Transnational Bodies

U.S.-Kremlin Tensions in Mideast as Russians Take Over Two Libyan Oil Facilities

July 27, 2020

Military contractors linked to the Kremlin have seized control of two of Libya’s largest oil facilities in recent weeks, demonstrating how Libya has become a key front in a struggle between the U.S. and Russia for influence in the Middle East and access to strategic assets.
U.S. Supreme Court Approves Nevada Distinction Between Casinos and Churches Pertaining to Pandemic Crowd Size Restrictions

July 27, 2020

In a 5 to 4 order, U. S. Supreme Court approved a Nevada federal court's decision upholding a Nevada pandemic crowd size restriction that petitioners claimed favored casino gatherings over church gatherings, drawing a strong dissent by four other justices.
USJD Files Criminal Charges Against Hackers Working with the Chinese Government to Steal Covid-19 Research

July 22, 2020

The U.S. Justice Department announced that hundreds of millions of dollars worth of intellectual property and trade secrets from worldwide companies were stolen by hackers working with the Chinese government.
Delahunty and Yoo: U.S. Commission on Unalienable Rights Report Confirms Source of Trump Administration's Human Rights Policies

July 20, 2020

Writing in National Review Online, Robert Delahunty and John Yoo explain that the Draft Report of the U.S. State Department's Commision of Unalienable Rights evidences that the Trump Administration "seeks to base human rights in the Bible, the republicanism of the American Founding, and the evolution of freedom ever since," not in those human rights "blessed" by the United Nations.
Advertising Giants Agree to Evaluate Mutual Definition of Hate Speech

July 20, 2020

The Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), which includes advertising giants and big tech companies, is evaluating whether it is possible to develop an industry-wide standard, but non-binding, definition of what constitutes "hate speech."
Williams Analyzes Impact of Recent U.S. State Department Communications on China's South China Sea Activities

July 20, 2020

In a Lawfare post, Robert Williams of Yale Law School analyzes the diplomatic impact of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent statement outlining the “U.S. Position on Maritime Claims in the South China Sea” and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell’s speech setting forth a bill of particulars concerning Chinese misdeeds in the South China Sea and beyond.
U.S. Warns Firms About Sanctions for Work on Russian Pipelines

July 20, 2020

U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo announced that sanctions will be placed on firms working on the installation of the Russian pipeline Nord Stream 2, calling the project “the Kremlin's key tool to exploit and expand European dependence on Russian energy supplies” that “ultimately undermine transatlantic security.”
The Guardian: China Declares that Hong Kong Primaries for Pro-democracy Parties are Unlawful

July 20, 2020

The Chinese Government has declared primaries for pro-democracy parties "illegal" following an extraordinary turnout over the weekend in Hong Kong, with officials indicating that an investigation may be undertaken to determine whether candidate views against certain legislation violated national security laws.
Joint Report: Russian Hackers Suspected of Covid-19 Vaccine Intellectual Property Theft

July 17, 2020

A joint report by cybersecurity agencies in the U.K. and Canada, endorsed by their U.S. counterparts, states that the hacker group, Cozy Bear, had been targeting organizations involved with Covid-19 vaccine development efforts
U.S. Prepares to Suspend Extradition Treaty with Hong Kong

July 15, 2020

Following China’s imposition of a new national security law that blocks the judicial independence of Hong Kong, the Trump administration is readying plans to suspend the U.S. extradition treaty with the one time British colony.