I'd like to begin Blawg Review, but first... the Holst!

Sure, that video's somewhat tacky and slightly dated, which George Wallace's elegant and up-to-date Blawg Review #205 is not. It also lacks the universal appeal of Wallace's Gustav Holst-themed post, but I haven't time to find anything better right now. I'm throwing this introduction together at the end of a busy day and I didn't have any time to Planet.

Apologies, all. I'll stop this fooling around and leave that to Wallace when he adds an April Fool's Day addendum to this morning's post; that follow-on will drop Wednesday at his A Fool in the Forest blog. Highlights of this week's Blawg Review (thus far) include a lesson in Karma for one of Madoff's scam victims, mediation in a down economy, and determining proximate cause in big law firm dissolutions.

J. Craig Williams hosts next week's edition of Blawg Review at his May It Please the Court blog. I can't speak for the court, but I suspect I'll be pleased with it.

TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (212)... The Sequel!

This week's bonus joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of Reuters (from Friday, March 27; link good at time of posting):

A would-be suicide bomber accidentally blew himself up on Thursday, killing six other militants as he was bidding them farewell to leave for his intended target, the Interior Ministry said.

"The terrorist was on his way to his destination and saying good-bye to his associates and then his suicide vest exploded," a statement from the ministry said.

Taliban-led attacks in Afghanistan have escalated in the past year with suicide and roadside bombings insurgents' weapons of choice.

The incident happened in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan where mainly British troops are struggling against a growing Taliban-led insurgency.

[Previous TGIS]

TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (212)

This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of Bloomberg (from Sunday, March 22; link good at time of posting):

About 20 protesters, along with a press corps of national and international media who outnumbered them, yesterday rode to the Fairfield County, Connecticut, homes of two AIG executives who received portions of $165 million in extra compensation. The payments were made after their Financial Products unit in nearby Wilton had losses that precipitated the insurer’s $173 billion government bailout.

. . . .

Douglas Poling and James Haas, whose houses the protesters stopped at, weren’t seen. Both have agreed to return their bonuses, AIG spokeswoman Christina Pretto said in an e-mail yesterday. She declined to say the amount they received.

The AIG bonuses have sparked a national furor, with Obama calling them an outrage and vowing to get the money back. This week the Senate will consider legislation passed by the House of Representatives that would impose a 90 percent tax on employee bonuses at companies that received at least $5 billion in taxpayer bailout funds.

. . . .

The house tour in Fairfield County was organized by the Connecticut Working Families Party, a coalition of union and community groups. The county had a population in 2007 of 910,003 and a median income of $79,326, according to the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, Inc. It’s located about 60 miles north of AIG’s headquarters in lower Manhattan. In addition to the protesters on the bus, another 20 demonstrators along with more print and TV reporters, cameramen and photographers trailed in a caravan of cars.

[Previous TGIS]

Is "Punctuality" a Sacred Cow?

I'll plead that I had a couple of days off earlier this week and then a great deal of catching-up to do at work, but the fact is that I'm just unforgivably late in linking to this week's Blawg Review #204, hosted by the fine folks at the Above the Law blog. I'm hoping that you weren't as late to the party, because it looks like a fine time. Highlights in this "skewering Sacred Cows" edition include debating whether Congress is actually dangerous or merely pathetic in the AIG bonus outrage, advising divorcing couples to consider their pets in addition to their dishware, and wondering what the hell we're all doing anyhow with this legal blogging thing. That last one may keep us navel-gazing for a while longer yet, but one fellow who's got things well-in-hand hosts not just the next Blawg Review but the next two. At his Declarations and Exclusions blog, George Wallace will host Blawg Review #205; the following week at his A Fool in the Forest blog, he'll host an April Fool's-themed review. That's as I like it, at least.

TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (211)

This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of the I'm Not Actually a Geek blog (from Tuesday, March 17; link good at time of posting):

A lucky job applicant tweeted the following:

Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.

This tweet caught the attention of Tim Levad, a channel partner advocate for Cisco. To which he responded:

Who is the hiring manager. I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the web.

Ouch! The person who dissed the Cisco offer quickly took their Twitter account private. But Twitter search retained the record.

[Previous TGIS]

Random Thought (17)

If you want to walk a mile in my shoes, I'd appreciate it if you'd also pick up a sandwich for me while you're out.

[Previous Thought]

Assholes Welcome

Former Blawg Review Sherpa Diane Levin has suggested that a "No Assholes Rule" might be warranted for Blawg Review, in light of GeekLawyer's #203 published yesterday. As I commented at her blog, I respectfully disagree:

I tend to disagree with you (and with GeekLawyer, it seems). While Blawg Review is about gathering the best legal blogging each week, it is also about celebrating free expression and allowing each host to put his or her mark on the review. There are few rules by design and I think that this is one reason for Blawg Review’s success. I’ve not read “The No Asshole Rule”, but my impression is that it counsels against allowing assholes to derail a group endeavor or to drive out the less… er, extroverted members of the group. I don’t think that either has occurred here.

For all its profanity and bluster, GeekLawyer’s Blawg Review #203 not just accomplishes the aims of Blawg Review — to gather great legal blogging and present that collection on time and with polish — but excels. As I mentioned in my own review, this is a somewhat shocking presentation and, as you and others have noted, not safe for work. That being said, however, not everything that is worthwhile is safe for work and, moreover, Blawg Review is not work.

I don’t think that a “no assholes” rule would make Blawg Review better, any more than a “no politics” rule, a “no pop culture” rule, or a “no depressing news” rule would. One person’s collegiality is another’s boredom. We need a little color now and again, in Blawg Review as in everything else; granted, a GeekLawyer every week would kill the project, but so would a Colin Samuels every week.

The strength of Blawg Review is that it is hosted by, collects posts by, and is read by all sorts. I wouldn’t want to start determining which personalities and viewpoints fit the “personality” and “viewpoint” of Blawg Review because it doesn’t and shouldn’t have these. It has few rules, but it is and should remain inclusive of anyone who can live with these. GeekLawyer has, in my opinion, produced an outstanding Blawg Review. It’s outstanding, period, not outstanding in spite of the profanity or because of it.

Not every Blawg Review will satisfy all members of the audience every week, but a vibrant, healthy Blawg Review project will maintain and build its audience. It will be worth reading regularly, whether or not it meets one’s own expectations of legal blogging or collegiality.

What Happens in Blawg Review Stays in Blawg Review

"I want you to get this fuck where he breathes! I want you to find this nancy-boy . . . I want him dead! I want his family dead! I want his house burned to the ground! I want to go there in the middle of the night and I want to piss on his ashes!"

--Al Capone, "The Untouchables" (1987)
--Blawg Review Editor, 16 March 2009

It's not as if we weren't warned, by Charon QC, Dan Hull, and many others.

When GeekLawyer and the Blawg Review Editor met up in Canada recently, it heightened the level of anticipation for what was already one of the more anticipated Blawg Reviews -- GeekLawyer's celebration of Bacchanalia in Blawg Review #203. It all started badly enough a month ago, when GeekLawyer broke the first rule of meeting the ever-mysterious Editor: What happens in Canada stays in Canada. It's downhill from there this week, as GeekLawyer produces what he describes as "Animal House with lawyers instead of John Belushi."

For all the furor this edition has already caused, I hope it isn't lost what a brilliant piece of work it is. (Yes, I said "work" there.) He discusses why drunken irresponsibility makes America what it is and explains some of what goes on in Texas, why a crackdown on bestiality is cause for concern ("A date you can screw and then eat it is a sad rarity these days."), and how accepting that your life has been a waste to this point may help laid-off Big Law associates get back on their feet. Brian Tannebaum lands the first post-Blawg Review with GeekLawyer; if you look closely, you can see through the window the smoke curling from the corpse of Blawg Review.

All in all, it's a disturbing piece of work, one both entertaining and informative. Amidst all the discussion of what Blawg Review #203 says about GeekLawyer, self-centered sort that I am I wonder what it says about me that I enjoyed this so much. I will almost certainly remember it on my Blawg Review of the Year nominations list many months from now.

The first edition of whatever might rise from Blawg Review's ashes will be hosted by the reputable folks at Above the Law next Monday.

TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (210)

This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of BBC News (from Wednesday, March 11; link good at time of posting):

A West Midlands sandwich bar worker who was prosecuted after footage of him stuffing lettuce up his nose appeared on YouTube has avoided a jail term.

Richard Benjamin Shannon, 22, of Castle Street, Brownhills, was ordered to do 300 hours of unpaid work for last year's offence at Subway in Brownhills.

. . . .

In the footage taken on a friend's mobile phone Shannon was also seen putting lettuce leaves in his mouth and spitting them out.

Shannon, who was prosecuted under the miscellaneous provisions in the Public Order Act, could have been jailed for up to six months.

. . . .

He was arrested after an irate woman hurled a chair at him after recognising him in the clip on the video-sharing website, Walsall Magistrates' Court heard.

[Previous TGIS]

It's a big world out there, but getting smaller all the time.

Carl Gardner hosts Blawg Review #202 at his Head of Legal blog. Not to Troy McClure him, but you may know Gardner from such Charon QC podcasts as No. 101, No. 103, and No. 109 (all available at lawcasts.net). In those conversations, Gardner demonstrated his command of current civil liberties issues in Britain; his Blawg Review this week covers that ground and ventures far afield, both topically and geographically, touching on international criminal law in Sudan, civil rights in Germany, and Constitutional law in America, amongst other matters. This is one of those Blawg Reviews which enlarges my perspective and blogroll. I'm always grateful when hosts expose me to bloggers whom I've not yet read, and it's doubly rewarding when, as here, new perspectives are served-up so neatly. GeekLawyer will carry the British standard forward next week when he hosts Blawg Review #203. Rule Brittania!

TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (209)

This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of Reuters (from Wednesday, March 4; link good at time of posting):

A Mexican national who told airport immigration he was visiting Britain to see a friend was swiftly deported after a search unearthed a good-luck card in his luggage wishing him well for his "new life in the UK."

UK Border Agency officers at Manchester Airport routinely stopped the 40-year-old chef after he arrived on a flight from Los Angeles last Friday.

The man told them he was on a short trip to see a friend who was opening a restaurant in the area.

"However, a search of the passenger's baggage revealed a huge collection of Mexican food recipes and a good-luck card from his church wishing him well for his 'new life in the UK,'" the agency said in a statement.

The man later admitted he had intended to work at the restaurant illegally and had planned to bring his family over from America if he liked it.

He was deported the next day.

[Previous TGIS]

The Eyes of Texas Are on Blawg Review

Texas is a world of its own. Bigger than many countries (and formerly an independent one itself, as Monday's Texas Independence Day notes), the only things bigger than the state itself are its larger-than-life people and the things they do. Well, the state of Alaska, that johnny-come-lately fiftieth state, is also bigger but we'll ignore that for now.

Anyhow, Texas is the subject of this week's Blawg Review #201, hosted by Dallas attorney Barry Barnett. From the "rocket docket" in the Eastern District of Texas to "hanging judge" Roy Bean's modern successors in the Texas judiciary, from native Texan Sir Allen Stanford to transplanted Texan Davy Crockett, and from remembering the Alamo to reconciling ourselves to the current economies of legal practice in Texas (and elsewhere), Barnett's Blawg Review covers a lot of ground just like his home state and muse for this week's carnival of legal blogging.

We move next week from the Lone Star State to Dear Old Blighty, when Carl Gardner hosts Blawg Review #202 at his Head of Legal blog.