Dean Brand Eats a Tarantula

Dear Dean Brand,

I don't know if you remember the Tarantula dish at last night's very enjoyable dinner with the group of Cambodian alums, but just in case, here's the video to remind you:

The Choices Men Make

Dear Dean Brand,

As others have said before, Cambodia is both familiar and unfamiliar. More so than anywhere I've been, the people here are simply genuinely polite. I'm sure the choice to smile and laugh (sometimes nervously) can be attributed in part to the mask the poor and the weak don to placate the rich and the strong but unlike with other peoples I've encountered, when the membrane of societally obligated niceties is ruptured I find myself confronted with simply more kindness and warmth - leading me to believe it's really just rather genuine.

I have to admit it is completely disarming and, therefore, unnerving. Normal people aren't nice and welcoming. Normal people are suspicious, cliquish and protect their psyches, their family dinners, and their motos with phobic vigor.

While I like it here, I will much more enjoy this country when someone instructs them in the propriety of social paranoia. I noticed the other day that "24" and "CSI" have been exported here. The developmental road which terminates at a properly atomized modern society begins, as always, with one step. I'm glad to see they've had theirs pushed in front of their feet for them.

Our primer course on the Cambodian "genocide", as it is popularly termed (the quotes are a necessity, I'm afraid, as I'm a member of the defense team for next week's moot court exercise), is almost over. It's been a great course, both as an introduction to the issues surrounding the founding and functioning of Democratic Kampuchea and as an object lesson in understanding these seemingly endless and inevitable incidents of terrible human devolution - I mean, those that happen in other countries and which have been unjustly compared to the heroic nation building in which my clients engaged.

Hey, listen, you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs right? As such, Pol Pot and his cohorts are no different than Emeril Legasi: They took all their years of training and learning and endeavored to make something wonderful. Unfortunately they found themselves woefully under-prepared and while their creation languished, they turned to gimmicks and inane and ill-conceived additions to their creation to hopefully obfuscate their missteps. If their omelet then turned unpalatable, it wasn't for a lack of trying.

So I ask you, is Emeril Lagasi a war criminal? Please don't answer that due to the potentially devastating effects it might have on my clients' case.

In any event, and divorced from my role as Defense Counsel, I'm very much looking forward to taking what I've learned and applying it during my upcoming internship with Legal Aid Cambodia, helping further their work with the Extraordinary Chambers and promoting general justice for the many, many, aggrieved here.

I can think of no better way to guard against partisan conflict than the promotion of an integrated and just pluralistic society.

Truly, I can think of no better application of the Law than in the pursuit of that goal.

Yours,

DJC

P.S. Okay yeah, you got me, application of the Law to celebrity drug charges and international debt transactions leads to something nice too - undue and very very enjoyable wealth. As Commander Maddox said while attempting to deprive Commander Data of his status as a living thing (See: Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 9, "The Measure of a Man"), what about what I want, what about my rights to pursue what I want?

Good Charlotte once sang in their proper deconstruction of American society, "Boys and Girls" - "Girls don't like boys, girls like cars and money."

I'm the product of the self-obsessed first-world (and also, humanity in general). The choice between justice for distant Others and the existence of a lingerie model in the back of my Maybach is, in truth, not entirely an easy one.

I think if we're true, then we must admit that basic human selfishness, if not to destroy it, then at least to engage it knowingly - only that way can it be tempered.

Cambodian Bus Ride Trivia...

A bus ride traversing the countryside of Cambodia wouldn't be complete without it being really long, really slow, and with educational announcements every 5 minutes. Which is great, because, it's hard to tell when your'e about to enter a province, actually driving in the province, and when you have left the province.

The "stewardess" was incredibly polite, with a "thank you" at every opportunity, and she was also extremely helpful when Addie was the first of us soldiers to fall... literally....she unfortunately fainted on the journey back to Phnom Penh. Yet, again, the bus staff was awesome in their nursing capabilities. Addie is now as good as fine.

Here is Jamal's attempt to capture the bus culture and other ramblings...


Dear Dean Brand,

I heartily appreciate your condemnation of the Paige Fowler Clique and
her Capitalist Water Fantasy and follow you with every step.  Thank
you.

The Paige Fowler Clique was an ally during the journey through Kampong
Chong Province, District 4, Kingdom of Cambodia, which has 9000
hectares surface area and 14000 villages and 28 million crickets
killed.  Thank you.

Since then, her room has been kept very cold, which steps on the back
of the warm rooms.  It can be said that her room is cold because our
rooms are warm and our rooms are warm because her room is cold.  Thank
you.

The Paige Fowler Clique and the Jamal Cool Revolutionary Brigade is
like an elephant stamping on a tiger or a tiger stamping on an
elephant, Tom Sak village, Subdistrict 50 of Kampong Chong Province,
District 4, Kingdom of Cambodia thank you which has 9000 hectares
surface area and 14000 villages and 28 million crickets killed.  Thank
you.

Please advise how I should take dispreportionate revenge on the Paige
Fowler Clique and her aspirational air conditioner.  Perhaps by
steadfastly stealing her batteries with fervor or buying her a
"complimentary" Greyhound Capitalist Drink during so called "Happy
Hour" - it won't be happy no more!

Your best friend,
- Jamal

> Dear Dean Brand,
>
> Jamal keeps making fun of me. Tell him to stoooooppppp iiiiittttttt.
>
> Also, you said the Jean Paul Gaultier Evian was included in the tuition
> price. Please take care of this immediately.
>
> Best,
>
> Paige xoxoxo
>
> On Sun, May 30, 2010 at 11:31 PM,
>>
>> Dear Dean Brand,
>> Why is Paige's room so cold?  It's like she has it set on 19 degrees
>> celsius where I prefer 20.  Please suspend her from school.
>>
>> Your best friend,
>> -Jamal
>>
>> On Mon, May 31, 2010 at 11:49 AM,
>> wrote:
>> > Dear Dean Brand,
>> >
>> > why is Superman always on HBO?
>> >
>> > Best,
>> >
>> > Paige

Dear Dean Brand,

It's hard to describe the strangeness, slight disorientation, and relative oddity of daily life here in Cambodia.

So, I won't.


BUT, I will have you know that although our afternoons have been rather wanderlust-ful, our mornings have been quite busy and filled with intensive classroom/field Khmer Rouge coursework.

We've settled into Phonm Penh, and have had the privilege of visiting the International Tribunal (Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia-ECCC), S21 Tuol Sleng Prison, the Killing Fields, and the Victims Unit of the ECCC (a UN affiliate office). Professor De Nike (herein Howard) is simply remarkable in his great sense of knowledge, and his incredible biography and personal connection to the International Criminal Tribunal process, particularly here in Cambodia, has been inspirational and humbling.


We spent this past weekend in Siem Reap visiting one of the seven wonders of our world: Angkor Wat; and were also lucky enough to venture out of the comfort zone of our modest Khmer dwelling (I mean... awesome resort with a pool shaped like a river that allowed for incredible Apocalypse Now reenactments) discovering traditional Angkor culture while strolling around town.

Jamal and I have a particularly keen sense of understanding now, and would happy to share our gained knowledge with you over a margarita, while wearing knock off Raybans, and awesome disco light Casio watches.

We look forward to your arrival next week. Also, we just learned of your attendance at our Moot Court argument (right after we learned that we're apparently having a Moot Court argument...next week), held at DC Cam. Thank god you got your ticket early, it's apparently the hottest ticket in town (other than the much anticipated July 4th celebration at the U.S. Embassy: bbq, country music, and bouncy house: no joke). All Cambodian citizens are welcome to attend. Thanks Howard.

As it stands:

Paige and Jamal: Defense (aka team "Win")
Addie, Ryan, and Anne: Prosecution (aka team "We Tried")


Lastly, we checked out the Royale Hotel and Elephant Bar yesterday evening, and were quite pleased with the ambiance. So.... we're excited to visit you as often as you'll have us. Like... really.... whenever.

As you can tell, life here in Cambodia is really rough.

Best,

Paige Elizabeth


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"Dear Dean Brand..."

Dear Dean Brand,

The students from the Cambodian Genocide course have been settling in nicely. Please forgive the tardiness of this letter as between jet-lag, becoming accustomed to life here and school we've been very busy.

We're all very excited to be here and for almost all of us, it is our first time in Cambodia.

I think I can say without a hint of patronizing indulgence that it is really rather refreshing to have a first-hand view of how the other half live. At best it is a sobering reminder of privilege and, at worst, an inevitable sympathy that pains the heart - the entrepreneurial effervescence of a yet destitute population and a leprous man who suffered the, I'm sure, unwilling amputation of his lips and eye-brows serve as good examples.

To paraphrase an ex-colonial subject of Her Majesty, it's "really rather Somerset Maugham, isn't it, that Country? And with every cold beer that goes down I think it becomes more so."

It's true.

No matter how noble our intentions, nor how ameliorative an effect we wish to have; no matter how much we learn of their customs and culture, nor how far we abrogate our self-indulgent instincts; we are and always will be of the privileged set and can but observe from a detached vantage.

Which brings me to the title of this post.

We are, to a person, here with the sincere desire to learn of the recent, tragic, history of Cambodia as an object lesson to inform our future as jurists. However we cannot avoid making certain cultural faux pas as we find the outside limits of our wealth-induced sense of entitlement. A sense which is inescapably tied to our upbringing in the richest country the world has known.

We've created a sort of self-deprecatory joke we say in embarrassment whenever we find ourselves inadvertently being "American" - complaining that HBO shows Superman too often or of the smell of rotten Durian or that the speed our Internet connection is reminiscent of 1996. The joke begins with a pantomimed typing of a letter and the words, "Dear Dean Brand..." followed by a recitation of the offending word or action, recapitulated to highlight the relative absurdity of what's just happened.

It's an exercise in humility, one we thought would be fun to bring to this blog. Since we're here representing the USF community we thought it would be fun to write these posts as letters back to you, specifically, as de-facto, metaphorical patriarch.

We hope you'll enjoy our reports.

Sincerely,

-Jamal, Addie, Ann, Ryan and Paige

Election Results!

Hello everyone,

Thank you everyone who voted yesterday. This was far and away the most successful ILS election at USF ever! After counting paper and absentee ballots sent yesterday we have our final results.

The 2010-2011 ILS Executive Board:

Co-Presidents:
Hillary Amster
Martha Menendez

Treasurer:
Jersey Miranda

Secretary:
Kate Emminger

Congratulations to all the winners, and good job everyone who ran. Both the Co-President and Treasurer races were very close.

For everyone seeking a Committee Chair position for next year, Hillary and Martha will soon be posting information on how to apply.
Help shape the future of International Law at the University of San Francisco!

Thank you,

Carlos Romero and Benjamin Lewis
2009-2010 ILS Co-Presidents

Careers in the U.S.: International Prosecutor Michael Hartmann

Michael Hartmann is Manager and Senior Advisor to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) in Kabul, Afghanistan where he oversees the largest UNDOC office outside of Geneva including programs in Anti-Corruption, Terrorism, and Legal Reform. Previously, Mr. Hartmann was an Advisor to the State Department in Afghanistan and was also embedded in as a UN Prosecutor for five years in Kosovo with UNMIK. He was a 2003 Senior Fellow with the US Institute for Peace in Washington, D.C. and is a former lecturer at Boalt Hall, UC Hastings Law and USF School of Law. Mr. Hartmann spoke with USF students on2/18/10 at 4:30pmabout careers with the United Nations and International Development and Rule of Law initiatives.

UPDATE: Mr. Hartmann wanted those students interested in careers in international law and the United Nations to consider the United Nations Volunteers,www.unv.org, and a non-U.N. resource,www.devex.com.