NOCERA: “Free The Post Office!” (New York Times, US)

16 hours ago byBrendan Pastor

Always an issue, though rarely discussed, is the current state of the US Postal Service.  Joe Nocera offers an updated and mostly impartial view into what the problems and solutions are.

EDITORIAL: “Todos contra el terrorismo”, (El Tiempo, CO)

4 days ago byLaura.Gomez

All of Columbia is talking about the bomb that blew up yesterday in Bogota, when the country officially started the Free Trade Agreement with the United States.  El Tiempo’s editorial states that the bomb in the Calle 74 with Avenida Caracas was directed against the former Interior Minister, Fernando Londoño.

It is still unknown where the attack came from, but it is necessary to express indignation and to show solidarity with the former Minister and the families of his bodyguards who lost their lives.

Londoño is a very controversial man who expresses radical opinions in his radial program, but that’s not a reason to attack and silence him.  Hypotheses about the attack are many, but the only true fact is that whoever was responsible for the bomb wants to destabilized the country, undermine the democracy, and generate fear in the population.

The Editorial states that it is important to be careful with the words in moments like these, and to wait patiently for the investigation’s outcome.  However, the newspaper states that it can’t allow enemies of order, peace and the future take Colombia back to the dark ages of fear.  The violence will not sway the institutions and the Colombian population.  (link to the article)

ROSLER “Malvinas, an unfair and conventional war” (Clarín, AR)

6 days ago byJimena Val Gora

Andrés Rosler, at Clarín, uses the example of Malvinas War in this article to analyze and try to understand the ambivalences of international law toward wars.

The Malvinas war was initiated by a de facto government, which is the reason why it is categorized as an unfair war. As a matter of fact, Rosler explains, according to the UN Chart war is, in most cases, unfair. Following international law, Argentina´s attack is an aggression. On the other hand, British legitimate defense on this aggression does not grant any sovereignty rights over the Islands since, if we follow international law, victory does not grant new rights.

Rosler explains that Malvinas war was a conventional war with no civilian casualties. But if we analyze it in more detail it is possible to find some of the ambivalences of international public right. War is understood as a crime, but a soldier fighting in a war is granted legal immunity whenever he commits acts of war, even if he is fighting for an “unfair” cause. Rosler poses the question: why is someone given legal immunity, if the war itself is unfair? If one wanted to resolve this ambivalence, there are only two ways in the Malvinas case. The first option implies that the Islands are British, since Britain won the war. This would leave the door open to many new wars worldwide. The second option implies that Argentinean soldiers have committed homicide, since they were fighting for an unfair cause according international law.

Rosler concludes that, having these two options, the ambivalence of international law seems to be the more sensible answer.

RAMÍREZ: “Es positivo mirar a Asia, pero un TLC con China sería meternos en la boca del lobo”, (El Colombiano, CO)

6 days ago byLaura.Gomez

The former Minister of Defence, Marta Lucía Ramírez has written a column in El Colombiano regarding an Editorial from the same newspaper (link to the Editorial).  She points out that it is important for Colombia to look to Asia in terms of trade but a Free Trade Agreement with China at this time would be very dangerous for the country.

In the first place, it would be very risky for the country’s manufactures and for employment.  She also highlights that if Colombia is willing to negotiate with Asia, this agreement shouldn’t be done in bilateral terms.  The country should try to enter the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement, a free multilateral trade agreement that the United States has spearheaded in order to integrate with the Asian-Pacific economies.  These economies are going to counterbalance China’s economy and it might result in an agreement between the two blocs in a few years.  Canada, Mexico and Peru are already part of it.  Now it is very important for Colombia to join them, taking into account the significance of its Pacific coast.

Ramírez finishes by stating that this agreement would be much better than negotiating bilaterally with China.  (link to article)

MILKE: “Europe can teach us plenty about private property rights” (Calgary Herald, CA)

6 days ago byAllen Anderl

Mark Milke at the Calgary Herald argues that Canada should adopt legislation on private property rights that ensures compensation whenever government regulations restrict property use.

Milke examines the restrictions that property owners currently face in Canada and compares their rights to the rights held by private property owners in Europe—Europeans, in contrast to Canadians, are guaranteed compensation whenever government regulation effectively impedes the free use of their property. He notes that when a Canadian government or bureaucracy decides that a property must serve a public purpose, it can use a law or regulation to wholly or partly freeze that property without providing a single dime in restitution. The Basic Law (or constitution) of Germany, unlike Canada, ensures compensation for the property owner. Similar laws in Finland, Sweden, and other European nations also guarantee compensation for legislation or policies that restrict use. Further, if regulations freeze a property for too long, the owner can legally demand that the government purchase the land. Milke agrees that some level of regulation is inevitable: there is nothing wrong or undesirable in wanting pedestrian and bike paths or in protecting fragile environments. The problem is in how Canadian governments can freeze and devalue private property through regulation. Canada needs to adopt legislation similar to European governments to ensure a better balance between private property rights and the public good. (link to article)