The provision at issue in today's decision was a modest amendment to a pre-existing anti-terrorism law that was designed to deal with real threats caused by support of terrorist groups. By targeting those who provide material support by providing ‘expert advice or assistance,’ the law made clear that Americans are threatened as much by the person who teaches a terrorist to build a bomb as by the one who pushes the button.

• Connecticut govenor impeachment panel gets unanimous OK
  Reuters reports: "Connecticut lawmakers voted unanimously on Monday to set up a panel to investigate whether to launch an impeachment probe of embattled Gov. John Rowland after he accepted gifts and free work from state contractors and lied about it."
  
  
• Domestic partner registry opens in Ohio
  AP reports: "Balloons decorated City Hall as unmarried couples, gay and straight, lined up Monday to be among the first to sign up for the city's domestic partner registry, the first in the nation created by voters."
  
  
• Federal government bans cattle blood in feed
  AP reports: "The government is outlawing the use of cattle blood in livestock feed and cow brains and other parts in dietary supplements, part of broader restrictions in wake of the nation's first known case of mad cow disease."
  
  
• Judge says US can't deport banker to Russia yet
  Reuters reports: "A federal judge on Monday ruled that a former Russian banker, who has ties to a jailed Russian oil magnate, should not be deported until he exhausts his legal effort to seek asylum in the United States."
  
  
• Cigarette maker loses high court appeal
  AP reports: "R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. lost a Supreme Court appeal Monday that challenged a judgment awarded to the widow of a teacher who died of cancer."
  
  
• Tribe appeals federal court ruling on raid of tax-free smoke shop
  AP reports: "An American Indian tribe on Monday appealed a federal court decision that said Rhode Island rightly shut down its tax-free tobacco store after a violent raid."
  
  
• Report says WorldCom could be sued for back taxes
  The New York Times reports: "WorldCom is vulnerable to being sued for hundreds of millions of dollars in back taxes by the states in which it has operated since the late 1990's, according to the final report filed today by the court-appointed examiner in WorldCom's bankruptcy proceedings."
  
  
• Attorneys opposes cameras at Nichols trial
  AP reports: "Defense attorneys objected Monday to allowing cameras in or near the courtroom where Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols will be tried on 161 counts of first-degree murder."

• Iran reformists consider quitting, election boycott
  Reuters reports: "Iranian reformist politicians on Monday considered mass resignations or boycotting next month's parliamentary elections after a hard-line body vetoed their attempt to overturn bans on thousands of election hopefuls."
  
  
• French President Chirac faces opposition over scarf ban
  AP reports: "French President Jacques Chirac is facing growing political opposition to his proposal to ban the Muslim head scarf in public schools."
  
  
• Portugal awaits abortion ruling
  AFP reports: "Portuguese lawyers representing women accused of illegally undergoing abortions have made their final arguments and await a verdict."
  
  
• EU keeps hope alive for constitutinal deal
  AFP reports: "The European Union could yet strike a deal on a first-ever constitution by June, the bloc's Irish presidency said in an upbeat assessment of the first talks since an EU summit collapsed last month."
  
  
• Germany offers to release prisoners for news on Israeli airman
  CBC reports: "Germany said on Monday it would release three prisoners in return for information about Ron Arad, an Israeli air force navigator shot down over Lebanon in 1986."
  
  
• Court firm on Israel barrier case
  BBC reports: "The International Court of Justice has rejected a call by Israel to move a 30 January deadline for written arguments on the security barrier case."
  
  
• Brussels set to rule against Microsoft
  FT.com reports: "The European Commission has reached a preliminary decision that Microsoft broke European competition law and abused its dominant position in the personal computer market."

• Federal judge dismisses slave reparations suit
  AP reports: "A federal judge in Chicago today has dismissed a lawsuit brought by descendants of slaves from across the country."
  
  
• Ruling a blow to Martha Stewart defence
  AP reports: "In a defeat for Stewart, U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum ruled that the defence cannot argue that she is being prosecuted for asserting her innocence and exercising her right to free speech."
  
  
• Iraq war justified even without WMD: Ashcroft
  CTV reports: "U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft has joined the list of top U.S. administration members who are struggling to defend the war in Iraq amid mounting criticism that no weapons of mass destruction have ever been found."
  
  
• Court Ruling May Change NJ Megan's Law
  1010 Wins.com reports: "Sex offenders who show that they can adhere to restrictions that would substantially reduce the risk of their committing further offenses can be authorized for release, a state appeals court has ruled."
  
  
• Judge allows young killer Lionel Tate to go home
  The Miami Herald reports: "A Broward County judge allowed Lionel Tate to go home today, four days before his 17th birthday."
  
  
• University of Pittsburgh law school receives second largest endowment
  AP reports: "The University of Pittsburgh's law school is getting its second largest gift ever, but the donor said the money can't be used for athletics."
  

• Surprise Witness in Germany 9/11 Trial
  AP reports: "A surprise witness who claims to be a former Iranian intelligence agent will appear this week at the trial of a Moroccan accused of aiding the Sept. 11 hijackers, the court hearing the case said on Monday."
  
  
• EU could lift arms ban for China, officials say
  AP reports: "The European Union could decide this spring to lift a ban on arms sales to China, opening the way for lucrative contracts from Beijing's big-spending military, officials said Monday.."
  
  
• Govt aiming to clarify self-defense rights
  The Yomiuri Shimbun reports: "The government's new stance on Japan's constitutional right to respond to military strikes against U.S. forces defending this nation reflects its decision to clear up ambiguities surrounding its view on the right to individual self-defense, according to analysts."
  
  
• Colonialism: Britain Faces Lawsuits from EA
  The East African reports: "The British government is facing a veritable avalanche of law suits relating to the colonial period in Kenya and Uganda over the coming year."
  

[R]emoving Saddam Hussein from power brought about the end of one of the world’s most abusive governments. But intervening militarily on the territory of a sovereign state, without its permission, is inherently dangerous and must be undertaken for humanitarian purposes in only the most extreme cases. While Saddam Hussein had an atrocious human rights record, his worst atrocities were committed long before the intervention. At the time coalition forces invaded Iraq, there was no ongoing or imminent mass killing of the sort that would require the kind of preventive military action that should characterize true humanitarian interventions.

The Constitution also provides for the Council of Guardians, which is charged with examining all legislation passed by the Majlis to ensure that it conforms to Islamic law. According to Article 91, the Council of Guardians consists of twelve members; six of them must be "just and pious" clergymen who are chosen by the faqih or the Leadership Council. The other six must be Muslim lawyers who are first selected by the High Council of Justice, then approved by a majority vote of the Majlis. The members of the Council of Guardians serve six-year terms, with half the members being changed every three years.

The responsibilities of the Council of Guardians are delineated in Articles 94 through 99. The members must review each law voted by the Majlis and determine, no later than ten days after the assembly has submitted a bill for consideration, whether or not it conforms with Islamic principles. If ten days are insufficient to study a particular piece of legislation, the Council of Guardians may request a ten-day extension. A majority of the clerical members of the Council of Guardians must agree that any given law does not violate religious precepts. If the Council of Guardians decides that a law contradicts Islam, the bill is returned to the Majlis for revision. If the Council of Guardians decides that a law conforms with Islam, that law is ratified.

• Bill of rights, to include freedom of speech, legislature, religion; statement of equal rights of all Iraqis, regardless of gender, sect, and ethnicity; and guarantees of due process.
  
  
• Federal arrangement for Iraq, to include governorates and the separation and specification of powers to be exercised by central and local entities.
  
  
• Statement of the independence of the judiciary, and a mechanism for judicial review.
  
  
• Statement of civilian political control over Iraqi armed and security forces.
  
  
• Statement that Fundamental Law cannot be amended.
  
  
• An expiration date for Fundamental Law.
  
  
• Timetable for drafting of Iraq’s permanent constitution by a body directly elected by the Iraqi people; for ratifying the permanent constitution; and for holding elections under the new constitution