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How a French judge was digitally cut off by the USA

heise.de

11–20 of 585 posts

Re: How a French judge was digitally cut off by the USA

#11
TLDR: he's a member of the ICC. Issues warrants against Israeli political leaders. Neither Israel nor the USA (nor China, Russia, India) are parties to the international conventions that formed the ICC.

He's being sanctioned as a result by the USA, which flowed down to US companies who must follow US law.

Re: How a French judge was digitally cut off by the USA

#13
post #3

Only the U.S. would actually sanction someone for trying to indict a war criminal.

I don't think that's true. Lots of countries out there led by thugs. It used to be that the US stood out because it took the law seriously and believed in its ideals to do the right thing (not that it always succeeded, but it did its best). Looks like that time has passed.

> It used to be that the US stood out because it took the law seriously and believed in its ideals to do the right thing

The "The Hague Invasion Act", where the US authorizes itself to invade an ally (the Netherlands) to break war criminal suspects out of prison, was signed in 2002. The US has always been a "rules for thee but not for me" type of place and the digital sanction discussed here fits in a long line of behaviors by the US government. Trump has changed the scale and intensity of it all but the basic direction has always been the same.

Re: How a French judge was digitally cut off by the USA

#14
post #5
post #2

[flagged]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyXExGWGEyw "War crimes are defined by the winners. I'm a winner, so I can make my own definition.". The whole documentary is worth a watch, IMO. It's an incredible look about how people commit heinous acts and build an imaginary world for 40 years to say what they did was "right and justified". Including a scene where the killers imagine they're being thanked by their victims for taki…

I think the more interesting thing here is the ability to fantasize categories such as genocide

where war can be maximalized into genocide when you don't like the winner, and the genocidal act that has started said war (classic genocide mass killings of civilians by death squads) is appropriated by the perpetrators turned victims

Re: How a French judge was digitally cut off by the USA

#15

TLDR: he's a member of the ICC. Issues warrants against Israeli political leaders. Neither Israel nor the USA (nor China, Russia, India) are parties to the international conventions that formed the ICC. He's being sanctioned as a result by the USA, which flowed down to US companies who must follow US law.

The article continues that he asks for the EU to activate an existing blocking regulation (Regulation (EC) No 2271/96), which prevents third countries like the USA from enforcing sanctions in the EU. Activating it would make American companies following US sanction in Europe liable for damages.

I think that is the most important point in the article.

Re: How a French judge was digitally cut off by the USA

#17
post #9

This is a weapon that the US has been honing for a long time. Pretty much every modern company has some footprint in the US (for example, maybe trades on a US stock market) and is liable for even mild sanctions violations to the tune of millions at least.

And the EU apparently has the counter ready, which would make such companies liable for millions when they enact US sanctions in the EU.

I'm very curious what would happen then? Nothing presumable, as nothing ever happens, or it might be another step to separate the EU market from the US.

Re: How a French judge was digitally cut off by the USA

#18
post #14
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyXExGWGEyw "War crimes are defined by the winners. I'm a winner, so I can make my own definition.". The whole documentary is worth a watch, IMO. It's an incredible look about how people commit heinous acts and build an imaginary world for 40 years to say what they did was "right and justified". Including a scene where the killers imagine they're being thanked by their victims for taki…

I think the more interesting thing here is the ability to fantasize categories such as genocide where war can be maximalized into genocide when you don't like the winner, and the genocidal act that has started said war (classic genocide mass killings of civilians by death squads) is appropriated by the perpetrators turned victims

I guess "genocide" is also defined by the winners, or their defenders. And if it's not a genocide, then it's just mass killing of innocents, and that's... fine!

Wonko the Sane is right.

Re: How a French judge was digitally cut off by the USA

#19
post #12

Ultimately this sources back to Europe being dependent on the US for defense.

How is is defence relevant in this article? This is abusing of the private sector monopoly of alot of internet infrastructure. Nothing of this is military in nature.

Re: How a French judge was digitally cut off by the USA

#20
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that's true. Lots of countries out there led by thugs. It used to be that the US stood out because it took the law seriously and believed in its ideals to do the right thing (not that it always succeeded, but it did its best). Looks like that time has passed.

Not sure about that. Internally, maybe it was true at some point, cannot say, but if we look at the US as an international player, when exactly was it ready to sacrifice its own interests for any kind of justice or greater good? And if you are not ready to pay the price, then all this talk of a higher moral ground is just that, an empty talk.

I don't disagree, but I think there was a genuine perception by many people that the US were the good guys. The change is that its not even trying to pretend to be this anymore.
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