Memo to Self...

...the sun will still shine after finals. Focus!

Ready...set...Study!

Let the games begin. Classes ended yesterday, and tests begin Wednesday (some ambitious souls may even begin testing on Monday). Ahh, finals time. You can smell the stress in the air and cut the tension in the library with a knife. Good luck everyone!

Japanese Public Opinion

Wow. I had no idea the Japanese public blamed the social workers who were held hostage in Iraq. As the New York Times reports,

"You got what you deserve!" one Japanese held up a hand-written sign at the airport where they landed. "You are Japan's shame," another wrote on the Web site of one of the hostages. They had "caused trouble" for everybody. The government, not to be outdone, announced it would bill them $6,000 for airfare

Hmm. One of the hostages was in Iraq to help the children. She got what she deserved? The government is going to bill them for the airfare? That is so harsh. Even we don’t always bill stupid, careless hikers who get stranded for the search and rescue efforts (although we should).

To the angry Japanese, the first three hostages — Nahoko Takato, 34, who started her own non-profit organization to help Iraqi street children; Soichiro Koriyama, 32, a freelance photographer; and Noriaki Imai, 18, a freelance writer also interested in the issue of depleted uranium munitions — had acted selfishly. Two others kidnapped and released in a separate incident — Junpei Yasuda, 30, a freelance journalist, and Nobutaka Watanabe, 36, a member of a pro-peace non-governmental organization — were equally guilty.

Pursuing individual goals by defying the government and causing trouble for Japan was simply unforgivable. So the single government official to praise them was, not surprisingly, an American one.

"Well, everybody should understand the risk they are taking by going into dangerous areas," said Secretary of State Colin Powell. "But if nobody was willing to take a risk, then we would never move forward. We would never move our world forward.

Amen, Colin.

Um, yeah. America is crazy.

Fantasia and La Toya in the bottom three? Jennifer voted out? I don't know what to say. Maybe I should start voting and counterbalance the massive voting power of the thirteen year olds. Nah - I don't care that much. But still, it defies all logic that John was not sent packing last night. He knows he shouldn't be there, poor kid.

And We Have a Counter

Yang and I put our mad contract reviewing skills to work today—we received a counter-offer on *the house*! We have a few minor issues to work out, but this deal may actually happen. To be continued . . .

23 Children Killed

New York Times reports about the latest killings in Iraq.

Three car bombs exploded in front of Iraqi police stations in the southern city of Basra this morning, killing 68 people and wounding 98, the governor of Basra, Waei Abdul Latif, said. The toll included 23 schoolchildren and 9 police officers.

Mr. Latif said he believed the attacks were the work of an alliance between Al Qaeda and extremists in Iraq. He said that the attacks were simultaneous.

"The attacks have the hallmark of al Qaeda," he told reporters in Basra, adding that he expected more violence as the June 30 date for the handover of sovereignty in Iraq nears.
Samir Sumaitey, the Iraqi interior minister, condemned the killings at a news conference in Baghdad.

"The terrorists want to lead Iraq down the path of darkness and chaos," he said. "The Iraqi government condemns this and is determined to find these people and bring them to justice and bring an end to this cancer that is invading the body of Iraq.

"Every child that has been lost represents the future of Iraq."

I wonder what the majority of Iraqis think about this. Who do they blame? What do they want to have happen? Do they blame America for the death of their children? Should they? I wonder how many Iraqis sympathize with Al Qaeda. If they do, will they still sympathize after the death of children today?

In Your Heart You Know He is Right

The title of this post is what Time wrote about Simon Cowell in naming him one of the most influential people of our day. Yes Simon, we know you are right.

Well it is official--I am a fair weather friend. I am leaving the George Huff train because it derailed last night. I thought John did better than George (yeah…John was terrible too). So, unless George pulls himself together next week, American Idol will become the showdown of the divas.

I am starting to be a Fantasia believer. She was undoubtedly the best performer last night. That girl can sing. I am a bit surprised that the judges didn’t mention that Jasmine and La Toya WERE FLAT on the big notes they belted out. Rather, they praised them and threw flowers at their feet. Is it possible that the performance sounds different in the studio than on TV? I promise- those two ladies didn’t hit their high notes and the judges didn’t say a word about it. Hmmm. My prediction is that John is leaving tonight and George or Diana will leave next week.

Which New York Times Columnist are You?

You are Nicholas D. Kristof! You enjoy travelling,
going as far as China, Africa, Alaska, and
Central America for a good story. You use a lot
of quotes and references in your stories. You
tackle tough issues like AIDS and religion,
which makes you controversial among Christians.
You're a good man, Nicholas D. Kristof.


Which New York Times Op-Ed Columnist Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

That is Not Censorship!

Chinese officials responded to criticisms that the national media censored Cheney's speech. They didn't censor Cheney-they just edited his remarks! Rather than "rising prosperity and expanded political freedom" the transcripts simply stated "rising prosperity." That is not censorship. That is editing. They "edited" out discussion of Taiwan, North Korea, and numerous references to political freedom. See the NY Times report here. And the response here.

"Plan of Attack"

I am really excited to read Woodward's new book, "Plan of Attack." Unfortunately, I can't (and shouldn't) read it until I am finished with finals. I watched Woodward's 60 Minutes interview last night and it was fascinating. I am not sure if his account of the days leading to war in Iraq will ultimately help or hurt Bush, but it seems like Cheney has no chance of surviving unscathed. Read the review here.

Weekend Update

Surprise! We are still here. At the encouragement of Shelley, we will post while the details of our move are ironed out.

Legal Writing is over for the year. It ended on a high note at the Multnomah County Courthouse Tuesday and Wednesday. I was nervous about judging the advocates, but I warmed right up to it once things started. I must say, judging is much more fun than arguing.

American Idol
Finally, JPL was sent packing. John, you are next. Many of my fellow “I watch American Idol” friends have expressed their opinion that Fantasia is the best. I disagree. She does have a refreshingly edgy quality; however, I cannot get over George. (Despite his average performance last week).

Tonight is the JSEBL Banquet. Yang has graciously agreed to accompany me. I am not sure I’ll be welcome because I am dropping law review next year, but I am not one to pass up free food.

Yang and I offered to buy a lovely house in Aloha. I have thought of little else since Tuesday. Unfortunately, the owners have yet to respond to our offer, even though we asked them to do so by Thursday at 8 A.M. Yesterday our realtor told us to mentally move on. (Easier said than done). I refuse to give up hope. It is still a live issue (like a split in the circuits). Maybe next week they will accept our offer without condition! (Yeah, right). *Ohh, house-o, I’ve never really lived there so I don’t really know.* (Sung to the tune of Mexico by James Taylor).

What now?

Following up on Yin's post, I am fairly disturbed by what has happened in Iraq. I won't post the links, but the pictures are out there.

I can understand there are some in Iraq who feel the need to be Guerrillas. I can respect that. I can respect someone who for whatever reason feels the need to fight against what they consider an occupying force. I may not agree with it, but I can most certainly respect it.

However, what kind of sick individual takes pride in dragging a dead body through the streets, and then hacking at it with shovels and hoes? There is nothing respectable about that. That is animal savagery. Part of me is beginning to wonder if a culture that accepts/condones/promotes that kind of mentality is worth the time. What a mess we have got ourselves into.

Psychological warfare is certainly an effective element of any conflict. I don't credit the Iraqis with being that organized, but it is possible that this is exactly the reaction they wanted.

Tragedy in Iraq

FALLUJA, Iraq, March 31 - An enraged mob attacked a group of foreign contractors here today, shooting four people to death, burning their vehicles, dragging their bodies through the downtown streets and then hanging the charred corpses from a bridge over the Euphrates River.

Three of the victims were identified as Americans, a State Department spokesman, Lou Fintor, said today, adding that work was continuing to identify the nationality of the fourth.

Meanwhile, less than 15 miles away, in the same area of the increasingly violent Sunni Triangle, five marines were killed in one of the deadliest roadside bomb incidents for coalition troops in weeks. The marines were traveling through a dusty village along a supply route when the explosion ripped into their vehicles.

I don’t know what I think anymore. I have always believed getting rid of Hussein was a legitimate goal, but I’ve felt very uncomfortable with the whole WMD debacle. Now I don’t know what I think. I don’t know why we are there, I don’t know if we should be there, and I don’t know what should be done in the future.

After the attacks of September 11, 2001, I felt such a sense of loss; yet I was so far removed from New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. I decided the least I could do was to read the obituary of every victim in the attack. The NY Times ran a special section of 9/11 victim obituaries every day, and, if I remember correctly, it took about a year to print all the obituaries.

I think I am going to do the same with the war in Iraq. Rather than ignore the news or pretend it is not happening, I want to read every story about every death in Iraq. Not just the deaths of Americans, but the deaths of Iraqis as well. I don’t know what this will accomplish, but as I said earlier, I don’t know what else to think or to do.

"You're Terminated!"

The Donald has a fight on his hands. In 1998 Susan Brenner filed for the “You’re fired” trademark. She didn’t pay her renewal fee, but she is claiming common-law rights to its use and challenging The Donald. Her lawyer sent The Donald a letter warning him not to license merchandise in the areas reached by Brenner’s mailing list. Ha! Cnn link.

American Idol (group 19 is replacing Karl Rove)

George Huff is it. I’m calling it now. He is the next American Idol. Last night was his night. I predict the bottom three will be Camile, John, and JPL (the stormin’ mormon). JPL will be saved another week or two because Camile and John both had terrible performances. I kind of wish Diana would go. She has a great voice, but I really don’t like her performances. She bugs me. Go George.

Planes Down

Its been an expensive week for the Navy: Two F-18s, one in NC and the other in Tenn, and an F-14 off the coast of Cal.

F-18s are 40 million if they are the older ones, 60 if they are superhornets.

F-14s are 38 million.

Cats or Kids

"Cynthia Warner said her daughter, Heather was stabbed at least 47 times in her eighth month of pregnancy. Fliegelman's husband was convicted of her murder. He could have faced four additional years in jail for killing the family cats under Maine law, but he faced no extra charges for the death of the fetus, Warner said."

That is an excerpt from this article. This is a very interesting issue. Right to lifers say it protects the mother and unborn baby, and right to choicers claim it is a thinly veiled attempt to give rights to an unborn fetus. Why not make it a subjective test, if the woman wants the attacker to be charged doubly, once for her, and once for the unborn child, then the attacker should be charged charged doubly. Then the rights of the mother are protected, and her unborn child if the mother wishes. There are no rights created in the unborn fetus, (though I think there should be). That allows lifers and choicers to be happy.

From a constitutional standpoint, I can respect the rights of women who want to make a choice. However, when the law places greater punishment on those who would kill a cat as opposed to those who kill an unborn baby, our priorities are screwed up.

I think a person would be somewhat hypocritical to promote rights for animals but not rights for unborn children. I will concede it is not a perfect parallel. However, on a basic premise, is there a meaningful difference? We get completely bent out of shape as a society when someone kills a cat. Why not get the same upset when someone attacks an unborn child? I think this law is a step in the right direction.

Not dead, yet

Yin and I are on spring break, and so the posting is going to be a little thin for the next few days. The only real exciting news I have is that I took a Myers Briggs test and I am ESTJ-- if thats exciting.

Crazy

Next time you are fired by an employer, you can seek comfort in the fact that your boss may have to send royalties to Trump. He apparently wants to trademark "you're fired." Maybe I'll try to trademark "hello," or "that sucks." Does this sound crazy to all you trademark and patent types out there, or is it just me?

The American Idol- receiving more votes than the President.

Time to come out all you closet American Idol fans! Sadly, our own NW girl, Leah, was voted off this week. She was the best looking girl (besides Jasmine), but her voice wasn’t as strong as the others. I think I want George Huff to go all the way, but my opinion is likely to change next Tuesday. There is Jon Peter Lewis representing (uh…representing Idaho…), but I don’t think he is good enough to last much longer. Yeah, I love my weekly pop culture fix.