First week of classes

I've completed the first week of classes for 2014 back at the University of Edinburgh.
Instead of "syllabus week" for my (only) new course on International Climate Change Law, we were asked to attend a special launch event for Climate Policy's special issue on The Changing Geopolitics of Climate Change. Guest and local lecturers spoke on the issue's themes and summarised the papers, which were exploring questions of how global regimes around climate change have and have not made progress since the Kyoto Protocol and why. Lots of talk about "China vs. the West", as climate discussions often are. These themes tend to bug me a bit given their often nationalist and racist undertones, but there were some other interesting additional points and observations, and it was nice to have a more politically than legally oriented session for the first time in a while!
My other two courses are year-long and thus continuing from last term. No syllabus week for us - just diving straight into things! Today, a seminar on the dichotomy (or lack thereof!) between civil-political and socioeconomic-cultural rights for International and European Human Rights Law and a fun (no, seriously, it was fun. Yes, I know I have a problem) look into regulations for ship pollution.

And, finally: Some people have been asking me what an "LLM" is. Just in case you'd like a ramble on it and some other things, today's "Ramblings" episode is here.