The Geneva Conventions and Protocols

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Sat, 08 Mar 2003 13:00:00 GMT

From birdman:

"America is great because it is good. If America ever ceases to be good, it will cease to be great." -- Alex de Toqueville

From kaba:

"I am a retired policeman and firearms instructor, and I believe in gun control. Responsible gun owners should be able to hit where they are aiming." -- Donald E. Clem

Kim du Toit - The Ultimate Goblin-Stopper - Mr. du Toit introduces the .700 Hernandez. Now nobody can call him a recoil wimp. Hehe. Photo at the linked page. My spreadsheet says this is 42,905 foot pounds of muzzle energy. S&W's new hand cannon is under 3,000. Most rifles are below 4,000. A max-loaded .50 BMG, 660 grains at 3080 fps, generates only 13,900 foot pounds. Somehow I doubt that anyone will be able to build a gun for Mr. du Toit's new cartridge that won't blow up when fired. [kimdutoit]

Basically, it consists of a 2,500gr. bullet, driven by 250 grains of Alliance Red Dot powder, leading to a muzzle velocity of 2,780 fps and a terminal energy of "who cares?" ft-lbs.

I like the fact that you can fit pretty much the entire .44 Mag bullet into the .700's hollowpoint cavity.

Now all I need is someone (Ruger? Freedom Arms? anyone?) to make a revolver for it.

International Committee for the Red Cross - 1949 Conventions and 1977 Protocols - Full Text - the full text of the four Geneva Conventions and the two 1977 protocols. Since I've been making reference to the Geneva Convention of late, I figured I should actually read it. Turns out that it is a them. I skimmed convention IV, "relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War" and Protocol 1, "relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts." Part IV of Protocol 1 forbids attacking the civilian population and objects necessary to their survival.

Art 54. Protection of objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population

1. Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is prohibited.

2. It is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, such as food-stuffs, agricultural areas for the production of food-stuffs, crops, livestock, drinking water installations and supplies and irrigation works, for the specific purpose of denying them for their sustenance value to the civilian population or to the adverse Party, whatever the motive, whether in order to starve out civilians, to cause them to move away, or for any other motive.

Liz Michael - New Constitution of the Confederate States of America - I haven't read this whole thing yet, but it looks better than the U.S. Constitution, though quite a bit longer. I believe this is part of Ms. Michael's program to determine what to do after we shoot the bastards, or after, as Bill Stone says, they slink away because no one is paying any attention to them any more. Make sure you check out the rest of the New Confederacy site, available via links at the bottom of the Constitution. [lizmichael]

Henrietta Bowman at Sierra Times - Standing Tall - kudos to Ether Zone for their endorsement of Ron Paul for president in 2004. Now if we can just convince Dr. Paul to run. Includes links to Ether Zone articles going into more depth. [sierra]

Today, EZ has the following announcement on their homepage: "The Board of Directors of EtherZone.com, America's preeminent constitutionalist political Web magazine, announces today its support of a Ron Paul/Tom Tancredo Presidential ticket in 2004. It is the unanimous opinion of EtherZone that should President George W. Bush be allowed to serve another term, our Constitutional republic and the liberties granted to the citizenry by God and our Founders could well be destroyed. We therefore urge that a referendum be held on the George W. Bush presidency, and that he should face a Republican Party primary challenge by Paul and Tancredo, and, if necessary, a united third-party challenge in the general election by the same honorable statesmen."

Charles Sebrell at LewRockwell.com - Adolf Hussein? - why comparing Hussein with Hitler is grossly inaccurate. [trt-ny]

Always on the lookout for sympathy, the warmongers have added a twist to their emotional appeals. Their original demands were to destroy Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, then they demanded a regime change. They have now added that the allies (the best allies money can buy) are there to liberate the Iraqi people. I have no doubt the Iraqi people will be liberated alright, they'll be liberated of 20 billion barrels of oil.

Joseph Sobran - France and the Bush Doctrine - Instead of making fun of the French, America would do well to listen to them. Their's just might be the rational perspective. [trt-ny]

Anti-American? When the terrorists struck on 9/11, a Parisian paper ran the headline "We are all Americans today." That instant, generous sympathy spoke for most of Europe -- the people who are now accused of hating America. Maybe it's just that America -- Bush's America -- has badly overtaxed their patience in the ensuing months.

The other day, one of our semiliterate conservatives accused the French of "appeasing Hitler." Well, they did surrender to him -- but only after losing 100,000 men in a few weeks of furious fighting. Cowards?

You can now make nasty generalizations about the French in polite society that would be called bigoted if you said them about anyone else. But even this is a sign of our grudging respect for them. They don't see themselves as victims, but as responsible, civilized people with a matchless record of cultural achievement. That is exactly what they are, and that is how we think of them, even when we abuse them. They have too much dignity to be wounded by American sneers.

Anyway, nobody can out-sneer the French. They aren't always tender about other people's feelings, as I learned when dealing with a Parisian policeman, but this is largely because they put objective reality ahead of emotions and have limited patience with euphemisms. This is another reason why we should pay attention when they criticize us. They may be telling us something we need to hear about ourselves.

Thomas P.M. Barnett at Esquire via The U.S. Navy War College - The Pentagon's New Map - some theory behind the war hawks' actions. [grabbe]

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Quotes

Government doesn't work. Never did. Never will. Can't. But there are lots of good people. Love them.

-- Bill St. Clair

The Atlanta Declaration

Every man, woman, and responsible child has an unalienable individual, civil, Constitutional, and human right to obtain, own, and carry, openly or concealed, any weapon -- rifle, shotgun, handgun, machinegun, anything -- any time, any place, without asking anyone's permission.

-- L. Neil Smith

Reread that pesky first clause of the Second Amendment. It doesn't say what any of us thought it said. What it says is that infringing the right of the people to keep and bear arms is treason. What else do you call an act that endangers "the security of a free state"? And if it's treason, then it's punishable by death. I suggest due process, speedy trials, and public hangings.

-- L. Neil Smith

A Penalty Clause for the Bill of Rights

Any official, appointed or elected, at any level of government, who attempts, through legislative act or other means, to nullify, evade, or avoid the provisions of the first ten amendments to this Constitution, or of the Thirteenth Amendment, shall be summarily removed from office, and, upon conviction, deprived of all pay and benefits including pension, and sentenced to imprisonment for life.

-- L. Neil Smith

Based on 253 journal articles, 99 books, 43 government publications, and some of its own empirical work, the panel couldn't identify a single gun control regulation that reduced violent crime, suicide or accidents.

-- John Lott, commenting on the National Academy of Sciences report on gun control laws.

Who is a libertarian?

Zero Aggression Principle ("Zap")

"A libertarian is a person who believes that no one has the right, under any circumstances, to initiate force against another human being, or to advocate or delegate its initiation. Those who act consistently with this principle are libertarians, whether they realize it or not. Those who fail to act consistently with it are not libertarians, regardless of what they may claim."

-- L. Neil Smith

(Formerly called the "Non-Aggression Principle", or "NAP")

Why Did It Have to be... Guns?

Make no mistake: all politicians -- even those ostensibly on the side of guns and gun ownership -- hate the issue and anyone, like me, who insists on bringing it up. They hate it because it's an X-ray machine. It's a Vulcan mind-meld. It's the ultimate test to which any politician -- or political philosophy -- can be put.

If a politician isn't perfectly comfortable with the idea of his average constituent, any man, woman, or responsible child, walking into a hardware store and paying cash -- for any rifle, shotgun, handgun, machinegun, anything -- without producing ID or signing one scrap of paper, he isn't your friend no matter what he tells you.

If he isn't genuinely enthusiastic about his average constituent stuffing that weapon into a purse or pocket or tucking it under a coat and walking home without asking anybody's permission, he's a four-flusher, no matter what he claims.

What his attitude -- toward your ownership and use of weapons -- conveys is his real attitude about you. And if he doesn't trust you, then why in the name of John Moses Browning should you trust him?

-- L. Neil Smith

Concise

"Tell me," I was once asked, "What do you think about gun control? Give me the short answer." To which I replied, "If you try to take our firearms we will kill you."

-- Mike Vanderboegh

Also from The Atlanta Declaration:

... like going to the bathroom, breathing, eating, sleeping, or making love, it turns out that self-defense is a bodily function one cannot safely or effectively delegate to a second party.

-- L. Neil Smith

This does not mean that "Marijuana should be available by prescription." It means that morphine sulfate should be available in five pound bags at the supermarket for a couple of bucks, like sugar... but probably in a different aisle, to avoid confusion.

-- Vin Suprynowicz

If you refuse to pay unjust taxes, your property will be confiscated. If you attempt to defend your property, you will be arrested. If you resist arrest, you will be clubbed. If you defend yourself against clubbing, you will be shot dead. These procedures are known as the Rule of Law.

-- Edward Abbey

The state can only survive as long as a majority is programmed to believe that theft isn't wrong if it's called taxation or asset forfeiture or eminent domain, that assault and kidnapping isn't wrong if it's called arrest, that mass murder isn't wrong if it's called war.

-- Bill St. Clair