Justinian Lane - Commentary on law, politics, and tort "reform."

What The Deuce… Bigalow?

Confession time.  I’m one of four people in the world who thought Deuce Bigalow, European Gigolo was funny.  You may think that four is an exaggeration, but here’s how I know it isn’t.

I like it.  My friend Dave likes it.

And when I went to Half Price Books, I saw it on sale for 4 bucks.  I decided to buy it.  When I got to the register, the clerk opened it up and found someone stole the disc.  So I grabbed the second copy on the shelf, but it too had been stolen.  So apparently, there are at least four people who like the movie: Me, Dave, and the two people who stole the disc. 

Wasn’t this one of the scams in the movie The Grifters?

Remember the movie “The Grifters” with John Cusack? As I recall, one of the cons in that movie was that some investor had some special computers that gave him a 7 second advantage over other traders. 

It is the hot new thing on Wall Street, a way for a handful of traders to master the stock market, peek at investors’ orders and, critics say, even subtly manipulate share prices.

It is called high-frequency trading — and it is suddenly one of the most talked-about and mysterious forces in the markets.

Powerful computers, some housed right next to the machines that drive marketplaces like the New York Stock Exchange, enable high-frequency traders to transmit millions of orders at lightning speed and, their detractors contend, reap billions at everyone else’s expense.

These systems are so fast they can outsmart or outrun other investors, humans and computers alike. And after growing in the shadows for years, they are generating lots of talk.

Source: Traders Profit With Computers Set at High Speed - NYTimes.com

I’d bet money that the “high-frequency traders” laugh every time they watch that movie.

Oh, and this is yet another reason I want to punch Wall Street types in the face when they complain about how unethical trial lawyers are.

Circular waterbeds, mirrored ceilings, and razor blade necklaces – is this what the 70’s were like?

So I’m watching my favorite 70’s TV show, The Rockford Files, and saw this interesting hotel room.  Note the circular waterbed and the naughty mural on the walls:

The ceiling was a big mirror, too.  I felt that I had no choice but to use the Polaroid effect for this screen cap, because you just know some Polaroids were taken in that room. 

Earlier in the show, a guy had a gold-plated razor blade necklace on.  Was it really OK back then to announce to the world that you’re into coke?  The 70’s must have been an interesting time…

Technorati Tags: Cocaine,waterbeds,the 70's,Rockford Files

The Rockford Files Predicted The Future

So I just got done watching the final episode of Season 4 from The Rockford Files.  It was a two-part episode that dealt with a shady computer company trying to – get this – setup a database that kept the private financial and criminal records of 200 million Americans.  Those dastardly businessmen had a computer file that would show your bank balance, your credit limits, your criminal history, property you own, and your credit ratings.  Thankfully, Jim Rockford was able to shut them down, in part because they also happened to commit a murder.  I can’t imagine what privacy used to be like.  I recently had the opportunity to use a new service from Westlaw for locating people.  I ran myself, and it showed virtually everything about me that the evil computer company in Rockford tracked.  And I know that lots more is available to people with the right computer access.

Was there really a time when Americans cared so much about their privacy that you could make a TV show where the bad guy was basically the CEO of Equifax/Experian/etc.?  I mean, the bad guy had to commit the murder to protect this secret database that was being built in a missile silo so no one would know it existed.  Today, a CEO wanting to build a database like that would be welcomed with open arms and tax breaks for creating new jobs and providing useful analysis tools to the financial sector.

I think I’ve written about it before, but I have an unrealistic dream.  One day, I hope to be financially self-sufficient such that I have no need for credit in any form.  Then, I hope to sue the major credit reporting agencies for violating federal law (which they do fairly often) with regard to my credit history.  Instead of collecting money, I want to enter into a settlement with them in which they agree to never carry any information about me whatsoever.  On a scale of one to ten, I wonder just how unrealistic that is.  I  bet a seven.

Food for thought on the day before our Independence Day.

Technorati Tags: The Rockford Files,privacy,credit reporting agencies,the 70's

Another lying pharmaceutical company risked patients’ lives just to make a buck

I think it’s safe to say we now have a plethora of reasons to oppose FDA preemption.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- AstraZeneca PLC instructed its U.S. sales representatives to tell doctors that its powerful psychiatric drug, Seroquel, didn't cause diabetes even though a company physician had at one point stated years earlier that such a link was probable in some individuals, documents unsealed in a federal court case here show.

Source: AstraZeneca Papers Raise Seroquel Issues - WSJ.com#mod=testMod?mod=dist_smartbrief

And like El Guapo, I too know what a plethora is.

Technorati Tags: AstraZeneca,Seroquel,The Three Amigos,Plethora,El Guapo