while 50% think he favors the Palestinians. This is bad news for Obama’s Middle East plans, regardless of whether the poll results are objectively justified. If Israelis think that a pro-Israel president is putting justified pressure on a recalcitrant Israeli prime minister, that prime minister will have to yield or leave office. But if they […]
Author Archive | David Bernstein
Helping the Iranian Protestors:
This seems like a good idea for Twitterphiles: Do you twitter? Change your twitter setting to GMT +3:30 (Tehran time) and your location to any city in Iran. If all of us are Iranians then it is a little harder for government censors to track down Iranian tweeters. (See list of Iranian cities at http://is.gd/13UCt.) […]
New Yale Law Dean–Robert Post:
An email from Yale: It gives me great pleasure to announce the appointment of Robert C. Post
American Universities and the Nazis:
Inside Higher Ed has a story about controversy surrounding what strikes me as a curious book, The Third Reich and the Ivory Tower. I only glanced at the book, but according to the story, the book documents the fact that American universities maintained cordial ties with German universities and in some cases the German government […]
A Constitutional History Danger:
Legal scholars and historians frequently make sweeping conclusions about the Supreme Court and its individual Justices based on votes in particular cases. The problem is that until relatively recently, the norms on the Supreme Court discouraged dissent, and the Justices may at certain times have had additional reasons beyond those norms for joining a majority […]
If You Don’t Want An Annoying But Extremely Catchy
theme song going through your head all day, don’t watch the Pajanimals with your kids.
No, Not That David Bernstein:
I received a voice mail and email message asking me, “Are you the David Bernstein who is involved with the Moroccan clementine market?” No.
Inflation Hedging Strategy:
Let’s say you believe that the massive, unprecedented increase in the money supply in the U.S. is inevitably going to lead to significant inflation. Other than TIPS, what do you invest in? Canadian CDs? International mining companies like BHP? Companies like Coca-Cola that get most of their profits in foreign currencies?
Legal Ethics Question:
Is it ethical to try to admit a document you know is inadmissible, hoping either that the other side will fail to object, or that the judge will rule incorrectly? Is it ethical to try to remove a case to federal court that you know is not removable, hoping that the other players will be […]
Human Rights Watch Goes to Saudi Arabia:
A delegation from Human Rights Watch was recently in Saudi Arabia. To investigate the mistreatment of women under Saudi Law? To campaign for the rights of homosexuals, subject to the death penalty in Saudi Arabia? To protest the lack of religious freedom in the Saudi Kingdom? To issue a report on Saudi political prisoners? No, […]
Obama on the Iranian Election:
As Jim relates below: My understanding is, is that the Iranian government says that they are going to look into irregularities that have taken place. We weren’t on the ground, we did not have observers there, we did not have international observers on hand, so I can’t state definitively one way or another what happened […]
Peretz on the Cairo Speech:
Marty Peretz has won a lot of ridicule of late, primarily for a series of ill-thought out blog posts. But his recent article on Obama’s Cairo speech is superb. (H/T: Instapundit) One aspect of the speech that hasn’t received sufficient attention is the focus on victimology: Israelis were victims of the Holocaust, Palestinians victims of […]
Thank Goodness for Pet Psychics:
Photo caption I stumbled across: “Tinker Bell, a six-pound Chihuahua, rests in her owner’s arms after a happy reunion. The dog was blown away by a 70-mph gust of wind on April 25 and lost for two days. Dorothy and Lavern Utley of Waterford Township, Mich., said a pet psychic helped them find Tinker Bell.” […]
“Hostile Work Environment” Harassment Case Based Partly on Playing of Radio Show That Discussed Sex:
I blogged last year about the panel decision, and I’m glad that the court has agreed to rehear it. The panel decision helps illustrate how hostile environment harassment law may suppress constitutionally protected speech. The panel held that Ingrid Reeves could proceed to trial with her hostile environment harassment claim — which is to say, […]
Newsletter Doesn’t Become an “Advertisement” Just Because It Implicitly Promotes the Author’s Professional Expertise
Last year, I blogged about Stern v. Bluestone, a New York decision that found a malpractice lawyer’s (and legal blogger’s) “Attorney Malpractice Report” newsletter to be advertising, because it implicitly promoted the author’s professional services. I pointed out that the decision’s rationale would apply to blogs, articles, treatises, and other materials that likewise implicitly (and […]