the cinnamon peeler's wife

1. happy mlk day. “Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice, and ... when they fail to do this purpose they become dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress.” These words are from Dr. King's letter from Birmingham Jail. It was hearing these words that really pushed me over the brink, leaving behind med school, and embarking on the journey to law school. Establishing justice in the flow of history and social progress is accomplished through small changes: law and its manifestations are the bulldozers for the structured dams blocking the flow for so many. Maybe a foolhardy notion, but maybe i am not jaded as i thought.

2. so the report of the train fire in gujarat, india is out. just a small sidenote in the ny times. but the report confirms that the fire was an accident (not the result of a mob). but the aftermath of the fire is undisputed: 2500 Muslims killed in a systematic fashion. while in sri lanka, i had lunch with a prof from William & Mary, who was studying the Gujarat pogroms. he had found that the electoral rolls and public records had been distributed to the goondas ahead of time.

3. i have been reading Hunter S. Thompson's Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail. It is almost eerie how closely the McGovern campaign against Nixon in 1972 mirrors this past election. Just as Kerry hopefuls imagined a huge turnout by those disaffected by Bush's policies, so did McGovern supporters. They saw students, civil rights supporters, anti-war activists, and other anti-Nixon people to turn out in droves to kick out Tricky Dick. Alas just as Bushie surprised all the blue staters, so did Nixon. Even Thompson had foreseen a McGovern landslide and was sadly disappointed. One explanation offered in the book is that no matter how many young voters you get, they ultimately vote just like their parents and thus do not affect the vote. Only about 10% of those actually disaffected vote and make a change. Additionally, no losing candidate in the last 50 years has got less than 40% of the popular vote, thus arguing that no major party candidate can be 20% different from the other candidate. Basically they are all the same. An interesting read.

4. saw spanglish and sideways this weekend. liked them both. spanglish is one of those feel good relationship/family movies- but nice nonetheless. sideways is hilarious, though not one to drink, the wine knowledge may be useful somewhere.

5. there is a nice article about doctors in pottuvil, sri lanka in the aftermath of the tsunami. pottuvil is a small almost 100% muslim town on the east coast of sri lanka. pottuvil is just outside of arugam bay, the hottest surfing spot in sri lanka. i stayed there for a fun weekend at a small hotel on the beach. pottuvil has a great eco-tourism spot with mangrove conservation. or at least it did. but anyway a nice story about a wonderful village. okay this was the place where the villagers wouldn't leave me alone but still i miss it.

6. i am in international intellectual property this semester. a class full of people who believe that corporations should rule the world. we have been discussing the strategic reasons why developing nations would adopt stringent ip laws. of course there is the aids medications debates. our prof threw out the idea of reparations for colonialism and giving away ip for this. people were in an uproar, it wasn't the poor corporations who colonized the third world (british east india company?). anyway along similar lines india may decide to stop producing their generic aids drugs and all this means just more problems for african nations that need the drugs desperately. the editorial is entitled: india's choice. but really the wto leaves very little in the way of choice, no more gatt ala carte, india just like other nations are pressured into adopting the new ip standards. how about price gouging: why are the same drugs sold in norway at a fraction of the cost that they are sold at in malawi?

7. by the way i am really enjoying les nubians. listen to them. also the garden state soundtrack is great!

addendum: in honor of bushie's second inauguration here is a great clip from jibjab. watch the one called second term. enjoy!