La questione della liceità dell'uso e del possesso delle armi nucleari (Thesis Excerpt)

Luglio 2005

La mattina del 16 luglio 1945, alle ore 5:29:45 ufficialmente il mondo è entrato nell'era atomica. In quel momento è avvenuta la prima esplosione nucleare, seppure come esperimento, di un ordigno atomico, in conseguenza di tutto il lavoro svolto dal Progetto Manhattan. Dopo appena tre settimane, le due città giapponesi di Hiroshima e Nagasaki furono devastate e distrutte per buona parte, in seguito a due esplosioni nucleari, questa volta utilizzate come armi di guerra. Il 14 agosto il Giappone si arrese e si chiuse, almeno da un punto di vista prettamente bellico, la seconda guerra mondiale.

La questione della liceità dell'uso e del possesso delle armi nucleari (Complete Thesis)

Luglio 2005

La mattina del 16 luglio 1945, alle ore 5:29:45 ufficialmente il mondo è entrato nell'era atomica. In quel momento è avvenuta la prima esplosione nucleare, seppure come esperimento, di un ordigno atomico, in conseguenza di tutto il lavoro svolto dal Progetto Manhattan. Dopo appena tre settimane, le due città giapponesi di Hiroshima e Nagasaki furono devastate e distrutte per buona parte, in seguito a due esplosioni nucleari, questa volta utilizzate come armi di guerra. Il 14 agosto il Giappone si arrese e si chiuse, almeno da un punto di vista prettamente bellico, la seconda guerra mondiale.

Nuclear Arms and International Humanitarian Law

December 31, 2004

Books Worth Reading: Damascus Station by David McCLOSKEY

DAMASCUS STATION

DAVID McCLOSKEY

From Amazon:

'One of the best - and most authentic - spy thrillers in years' The Times

***THE TIMES THRILLER OF THE YEAR***

A CIA officer and his recruit arrive in Damascus to hunt for a killer

CIA case officer Sam Joseph is dispatched to Paris to recruit Syrian Palace official Mariam Haddad. The two fall into a forbidden relationship, which supercharges Haddad's recruitment and creates unspeakable danger when they enter Damascus to find the man responsible for the disappearance of an American spy.

But the cat and mouse chase for the killer soon leads to a trail of high-profile assassinations and the discovery of a dark secret at the heart of the Syrian regime, bringing the pair under the all-seeing eyes of Assad's spy catcher, Ali Hassan, and his brother Rustum, the head of the feared Republican Guard. Set against the backdrop of a Syria pulsing with fear and rebellion, Damascus Station is a gripping thriller that offers a textured portrayal of espionage, love, loyalty, and betrayal in one of the most difficult CIA assignments on the planet.

PRAISE FOR DAMASCUS STATION:

'Simply marvellous storytelling...a stand-out thriller and essential reading for fans of the genre' - Financial Times

'The best spy novel I have ever read' - General David Petraeus, former director of the CIA

Books Worth Reading: A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting by Kenneth A. ADAMS

A MANUAL OF STYLE FOR CONTRACT DRAFTING

KENNETH A. ADAMS

From Amazon:

Better contract drafting leads to fewer disputes. Fewer disputes means happier clients.

In this fifth edition, Kenneth A. Adams has updated and expanded his valuable guide by more than 70 pages of new and updated materials addressing many topics, making it even more authoritative and essential.

For those who draft, review, negotiate, or interpret contracts, this is an essential desk reference.

With A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting, Kenneth A. Adams has created a uniquely in-depth survey of the building blocks of contract language.

First published in 2004, it offers those who draft, review, negotiate, or interpret contracts an alternative to the dysfunction of traditional contract language and the inertia and flawed conventional wisdom that perpetuate it.

This manual has become a vital resource throughout the legal profession, in the United States and internationally.

This fifth edition contains more than 70 pages of new materials addressing many topics, making it even more authoritative and essential. The rest of the text reflects many adjustments.

This manual's focus remains how to express contract terms in prose that is free of the archaisms, redundancies, ambiguities, and other problems that afflict traditional contract language.

With exceptional analysis and an unmatched level of practical detail, Ken highlights common sources of confusion and recommends clearer and more concise alternatives.

This manual is organized to facilitate easy reference, and it illustrates its analysis with numerous examples.

Consult it to save time in drafting and negotiation and to reduce the risk of dispute.

Books Worth Reading: The Intelligent Option Investor by Erik KOBAYASHI-SOLOMON

THE INTELLIGENT OPTION INVESTOR

ERIK KOBAYASHI-SOLOMON

From Amazon:

HOW TO USE YOUR HUMAN ADVANTAGE TO OUTPERFORM ALGORITHMS IN THE OPTIONS MARKET

If you're a value investor who wants to get your money into the lucrative options market, forget about day trading, chart patterns, and market timing. This systematic book lays out a path to long-term wealth by taking positions on companies with real intrinsic value--the kind Ben Graham and Warren Buffett would invest in.

Leave the complex algorithms and "Greeks" for the floor traders. Erik Kobayashi-Solomon, former investment banker, hedge fund risk manager, and valuation consultant to the World Bank, gives you the knowledge and sophistication to understand what options pricing reveals about the market's estimation of future stock prices. He then demonstrates how to find tremendous opportunity for low-risk, high-profit investments in the difference between the market's mechanized price ranges and ones made by you, a thoughtful human being armed with the insight this book offers.

Everything you need to make options a powerful contributor to your portfolio is inside, including:

• A thorough explanation of what options are and what their prices can tell you about the market's expectations for the future price of a stock
• A proven way to envision the risk/reward trade-off for stocks and options and a straightforward method to use the flexibility and directionality of options to tilt the risk/return balance in your favor
• A robust and intuitive framework for assessing the value of a company
• Strategies to avoid the most common behavioral pitfalls
• Tips for using the information on an option-pricing screen
• Thorough coverage of important option investment strategies, including "covered calls," "protective puts," and "collars"

Regardless of your experience level with options, this versatile guide makes you a better investor. Beginners get a turnkey solution to growing wealth in options, experienced investors gain savvy guidance for fine-tuning their practices, and professional investors learn how to effectively incorporate options into a portfolio.

Understanding valuation in this perceptive light lets you earn the consistent profits of The Intelligent Option Investor.

The Intelligent Option Investor is the hands-on guide to using a cutting-edge valuation framework in the fast-paced options market to boost growth, protect gains, and generate income.

It explains how to use your insightful human mind to recognize when mechanized options pricing undervalues a stock. Once you see an opportunity, you'll have all the tools you need to execute a fact-based decision about how and when to invest in the company.

Have your money make the most for you with the potent blend of time-honored value investing strategies and hot options vehicles in The Intelligent Option Investor.

PRAISE FOR THE INTELLIGENT OPTION INVESTOR:

"The Intelligent Option Investor reflects Erik's keen understanding of how companies create value for their owners, which is essential to successful option investing. In addition to showcasing Erik's expertise in developing option investment strategies based on fundamental security analysis and a long-term time horizon, this book delivers the information in a way that’s accessible to individual investors, offering them the resources to use options to help them meet their financial goals." -- JOE MANSUETO, founder, chairman, and CEO, Morningstar, Inc.

"Erik knows--and lays out here--that to use options successfully, you need to understand the underlying stock and its valuation first. This is one of few books on options that teaches this fruitful, combined approach. And that's why it works." -- JEFF FISCHER, advisor, Motley Fool Options

Books Worth Reading: 10-Minute Options Trading and ETF Investing by Travis WILKERSON

10-MINUTE OPTIONS TRADING AND ETF INVESTING

TRAVIS WILKERSON

From Amazon:

Do you have a repeatable investing process that helps you earn above-average portfolio returns in any market environment?

Have you ever wondered why so few retail investors ever manage to outperform the market? And if they try, why do so many fail?

The good news is that despite what the mainstream media wants to tell you. Investing is not an impossible or complicated game only the pros can master.

The secret to beating the market's long-term performance and avoiding account-crushing losses is enhanced buy-and-hold (ETFs + options trading). Think of it as buy-and-hold investing on steroids.

And if you feel nervous when you hear the word "options" – don't worry.

The book explains how to use options the way billionaire investors like Warren Buffett and Mark Cuban do. It's a safe and sensible approach to using stocks and options.

Here's the reality:

Trading and investing methods don't typically go hand-in-hand. Most books focus exclusively either on short-term or long-term strategies. Very few cover these "mixed" methods and techniques for managing investments.

But that's also why so few investors can outperform the market consistently. That all changes with this book.

Written by 2019 United States Investing Champion Travis Wilkerson (a.k.a. Trader Travis), this guide contains tried and tested strategies for building long-term wealth with ETF options.

Here's just a fraction of what you'll discover inside:

• The difference between call and put options and the basics you need to know about options and ETFs before investing.
• The best stock for this ETF and options strategy if you want safe and stable returns.
• The unique way to structure your portfolio to obtain the trifecta of wealth building: growth, income, and market crash protection.
• We shatter the myth that options buying does not work and reveal two common reasons why investors fail when buying options.
• How to buy market crash insurance to prevent catastrophic investment losses when prices decline.
• You'll be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of using options and proof that options aren't as risky as people think.
• How to give your account a profit boost by taking advantage of a little-known category of "long-term" options used by billionaire investors.
• Rules for entering, exiting, managing trades, portfolio allocation, and risk management.
• Examples of how the blueprint worked in the previous bull market and the market crash of 2022.
• How to avoid the pitfalls common to first-time options traders.
• The simple yearly 10-minute routine of rebalancing your portfolio to maximize profits.

...Plus, free video tutorials of this strategy and six extra bonuses.

If you're unfamiliar with combining traditional buy-and-hold with options trading, the book walks you through everything step by step. It's all explained in plain English, free from technical jargon—with real examples for all the concepts inside.

10-Minute Options Trading and ETF Investing was written for busy people who don't have the time to sort through hundreds of stock charts daily, looking for trades or investments.

People who want high investment returns and protection against market crashes—and also only want to spend a few minutes a year managing their portfolio.

So if you're looking to fast-track your path to financial freedom with minimal risk … and generate steady returns on your assets, no matter which way the market's headed… then this book can show you how to make money by combining options with traditional buy-and-hold.

Books Worth Reading: Energy in International Trade Law by Anna-Alexandra MARHOLD

ENERGY IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW

ANNA-ALEXANDRA MARHOLD

From Amazon:

Against the backdrop of energy markets that have radically changed in recent decades, this book offers an in-depth study of energy regulation in international trade law. The author seeks to clarify what we define as 'energy' in the context of the applicable international trade rules, and gives the reader a thorough analysis of the concepts, history and law of the various legal frameworks underpinning international energy trade. In addition, several case studies address the ongoing quest for energy security and show how the existing rules relate to some of the vast challenges that energy markets face today, notably the decentralization and decarbonization of energy markets.

Books Worth Reading: Aux portes de l'éternité by Ken FOLLETT

 

AUX PORTES DE L’ÉTERNITÉ

KEN FOLLETT

From Amazon:

Ken Follett's extraordinary historical epic, the Century Trilogy, reaches its sweeping, passionate conclusion.

In Fall of Giants and Winter of the World, Ken Follett followed the fortunes of five international families—American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh—as they made their way through the twentieth century. Now they come to one of the most tumultuous eras of all: the 1960s through the 1980s, from civil rights, assassinations, mass political movements, and Vietnam to the Berlin Wall, the Cuban Missile Crisis, presidential impeachment, revolution—and rock and roll.

East German teacher Rebecca Hoffmann discovers she’s been spied on by the Stasi for years and commits an impulsive act that will affect her family for the rest of their lives. . . . George Jakes, the child of a mixed-race couple, bypasses a corporate law career to join Robert F. Kennedy's Justice Department and finds himself in the middle of not only the seminal events of the civil rights battle but a much more personal battle of his own. . . . Cameron Dewar, the grandson of a senator, jumps at the chance to do some official and unofficial espionage for a cause he believes in, only to discover that the world is a much more dangerous place than he'd imagined. . . . Dimka Dvorkin, a young aide to Nikita Khrushchev, becomes an agent both for good and for ill as the United States and the Soviet Union race to the brink of nuclear war, while his twin sister, Tanya, carves out a role that will take her from Moscow to Cuba to Prague to Warsaw—and into history.

Books Worth Reading: Le mage du Kremlin by Giuliano DA EMPOLI

 

LE MAGE DU KREMLIN

GIULIANO DA EMPOLI

From Amazon:

A Best Book of the Year by Financial Times and Bloomberg

Filled with real political insight and intrigue, this thrilling novel explores the nature of power through the inner workings of Putin’s regime.

Known as the “Wizard of the Kremlin,” the enigmatic Vadim Baranov was a TV producer before becoming a political advisor to Putin, aka “The Czar.” After his resignation from this position, legends about him multiply, with no one able to distinguish truth from fiction. Until one night, when he tells his story to the narrator of this book…

He immerses us in the heart of the Russian state, where sycophants and oligarchs have been engaging in open warfare, and where Vadim, now the regime’s main spin doctor, turns an entire country into an avant-garde political stage. Yet Vadim is not as ambitious as the others. Entangled in the increasingly dark secrets of the regime he has helped create, he will do anything to get out, guided by the memory of his grandfather, an eccentric aristocrat who survived the Revolution, and the mesmerizing, merciless Ksenia, whom he has fallen in love with.

Giuliano da Empoli, once a senior advisor to Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi, draws on his experience behind the scenes to create an authentic, compelling portrait of power and how it corrupts.

Books Worth Reading: Never by Ken FOLLETT

 

NEVER

KEN FOLLETT

From Amazon:

New York Times Bestseller

The new must-read epic from master storyteller Ken Follett: more than a thriller, it’s an action-packed, globe-spanning drama set in the present day.

“A compelling story, and only too realistic.” — Lawrence H. Summers, former U.S. Treasury Secretary

“Every catastrophe begins with a little problem that doesn’t get fixed.” So says Pauline Green, president of the United States, in Follett’s nerve-racking drama of international tension.

A shrinking oasis in the Sahara Desert; a stolen US Army drone; an uninhabited Japanese island; and one country’s secret stash of deadly chemical poisons: all these play roles in a relentlessly escalating crisis.

Struggling to prevent the outbreak of world war are a young woman intelligence officer; a spy working undercover with jihadists; a brilliant Chinese spymaster; and Pauline herself, beleaguered by a populist rival for the next president election.

Never is an extraordinary novel, full of heroines and villains, false prophets and elite warriors, jaded politicians and opportunistic revolutionaries. It brims with cautionary wisdom for our times, and delivers a visceral, heart-pounding read that transports readers to the brink of the unimaginable.

Books Worth Reading: The Tragic Mind by Robert D. KAPLAN

THE TRAGIC MIND

ROBERT D. KAPLAN

From Amazon:

A moving meditation on recent geopolitical crises, viewed through the lens of ancient and modern tragedy

“Classical drama provides crucial lessons for policymakers. . . . A road map for effective, well-considered policy.”—Kirkus Reviews

Some books emerge from a lifetime of hard-won knowledge. Robert D. Kaplan has learned, from a career spent reporting on wars, revolutions, and international politics in Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia, that the essence of geopolitics is tragedy. In The Tragic Mind, he employs the works of ancient Greek dramatists, Shakespeare, German philosophers, and the modern classics to explore the central subjects of international politics: order, disorder, rebellion, ambition, loyalty to family and state, violence, and the mistakes of power.

The great dilemmas of international politics, he argues, are not posed by good versus evil—a clear and easy choice—but by contests of good versus good, where the choices are often searing, incompatible, and fraught with consequences. A deeply learned and deeply felt meditation on the importance of lived experience in conducting international relations, this is a book for everyone who wants a profound understanding of the tragic politics of our time.

Books Worth Reading: The Elements of Legal Style by Bryan A. GARNER

THE ELEMENTS OF LEGAL STYLE

BRYAN A. GARNER

From Amazon:

With expanded coverage in this new edition, The Elements of Legal Style features additional sections, many more examples, and a thoroughly researched appendix that contains 80 major statements on prose style--what it is and how to attain it.

Inspired by Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, this book clearly (often wittily) explains the full range of what legal writers need to know: mechanics, word choice, structure, and rhetoric, as well as all the special conventions that legal writers should follow in using headings, defined terms, quotations, and many other devices. Garner also provides abundant examples from the best legal writers of yesterday and today, including Oliver Wendell Holmes, Clarence Darrow, Frank Easterbrook, and Antonin Scalia.

If you want to make your writing clearer, more precise, more persuasive, and above all more stylish, The Elements of Legal Style offers the surest--and the most enjoyable--means to that end.

Books Worth Reading: Structured Finance by Charles-Henri LARREUR

STRUCTURED FINANCE

CHARLES-HENRI LARREUR

From Amazon:

Comprehensive coverage of all major structured finance transactions

Structured Finance is a comprehensive introduction to non-recourse financing techniques and asset-based lending. It provides a detailed overview of leveraged buyouts, project finance, asset finance and securitisation.

Through thirteen case studies and more than 500 examples of companies, the book offers an in-depth analysis of the topic. It also provides a historical perspective of these structures, revealing how and why they were initially created. Instruments within each type of transaction are examined in detail, including Credit Default Swaps and Credit Linked Notes. A presentation of the Basel Accords offers the necessary background to understand the regulatory context in which these financings operate.

With this book, readers will be able to:

1) Delve into the main structured finance techniques to understand their components, mechanisms and how they compare

2) Understand how structured finance came to be, and why it continues to be successful in the modern markets

3) Learn the characteristics of financial instruments found in various structured transactions

4) Explore the global context of structured finance, including the regulatory framework under which it operates

Structured Finance provides foundational knowledge and global perspective to facilitate a comprehensive understanding of this critical aspect of modern finance. It is a must-read for undergraduate and MBA students and finance professionals alike.

Books Worth Reading: TAXATION OF THE EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES by UNITED NATIONS

TAXATION OF THE EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES

UNITED NATIONS

From the book's foreword:

The United Nations Handbook on Selected Issues for Taxation of the Extractive Industries by Developing Countries (the Handbook) is a response to the need, often expressed by developing countries, for clearer guidance on the policy and administrative aspects of applying taxes to enterprises, including multinational enterprises (MNEs) acting in the extractive industries and other local and international companies accessory to the business. Such guidance should not only assist policy makers and administrators in dealing with complex issues such as the quantification of the fiscal take, the costs of decommissioning, and loss of revenues derived from the indirect transfer of assets but should also assist taxpayers in their dealings with tax administrations.

The Handbook highlights some of the issues developing countries should bear in mind when negotiating new contracts for the exploration and exploitation of natural and mineral resources within their territories.

The Handbook covers the following topics in chapter order:

1. Overview;

2. Tax treaty issues;

3. Permanent establishment issues;

4. Indirect transfer of assets;

5. Transfer pricing issues;

6. The tax treatment of decommissioning;

7. The government’s fiscal take;

8. Tax aspects of negotiation and renegotiation of contracts; and

9. Value added tax.

Books Worth Reading: TAX INCENTIVES IN THE BEPS ERA by Madalina COTRUT and Kennedy MUNYANDI (Editors)

 

TAX INCENTIVES IN THE BEPS ERA

MADALINA COTRUT and KENNEDY MUNYANDI

From IBFD.org:

This book analyses selected tax incentives that are commonly promoted by both developed and developing states, particularly those tax incentives that are of relevance to corporate income taxation.

Why this book?

Recent tax developments aimed at mitigating the possibilities of base erosion and profit shifting are expected to increase the importance and popularity of tax incentives. This is due to the fact that states will want to remain competitive on the international stage and multinational enterprises will look for other opportunities to minimize their tax liabilities.

This book seeks to answer the following essential questions, from both a practical and an academic perspective:

•Will tax incentives be the 21st century tool for tax planning structures?

•Will states need to introduce more tax incentives in the future in order to be more competitive?

•What are the effects of the anti-abuse measures adopted by the EU Member States and recommended by the OECD on tax incentives?

•What are the challenges of securing the use of tax incentives?

•What new tax policy challenges will tax incentives bring about?

This book answers these questions by analyzing selected tax incentives that are commonly promoted by both developed and developing states, particularly those tax incentives that are of relevance to corporate income taxation. This analysis is performed with the objective of presenting the expected new role of tax incentives in the changing international tax arena, assessing whether – and, if so, which – tax incentives can be used or will be prone to abuse for tax planning purposes and examining the impact of the measures developed and/or adopted by the OECD and the European Union on tax incentives.

Tax Incentives in the BEPS Era is essential reading for anyone working with tax incentives, tax planning tools and anti-abuse measures in their activities, including tax advisers, tax lawyers, tax administrators and tax policy makers.

Books Worth Reading: INTERNATIONAL TAXATION AND THE EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES by Philip DANIEL, Michael KEEN, Artur SWISTAK, and Victor Thuronyi (Editors)

INTERNATIONAL TAXATION AND THE EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES

PHILIP DANIEL, MICHAEL KEEN, ARTUR SWISTAK, and VICTOR THURONYI

From Amazon:

The taxation of extractive industries exploiting oil, gas, or minerals is usually treated as a sovereign, national policy and administration issue. This book offers a uniquely comprehensive overview of the theory and practice involved in designing policies on the international aspects of fiscal regimes for these industries, with a particular focus on developing and emerging economies.

International Taxation and the Extractive Industries addresses key topics that are not frequently covered in the literature, such as the geo-political implications of cross-border pipelines and the legal implications of mining contracts and regional financial obligations. The contributors, all of whom are leading researchers with experience of working with governments and companies on these issues, present an authoritative collection of chapters. The volume reviews international tax rules, covering both developments in the G20-OECD project on ’Base Erosion and Profit Shifting’ and more radical proposals, identifying core challenges in the extractives sector.

This book should become a core resource for both scholars and practitioners. It will also appeal to those interested in international tax issues more widely and those who study environmental economics, macroeconomics and development economics.