What About Paris? ™

« May 11, 2014 - May 17, 2014 | Main | May 25, 2014 - May 31, 2014 »

May 23, 2014

Have you ever had this much fun just doing your job?

You don't have to die to go to heaven
Or hang around to be born again.
Tune into what this place has to offer
'Cause we may never be here again.

--Hagar, Anthony, Alex van Halen, Edward van Halen

Even if you're not a Van Halen fan, watch this 1986 concert video starting at 1:30 through at least 4:00. Next, a serious question. Have you ever had this much fun just doing your job? Sure, it helps to know the Van Halen standard "Best of Both Worlds". But even if you are hearing the song for the first time, Eddie Van Halen's obvious joy in playing it, and the giddy, impromptu strut he and band members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony do together, are contagious.

Live Without A Net Tour, New Haven, Connecticut, 1986

Posted by JD Hull at 04:10 AM | Comments (0)

May 22, 2014

Refreshing, and more please: Emma Thompson's comments on lemmings, root canals and social media.

See over at NBC's TODAY Entertainment the short article "Emma Thompson blasts social media: 'I'd rather have root canal treatment' than join." Emma Thompson is smart, one the world's best actors and one of its most authentic human beings. Later we'll write more about her remarks--which appear in Thompson's recent Vanity Fair interview. Do note for now that the NBC item (just the print part) covering that interview has an astonished and slightly smug tone. Anyway, here's the accompanying video, which is free of small-mindedness.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Posted by JD Hull at 01:41 PM | Comments (0)

Read Jeffrey Carr's analysis of DOJ's China cyber-spying indictment.

Three days ago, the U.S. Department of Justice announced its indictment of five Chinese military officers for cyberespionage and theft of trade secrets from six American companies. Yesterday, Jeffrey Carr, a well-known cybersecurity consultant based in Seattle, posted a company-by-company "Analysis of the Victim Companies in the PLA Indictment" at his blog Digital Dao. While we don't agree with every point Carr makes, his assessment (read: dissection) of the charges is compelling. Chinese cyberespionage, moreover, is big part of Carr's expertise. The writing is knowledgeable, smart, forceful. If you do IP, Internet law or international law, do read Carr's post.

Jeffrey Carr

Posted by JD Hull at 12:57 PM | Comments (0)

May 20, 2014

United States of America v. Wang Dong, et al. (Crim. No. 14-118 W.D.Pa.)

We went so completely mental yesterday about the FBI's Wanted posters in our China cyber-spy indictment (aka WangGate) summary that we forgot to link to the indictment itself which, we should add, is an exemplary piece of legal writing. It's also concise (at 56 pages, 31 counts, 6 exhibits) given the ground it needed to cover. In all, there are 5 hackers and 6 victims over a period of nearly a decade. Nicely done, Mr. Hickton.

Above: Extended version.

Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)

Dan Harris's China Law: Contracts That Work.

Seattle-based Dan Harris, at his enduring, practical China Law Blog discusses China Contracts That Work. Dan's post begins:

There are three rules for making contracts enforceable in China:

Make the jurisdiction a China court.

Make the governing law Chinese law.

Make the governing language Chinese.

American companies routinely insist on contract provisions that effectively render their contracts unenforceable in China. By their own efforts, they make their contracts worthless, much to the amusement of the Chinese side of the transaction.

Calling for U.S. court jurisdiction is almost always a disaster because Chinese courts will not enforce U.S. court judgments. If, as is usually the case, the Chinese party has no assets in the United States, the U.S. judgment is effectively worthless.

Dan Harris

Posted by JD Hull at 08:59 PM | Comments (0)

Peter Dennis Blandford Townsend: Do you ever work like he plays?

Posted by JD Hull at 01:05 AM | Comments (0)

May 19, 2014

Grand jury in Pittsburgh indicts 5 Chinese "military hackers" on hacking and espionage charges.

Today the U.S. Justice Department announced its indictment of five Chinese military officers for stealing commercial data from American companies and unions. The defendants are in Unit 61398 of the Third Department of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. They are Wang Dong, Sun Kailiang, Wen Xinyu, Huang Zhenyu, and Gu Chunhui. See DOJ's press release--we believe that it has coined here the phrase "military hacker"--and articles by Reuters and Bloomberg News. The case will be brought out of the well-regarded U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh) against the named Chinese officers for spying on several Pittsburgh-based companies, including established firms in steel or energy-related products and services, like Alcoa, U.S. Steel and Westinghouse. China's response has been predictably quick and shrill. The Los Angeles Times: China blasts 'absurd' U.S. charges of cyberespionage. But something other than the well-crafted indictment, compelling press release and China's initial response really caught our attention today. The best symbol of the sheer novelty of this action? And of DOJ's seriousness in pursuing it? It is--hands down--the FBI wanted posters made available to the press today. Is Eric Holder's DOJ in your face or what?

Above: Materials on display during AG Eric Holder's press conference in DC today. (Charles Dharapak/AP)

Posted by JD Hull at 03:54 AM | Comments (0)