(11-01-2014 06:43 PM)Brokeback Flamer Wrote: (11-01-2014 11:08 AM)jh Wrote: (11-01-2014 10:36 AM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote: I'm not sure that the smarter members (read: not Alito or Scalia) of the Court
Yes, resident legal expert Tom in Lazybrook (how's that discovery request in Houston coming?) considers himself qualified to opine on the intelligence of Supreme Court justices.
For actual discussion of the merits of the case. . .
http://www.lawfareblog.com/2014/10/how-t...ivitofsky/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volok...gnition-i/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volok...t-recognit
And then there is this, which is a little bit embarrassing for the executive arguments.
Quote:Remarkably, the Executive Branch itself places Jerusalem in Israel for geographic identification purposes. The U.S. Board of Geographic Names, a part of the Interior Department. Its statuary purpose is to “provide for uniformity in geographic nomenclature… throughout the Federal Government.” Members of the board include, inter alia, officials from the State, Defense, and Homeland Security Departments, and the CIA.
According to the “foreign-place names decisions approved by” the Board, Jerusalem is a city in “Israel” (with the “unique name identifier” of 13535646). To be sure, the homepage of the Board’s names database prominently advises that (emphasis in original):
Quote:The geographic names in this database are provided for the guidance of and use by the Federal Government and for the information of the general public. The names, variants and associated data may not reflect the views of the United States Government on the sovereignty over geographic features.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volok...-to-agree/
The major Encyclopedia and Dictionary list Jerusalem as the Capitol of Israel.
The 1967 borders or what part of Jerusalem the kid was born in makes no difference.
How many countries have an embassy (not a consulate) in J'lem?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positions_on_Jerusalem
Money quote "no nation maintains an embassy in J'lem".
This is just an attempt by the neocons to force the US to recognize a land grab.
The US Embassy is in Tel Aviv. It will remain there.
Bibi isn't helping anyone, including Israel, with his settlements. There's no need for the US to take a stand that will earn us the scorn of the entire world and will complicate US interests in non-recognition of land grabs by other nations that we are not friendly with (i.e., Russia).
Tel Aviv and Haifa, which is the 'face' of Israel shown to the world, not the intolerant hardliners in Hebron and Mea Sharim, are perfectly happy with the US State Department policy in this matter.
The State Department has our back on this one. I wish the neocons would come up with an appropriate reason why offending the world for no benefit would serve any US strategic purpose.
I suppose its all part of globalization. I see Macau money all over this.
If the US wanted to split the baby, they could recognize West J'lem as the capitol. The Knesset is definately in pre-1967 J'lem (I've been to it by the way). But that would still be epically stupid and would gain nothing for Israel and would complicate US foreign policy objectives shared by Republican and Democratic adminstrations, by the way.