In the weeks since the [Inspector General]’s flawed and narrow vision of our diplomatic mission, people of good will in the middle ranks of our Department have seen it as their calling to strictly enforce it. As a consequence, my voice has been prevented from speaking; my pen has been enjoined from writing; and my actions have been confined to the ministerial. You deserve better, but until these rigid, and rigidly narrow, perspectives are overcome, you and the President are being deprived of the intelligent insight of much of your Embassy’s work.
– Douglas Kmiec, noted constitutional law scholar and former Catholic University law school dean, tendering his resignation as U.S. ambassador to Malta to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Above the law
Outcry over spy phones Start Another Fire and Watch It Slowly Die: The Aftermath of Regime Change
Adam Curtis , a documentary filmmaker, traces a loose history of the modern concept of humanitarian intervention in the West and its philosophical underpinnings - punctuated, unsurprisingly, with several compelling documentary film clips.
While historians may quibble with certain aspects of his rendition, there was one passage that stood out:
The movement had begun back in Biafra because a group of young idealists wanted to escape from the old corrupt power politics. To do this they had simplified the world into a moral struggle between good and evil.
They believed that if they could destroy the evil - by liberating victims from oppression by despots - then what would result would be, automatically, good. But the problem with this simple view was that it meant they had no critical framework by which to judge the "victims" they were helping. And the Baghdad bombing made it clear that some of the victims were very bad indeed - and that the humanitarians' actions might actually have helped unleash another kind of evil.
• Might actually have helped unleash another kind of evil [ ; ; ]
• · Amid rising scrutiny of their practices, Google Inc. defended the way it collects location data from Android phones, while Apple Inc. remained silent for a third day Google Defends Way It Gathers Phone Data; I do not care if Apple and Google know where I am. The revelation that Apple's storing location data and keeping it for a year or more on my iPhone and my computer has shocked many, but not me. Hey, everybody, this is exactly where I am and what I'm doing right now Location Is Not a Four Letter Word ; Google (GOOG) Android phones also collect location information, although according to a report in github, those files are regularly pruned, leaving only the most recent data. Track your own iPhone; How Much Should You Freak Out About Apple and Google Tracking Your Location ; Google Links
• · · 14 favourite applications ; Mobile Madness Global mobile traffic nearly tripled for the third year in a row in 2010 ; This work should serve as the final salvo in the long battle between those who are still in denial regard ing KGB espionage in America in the 1930s and 40s and those who assert that this story must be told Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America
• · · · Above the Law – This blog refers to itself as a "legal tabloid" and offers amusing commentary on the latest in law.
Law blogs, also known as blawgs, are plentiful these days. In fact, there are probably thousands to choose from and more appear each week. For that reason, it may be difficult for you to narrow down which ones are worth a regular read. Whether you are a lawyer, law student, or merely interested in the subject, we’ve attempted to cut through the chaff and provide you with what we regard as the top 100 law and lawyer blogs listed below. It was very difficult to choose only 100 blogs from the myriad of successful law blogs. In an effort to remain fair, you will find a variety of subjects covered with the following blogs. Not only are high-profile general law blogs included, niche blawgs are also offered for your consideration. Since it would be impossible to rank them according to importance, they are categorized according to subject and then alphabetized. According to our research, here are what we consider to be the top 100 law and lawyer blogs ;
Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated on April 4, 1968. I was five years and three days old. One can kill a person, but cannot kill an idea. Our present world is at a critical crossroads where many people stick their necks out for social justice and other social good (unfortunately including those causing severe social damage while seeking well-intentioned goals -- MADD comes to mind, for instance ), while too many others look out solely for number one, and while many others tread sometimes inconsistent paths somewhere in between. Everyone can improve. Nobody stays the same, just as a river constantly changes; the water molecule that is in front of us in the river at this moment will be miles away later today, and the riverbanks will continually be changed by the river. Few people are a**holes, even though most people sometimes or more often than that act like a**holes Compassion and kindness are a two-way-street ; It has been more than six months since I was forcibly removed from my old job as a deputy prosecutor. Since then, times have been extremely tough. Unemployment is not a way to survive; it is a way to suffer. I can only barely make ends meet at this point, and I grow ever more desperate each day. Everyone says that it is not my fault, and that I should blame the economy for my inability to find gainful employment. But I have no desire for excuses. I want to work again; I want to help people again. All that said, I feel it is time for me to make my own plea for help Facing Reality
• · · · · Home value chart updated 1890-2011
Case Shiller 100 Year Chart (2011 Update), By Barry Ritholtz - April 13, 2011: "In 2006, just as the Housing market was peaking, the NYT ran this graphic of the 100-year Case Shiller chart. It showed how radically overvalued Housing had become. Two years later, TBP [the Big Picture] reader Steve Barry updated that graphic, including the projected Home Price mean reversion ; A land value tax will solve the problems of escalating house prices. Property supply magic ; Kevin received a warm thank-you from Yvonne Adele, the inventor of a global overnight brainstorming service called Ideas While You Sleep While You Were Sleeping
• · · · · · The best tips for cleaning and organizing your home including garages, closets, kitchens, bathrooms, This Too Shall Pass ; at Real Simple