Dolce Vita University

Legal Studies 103 Theories of Law and Society

1. Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.
2. The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.
3. The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation. No body nor individual may exercise any authority which does not proceed directly from the nation.
4. Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by law.
5. Law can only prohibit such actions as are hurtful to society. Nothing may be prevented which is not forbidden by law, and no one may be forced to do anything not provided for by law.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

-- In the first lecture the professor Lieberman says that Law creates an environment in which people can exercise their liberties. The notion of the environment is very useful here because it directs our attention to limitations to which an individual has to adapt his/her behaviour. One caviat, though. Law only provides blueprints for the environment. The actual environment creation task resides with law enforcement bodies.

(no subject)

For the first time since online retailing was born a decade ago, the sales of clothing have overtaken those of computer hardware and software, suggesting that consumers have reached a new level of comfort buying merchandise on the Web.

NY Times via Freakanomics blog

Department stores are going to die within the next two generations ~ 25-30 years.

(no subject)

Jack and Suzy Welch in BusinessWeek writing about Global Warming: If you accept it as reality, adapting your strategy and practices, your plants will use less energy and emit fewer effluents. Your packaging will be more biodegradable, and your new products will be able to capture any markets created by severe weather effects. Yes, global warming may not be as damaging as some predict, and you might have invested more than you needed, but it’s just as Pascal said: Given all the possible outcomes, the upside of being ready and prepared for a “fearsome event” surely beats the alternative.

via Freakanomics blog

-- Also, a simple system-level framework for tracking behavioural changes that indicate adaptation to the new reality:

- individual
- corporate
- government

Similar to a fragment in my STCS diagram. Can be used as an example in the course.

backtrack

хайку. Кобаяши Исса. Kobayashi Issa. year unknown.

善尽し美を尽してもけしの花
zen tsukushi bi wo tsukushite mo keshi no hana

virtue beyond virtue
beauty beyond beauty...
just a poppy!

translated by David Lanoue

добрее добродетели
прекрасней красоты...
цветок мака

галопом по ЖЖ

Классный стих Игоря Караулова karaulov:

Убей, убей Каспарова, ОМОН,
убей его под колокольный звон,
либералиста, жалкого армяшку,
пиндосам обещающего Рашку.

Вышел Торин из тумана
Вынул фигу из кармана

Ну что же, на прощание мной было написано письмо высшему руководству компании - CEO, директору центра и т.п. я хотел сделать это сразу же, но шеф, будучи разумным человеком меня уговорил совместить это с официальным письмом об отставке.

НИИЧАВО-МГУ via cema:

К юго-востоку от Университета лежит вход в царство мрачного Аида - так называемое "метро", в некоторых диалектах прозываемый также "митро" и "намитро". В этих местах расположены многие соблазны и искушения, которые навыдумывал Лукавый, дабы погубить побольше душ.

ЖЖ - самая читающая в виртуальном мире страна:
http://avva.livejournal.com/1763712.html

(no subject)

http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=7
This new series looks at contemporary American culture through the austere lens of statistics. Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes of paper use); 106,000 aluminum cans (thirty seconds of can consumption) and so on.

Cans Seurat, 2007
60x92"

Depicts 106,000 aluminum cans, the number used in the US every thirty seconds.