Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Vaclav Havel

Posted on December 18, 2011 by Michael Froomkin
BBC reports that Vaclav Havel has died at age 75.

His book of essays Living in Truth, and especially the essay The Power of the Powerless likely would be high on any list of works I have read that left an imprint.

Posted in Civil Liberties, Readings | Comments Off on Vaclav Havel

New Pew Poll Finds Frustration with Congress & Inequality

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Michael Froomkin

I was part of the telephone sample for this new poll sponsored by the Pew Research Center.

I found a few of the questions very difficult because while I think overall the Republicans are worse than the Democrats, I’m pretty mad at the Democrats too.

Posted in Politics: US | Comments Off on New Pew Poll Finds Frustration with Congress & Inequality

Miami Law’s World-Class International Arbitration Law Program

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Michael Froomkin

I don’t think many people yet grasp just how good the University of Miami’s international arbitration law program is, both at the JD and LL.M level.

Consider that the lead international arbitration professor on our faculty, Jan Paulsson, was just rated the #2 international arbitrator in the world based on a peer reputation survey.

And if that wasn’t enough, the #1 international arbitrator in the world in that same survey, Albert Jan van den Berg, visits here every year as a regular Visiting International Professor. And the other regular and visiting professors in the program are quite eminent too.

Read more puffing here.

Admittedly, international arbitration is a relatively small field, which it can be tough to break in to. But it is growing. And we’re really, really good at it.

Posted in Arbitration Law, Law School | 2 Comments

New Comments Bug (I Blame WP Super Cache) [Updated]

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Michael Froomkin

Recent comments are not showing up properly for users who have never made a comment. This seems to be a bad interaction between the latest version of WordPress (3.3) and the latest version of WP Super Cache (1.0).

The bug only affects lurkers, and only the more recent comments, but those are probably the ones you want to read. I am hopeful that this will get sorted out in the next bugfix release of the cache, which is due soon. It also think it may get somewhat sorted out as the cached files routinely refresh themselves. I’ve set them to expire on a more aggressive schedule in the hopes of encouraging that process along.

Meanwhile, if you can’t bear to wait until this is sorted out, I can offer the following work-around: point your browser at the Discourse.net comments feed. In most browsers you will be able to read the full text of the comments.

Later Update: I think what is happening now is that I’ve managed to club the cache tuning settings so that unrecognized users (ie those who do not have an ‘I’ve commented’ cookie) will get to see comments 15 or so minutes after they are posted. At least I hope so. I’m going to sleep now.

Posted in Discourse.net | 6 Comments

Random Life Advice

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Michael Froomkin

Business pundit Seth Godin offers some almost-random advice tips:

  1. No stranger or unknown company will ever contact you by mail or by phone with an actual method for making money easily or in your spare time. And if the person or company contacting you asserts that they are someone you know, double check before taking action.
  2. Don’t have back surgery. See a physiatrist first, then exhaust all other options before wondering if you should have back surgery.
  3. Borrow money to buy things that go up in value, but never to get something that decays over time.
  4. Placebos are underrated by almost everyone.
  5. It’s almost never necessary to use a semicolon.
  6. Seek out habits that help you overcome fear or inertia. Destroy those that do the opposite.
  7. Cognitive behavorial therapy is generally considered both the quickest and most effective form of addressing many common psychological problems.
  8. Backup your hard drive.
  9. Get a magnetic key hider, put a copy of your house key in it and hide it really well, unlabeled, two blocks from your house.
  10. A rice cooker will save you time and money and improve your diet, particularly if you come to like brown rice.
  11. Consider not eating wheat for an entire week. The results might surprise you.
  12. Taking your dog for a walk is usually better than whatever alternative use of your time you were considering.

I guess I’d endorse ## 1, 6, 8 & 10. I’m not at all on board with # 5, although it’s certainly the case that many people get them wrong. [Update: And why is it wrong to borrow to buy a car, so long as you understand how it depreciates?]

Maybe I’ll start accumulating a list and post it some day. Once in class, I told my students to make a will, especially if they had kids or assets, and was shocked by how many got a startled look in their eyes.

Meanwhile, what’s your best piece of random life advice?

Posted in Blogs | 4 Comments

The Strangely Affirming ‘Film the Police’

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Michael Froomkin

There is something oddly affirming about this rap video ‘Film the Police’. (Warning: cruelty and bad words you probably don’t want your toddler learning.)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyT1buoyTnY

I am not usually a big fan of rap; although I’ve heard a few very striking and wonderful rap pieces, on the whole my liking for rap tends to be one notch above ‘take it or leave it’: I’ll take it if there’s nothing else on.

Why then do I say a rap video about police brutality is affirming? For one thing, I am cheered that this piece of resistance starts with a judicial trope. The counter-culture assuming the judicial robe is older than I am (and even I just barely recall here come da judge), but it is still cheerful to see it continued, or revived. There’s still some deep resonance about the idea that the rule of law might be something that can be appropriated and turned on the powers that be.

Even more affirming is the central assumption: publicizing state-sponsored violence can end it. And it might be true.

Posted in 99%, Law: Criminal Law, Question Authority | 1 Comment