zarar verdiği herkesce bilinen, Afsin-Elbistan-A, Yatağan santralleri örnekleri varken bunları söyleyebilmek, yurt gerçeklerinden uzak olmak, akademik izole kulede yaşamak anlamındadır.

Yerel Sivil toplum örgütlerinin, TMMOB, EMO, MMO’nun düzenleyici, denetleyici ve yönlendirici olarak mutlaka devrede olmaları şarttır.

Afsin Elbistan -A unitesinde filtreler devrede olmadan çalışmak anlaşılır değildir. Durumu anlatacak, söyleyecek söz bulamıyorum. ETKB, EPDK, Cevre, DPT, Hazine bu durumu önlemek için yıllardır birşey yapmıyor. 280 milyon Euro uygun krediyi kullanamadan iade etmek hiç anlaşılır değildir, bu yapilanlar anlama sınırları ötesindedir. Afsin Elbistan-B santralinde kül barajı hala yoktur, kül tutulmakta ancak yanda stoklanmaktadır, rüzgar esince ortalık kül içinde kalmaktadır. Bu yatırımın da bitirilmemesi anlamanın ötesinde bir büyük hatadır.

Rehabilitasyonları yapılmamış, amili- mutehassıs usuluyle cok pahalıya yabancılara ihale edilerek yapılmış termik santrallerin varlığı ayrı bir hatadır, 10 senedir rehabilitasyon ihalesi yapılamamış eski kullanılmaz halde termik santraller vardır, kamu bu işleri çabuk ve düzgün ihale etmek zorundadır.

Termik santrallere karşı olmak “Cocuk hastalıkları olmasın”- diyerek “çocuk yapmayalım”- çözümünü söylemek gibi absürt birşeydir.
Daha çok elektrik üretimi maddi gelişmişlik için şart, bunlara kafa yormak sadece biz mühendislerin işi değil,
Ayrıca toplum için sosyal, zihinsel, entellektüel, kültürel gelişmişlik lazım ve bunlar zaten herkezin işi.

En derin saygilarimla

Haluk Direskeneli
ODTU ME’1973, MMO Ankara 6606

This is an fMRI study on how Christian faith healers influence the brains of believers and non-believers. It is an absolutely remarkable experiment when you think about it but I still don’t know quite what to make of it.

The power of charisma–perceived charisma inhibits the frontal executive network of believers in intercessory prayer.

Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2010 Mar 12. [Epub ahead of print]

Schjoedt U, Stødkilde-Jørgensen H, Geertz AW, Lund TE, Roepstorff A.

This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate how assumptions about speakers’ abilities changed the evoked BOLD response [changes in blood oxygenation indicating neural activity] in secular and Christian participants who received intercessory prayer. We find that recipients’ assumptions about senders’ charismatic abilities have important effects on their executive network. Most notably, the Christian participants deactivated the frontal network consisting of the medial and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex bilaterally in response to speakers who they believed had healing abilities. An independent analysis across subjects revealed that this deactivation predicted the Christian participants’ subsequent ratings of the speakers’ charisma and experience of God’s presence during prayer. These observations point to an important mechanism of authority that may facilitate charismatic influence, a mechanism which is likely to be present in other interpersonal interactions as well.

There’s a write-up over at the excellent Inkling Magazine if you want more.

Link to PubMed entry for study (via @anibalmastobiza)
Link to write-up on Inkling.

Remember back in January when we reported on the new Beats by Dr. Dre Spin Professional DJ Headphones? Yeah well sometime has passed and not only has the name now changed to Beats Pro but so has the price! They will now retail for $399, versus the original $349 price when it was initially announced. That price was no bargain but now that it is even more money, we are dying to see if is truly worth it. The design concept will stay the same and will have the dual cable inputs and ear cups that flip up. I guess we will get our chance to play with these rather soon, since according to the Beats by Dr. Dre website they plan on launching in June.

And the accessories for the iPad just keep on rolling out and the latest is the GroovyStand Writer. This latest stand lets you place your iPad on your lap and gives you not one, but two options for viewing. There are 45 and 18 degree grooves that will hold your iPad in either landscape or portrait. When you’re done with it in your lap, just leave it around your home as it blends in with the furniture. The Writer comes in brown, natural, and black stained hardwood and retails for $14.95.

And just like that, the bill that Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) were planning to unveil on Monday gets put on indefinite hold.

The New York Times has the story.

DJ Hero is upping the challenge next week with a rather challenging track pack. Just how challenging is this track pack? Check out what’s in the Domination Pack and see if your skills are up to it.
 
 
 

Esta mañana desperté tarareando una canción de… The Alan Parsons Project. Suenan mientras dejo los enlaces de la semana en los blogs. Ahí van:

• Hoy me he comido un yogur caducado. ¿Riesgo para la salud? La respuesta en Ciencia Online.
• Los coches de Google Street View recopilan la dirección MAC de las WiFi domésticas. En Banda Ancha.
• Directorio de blogs de comunicación en castellano. En Activos intangibles.
• Errores financieros que no debes cometer, en Actibva.
• 12 tareas diarias para mantener el orden en casa. En un cafelito a las 11.
• Gestión de Certificados Digitales en Windows Vista y 7. En SBD.
• “Para acabar de una vez con la cultura”, en Crisei.
• La Comisión Europea no quiere tiendas en Internet que no existan previamente en la calle. En Nación Red.
• Instituciones, política y jóvenes digitales. Sobre la campaña de Nick Clegg en Reino Unido e internet. En Denken über.
• Milleiro llega al artículo número 1000 en su blog.
• El 90% del contenido de Google Buzz es automatizado, en Genbeta.
• Libros en la nube nos habla de “migraciones forzosas”… en este caso al libro electrónico.
• ¿Neandertales entre nosotros? En Barrapunto.
• La subida del IVA: el efecto real y el efecto psicológico. En Como queráis.
• La tolerancia de cogerme un cáncer con su cigarro. En Las penas del Agente Smith.

Os dejo con el “Don´t answer me”:

We wrote about the Lady Gaga laptop skins before, but now the same designer behind those on Etsy has released a new set of Lady Gaga decals focused on her Telephone video. I will admit that these latest ones do capture the essence of the Telephone video but look a bit more cartoony than the original ones did. Each one retails for $12.99 and comes in several different colors for each. Now if only they included Beyonce too, now that would have been awesome Honey B.

Everyone knows that the human body needs a certain amount of vitamins and minerals everyday to function properly and remain healthy.  A well balanced diet can supply your body with the vitamins it needs, although problems and disorders can arise if your diet doesn’t supply your body with the vitamins it needs.  The symptoms of vitamin deficiency will normally present themselves when the lack of vitamins is at an advanced level.

Those who don’t get enough of vitamins A, B1, and B2 for example, will always feel tired, along with a loss of appetite.  Other symptoms include mental and emotional stress, chapped lips, and other annoying or painful habits.

The most common causes of deficiency include a poor diet, alcoholism, stress, a lack of vitamins, or medicine that interferes with your ingestion of vitamins.  If you are always feeling tired or feeling a lack of energy, you are probably short on the vitamins that your body needs to have on a daily basis.  If you visit your doctor and tell him the problem, he will probably recommend vitamins and supplements that will give you want you need.  Whatever you do, you should never overdo it and try to catch up on what you’ve been missing – as this will do you more harm than good.

Even though you may be following a healthy diet, you’ll still need to take vitamins and supplements.  No matter how healthy you eat, you should still use the right vitamins and supplements to give your body what it needs.  Vitamins are a great back up source, as they will provide your body with the minerals and nutrients it needs in the event of your diet failing you.

Before or after every meal that you consume, you should take vitamins or supplements.  If you have a deficiency in a certain vitamin or vitamins, you should make sure that you never miss taking the vitamin you need.  Even though you may not realize it, being deficient in a vitamin can greatly damper your performance as well as the overall health of your body.

When you look for supplements, you should always look for those that contain vitamins B6, B12, D, E, and folic acid.  Along with being considered dietary supplements, these well known vitamins will help to fight cancer and help your heart remain healthy.  The combination of these vitamins will help your body to remain healthy, boost your immune system, and keep you feeling refreshed.

To remain healthy and keep your body operating as it should, you’ll need to invest in vitamins and supplements.  You can find them online or at local nutrition stores, many of which won’t cost you much money at all.  No matter what your age may be, you’ll need to ensure that you are eating the right foods and taking the right foods.  Keep in mind that you should never replace food with vitamins, as they are more less meant to give you additional nutrients and minerals.

Anytime you aren’t able to eat the right food, you should always turn to vitamin supplements to give your body what it needs.  Supplements and vitamins are one of the best investments you can make, as everyone needs vitamins in their body.  Even though the costs may add up over time, it is more than worth it when you think about.  For what you spend in vitamins and supplements, you’ll be keeping your body healthy – and preventing a deficiency in vitamins. Although vitamin deficiency is very common these days, it doesn’t have to be.

Golden House Publications

The Question of Evil in Ancient Egypt by S.J. Mpay Kemboly, Golden House Publications.

The book examines relevant sources from the Old Kingdom Pyramid Texts (c. 24th century B.C.E.) to the Graeco-Roman Period inscriptions (2nd century C.E.) in order to understand the way the ancient Egyptians tackled the question of the origin of evil in the world. It also investigates whether the world was perfect or imperfect since its beginning. Scholars addressing these questions are generally of two categories: those advocating the pre-existent character of evil and asserting therefore that the world was not perfect since its creation, and those who plead for the contingent nature of evil and thus imply that the world was created perfect at the beginning but was marred afterwards by various protagonists other than the creator.

Egyptology News Blog, Andie Byrnes

Ser piloto de Fórmula 1 es la máxima aspiración de quien se dedica profesionalmente a la competición, además de ser el sueño de muchos millones de gentes en todo el mundo que no son estrictamente pilotos de carreras. Y junto con todos los beneficios económicos innegables de ser parte del mundo de la Fórmula 1, está la posibilidad de poder comprarse prácticamente el coche que uno quiera y hasta de darse el lujo de que las marcas que te patrocinan te regalen coches para uso particular, una especie de publicidad rodante.

Si Fernando Alonso se dió el lujo de poder tener un Maserati Gran Cabrío o un SLR McLaren 722, otros optarán por modelos más normalitos, como Jaime Alguersuari a bordo de su Seat León Cupra R. Nico Rosberg pilotea en las calles un Mercedes C63 AMG y anteriormente tuvo un Audi RS6, mientras Lewis Hamilton no se queda atrás y hasta ve cómo la policía australiana le confiscaba un flamante Mercedes, después de que por sus manos pasaron coches dispares, como un Mercedes GL, o un Smart Roadster de Brabus; tanto el moreno como Jenson Button estarán deseando que McLaren les regale a cada uno un MP4-12C. Por su lado, a pesar de que a Hekki Kovalainen no le va muy bien con el Lotus, la casa británica le entregó un Lotus Evora personalizado, mientras que Jarno Trulli disfruta el suyo, de bonito color rojo, mientras conserva un Fiat 500 clásico de los años sesentas.

Felipe Massa se mueve en algunos modelos de Ferrari, aunque el brasileño ha tenido en el pasado un Maserati Quattroporte. Cuando era piloto de Fórmula 1, Kimi Raikkonen fue visto en su moto construida especialmente para él por el customizador de motos más famoso del mundo: Marcus Walz. El modelo de Kimi es la Iceman 2, un nombre muy apropiado para Raikkonen, aunque en su garage guarda también un Ferrari Enzo. Otro que formó parte de la Fórmula 1, David Coulthard, tiene un Maserati GranSport, mientras guarda con cariñoso recelo un clásico: un Mercedes-Benz 280 SE de 1971.

El campeón mundial, Jenson Button no reporta ningún coche en especial, pero se sabe que gusta de los Volkswagen Kombiwagen, ya que posee uno, tal vez con el motor tocado, y en sus épocas de Honda recibió un NSX. Michael Schumacher debe poseer al menos unos 2 ó 3 Ferrari o Mercedes, pero sin duda que su preferido será el FXX, junto con el Ferrari California, ya que parece que tiene uno.

Hasta aquí algunos de los coches más conocidos entre los pilotos. Quedan por mencionar otros (los coches de Renault que usaba Alonso y Fisichella, por ejemplo). Si recuerdas algún otro coche particular de piloto que no he mencionado, siempre puedes pasar por comentarios y mencionarlo.

Vía | Autopista

The Australian has an article on the looming clash between coal miners and coal seam gas producers in Queensland – Coal giants and gas firms set for clash

THE massive ramp-up planned in Queensland coal seam gas production to feed Gladstone liquefied natural gas plants could face delays as key players look to develop acreage the state’s coalminers also have their eyes on. …

Under Queensland’s legislation, ground can be explored by both miners and CSG producers at the same time. When it is time to convert it to production leases overlapping claims are subject to negotiation between CSG and mining companies.

If this is unsuccessful, the Queensland government will have to make a ruling. The government has not been placed in this position yet, but as applications to reserve ground for gas production gather pace, disputes are more likely.

“Coal seam gas is in areas which coalminers are now starting to look at opening up, because the global financial crisis has passed and metallurgical coal prices are moving up,” said Paul Newman, head of energy at law firm Blake Dawson. “From our perspective, there is a regime that will come under pressure from this process. There is uncertainty about what the government will do.”

Early plans by Xstrata for a massive 100 million tonnes a year coal province near Wandoan in the Surat Basin is also expected to spur other miners with overlapping CSG exploration tenements. In a recent tenement overlap dispute between CSG producers and the small underground coal gasification sector, the Queensland government ruled on the side of the CSG producers. It is hard to see state government, which collects royalties from the world’s biggest coking coal export industry, siding so quickly with the CSG industry if the coal industry moves against it.

TomDispatch has an article on the chances of the US withdrawing from Iraq and Afghanistan – Yes, We Could… Get Out! .

Yes, we could. No kidding. We really could withdraw our massive armies, now close to 200,000 troops combined, from Afghanistan and Iraq (and that’s not even counting our similarly large stealth army of private contractors, which helps keep the true size of our double occupations in the shadows). We could undoubtedly withdraw them all reasonably quickly and reasonably painlessly.

Not that you would know it from listening to the debates in Washington or catching the mainstream news. There, withdrawal, when discussed at all, seems like an undertaking beyond the waking imagination. In Iraq alone, all those bases to dismantle and millions of pieces of equipment to send home in a draw-down operation worthy of years of intensive effort, the sort of thing that makes the desperate British evacuation from Dunkirk in World War II look like a Sunday stroll in the park. And that’s only the technical side of the matter.

Then there’s the conviction that anything but a withdrawal that would make molasses in January look like the hare of Aesopian fable — at least two years in Iraq, five to ten in Afghanistan — would endanger the planet itself, or at least its most important country: us. Without our eternally steadying hand, the Iraqis and Afghans, it’s taken for granted, would be lost. Without the help of U.S. forces, for example, would the Maliki government ever have been able to announce the death of the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq? Not likely, whereas the U.S. has knocked off its leadership twice, first in 2006, and again, evidently, last week.

Of course, before our troops entered Baghdad in 2003 and the American occupation of that country began, there was no al-Qaeda in Iraq. But that’s a distant past not worth bringing up. And forget as well the fact that our invasions and wars have proven thunderously destructive, bringing chaos, misery, and death in their wake, and turning, for instance, the health care system of Iraq, once considered an advanced country in the Arab world, into a disaster zone(that — it goes without saying — only we Americans are now equipped to properly fix). Similarly, while regularly knocking off Afghan civilians at checkpoints on their roads and in their homes, at their celebrations and at work, we ignore the fact that our invasion and occupation opened the way for the transformation of Afghanistan into the first all-drug-crop agricultural nation and so the planet’s premier narco-nation. It’s not just that the country now has an almost total monopoly on growing opium poppies (hence heroin), but according to the latest U.N. report, it’s now cornering the hashish market as well. That’s diversification for you.

It’s a record to stand on and, evidently, to stay on, even to expand on. We’re like the famed guest who came to dinner, broke a leg, wouldn’t leave, and promptly took over the lives of the entire household. Only in our case, we arrived, broke someone else’s leg, and then insisted we had to stay and break many more legs, lest the world become a far more terrible place.

It’s known and accepted in Washington that, if we were to leave Afghanistan precipitously, the Taliban would take over, al-Qaeda would be back big time in no time, and then more of our giant buildings would obviously bite the dust. And yet, the longer we’ve stayed and the more we’ve surged, the more resurgent the Taliban has become, the more territory this minority insurgency has spread into. If we stay long enough, we may, in fact, create the majority insurgency we claim to fear.

Article Tags: Howard Hayden, Open Letter/Fax

To: Department of State

Date: 23 April 2010

Re: U.S. Climate Action Report 2010. 5th ed.

Many states around the nation are trying to enact laws to restrict carbon emissions, and industries too numerous to mention have begun making changes hoping to be fully prepared to comply with laws they haven’t seen yet. Congress is considering laws in hopes that they can avoid having EPA impose its own version of CO2 restrictions.

Before jumping on this bandwagon, we should be certain that we understand the science. U.S. Climate Action Report 2010, 5th ed. might be understood by some Americans to be the definitive word; however nary a word in the report even pretends to

establish a link between CO2 and putative global warming

show that the increase in CO2 concentration is due to human activity instead of natural causes (such as natural warming of the oceans)

show that either an increase in CO2 concentration or an increase in temperature is, on balance, bad (or worse than laws restricting CO2 emissions) or

do any science whatsoever.

Read in full with comments »   

by Kevin Jon Heller

Julian beat me to the punch regarding the new Council on Foreign Relations report, From Rome to Kampala: The U.S. Approach to the 2010 International Criminal Court Review Conference.  The first thing to note is that it isn’t really a “report.”  Reports have sober, reasoned analysis, careful argumentation, and document their controversial claims with footnotes to relevant material.  This “report,” by contrast, is nothing more than a political call-to-arms to undermine the ICC, one that simply regurgitates the same tired points that the US has been making for 15 years.

The report is relatively short and worth reading in its entirety.  If you don’t have enough time, though, it can be reduced to the following three propositions:

[1] The US has the right to unilaterally use military force whenever and wherever it wants to.

[2] ICC jurisdiction over the crime of aggression would limit that right, so the Review Conference negotiations must be undermined.

[3] The US should avoid being seen as openly undermining the ICC’s negotiations, because transparency will make undermining those negotiations more difficult.

Some specific thoughts on the report:

After World War II, the United States led Allied efforts to prosecute top German and Japanese officials for atrocity crimes and crimes against the peace (aggression), overcoming British and Soviet arguments for summary execution of the enemy leadership.

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The General Assembly resolution contains a nonexhaustive list of acts that may constitute aggression, while leaving open the possibility that additional acts may constitute aggression as determined by the Security Council. The resolution represented a political compromise, and many international law experts believe this definition is too vague for the purposes of imposing individual criminal liability.

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Two issues divided the Working Group. The first was whether the state whose nationals are alleged to have committed the crime must consent to the ICC’s jurisdiction over aggression, or whether the consent of the victim state is sufficient. States in favor of requiring the consent of the alleged aggressor state argue that it is mandated by international law.

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The United Kingdom and France have argued that given the Security Council’s primary role in regulating the use of force, including the determination that acts of aggression have occurred, it must have the last word on whether the ICC may move forward with prosecutions. Opponents of a decisive Security Council role have pointed to the risk of deadlock in the council, noting the council’s historical reluctance to label actions as aggression.

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Given these divisions, the review conference is faced with three options… 3. Send the entire aggression issue to a new working group for further consideration. The United States is the only country to have openly advocated for this approach.

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The proposed definition reflects this uncertain state of the law by merely listing acts that might constitute aggression without defining when those acts are unlawful. The definition does not address how claims of self-defense or humanitarian necessity affect the categorization of the use of force as aggression.

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It is similarly unclear whether a preventive or preemptive strike against a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction (WMD)—for example, a U.S. or Israeli strike against suspected Iranian nuclear weapon program sites—would constitute criminal aggression.

thought experiment — without veto, would the us prefer a political body like the SC to determine or a legal body like the icj/icc? US okay with present arrangement for one reason — the veto.

If aggression existed as a crime in 2003, for example, Iraq could have consented to the jurisdiction of the ICC after the U.S. invasion, potentially exposing U.S. leaders to investigation and prosecution for the decision to use force. In such a scenario, the ICC prosecutor could have investigated U.S. or coalition partners, asking them for detailed explanations of their legal rationale as well as for classified intelligence information regarding Iraq’s alleged weapons programs. The prosecutor might have then second-guessed the conclusion by the United States and other governments that their use of force was justified under existing UN Security Council resolutions.

one can only hope so! uniquely american…

Even if the definition were clear, allowing ICC aggression prosecutions to proceed without Security Council authorization could undermine Security Council efforts—including ongoing diplomacy—to restore peace and stability in conflicts, perhaps by sending conflicting signals to the parties regarding the merits of the underlying dispute.

This from a country that until recently was 1 billion in arrears and was willing to veto peacekeeping operations unless Americans were given immunity!

These concerns suggest that the Security Council, which is entrusted by the UN Charter with responsibility for
maintaining international peace and security, should oversee determinations regarding aggression.

It does — through deferral power. but no veto, which is the real objection.

Although non-P5 states are less concerned about preserving Security Council authority, some recognize from a pragmatic standpoint the importance of support among P5 members for the court’s agenda, given the practical
difficulties in apprehending suspects and collecting evidence without the support of the most powerful states.

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The goodwill created by the Obama administration’s decision to participate at the review conference could be quickly dissipated by an overly assertive American strategy, especially if critics successfully characterize the United States as obstructionist.

The arrogance! bunch of children who will be thrilled the US shows up.

Although U.S. negotiators could suggest specific changes to the text that would improve its viability as a criminal provision, this strategy is unlikely to succeed and could be counterproductive…. Offering alternative language may also create false expectations regarding U.S. support for aggression with an improved definition.

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Rome Statute parties are evenly divided on the question of whether the consent of the alleged aggressor state is
required to activate aggression jurisdiction.

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[T]he United States must be clear that it will not support an outcome that allows the prosecutor to proceed with aggression prosecutions absent the consent of both parties involved and approval of the Security Council.

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Nevertheless, given the inherently political nature of evaluating the use of force and the need to consider designations of aggression in the context of broader efforts to resolve conflicts and preserve stability, there is no viable substitute for Security Council primacy in making aggression determinations.

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The United States should make clear that if the state parties decide to activate the court’s jurisdiction over aggression without consensus (and by implication without addressing the most significant U.S. concerns), the likelihood that important nonparty states, including the United States, Russia, and China, will join the court will be greatly diminished.

Concern troll…

The United States should avoid obstructing the decisions of state parties on items of the review conference agenda where the United States lacks a national interest.

At least it admits obstruction with the rest!

Given the need for the United States to be active on the issue of aggression, and the opportunity to participate constructively in the stocktaking sessions, the delegation should remain neutral, or even voice support, on the remaining agenda items if they do not implicate significant U.S. interests.

Again, patronizing…

The United States is currently engaged in a noninternational armed conflict with al-Qaeda.

by Julian Ku

The International Whaling Commission’s proposed compromise on the whaling dispute has been released (h/t Jurist). As I noted before, the proposed deal would bring all nations within the IWC framework, but explicitly permit commercial whaling for certain nations for at least the next 10 years. The numbers permitted under the proposal is a little murky, but it may include thousands of whales, including some whales that are considered endangered.  Predictably, the Greenpeace folks are opposed.  It is true that this is not exactly a whale-friendly compromise.  But Japan could, with relatively little cost, simply get out of the IWC and hunt even more. So the choice for whale-defenders is a tough one. But this compromise text looks promising.

Article Tags: Met Office, Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre

The BAe 146, which was unable to fly until last Tuesday because of a refit, was the only plane equipped with state-of-the-art laser measuring equipment, known as Lidar. Only once the jet had finally taken to the air was the Met Office able to map the full extent of the ash from Iceland.

The disclosure of the delay will add to questions about whether the no-fly zone over British airspace could have been lifted earlier. The authorities are already facing accusations that they overreacted to relatively low levels of ash in the atmosphere.

Yesterday, Sir Richard Branson, president of Virgin Atlantic, criticised the grounding of planes as an “overreaction” and “not the right decision”, adding that his airline had lost £50m as a result.

…….While its jet was incapacitated, the Met Office instead had to use a Dornier propeller plane that had less advanced technology and was unable to fly at high altitude.

Click source to read FULL report from Steven Swinford and Daniel Foggo

Source: timesonline.co.uk

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