More cat content can’t harm: here you can apply for three of the numerous Bavarian cats that have been delivered to animal refuges in advance of the expected wave of avian flu. Otherwise just phone the refuges.
We are told on TV that some cat-owners are over-reacting. So they are, but on the other hand, does it help if at least half of the news programmes seem to be concerned with the topic? (Now interspersed with a certain amount of comment on the German soccer team)

I have encountered grober Vorsatz / grob vorsätzlich now for the second time. It’s definitely used, although I’m not sure it’s kosher (and I am not recommending its use). In my context it means Absicht.

|Vorsatz| intent(ion)|
|Arten des Vorsatzes| degrees of intention|
|Absicht (dolus directus ersten Grades)| concrete / specific intention|
|direkter Vorsatz (dolus directus zweiten Grades)| direct intent|
|bedingter Vorsatz (dolus eventualis)| conditional intent|

See section 276 of the German Civil Code. The terms occur mainly in criminal law, but my example was civil:

bq. …wenn der Vermieter den Mangel grob vorsätzlich oder grob fahrlässig zu vertreten hat…

A bit off topic, this. Taiwanese students show how you can exploit the Pizza Hut rule ‘One trip to the salad bar’ (photos).

I wonder what the glycaemic index of those piles of cucumber is?

(Via rebecca’s pocket)

Here’s a bizarre item on Quizilla. I’m afraid I can’t remember where I found it. I particularly liked the pepperoni pizza question:

You are the Rule of Lenity! You interpret

ambiguities in penal statutes in favor of the

accused. You’re a laid-back kind of rule and

concerned with not being too quick to judge.

You’re soft on crime.

Which Canon of Statutory Construction are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Btw, I wasn’t at all laid back and lenient about the beer, just about the pizza and the attractive member of the opposite sex.

And here’s what I learnt in the distant past about the interpretation of statutes:
the literal rule (take the obvious meaning if it’s reasonably clear), the golden rule (give words their ordinary meaning unless it would be absurd), the mischief rule (what mischief was the Act designed to cure? interpret in conformity with that aim), the eiusdem generis rule (a list of specific items is to be regarded as exhaustive unless followed by general words).

Alpmann Brockhaus lists some German rules, but I won’t go into those!
grammatische Auslegung, systematische A., historische A., genetische A., teleologische A., erweiternde A., verfassungskonforme A., richtlinienkonforme A. And in the case of wills: erläuternde A., ergänzende A., wohlwollende A.

RollOnFriday recently had a competition for the best-named law firm. This was not about fictitious firm names, like Private Eye’s Sue Grabbit & Runne or the Marx Brothers’ Dewey Cheatem & Howe, but existing names (although ‘Wright Hassle’ – actually Wright Hassall – had already been named by the organizers and was therefore excluded, as was Godloves Solicitors (note their businesswomen’s breakfast club)).

The winner was a Chinese firm called Deep & Far, with no Messrs. Deep or Far in sight.

Founding partner Mr. C. F. Tsai explains the reasoning behind the name: “because I want my firm to be deeply rooted in Taiwan first and then far all over the world.” And we love the profiles – “Ya Ping Chou: An ordinary, simple family is what she belongs to… For the sakes of health and beauty, she is fond of cooking for herself and makes exercise a habit.”

Second place goes to Boss & Young of Shanghai (apparently “he left his job as associate to start the Chinese firm with a partner to be his own BOSS when he was very YOUNG”).

Are there German equivalents? I can only think of long names like KSB Intax Knoke Sallawitz v. Bismarck Brauer v. Bock Wendenburg (although the KSB Intax part looks like an abbreviation).

Answers.com has a somewhat eclectic list of law firms, and if you scroll down there is a list of fictional law firms (including, from The Simpsons, Luvem and Burnem Family Law).

And here’s Jeremy Blachman, looking for law firm names that sound convincing that he can borrow for a novel. Some commenters offer their own names, for instance Chris Z M Csefalvay IV, who, if he really exists, has a German Abitur.

Wordlab, of course, has been here before, linking to an article at law.com on naming law firms.

BBC Prime, at 20:30 on March 1 2006:

bq. HOME FROM HOME-Sidmouth/Munich (Lifestyle)
Families, couples and individuals from different countries swap homes for a holiday. As they settle into their new environment, the travellers gain a unique perspective on the everyday lives of their absent hosts. Today the Nancekievills swap their modern holiday home in Devon with Sabine and Gerwin Zott from Munich, Germany.
He\Dk\Cz\Po\Hu\Ro\It Subtitles

What differences will they notice? Let’s see – the Munich shower will work properly, but they can’t get any clotted or even double cream or see the sea.