RORY McGUIRE.-Canberra isn’t a bubble. It’s a vacuum
How Jimmy Stewart’s war service affected ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Chicago Tribune
Fleabag: The Scriptures consists of the scripts for both seasons of Fleabag, the original stage directions for the play, and commentary from Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Suicide: The Coupling of Intent and Opportunity
THE PAST IS ANOTHER COUNTRY: I tried to live like it was 2010 for a day and it was impossible
Economic Possibilities for OurselvesProject Syndicate
Inside Documents Show How Amazon Chose Speed Over Safety in Building Its Delivery Network ProPublica
Pushpinder was listed in Chambers UK 2016 as a ‘Star at the Bar’ – “Pushpinder Saini QC is an exceptionally versatile and able advocate with the ability to turn his mind successfully to seemingly almost any legal issue. He is acknowledged as one of the country’s foremost experts in media & entertainment and telecommunications matters and possesses considerable expertise in a number of other fields, including human rights, competition, commercial litigation, financial services and public law.
How Jimmy Stewart’s war service affected ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Chicago Tribune
Suicide: The Coupling of Intent and Opportunity
THE PAST IS ANOTHER COUNTRY: I tried to live like it was 2010 for a day and it was impossible
Economic Possibilities for OurselvesProject Syndicate
Inside Documents Show How Amazon Chose Speed Over Safety in Building Its Delivery Network ProPublica
Pushpinder was listed in Chambers UK 2016 as a ‘Star at the Bar’ – “Pushpinder Saini QC is an exceptionally versatile and able advocate with the ability to turn his mind successfully to seemingly almost any legal issue. He is acknowledged as one of the country’s foremost experts in media & entertainment and telecommunications matters and possesses considerable expertise in a number of other fields, including human rights, competition, commercial litigation, financial services and public law.
Arrested at the $7m Manhattan penthouse he shared with his wife, Ruth, the man who had run a decade long pyramid scheme made an emotional confession to his sons that “it’s all just one big lie”. Securities and Exchange Commission investigators spoke of “a stunning fraud that appears to be of epic proportions”.
Further details emerged in a court exchange between Pushpinder Saini QC, acting for Grant Thornton, and Antony Marshall.
Saini opened: “Is it fair to say that he [Madoff] was a controlling type, who expected to be obeyed in all respects?”
Marshall: “I would think that’s a fair description, my Lord.”
Mr Saini: “He was not somebody that you would cross lightly?”
Marshall: “No.”
Madoff’s ruthless side erupted after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when he “absolutely exploded” when the New York Stock Exchange was closed for more than a week, according to Bond. “I couldn’t even repeat the few conversations I had with him at that stage,” he said.
Bond elaborated: “After 9/11, the atmosphere changed dramatically in the office. Bernie became like a wild man. I took some very bad calls from Bernie. I think at the time when the Twin Towers went down Johnny [Purcell] was on holiday.
“He wasn’t there so Bernie went absolutely ballistic. And John had arranged this holiday before so he had obviously no inkling what was going to happen. They closed [the exchange] and Bernie was swearing, using very strong language.”
“Can I ask you about these cameras?” said Saini. “Was any particular reason given as to why it was necessary to have CCTV cameras in the trading room?
Marshall: “No, I don’t think it was at the time.”
Saini: “Who was actually looking at these cameras?”
Marshall: “I understand there was a camera in … a transmitter in New York, and one upstairs in the back office.”
Saini: “Do you know whether Mr Madoff would actually look at the images of what was going on in the trading room in London?
Marshall: “I think that’s one of the reasons he put it in, yes.”
Madoff claimed his descent into fraud began in 1992, when his trading operation turned from a genuine investment business, with four prominent clients – Jeffry Picower, Stanley Chais, Norman Levy and Carl Shapiro – into an illegal Ponzi scheme, so-named after the Boston clerk Charles Ponzi, but on a far bigger scale.
Madoff was simply paying long-term investors with money received from new entrants to his fund, using the proceeds to fund a lavish lifestyle that maintained a beachfront mansion in the Hamptons, a villa overlooking Cap d’Antibes in the South of France, and yachts in New York, Florida and the Mediterranean.
With the lifestyle came the ultimate acceptance for a man who had grown up on the wrong side of the tracks in Queens, New York, where he watched his father go bankrupt before supporting himself through college by installing sprinkler systems.
Madoff had such a “hatred of clutter and mess”, it has emerged, that he didn’t like his employees to have pictures of their families on their desks and the offices had to be decorated in a strict monochrome colour-scheme.
Purcell revealed: “He [Madoff] had this colour phobia, everything was black and white or grey and white. The desks had to be black, the computers had to have a black surround, and the walls were grey.”
Bond added: “If you had your jacket on the back of the chair, he would – while he was talking to you – he would adjust your jacket.
“One time, he actually climbed under the desk where I was sitting and he was rearranging the wires because the trunking and the electrical work at the old building [in London Wall] was not high tech.
“He was actually underneath my desk and I had to kind of move back while he just carried on. He just came out as though nothing had happened.”
Pushpinder Saini, a lawyer for the liquidators, said during the opening arguments that Mr
Judgment - The Supreme Court
Pushpinder Saini QC.
Arrested at the $7m Manhattan penthouse he shared with his wife, Ruth, the man who had run a decade long pyramid scheme made an emotional confession to his sons that “it’s all just one big lie”. Securities and Exchange Commission investigators spoke of “a stunning fraud that appears to be of epic proportions”.
Further details emerged in a court exchange between Pushpinder Saini QC, acting for Grant Thornton, and Antony Marshall.
Saini opened: “Is it fair to say that he [Madoff] was a controlling type, who expected to be obeyed in all respects?”
Marshall: “I would think that’s a fair description, my Lord.”
Mr Saini: “He was not somebody that you would cross lightly?”
Marshall: “No.”
Madoff’s ruthless side erupted after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when he “absolutely exploded” when the New York Stock Exchange was closed for more than a week, according to Bond. “I couldn’t even repeat the few conversations I had with him at that stage,” he said.
Bond elaborated: “After 9/11, the atmosphere changed dramatically in the office. Bernie became like a wild man. I took some very bad calls from Bernie. I think at the time when the Twin Towers went down Johnny [Purcell] was on holiday.
“He wasn’t there so Bernie went absolutely ballistic. And John had arranged this holiday before so he had obviously no inkling what was going to happen. They closed [the exchange] and Bernie was swearing, using very strong language.”
“Can I ask you about these cameras?” said Saini. “Was any particular reason given as to why it was necessary to have CCTV cameras in the trading room?
Marshall: “No, I don’t think it was at the time.”
Saini: “Who was actually looking at these cameras?”
Marshall: “I understand there was a camera in … a transmitter in New York, and one upstairs in the back office.”
Saini: “Do you know whether Mr Madoff would actually look at the images of what was going on in the trading room in London?
Marshall: “I think that’s one of the reasons he put it in, yes.”
Madoff claimed his descent into fraud began in 1992, when his trading operation turned from a genuine investment business, with four prominent clients – Jeffry Picower, Stanley Chais, Norman Levy and Carl Shapiro – into an illegal Ponzi scheme, so-named after the Boston clerk Charles Ponzi, but on a far bigger scale.
Madoff was simply paying long-term investors with money received from new entrants to his fund, using the proceeds to fund a lavish lifestyle that maintained a beachfront mansion in the Hamptons, a villa overlooking Cap d’Antibes in the South of France, and yachts in New York, Florida and the Mediterranean.
With the lifestyle came the ultimate acceptance for a man who had grown up on the wrong side of the tracks in Queens, New York, where he watched his father go bankrupt before supporting himself through college by installing sprinkler systems.
Madoff had such a “hatred of clutter and mess”, it has emerged, that he didn’t like his employees to have pictures of their families on their desks and the offices had to be decorated in a strict monochrome colour-scheme.
Purcell revealed: “He [Madoff] had this colour phobia, everything was black and white or grey and white. The desks had to be black, the computers had to have a black surround, and the walls were grey.”
Bond added: “If you had your jacket on the back of the chair, he would – while he was talking to you – he would adjust your jacket.
“One time, he actually climbed under the desk where I was sitting and he was rearranging the wires because the trunking and the electrical work at the old building [in London Wall] was not high tech.
“He was actually underneath my desk and I had to kind of move back while he just carried on. He just came out as though nothing had happened.”
Pushpinder Saini, a lawyer for the liquidators, said during the opening arguments that Mr
Pushpinder Saini QC.
Bernard Madoff: the inside story of an obsessive control freak who fooled the world
What my father's life under the Nazis taught me about being erotic
Sex therapist Esther Perel's parents saw being erotic as an "antidote to death" during the Holocaust. She thinks couples could learn a lot from their experience.
I live in the country and this thread from Avery Alder about needing a lot of guys is spot on.
We Here is the thing about living in the country. You need a lot of guys. You need a wood guy, and a plow guy, and if you don’t have a big enough truck you’re probably going to need a truck guy.
This is my favorite bit:
Everyone should strive toward being a uniquely helpful guy, forming a community-wide matrix of skills and offerings, so that nobody ever has to “make a trip into town” (the failure of the guy state).
I rent so I don’t have a lot of guys, but I still have a car guy, a plow guy, a real estate guy (just in case I do want to buy something), a meat guy, a ski boot guy, and a roof/window guy. My bacon person is a kickass lady butcher. I wish I had a wood stove or fireplace so that I needed a wood guy.
Many of Ricky’s detractors take issue with the jokes he told about Caitlyn Jenner while hosting the 2016 Golden Globes, but he is adamant that he has always supported trans rights. ‘There are many trying to say the subject of the joke is the same as the target, but it’s not. The word “transphobia” has been watered down through misuse. It couldn’t have been done better by real transphobes.
Sex therapist Esther Perel's parents saw being erotic as an "antidote to death" during the Holocaust. She thinks couples could learn a lot from their experience.
I live in the country and this thread from Avery Alder about needing a lot of guys is spot on.
We Here is the thing about living in the country. You need a lot of guys. You need a wood guy, and a plow guy, and if you don’t have a big enough truck you’re probably going to need a truck guy.
This is my favorite bit:
Everyone should strive toward being a uniquely helpful guy, forming a community-wide matrix of skills and offerings, so that nobody ever has to “make a trip into town” (the failure of the guy state).
I rent so I don’t have a lot of guys, but I still have a car guy, a plow guy, a real estate guy (just in case I do want to buy something), a meat guy, a ski boot guy, and a roof/window guy. My bacon person is a kickass lady butcher. I wish I had a wood stove or fireplace so that I needed a wood guy.
Ten Books That Shaped And Changed The 2010s
From “The Big Short” to Naomi Klein to “Normal People,” a list of books that made an impact. – The Guardian
From “The Big Short” to Naomi Klein to “Normal People,” a list of books that made an impact. – The Guardian
The annual Christmas haul is in, and already well-thumbed and shelved. My oldest son and his wife gave me a fifty-dollar gift card to Half-Price Books and the final shooting script of Martin’s Scorsese’s The Irishman, the best new film I’ve seen in years. Among other things, it captures the sensation of being in a large hall with a lot of angry union guys. My father was a longtime member of Ironworkers Local 17 in Cleveland. From my middle son (minoring in Russian at the U.S, Naval Academy), Political Memoirs 1905-1907 (trans. Carl Goldberg, University of Michigan Press, 1967) by Paul Miliukov, a complicated, in some ways pitiable, in others ways contemptible figure in Russian and Soviet history. He writes of 1917:
“At the beginning of April, Lenin arrived with his suite, via Germany in the ‘sealed box-car.’ Before his departure from Zurich, he declared Kerensky and Chkheidze to be ‘traitors to the revolution,’ and on April 4, at a meeting of the Bolsheviks, he invited the Social Democrats to ‘throw off their old linen’ and assume the name ‘Communists.’”
“[T]he struggle continues. People of surprisingly high intelligence have managed to convince themselves that Larkin’s poetry didn’t amount to much at all. And presumably, to them, it doesn’t, although their dismissal of him makes you wonder whose poetry they think does matter, if his does not.”
“What will you do to stay weird?” Ah, how many people responded with claims like:
No offense, but I think if you’re doing a lot of these things consciously and for the expressed purpose of being weird or differentiating yourself from those around you, you’re just a poseur. Truly weird people don’t have to come up with lists like this about how to be weird; they just follow their preferences.
But it’s not about intentionality. Take one of today’s MR stories, namely that universities are tracking the locations of college students to make sure they come to class. That is bad for the weird! So if you are weird, and you like to cut out on class and read Gwern instead (recommended), maybe you shouldn’t go to a school like that.
The annual Christmas haul is in, and already well-thumbed and shelved. My oldest son and his wife gave me a fifty-dollar gift card to Half-Price Books and the final shooting script of Martin’s Scorsese’s The Irishman, the best new film I’ve seen in years. Among other things, it captures the sensation of being in a large hall with a lot of angry union guys. My father was a longtime member of Ironworkers Local 17 in Cleveland. From my middle son (minoring in Russian at the U.S, Naval Academy), Political Memoirs 1905-1907 (trans. Carl Goldberg, University of Michigan Press, 1967) by Paul Miliukov, a complicated, in some ways pitiable, in others ways contemptible figure in Russian and Soviet history. He writes of 1917:
“At the beginning of April, Lenin arrived with his suite, via Germany in the ‘sealed box-car.’ Before his departure from Zurich, he declared Kerensky and Chkheidze to be ‘traitors to the revolution,’ and on April 4, at a meeting of the Bolsheviks, he invited the Social Democrats to ‘throw off their old linen’ and assume the name ‘Communists.’”
My father-in-law was typically generous: The two-volume boxed set of Peter Taylor’s Complete Stories, published by the Library of America, and an attractive little volume,Somewhere Becoming Rain: Collected Writings on Philip Larkin, by the late Clive James. In his introduction he writes:
“[T]he struggle continues. People of surprisingly high intelligence have managed to convince themselves that Larkin’s poetry didn’t amount to much at all. And presumably, to them, it doesn’t, although their dismissal of him makes you wonder whose poetry they think does matter, if his does not.”
“What will you do to stay weird?” Ah, how many people responded with claims like:
No offense, but I think if you’re doing a lot of these things consciously and for the expressed purpose of being weird or differentiating yourself from those around you, you’re just a poseur. Truly weird people don’t have to come up with lists like this about how to be weird; they just follow their preferences.
But it’s not about intentionality. Take one of today’s MR stories, namely that universities are tracking the locations of college students to make sure they come to class. That is bad for the weird! So if you are weird, and you like to cut out on class and read Gwern instead (recommended), maybe you shouldn’t go to a school like that.
The Miseducation of the American Boy
Why boys crack up at rape jokes, think having a girlfriend is “gay,” and still can’t cry—and why we need to give them new and better models of masculinity
New York Times op-ed: Christmas Turns the World Upside Down, by Peter Wehner:
Those of us of the Christian faith believe that Christmas Day represents the moment of God’s incarnation, when this broken world became his home. But it was not an entrance characterized by privilege, comfort, public celebration or self-glorification; it was marked instead by lowliness, obscurity, humility, fragility. ...
That could be said not just about Jesus’ birth but also his entire life, which was in many respects an inversion of what the world, including much of the Christian world, prizes. ...
The paradox is that Christianity changed the world despite Jesus’ declaration that his kingdom was not of this world. His disciples did not have notable worldly status or influence. Jesus’ energies and affections were primarily aimed toward social outcasts, the downtrodden and “unclean,” strangers and aliens, prostitutes and the powerless. The people Jesus clashed with and who eventually crucified him were religious authorities and those who wielded political power. The humble will be exalted, Jesus said, and the last shall be first. True greatness is shown through serving others and sacrifice.
All of this calls to mind an account in II Corinthians, one I have been intrigued by for nearly as long as I have been a Christian. In his epistle, Paul is describing a “thorn in my flesh” that was tormenting him. (We don’t know specifically what it was.) Three times he beseeched the Lord to remove it, according to the apostle, to which Jesus replied, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul went on to add, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
What does it mean for God’s power to be made perfect in weakness?
It’s a statement as much about us as it is about God. Most of us know that we often grow in times of weakness rather than strength, when we face hardship rather than experience success. ...
Tech retailer GAME released an affordable £2 ($2.64) Christmas dinner in a can in 2013 for hardcore gamers who spend their Christmas playing games online and don’t want to leave their chair.
This cylinder of three-in-one Christmas dinner includes turkey, potatoes, broccoli, bread sauce, sprouts, stuffing and mince pies.
Why boys crack up at rape jokes, think having a girlfriend is “gay,” and still can’t cry—and why we need to give them new and better models of masculinity
New York Times op-ed: Christmas Turns the World Upside Down, by Peter Wehner:
Those of us of the Christian faith believe that Christmas Day represents the moment of God’s incarnation, when this broken world became his home. But it was not an entrance characterized by privilege, comfort, public celebration or self-glorification; it was marked instead by lowliness, obscurity, humility, fragility. ...
That could be said not just about Jesus’ birth but also his entire life, which was in many respects an inversion of what the world, including much of the Christian world, prizes. ...
The paradox is that Christianity changed the world despite Jesus’ declaration that his kingdom was not of this world. His disciples did not have notable worldly status or influence. Jesus’ energies and affections were primarily aimed toward social outcasts, the downtrodden and “unclean,” strangers and aliens, prostitutes and the powerless. The people Jesus clashed with and who eventually crucified him were religious authorities and those who wielded political power. The humble will be exalted, Jesus said, and the last shall be first. True greatness is shown through serving others and sacrifice.
All of this calls to mind an account in II Corinthians, one I have been intrigued by for nearly as long as I have been a Christian. In his epistle, Paul is describing a “thorn in my flesh” that was tormenting him. (We don’t know specifically what it was.) Three times he beseeched the Lord to remove it, according to the apostle, to which Jesus replied, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul went on to add, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
What does it mean for God’s power to be made perfect in weakness?
It’s a statement as much about us as it is about God. Most of us know that we often grow in times of weakness rather than strength, when we face hardship rather than experience success. ...
Tech retailer GAME released an affordable £2 ($2.64) Christmas dinner in a can in 2013 for hardcore gamers who spend their Christmas playing games online and don’t want to leave their chair.
This cylinder of three-in-one Christmas dinner includes turkey, potatoes, broccoli, bread sauce, sprouts, stuffing and mince pies.
New York Times op-ed: Why You Should Give Your Money Away Today, by Tish Harrison Warren (Anglican Church Priest; author, Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life):
[R]elatively few individuals and families make charitable contributions: For example, in a typical year 45 percent of Americans give not even a single dollar, and 75 percent spend no time volunteering.
And this is a shame, because giving is an important way to help others, contribute to the public good and build the trust that glues a society together. One important step to encouraging more people to give is increasing our understanding of what motivates giving. When we better understand why people donate, we can be inspired to be more generous.
Charitable giving involves a complex array of motivations. I recently reviewed 14 projects funded by the University of Notre Dame’s Science of Generosity initiative [The Science of Generosity: Causes, Manifestations, and Consequences (2020)].
Some people give because of tax incentives (which may explain why charitable giving was down a bit last year: Changes in the tax code made giving less advantageous for some families). A second motive also has to do with economics: Many people feel they simply can’t afford to give.
Their willingness to give also depends on whether they view charitable organizations as honest and efficient. People can also give simply because they want to make the world a better place.
In my research, I’ve discovered that the most compelling reasons for people to give are social and relational benefits beyond the self.
They wanted her at the studio in three weeks. Hurt’s excitement quickly gave way to nausea.
“I thought, ‘What if I go in and I can’t answer any questions and it becomes a meme?’” the Brigham Young University law professor said. “I really didn’t want to become a meme.”
Hurt did everything in her power to ensure that wouldn’t happen. ...
Hurt’s appearance on “Jeopardy!” — which was filmed in October — airs Dec. 18. A couple of weeks ago, on the last day of classes, the professor sat down in her office and reflected on her journey to the nationally beloved game show. ...
New York Times op-ed: How to Get Americans to Love Capitalism Again, by Henry M. Paulson Jr. & Erskine B. Bowles:
There are better solutions than wealth taxes, ‘Medicare for all’ or universal basic income.
American capitalism is at a serious inflection point. Many Americans, including the two of us, are alarmed by enormous levels of inequality and by declining economic mobility. We are concerned that in many cases American markets are no longer the most competitive in the world. And, we worry that our country’s long-term economic strength will slowly deteriorate because of an unsustainable fiscal trajectory that leaves future generations worse off.
The solution is not to upend the system. A market-based economy, for all its flaws, is still the best way to achieve broad economic prosperity and to ensure that living standards continue to rise over time. But the answer is not to maintain the status quo, either.
Legal Intelligencer, What I Wish I Knew When I Began My Law Career:
Being a new attorney can be a challenging and stressful time. Inexperienced lawyers often realize that they have a dearth of practical knowledge upon graduating law school. Feeling overwhelmed and uncertain is common. For many new attorneys, this may be their first foray into the workforce. Not only will there be challenging work assignments, but many will suddenly face new economic responsibilities. Rest assured that all seasoned attorneys started off as greenhorns. In this article, members of the Young Lawyer Editorial Board would like to share some practical advice that they would have given to themselves when they were attorneys entering the workforce. ...
Always Follow the Golden Rule ...
Try Different Practice Areas When Given the Opportunity ...
Know Who to Approach When Asking Questions ...
Strive to Be a Better Version of Yourself ...
Understand When It Is Appropriate to Be a Zealous Advocate ...
Find a Supportive Mentor ...
Take Control of Your Finances Early in Your Career ...
Try Different Practice Areas When Given the Opportunity ...
Know Who to Approach When Asking Questions ...
Strive to Be a Better Version of Yourself ...
Understand When It Is Appropriate to Be a Zealous Advocate ...
Find a Supportive Mentor ...
Take Control of Your Finances Early in Your Career ...
William Yeatman (Cato Institute), Ninth Circuit Review—Reviewed: A “Hardening Look” Review for the IRS:
Altera Part I: IRS Becoming Less Exceptional in Admin Law
“IRS exceptionalism” continues its slow bleed.
For reasons that escape me, the White House and federal courts historically have treated the IRS differently than other executive branch agencies when it comes to administrative law and regulatory process. But that’s changing. ...
It’s a fascinating case, with big implications for both the economy and, of course, administrative law. For more, I highly recommend Prof. Hickman’s blog, and also coverage at TaxProf Blog.
Altera Part II: Judge Milan Smith Rings Death Knell for Auer ...