One Year

As of today we've been in New Zealand one whole year. Funny how in some ways it still kinda feels like we just got here. But yesterday Ali’s niece, Apameh, arrived from Germany, and showing around a newcomer is a great way to feel like an old hand. However, I won’t be able to play tour guide for a while: over the next few weeks I’ve got two research papers due, plus an exam to study for, and three lectures to prepare. So, I’ve got to get back to work, but here are some news stories that caught my attention this week:

FEARS GROW OVER ROCK SNOT SPREAD
An invasive algae, known as rock snot, has been confirmed in another South Island river, worsening fears it will spread out of control.

NUDE NEW ZEALAND MP TAKES STROLL
New Zealand politician Keith Locke, a Green Party MP, vowed before the election to walk naked down Broadway – a major shopping avenue - if Rodney Hide won the Epsom seat. Hide wasn’t polling well at the time, but Green’s "have integrity - we keep our promises," said Mr. Locke. (There’s a great picture of Mr. Locke in his expertly painted business attire on the BBC’s website.)

NEW LOUISIANA PURCHASE
SEPTEMBER 16, 2005, BATON ROUGE, LA (AP) - The White House announced today that President Bush has successfully sold the state of Louisiana back to the French at more than double its original selling price of $11,250,000.

"This is a bold step forward for America," said Bush. "And America will be stronger and better as a result. I stand here today in unity with French Prime Minister Jack Sharaq, who was so kind to accept my offer of Louisiana in exchange for 25 million dollars cash."

The state, ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, will cost hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild.

"Jack understands full well that this one's a 'fixer upper,'" said Bush. "He and the French people are quite prepared to pump out all that water and make Louisiana a decent place to live again. And they've got a lot of work to do. But Jack's assured me, if it's not right, they're going to fix it."

The move has been met with incredulity from the beleaguered residents of Louisiana.

"Shuba-pie!" said New Orleans resident Willis Babineaux. "Frafer-perly yum kom drabby sham!"

However, President Bush's decision has been widely lauded by Republicans.

"This is an unexpected but brilliant move by the President," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. "Instead of spending billions and billions, and billions of dollars rebuilding the state of Louisiana, we've just made 25 million dollars in pure profit."

"This is indeed a smart move," commented Fox News analyst Brit Hume. "Not only have we stopped the flooding in our own budget, we've made money on the deal. Plus, when the god-awful French are done fixing it up, we can easily invade and take it back again."

The money gained from 'The Louisiana Refund' is expected to be immediately pumped into the rebuilding of Iraq.

(Ok, that last one might not have been strictly true.)

Cheers,
Sandie

Don't Panic, Don't Despair

Just in time for the first day of spring, winter’s returned for an encore performance. Heavy snow in the South Island made the skiers happy, but vintners are holding their breath and praying the damage isn’t as bad as it looks. Auckland has been hit by torrential rain, gale-force winds, and hail, but the temp is just chilly, not actually freezing - Ali’s bitter complaints notwithstanding.

*****

“The stalemate deepened today, the day after an inconclusive national election result, as key party leaders rejected some of the coalition solutions that might otherwise lead to the formation of a new government and the selection of a national leader.”

“The phones are ringing hot and the minor party leaders are jostling for the title of kingmaker as the country prepares for a two-week wait to learn the shape of the next government.”

The first quote was from story about Germany; the second, about New Zealand. They could be applied interchangeably, however, since it seems like both countries had the same election. Anyone else notice how everywhere you look these days, elections seem to be getting closer, as voters seem to be moving farther apart?

*****

I’m beginning another class this week: International Commercial Contracts. It’s another intensive, where they squeeze an entire semester into five days. I’ve been reading the materials for it all day long and have barely made a dent. Not quite as broad and philosophical as the International Law and Imperialism course was but, fortunately, it’s pretty interesting anyway. And the best part is I can use a lot of it in the paper I’m (still) writing for my first class. I’ve really got to be efficient, since last week I was informed that the dates I’m giving three lectures in investment (aka securities) law will be in October, instead of November like I’d been assuming.

Wednesday morning: I woke from a dream that I was at a huge closing, there were literally thousands of documents that had to be reviewed. I was supposed to sign off on some environmental provisions - stuff I didn’t know anything about. Didn’t want to hold things up, but I didn’t want to be responsible for the next Bhopal either. Fortunately, just before I went into full panic mode, my friend Stephanie - and all her environmental expertise – appeared. (Looking fabulous in a very chic grey outfit, I may add). Saved my butt. And, as I write this, it occurs to me that Steph knows a lot about international commercial contracts, too.

*****

My favorite Katrina quote of the week came from Andrei Codrescu (Romanian writer, poet and sometime NPR commentator who lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana), in last Sunday’s NYT Magazine:

Do you think words can fairly describe such devastation?
"No. Even the greatest poets can't express tragedy in a way that is larger than their immediate circumstances. The best way to deal with it is to fry eggs for refugees."

Cheers,
Sandie

What Goes Around

Four years since 9/11: Iraq looks a lot like Viet Nam, circa ’68, and Al Quaeda’s threatening LA and Melbourne.

There’s a national election next week, and the buzz is all about Don Brash – formerly the well-respected head of the central bank, now head of the National Party (center-right/conservative), and the only threat to Helen Clark (our current PM, head of the Labor-Green coalition government). Seems a few months ago, Dr. Brash told a creepy religious group known as the Exclusive Brethren that “we need all the help we can get.” But when a particularly nasty pamphlet - financed by the Brethren and smearing Labor and the Greens – surfaced on Wednesday, Brash didn’t know a thing about it. When more of the story came out on Thursday, he “owed no one an apology.” He spent Friday saying “sorry for any confusion” as if his political life depended on it.

But the catastrophe once known as New Orleans is still dominating every story and conversation. Helen Clark is using it to lambast National’s tax-cutting policy, claiming it would jeopardize the sort of investment needed to avert a New Orleans-style tragedy here. Justin, a friend from class, noted with approval that England is supporting her former colony in its time of need with emergency food supplies. My friend Tanya’s family is ok. Married to a Kiwi and living here, she’s from Lafayette, west of the worst-hit area, but all her friends from the Big Easy have had to evacuate.

I heard a story on NPR about Chicago’s efforts to aid the flood victims, and when Mayor Daley said the word “cot” - how to describe a South Side accent? it’s like the anti-umlaut: pronounce “o” with your mouth open wide, as if you’re trying to eat a hockey puck - I could see the bungalows, taste the pizza, smell the Lake in summer, and feel the Hawk pushing me down Adams Street on a blustery and frigid winter day.

Winter’s quite another thing here. It’s been and gone, hardly worth noticing. Magnolia trees and fragrant daphne – blooming since late July – have been joined by redbud, camellia, rhododendron. Daffodils and bright Iceland poppies dot the campus, and every time I pass a certain grapefruit tree on my way to the law school, I lose five minutes – it’s perfume a siren call I’m helpless to resist.

Last weekend, near the coast, I saw a flowering plum tree, and this weekend I’ll have to check the Domain. When we first arrived here, almost a year ago, the cherry trees were in full flower. An upcoming election was all the news. And, as the third anniversary of 9/11 passed, Bin Laden was a free man.

Cheers,
Sandie

News: From Katrina to Oliver

I got some good news today: I passed the Contracts Exam! That’s 1 down, and 5 to go.

Of course I'm still working on my paper, too, which is progressing slowly - there's always another case or article to read. Plus I’ve got a lot of technology to catch up on, from e-books and e-journals to Endnotes – amazing software that automatically creates footnotes and bibliographies. Back in the day (that is, when I was in law school the first time), it was usually easier to just go to the stacks and find what you wanted in a book. Westlaw and Lexis were only available in DOS - Windows wasn’t around yet. (I feel like such a dinosaur.) Now a lot of stuff isn't even available in hard copy, just on-line. But that means U of A has nearly the same range of materials as U of C, which is pretty amazing in itself.

I woke up this morning from a dream about being in a flood. I was trying to rescue the child of an old friend whose name I didn't recognize, but that didn't matter, the kid needed help. Weird, like most dreams, but then I thought it’s likely that people all over the world are having more or less the same dream. It's being called American's tsunami, but I don't recall hearing such stories of anarchy in the Third World. This morning's paper said children were raped in the Superdome and shots fired at relief workers. Hard to imagine New Orleans will ever be the same. And the effect on oil has already reached us here: petrol is up to NZ$1.53 per litre - about US$4.25 per gallon. Sure glad we only need the car for discretionary use.

Such as: last Sunday I took a day off to go hiking with Ali in the Waitakere Range again. We spent five hours on the Kauri Grove Trail. It wasn’t all that steep, but trying to go around the muddy spots – which was nearly the whole trail – presented a different kind of challenge. Fortunately, NZ bush is full of these long ropey things that make great handles; we were practically swinging from them at times. And the payoff: in addition to seeing that lovely waterfall, we got to walk among kauri trees. They’re a bit like California Redwoods, since they grow enormously big – up to 50 meters tall – and they live for thousands of years, sustaining entire ecosystems beneath their canopy. They remind me of the tree in “My Neighbor Totoro” (one of my all-time favorite movies). Like the tree in the movie, they’re absolutely magical. Kauris once covered the North Island, but the European settlers found them useful, so there aren’t a lot of them left. It’s a privilege to walk among them.

On a different note: I’ve got a little friend in Colorado, his name is Oliver. He just started school. Oliver’s Mom, Terri, is one of my oldest and dearest friends (we went to different high schools together). Both of Oliver’s parents are photographers. Consequently, Oliver's First Day was thoroughly documented, and if you take a minute or two to for it to download, you'll see a great slide show.

Cheers,
Sandie