Monthly Archives: July 2010

“I have misspoken about my service.” Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on his statements that he “served” in Vietnam. Mr. Blumenthal served in the Marine Corps reserves for 6 years, none of which were overseas.

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When Safety Trumps Budget: Boeing

Boeing has been getting some bad press for delays in delivery of its 787 Dreamliner.  The company has faced everything from supplier lag to failed stress tests and is now 2.5 years behind schedule on its deliveries. The profits are … Continue reading

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Moral Babies

On May 9, 2010, Yale psychologist Dr. Paul Bloom had an intriguing article in The New York Times Magazine, “The Moral Life of Babies.”  If this brief excerpt does not pique your curiosity or restore your faith in human nature, … Continue reading

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The Dent in the Door

If you put a dent in the door of the car next to you but no one saw you do so, would you leave a note for the owner of the other car? The Barometer’s students often respond, ‘What do … Continue reading

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The Rebuilt Car and the Accident

He was a young car-hop at the time.  The 17-year-old witnessed a salesman at the car dealership sell a woman a “new car.”  But the young employee knew that the car was not new; it had an engine that had … Continue reading

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“I don’t want to be on my deathbed thinking that I kept a bunch of musicians from making money. I have a lot of work to do to get my karma scores up.” Mark Gorton, CEO of LimeWire, a file-sharing service ordered by a federal court to pay $450 million for copyright infringement.

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Facebook Privacy: Oxymoronic

The folks who post pictures of themselves hugging and chugging were outraged.  Why the things they were posting on their Facebook pages were showing up elsewhere on the web and were being used to generate advertising dollars.  Oh, what times … Continue reading

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“Once we re-enter a phase where markets have recovered and there is money to be made, the traders will be back saying to their compliance officers, ‘There’s too much control; let us make money.’” Criminal defense lawyer, Stephane Bonafissi

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There will be another Jérôme Kerviel.

Just as Joseph Jett of Kidder Peabody followed Nick Leeson of Barings Banks, another trader will follow Jérôme Kerviel of Société Générale.  There will always be rogue traders in banks that turn a blind eye to under-achievers who defy all … Continue reading

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BP: The Barometer Tried To Warn You

P = f(x).  The probability of a safety conscious decision being made is a direct function of budgets and margins. Put them both together in a meeting and budgets will rule.  When all the analyses on BP’s Deepwater Horizon well … Continue reading

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“The governor’s judgment is horrible. I mean horrible. Just horrible.” Defense attorney Sam Adams Jr. in his opening statement for his client, Rod Blagojevich. With defense lawyers like this . . who needs a prosecutor?

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