Lust, Caution

How do you know just by meeting a person that you don't like him or her?

Might it be the clothes they wear; but if so, what is it that provokes such distaste or even revulsion? Perhaps the cut of his suit and his out of place necktie, or her neckline which plunges half an inch too far.

Or perhaps it is his manner of speaking; the way he squints and contorts his eyebrows, making his face seem more expressive than his voice ever could be. It could even be something you do not see - her tone seems inexplicably discordant and ill-paired with the words that sally from her lips.

Is this instant, instinctive displeasure a fault, and if so, whose is it? His, for his overbearing and obnoxious manner; hers, for her servility and obsequiousness; or yours, for an inherent distrust and irrational prejudice?

Not Dead, Just Lying Down For a While

I'll be back in two months.

We, The Peoples

ASEAN launched the ASEAN Charter today. Apparently it was signed last year, so I've clearly been out of the loop for a while.

I remember being asked not too long ago whether I thought ASEAN would ever develop into a political and economic entity like the EU, an outcome I was very sceptical of. So I was slightly surprised when I read about the ASEAN Charter, which serves to confer legal personality on the Association.

On further inspection, however, it's pretty clear that the Charter does not accomplish very much, and it most definitely is nothing like the European Treaties. You can see the (very ugly) Charter here.

Article 2 sets out the principles of ASEAN, which, while containing some laudatory statements on compliance with human rights and international law, contains at least three separate references to non-interference in Member States' internal affairs and sovereignty.

Article 14 postpones any substantive decision on an ASEAN human rights body, despite the principle of "respect for fundamental freedoms...and protection of human rights".

Article 20 establishes "consultation and consensus" as the primary decision-making process, in keeping with the general theme of amity and cooperation.

The ASEAN motto is "One Vision, One Identity and One Community", which is somewhat optimistic.

I'm quite curious to see what substantive changes the ASEAN Charter will introduce, as there is an underlying and irreconcilable tension between the drive to greater economic integration, social cohesion and security cooperation on the one hand, and non-interference, sovereignty and consensus on the other.

One thing that's clear, however, is that ASEAN certainly will not become an Asian Union, or even an Asian Community, in the sense of the EU, in the near future.

Perchance to Wake

I've been plagued by dreams almost every night for the past week or so. They're never the same, but they're never very pleasant.

Last night it had something to do with me being taken captive, yet strangely all my captors were contemporaries from secondary school, who I managed to guilt-trip into treating me better than was normal.

Other dreams have included me having to do Chinese exercises, and other unpleasant experiences.

The most likely explanation is that I am suffering increasing amounts of stress as finals approach, as my mind exorcises my subconscious worries and woes from my waking moments to my slumbering hours.

It is also possible that I need a better pillow.

Feed the Birds

It was a drizzly day, gloomy and wet, but surprisingly not that cold. My route to the law faculty takes me past a little church, and its churchyard always attracts a number of pigeons.

Today, because of the rain, they were all puffed up, heads tucked into oversized fluffy necks, and wings swollen with ruffled feathers. Why, I wondered, did all the pigeons puff up in the same way?

For warmth, was my first thought, by trapping extra air. But I've been through colder days, without noticing any pigeon-swelling, let alone en masse inflation, so that couldn't have been it.

Perhaps it had something to do with the rain, rather as how we use umbrellas.

Maybe, I thought dubiously, but maybe it was for no particular reason at all - a genetic hiccup that made them expand when it rained, just as humans have opposable thumbs for no apparent reason or purpose, other than a quirk of nature.

As I walked down Turl Street, past Exeter college and a homeless person selling some magazines, and under some scaffolding in a mist of rain, I wondered whether we were deceiving ourselves in thinking that any part of our Life, or the reality we have hewn from the bedrock of a state of nature, was really for any purpose whatsoever.

Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate

The seven deadly sins are thought to be lust, gluttony, avarice, sloth, wrath, envy and pride.

But doubt is by far the greatest sin of all.

The End is Near

The rate at which my mental faculties are deteriorating is truly astonishing. Already I cannot remember what Raz had to say about the normal justification thesis of authority and what von Hirsch had to say about the institution of punishment.

And don't talk to me about what McKay wrote about the requirement of certainty of objects.

In about nine months I'll be taking the most difficult exams of my life, and I am woefully underprepared.

Perhaps it has partly to do with the fact that the joy of learning seems to have seeped from my pores lately. Oxford is fun and all, but the excessive academia can get rather tiring. Do I really need to know whether the law exercises the authority it purports to claim for itself, or whether a claimant should be allowed to jump an evidentiary gap?

An old friend has started a new blog while on exchange, posting views on investments that are not only highly lucid but also compellingly relevant. While far from regretting choosing a finance degree (heaven forfend), I miss having a discipline like math that is essentially applicationary.

There comes a point where knowledge for knowledge's sake ends, and where what we know becomes less important that what we do with it. It's the old debate between intrinsic and instrumental value. The truth, as always, lies somewhere in the middle, but moderation, I fear, is not something that will feature greatly in the remainder of my academic life.