• ping Adam

    From Rhino@3:633/10 to All on Fri Feb 20 18:04:49 2026
    I just saw this which will, I think, be of interest to you:

    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cewzdl81x0qo

    It's a history of the crime which Andrew may be charged with, although
    it looks like it might be difficult to prove.

    --
    Rhino


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.11
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Adam H. Kerman@3:633/10 to All on Sat Feb 21 05:52:45 2026
    Rhino <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

    I just saw this which will, I think, be of interest to you:

    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cewzdl81x0qo

    It's a history of the crime which Andrew may be charged with, although
    it looks like it might be difficult to prove.

    Thanks. Here, the Roberts court has overturned a public corruption
    conviction on similar reasoning.

    Thanks

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.11
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Rhino@3:633/10 to All on Thu Feb 26 18:14:36 2026
    This may be way beyond what you actually care about but this video,
    featuring a discussion between Jacob Rees-Mogg and David Starkey,
    eventually gets to the point where Rees-Mogg explains how the two
    different jury types - grand jury and petty jury (which we just call
    "jury" now) - came about. You might find that interesting. It starts not
    too long past the 20 minute mark of this video:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqpoXszp2dM [25 minutes]

    Mind you, I'm not sure if it will make sense without some of the
    preceding discussion, which is pretty interesting itself - I'd never
    heard of a "humble address" before - but not terribly relevant to the
    history of juries. But if you're following the whole Mandelson/(former)
    Prince Andrew scandal, this will give you a sense of the major
    Constitutional crisis this may well be.

    --
    Rhino


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From BTR1701@3:633/10 to All on Thu Feb 26 23:39:04 2026
    On Feb 26, 2026 at 3:14:36 PM PST, "Rhino" <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

    This may be way beyond what you actually care about but this video, featuring a discussion between Jacob Rees-Mogg and David Starkey,
    eventually gets to the point where Rees-Mogg explains how the two
    different jury types - grand jury and petty jury (which we just call
    "jury" now) - came about.

    Not to be overly pedantic, but it's spelled 'petit jury'.



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Adam H. Kerman@3:633/10 to All on Fri Feb 27 00:09:28 2026
    Rhino <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

    This may be way beyond what you actually care about but this video,

    I shall get to it. Thank you.

    . . .

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Adam H. Kerman@3:633/10 to All on Fri Feb 27 00:10:59 2026
    BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com> wrote:
    Feb 26, 2026 at 3:14:36 PM PST, Rhino <no_offline_contact@example.com>:

    This may be way beyond what you actually care about but this video, >>featuring a discussion between Jacob Rees-Mogg and David Starkey, >>eventually gets to the point where Rees-Mogg explains how the two >>different jury types - grand jury and petty jury (which we just call >>"jury" now) - came about.

    Not to be overly pedantic, but it's spelled 'petit jury'.

    On Usenet? That's unhoid of.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Rhino@3:633/10 to All on Thu Feb 26 21:16:55 2026
    On 2026-02-26 6:39 p.m., BTR1701 wrote:
    On Feb 26, 2026 at 3:14:36 PM PST, "Rhino" <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

    This may be way beyond what you actually care about but this video,
    featuring a discussion between Jacob Rees-Mogg and David Starkey,
    eventually gets to the point where Rees-Mogg explains how the two
    different jury types - grand jury and petty jury (which we just call
    "jury" now) - came about.

    Not to be overly pedantic, but it's spelled 'petit jury'.


    Thanks, I'd never seen it written. It makes sense too. After all,
    "grand" is surely a borrowing of the French word for "big" so it makes
    sense that it's counterpart jury would come from the French word for
    "small".

    --
    Rhino

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Rhino@3:633/10 to All on Thu Feb 26 21:17:36 2026
    On 2026-02-26 7:09 p.m., Adam H. Kerman wrote:
    Rhino <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

    This may be way beyond what you actually care about but this video,

    I shall get to it. Thank you.

    . . .

    You're welcome!

    --
    Rhino

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Rhino@3:633/10 to All on Mon Mar 2 18:37:36 2026
    Knowing your interest in all things legal, I think you might be
    interested in this discussion about the role of international law in the forming of national policies.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qozUZc_fEN4 [10 minutes; the first
    couple of minutes is breaking news but then the relevant part begins]

    The context is the Keir Starmer originally refused to let their closest
    ally, America, use their bases in either the UK or Diego Garcia (in the
    Indian Ocean) to launch aircraft against Iran for any reason. After 2
    days of pressure from both the US and domestic elements, he reversed
    himself and allowed those bases to be used "provided they were used
    strictly for defensive purposes".

    Starmer apparently has strong beliefs about international law trumping domestic law and his Attorney-General (and close friend) Lord Hermer
    feels the same so the two fought the idea of the US using the bases
    tooth and claw.

    Jacob Rees-Mogg (who is NOT a lawyer) and his guest (who IS a top
    lawyer) discuss the matter. Rees-Mogg restates these points and expands
    on some of them in this video:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOvOiy0_voA [9 minutes]

    In a nutshell, international law is extremely problematic as a basis for national policy.


    --
    Rhino


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From BTR1701@3:633/10 to All on Tue Mar 3 00:18:06 2026
    On Mar 2, 2026 at 3:37:36 PM PST, "Rhino" <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

    Knowing your interest in all things legal, I think you might be
    interested in this discussion about the role of international law in the forming of national policies.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qozUZc_fEN4 [10 minutes; the first
    couple of minutes is breaking news but then the relevant part begins]

    The context is the Keir Starmer originally refused to let their closest ally, America, use their bases in either the UK or Diego Garcia (in the Indian Ocean) to launch aircraft against Iran for any reason. After 2
    days of pressure from both the US and domestic elements, he reversed
    himself and allowed those bases to be used "provided they were used
    strictly for defensive purposes".

    Starmer apparently has strong beliefs about international law trumping domestic law and his Attorney-General (and close friend) Lord Hermer
    feels the same so the two fought the idea of the US using the bases
    tooth and claw.

    Jacob Rees-Mogg (who is NOT a lawyer) and his guest (who IS a top
    lawyer) discuss the matter. Rees-Mogg restates these points and expands
    on some of them in this video:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOvOiy0_voA [9 minutes]

    In a nutshell, international law is extremely problematic as a basis for national policy.

    Starmer's press release in response to Trump's attack on Iran:


    https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/2028534673002070016/vid/avc1/1280x720/Bv5ndF2YUSY2KOS2.mp4?tag=21

    ;-)



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Adam H. Kerman@3:633/10 to All on Tue Mar 3 00:36:55 2026
    Rhino <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

    Knowing your interest in all things legal, I think you might be
    interested in this discussion about the role of international law in the >forming of national policies.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qozUZc_fEN4 [10 minutes; the first
    couple of minutes is breaking news but then the relevant part begins]

    The context is the Keir Starmer originally refused to let their closest >ally, America, use their bases in either the UK or Diego Garcia (in the >Indian Ocean) to launch aircraft against Iran for any reason. After 2
    days of pressure from both the US and domestic elements, he reversed
    himself and allowed those bases to be used "provided they were used
    strictly for defensive purposes".

    Starmer apparently has strong beliefs about international law trumping >domestic law and his Attorney-General (and close friend) Lord Hermer
    feels the same so the two fought the idea of the US using the bases
    tooth and claw.

    Jacob Rees-Mogg (who is NOT a lawyer) and his guest (who IS a top
    lawyer) discuss the matter. Rees-Mogg restates these points and expands
    on some of them in this video:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOvOiy0_voA [9 minutes]

    In a nutshell, international law is extremely problematic as a basis for >national policy.

    I'll get to this when I have a moment.

    I guess I cannot blame Starmer. If he wants no involvement with war in
    Iran, then yes, he won't allow an ally to drag them into war.

    However, Diego Garcia is different as it's been a joint US base since
    the Viet Nam War era.

    I keep having to remind myself that this is a large island in the Chagos Archipelago, named for a Portuguese nobleman, then held by France till
    one of the Napoleonic wars after which the British got it. There was a
    tiny "native" population, although in human terms, these islands only
    recently became inhabited a few centuries back. They forced out the
    natives to build the base.

    To this day, the French still have Reunion.

    Looking it up, Starmer signed a treaty with Nauritius, yet to be ratified,
    to transfer sovereignity but keep the base. The archipelago had been
    split off from Mauritius before sovereignity. I'm not sure they had been ethnically similar historically but in colonial days, peoples came from
    all over the place.

    The treaty came after the British lost international arbitration.

    It's east of Africa, no where near Iran. Short of building an artificial island, I don't know where else the US could dock an aircraft carrier.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Rhino@3:633/10 to All on Tue Mar 3 22:01:07 2026
    On 2026-03-02 7:18 p.m., BTR1701 wrote:
    On Mar 2, 2026 at 3:37:36 PM PST, "Rhino" <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

    Knowing your interest in all things legal, I think you might be
    interested in this discussion about the role of international law in the
    forming of national policies.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qozUZc_fEN4 [10 minutes; the first
    couple of minutes is breaking news but then the relevant part begins]

    The context is the Keir Starmer originally refused to let their closest
    ally, America, use their bases in either the UK or Diego Garcia (in the
    Indian Ocean) to launch aircraft against Iran for any reason. After 2
    days of pressure from both the US and domestic elements, he reversed
    himself and allowed those bases to be used "provided they were used
    strictly for defensive purposes".

    Starmer apparently has strong beliefs about international law trumping
    domestic law and his Attorney-General (and close friend) Lord Hermer
    feels the same so the two fought the idea of the US using the bases
    tooth and claw.

    Jacob Rees-Mogg (who is NOT a lawyer) and his guest (who IS a top
    lawyer) discuss the matter. Rees-Mogg restates these points and expands
    on some of them in this video:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOvOiy0_voA [9 minutes]

    In a nutshell, international law is extremely problematic as a basis for
    national policy.

    Starmer's press release in response to Trump's attack on Iran:


    https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/2028534673002070016/vid/avc1/1280x720/Bv5ndF2YUSY2KOS2.mp4?tag=21

    ;-)


    I love it!

    --
    Rhino

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Rhino@3:633/10 to All on Tue Mar 3 23:19:28 2026
    On 2026-03-02 7:36 p.m., Adam H. Kerman wrote:
    Rhino <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

    Knowing your interest in all things legal, I think you might be
    interested in this discussion about the role of international law in the
    forming of national policies.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qozUZc_fEN4 [10 minutes; the first
    couple of minutes is breaking news but then the relevant part begins]

    The context is the Keir Starmer originally refused to let their closest
    ally, America, use their bases in either the UK or Diego Garcia (in the
    Indian Ocean) to launch aircraft against Iran for any reason. After 2
    days of pressure from both the US and domestic elements, he reversed
    himself and allowed those bases to be used "provided they were used
    strictly for defensive purposes".

    Starmer apparently has strong beliefs about international law trumping
    domestic law and his Attorney-General (and close friend) Lord Hermer
    feels the same so the two fought the idea of the US using the bases
    tooth and claw.

    Jacob Rees-Mogg (who is NOT a lawyer) and his guest (who IS a top
    lawyer) discuss the matter. Rees-Mogg restates these points and expands
    on some of them in this video:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOvOiy0_voA [9 minutes]

    In a nutshell, international law is extremely problematic as a basis for
    national policy.

    I'll get to this when I have a moment.

    I guess I cannot blame Starmer. If he wants no involvement with war in
    Iran, then yes, he won't allow an ally to drag them into war.

    However, Diego Garcia is different as it's been a joint US base since
    the Viet Nam War era.

    I keep having to remind myself that this is a large island in the Chagos Archipelago, named for a Portuguese nobleman, then held by France till
    one of the Napoleonic wars after which the British got it. There was a
    tiny "native" population, although in human terms, these islands only recently became inhabited a few centuries back. They forced out the
    natives to build the base.

    To this day, the French still have Reunion.

    Looking it up, Starmer signed a treaty with Nauritius, yet to be ratified,
    to transfer sovereignity but keep the base.

    Not quite: he negotiated a 99 year lease with Mauritius to keep using
    Diego Garcia and its base. He also agreed to pay Mauritius 101 million
    pounds a year. That will add up to a LOT of money in a century!

    The other critical factor here is that in recent years, Mauritius has
    come under very strong Chinese influence. Even if the Mauritians honour
    the agreement to stay away from Diego Garcia, it's not hard to imagine
    them granting their good friends from China use of another island in the
    chain to build a naval base or airport (or both). Even if that doesn't
    happen immediately, I bet the Chinese will be granted full access to
    whatever islands give the Chinese the best options for monitoring
    whatever happens on Diego Garcia. You can bet their spies will be VERY interesting in anything they can learn.

    The archipelago had been
    split off from Mauritius before sovereignity. I'm not sure they had been ethnically similar historically but in colonial days, peoples came from
    all over the place.

    The treaty came after the British lost international arbitration.

    It's east of Africa, no where near Iran. Short of building an artificial island, I don't know where else the US could dock an aircraft carrier.

    The Chinese have famously been spending billions building artificial
    islands in the South China Sea but I've seen reports that the islands
    are poorly constructed and that at least some of them have runways that
    the Chinese Air Force doesn't dare use because they are badly cracked or similarly unsound. Then again, I expect that American ingenuity COULD
    build an excellent artificial island if the need arose.

    --
    Rhino

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From The Horny Goat@3:633/10 to All on Wed Mar 4 02:25:49 2026
    On Tue, 3 Mar 2026 00:36:55 -0000 (UTC), "Adam H. Kerman"
    <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

    I guess I cannot blame Starmer. If he wants no involvement with war in
    Iran, then yes, he won't allow an ally to drag them into war.

    But Iran has ALREADY struck British bases in Cyprus, Bahrain and Qatar
    so how can Starmer claim he is not at war with Iran?

    (I understand he might not want to have joined the war but it seems to
    me that Iran didn't give him that choice - so at this point he should
    be in with both feet just like the United States tried very hard to
    stay out of WW2 - though some of their arms transactions with Britain
    and the fact that US ships in the Atlantic were radioing locations of
    U-boats to British ships well before they joined the war - but then
    joined in full force after US bases in Hawaii, the Phillipines and
    elsewhere were struck on 7 Dec 1941 and subsequently)

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Adam H. Kerman@3:633/10 to All on Wed Mar 4 15:06:04 2026
    The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
    Tue, 3 Mar 2026 00:36:55 -0000 (UTC), Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

    I guess I cannot blame Starmer. If he wants no involvement with war in >>Iran, then yes, he won't allow an ally to drag them into war.

    But Iran has ALREADY struck British bases in Cyprus, Bahrain and Qatar
    so how can Starmer claim he is not at war with Iran?

    I hadn't heard. They really are trying to force an international
    coalition to form, aren't they.

    . . .

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From BTR1701@3:633/10 to All on Wed Mar 4 18:58:44 2026
    On Mar 3, 2026 at 8:19:28 PM PST, "Rhino" <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

    On 2026-03-02 7:36 p.m., Adam H. Kerman wrote:
    Rhino <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

    Knowing your interest in all things legal, I think you might be
    interested in this discussion about the role of international law in the >>> forming of national policies.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qozUZc_fEN4 [10 minutes; the first
    couple of minutes is breaking news but then the relevant part begins]

    The context is the Keir Starmer originally refused to let their closest >>> ally, America, use their bases in either the UK or Diego Garcia (in the >>> Indian Ocean) to launch aircraft against Iran for any reason. After 2
    days of pressure from both the US and domestic elements, he reversed
    himself and allowed those bases to be used "provided they were used
    strictly for defensive purposes".

    Starmer apparently has strong beliefs about international law trumping
    domestic law and his Attorney-General (and close friend) Lord Hermer
    feels the same so the two fought the idea of the US using the bases
    tooth and claw.

    Jacob Rees-Mogg (who is NOT a lawyer) and his guest (who IS a top
    lawyer) discuss the matter. Rees-Mogg restates these points and expands >>> on some of them in this video:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOvOiy0_voA [9 minutes]

    In a nutshell, international law is extremely problematic as a basis for >>> national policy.

    I'll get to this when I have a moment.

    I guess I cannot blame Starmer. If he wants no involvement with war in
    Iran, then yes, he won't allow an ally to drag them into war.

    However, Diego Garcia is different as it's been a joint US base since
    the Viet Nam War era.

    I keep having to remind myself that this is a large island in the Chagos
    Archipelago, named for a Portuguese nobleman, then held by France till
    one of the Napoleonic wars after which the British got it. There was a
    tiny "native" population, although in human terms, these islands only
    recently became inhabited a few centuries back. They forced out the
    natives to build the base.

    To this day, the French still have Reunion.

    Looking it up, Starmer signed a treaty with Nauritius, yet to be ratified, >> to transfer sovereignity but keep the base.

    Not quite: he negotiated a 99 year lease with Mauritius to keep using
    Diego Garcia and its base. He also agreed to pay Mauritius 101 million pounds a year. That will add up to a LOT of money in a century!

    And the natives there don't want to be Mauritian. It's an entirely different culture and people. So after spouting al this politically correct, anti-colonial woke nonsense, Starmer is completely ignoring the wishes of the native people for politics.



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From BTR1701@3:633/10 to All on Wed Mar 4 18:59:44 2026
    On Mar 2, 2026 at 4:36:55 PM PST, ""Adam H. Kerman"" <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

    Rhino <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

    Knowing your interest in all things legal, I think you might be
    interested in this discussion about the role of international law in the
    forming of national policies.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qozUZc_fEN4 [10 minutes; the first
    couple of minutes is breaking news but then the relevant part begins]

    The context is the Keir Starmer originally refused to let their closest
    ally, America, use their bases in either the UK or Diego Garcia (in the
    Indian Ocean) to launch aircraft against Iran for any reason. After 2
    days of pressure from both the US and domestic elements, he reversed
    himself and allowed those bases to be used "provided they were used
    strictly for defensive purposes".

    Starmer apparently has strong beliefs about international law trumping
    domestic law and his Attorney-General (and close friend) Lord Hermer
    feels the same so the two fought the idea of the US using the bases
    tooth and claw.

    Jacob Rees-Mogg (who is NOT a lawyer) and his guest (who IS a top
    lawyer) discuss the matter. Rees-Mogg restates these points and expands
    on some of them in this video:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOvOiy0_voA [9 minutes]

    In a nutshell, international law is extremely problematic as a basis for
    national policy.

    I'll get to this when I have a moment.

    I guess I cannot blame Starmer. If he wants no involvement with war in
    Iran, then yes, he won't allow an ally to drag them into war.

    However, Diego Garcia is different as it's been a joint US base since
    the Viet Nam War era.

    I keep having to remind myself that this is a large island in the Chagos Archipelago, named for a Portuguese nobleman, then held by France till
    one of the Napoleonic wars after which the British got it. There was a
    tiny "native" population, although in human terms, these islands only recently became inhabited a few centuries back. They forced out the
    natives to build the base.

    To this day, the French still have Reunion.

    Looking it up, Starmer signed a treaty with Nauritius, yet to be ratified,
    to transfer sovereignity but keep the base. The archipelago had been
    split off from Mauritius before sovereignity. I'm not sure they had been ethnically similar historically but in colonial days, peoples came from
    all over the place.

    The treaty came after the British lost international arbitration.

    It's east of Africa, no where near Iran. Short of building an artificial island, I don't know where else the US could dock an aircraft carrier.

    You can't bring a carrier into such shallow waters. What you'd do is anchor
    the carrier a mile or so off the island and resupply it with smaller boats going back and forth to the shore.



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Adam H. Kerman@3:633/10 to All on Wed Mar 4 19:47:25 2026
    BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com> wrote:
    On Mar 2, 2026 at 4:36:55 PM PST, Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

    . . .

    It's east of Africa, no where near Iran. Short of building an artificial >>island, I don't know where else the US could dock an aircraft carrier.

    You can't bring a carrier into such shallow waters. What you'd do is anchor >the carrier a mile or so off the island and resupply it with smaller boats >going back and forth to the shore.

    Ok. So Diego Garcia is more about bringing in supplies than docking a
    carrier. What could the US replace it with?

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From shawn@3:633/10 to All on Wed Mar 4 15:09:27 2026
    On Wed, 4 Mar 2026 15:06:04 -0000 (UTC), "Adam H. Kerman"
    <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

    The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
    Tue, 3 Mar 2026 00:36:55 -0000 (UTC), Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

    I guess I cannot blame Starmer. If he wants no involvement with war in >>>Iran, then yes, he won't allow an ally to drag them into war.

    But Iran has ALREADY struck British bases in Cyprus, Bahrain and Qatar
    so how can Starmer claim he is not at war with Iran?

    I hadn't heard. They really are trying to force an international
    coalition to form, aren't they.



    Agreed. I can't figure out what their game plan is. Maybe we are
    seeing the game plan that was in place before the war started. One
    where the leadership in Iran thought these are the countries that will
    join in a war against them and these are the easy places to strike
    back at each of them. Then when the leadership was removed the people
    still in place (alive) didn't have any direction other than the plans
    that had been laid down before so that's what they followed.

    It's the only thing that makes sense to me. Especially given that 1)
    the difficulty in deciding on new leadership in this situation and 2)
    that I have read that Iran went all out in building their military
    into cells that can operate independently. That said they would still
    need some direction and a pre-made plan would do that well.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Rhino@3:633/10 to All on Wed Mar 4 19:08:25 2026
    On 2026-03-04 1:58 p.m., BTR1701 wrote:
    On Mar 3, 2026 at 8:19:28 PM PST, "Rhino" <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

    On 2026-03-02 7:36 p.m., Adam H. Kerman wrote:
    Rhino <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

    Knowing your interest in all things legal, I think you might be
    interested in this discussion about the role of international law in the >>>> forming of national policies.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qozUZc_fEN4 [10 minutes; the first
    couple of minutes is breaking news but then the relevant part begins] >>>
    The context is the Keir Starmer originally refused to let their closest >>>> ally, America, use their bases in either the UK or Diego Garcia (in the >>>> Indian Ocean) to launch aircraft against Iran for any reason. After 2 >>>> days of pressure from both the US and domestic elements, he reversed >>>> himself and allowed those bases to be used "provided they were used
    strictly for defensive purposes".

    Starmer apparently has strong beliefs about international law trumping >>>> domestic law and his Attorney-General (and close friend) Lord Hermer >>>> feels the same so the two fought the idea of the US using the bases
    tooth and claw.

    Jacob Rees-Mogg (who is NOT a lawyer) and his guest (who IS a top
    lawyer) discuss the matter. Rees-Mogg restates these points and expands >>>> on some of them in this video:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOvOiy0_voA [9 minutes]

    In a nutshell, international law is extremely problematic as a basis for >>>> national policy.

    I'll get to this when I have a moment.

    I guess I cannot blame Starmer. If he wants no involvement with war in >>> Iran, then yes, he won't allow an ally to drag them into war.

    However, Diego Garcia is different as it's been a joint US base since
    the Viet Nam War era.

    I keep having to remind myself that this is a large island in the Chagos >>> Archipelago, named for a Portuguese nobleman, then held by France till >>> one of the Napoleonic wars after which the British got it. There was a >>> tiny "native" population, although in human terms, these islands only
    recently became inhabited a few centuries back. They forced out the
    natives to build the base.

    To this day, the French still have Reunion.

    Looking it up, Starmer signed a treaty with Nauritius, yet to be ratified,
    to transfer sovereignity but keep the base.

    Not quite: he negotiated a 99 year lease with Mauritius to keep using
    Diego Garcia and its base. He also agreed to pay Mauritius 101 million
    pounds a year. That will add up to a LOT of money in a century!

    And the natives there don't want to be Mauritian. It's an entirely different culture and people. So after spouting al this politically correct, anti-colonial woke nonsense, Starmer is completely ignoring the wishes of the native people for politics.


    But whose politics? I see no way in which this benefits the UK: They're spending 100 million a year for a century to give Mauritius something
    over which they have very little real claim. They're alienating their
    closest ally. China, which has a lot of influence over Mauritius,
    benefits: is Starmer trying to please China? Not as crazy as it might
    sound: I saw one commentator say that Starmer was a Trotskyite in his
    younger days and he may just be playing moderate to advance his
    political career. Starmer is actually relatively centrist for the Labour
    Party which is how he wrested leadership away from Corbyn who was - and
    is - really Far Left. The Liberals in this country have cozied up to
    China too.

    The other factor is that Starmer and his attorney-general are both
    heavily devoted to putting international law above national laws
    whenever possible and giving the Chagos Islands to Mauritius accords
    with a ruling of one of the International Courts - the kind most
    countries ignore when it suits their interests.

    --
    Rhino

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Rhino@3:633/10 to All on Wed Mar 4 19:10:24 2026
    On 2026-03-04 2:47 p.m., Adam H. Kerman wrote:
    BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com> wrote:
    On Mar 2, 2026 at 4:36:55 PM PST, Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

    . . .

    It's east of Africa, no where near Iran. Short of building an artificial >>> island, I don't know where else the US could dock an aircraft carrier.

    You can't bring a carrier into such shallow waters. What you'd do is anchor >> the carrier a mile or so off the island and resupply it with smaller boats >> going back and forth to the shore.

    Ok. So Diego Garcia is more about bringing in supplies than docking a carrier. What could the US replace it with?

    Diego Garcia also has an airfield; it's not just a port.

    --
    Rhino

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From shawn@3:633/10 to All on Wed Mar 4 19:32:53 2026
    On Wed, 4 Mar 2026 19:10:24 -0500, Rhino
    <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

    On 2026-03-04 2:47 p.m., Adam H. Kerman wrote:
    BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com> wrote:
    On Mar 2, 2026 at 4:36:55 PM PST, Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

    . . .

    It's east of Africa, no where near Iran. Short of building an artificial >>>> island, I don't know where else the US could dock an aircraft carrier.

    You can't bring a carrier into such shallow waters. What you'd do is anchor >>> the carrier a mile or so off the island and resupply it with smaller boats >>> going back and forth to the shore.

    Ok. So Diego Garcia is more about bringing in supplies than docking a
    carrier. What could the US replace it with?

    Diego Garcia also has an airfield; it's not just a port.

    One of, if not, the longest airfield in the area. So it's capable of
    receiving anything.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From BTR1701@3:633/10 to All on Thu Mar 5 04:54:54 2026
    On Mar 4, 2026 at 11:47:25 AM PST, ""Adam H. Kerman"" <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

    BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com> wrote:
    On Mar 2, 2026 at 4:36:55 PM PST, Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

    . . .

    It's east of Africa, no where near Iran. Short of building an artificial >>> island, I don't know where else the US could dock an aircraft carrier.

    You can't bring a carrier into such shallow waters. What you'd do is anchor >> the carrier a mile or so off the island and resupply it with smaller boats >> going back and forth to the shore.

    Ok. So Diego Garcia is more about bringing in supplies than docking a carrier. What could the US replace it with?

    It's also an airbase with a runway long enough to allow the world's largest planes to land. That's huge to have that kind of asset in that part of the world.



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)