Climate Wars

Climate Wars Threaten Billions

Retired JAG Officers on Mukasey, Waterboarding

Retired JAGs Send Letter to Leahy

While Bush says shit like this:

In a time of war, it is vital for the President to have a full national security team in place -- and the Attorney General is a key member of that team. The Attorney General is America's top law enforcement officer, with critical responsibilities for preventing terrorist attacks and protecting our Nation.

but doesn't mean it, since he wants the nation's top law enforcement officer to condone torture.

Busy Couple of Days

Well, Thursday night, as all my rabid reading audience (all what, 3 of you?) know, I got notified I'd passed the bar exam for Massachusetts. I get sworn in after Thanksgiving. I confess I'm tempted to take another bar for a different state, yet I'm glad I didn't try to do two at once -- the folks I saw doing that in July looked *DAMN* tired by day 3.

Friday I went to cheer for Delynn at the Student Award Ceremony as she picked up her CALI Award for Trial Practice. It was great to see so many grads return to pick theirs up.

My parents called during the ceremony, having finally gotten my message (left on m'mom's cellphone Thursday night) about passing the bar, and of course I couldn't talk just then.

Then D&D took me out to dinner to celebrate her CALI and my passing the bar, and we found some little middle eastern restaurant off Boylston, and ate shawarma and other good stuff.

And I just knew I had to tell the Internet all about it. You're so lucky.

In other news:

George Bush saying (caught this on NPR in my sleep Friday morning) that Mukasey doesn't have to answer a question about a torture technique being torture, because he's not briefed on whether the technique is in use, is quite possibly the most ridiculous attempt to sidestep a question I've ever heard. Regardless of whether the technique is used currently in or by the US, IT'S TORTURE.
The SOBs are caving on Mukasey, because he's "far better than anyone could expect from this administration." They still don't get it. The Bush Administration is an aggressive bully in negotiating style - staking a claim for ALL power and then backing off if you refuse. YOU HAVE TO DO THE SAME IN RETURN. STOP COMPROMISING. STOP EXPECTING THEM TO COMPROMISE IF YOU SIMPLY 'SHOW GOOD FAITH'.
Mushareff imposes emergency rule in Pakistan. Oh, dandy.

Make Your Own Jabba the Hutt!

Awesome.

PASSED THE BAR EXAM

Passed the bar exam!

Halloween Celebration

I had one (expected) trick-or-treater last night, one of the boys who lives in my building -- he had a most excellent fireman's costume. I gave him some candy[*] and came outside so we could take some pictures. I think he had a good Halloween, and I also think it was his first. (He's not from the US originally.)

[*] Penny Candy at CVS isn't really a penny, but it's good old-fashioned stuff and there might be a ton of sugar in there, but at least there's no high-fructose corn syrup.

Then I watched Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow in honor of the occasion.

ENIAC's Coders were Women, and thus, Ignored

Typical.

Invisible Computers: The Untold Story of the ENIAC Programmers

Cool Art

Spiders Made From TSA-Confiscated Scissors

More in the "Make You Cry" Dept

U.S. Could See a Water Shortage

Tip #1: LOSE THE FUCKING LAWN, PEOPLE! Christ! Grow local plants suited to the climate. *What* is this obsession people have with lawns?

Help an Animal

Dogs in Danger. Give money, give time, give a home.

Pro Publica: Journalism in the Public Interest

A non-profit journalism outfit. Interesting.

Things that make you go "Hm", laugh, or cry

Laugh:

Human race will 'split into two different species'. So sayeth Oliver Curry of the London School of Economics. (Those wacky economists!)

Top 10 Most Terrifyingly Inspirational 80s Songs

Hm:

Biofuels 'crime against humanity'.

The UN special rapporteur on the right to food, Jean Ziegler, said he feared biofuels would bring more hunger.

The growth in the production of biofuels has helped to push the price of some crops to record levels.

It was, he said, a crime against humanity to divert arable land to the production of crops which are then burned for fuel.

He called for a five-year ban on the practice. Within that time, according to Mr Ziegler, technological advances would enable the use of agricultural waste, such as corn cobs and banana leaves, rather than crops themselves to produce fuel.

and more 'hm':

The literary criticism of J.K. Rowling has begun. Potter is a lefty, says French philosopher ("Harry Potter is a left-winger and the seven books by J.K. Rowling are a diatribe against Thatcherite Britain, a French philosopher said Friday on the day of the last novel's publication in French.")

I like the phrase "Thatcherite Britain". Hard to say why.


Cry:

American kids, dumber than dirt

FEMA "Sorry" Faked Newscast. No, they're not. They're just sorry they got caught. Typical of this Administration.

The collapse of Bush's foreign policy: From Turkey to Iraq to Pakistan, the mounting chaos proves the White House is just winging it (by Juan Cole):

Like a drunken millionaire gambling away a fortune at a Las Vegas casino, the Bush administration squandered all the assets it began with by invading Iraq and unleashing chaos in the Gulf. The secular Baath Party in Iraq was replaced by Shiite fundamentalists, Sunni Salafi fundamentalists and Kurdish separatists. The pressure the Bush administration put on the Pakistani military government to combat Muslim militants in that country weakened the legitimacy of Musharraf, whom the Pakistani public increasingly viewed as an oppressive American puppet. Iraqi Kurdistan's willingness to give safe haven to the PKK alienated Turkey from both the new Iraqi government and its American patrons. Search-and-destroy missions in Afghanistan have predictably turned increasing numbers of Pushtun villagers against the United States, NATO and Karzai.

Various Coolnesses

The Flushing Remonstrance, triggered by colonial Gov. Peter Stuyvesant being an intolerant dick. Read about it here. I love the Society of Friends (Quakers). I think, based on my scattered readings of Elaine Pagels The Gnostic Gospels, that Quakers are the most true to the form of early Christianity.

I'll gradually be changing my cosmetics usage (yes, I do wear cosmetics pretty regularly now) based on this site: http://www.safecosmetics.org/

Goth Raggedy Ann and Andy! My twin and I used to have RA&A. Not goth, though. Too bad.

TV Torture Changes Real Interrogation Techniques

TV Torture Changes Real Interrogation Techniques

David Danzig:

It used to be [on TV] it was always the bad guys who used [torture] .... When they used these kinds of techniques, they never worked....This stuff doesn't work in the real world...

Terri Gross asked Col. Harrington, what are some of the myths of the effectiveness of torture?

His answer:

* that it works at all
* that information can be obtained quickly

Plus, the ticking time bomb scenario, in the real world, just doesn't happen.

Col. Harrington: "Harsh conditions...[are] counterproductive."

Terri Gross: You keep saying that professionals know better than to use these kinds of torture techniques. Are you implying that amateurs who really didn't know better who were responsible for putting these techniques into place?

Col. Herrington: I'll do better than implying. I'll say it. Yes.

Catching Up

This past week-plus, since last I updated, have been filled with:

Turning another year older, an important personal holiday.
Observing the other extremely important personal holiday of "Papa's Birthday".
Attending The Role of Law Schools in Fostering Commitment to Pro Bono Publico, which I believe to have been a very useful conference.

Finding out information about the new federal loan forgiveness act.

Students, take out federally-funded or federally-guaranteed loans (i.e., Stafford, GradPLUS), and then when you graduate, go to the Dept of Education website for the form(s) to consolidate everything into a *federal* direct consolidation loan. Look up your (federal) loan info here. If you already have a private consolidation loan, you may have to fill out an extra form, or otherwise affirm that the private deal isn't good enough, to re-consolidate with a federal one, and unless it has loan forgiveness, it ain't good enough. You may even need to use the contact number for the Dept of Ed's Ombudsman, which is 1-877-557-2575. Then, if it's not 2009 yet, sign up for Income Contingent Repayment, to keep your payments down. Payments will be based on your adjusted gross income. In 2009, sign up for Income Based Repayment, to keep your payments down even further, *and* get loan forgiveness after 25 years . If you work in public service (govt job, any 501(c)-type org) for 10 years (non-consecutive!!), from the time you sign up for IBR, you'll get loan forgiveness after the 10 years instead of 25. If you make shitloads of money, you may not want ICR or IBR, because a payment schedule based on your income may mean higher payments than the standard repayment schedule. This advice is for the rest of us. You go enjoy driving your expensive car.

There's a third-party ICR & IBR calculator here, among various other calculators and financial aid related tools.

Having the easiest walk through security at an airport, ever.
Reading Daniel Defoe's Journal of the Plague Year and wondering if a similar book using Hurricane Katrina would make sense or not.
Visting one set of friends, and missing a visit from another set of friends.