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2. . . . and New York and The Hague and Tokyo and Geneva and Nuremberg and . . .: The Geographies of International Law
- Author:
- David Koller
- Publication Date:
- 02-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- In the dominant narrative of international law, historical events in space and time are made to fall along an invisible line of progress, from Westphalia in 1648 through the Bretton Woods and San Francisco conferences of 1944 and 1945 to the present day and continuing on through the future to a more just world. Against this, a counter-narrative has emerged which denies the possibility of such linear development and consigns international law to forever tracing an unending circular path between points of idealism and realpolitik. This article examines how international lawyers have created and continue to create these metaphysical geographies of international law. Drawing on the work of the French multi-disciplinary thinkers Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, this article shows that both approaches, and indeed the very concept of international law, can at most only replicate and impose pre-conceived theories and that the imposition of such theories is contrary to the natural patterns of human consciousness. It urges us to see international law rather as but one manifestation of the ongoing struggle between efforts to impose unity on and to control human consciousness and the mind's efforts to break free of such restricting structures.
- Political Geography:
- Geneva, New York, Tokyo, San Francisco, Papua, and Westphalia
3. A Report on the Patrol Special Police and Community Safety in San Francisco
- Author:
- Edward Stringham
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Independent Institute
- Abstract:
- This paper provides an analysis of one of the longest established private police groups in America, the San Francisco Patrol Special Police (PSP). Dating back to the days of the Gold Rush, the PSP are a collection of independent companies that the city charter authorizes to patrol different neighborhoods at the request of private clients. A survey was conducted to investigate why private parties pay the PSP rather than simply relying on government police. The results indicate that the PSP play an important role in providing safety that citizens cannot obtain if they rely solely on the San Francisco Police Department's safety services. However, despite these evident benefits, the PSP face some challenging political and regulatory obstacles. This article finds evidence that members of the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) have been using regulations to restrict competition and effectively take over business using the force of law. This report documents some of the expenses these practices cost taxpayers and offers some suggestions for regulatory reform.
- Topic:
- Law Enforcement
- Political Geography:
- United States, America, and San Francisco
4. Thoughts on the Day After
- Author:
- Michael May
- Publication Date:
- 04-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for International Security and Cooperation
- Abstract:
- This note consists of some observations on the “Day After, ” or perhaps “Minutes to Months After” that I thought might be useful. They are derived from work done in the past few years, in part for DHS and its predecessor agencies. That work included observing and providing comments on the Topoff 2 Federal-State-Local coordination exercise of 2002-2003. These notes also derive from a workshop we did in 2002 that brought together first responders, media and scientists to discuss the aftermath of a nuclear explosion in the SF Bay Area. I make no attempt at being comprehensive but note a few things that, in our experience, have not seemed obvious to all participants. The notes are divided into two parts, “Response and Recovery” and “Political Reaction”.
- Topic:
- Security, Nuclear Weapons, Science and Technology, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- San Francisco
5. Delivering a Local EITC: Lessons from the San Francisco Working Families Credit
- Author:
- Tiana Wertheim and Tim Flacke
- Publication Date:
- 05-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Brookings Institution
- Abstract:
- For families struggling to make ends meet on earnings from low-wage jobs, the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) has become an essential form of support, boosting the size of annual tax refunds by as much as several thousand dollars. The program is widely recognized for its accessibility (working through the tax code and tax filing system), administrative efficiency and simplicity, and its effectiveness in lifting working poor house- holds out of poverty. Why then shouldn't the EITC serve as a model for other programs for working families, particularly in parts of the country where high costs of living create added difficulties for lower-income residents?
- Topic:
- Demographics, Economics, and Poverty
- Political Geography:
- United States and San Francisco
6. Can Climate Change Save Lives? A comment on "Economy-wide estimates of the implications of climate change: Human health"
- Author:
- Frank Ackerman and Elizabeth Stanton
- Publication Date:
- 09-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
- Abstract:
- In a recent article in this journal, Francesco Bosello, Roberto Roson, and Richard Tol make the surprising prediction that the first stages of global warming will, on balance, save a large number of lives. Bosello et al. fail to substantiate this remarkable estimate, and they make multiple mistaken or misleading assumptions. They rely on research that identifies a simple empirical relationship between temperature and mortality, but ignores the countervailing effect of human adaptation to gradual changes in average temperature. While focusing on small changes in average temperatures, they ignore the important health impacts of extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, floods, and hurricanes. They extrapolate this pattern far beyond the level that is apparently supported by their principal sources, and introduce an arbitrary assumption that may bias the result toward finding benefits from warming.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Economics, and Environment
- Political Geography:
- San Francisco
7. Bolton Appointment Provides New Opportunities
- Author:
- John Gershman
- Publication Date:
- 08-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy In Focus
- Abstract:
- President Bush's recess appointment of John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations — the first time ever for the post — represents a sad irony in this year, the 60th anniversary of the signing of the San Francisco charter on June, 26 1945 and the ratification of the charter by the 5 permanent members of the Security Council and the majority of the signatories to the San Francisco Charter, on October 24, 1945.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Government, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- United States and San Francisco