Law of the Sea Treaty?
Here’s an interesting article:
Posted: 05/21/2007
Borrowing the famous words of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, “Old soldiers never die, they just fade away,” we can now see that old treaties never die, they can be resurrected years or even decades after taking what we thought was a knockout punch.
President George W. Bush is scheduled to announce any day that he will breathe new life into the old United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which President Ronald Reagan rejected in 1982. Bush’s National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley has asked Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joe Biden, D-Del., to secure Senate ratification “as early as possible.”
To defuse expected opposition, the Bush administration has been pursuing a most unusual lobbying campaign: inviting two or three prominent conservatives at a time to the White House without telling them in advance the purpose of the invitation or who will be present. After admission past executive office barricades, the conservatives are subjected to aggressive lobbying by administration heavy hitters: usually the chief counsel for the State Department and the judge advocate general of the U.S. Navy.
The 202-page Law of the Sea Treaty entered into force in 1994 and has been ratified by 153 countries. The treaty created the International Seabed Authority, giving it total jurisdiction over all the oceans and everything in them, including the ocean floor with “all” its riches (“solid, liquid or gaseous mineral resources”), along with the power to regulate 70 percent of the world’s surface.
If this is true, freedom loving folk are in deep doo doo. Not only is our government taking away our rights as citizens here inside this country, they’re going to make sure we remain prisoners within it as well?
May 23rd, 2007 at 1:40 am
I can’t believe this siren song is still around, its worse than Kyoto and should be deep-sixed once and for all. Giving up the open ocean to UN control is ludicous from the get go. The one world socialist democrats will try and slip this through in the wee hours. The very sad part is Dr. Rice supports it, a major blip on her record.
May 23rd, 2007 at 2:29 pm
Interesting subject. International Law dates to the times of Athens and Sparta. Sea law, however, started when coastal limits were ‘one cannon shot’ offshore (3 miles) and the US initiated the current law after wwII. The argument is an economic one, since “Military activities unrestricted: The treaty is understood not to apply to wartime or to ban military activities such as the travel of warships, or to restrict any nation’s right to self-defense.” and hence
US military supports the treaty. The many pros and cons are listed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Convention_on_the_Law_of_the_Sea …where Ms. Schafly’s arguments and President Bush’s arguments are well
documented.
May 23rd, 2007 at 2:38 pm
BBIdaho, I have no trust whatsoever in the present government and less than none in the United Nations. I can’t see putting anything to do with our nation in their hands. As a matter of fact, I think it’s high time the UN was disbanded since they can’t seem to do anything that’s really worthy of humanity.
No matter what the arguments are, the UN is not a force for good and I can’t see giving them that kind of power. Yeah, I know I’m being closeminded on this issue but until they can prove to me that they aren’t just a bunch of thugs and corrupt politicians I don’t want to hear anything they have to say about anything.
May 23rd, 2007 at 4:45 pm
I’m with you, Steph, when it comes to the UN – the sooner we get out of it, the better. There are some crazy things that are happening so fast and each could chip away at the sovereignty of our nation, but the sum of all would erase it fully.