On September 11th, 2009, Mr. Bersin visited the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice to speak on issues concerning the U.S.-Mexico border.  Bersin focused his talk on the importance of working from both sides of the border to tackle problems such as illegal immigration and drug cartel violence.  The discussion was cosponsored by LEAD San Diego and USD’s Trans-Border Institute.  For more information and a recap of Bersin’s talk please visit the TBI website.

If you heard or read his speech on Monday, his goals are lofty:  to "allow anyone to contribute and innovate without permisssion," to continue to push decision making and intelligence "to the edge of the network," where no single entity or the network's architecture picks the winners & losers.  Who is this man?  None other than FCC Chair Julius Genachowski.  Doesn't exactly sound like another one of those pencil-pushin' bureaucrats.  And who would dare to oppose freedom & liberty for all?  Um, let's see . . . could that be those avant-garde, cutting-edge wireless carriers?  InformationWeek Government says the wireless networks "haven't generally been governed by the established rules governing wired networks," and that cabal wants to keep it that way.  You know, preserving their freedom & liberty to pick the winners & losers based on their network architecture.  Expect a fight over this one.  Ya, ya, ya, Obama wants to control the Internet now.  The FCC regulations haven't yet been proposed, but if you're interested in following the back-and-forth leading up to their release, go to a site I wrote about last June, OpenRegs.com.  By clicking the Agencies tab, then choosing the Federal Communications Commission, you'll find the News Related to This Agency section lists several news stories about the organizaions gearing up for this fight.  If you're really interested, you can subscribe to the feed for this agency so that when those Proposed Regulations are actually issued, you'll be one of the first to know.  If you then want something to say about it, you can participate in the Public Comment period at regulations.gov, "Your Voice in Federal Decision-Making."

When: TODAY! 12:15-2:15pm

Where: Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice, Garden of the Sky Plaza

In commemoration of the United Nations International Day of Peace, the IPJ invites all USD students, faculty, and staff, as well as the San Diego community, to celebrate this day of nonviolence and reconciliation.  The event will include exhibits from 50 peace and social justice organizations, live entertainment, and food vendors.  This event is free and open to the public.  For more information go to www.sandiego.edu/dayofpeace.

Seeing as the LRC was the target of some rotten hate crimes last year, it is important to note and support Hate Crimes Awareness Week on our campus. The more public voices there are to denounce this kind of searing bigotry, the closer we get to real united on this campus.  Join in!

Today there is a tabling event at the UC to educate and inform, and they are showing the film about Harvey Milk at Frank's Lounge in the UC at 7 pm tonight.

Tuesday there will be a Peace March strating from the front of the Immaculata at 12:15.  Stand up and be counted as some one who will not tolerate hate and bigotry at USD.

Wednesday there is a panel discussion on American History X in Salomon Hall from 6-9 pm facilitated by Dr. Alberto Pulido, Chair of the Ethnic Studies Department. Come share knowledge, popcorn, drinks and concerns.

Thursday the Safe space Allies get training begining at 5:30. You can join and register for the training at the Rainbow Educator's website.

Friday rounds out the week with another tabling event that allows shared student reflections on hate crimes and what they mean to everyone here at USD.

One of my very favorite tasks each semester is introducing legal research to the nursing students.  They have a required course in health legislation and policy, so I get to show them how to find current bills winding their way through Congress and the California legislature.  What makes this particularly fun and satisfying is the fact that I am reaching people who will not be part of the legal profession. And yet they will know how to find a law, track a law, and look up its history. 

These are things that I think everyone should know about.  Everyone who knows more about the legal process is one more person who is informed about how our system of government works.  I am such a pollyanna this morning — too much coffee?  Perhaps.  But I honestly believe that knowledge is power and we can never impart too much knowledge when it comes to our government's activities.

It's that time of year again.  The FBI has released its latest annual compilation of crime statistics, Crime in the United States, 2008.  Good news! The number of violent crimes have dropped for the second consecutive year, while property crimes are down for the sixth straight year.  For those of you who would like to do some historical comparison, the title is available on the agency's Uniform Crime Reports website back to 1995.  Want more?  The LRC has the statistics in print back to 1941.  Still not enough?  Ok, you asked for it.  The LRC's microforms will take you all the way back to 1930.  Before that, there was no crime, right?  We can only wish.

There is no doubt about it – if you are a law student and do not have a vibrant, comprehensive, and frequently-updated profile on LinkedIn, you are missing an essential tool in your job hunting, professional networking, and personal branding tool box.

From one law student to another, Leora Maccabee gives you her five B’s to mastering LinkedIn: the Basics, Beefing up your profile; Building your network; Branding yourself; and Best practices for job searching.  Check it out here.

The LRC, in partnership with Copley Library, the United Front Multicultural Center and Athletic Department, is presenting a unique social dialogue event called The Living Library. 

For two days in October the libraries will offer readers the opportunity to check out a living book — a real person who has a life experience or characteristic that you may not know much about, may have unpleasant connotations about, or something you may fear.  By checking out that book for a short time to ask it questions you can come to a better understanding of other people and their lives.

This event is sponsored by the On Our Campus diversity initiative, a part of the President's Advisory Board on Inclusion and Diversity (PABID).  Student club sponsorships include Pride Law and the National Lawyers Guild.

October 21st from 3-7 pm.  Check it out!  Check out your prejudice!

The United Nations opened the 64th session of the General Assemblyearlier this week.  Leaders of the United Nations gathered on September 15th to open for the General Assembly, and General Debate will begin on the October 23^rd and last until October 30^th, 2009.  The webcast of the 1st plenary meeting is available from the UN Webcast archives(Real Player required).

Want to know more about finding UN documents? Check out our guide to UN Resources in the Legal Research Center.

Despite predictions that Twitter would become a popular social media tools for attorneys, only 6% use it:

http://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/legal_blog_watch/2009/09/only-a-small-percentage-of-lawyers-use-twitter.html