Combat Losses of Nuclear-Powered Warships: Contamination, Collateral Damage and the Law

There have been non-combat losses of nuclear-powered warships during sea trials and peacetime patrol missions. Nuclear contamination is spreading from some of these sinking sites. It is also conceivable that combat losses of nuclear-powered warships could cause contamination of civilians, civilian objects and the natural environment. If such combat losses occur at sea, both belligerent and neutral States will have to deal with a difficult question: to what extent and by who can harm resulting from such contamination be compensated for payment of damages. This article examines legal issues stemming from prospective combat losses of nuclear-powered warships from the perspectives of the laws of armed conflict and neutrality at sea. More specifically, it attempts to dissect whether nuclear contamination incidentally caused to civilians, civilian objects and the natural environment during international armed conflict can be properly categorized as collateral damage as envisaged by the laws of armed conflict and neutrality at sea, the lawfulness of which is assessed following the principle of proportionality

The Turn to the Neighbor: Emmanuel Levinas\u27s Conceptual Affinities with Liberation Theology

My dissertation establishes some conceptual affinities between the philosophical project of Emmanuel Levinas and liberation theology. I analyze Levinas\u27s work by comparing it to two important liberation theologians, Gustavo Gutiérrez and Jon Sobrino, whose work, like his, needs to be brought into greater contemporary debate about the subject\u27s encounter with the other. I argue that fundamental to Levinas, Gutiérrez, and Sobrino is the fact that they all bring forth one major characteristic: the dimension of the divine opens forth in the human face. For Levinas, Gutiérrez and Sobrino, commitment to the neighbor is the necessary context for understanding God. They posit the human other as the possibility of the subject\u27s subjectivity. To be human is to act with love toward one\u27s neighbor. Using an analytical-comparative method and without claiming a perfect matching between Levinas\u27s philosophy and liberation theology, my dissertation demonstrates that the dialogue between these two approaches addresses the insufficiency of the modern philosophical turn to the subject to appropriately address the question of the non-recognition of the human other in history; I also assert that their unwavering commitment to the human neighbor reveals something of postmodern sensitivity defined, in this study, in terms of otherness and difference, relationality and interdependence. I contend that Levinas\u27s transcendental ethics provides liberation theology with a viable philosophical framework that is compatible with the truth of Christianity: the concern for the neighbor. On its part, liberation theology\u27s conversion to the neighbor bears witness to Levinas\u27s ethical responsibility in the real time of history. In order to show the relevance of Levinas\u27s philosophy for Christian theology in general, I discuss three Christian scholars, Enrique Dussel, Jean-Luc Marion, and Michael Purcell, who, while challenging some aspects of Levinas\u27s philosophy, still see its significance for Christian theological anthropology. This dissertation concludes by proposing Levinas\u27s philosophy and liberation theology\u27s turn to the neighbor as significant for addressing contemporary sub-Saharan Africa socio-political and ethnic conflicts. I also point out a couple of concrete historical examples of this turn to the neighbor which, if followed, could lessen the degradation of the human other in sub-Saharan Africa and in the world in general

Sub-Arcsecond Near-Infrared Images of Massive Star Formation Region NGC 6334 V

We present high spatial resolution (0\farcs3) polarimetric images in the $H$ and $K$ bands and direct images in the $L'$ and $M'$ bands of the NGC 6334 V infrared nebulae. The images show complex structures including the multi-shells and various knots in the nebulae. The appearances and colors of the eastern and western nebulae differ considerably. Our polarization images also show differences between the illuminating sources of the nebulae: the eastern nebula is illuminated by a deeply embedded mid-infrared source, KDJ 4, and the western nebula by our newly detected near-infrared source, WN-A1. The degree of polarization of the nebulae is very large, up to 70% at $K$ and 60% at $H$, which is consistent with a single scattering of near-infrared radiation from each source at the walls of the mass outflows

How to Conduct Lawfare against Nuclear Weapons More Effectively in Japan : A View from the Law of Armed Conflict

For more than 75 years, anti-nuclear-weapons movements in Japan have been asserting the illegality of the use of nuclear weapons. These assertions, however, can sometimes be described as generalist or even stereotypical. In fact, they rely mainly on the principle of humanity which could be interpreted in many ways. For this reason, legal experts among the Japanese Government have refuted them relatively easily. Nonetheless, there are other technical but equally important issues that could serve as a basis for more convincing legal arguments. Using the law of armed conflict as an analytical lens, this paper examines these issues, such as the applicability of the Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions and the Statute of the International Criminal Court to the use of nuclear weapons, and the legal validity of nuclear belligerent reprisals. By analyzing these legal considerations, this paper explores more effective ways for conducting legal warfare against the use of nuclear weapons.松本充郎准教授追悼特集In Honor of the Memory of Professor Mitsuo MATSUMOT

SUBARU Near-Infrared Multi-Color Images of Class II Young Stellar Object, RNO91

We conducted sub-arcsecond near-infrared imaging observations of RNO91 with CIAO mounted on the SUBARU 8.2 m telescope. We present our JHK band data along with optical images, which when considered together reveal a complex circumstellar structure. We examined the colors of associated nebula and compared the geometry of the outflow/disk system suggested by our data with that already proposed on the basis of previous studies. Our K-band image shows bright circumstellar nebulosity detected within 2"(300AU) around the central source while it is less conspicuous at shorter wavelengths such as J and optical. P.A. and size of this red color nebulosity in our H-K color image agree with those of the previously detected polarization disk. These data agreement indicate that this bright circumstellar nebulosity region which follows the reddening law might be attributed to a disk-like structure. At J and optical wavelengths, several blue knot-like structures are detected around and beyond the bright circumstellar nebulosity. We suggest that these knotty reflection nebulae may represent disintegrating fragments of an infalling envelope. The three-color composite image has an appearance of arc-shaped nebulosity extending to the north and to the east through the central source. On the other end of this arc-shaped structure, the nebula appears to become more extended (2."3 long) to the southwest. We interpret these structures as roots of bipolar cavities opening to the northeast and southwest. The complex distribution of reflection nebulosity seen around RNO91 appears to confirm the interpretation of this source as an object dispersing its molecular envelope while transitioning from protostar to T Tauri star.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, Accepted by Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japa