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abolition-usa-digest    Wednesday, January 12 2000    Volume 01 : Number 251




----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 19:38:39 -0600
From: "Boyle, Francis" <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: (abolition-usa) FW: Clyde Ferguson on ASIL&Power

Dear Peter: In answer to your question about Clyde. Just got back from
Chicago. Best regards, Francis.

- -----Original Message-----
From: Boyle, Francis [mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: Thursday, December 23, 1999 1:56 PM
To: 'TheBlackList Moderator'; '[e-mail]'
Subject: [soa] RIP: Clyde Ferguson
Importance: High


C.Clyde Ferguson Jr. was the Henry L. Stimson Professor of Law at the
Harvard Law School, and only  the second African American Professor that HLS
had hired, Derek Bell being the first. Later HLS fired Derek Bell because of
his protest over their refusal to hire an African American Woman Professor,
which they have since remedied. Professor Bell currently teaches at NYU Law
School.
fab
HLS'76

- -----Original Message-----
From: Boyle, Francis
Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 1999 8:55 AM
To: 'AALS Section on Minority Grps. mailing list'
Cc: '[e-mail]'
Subject: RIP: Clyde Ferguson
Importance: High


I got word that Clyde had died on the Wednesday before Christmas. That
preceding weekend, Clyde and I had hosted an international legal symposium
at Harvard Law School for the International Third World Legal Studies
Organization, when I was on their Board. My idea was to have a conference in
which we would invite foreign Ll.M. and SJD students to come and give
papers, while we American professors sat in the audience and listened to
them, rather than the reverse. Clyde agreed to host the conference at HLS
and give the keynote address, which was on the New International Economic
Order. Remember that? Before neo-liberalism (Newspeak for neo-paganism) and
globalization (Newspeak for globaloney)took over international legal
education. I doubt very seriously anyone is teaching NIEO at HLS today as
opposed to this other garbage.
     When the conference was over, Clyde and I walked in the falling
snow from Pound to his favorite watering hole in Harvard Square, the Harvest
House--is it still there? I have not been back in so many years. The snow
was coming down and the air was crisp and  cold that night. I was wondering
if Logan would shut down because of the snow and leave me there for the
weekend. Unlike O'Hare,Logan is really fickle when it comes to snow. The
Harvest House was all decked out for Christmas and there was some Christmas
music playing quietly in the background. Hardly anyone was there. So Clyde
and I sat down for some drinks and conversation for the next two hours as I
waited there for my plane. Clyde was in fine form intellectually, though
physically his recurrent malaria (that he had picked up during his
diplomatic stints in Africa for the US government) was bothering him. Clyde
was one of the few people at HLS whom I could sit down with and learn
something from--about how the world really worked. Remember that little
section in the Harvard Crimson entitled "The Real World". And then there is
Harvard. And then there is Harvard Law School.
    In any event,it came time for me to leave for Logan. So we both got
up, gave each other a big bear hug and I said to him: "Now Clyde, you have
to stop smoking, cut down on the drinking, lose some weight, take care of
yourself and stop gallivanting all over the world!" Clyde looked right at
me, broke out into an  enormous grin and said: "SUUUUUURRRRE!" In other
words, Clyde  was not going to do anything  I told him to do. At that I
walked out into the snow, caught my cab in the Square, and took off for
Logan, where my plane barely made it out that night. But I treasured the
evening I had just spent with Clyde all the way home. I still do.
    May God hold Clyde in the Palm of HIS HAND. I am sure that HE does
already.
    Francis A. Boyle
    HLS, 1976

- -----Original Message-----
From: Boyle, Francis [mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: Friday, December 19, 1997 1:12 PM
To: 'AALS Section on Minority Grps. mailing list'
Subject: RIP:Clyde Ferguson


I write to commemorate the anniversary of Clyde's death on  December 21,
1983. I was honored and privileged to be in the very first course on
International Human Rights that Clyde taught at HLS, immediately after
resigning  from the Nixon administration in protest  because of their
cruel indifference to the Vietnamese People. Clyde was a great teacher,
friend and counsel. He stood head and shoulders above many of the
sterile intellects on the Faculty of Harvard Law School. And his heart
was bigger than several  of them put together.

Francis A. Boyle
HLS "76
Francis A. Boyle
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign, Ill. 61820
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------

- -----Original Message-----
From: peter weiss [mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2000 9:09 PM
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: (abolition-usa) FW: Clyde Ferguson on ASIL&Power


Francis: That's a nice one for the annals of international law. Where is
Clyde now? Is he still alive?
                        Peter

Boyle, Francis wrote:
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Boyle, Francis [mailto:[e-mail]]
> Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2000 2:25 PM
> To: Multiple recipients of list
> Subject: Clyde Ferguson on ASIL&Power
>
> Clyde Ferguson,Henry L. Stimson Professor at Harvard Law School, was the
> first African American to be elected President of the American Society of
> International Law and Power. One of the first things he did was to appoint
> an Ad Hoc Committee to revise the Guidelines for co-optation of officers
so
> as to make them more diverse. Clyde appointed me to that Ad Hoc Guidelines
> Committee. I did a first draft of the Ad Hoc Guidelines Committee Report,
> got it through the Committee, then through the ASIL&Power Executive
> Committee , then through the Annual Convention itself. During those two
> years of fighting these battles, I came to appreciate how right wing,
> racist, bigoted, reactionary, elitist, sexist and imperialist the American
> Society of International Law and Power really was.
>     The ASIL&Power was to "celebrate" its 75 Anniversary at the 1981
> Convention with a concluding plenary panel on:" The American Society of
> International Law: 75 years and Beyond," chaired by Clyde in his capacity
as
> President. Around the turn of the year, Clyde called me on the phone to
tell
> me that he was putting me on that panel:" NOW I WANT YOU TO GET UP THERE
AND
> GIVE THOSE PEOPLE A MESSAGE!"  The emphasis was all Clyde's. "Sure Clyde,
> you can count on me." Of course I knew that Clyde wanted me to become his
> sub silentio skunk at their garden party. But Clyde was my friend. So I
went
> to work on the speech. After several weeks of hard work I sent Clyde a
copy
> of the draft speech for his comments, questions, criticisms, suggestions,
> etc. Clyde called me up and  said only :"This will do it!"
>     Well you can read the text of the speech for yourself at  Vol. 75 of
the
> Proceedings of the American Society of International Law and Power, pages
> 270-75(1981) and draw your own conclusions. I blasted the hell out of the
> Reagan administration's pro-nuclear weapons policies and the Carter/Reagan
> support for Saddam Hussein during his genocidal war against Iran. Warming
up
> to my subject, I then said:"The United States and Israel must finally
> recognize the international legal right of the Palestinian people to
> self-determination,"  and called for the recognition of the PLO as "the
> legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" for the purpose of
> conducting peace negotiations with Israel. At that point an audible gasp
> rose up through the audience. I called for the United States to oppose
> Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, and any more
> settlements on the West Bank and Golan.(More gasps.) I attacked our
> provision of weapons to Israel for the purpose of committing aggression
and
> war crimes in Lebanon.(More gasps) And called for Israel's withdrawal from
> Lebanon. (More gasps)  Then I condemned the Reagan administration's
upcoming
> wars against Cuba and Nicaragua:"Current intimations that the Reagan
> administration will employ overt or covert military operations against
Cuba
> and Nicaragua are illegal, irresponsible and counterproductive." I then
> called for the independence of Namibia:"The right of the Namibian people
to
> self-determination had been firmly established under international law
> before the American, South African and Cuban governments decided to
> intervene in the Angolan civil war."  I concluded with a nice little
attack
> upon American realpolitik icons much admired and honored by the American
> Society of International Law and Power:"Otherwise the future of this
planet
> will be left in the brutal hands of geopolitical practitioners of power
> politics such as Kissisnger,Brzezinski, and Haig." Etc.
>     While all this bloodletting was going on, Clyde sat on the panel,
looked
> straight ahead into the audience with his  best diplomat's poker-face on
and
> pretended as if he had nothing to do with what I was saying and was just
as
> surprised as anyone else by what I was saying. Of course Clyde had
> deliberately put me up there to say it and had approved of everything I
was
> going say. Notice of course that Clyde never told me WHAT to say. He did
not
> have to and would not have done so.
>     After this concluding, plenary panel chaired by Clyde, they had a big
> cocktail party reception to "celebrate" the 75th Anniversary of the
American
> Society of International Law and Power. After my speech, the "celebration"
> was subdued. Not only was I treated like the proverbial skunk at their
> garden party, but also as if I had an advanced case of leprosy. But Clyde
> was pleased and let me know it. And that was all that mattered to me.
> Francis A. Boyle
> Professor of International Law
> HLS''76
>
> Francis A. Boyle
> Law Building
> 504 E. Pennsylvania Avenue
> Champaign, Ill. 61820
> 217-333-7954 (voice)
> 217-244-1478 (fax)
> [e-mail] <mailto:[e-mail]>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------
> Private reply:         "Boyle, Francis" <[e-mail]>
> Public replies:        [e-mail]
> To signoff, send message to: [e-mail]
>   message merely says: unsubscribe forintlaw
> Questions?             Rebecca Alexander, [e-mail]
> Washburn's WashLawWEB, a comprehensive legal research site:
>   http://www.washlaw.edu/
>
> -
>  To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to
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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 19:51:18 -0600
From: "Boyle, Francis" <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: (abolition-usa) FW: No Sour Grapes! AS/JIL&Power

Dear Peter: In answer to this question, yes I just delivered a little
interdenominational Sermon on this subject. I hope that Famous Jewish =
Rabbi
did not take offense at my preaching without a license: Woe Unto Ye
International  Lawyers! =20
My best regards to you and Cora,
Francis.
- -----Original Message-----
From: [e-mail] [mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: Friday, November 05, 1999 3:14 PM
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Prof. Francis Boyle: Faith and Resistance


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         Support MSANEWS, a project of learning and enlightenment
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________________________________________________________________________=
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Source: Direct Submission
Date: Fri, 5 Nov 1999 13:59:15 -0600=20
Title: Faith and Resistance
By: Prof. Francis Boyle
Email: <[e-mail]>

TEXT:

Faith and Resistance

by

Francis A. Boyle

Professor of International Law

before

Community United Church of Christ

Champaign, Illinois

Reformation Sunday

October 31, 1999

[Transcript revised]

=20

=A9 Copyright 1999 by Francis A. Boyle

All Rights Reserved.

=20

Today, as you may know, is Reformation Sunday--the anniversary of =
October
31, 1517 when Martin Luther, an Augustinian Priest, posted his 95 =
Theses
on the Castle Church door in Wittenburg, Germany. Luther, the Great
Dissenter, the Great Resister, started the Reformation on the whole
question of justification versus works. And today in Augsburg, there is =
an
historic reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Lutheran
Leadership on this issue. They are signing it today--they probably have
signed it already.  And they have come to the following understanding,
that both denominations have now agreed upon, which goes to the start =
of
the Reformation. I guess that gives some hope here for reconciliation
among the different denominations of Christianity.=20

But this is what they have agreed upon today and let me quote it: "By
grace alone in faith in Christ's work and not because of any merit on =
our
part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews =
our
hearts while equipping and calling us to good works." Well I think =
that's
a good statement of the problem of faith and action, faith and =
resistance.=20

To get back to Luther on this anniversary day. What inspired Luther to
resist the two most powerful institutions of Renaissance Europe at that
time: The Roman Papacy and the Holy Roman Emperor? Luther stood up =
against
both of them.=20

Earlier this fall I was reading a biography on Luther by a fellow named
Bainton called Here I Stand--Luther's very famous comment "Here I =
stand,=20
I cannot do otherwise." And reading through this biography--which I
recommend because it's a nice thumbnail sketch of Luther--it struck me =
how
in some of his more difficult times, Luther would go back and read =
Saint
Augustine--again, Luther being an Augustinian Priest. Despite what =
Luther
felt was all the excrescences of centuries that had befuddled and
beclouded and besmirched the true meaning of Scriptures, he =
nevertheless
would always go back to Augustine, the founder of his Order, for
inspiration and guidance. And apparently still today because of this
influence, most denominations of Christianity consider Augustine to be
authentic, the founder of Christian theology. So, what I'd like to do =
here
is, like Luther, to go back to Augustine for a little bit and see how
Augustine's theories had an impact on Luther. I submit we can find the
origins for Luther's theory of resistance to state tyranny in =
Augustine.
And after I've done talking about Augustine, I will be applying this
analysis here to the United States as well, the question of faith and
resistance here in America today.=20

So let's go back to Augustine, the City of God. Here Rome had just been
sacked by Alaric and the Visgoths. It had fallen, the eternal city and
this was a catastrophic event in the entire Mediterranean World at that
time. The Pagan idealogues were using this to attack the ascendant
Christian religion.  Christianity had just become the official state
religion of the Roman Empire, and the argument was being made that this
was responsible for the fall of Rome. And, in any event, if the =
Christian
God was any good, why did He let Rome fall? And number two, then, of =
what
good was the Christian religion to the rest of the Roman Empire if the
Christian God had let Rome fall? Of course previously Constantine had
moved the capital of the Empire to Byzantlum, renamed it =
Constantinople,
which today of course is Istanbul.  So the rest of the Roman Empire was
still there intact being governed out of Constantinople, including =
North
Africa where Augustine wrote.=20

So Augustine in his City of God, tried to address these issues that =
were
the burning, searing issues of the time and to assert the relevance of
Christianity. Many have criticized Augustine, I think rightly so, for
being an apologist for a Christian empire. But putting that aside, =
let's
look at what Augustine had to say here about the Roman Empire, the =
Greek
Empire, and, as we'll see, the American Empire and indeed, basically, =
any
state, any government, in existence today. What we'll see in Augustine =
is
a very brutal analysis of political power.=20

I won't go through all City of God. It's about a thousand pages single
spaced--you'll get blind reading it. But the critical portion here can =
be
found in Book 4, Chapter 4 of The City of God. And I submit that this =
is
pretty much the way Luther saw things too, and I'll come back to Luther
later.=20

The chapter is entitled "Kingdoms Without Justice are Similar to Robber
Barons." So notice what Augustine is saying here: states, any state, =
any
kingdom, any Empire, without justice is nothing more than a gang of
robbers.  Now of course he was referring here to the Roman Empire =
before
Christianity.  As we'll see, he was also referring to the Greek
Alexandrian Empire, but pretty much, he's referring to any empire, any
government, any state.=20

Well, before we get into the rest of the passage, how does Augustine
define justice? Augustine defined justice in the Christian definition =
of
justice given by Jesus Christ in the Bible. You remember when the =
lawyers
tried to trick Christ up? It's great if you read through the New
Testament--it's always the lawyers trying to trick Christ up, =
right--the
Scribes, the Pharisees, and the lawyers. And finally, Christ came out =
and
He condemned them all when He said, "Woe unto ye lawyers!"--you are
constantly heaping up burdens upon the shoulders of people and you do =
not
lift a finger to lighten them! This would later lead Professor Fred =
Rodell
at Yale Law School to write a classic book Woe Unto Ye Lawyers!--to the
effect that in legal education all we do is basically intellectual
electricity and plumbing work--no offense to electricians and plumbers =
out
there, I did such work in my summer jobs going through school. It's a
great little book to read.=20

So, the lawyer was trying to trip Christ up when he said, "What is the
greatest Law?" Well, of course, if Christ answered wrong, he would be
stoned for blasphemy, or something like that. So what did Christ say? =
The
greatest law is "You shall love the Lord your God with your whole =
heart,
mind, soul and strength." And the second law, "You shall love your
neighbor as yourself." Now, of course, as you know, the lawyer was not
satisfied with that answer. He wanted to "justify" himself--as all =
lawyers
do. So the lawyer said: "Well who is my neighbor?" And then we get the
little story about the Good Samaritan, which I won't go through here.=20

But Christ very easily disposes of all of the lawyers in the New =
Testament
trying to trick Him up. Indeed, one year I had a student do a paper--I
teach a course on Jurisprudence, the philosophy law--the subject of =
which
was:  "Can you be a lawyer and a good Christian?" That student wrestled
with that question for forty pages and had a hard time, I think, coming =
to
a satisfactory answer.=20

In any event, this is Augustine's definition of justice--Christ's
definition of justice. You must worship the one true God first. And =
then
love your neighbor as yourself.=20

Augustine was trained in Greek rhetoric--basically what lawyers do, law
professors do, taught the subject later, became a neo-plantonist, which
then propelled him to become a Christian. So we see here a new =
definition
of justice, adding God into the definition of justice beyond the =
platonic
definition of justice.=20

So kingdoms without justice are similar to robber bands. Augustine was
very clear--the Roman Empire was just a bunch of robber bands. How did =
the
Roman Empire start? Well, according to Vergil, Aeneas and his band of =
men
sailed over from Carthage, landed in Italy, needed some women, grabbed =
the
Sabine women, raped them and reduced them into becoming their =
concubines
and their wives. That was the start of the mighty Roman Empire--the =
mass
rape of women. Now that's where the great Roman Empire came from--an =
act
of criminality. Behaving like robber bands. Something Machiavelli would
point out, writing at the same time Luther did in The Prince and The
Discourses--all states are founded in two things--a crime and a lie. =
The
crime is usually a homicide and the lie is that God set up the state. A
very realistic assessment that Augustine, by the way, would agree with.
Augustine pointed out in the first several hundred pages of the City of
God that even the Pagans could not believe in their own gods. They just
didn't.=20

Alright, so let's go back, then, to what Augustine was saying here,
because, again, I think it had impact on Luther's perception of =
resistance
to tyranny and faith in action: "And so if justice is left out, what =
are
kingdoms except great robber bands? For what are robber bands except
little kingdoms?" Notice what Augustine states here--states, empires =
start
out as robber bands. That's how they start out. They're nothing more =
than
robbers and killers and rapers and pillagers.=20

How did we start out here in the United States of America? Well, the
Europeans came over here and exterminated almost our entire Native
American population. Stole all their land and the few remnants that =
were
left were removed to "reservations," which were called bantustans by =
the
criminal apartheid regime in South Africa. Thus Augustine would agree =
that
this is how America was founded--in criminality. No different, no =
better,
no worse than any other state--but pretty much the same.=20

Go back to Augustine: "The band also is a group of men governed by the
orders of the leader, bound by a social compact, and its booty is =
divided
according to a law agreed upon." So yes, the robber band has a king or =
an
emperor, a president, call him what you want. Yes, there is a social
compact, a constitution. They divide the booty. And there is a law. But
they're still a robber band. And that's how all states start. That's =
how
the Roman Empire started. That's how the Greek Empire started. As I'm
suggesting here, that's pretty much how the American Empire started as
well -- just taking Augustine's analysis and applying it to our own
situation.=20

"If by repeatedly adding desperate men this plague grows to the point
where it holds territory and establishes a fixed seat, seizes cities =
and
subdues people, then it is more conspicuously assumes the name of
kingdom..." So notice, how do states start? Well they start out with a
robber band and the robber band goes out there and rapes, robs, loots, =
and
pillages. This is something one of our Founding Fathers, Thomas Paine,
pointed out in Common Sense where he talked about the British Monarchy =
and
he said: Who founded the British Monarchy? It was that Norman bastard,
William the Conqueror--he used the word bastard. And he and his gang of
"ruffians" came over to England in 1066, conquered England, killed the
people, subdued them all, and then they set up a monarchy. And of =
course
Paine's purpose of writing this was to completely discredit the British
Monarchy as an institution for our Founding Fathers and Mothers during =
the
days of the Revolution.=20

So the robber band is successful like Aeneas and his men, like William =
the
Conqueror and his ruffians. Like some of the colonists coming over here
from England and Spain into America. So they add desperate men to this
plague--it's a plague. Augustine is quite clear what these people
are--it's a plague on humanity.=20

"Grows to the point where it holds territory and establishes a fixed =
seat,
seizes cities, and subdues peoples." It's interesting that is the
requirement today for international recognition of a state under
international law. You must hold territory, have a government, cities, =
and
people. So very interesting--this is the requirement for recognition of =
a
state today. So if you start out as a robber gang and a bunch of =
killers,
you seize land, you set up a government, you subdue people. Well then =
you
are entitled to be recognized as a state. I could think of a few states
off-hand today that would fill that requirement.=20

"...then it more conspicuously assumes the name of Kingdom..." So =
notice,
at some point in time the robber band grows and it's so successful in =
its
criminality that it decides to call itself a kingdom--no longer a =
robber
band. In other words to give all this criminality "legitimacy." So, =
well
we're no longer robber bands now, now we're a kingdom, now we're a =
state,
now we have a government, now we have an emperor or a king or a =
president,
but we're no longer a robber band any more.=20

"...and this name [kingdom] is now openly granted to it..." So notice =
the
heads of the other robber bands who have called themselves kingdoms now
grant diplomatic recognition to the new robber band and say, right, we
will no longer call you a robber band; henceforth we will call you a
kingdom because we all know how states are founded. We were criminals =
too,
but now you know we want to put all this in the past. So let's all
mutually call ourselves kingdoms instead of criminals.=20

"...and this name [kingdom] is now openly granted to it, not for any
subtraction of cupidity..." So notice the kingdoms, the states, are =
still
a gang of criminals, cutthroats, murderers and killers. That hasn't
changed, Augustine points out.=20

"...but by addition of impunity." So in other words, now by calling =
them a
king and a kingdom and a state, the fellow robber bands gain impunity. =
You
don't try to try us for our crimes and we won't try you. We'll give you
impunity for all of your crimes. Henceforth you're now recognized as a
state, as a government, as a legitimate leader.=20

This is something General Pinochet is dealing with right now in London,
right. I hope someday we'll be having Henry Kissinger and Bob McNamara
dealing with these problems as well. Last year I had a call from
Canada--some peace people up there. Henry Kissinger was coming to =
Canada
and they wanted to do to him the same thing that had been done to
Pinochet. How do they track down Kissinger, arrest him, and put him on
trial certainly for what he did in Viet Nam, Southeast Asia? And the =
same
for Bob McNamara, I would add.=20

And here we'll conclude this little passage from Augustine. "For it was =
an
elegant and true reply that was made to Alexander the Great..." So =
notice
he's commenting on the Roman Empire. So notice what he's done to the =
Roman
Empire. The great Roman Empire has just been reduced to a robber band. =
And
Aeneas is out there with his men raping the Sabine women. It's a =
plague.=20
It's not entitled to any respect at all. And the same with the Greek
Alexandrian Empire. Alexander was an even bigger pirate, terrorist,
murderer and killer.=20

"For it was an elegant and true reply that was made to Alexander the =
Great
by a certain pirate whom he had captured." Now notice here, here's the
scene. There's Alexander in his great throne room and there is this =
pirate
that's been captured, obviously facing death. And Augustine is siding =
with
the pirate--not with Alexander, but with the pirate, saying it was "an
elegant and true reply." So notice he's siding with the pirate, the
alleged criminal, against the Emperor, Alexander the Great, a much =
bigger
criminal.=20

"When the King asked him what he was thinking of, that he should molest
the sea, [the pirate] said with defiant independence: 'The same as you
when you molest the world! Since I do this with a little ship, I am =
called
a pirate.  You do it with a great fleet and are called an emperor!'"
Notice how brutally frank Augustine is here about both the Greek Empire
and the Roman Empire that everyone had admired, saying: no, they =
molested
the entire world.=20

So, you know, molest the entire world. That's what emperors do--they
molest the entire world. That's what the Greek Empire did. That's what =
the
Roman Empire did. And I would suggest, that's pretty much what the
American Empire does today. We have "seven" fleets and we sail all over
the world--exactly what Augustine was saying. And we blow up any =
country
that we want to at any time we want to, right? And no other state in =
the
entire world has this capability but the United States of America.=20

So the pirate concedes he's a pirate. Sure I'm a pirate. But you are
worse--you are an emperor. You molest the entire world. And since you =
do
it with a great fleet, they call you an emperor instead of a pirate. =
But
you're far worse than a pirate.=20

Very interesting--the little parable here of Alexander and the pirate =
led
Professor Noam Chomsky at MIT to write a little book called Pirates and
Emperors: Terrorists in the Real World, where Chomsky pointed out that =
the
real terrorists in the world are the United States, Britain, Soviet =
Union,
Israel and the criminal apartheid regime then-ruling in South Africa.=20
Chomsky conceded there might be some pirates out there in the third =
world.=20
But these states were the emperors, these were the gangs of criminals =
that
Augustine was talking about. Chomsky drew the distinction between
wholesale terrorists and retail terrorists. These states terrorize =
entire
races of peoples.=20

I remember in 1989 I was lecturing in the Soviet Union on the subject =
of
terrorism. Gorbachev had just invited over the CIA to coordinate with =
the
KGB on the question of terrorism. TASS asked me what I thought about =
this
and I said: "Oh, this is the case of the wholesale terrorists getting
together because they're upset that the retail terrorists are cutting =
into
their market shares. The KGB and the CIA are the two great terror
organizations in the history of the world!" Well, we see here in =
Augustine
a devastating attack on the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire fell then
because they were not just and they deserved to fall. And it was the =
same
with the Greek Empire. Despite all the pagan idealogues, Augustine says
there was nothing of value there. They were all a gang of cut-throats,
criminals, and terrorists.=20

Well, I think that the analysis of political authority that Augustine
developed from a Christian theological perspective could be applied =
pretty
much to any political authority. Luther again, standing up to the Roman
Papacy and the Holy Roman Emperor single-handedly--imagine the courage =
of
this guy. They were repressing people because of their religion. And
indeed one of the arguments Luther made toward the end of his life was
that Christian magistrates should have a right to resist the Holy Roman
Emperor in the event that he persecuted people on grounds of =
religion--the
right of resistance.=20

This argument that Luther made would later emerge in a very important
pamphlet, Vindiciae Contra Tyrannos, "Defense Against Tyrants," written
probably by Philippe Mornay--a Huegennot nobleman in France. Huegennots
were a Calvinist sect who were brutally repressed by the Catholic
autocracy in France. And Mornay argued that Christian magistrates =
should
have a right to rise up against this tyrannical government and =
overthrow
the tyrannical government. And then towards the end of the pamphlet he
said that occasionally there are individuals who are specially called =
by
God to rise up and overthrow a tyrannical, unjust government.=20

This is the closest anyone had come at that point in time in Europe to
arguing a personal, individual right of revolution. And the next stage
after Mournay would of course be John Locke, the Second Treatise of
Government, where Locke argued that everyone--not just those specially
called by God--has a right to rise up and overthrow a tyrannical
government. And it would be that philosophy articulated by Locke, =
preceded
by Mornay, influenced by Luther, that would lead Thomas Jefferson to =
write
the American Declaration of Independence. And you can read Locke's =
theory
of revolution right in the American Declaration of Independence. As
Jefferson said:  "Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God."=20

Well, since we're getting into Jefferson and the founding of the United
States--I've already given a few comments on that. It's nice to read =
the
Declaration. Of course realize "all men are created equal" did not =
apply
to Black Slaves or American Indians or Women or Poor Whites. There are
serious problems with that Declaration.=20

But let's go to contemporary United States. Again, from a Lutheran
perspective. And here a very interesting book by a Lutheran theologian,
the Reverend Jack Nelson-Pallmayer called War Against the Poor. And I
would encourage you to read it. It's a fascinating book. Here is a
Lutheran theologian coming from a Lutheran perspective looking at the
United States of America and he concludes that today the United States =
of
America occupies the exact same position in the world that the Roman
Empire did around the time of Jesus Christ. And he goes through this
analysis in great detail. I won't do it here--but pretty much like my
taking the Alexander and the pirate story and applying it to the United
States of America. Well I hadn't really thought of contemporary America
along the lines of the Roman Empire at the time of Jesus Christ, which =
is
what of course Augustine had so soundly condemned. But it made a lot of
sense to me.=20

And there Nelson-Pallmayer was talking about U.S. intervention in =
Central
America during the Reagan administration where we killed 35,000 in
Nicaragua, 70,000 in El Salvador. And in Guatemala from our overthrow =
of
the democratically-elected Arbenz government we probably killed a =
quarter
of a million people. And Nelson-Pallmayer went through all this in his
book.=20

And then he concludes the book with this fascinating chapter of =
theology
where he goes through all these Christian theologians: We get St. Paul =
and
others and they're all in there, marshaling these religious authorities =
in
support of his thesis. I encourage you to read it. Then he has a =
passage
from Luther to support his analysis. And then when you turn the page,
there I am right after Luther. I didn't know Nelson-Pallmayer. I don't
know why I'm in there after Luther. I don't know exactly what the
connection is, but there I am right after Luther saying that once =
Reagan
came to power our country began to be governed by a gang of criminals =
and
we have to do everything we could to stop them. So I thought this was
quite interesting.  There I was--right after Luther. Still wondering =
about
what that means.=20

At the end of the book Nelson-Pallmayer says, I don't have any
recommendations to make for Christians. He says, I think my insight is
valid in and of itself, it's a new insight, I don't have =
recommendations
to make about what you need to do. And of course I had not really =
thought
of it that way myself: that the United States of America is just like =
the
Roman Empire at the time of Jesus Christ. But it's true!=20

Then along came the war against Iraq in January of 1991. As some of you
know, I worked with a Protestant minister up in Chicago, Reverend Don
Wagner, to organize a National Day of Prayer to prevent that war the
Sunday before it began. We commemorated and participated in that here.
Then that evening I was asked by former Attorney General Ramsey Clark =
to
join him and Congressman Henry Gonzalez of Texas in a national campaign =
to
impeach Bush if he went to war. At Clark's request, the next day I did =
the
first draft of the Impeachment Resolution that Congressman Gonzalez =
would
introduce into Congress the day after the war started. Going after the
Emperor!=20

Bush killed probably 200,000 people in Iraq--an outright massacre. A
hundred thousand of them were civilians. A hundred thousand were
soldiers--just massive bloodshed and killing. But all of them glorified =
by
the American news media. And you remember the great celebration there =
on
the Washington Mall when all the troops came home after the massacre =
and
bloodshed and killing. Reminded me a bit of the Nuremberg rallies held =
by
Hitler and the Nazis in the 1930s. But we continued to fight against =
the
war and fight for those who were in the armed forces and refused to go =
as
a matter of principle, helping to defend them long after the war was =
over.=20

Since the war ended, 1.5 million Iraqis have died because of the =
economic
sanctions that we have continued to impose on Iraq. And of those 1.5
million, according to UNICEF a half million are children--were
children--dead--killed because of our government's policies. And Iraqis
are dying today at the rate of about 4500 a month. Remember that when =
our
children trick or treat for UNICEF today.=20

This massive bloodshed and killing led Nelson-Pallmayer to write =
another
book: Brave New World Order analyzing the Gulf War. And he said that =
this
confirms what he had said in the preceding book. But we're even worse =
than
the Romans--we're getting close to the Nazis. Now this is a Lutheran
minister and theologian saying we're getting close to the Nazis. And he
cited Dietrich Bonhoffer, the great German Lutheran theologian and =
pastor
who was the Chaplain to the anti-Hitler resistance and later executed =
by
the Gestapo. He cited Bonhoffer and his book Cost of Discipleship where
Bonhoffer said: you know we churches here in Germany, all we're =
preaching
is cheap grace. We're telling people yes they're saved but they aren't
doing anything about it. Justification alone, no good works, no cost.=20

And indeed if you read through Bonhoffer's Cost of Discipleship and
several of his other things, you'll see him taking a position very =
similar
to what was agreed upon today in Augsburg on the relationship between
faith and good works; namely, if you do believe in God and you believe =
you
are saved, then you must go out and do something about it--which =
Bonhoffer
did and it cost him his life.=20

And what Nelson-Pallmayer was saying is, after the Gulf War, we're in a
similar situation here in America. We need to take Bonhoffer seriously.
Are our Christian churches just teaching cheap grace? And of course the
suggestion he was making is, yes. We need to emulate Bonhoffer's =
example,
Nelson-Pallmayer was saying, again from a theologically-based Lutheran
tradition.=20

At the end of the book, Nelson-Pallmayer offered a list of suggestions =
of
what concerned Christians could do about the American Empire to keep it
from going the same way as the Nazis. I won't go through the list here,
but two things really struck me on the list. First he felt that as a
minister, a theologian and a concerned Christian, he had a moral
obligation to discourage anyone from going into the U.S. Armed Forces
because they don't protect anything. They simply rape, rob, loot and
pillage around the world today, and this is inconsistent with Christian
moral theology as he sees it.  The second point he makes is that he
believes he is obliged to pray against the United States achieving its
objectives around the world. Very powerful statement by =
Nelson-Pallmayer.
I would encourage you to read his book--it speaks for itself.=20

Well, everything the analysis I gave you here today from a Lutheran
perspective can also be confirmed from a Catholic perspective. Very
different. Using the same sources of Scripture, Catholic liberation
theology--Guttierez, Boff, Casadalliga, Father, later President =
Aristide,
etc. But a very different perspective on the exact same problem. And =
the
Catholic liberation theologians in America's southern hemisphere would
agree with everything Nelson-Pallmayer said from a Lutheran perspective
but they would add the following: Oh yes, the United States of America =
is
just like the Roman Empire at the time of Jesus Christ and the only =
thing
we would add is that if Jesus Christ came back and reestablished his
ministry today in Latin America, the United States government would =
kill
Him--just like the Romans did.=20

And the primary case in point of course being the assassination of
Archbishop Romero in San Salvador, the Catholic Archbishop of El =
Salvador,
who was assassinated for publicly criticizing a CIA-imposed military
dictatorship back in 1980 while saying mass in church on orders of =
Roberto
Daubisson. He was trained by the United States government, working with
the Central Intelligence Agency at the time. And the United States
government did everything humanly possible to cover up and justify the
assassination of Archbishop Romero.=20

And this story can also be found in another book by the Revered Jack
Nelson-Pallmayer, a Lutheran theologian and minister, called School of =
the
Assassins, so-called School of the Americas. Nelson-Pallmayer explains =
how
the United States government since the end of the Second World War has
armed, equipped, supplied, and trained some of the most brutal military
dictators in Latin America including Daubisson, Noriega, Cedras, and a
whole list of other genocidal monsters. These are our creations. Since
this is Halloween, these are our Frankenstein monsters. We created =
these
guys.=20

And then of course at the end of the decade of the 1980s once again the
brutal military dictatorship in El Salvador murdered six Jesuit Priests
involved in the peace movement in El Salvador at their home as well as
their housekeeper--just murdered them--blew their brains out. And the
murderers and killers were in the Atlacatl brigade trained courtesy of =
the
United States government. And the U.S. government did everything =
possible
to lie and cover up about these murders.=20

So the Catholic liberation theologians I think would add and say, yes =
if
Jesus Christ were to come back today, the United States would kill him. =
I
agree.=20

Well, I don't know where that leaves any of you one way or the other. =
But
certainly that's the way I see the question of faith in action. Faith =
and
resistance. I agree with Nelson-Pallmayer. I agree with the Catholic
liberation theologians. I think it's interesting that we see an almost
identical analysis of the theological problem from a Lutheran =
perspective
and a Catholic perspective. Each operating independently of each other =
but
they come to the same conclusion.=20

And since we are at the conclusion of the hour, let me conclude with =
those
stirring words of Martin Luther: Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. =
God
help me. Amen.=20

=20



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- -----Original Message-----
From: peter weiss [mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2000 9:13 PM
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: (abolition-usa) FW: No Sour Grapes! AS/JIL&Power


Francis: Some of us are planning a meetig some time in February to talk
about US violations of international law. I want to call it "US Super
Outlaw." Do you have anything recent written on that subject?

                        Peter

yle, Francis wrote:
>=20
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Boyle, Francis [mailto:[e-mail]]
> Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2000 10:36 AM
> To: '[e-mail]'
> Cc: 'AALS Section on Minority Grps. mailing list';
> '[e-mail]'; '[e-mail]'
> Subject: No Sour Grapes! AS/JIL&Power
>=20
> Dear Professor Khan:
>         Actually, I stopped going to the Conventions of the American
Society
> of International Law and Power over  a decade ago because I got fed =
up
with
> their pronounced and pervasive anti-Arab bigotry and racism. It =
turned my
> stomach. Ditto for the American Journal of International Law and =
Power.
> Francis A. Boyle
>=20
> -----Original Message-----
> From: khan ali [mailto:[e-mail]]
> Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2000 10:25 AM
> To: Multiple recipients of list
> Subject: Sour Grapes
>=20
>=20
>         I want to add my voice to that of Professor Boyle on the =
workings
> of what he calls "Am. Soc. Int. L & Power," an obvious reference to =
ASIL
> and perhaps to the AJIL, a journal published under ASIL command and
> control.
>         ASIL has done good work, but it remains wedded to the =
interests of
> the United States foreign policy and the scholarship printed in the =
AJIL
> is predominantly boring, mechanistic, oligarchic, un-intellectual, =
and
> almost always pro-Israel.
>         Here is one example. AJIL has acknowledged receiving my book =
"The
> Extinction of Nation-States: A World without Borders"--but has failed =
in
> the past three years to find a reviewer for it, even though the book =
has
> been reviewed in several European journals.
>         The book challenges the notions of the single super power and
> shows how historically the Church and the Empire failed to institute =
a
> pyramidical legal order. It also challenges the notion of the chosen
> people, a reference to Romans and the English (and now to people like
> defunct Newt Gingrich), who foolishly believed that God had created =
them
> as the best people in the world.
>         Most importantly, the book challenges the notion of the
> nation-state and argues that its present legal and political form is =
no
> longer sustainable, a prediction that does not sit well with those =
who are
> overly obsessed with the existence of "the state of Israel."
>         The book is perhaps too radical for the boring and bland
> intellectuals of ASIL and AJIL, but it speaks the truth that would =
become
> irrefutable in due time and I am sure the book will be, one day, =
reviewed
> in AJIL, a command and control publication of ASIL and Power.
>         Of course, AJIL and ASIL and Power may dismiss this email as =
'sour
> grapes,' the complaint of a disgruntled law professor whose book =
simply
> does not meet the standards of AJIL.
>=20
> Ali Khan
> Professor of International Law
> & Human Rights,
> Washburn University
> Topeka, KS 66621
>=20
> -
>  To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to
"[e-mail]"
>  with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
>  For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send
>  "help" to the same address.  Do not use quotes in your message.



- -
 To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to =
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 with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
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------------------------------

End of abolition-usa-digest V1 #251
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