Bar-Sharci

The Lawyer Management Awards 2013: Book of the night

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On Tuesday 24th September over 400 operational professionals came together at The Brewery to celebrate excellence in operational and strategic management within law firms at The Lawyer’s inaugural Management Awards in association with Thomson Reuters. The packed awards ceremony was a chance for the legal industry’s business support staff to shine, with a shortlist of teams showing admirable innovation in grueling economic times.      <br />
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<img alt="Law+firm+management+individual+of+the+year" src="http://www.thelawyer.com/Pictures/web/d/x/j/Law-firm-management-individual-of-the-year300.JPG" />         <div class="awardsPictureCaption" style="background-color: black; color: white; padding: 5px 0px;">
Julia Hayhoe, Law Firm Management Individual of the Year</div>
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<img alt="Best+business+development+team" src="http://www.thelawyer.com/Pictures/web/c/c/x/Best-business-developmenet-team300.JPG" />     <div class="awardsPictureCaption" style="background-color: black; color: white; padding: 5px 0px;">
Mishcon de Reya, Best Business Development (BD) Team</div>
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Clifford Chance were named <a href="http://www.thelawyer.com/news/events-and-awards/law-firm-management-team-of-the-year/3009114.article"><strong>Law Firm Management Team of the Year</strong></a> and <a href="http://www.thelawyer.com/news/events-and-awards/law-firm-management-individual-of-the-year/3009113.article"><strong>Law Firm Management Individual of the Year</strong></a> went to Julia Hayhoe, the London client and business development (BD) director for Baker & McKenzie. Mishcon de Reya took home the <a href="http://www.thelawyer.com/news/events-and-awards/best-business-development-team/3009107.article"><strong>Best Business Development (BD) Team</strong></a> trophy and <a href="http://www.thelawyer.com/news/events-and-awards/best-knowledge-management-strategy/3009109.article"><strong>Best Knowledge Management Strategy</strong></a> was awarded to A&L Goodbody. <br />
Details of all the results can be found on the relevant category pages and pictures of the event can be viewed by clicking <a href="http://www.thelawyer.com/news/events-and-awards/lawyer-management-awards-2013-image-gallery/3009101.article"><strong>here</strong></a>. </div>

The Lawyer Management Awards 2013: Book of the night

On Tuesday 24th September over 400 operational professionals came together at The Brewery to celebrate excellence in operational and strategic management within law firms at The Lawyer’s inaugural Ma…

29 Sep 2013

Waxaan halkan hambalyo iyo Bogaadin uuga dirayaa arooskii Boqorka Eng Mukhtaar Omar iyo Boqoradda iyo Boqoradda Sucaad Sh.Nuux oo xafladooda ka dhacday Crown Hotel malintii Axadda ee 15 September 2013

Waxaan halkan hambalyo iyo Bogaadin uuga dirayaa arooskii Boqorka Eng Mukhtaar Omar iyo Boqoradda iyo Boqoradda Sucaad Sh.Nuux oo xafladooda ka dhacday Crown Hotel malintii Axadda ee 15 September 2013

…

24 Sep 2013

Quote of the day

Quote of the day

“No great idea in its beginning can ever be within the law. How can it be within the law? The law is stationary. The law is fixed. The law is a chariot wheel which binds us all regardless of conditio…

04 Sep 2013

A Short History of Bio-Chemical Weapons

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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 24pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">by ZOLTAN GROSSMAN<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">400s B.C.: Spartan Greeks use sulfur
fumes against enemy soldiers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">256 A.D.: Sasanian Persian Empire
may have used toxic smoke against Roman soldiers in a tunnel in modern-day
Syria.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1346: Tatars catapult
plague-infected corpses into Italian trade settlement in Crimea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1500s: Spanish conquistadors use
biological warfare used against Indigenous peoples in the Americas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1763: British Gen. Jeffrey Amherst
advocates use of smallpox blankets against Native peoples during Pontiac’s
Rebellion. Smallpox blankets given to Native delegates during talks at Fort
Pitt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1789: Smallpox ravages Australian
Indigenous communities in New South Wales; debate persists whether the British
deliberately introduced it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1800s: Smallpox, measles, and other
diseases ravage Native American and First Nation communities; U.S. and
British/Canadian officials use quarantine techniques to isolate diseases in
white communities, but not in Native villages.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1845: British attack Maori resisters
with poison gas in Battle of Ohaeawai, Aotearoa/New Zealand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1907: Hague Convention outlaws
chemical weapons; U.S. does not participate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1914-18: World War I begins; Germans
introduce chlorine gas at Second Battle of Ypres. Poison gas such as mustard
gas and chlorine gas produces 85,000 deaths, 1,200,000 injuries on both sides.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1919-21: Poison gas used in Russian
civil war, against rebels by the Bolsheviks, and against Bolsheviks by the
Royal Air Force.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1920s: Spanish and French forces use
mustard gas against Berber rebels in Spanish Morocco. Britain proposes use of
chemical weapons in Iraq “as an experiment” against Arab and Kurdish rebels
seeking independence; Winston Churchill “strongly” backs the proposed “use of
poisoned gas against uncivilised tribes,” which was apparently not carried out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1928: The Geneva Protocol (first signed in 1925) by the
League of Nations prohibits gas and bacteriological warfare; most countries
that ratify it prohibit only the first use of such weapons</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1935: Italy begins conquest of
Abyssinia (Ethiopia), using mustard gas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1937: Japan invades China, widely
uses chemical weapons in war to conquer China, and used biological weapons such
as plague-carrying fleas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1939: World War II begins; both
sides decide not to use bio-chemical arms in large-scale attacks, due to fears
of retaliation in kind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1941: U.S. enters World War II;
President Roosevelt pledges U.S. will not be first to use bio-chemical weapons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1942: German forces may have used
poison gas against Soviet resisters in tunnels during the Battle of Kerch in
Crimea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1943: U.S. ship damaged by German
bombing raid on Bari, Italy, leaks mustard gas, killing 1,000.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1945: When concentration camps are
liberated, inmates report that Germans have used Zyklon-B in the extermination
of civilians. Japanese military discovered to have conducted biological warfare
experiments on POWs, killing 3000. U.S. shields officers in charge from war
crimes trials, in return for data. Soviets take over German nerve gas facility
in Potsdam. The Nazis had stockpiles of nerve gas against which the Allies had
no defenses, and had also been working on blood agents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1947: U.S. possesses germ warfare
weapons; President Truman withdraws Geneva Protocol from Senate consideration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1949: U.S. dismisses Soviet trials
of Japanese for germ warfare as “propaganda.” Army begins secret tests of
biological agents in U.S. cities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1950: Korean War begins; North Korea
and China accuse U.S. of germ warfare–charges never proven. San Francisco disease
outbreak matches Army bacteria used on city.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1951: African-Americans exposed to
potentially fatal simulant in Virginia test of race-specific fungal weapons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1952: German chemical weapons
researcher Walter Schreiber, working in Texas, exposed as a perpetrator of
concentration camp experiments, and flees to Argentina.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1954: Fort Detrick in Maryland
initiates Operation Whitecoat to research the effects of biological agents on
soliders and conscientious objector volunteers; program lasts until 1973.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1956: Army manual explicitly states
that bio-chemical warfare is not banned. Rep. Gerald Ford wins policy change to
give U.S. military “first strike” authority on chemical arms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1959: House resolution against first
use of bio-chemical weapons is defeated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1961: Kennedy Administration begins
hike of chemical weapons spending from $75 million to more than $330 million.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1962: Chemical weapons loaded on
U.S. planes during Cuban missile crisis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1963-66: US, UK and Israel accuse
Egypt of using chemical weapons during its intervention in North Yemen’s civil
war.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1966: Army germ warfare experiment
in New York subway system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1968: Pentagon asks for the chance
to use some of its arsenal against protesters to demonstrate the “efficacy” of
the chemicals. Maj. Gen. J.B. Medaris says, “By using gas in civil situations,
we accomplish two purposes: controlling crowds and also educating people on
gas. Now, everybody is being called savage if he just talks about it. But nerve
gas is the only way I know of to sort out the guys in white hats from the ones
in black hats without killing any of them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1969: Utah chemical weapons accident
kills thousands of sheep; President Nixon declares U.S. moratorium on chemical
weapons production and biological weapons possession. U.N. General Assembly
bans use of herbicides (plant killers) and tear gasses in warfare; U.S. one of
three opposing votes. U.S. forces cause tear gas fatalities in Vietnamese
guerrilla tunnels, and widely use napalm (jellied gasoline that stick to skin).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1971: U.S. ends direct use of
herbicides such as Agent Orange; had spread over Indochinese forests, and
destroyed at least six percent of South Vietnamese cropland, enough to feed
600,000 people for a year. Diseases and birth defects affected Vietnamese
civilians and U.S. veterans. White phosphorus grenades also used against South
Vietnamese rebels. U.S. intelligence gives swine-flu virus to anti-Castro Cuban
paramilitary group, which lands it on Cuba’s southern coast (according to 1977
newspaper reports).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1972: Biological and Toxic Weapons
Convention. Cuba accuses CIA of instilling swine fever virus that leads to
death of 500,000 hogs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1974: U.S. finally ratifies 1928
Geneva Protocol.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1975: Indonesia annexes East Timor;
planes spread herbicides on croplands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1978: Bulgarian secret service uses
ricin in umbrella tip to assassinate Bulgarian dissident in London.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1979: Anthrax leak from Soviet
biological weapons lab kills 60 near in the Ural Mountains of Russia, near
Sverdlovsk. <i>Washington Post </i>reports on U.S. program against Cuban
agriculture since 1962, including CIA biological warfare component. White
government of Rhodesia contaminates Africans with anthrax in the last stages of
the Zimbabwe independence war, resulting in 10,000 cases, 182 of them fatal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1980: U.S. intelligence officials
allege Soviet chemical use in Afghanistan, while admitting “no confirmation.”
Congress approves nerve gas facility in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Iraq begins
eight-year war with U.S. arch-enemy Iran; both sides use chemical weapons in
the war.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1981: U.S. accuses Vietnam and
allies of using mycotoxins (fungal poisons) in Laos and Cambodia. Some refugees
report casualties in Laos; one analysis reveals “yellow rain” as bee feces, but
questions remained.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1984: U.N. confirms Iraq using
mustard and nerve gasses against Iranian “human wave” attacks in border war,
killing up to 100,000 Iranians; State Department issues mild condemnation, yet
restores diplomatic relations with Iraq, and opposes U.N. action against Iraq.
Bhopal fertilizer plant accident in India kills 2,000; shows risks of chemical
plants being damaged in warfare. President Reagan orders over a half-million
M55 rockets retooled so they contain high-yield explosives as well as VX gas.
(The Army later claimed that many of these rockets were “unstable” and leaking
nerve gas.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1985: U.S. resumes open-air testing
of biological agents. U.S. firms begin supplying Iraq with numerous biological
agents for a four-year period (according to a 1994 Senate report).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1986: U.S. resumes open-air testing
of biological agents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1987: Senate ties in three votes on
resuming production of chemical weapons; Vice President Bush breaks all three
ties in favor of resumption.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1988: Iraq uses chemical weapons
against Kurdish minority rebels and civilians in Halabjah, killing at least
5,000. U.S. continues to maintain agricultural credits with Iraq; President
Reagan blocks congressional sanctions against Iraq.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1989: Paris conference of 149
nations condemns chemical weapons, urges quick ban to emerge from Geneva treaty
negotiations; U.S. revealed to plan poison gas production even after treaty
signed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1990: U.S., Soviets pledge to reduce
chemical weapons stockpiles to 20 percent of current U.S. supply by 2002, and
to eliminate poison gas weapons when all nations have signed future Geneva
treaty. Israel admits possession of chemical weapons; Iraq threatens to use
chemical weapons on Israel if it is attacked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1991: U.S. and Coalition forces
invade Kuwait and Iraq in the Gulf War; Iraq possesses chemical weapons but
does not use them. At least 28 alleged bio-chemical production or storage sites
are bombed in Iraq during the Gulf War, including fertilizer and other civilian
plants. CNN reports “green flames” from one chemical plant, and the deaths of
50 Iraqi troops from anthrax after air strike on another site. <i>New York
Times</i> quotes Soviet chemical weapons commander that air strikes on Iraqi
chemical weapons would have “little effect beyond neighboring villages,” but
that strikes on biological weapons could spread disease “to adjoining
countries.” Czechoslovak chemical warfare unit detects sarin nerve gas after
air strikes on Iraqi chemical weapons facilities. Egyptian doctor reports
outbreak of “strange disease” inside Iraq. After the war, U.S. troops use
explosives in Khamisiya to destroy Iraqi chemical weapons storage bunkers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1992: Reports intensify of U.S. and
Coalition veterans of Gulf War developing health problems, involving a variety
of symptoms, collectively called Gulf War Syndrome. U.N. sanctions intensify
civilian health crisis inside Iraq, making identification of similar symptoms
potentially difficult. Two members of anti-government Minnesota Patriots’
Council arrested for plan to use ricin chemical against law enforcement
officer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1993: President Clinton continues
intermittent bombing and missile raids against Iraqi facilities; U.N.
inspectors step up program to dismantle Iraqi weapons. U.S. signs U.N. Chemical
Weapons Convention, though approval later blocked in Senate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1994: Russian forces extensively use
white phosphorus shells as incendiary weapons in Chechnya.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1994-95: Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo
launches deadly sarin nerve gas attacks on the Matsumoto community and on the
Tokyo subway system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1996: Congressional hearings on Gulf
War Syndrome focuses on Iraqi storage bunker destruction, rather than other
possible causes, and does not call for international investigation of symptoms
among Iraqis. CIA investigation asserts that U.S. bombing of chemical weapons
sites did not contaminate population.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1997: Cuba accuses U.S. of spraying
crops with biological agents. Iraq expels U.S. citizens in U.N. inspection
teams, which are allowed to continue work without Americans, but choose to
evacuate all inspectors. U.S. mobilizes for military action. Senate act
implements Chemical Weapons Convention, with a provision that “the President
may deny a request to inspect any facility” on national security grounds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1998: Chief UN weapons inspector
Richard Butler orders inspectors out of Iraq just prior to U.S. bombing. In
Operation Desert Fox, Clinton again bombs alleged Iraqi bio-chemical weapons
sites, after Iraq questions role of American U.N. inspector, and restricts
inspector access to presidential properties and security. U.S. launches missile
attack on pharmaceutical plant in Sudan that it alleges produces nerve gas
agents–a claim disputed by most of the international community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1998-99: Series of anthrax hoaxes
against U.S. media and government targetss. Ex-Aryan Nations member Larry Wayne
Harris carries out anthrax hoax to dramatize warning of alleged “Iraqi threat.”
Three members of Republic of Texas militia group arrested for intention to use
anthrax and other biological agents against public officials. Upsurge in
anthrax hoaxes against abortion clinics.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1999: NATO bombs Yugoslavia in
Kosovo Crisis, triggering massive Serbian expulsion of ethnic Albanians. NATO
bombers hit a Serbian petrochemical plant in Pancevo, sending a toxic cloud
with 2,000 tons of chemicals over the city, and chemicals were released in
other bombings of industrial plants.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2000: “Topoff Exercise” involving
federal and state authorities fails to cope with simulated chemical, biological
and nuclear attacks in three widely separated metropolitan areas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2001: U.S. withdraws from the first
round of Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention (BTWC), crippling
international efforts to establish global measures against biological weapons.
In wake of September 11 attacks, anthrax spores sent by mail to multiple
political and media targets around the U.S., resulting in anthrax exposures,
infections, and at least 5 deaths. Real anthrax attacks accompanied by increase
in anthrax hoaxes by “Army of God” and other groups and individuals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2002: Russian police use chemical
gas against Chechen rebels holding hostages in Moscow theater; 42 rebels and
120 hostages died from the gas raid. Bush Administration renews allegations
that Iraq possesses biochemical weapons (drawing on allegations by Iraqi
exiles), reluctantly acquiesces in return of United Nations weapons inspectors
(after four years of absence) to prove or disprove the claim. Chief UN arms
inspector Hans Blix reports no evidence of renewed chemical or biological
weapons programs in Iraq.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2003: UN inspectors find evidence of
Iraqi violations of ballistic missile range limits, and begin to destroy
missiles. Bush Administration not satisfied with extent of UN inspection. Just
prior to U.S.-U.K. invasion of Iraq, UN orders inspectors out of country. After
invasion, U.S. contends it will hunt for Weapons of Mass Destruction on its
own, and finds none. As a member state of the UN Security Council, Syria
proposes a WMD-Free Zone in the Middle East, which the U.S. rejects.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2004: During the First Battle of
Fallujah, U.S. forces use white phosphorus artillery shells (intended for
aerial illumination) as an incendiary weapon against Iraqi insurgents, killing
and injuring many civilians. Pentagon finally admits in 2013 its use of white
phosphorus as a weapon in Fallujah. Environmental justice protests in Anniston,
Alabama oppose incineration of chemical weapons in populated area.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2007: Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia
carries out chlorine gas tank bombings in Iraqi civil war. White phosphorus
train derails in Ukraine, contaminating 90 sq km.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2008: Israel uses white phosphorus
shells during its three-week war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. U.S.
government employee suspected in 2001 anthrax attacks commits suicide.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2009: Taliban and U.S. forces accuse
each other of using white phosphorus as weapons. Rebels in Yemen accuse Saudi
warplanes of dropping white phosphorus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2011: Some news sources report white
phosphorus use by NATO forces in Libya. Four militia members arrested in
Georgia for plotting to use ricin to attack politicians, media, and the IRS.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2012: U.S. has closed 7 of 9
chemical weapons depots and destroyed 90 percent of its stockpiles, to meet the
provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention it signed in 1993. Israel hits
UNRWA compound in Gaza City with white phosphorus; announces the following year
that it will stop using white phosphorus weapons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2013: Actress allegedly mails ricin
mailed to the President and other U.S. leaders. In January, UK issues licenses
to export chemicals to Syria that could be used to make sarin; licenses revoked
when sanctions begin against Syria in July. Syrian government and rebels trade
accusations of using sarin in April and August. Doctors Without Borders
documents 355 killed in August sarin attack in Ghouta area; Secretary of State
John Kerry claims that Syrian government is responsible for killing 1,429
Syrians. UK declines to back military strikes on Syria; France, Turkey, Saudi
Arabia, and Israel back U.S. military action.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dr.
Zoltan Grossman</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
is a Professor of Geography and Native Studies at The Evergreen State College
in Olympia, Washington, and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin.
His faculty website is <a href="http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz"><span style="color: blue;">http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz</span></a> and
email is </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
</div>

A Short History of Bio-Chemical Weapons

by ZOLTAN GROSSMAN 400s B.C.: Spartan Greeks use sulfur fumes against enemy soldiers. 256 A.D.: Sasanian Persian Empire may have used toxic smoke against Roman soldiers in a tunnel in modern-day …

04 Sep 2013

Convention against Chimical Weapons

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Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (Chemical Weapons Convention)</h1>
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The CWC aims to eliminate an entire category of weapons of mass destruction by prohibiting the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transfer or use of chemical weapons by States Parties. States Parties, in turn, must take the steps necessary to enforce that prohibition in respect of persons (natural or legal) within their jurisdiction. </div>
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All States Parties have agreed to chemically disarm by destroying any stockpiles of chemical weapons they may hold and any facilities which produced them, as well as any chemical weapons they abandoned on the territory of other States Parties in the past. States Parties have also agreed to create a verification regime for certain toxic chemicals and their precursors (listed in Schedules 1, 2 and 3 in the Annex on Chemicals to the CWC) in order to ensure that such chemicals are only used for purposes not prohibited. </div>
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A unique feature of the CWC is its incorporation of the 'challenge inspection', whereby any State Party in doubt about another State Party's compliance can request the Director-General to send an inspection team. Under the CWC's 'challenge inspection' procedure, States Parties have committed themselves to the principle of 'any time, anywhere' inspections with no right of refusal. </div>
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<dt><a href="http://www.opcw.org/chemical-weapons-convention/about-the-convention/" title="About the Convention">About the Convention</a></dt>
<dd><span class="image"><img alt="" height="60" src="http://www.opcw.org/typo3temp/pics/fd7d049a51.jpg" width="80" /></span>The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction (the 'CWC', or the 'Convention') aims to eliminate an entire category of weapons of mass destruction by prohibiting the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transfer or use of chemical weapons by States Parties.</dd>
<dt><a href="http://www.opcw.org/chemical-weapons-convention/preamble/" title="Preamble">Preamble</a></dt>
<dd>The States Parties to this Convention -Determined to act with a view to achieving effective progress towards general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control, including the prohibition and elimination of all types of weapons of mass destruction, -Desiring to contribute to the realization of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations...</dd>
<dt><a href="http://www.opcw.org/chemical-weapons-convention/articles/" title="Read the 24 Articles of the CWC">Articles</a></dt>
<dd>The CWC comprises 24 Articles</dd></dl>
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Convention against Chimical Weapons

Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (Chemical Weapons Convention) The CWC aims to…

04 Sep 2013

Short note of former Somali Legal System

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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Somali         Republic formed 1<sup>st</sup> July 1960, upon union of British Somaliland         (independent from 26<sup>th</sup> June) and Italian Somaliland (independent         from Italian-administered UN trusteeship 1<sup>st</sup> July). Importation         of British-Indian legislation in north in late 19<sup>th</sup> and early         20<sup>th</sup> century. British promulgated Natives Betrothal and Marriage         Ordinance 1928 and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Qadis�</i> Courts         Ordinance 1937 specific to Somaliland. Subordinate Courts Ordinance 1944         repealed 1937 Ordinance, limiting jurisdiction of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Qadis�</i> Courts to matters of personal status. Under Italian rule         in south, well developed system of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Qadis�</i>         Courts; retained jurisdiction over civil and minor criminal matters. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Upon         independence, Republic faced with task of unifying legislation and judicial         structures drawn from Italian, British, customary and Islamic legal traditions.         After 1969 military coup, new regime embarked on programme of legal reform         based on scientific socialism. Early to mid-1970s, debate regarding family         law reform led to appointment of a commission to prepare draft code. Draft         enacted in 1975. Aimed to abolish customary laws and abrogated previous         British and Italian era legislation on family law. Article 1 of Family         Code 1975 provides that leading doctrines of Shafi�i school, and general         principles of Islamic law and social justice are to serve as residuary         sources of law.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><table border="1" cellpadding="7" cellspacing="1" style="width: 578px;"><tbody>
<tr><td bgcolor="#999999" height="16" valign="TOP" width="24%"><b>Notable Features</b>     </td><td style="background: silver; border-color: windowtext windowtext currentColor; border-style: solid solid none; border-width: 0.75pt 0.75pt medium; height: 20.15pt; mso-pattern: solid silver; mso-shading: gray; padding: 0in 6.2pt; width: 355.65pt;" valign="top" width="474"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Marriage Age</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">: minimum marriage age is         18 years for both parties; female party may marry at 16 with guardian�s         consent; Court may grant exemption from minimum age requirements in case         of necessity<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Marriage Guardianship</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">: girl who has reached 16         years, but is under 18 years may be represented in contract of marriage         by father (in absence of father, guardians in order are: mother, grandfather,         elder brother, uncle, Court-appointed guardian or judge); Court also         empowered to overrule objection of guardian to marriage of female ward         between 16 and 18 years <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Marriage Registration</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">: marriage to be registered         at neared District Court or authorised office within 15 days (40 days         for residents of rural areas); failure to register punishable by fine;         essential elements of marriage outlined in Article 6 are: proposal and         acceptance by contracting parties before two witnesses; marriage contracted         under compulsion is invalid<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Polygamy</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">: man may not contract second         marriage without written permission of District Court; Court�s authorisation         requires ascertainment of one of following conditions: sterility of wife         of which husband was not aware at time of marriage, attested by panel         of doctors; incurable chronic or contagious illness of wife, certified         by a doctor; wife�s sentencing to more than two years in prison; wife�s         unjustified absence from matrimonial home for more than one year; or existence         of social necessity (not defined)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Obedience/Maintenance</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">: legislation states that         marriage is based on equal rights and duties; husband is declared head         of the family, parties are obliged to cohabit, and wife is obliged to         follow her husband; both parties obliged to share expenses of matrimonial         home in proportion to their incomes if they are able to do so; if either         party fails in duty to maintain and is not destitute, other party may         obtain Court order for maintenance (sums and time period for arrears of         maintenance not specified; Court empowered to award interim maintenance         and authorise claimant to contract debts against defaulting partner if         s/he finds it impossible to obtain maintenance from defaulter <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Talaq</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">: Family Code provides that right of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">talaq</i> belongs to husband "subject to the authorisation by the         competent court"; court may authorise divorce only after reconciliation         efforts (of 60 days) have failed, and court may not authorise more than         one <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">talaq</i> at a time; divorce         by a minor, insane person, or pronounced under compulsion is invalid<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Judicial Divorce</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">: either party may seek judicial         dissolution on following grounds: incurable disease of other spouse making         cohabitation dangerous or impossible; disappearance of other party for         period of over four years; habitual failure to maintain by other party;         serious disagreement between spouses making conjugal life impossible (after         reconciliation efforts of 60 days); perpetual impotence or sterility of         other party; and other spouse�s sentencing to over four years imprisonment<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Wife         is entitled to seek dissolution if husband has been granted permission         to marry polygamously by District Court, on condition that there are no         children <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Post-Divorce Maintenance/Financial         Arrangements</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">: where reason for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">talaq</i> or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">faskh</i> is deemed         to be husband�s fault, Court shall order him to maintain former wife for         three months to one year; if wife is deemed to be at fault, Court shall         order her to pay husband sum not less than her dower in compensation<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Child Custody and Guardianship</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">:         mother entitled to custody of male children until age of 10 and female         children until age of 15, with court empowered to extend custody until         age 18 for male or female ward if s/he is not able to look after him/herself;         if mother remarries and husband is within prohibited degrees to ward(s),         or in case she is widowed and remarries, she may retain custody; maintenance         of children is duty of both parents until age of majority for sons and         marriage or financial independence/gainful employment for daughter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Succession</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">: testate succession limited         to one-third of estate, unless consent of heirs is obtained; bequest         in favour of an heir also invalid unless consent of other heirs is obtained;         Article 158 states that "In conformity with the principles of the         1<sup>st</sup> and 2<sup>nd</sup> Charter of the Revolution females and         males shall have equal rights of inheritance"; heirs are identified         as: spouses, children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, full siblings,         paternal and maternal aunts and uncles; widow or widower entitled to half         of estate if there are no children or grandchildren, or one fourth if         there are; sons and daughters to receive equal shares, and same applies         to grandchildren; shares of other heirs also specified in Code, as are         grounds for inclusion or exclusion of heirs and reduction of shares<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></div>

Short note of former Somali Legal System

Somali Republic formed 1st July 1960, upon union of British Somaliland (independent from 26th June) and Italian Somaliland (independent from Italian-administered UN trusteeshi…

01 Sep 2013

United Nations Convention against Corruption

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<h1 style="text-align: left;">
 </h1>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: 120%; font-weight: bold;"><img align="right" alt="UNCAC, ZIP, approx. 80M" border="0" height="94" hspace="10" src="http://www.unodc.org/images/corruption/uncac.gif" vspace="10" width="94" /></span>   </h4>
<h2>
Convention highlights</h2>
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<h3>
Prevention</h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Corruption can be prosecuted after the fact, but first and foremost, it requires prevention. An entire chapter of the Convention is dedicated to prevention, with measures directed at both the public and private sectors. These include model preventive policies, such as the establishment of anticorruption bodies and enhanced transparency in the financing of election campaigns and political parties. States must endeavour to ensure that their public services are subject to safeguards that promote efficiency, transparency and recruitment based on merit. Once recruited, public servants should be subject to codes of conduct, requirements for financial and other disclosures, and appropriate disciplinary measures. Transparency and accountability in matters of public finance must also be promoted, and specific requirements are established for the prevention of corruption, in the particularly critical areas of the public sector, such as the judiciary and public procurement. Those who use public services must expect a high standard of conduct from their public servants. Preventing public corruption also requires an effort from all members of society at large. For these reasons, the Convention calls on countries to promote actively the involvement of non-governmental and community-based organizations, as well as other elements of civil society, and to raise public awareness of corruption and what can be done about it. Article 5 of the Convention enjoins each State Party to establish and promote effective practices aimed at the prevention of corruption.</div>
<h3 id="Criminalization">
Criminalization</h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Convention requires countries to establish criminal and other offences to cover a wide range of acts of corruption, if these are not already crimes under domestic law. In some cases, States are legally obliged to establish offences; in other cases, in order to take into account differences in domestic law, they are required to consider doing so. The Convention goes beyond previous instruments of this kind, criminalizing not only basic forms of corruption such as bribery and the embezzlement of public funds, but also trading in influence and the concealment and laundering of the proceeds of corruption. Offences committed in support of corruption, including money-laundering and obstructing justice, are also dealt with. Convention offences also deal with the problematic areas of private-sector corruption.</div>
<h3 id="International_cooperation">
International cooperation</h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Countries agreed to cooperate with one another in every aspect of the fight against corruption, including prevention, investigation, and the prosecution of offenders. Countries are bound by the Convention to render specific forms of mutual legal assistance in gathering and transferring evidence for use in court, to extradite offenders. Countries are also required to undertake measures which will support the tracing, freezing, seizure and confiscation of the proceeds of corruption.</div>
<h3 id="Asset_recovery">
Asset recovery</h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In a major breakthrough, countries agreed on asset-recovery, which is stated explicitly as a fundamental principle of the Convention. This is a particularly important issue for many developing countries where high-level corruption has plundered the national wealth, and where resources are badly needed for reconstruction and the rehabilitation of societies under new governments. Reaching agreement on this chapter has involved intensive negotiations, as the needs of countries seeking the illicit assets had to be reconciled with the legal and procedural safeguards of the countries whose assistance is sought.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Several provisions specify how cooperation and assistance will be rendered. In particular, in the case of embezzlement of public funds, the confiscated property would be returned to the state requesting it; in the case of proceeds of any other offence covered by the Convention, the property would be returned providing the proof of ownership or recognition of the damage caused to a requesting state; in all other cases, priority consideration would be given to the return of confiscated property to the requesting state, to the return of such property to the prior legitimate owners or to compensation of the victims.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Effective asset-recovery provisions will support the efforts of countries to redress the worst effects of corruption while sending at the same time, a message to corrupt officials that there will be no place to hide their illicit assets. Accordingly, article 51 provides for the return of assets to countries of origin as a fundamental principle of this Convention. Article 43 obliges state parties to extend the widest possible cooperation to each other in the investigation and prosecution of offences defined in the Convention. With regard to asset recovery in particular, the article provides inter alia that "In matters of international cooperation, whenever dual criminality is considered a requirement, it shall be deemed fulfilled irrespective of whether the laws of the requested State Party place the offence within the same category of offence or denominate the offence by the same terminology as the requesting State Party, if the conduct underlying the offence for which assistance is sought is a criminal offence under the laws of both States Parties".</div>
</div>

United Nations Convention against Corruption

Convention highlights Prevention Corruption can be prosecuted after the fact, but first and foremost, it requires prevention. An entire chapter of the Convention is dedicated to prevention, wit…

01 Sep 2013

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