* The bankruptcy judge has made several decisions to keep Chrysler afloat including allowing a $4.5 billion credit line from the U.S. and Canadian governments. [The Detroit Free Press]

* State attorneys general will meet with Craiglist to discuss the elimination of advertisements for “illegal sexual activities.” [The Associated Press]

* In the Court’s first public appearance since Souter announced his retirement—there were many announcements of decisions and upcoming cases—but no mention of the elephant in the room. One case that will be decided is whether it is cruel and unusual punishment to give minors life sentences for serious crimes like rape. [The Washington Post]

* A group of biker lawyers has gotten together to form a small Los Angeles firm that represents victims of motorcycle accidents. [The Los Angeles Times]

* The story of a Beijing lawyer who took on Communist officials in court is evidence of how little freedom Chinese citizens really have. [The Los Angeles Times]

* NBC was criticized by the Department of Homeland Security for a series on war criminals that enforcers say could interfere with their investigations. [The New York Times]

* Raising questions about human rights, the State Department expressed concern about a Chinese blogger who has been indefinitely detained. [CNN.com]

* The artist of highly popular Obama posters Shepard Fairey filed a pre-emptive lawsuit against the AP, which accused him of copyright infringement. [The International Herald Tribune]

* Investors suing feeder funds that invested their money with Madoff will be fighting an uphill legal battle. [Bloomberg.com]

* Alan Dershowitz on bringing Israel before the International Criminal Court. [The Huffington Post]

* Enjoy the inauguration. Even if work sucks—America is awesome. There is a lot of news concerning the inauguration, but one interesting point is that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is the “designated successor” to run the federal government in case of emergency and will not attend the inauguration. [The Washington Post]

* A federal judge granted Cheney discretion over which records of his actions as Vice President have to be preserved in the national archives. Good idea. Surely we can count on Dick Cheney not to destroy any documents that make him look bad. Especially since he has been so truthful and transparent in the past. [The Washington Post]

* Former public defender Randy Koshnick’s representation of cop-killer Ted Oswald could hurt him in his bid for a seat on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court. [The Chicago Tribune]

* Frequent ATL readers are probably sick of reading about Guantanamo. But the war crimes court at the prison convened yesterday, and proceedings were disrupted by the self-proclaimed mastermind of 9-11. [Reuters]

* The International Court of Justice ruled that the U.S. violated a previous order when Texas executed a Mexican national guilty of rape and murder. [The Los Angeles Times]

* The 213 families in China whose babies got sick from drinking tainted milk brought the case to Chinese Supreme Court. [The Associated Press]

* Chicago lawyer Anton Valukas is in charge of investigating Lehman Brother’s bankruptcy. [Bloomberg.com]

* Georgia Supreme Court expedites Genarlow Wilson hearing. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

* Libby gets supervised release to wrap up his sentencing. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Off with their food safety head. [BBC]

* Georgia judge dies after beating received during robbery two weeks ago. [Fulton County Daily Report]

They do things differently over in China. Here in the United States, for example, we like to put cats on TV. In China, they like to eat them.

And in the Chinese city of Xiamen, they take an approach to anonymous comments on the internet that diverges from the American way. From UPI:

A Chinese city plans to ban anonymous online postings after Internet users successfully campaigned to stop completion of a chemical factory.

The ban mandates Internet users must provide proof of their real identify when posting messages on more than 100,000 Web sites registered in Xiamen, the Times of London reported Saturday.

We’re not experts on internet use in China, so please excuse our ignorance, but we don’t understand how this ban is supposed to work. How does the ban stop people from posting as “GeneralTso888”? Sure, maybe the authorities can track you down through your IP address, if you dare to post as “Hot Pork Buns” (and that is not your real name). But couldn’t they have done that even before the ban?

And if the point of the ban is to establish some penalties for posting anonymously or under a pseudonym, that also seems like a waste of time. Doesn’t China already have enough pretexts for throwing people in prison?

P.S. Yes, we’re Asian — and part Chinese, in fact.

Chinese city bans anonymous web postings [United Press International via Drudge Report]

—Ah, so Goulston & Storrs is going to China.* [WSJ Law Blog]

—Our Legal Eagle Wedding Watch is already generating controversy — see this post (and the comments). But Dan Markel — at right, with Wendi Adelson, his lovely wife — isn’t impartial when it comes to the NYT wedding pages.** [PrawfsBlawg]

—Yes, ATL will weigh in at some point on the controversy over diversity, Supreme Court clerks, and the relatively small number of women in this Term’s group of SCOTUS clerks. [Slate and Concurring Opinions, via SCOTUSblog]

But not on the Friday before Labor Day. Enjoy the holiday, everyone!

* We can make this lame, insensitive, politically incorrect pun, ‘cause we’re Asian ourselves. And it’s hard out here for an Asian male. We’re the one demographic group that’s never en vogue — unlike, say, Asian women, or African-American men. So please, allow us the small pleasures.

** Disclosure: We went to college with Dan, worked on the school newspaper with him, and are friends with him. Hell, we’re pals with like three-quarters of the people we link to, write about, etc. The law: it’s a small world after all.

So please assume that everything you read here is potentially tainted with some kind of undisclosed conflict. Actual mileage may vary. Personal-injury lawyers in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are. Thank you.