At the moment the concern is for saving the living, which includes 6,000 prisoners from 2 prisons, some of whom we saw on the news, herded together. The courts have suffered losses too, with evidence including computer records lost (via the German American Law Journal blog, where St. [sic] Meyer wonders why no precautions were taken, if this is true). Via GALJ, ProfessorBainbridge.com reports:

bq. Our state bar offices are under water. Our state disciplinary offices are under water – again with evidence ruined. Our state disciplinary offices are located on Veteran’s Blvd. in Metairie. Those of you who have been watching the news, they continue to show Veteran’s Blvd. It’s the shot with the destroyed Target store and shopping center under water and that looks like a long canal. Our Committee on Bar Admissions is located there and would have been housing the bar exams which have been turned in from the recent July bar exam (this is one time I’ll pray the examiners were late in turning them in – we were set to meet in 2 weeks to go over the results). Will all of those new graduates have to retake the bar exam?

Sitemeter has started showing world maps, and also continents, for (traceable) visitors to this site:

Europe 67.5%
North America 25.9%
Asia 3.4%
Australia 1.3%
South America 1%
Other 0.7%
Africa 0.2%

I know these things aren’t absolutely accurate, but what is Other?
NZ? – or is that part of Australia?

Martha Stewart’s period of home detention ends today. I referred recently to electronic anklets. Martha Stewart is said to wear an electronic bracelet on her ankle:

Wednesday, one of the most famous bracelets in history is expected to come off Martha Stewart’s ankle.
As the electronic watchdog is removed, it will mark the end of her five months – and three weeks extra for minor violations – of home confinement in Bedford, N.Y.

It seems the more common term. But apparently they are sometimes worn on the wrist.

(Via rebecca’s pocket)

Robert Peyton, another lawyer whose New Orleans blog I read (a non-legal blog, Appetites), is alive and well but has lost his house:

bq. However, if I start posting recipes about how to braise rats, or roast “long-pig” you might want to start worrying about me.

An Italian online florist offers sentences for every – or no – occasion. Discovered (but how?) by Noel at flefo.org.

bq. These flowers show you my attraction for you. I wish you an happy onomastic.

bq. In spite of your faults, you always appear to me very beautiful.

The language of flowers:

bq. As already mentioned, a only flower is generally suitable only for the loved person as affection symbol. In this case it will be appreciated any kind, also a simple violet picked up by the eyelash of a ditch.

It has something of Paul Celan, and yet at the same time it’s completely different.

Here’s the Italian opening page with a choice of languages.

Clarity is an international association promoting plain legal language. It publishes the journal Clarity in May and November.

You can get PDFs of old issues on the website. I hope the latest May 2005 edition will be available online in November!

It isn’t written for translators. But it can be very useful in indicating the meanings of archaic legalese and indicating what is a term of art and what isn’t.

But the latest edition was really interesting for legal translators. Here’s the cover (click for an enlargement):

The best of all were the articles by William Robinson and Ian Frame, two translators (Robinson is no longer a translator, but in the Legal Revisers Group), on why the English of EU legislation is as it is. I’ll post a brief summary when I get round to it.