Amazon Prime Air’s First Customer Delivery

Martin Jahn ministrem zahraničí ČR?

Jako by se například Martin Jahn (nebo teda někdo ještě zkušenější v mezinárodním byznysu) stal v ČR ministrem zahraničí. K něčemu takovému se schyluje v USA, kde bude šéf ropného gigantu ExxonMobil Rex Tillerson zřejmě nominován Trumpem na takovou pozici. Kromě emocí ohledně jeho vazeb na Putina ale má celkem velké zastánce zahraničněpolitického establishmentu GOP.

"The Trump team is planning an aggressive public relations campaign to win confirmation for Tillerson and dispel what it sees as a false narrative about his ties to Russia, a person involved in the transition said. Former secretaries of state Condoleezza Rice and James Baker are planning to go public Tuesday morning with their support for Tillerson, as is former defense secretary Robert Gates. Former vice president Richard B. Cheney also is supportive and may advocate for his confirmation.

Gates was the first person to raise Tillerson as a secretary of state possibility with Trump during a meeting at Trump Tower, the transition official added. Trump did not know much about Tillerson but started chewing over the idea. He invited Tillerson for a meeting and the two global dealmakers hit it off. They recognized similarities in each other, and the more they talked, the more they liked each other, the transition official said.

Rice, who has served on the board of Chevron, then became a strong advocate for Tillerson. She and Trump spoke about Tillerson by phone Monday as Trump made his final decision."

Jahn by asi musel ještě trochu vystoupat. Bývalý šéf Czechinvestu a místopředseda vlády pro ekonomiku zahájil kariéru jako člen představenstva Škody Auto pro oblast personalistiky, později přešel na místo výkonného ředitele Volkswagen Group v Rusku. Letos na podzim se přesunul z pozice šéfa pro prodej firemním flotilám na místo výkonného viceprezidenta pro prodej a marketing Volkswagenu v severní Číně.

No, má navíc zkušenosti z české vlády. To prý Tillerson nemá vůbec.

Rekalibrace americko-čínských vztahů?

Zajímavé články ve WashPost zde a zde týkající se překvapivého telefonního hovoru Trumpa a taiwanské prezidentky, které odporují desítkám let starému protokolu:

Meanwhile, John Bolton, a Trump ally and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, visited Trump Tower in New York for undisclosed reasons on Friday, according to Politico. 

He wrote in a Wall Street Journal article in January that the United States should consider playing the “Taiwan card” against China, to force it to abandon its South China Sea claims. 

“If Beijing isn’t willing to back down, America has a diplomatic ladder of escalation that would compel Beijing’s attention,” he wrote, suggesting receiving Taiwanese diplomats officially at the State Department, upgrading the status of U.S. representation in Taipei to an official diplomatic mission, inviting Taiwan’s president to travel in an official capacity to the United States and ultimately possibly restoring full diplomatic recognition.

Trochu se to vyhrocuje (NYT):

China warned President-elect Donald J. Trump on Monday that he was risking a confrontation over Taiwan, even as Mr. Trump broadened the dispute with new messages on Twitter challenging Beijing’s trade policies and military activities in the South China Sea. 

For his part, Mr. Trump seemed to take umbrage at the idea that he needed China’s approval to speak with Ms. Tsai. In two posts on Twitter, he wrote: “Did China ask us if it was O.K. to devalue their currency (making it hard for our companies to compete), heavily tax our products going into their country (the U.S. doesn’t tax them) or to build a massive military complex in the middle of the South China Sea? I don’t think so!”

The first 100 days

This may be the best ad of the election so far

Prý jedna z nejlepších politických reklam letošní volební sezony v USA. Demokrat Jason Kander obhajuje "backround checks" a republikánského oponenta, který zpochybnil jeho věrnost 2. dodatku Ústavy, vyzval ke stejnému kousku, jaký předvádí na videu.

Eastern Europe Strikes Back

"Now the script is completely reversed. Those voters who McCain fought so hard for in 2008 are still out there. They normally would be very inclined to vote for someone like Trump – on paper, they look just like his core supporters – but Putin’s clear preference for him over Clinton (combined with Trump’s naiveté on all things Russia) gives them great pause."

"“In and around Cleveland, Akron, Toledo, Detroit and all throughout Wisconsin, you’re talking about voters with family in Poland, the Baltics, Ukraine and the Czech Republic,” said Weaver. “These voters are key to any narrow path that Trump has left.”"

"Trump alarms Americans of Eastern European ancestry for many reasons.

Among them:

• He has suggested that America will only conditionally live up to its obligations under the NATO charter and questioned the value of the alliance.
• He’s said he’ll look into whether Putin should be allowed to keep Crimea, which he annexed with complete disregard for international law. “Having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing,” he said this month.
• Just three weeks ago, Trump pleaded directly with the Russian government to find and release tens of thousands of Clinton’s private emails. Asked whether Russian espionage into the former secretary of state’s correspondence would concern him, he replied: “No, it gives me no pause.”
• Trump’s campaign chairman until last Friday, Paul Manafort, orchestrated the political comeback of Putin ally Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine and is closely linked with other Putin cronies.
• At the Republican National Convention last month, the Trump campaign stripped the party platform of language calling for the U.S. to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine to resist Russian belligerence."

Via WashPost.

Soudní novinky 26/16 (Nabito! OMT, imigrace, afirmativní akce)

• BVG: Constitutional Complaints and Organstreit Proceedings Against the OMT Programme of the European Central Bank Unsuccessful. 
• The Supreme Court ruled 4 to 3 that the tobacco company could not be sued for money-laundering by the European Union under an American racketeering law.
• Eszter Polgári: The Hungarian Constitutional Court’s case with the ECHR: an ambivalent relationship.
• Maďarský ústavní soud odmítl stížnosti na referendum o kvotách. 
• Linda Greenhouse (NYT): The Supreme Court’s Post-Scalia Term.
• Marko Milanovic: Grand Chamber Judgment in Al-Dulimi v. Switzerland.("This is the latest in a long and complex line of cases dealing with the negative human rights impact of sanctions mandated by the UN Security Council, raising inter alia the legal effects of the supremacy clause in Article 103 of the UN Charter.")
• NYTimes: Supreme Court Tie Blocks Obama Immigration Plan ("The 4-4 tie dealt a sharp blow to an ambitious program that the president had hoped would become one of his central legacies.")
• Ilya Somin: "Today’s Supreme Court decision upholding racial preferences in admissions at the University of Texas (UT) has potentially far-reaching implications. It might well license extensive racial discrimination in college admissions policies."
• What Do This Week’s Supreme Court Decisions Mean for Immigration and Affirmative Action? 

Soudní novinky 25/16 (Anal examinations are legal... at least in Kenya)

• Oregon Judge Allows Resident to Change Sex to Non-binary. 
• A Kenyan court has ruled that the use of anal examinations are legal after two men accused of being homosexuals were subjected to the tests.
• NYTimes: Federal Judge Tosses Texas’ Lawsuit to Bar Syrian Refugees ("A federal judge in Dallas ruled Texas has no legal merit to sue the Obama administration over the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the state.")

Soudní novinky 24/16 (France v Uber)

• Začneme něčím zásadnějším: Judge gives farmer time to find ‘nice woman’ before driving ban.
• Opět zajímavá (nejen) právnická otázka v NYT Room for Debate: Should an Unpopular Sentence in the Stanford Rape Case Cost a Judge His Job?
• French court fines Uber, execs for illegal taxi service. ("A French court fined Uber Technologies [UBER.UL] 800,000 euros ($907,000) on Thursday for running an illegal taxi service with non-professional drivers and slapped smaller fines on two of its executives in the first such criminal case in Europe.")
• The Turkish Constitutional Court rejected petitions by opposition lawmakers seeking to lift immunity for members of Parliament. 
• "The Indian Supreme Court directed the central government to formulate a national policy for proper rehabilitation of rape survivors." (ICON)
• "Ruling that prosecutors in Georgia violated the Constitution by striking every black prospective juror in a death penalty case against a black defendant, the Court by a majority of 7 to 1 reversed the order of the Georgia Supreme Court and held that the prosecutors of the State were motivated in substantial part by race when they struck the jurors from the jury 30 years ago. The Court further concluded, ‘considering all of the circumstantial evidence that bears upon the issue of racial animosity, we are left with the firm conviction that the strikes of the two jurors were motivated in substantial part by discriminatory intent’.

NATO vs. Rusko

Viz Marek Ženíšek.

Babišova kavárna a Pavlova cukrárna

Soudní novinky 23-16 (Kdo je nejcitovanější právník? Nápověda: píše o Hvězdných válkách, a není to Hoder)

• Ústavní soud má být předvídatelný, srozumitelný a důvěryhodný - rozhovor s Vojtěchem Šimíčkem.
• European pioneers battle air pollution in the courts ("Her group, known locally as Milieudefensie (Environmental defence), sent the Dutch government a summons earlier this month, saying it should come up with a plan to reduce air pollution. If not, it will take the government to trial next month. (..) The Netherlands, as many other EU member states, is failing to stay under the EU limits. Currently, the EU commission has opened infringement procedures for excessive levels of fine particles against more than half of the member states, and against six countries regarding nitrogen dioxide. (..) The Dutch case is inspired by a similar legal action against the UK government by the NGO ClientEarth. That UK case led to landmark ruling by the ECJ in November 2014, when the Luxembourg-based court said that a national court has the power to order a government to do more to improve air quality. (..) Meanwhile, the mayor of Paris is preparing two cases before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) against a recent decision by EU member states and the European Parliament to allow car manufacturers to exceed emissions limits. (..) In the UK, ClientEarth started a second case against the state, because the plan the government presented after being forced to do it by the UK Supreme Court, was not sufficient in their eyes. A landmark court ruling in the Netherlands in 2015, demanding that the government does more to fight climate change, has also not produced a policy shift that satisfied the organisation that won the case.")
• Nejcitovanější právníci: Sunstein, Chemerinsky, Epstein, Posner, Lemley, Eskridge, Tushnet, Amar, Ackerman, Lessig. Sunstein teď mimochodem píše o Hvězdných válkách.
• Garrett Epps: Why Legislate When Judges Will Do It for You? While the Supreme Court remains hobbled and deadlocked, the lower courts are making power grabs.
• Bulgarian President takes referendum questions to Constitutional Court.
• EU firms free to ban Muslim headscarves, jurist says ("The headscarf ban “may … be justified in order to enforce a legitimate policy of religious and ideological neutrality pursued by the employer”, Juliane Kokott, a German advocate general at the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg).
• Greek court halts Syrian deportations to 'unsafe' Turkey.
• Polish president lectures EU judges on independence (méně dramatické než titulek napovídá).
• Brussels court confirms UberPop ban.
• Bad omen for Russia's legal attack on EU sanctions ("Rosneft, a huge, state-run Russian oil firm which is part-owned by British company BP, has filed two cases against the EU measures. The first one, at the EU Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg, seeks to annul an EU Council decision in July 2014 to impose curbs on credit and on technology exports to Russian energy firms and banks. The second one, at the English high court, seeks to stop UK authorities from implementing the EU decision. But the English court subsequently asked the ECJ to clarify legal issues before giving its verdict.")
• A Court You’ve Never Heard of Is About to Raise the Stakes in the South China Sea. An international tribunal’s decision will reorder the tense chess game over the South China Sea — and test Washington’s commitment to the Philippines. ("The international tribunal is due to issue a decision this month over territorial disputes in the strategic waterway that have pitted China against its smaller neighbor, the Philippines. Most experts believe the court will side with Manila on the key issues. But China has already rejected the court’s authority and vowed to stick to its far-reaching claims over the contested shoals, reefs, and rocks that the Philippines also asserts are its own. With a minuscule navy and coast guard, Manila will be looking to the United States for both diplomatic and military support. But, so far, Washington has stopped short of promising to come to the rescue of the Philippines if its ships clash with Chinese vessels in the South China Sea.")

Soudní novinky 21-22/16 (Žaloba na Obamu kvůli záchodům)

• NYTimes: Swedish Court Sentences Man to Life in Prison for Role in Rwanda Genocide ("The Stockholm District Court found that Claver Berinkindi, who obtained Swedish citizenship in 2012, had participated in five massacres in 1994"). 
• Mississippi School District Ordered to Desegregate Its Schools ("A federal court has ordered a town in Mississippi to desegregate its high schools and middle schools, ending a five-decade-long legal battle over integrating black and white students. (..) The decision comes six decades after the United States Supreme Court declared in Brown v. Board of Education that “separate but equal has no place” in public schools. Tuesday is the 62nd anniversary of the landmark decision.").
• German Constitutional Court to rule on ECB bond-buying programme in June ("The German Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe will announce on 21 June – two days before the UK’s EU referendum – its verdict on whether the European Central Bank’s OMT bond-buying programme is in line with the German Constitution. Judges are examining if the ECB overstepped its mandate by announcing it would buy an unlimited amount of government bonds at the height of the Eurozone crisis in 2012.") zdroj: DPA
• Tématická debata na NYT: Is a Deadlocked Supreme Court Such a Bad Thing? 
• Google takes right to be forgotten battle to France's highest court. Company is appealing against decision by French data protection authority to apply search-results ruling to all its domains.("In the past month alone, Google says it has received 88,814,884 requests to remove URLs due to alleged copyright infringement.")
• A ještě jednou Google: The Economist: Google could face billion-dollar fines in two court cases ("THIS spring may go down as the most expensive season in Google’s history. On May 24th French prosecutors raided the firm’s Paris office to collect evidence as part of an investigation in pursuit of an estimated €1.6 billion ($1.8 billion) in back taxes. (The firm says it is co-operating fully.) The tech giant also faces two other, more costly legal imbroglios.")
• Používáte chytré hodinky? Pak pozor! Jde se k soudu... Just How Accurate Are Fitbits? The Jury Is Out.
• NYTimes: States Sue Obama Administration Over Transgender Bathroom Policy ("Officials in 11 states, led by Texas, accused the federal government of trying to make schools and offices “laboratories for a massive social experiment.”")
• Kansas Supreme Court Rejects School Funding Plan, Citing ‘Intolerable’ Inequities ("The Kansas Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the state Legislature had failed to equitably fund public schools, once again giving the state until June 30 to fix its financing system or face a court-ordered shutdown of schools.")

Obama v Hirošimě

Soudní novinky 20/16 (Ruský ústavní soud ignoruje ESLP)

• NYTimes: Turkey’s President Erdogan Fails to Silence German Publisher ("A German court rejected a request by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for an injunction against the chief executive of Axel Springer over his support for a comedian who lampooned the Turkish leader.") 
• U.S. Court Dismisses Rana Plaza Lawsuit ("Families of the 1,130 victims who died in the Rana Plaza factory collapse three years ago in Bangladesh should not expect to find any sort of restitution in the U.S. any time soon, in large part because of legal technicalities.")
• Russia’s Constitutional Court Declares Judgment of the European Court “Impossible” to Enforce ("Last month on April 19, 2016, Russia’s Constitutional Court ruled that enforcement of the 2013 Anchugov & Gladkov v. Russia judgment of the European Court on Human Rights (ECtHR) is ‘impossible’, because it is contrary to the Russian Constitution. (..) By denying individual plaintiffs Anchugov and Gladkov any recourse however, the Constitutional Court preserves its dubious authority to declare unenforceable judgments and just compensation awards to victims of human rights abuses in Russia.")
• The Fate of Brazil’s Democracy Depends on a Man You’ve Never Heard Of. Sergio Moro is leading the biggest corruption investigation in the country's history. ("He'd better get it right.Moro has become a household name. He’s the judge leading the charge in the massive investigation against corrupt businessmen and government officials who stole millions of dollars from state coffers.")

Soudní novinky 19/16 (Žaloba na nudu v práci)

• Unrepresented defendants crowd criminal courts ("The number of unrepresented defendants in criminal courts is increasing – but no one knows how big the problem is. That is the conclusion of research published in a week when the lord chief justice complained that civil courts are having to abandon the adversarial system to deal with the increasing number of litigants in person.")
• Konečně něco pořádného! FRENCH MAN SUES EX-EMPLOYER FOR BOREDOM "(the French man demanding 360,000 euros ($416,000) from his ex-employer, claiming he was given so little to do at work he suffered from “bore-out.” The 44-year-old says his job as a manager at a perfume company was so tedious he became depressed and exhausted.")
• The High Court has reserved judgment on whether British citizens living in other European countries are legally entitled to vote in the European Union referendum.
• America’s Trial Court Judges: Our Front Line for Justice ("THE outcry over the Senate’s failure to hold hearings on Judge Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court is fully justified. But that isn’t the only judiciary scandal on Capitol Hill. Even as the spotlight shines on the high court, the Senate has refused to confirm dozens of uncontroversial nominees to fill vacancies in the federal trial courts. (..) During President George W. Bush’s last two years in office, the Democratic-controlled Senate confirmed about 57 district court judges. Since Republicans took power in 2014, the Senate has confirmed only 15 of President Obama’s trial court nominees. This is an even bigger problem than Judge Garland’s stalled nomination. Trial court judges do the bulk of the work in the federal court system: Last year nearly 375,000 new cases were filed, while the Supreme Court justices issued just under 75 opinions. And because most trial court decisions are never appealed, they become the final word in significant disputes that affect millions of Americans.").
• Roy Moore, Alabama Judge, Suspended Over Gay Marriage Stance ("An Alabama judicial oversight body on Friday filed a formal complaint against Roy S. Moore, the chief justice of the state’s Supreme Court, charging that he had “flagrantly disregarded and abused his authority” in ordering the state’s probate judges to refuse applications for marriage licenses by same-sex couples. As a result of the charges, Chief Justice Moore, 69, has been immediately suspended from the bench and is facing a potential hearing before the state’s Court of the Judiciary, a panel of judges, lawyers and other appointees. Among possible outcomes at such a hearing would be his removal from office.")

Power speaking!

Z proslovu velvyslankyně USA u OSN Samanthy Power k situaci na Ukrajině (takových úseků je tam spousta): "I began my remarks today by encouraging us all not to lose sight of the root cause of this crisis – Russia’s occupation of Crimea, and Russia’s ongoing arming, training, and fighting alongside separatists in eastern Ukraine. Just as the root cause of this crisis has not changed, nor has the solution. As has always been the case, the crisis manufactured by Russia can and must be ended by Russia – by stopping its arming, training, and fighting along separatists in eastern Ukraine – and by ending its illegal occupation of Crimea."
Foto: United States Mission Geneva. Photo: Eric Bridiers, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Soudní novinky 18/16 (Do Maďarska ne!)

• Asylum transfers to Hungary get the axe ("A high court in Finland this week issued the latest in a string of European rulings on suspension of asylum seeker transfers to Hungary. (..) Courts in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, and Switzerland have issued similar judgements against Hungary.") 
• Dutch ruling on Yukos was political, Khodorkovsky says ("A Dutch court has overturned a $50 billion award against Russia over its break-up of oil firm Yukos, prompting the company’s former CEO to accuse judges of playing politics. (..) Russia had signed and provisionally applied the pact but never ratified it, meaning, the district court said, that international arbitrators “lacked jurisdiction."")
• Hillsborough inquests: Fans unlawfully killed, jury concludes ("The jury decided the match commander Ch Supt David Duckenfield's actions amounted to "gross negligence" due to a breach of his duty of care to fans. Police errors also added to a dangerous situation at the FA Cup semi-final. After a 27-year campaign by victims' families, the behaviour of Liverpool fans was exonerated.")
• Editorial NYT: Voting Rights Lose in North Carolina ("Late Monday, a federal district judge upheld one of the most regressive and restrictive voting laws in the country — a 2013 North Carolina law that eliminated same-day voter registration and preregistration for 16- and 17-year-olds; cut back on early voting by a week; barred counting votes cast outside voters’ home precincts; and required voters to show identification at the polls. State lawmakers said these changes were necessary to reduce fraud and inefficiency in elections — though there is no evidence of voter fraud to combat or inefficiency to cure.")
• Colombia's top court has legalized same-sex marriage, making the country the fourth in Latin America to do so. Gay couples were already allowed to form civil partnerships, but Thursday’s ruling extends them the same marriage rights as heterosexual couples.
• FORMER AUSCHWITZ GUARD, CHARGED WITH 170,000 COUNTS OF ACCESSORY TO MURDER, APOLOGIZES AT TRIAL.

Soudní novinky 17/16 (Útlé...)

Vzhledem k velmi intenzivnímu týdennímu pracovnímu pobytu v Duborvníku jen telegraficky:

• NYTimes: German Court Rules Antiterrorism Laws Partly Unconstitutional ("The country’s highest court demanded tighter control over surveillance, reflecting Germany’s desire to balance public safety against violations of privacy.")
• NYTimes: Supreme Court Upholds Arizona’s Redrawn Legislative Map ("Republicans had challenged the map drawn by an independent redistricting commission, saying it violated the principle of “one person one vote” and was infected by partisanship.")

Shots Fired

Článek o měření použití zbraní v USA. Nikoliv počtem zranění a smrtí, ale záznamy o výstřelech.

Soudní novinky 16/16 (Gayové a soudy v Číně)

• Wilders trial: Judge rejects request to quiz Dutch PM ("Wilders is on trial for comments he made in March 2014, when he asked a crowd if they wanted “more or fewer Moroccans” in their country. After the crowd cheered “fewer, fewer”, he responded: “Then we will arrange that.” He has been charged with insulting a group based on race, inciting hatred and a more general offence of discrimination. The case is likely to focus on two core European values: Wilders will claim he was exercising free speech, prosecutors will argue that he is guilty of discrimination.")
• EU Justice Scoreboard 2016 - každoroční QN srovnání evropských soudních systémů.
• Bouře uvnitř SDEU: EU court reforms damaged system, judge says ("Last year's reform of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) weakened the court's efficiency, led to "useless spending" and dealt a blow to the court's independence, a judge has said in a report.") vs. Court of Justice defends doubling number of judges ("He (Jaeger) added that new policy themes the European Union has embraced, like the Banking Union, will lead to litigation in the General Court. “Any new field the European Union is entering, triggers more work,” he said.").
• "The United Nations human rights office today expressed concern about yesterday’s ruling by Venezuela’s top court against a bill that could serve as the basis for a path of dialogue and reconciliation in that country. (..) Upon the request of the Government, High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein had sent a legal analysis of the bill to Venezuela, advising that the text was generally in conformity with international human rights standards, the spokesperson said.")
• "A court in China has dismissed a same sex couple’s application to marry in a landmark case. (..) Several hundred cheering supporters gathered outside the courthouse and around 100 spectators were allowed in before court officials had to turn people away due to a lack of capacity. Homosexuality was decriminalized in China in 1997 and taken off the list of official mental disorders in 2001, but there is no legal provision for same sex marriage or civil partnerships,"
• California Appeals Court Reverses Decision to Overturn Teacher Tenure Rules ("A California appeals court ruled on Thursday that the state’s job protections for teachers do not deprive poor and minority students of a quality education or violate their civil rights — reversing a landmark lower court decision that had overturned the state’s teacher tenure rules. (..) In reversing the trial court’s decision, a panel of three appeals judges wrote that if ineffective teachers are in place, the statutes themselves were not to blame because it was school and district administrators who “determine where teachers within a district are assigned to teach.” The laws themselves, the judges wrote, do not instruct districts in where to place teachers. “The court’s job is merely to determine whether the statutes are constitutional,” the panel wrote, “not if they are ‘a good idea.’” (..) The plaintiffs in the case, known as Vergara v. California, said they would appeal to the state Supreme Court.") 

50 let Mezinárodních vztahů

SPECIÁLNÍ ČÍSLO K 50 LETŮM ČASOPISU MEZINÁRODNÍ VZTAHY

• Editorial - Vít Beneš

• Strukturální problémy české sociální vědy: O hybridním charakteru oboru mezinárodních vztahů - Petr Kratochvíl

• Výzkum mezinárodních vztahů na semiperiferii: Úvahy k padesátému výročí časopisu Mezinárodní vztahů - Jan Růžička

• Výzkum a studium mezinárodní bezpečnosti v České republice v zrcadle článků publikovaných v Mezinárodních vztazích - Oldřich Bureš, Miroslav Mareš, Šárka Waisová

• Evropská integrace hlavním tématem českého oboru mezinárodních vztahů - Mats Braun, Jan Karlas

• Ekonomicky zaměřené texty v časopise Mezinárodní vztahy jako odraz specifik českého výzkumu - Pavel Hnát, Štěpánka Zemanová, Miloslav Machoň

• Hledání českého místa ve světě na stránkách Mezinárodních vztahů - Tomáš Weiss, Michal Kořan, Vít Beneš

Soudní novinky 15/16 (Trocha z USA)

Není čas, tak aspoň pár odkazů v ořezané podobě:

• NYTimes: Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to ‘One Person One Vote’ ("The justices ruled unanimously that states may count all residents in drawing election districts, whether or not they are eligible to vote.")
• Obamacare and religious liberty. Flummoxed justices plead for a contraception compromise. 
• Justice Sotomayor Calls for More Supreme Court Diversity (“I, for one, do think there is a disadvantage from having (five) Catholics, three Jews, everyone from an Ivy League school,”)

Soudní novinky 14/16 (Odvolávání soudců)

• EU judges could limit UK surveillance powers before referendum ("ECJ to hold emergency hearing on snooper’s charter as its impact on UK law is likely to become part of in/out campaign").
• BBC: South Africa's Jacob Zuma 'breached' constitution ("South Africa's highest court has ruled that President Jacob Zuma violated the constitution when he failed to repay some of the government money used to upgrade his private home.") Jedná se zhruba o půl miliardy korun na vesnický baráček...
• Vojislav Seselj acquitted over Balkans war crimes charges ("Serbian ultra-nationalist Vojislav Seselj has been found not guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the Balkan wars in the 1990s.")
• Silnější káva: NYTimes: Outraged by Kansas Justices’ Rulings, G.O.P. Seeks to Reshape Court ("The State Senate has passed a bill to authorize impeachment of justices based on their decisions, and conservatives hope to unseat four in the fall elections.")
• "Brazil's Supreme Court ruled on Thursday to take a corruption investigation into former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva away from a crusading federal judge, as pro-government protests across the country eased pressure on President Dilma Rousseff."

Premiér Sobotka v Bílém domě [apríl]

Fotku s figurínou Obamy mám taky...

Premiér Bohuslav Sobotka s prezidentem Barackem Obamou na zahajovací večeři k Summitu o jaderné bezpečnosti v Bílém domě...

Posted by U.S. Embassy Prague on Friday, April 1, 2016

Premiér Sobotka v Brookings Institution

Naposledy se z českých politiků představila v Brookings v DC komisařka EU Jourová. Já ji trošku zkritizoval za její angličtinu. To jsem nevěděl, že český premiér má (stále) tak špatnou angličtinu, jak míval, a ještě méně odvahy, takže svůj včerejší projev pronesl česky... Na druhou stranu, asi je dobře, že má taky soudnost a nepouštěl se do angličtiny, když si asi vzpomněl na jeden svůj tragický výstup na jedné stranické internacionále. Určitě to není jednoduchý se naučit anglicky, ale tak premiér by asi měl být schopen se na summitech dorozumnět s ostatníma klukama a holkama mezinárodním jazykem č. 1, ne?

10 minut projev, pak 40 minut debata. Moderuje bývalý velvyslanec USA v ČR Eisen.

Soudní novinky 13/16 (Soudci na doživotí?)

Velikonoční drobky:

• Měla by se omezit funkční obodí soudců amerického Nejvyššího soudu? NYTimes: Could Term Limits Ease Fights Over Supreme Court Nominees? ("Some say if the Supreme Court justices' life tenure was ended, each confirmation fight would be less fraught and contentious.")
• Social Rights in USA state Law ("The Illinois Supreme Court holds that scaling back future pension benefits for Chicago’s city workers while requiring them to pay more is unconstitutional.")
• Jakup Krasniqi (a former speaker of the Kosovo parliament and a former spokesman of the KLA): Kosovo tribunal must investigate Serb crimes. 
• Otmar Philipp: ECJ rules against pro-sugar advertising ("Should companies such as German firm Dextro Energy be allowed to advertise the sugar content of their products in order to promote physical performance-enhancing qualities? The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said no. (..) Dextro’s advertising only highlighted the positive effects of sugar consumption, without providing any information on the hazards. As a result, the Court accepted the Commission’s rationale for not admitting it into law.")
• French journalist Florence Hartmann jailed by war crimes tribunal ("Former Le Monde correspondent detained in the Hague during wait for verdict of Radovan Karadžić, for revealing Srebrenica massacre information in book.")

Soudní novinky 12/16 (Poláci se soudí)

Opět trochu osekaněji:

• Olaf considers court action against EU commission. 
• Moment of truth in Polish constitutional dispute. 
• The Economist:The Supreme Court delivers a win for gay adoption ("The outcome of V.L. v E.L. was apparently obvious to all 8 justices. Normally, after the Court grants an appeal it invites written briefs and holds oral arguments during which lawyers present their positions in a one-hour hearing. Not so in this case. The justices skipped the briefing and argument phases, granting certiorari and reversing the Alabama Supreme Court in one decisive fell swoop. This amounts to an embarrassing rebuke. It also sends a signal to judges nationwide that seeking legally dubious ways to attack gay rights will not be tolerated by the Supreme Court, even by the three surviving conservative justices who dissented from last year’s same-sex marriage ruling."). 
• Jeremy Waldron: On the Supreme Court Battlefield (recenze nového dílka Casse Sunsteina).

Soudní novinky 11/16 (Jeptišky a antikoncepce)

Po turné v Sheffieldu a Oxfordu aspoň osekaně:

• Starší, ale zajímavý článek: Paul Gowder: Is It Wrong to Make the Supreme Court an Election Issue?
• Americký Nejvyšší soud bude řešit další problém v dynamicky se rozvíjející problematice - rovnost vs. náboženská svoboda (Zubik v Burwell).
• NYTimes: Polish Court Strikes Down Law Limiting Its Powers, Inflaming a Crisis ("The right-wing government of Poland said it would ignore a ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal, the only court empowered to review national laws.")
• NYTimes: Supreme Court Restores Visitation Rights to Lesbian Adoptive Mother ("The court ruled that the Alabama Supreme Court had erred in refusing visitation because it disagreed with Georgia laws allowing same-sex couples to adopt.")
• The Spanish Supreme Court Confirms Corporate Criminal Liability.
• Velká věc z Benátské komise: Opinion on amendments to the Act of 25 June 2015 on the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland, adopted by the Venice Commission at its 106th Plenary Session (Venice, 11-12 March 2016). 
• Pár zajímavostí z Lucemburku: Case C-431/14 P Greece v Commission (The Court confirms the obligation on the Greek State to recover from Greek farmers unlawful State aid of €425 million paid as a result of adverse weather conditions); C-179/15 Daimler AG (Former authorised Daimler dealers are not responsible for advertisements which, despite their efforts to have them removed, continue to associate their name with the trade mark ‘Mercedes-Benz’ on the internet Furthermore, Daimler cannot require those dealers to take steps to remove such advertisements from the internet where they have not been ordered.)

Výroční zpráva CFIUS a čínské investice

Ministr financí v sobotních Lidovkách vcelku s klidem odmítl dotírání redaktorů, kteří se ho ptali na potenciální rizikovost čínských investic v ČR s ohledem na národní bezpečnost. Podle ministra je to sice trochu nemilé, ale stejně s tím nemůže nic dělat. A má pravdu. Například v Německu, USA nebo Číně sice existují formální mechanizmy pro kontrolu zahraničních investic z hlediska národní bezpečnosti, v ČR však nikoliv.

O americkém výboru CFIUS, který zahraniční investice v Americe posuzuje, jsem na JP už psal (zde a zde). Nedávno vyšla neutajená verze výroční zprávy CFIUS (zde PDF), která se zabývá činností výboru do roku 2014. Co se ve zprávě píše?

Víc na JP.

Soudní novinky 10/16 (Thomas se zeptal!)

Tentokrát zával z US:

• A svět se zachvěl... "Justice Clarence Thomas Asks Questions in Supreme Court for First Time in 10 Years".
• Cass R. Sunstein: The Supreme Court Doesn't Need a Hero Right Now.
• N.Y. judge backs Apple in encryption fight with government: "The U.S. government cannot force Apple Inc (AAPL.O) to unlock an iPhone in a New York drug case, a federal judge in Brooklyn said on Monday, a ruling that bolsters the company's arguments in its landmark legal showdown with the Justice Department over encryption and privacy."
• NYTimes: Court Hears Suit Against U.N. on Haiti Cholera Outbreak ("A legal battle by Haitian cholera epidemic victims to hold the United Nations accountable reached its highest level in an American court on Tuesday.")
• Wow: A Judge’s Message to the Xenophobes: "A federal district judge in Indianapolis (..) blocking the attempt by Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana to cut off federal resettlement funds for Syrian refugees who had passed a vetting process that took up to two years. Mr. Pence’s order was unconstitutional and “clearly discriminates” against Syrians compared with other refugees, (..). The judge found that Mr. Pence’s move to withhold resettlement funds was “in no way” justified by his claim that his main concern was the safety of Indiana residents. The ruling delivered a jolt of reality to the xenophobic politics now inflaming the presidential primary campaign. The state was forced to concede that it does not really have the authority to bar refugees from crossing into Indiana, a concession that no Republican governor was willing to make in the states-rights bombast of last fall. Mr. Pence had simply cut off the funding the refugees were entitled to — a tactic the judge excoriated. “This is essentially a policy of punishing Syrian refugees already in Indiana in the hopes that no more will come,” she wrote."
• Na Českou justici příčetný článek (Pavel Rychetský: Není správné, aby menšina znemožnila a trvale blokovala zákonodárný proces) s pikoškou na závěr. 
• V Reflexu vyšel rozhovor s emeritním ÚS-soudcem Stanislavem Balíkem, bohužel, jen placený přístup. 
• SD: Judgment in Joined Cases C-443/14 and C-444/14 Kreis Warendorf v Ibrahim Alo and Amira Osso v Region Hannover: "The Court of Justice delivers a ruling on the relationship between the freedom of movement of beneficiaries of international protection and measures intended to facilitate their integration. A place-of-residence condition may be imposed on beneficiaries of subsidiary protection if they face greater integration difficulties than other non-EU citizens who are legally resident in the Member State that has granted such protection."
• US: "Advocates of low-cost housing scored a legal victory Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court left intact a ruling by California’s highest court allowing cities and counties to require builders to include a percentage of affordable units in each new development." 
• High Stakes for Supreme Court Arguments on Abortion Case: "Since 2011, more than 288 abortion restrictions have been passed on the state level, which means that more than a quarter of all abortion restrictions passed in the 43 years since since Roe v Wade have been enacted in the last five years. Those restrictions are part of a successful strategy by anti-abortion lawmakers: instead of focusing on thorny questions about when life begins, they focus on concerns about women’s health to put restrictions on abortion clinics, such as requiring them to have doctors with admitting privileges at nearby hospitals."
• A k tomu samému: Women Justices Defend Abortion Providers in Supreme Court Oral Arguments. 
• A do třetice: Supreme Court Blocks Abortion Restriction in Louisiana ("The Supreme Court on Friday temporarily blocked the enforcement of a Louisiana abortion restriction that would have left the state with only one doctor that performs abortions, just days after it heard a challenge to a similar law in Texas."). NYT: "Opponents say the 2014 law would leave the state with only one clinic, while Louisiana officials say things are not that dire."
• Breivik si stěžuje na nelidské podmínky ve vězení.

Celý příští týden jsem pracovně pryč, tudíž osud novinek zůstává nejistý.

Obr.: George Arents Collection, The New York Public Library. Mr. Case.The Judge. Retrieved from http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e4-4e67-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.

Soudní novinky 9/16 (Výplata po více než 22 letech?)

Opět online:

• Veselo v Lucemburku! Rada pokračuje v porážkách před SD ohledně zmrazování účtů (Bank Mellat). Láhev od Coly není dostatečně odlišitelná, aby dostala ochrannou známku (Coca-Cola v OHIM). Monopol adidasu na šikmé proužky, fakt zajímavé! SD vnímá ducha doby a poslední dobou si raději moc nevyskakuje ve věcech vyplácení dávek sociální pomoci pro státní příslušníky (García-Nieto). To nejlepší nakonec: Dočkají se řečtí rybáři po více než 22 letech výplaty peněz po pádu zaměstnavatele do insolvence (Stroumpolis)?
• NYTimes: Italy: Court Faults Cleric’s Abduction ("The cleric, Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, was seized on a street in Milan by C.I.A. operatives in 2003 and flown to Egypt, where, he said, he was tortured for more than seven months.")
• NYTimes: Supreme Court Abortion Case Seen as a Turning Point for Clinics ("The future of many clinics, across much of the country, could be at stake this spring as the Supreme Court takes up what both sides in the debate describe as a landmark issue.").
• Vláda práva v Turecku? "Turkey on Friday released two journalists jailed for their reporting on the government’s alleged smuggling of arms to Syrian rebels, after the country’s highest court ruled that the detention violated their rights."
• NYTimes: Appeals Court Upholds Law Restricting Louisiana Abortion Doctors ("The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals voted to allow a 2014 state law requiring abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals go into effect, reducing the number of remaining clinics to two.")
• Closely Watched Fight Over California Teacher Tenure Moves to Appeals Court ("The plaintiffs argued that too often, incompetent teachers end up in classrooms with disadvantaged children, with the law making it impossible to remove them.")
• Laurence Tribe: The Scalia Myth - demýtifikace!

People, Places and Things Donald Trump Has Insulted on Twitter

The Complete List.

Marco Rubio
UNITED STATES SENATOR
“a lightweight choker”

“couldn't even respond properly to President Obama's State of the Union Speech without pouring sweat & chugging water”
“a highly overrated politician
“cannot be President”
“only won the debate in the minds of desperate people”
“lightweight”
“very disloyal to Jeb”
“weak on illegal immigration”
“VERY weak on illegal immigration”
“perfect little puppet”
“very disloyal”
“totally controlled”
“never made ten cents”
“worst voting record in Senate”
“lazy”
“all talk and no action”
“very weak on stopping illegal immigration”
“lightweight”
“incapable of making great trade deals”
“knows nothing about finance”
“VERY weak on immigration”
“worst attendance record in Senate”
“rarely there to vote on a bill”
“will allow anyone into the country”
“weak on illegal immigration”
“just another all talk, no action, politician”
“worst voting record in Sen.”
“truly doesn't have a clue!”
“worst voting record in Senate”

Arianna Huffington
FOUNDER, THE HUFFINGTON POST
“dummy”
“liberal clown”


Samuel L. Jackson
ACTOR
“golf swing. Not athletic”
“cheats”
“does too many TV commercials – boring”
“not a fan”


ISIS
TERRORIST GROUP
“low-level degenerates”
“thugs”
“losers”


A podium in the Oval Office
PRESIDENTIAL LECTERN
“looks odd”
“not good”

Roboti, umělá inteligence, drony

Opět o krok dál.

Atlas: The Next Generation

George cracks jokes

Soudní novinky 16/4 (Nacističtí důchodci před soudem)

A nyní zase pro změnu něco ze starého kontinentu:

• Tribunál pro Kosovo ("The Netherlands has formally agreed to host an EU-funded tribunal on Kosovo war crimes, with “sensitive” trials of former Kosovo guerrilla chiefs to start “this year.”" (..) "But the Dutch foreign ministry said it expects trials, on “serious crimes allegedly committed in 1999-2000 by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) against ethnic minorities and political opponents” to start “some time this year.”" (..) "But it will operate under Kosovan law and convicted criminals won’t serve sentences in the Netherlands, making it, the Dutch ministry said, “a Kosovan national court which administers justice outside Kosovo.”").
• MEP takes EU to court on tax transparency ("The European Commission is being taken to court for not handing over documents in a case that aims to shed light on wide-spread corporate tax evasion schemes by EU states." (..) "He further noted full disclosure was needed to reveal the "systematic political backup for a tax avoidance cartel that costs taxpayers in the EU hundreds of billions of euros annually".").
• "A 95-year-old former paramedic at the Auschwitz concentration camp is set to face trial in Germany in February on charges of being an accessory to murder in the deaths of more than 3,681 people."
• Owen Bowcott: Whistleblower judge: austerity policies have made courts dangerous - opravdu zajímavý příběh škrtů v soudnictví, ekonomické krize, zvýšeného počtu nezastoupených osob před soudy a rizik z toho plynoucích. ("A district judge who is suing the Ministry of Justice after whistleblowing her complaints about courtroom dangers – death threats, violent claimants and hostage-taking – has spoken out for the first time about her experience of an under-resourced justice system. (..) Gilham requested better courtroom accommodation but was turned down. “I asked for my own room to be reconfigured because the door was behind the [claimants so she could not get out]. I was under a great deal of stress and feeling at risk. (..) Gilham said there was occasionally hostage-taking inside the courts when family cases erupted into angry disputes. Once she had to hide in a locked court room because someone accused of domestic violence was loose in the building. (..) The majority of family cases are dealt with by county court judges. “Workloads are uneven,” Gilham observed. “The higher courts are heavily resourced and people who do that work are protected.")
• Four Syrian refugees must be brought from Calais camp to Britain, judges rule ("British judges have ordered that three Syrian youths and an accompanying adult should immediately be brought to Britain to join their relatives and to escape the “living hell” of a Calais refugee camp. Refugee welfare groups described as groundbreaking the order by two immigration judges that three unaccompanied boys and a dependent adult should, under European rules, be allowed to live with their family in Britain while their asylum claims are studied.")
• NYT: The Death Penalty Endgame ("On Friday, the Supreme Court met to discuss whether to hear a petition from Ms. Walter, who is asking the justices to rule that in all cases, including hers, the death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishments. Ever since 1976, when the court allowed executions to resume after a four-year moratorium, the abolition movement has avoided bringing a broad constitutional challenge against the practice, believing that it would not succeed. In that time, 1,423 people have been put to death. Yet there is no question that the national trend is moving away from capital punishment. Since the late 1990s, almost every year has seen fewer executions, fewer new death sentences and fewer states involved in the repugnant business of killing their citizens.")
• Liptak - Shear (NYT): Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to Obama Immigration Actions ("The court, which has twice rejected challenges to Mr. Obama’s signature legislative victory by upholding his health care law, will now rule on the president’s plan to protect millions of illegal immigrants from deportation and allow them to work indefinitely in the country legally. The justices raised the possibility of a broad decision by taking the unusual step of adding their own question to the case, asking the parties to address whether Mr. Obama had violated his constitutional obligations to enforce the nation’s laws. The answer to that question could significantly alter the scope of presidential power in realms far beyond immigration. (..) Mr. Obama has repeatedly taken unilateral action during his seven years in office, asserting the power of his office to sidestep a recalcitrant Congress on gun control, gay rights, the minimum wage, contraception and climate change. White House officials said Tuesday that the steps taken by Mr. Obama on immigration were “consistent with the actions taken by presidents of both parties” and expressed optimism that the court would agree. But Mr. Obama’s aggressive use of executive power has intensified the criticism by his adversaries that the president is abusing his authority. Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas, who is leading the challenge to his immigration actions, urged the court to make it clear that no president can “unilaterally rewrite congressional laws and circumvent the people’s representatives."") 

Příští soudní novinky bohužel až koncem února, do té doby se na internet moc nedostanu. 

Against Trump

Konzervativci ostře proti Trumpovi.

Syrské zápisky

Jonathan Littell: Syrian Notebooks: Inside the Homs Uprising. Verso, 2015.
Jonathan Littell patří mezi současné světové autory, s jejichž díly se mohla seznámit i tuzemská veřejnost. Jeho rozsáhlá sonda do duše přesvědčeného nacisty a důstojníka SS Maximiliena Aueho s názvem Laskavé bohyně mu vynesla Velkou cenu Francouzské akademie a také prestižní Goncourtovu cenu. V nedávno vydaném souboru reportáží z občanskou válkou sužované Sýrie se Littell převtěluje do role novináře a přináší čtenáři syrové příběhy z rozstříleného Homsu.
Littell již dříve pracoval pro humanitární organizace a navštívil Bosnu, Čečensko, Afghánistán či Demokratickou republiku Kongo, tudíž hrůzné výjevy pro něj nejsou ničím novým. Zocelený pozorovatel nepřipraveného čtenáře nijak nešetří a podává informace zcela nezaobaleně. Bohužel, k občanským válkám někdy patří výjevy jako uřezané hlavy či umučená těla, a to bez ohledu na pohlaví či věk, o nichž Littell rovněž přináší svědectví. Známý kolorit umocňují příběhy do té doby přátelských dlouhodobých sousedů, kteří se zničehonic navzájem stávají přímým či nepřímým ohrožením na životě.
Nová Littellova kniha je psána (ostatně jak název Syrian Notebooks: Inside the Homs Uprising napovídá) jako deník, a to deník bez přílišného „postmixu“, zřejmě aby se zachovala autentičnost bezprostředních poznámek. Literárně to tudíž není úplné pokochání, jazykové a stylistické exhibice nečekejte, na druhé straně budete vtaženi do děje a budete mít pocit, jako by kulky režimních odstřelovačů létaly nad hlavou vám, a nikoliv autorovi.
V současnosti je bohužel již reportáž trochu neaktuální, neboť Littell pobýval v Sýrii v lednu a únoru 2012, nicméně o podstatě režimu a boji opozice proti němu se stále dozvíte hodně, k čemuž dopomáhá i aktuálnější předmluva z října 2014. Zájemci si mohou knihu půjčit v knihovně FSS MU.

“We fight for our religion, for our women, for our land, and lastly to save our skin. As for them, they’re only fighting to save their skin.”

AirMule - autonomní zásobovací dron

Dle článku v iDNES.

Soudní novinky 16/1-3 (V Libanonu tají ledy)

Premiéra v novém roce! A pěkně ostrá:

• Time: Supreme Court Hears Case That Could Deal Blow to Unions ("A Supreme Court case argued Monday could significantly weaken government unions across the country. If the justices rule in favor of the plaintiffs in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, every state in the country will essentially become a “right-to-work” state, where employees who choose not to belong to a public union won’t have to give it fees of any kind." Scalia tradičně: “Why do you think the union would not survive without these fees charged?” Scalia asked a lawyer for the defendants, (..). The so-called “free rider problem,” which holds that individual workers have little incentive to join a union and pay dues if they know they’ll be covered by the contract the union negotiates regardless, was only briefly discussed during arguments. (..) In 2014, for instance, the court ruled in a 5-4 decision, in which Scalia joined the majority, that private sector home health care workers in Illinois could not be forced to pay any dues for collective bargaining if they were not union members. (..) But the plaintiffs say concerns about free riders shouldn’t trump their right to free speech. They take issue with some of the things that the California Teachers Association charged them for as part of their collective bargaining, including most of the cost of a LGBT conference.")
• Adam Liptak: Supreme Court Strikes Down Part of Florida Death Penalty ("The Supreme Court struck down an aspect of Florida’s capital punishment system on Tuesday, saying it did not give jurors a sufficient role in deciding whether defendants should be put to death. (..) A 2004 Supreme Court decision indicated that, at least in federal court, rulings like the one issued Tuesday would not apply retroactively to inmates whose convictions are final. (..) After the Florida Supreme Court ordered Mr. Hurst resentenced, a second jury recommended a death sentence by a 7-to-5 vote in 2012. The judge then independently considered the evidence concerning punishment and concluded that Mr. Hurst should be executed. That procedure was unconstitutional, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for seven justices in the new decision. “The Sixth Amendment requires a jury, not a judge, to find each fact necessary to impose a sentence of death,” she wrote. “A jury’s mere recommendation is not enough.”")
• Vandenberg - Grono: Modern-day slaves are suing the traffickers ("The dirty secret of today's human trafficking is that almost no one is held accountable. Modern-day slavery, particularly in the transnational supply chains of major international corporations, is too often a risk-free proposition.(..) The reporting highlighted the widespread violence, forced labor, and human trafficking that taint the supply chain delivering seafood to European and American supermarket shelves. Burmese fisherman enslaved on Thai fishing boats reported long hours with no pay, brutal whippings with toxic sting ray tails, and shackling to boats for those men thought to be flight risks. These powerful reports provoked outrage -- but they did not spark criminal prosecutions. Governments have spectacularly failed to prosecute those engaged in modern-day slavery, despite their rhetorical commitment to fight these abuses, particularly in the supply chains of corporations. But rhetoric is not accountability. Words will not end -- or even deter -- these abuses. Litigation will. Changing the cost-benefit calculations of corporations will drive action. (..) In the United States, federal law permits trafficking victims to recover damages from traffickers and those who "knowingly benefit" financially from the crimes. Victims have filed more than 150 cases since 2003, recovering millions of dollars in damages.")
• Překvapení z Blízkého východu: "A court in Lebanon has ruled that a transgender man can legally change his gender to male in the nation's civil registry, marking a landmark step in transgender rights in the Middle Eastern nation, (..) He suffered from a gender identity disorder and the "operation was a medical necessity to relieve him from his suffering that had been present throughout his life," the court said (..). A person's right "to receive the necessary treatment for any physical and psychological illness is a fundamental and natural one," the ruling said."Here what is important in the decision is that it was stated as a matter of fundamental rights. It was not stated as a matter of humanitarian policy or for clemency purposes," (..) The appeals court issued the ruling in September but its decision was only recently publicized, local media and activists said."
• Pěkné povídání o soudních trablech jedné z nejmocnějších žen světa (Christine Lagarde, hlava IMF). 

Robot vs. robot

Blíží se doba, kdy mezi sebou budou bojovat autonomní roboti. V současnosti je ale spíš aktuální otázka, jak si letadla nebo zranitelná infrastruktura poradí s malými drony, kterých se už prodávají statisíce. Zatím teda několik možností:

• ruční radiová zbraň, která ruší navigaci dronu
• větší radiové zbraně (zde a zde)
• těžká kinetická zbraň
• dron vs. dron s lapací sítí

Předpokládám, že za pár let budou např. tímto systémem vybaveny elektrárny atd., a to s tím, že systém bude už sám za jistých podmínek rozhodovat o tom, jestli v kritické chvíli letící dron sestřelí nebo ne. Krok poněkud nebezpečným směrem.

Soudní novinky 15-50-53 (Afirmativní akce opět a zase)

Asi nešlo očekávat, že se mi podaří něco rozumného publikovat koncem semestru a roku...

• Justices Favor Lesbian Adoptive Mother in Visitation Case ("The Supreme Court has acted in a lesbian couple’s adoption dispute, siding with an adoptive mother after the Alabama Supreme Court refused to recognize her adoptions of three children.")
• The Economist: Affirmative action in court. The justices appear split on racial preferences in university admissions.
• Judge Leaves Northern Ireland’s Abortion Laws to Lawmakers ("Judge Mark Horner said that ordering changes to allow terminations in the case of a fatal fetal abnormality, rape or incest would be “a step too far.”) Odkaz na rozsudek skrze: Northern Ireland: abortion law ruled incompatible with human rights.
• A court in Bangladesh's capital accepted murder charges Monday against 41 people including the owner of the Rana Plaza building that collapsed in 2013, highlighting grim conditions in the country's garment industry.
• Dutch appeals court says Shell may be held liable for oil spills in Nigeria ("Nigerian farmers affected by oil pollution get green light to pursue case against Anglo–Dutch multinational as judges order release of key documents").
• Poland: Law Altering Top Court Goes Into Effect Despite Criticism ("The new law which affects how Poland’s highest court makes rulings, is a move that critics say will paralyze the court and erode checks and balances on government powers.")