A Fixer??

JK: I'm not the guy you kill. I'm not the guy you strongarm, blackball, or fight. I'm the guy you buy! Are you so fucking blind that you don't even see what I am? I sold control of delicate info the club wanted out of circulation for 105 grand. I'm your easiest problem and you're gonna kill me or get your nose bloodied taking me on?

Michael Clayton is what's described as "a fixer". This means that he fixes problems for the firms clients. While, in a sense, all of the firms attorney's fix problems, Clayton specializes in more sensitive issues, ones that sometimes skirt the boundaries of legality or morality. As he explains towards the end he does things like suppress embarrassing photos, convinces the police not to press charges, cleans up drunk or high clients etc etc. He knows all the firms dirty laundry but he isn't a partner (as Karen Crowder notes) and does not practice law in any traditional sense.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Will the real democratic chairman please stand up..Posted on September 22, 2006 at 11:35:14 PM by ali

The Democratic party held its meeting last night. John Kelly took the stand spoke and demonstrated his anger agaist freedom of the press. He tore El Defenzor into pieces. Many stood and watched as some applauded the madmans actions. Kelly again denied his involvement with the known communist Socialist Party of America. The Defenzor has never been permitted to be placed inside the premises of the Democratic headquarters as other papers have. But thats o.k. because that has never stopped El Defenzor from helping the community become aware about treacherous leechers like the likes of John Kelly...Replies:
Re(1): Will the real democratic chairman please stand up..Posted on September 24, 2006 at 03:01:30 AM by dannoynted1

i know where is alex? is he kidnapped or just "tied up"? We (several callers)called the headquarters and left a message to a "groce". Who claimed to pass along the message but now i am wondering if he is "paying attention." Where is the chair? The presidential suite? maybe he doesn't even know the headquarters have been moved! oh and i heard the socialist party are endorsing Lloyd, Solly even though they are using them as well as our democratic women! Dossiers on gay people will get you no where kelley/kelly or is it you know where! it is amazing how long he has been here and has succeeded in ripping off his fellow citizen and made his word not worth a sixpence!

WAtt happened to "we" in we the people? perhaps you are the John who some say is a synonym con toilet yeah well it is a matter of time when the "true dems" stand up to the "bill of "coods" or "goods" he is selling to the "players and their vanity" without vanity~ flattery gets you nowhere!

"So he gives them watt they want"~10000 maniacs~natalie merchant

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Re(1): Will the real democratic chairman please stand up..Posted on September 23, 2006 at 02:08:15 PM by Disappointed

The clique of the Democratic Party thinks it can still win with Communist organizers and sympatizers affiliated with the Socialist Party USA. It is not denial. It is arrogance. They will be surprised.
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Re(2): Will the real democratic chairman/leader please stand up..Posted on September 24, 2006 at 03:20:53 AM by dannoynted1

why would do those "jim jones" lambs be surprised? the conversion to anti defenzor type of progress kelley green john is being paid to do! DO YALL THINK HE WORKS FOR FREE? WHO DO YALL THINK PROVIDED A "RADIO STATION" AND A "NEWSPAPER" WITHOUT AN AGENDA? THINK ABOUT IT! WATT IS THEIR GOAL? ~it is exactly this~ The division OF our populi an accomplishment in watt a presidential suite agenda in corpus christi, texas buys 4 YOU ALL!?! why not in washington dc?
that is where they need to be, unless (FERIA)that is why we/THEY are even discussing this exploitation/yanqui agenda! who sent these "anti defenzor" but lie and exploit US/WE in "we the people"!

only a wolf would rip up defenzor! "i guess the better to eat you and your feria my pretty!"
REMEMBER, remember the 5th of november!
poor kelley his colors keep shining through!

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Re(2): Will the real democratic chairman please stand up..Posted on September 23, 2006 at 02:11:26 PM by Ex Progressive Pop

Hey right now Kelley/Cavada/Les are the party. Alex Garcia is just the ceremonial doll.
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Re(3): Will the real American nueces county democratic chairman please stand up..Posted on September 24, 2006 at 03:27:47 AM by dannoynted1

i know! why are they controlling the New headquarters? all i can say is i hope alex and all affiliated with the exploitationers watch their & the true dems back! No one here(south texas) ever gets handed a radio show and newspaper without paying their dues! and i aint talking about the "membership dues" to the wanna be american socialist party!

american socialist~an oxymoron

V 4 vendetta?
v 4 vendido?
V 4 Value?
v for the fifth?
V 4 5?
V for 5?
v 4 vindication!
V 4 validation!
V 4 Victorious!
V 4 Vespers!
verisimilitude~villager or vigilante?

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Social Network Analysis: What are Social Networks?

Social networks are a way of describing systems composed of multiple elements that are related in some way. Each element, or node, may or may not have a relationship with the other nodes. Traditionally sociologists, managers or others who worked with groups would look at the attributes of the individual elements. Social Network Analysis looks at the relations between the elements.

The "social" in "social networks" is there because the most common type of node is a person and the most common type of relation is between people. Even though the most common use is between people, social networks are not limited to people. They are anything that can have a relationship with something else. People have made social network maps of synonyms for words, trade patterns in cities and even proteins in the human body.

In 1973 sociologist (and ISNAE cofounder) Mark Granovetter published a paper called "the Strength of Weak Ties," a paper that is now one of the most cited papers in sociology. In it, he described his research which showed that people get jobs, not from people close to them, but from casual acquaintances, "weak ties".

What seems to happen is that people form into groups where everyone talks to each other but they do not talk to people outside the group. That means that ones friends and people close to them probably know all the same people and job opportunities he or she does. To get new information a person has to go outside of the group he or she is usually in and thus a casual acquaintance, a weak tie, is often be the link that helps the person succeed.

These links can be "running into someone you used to work with you haven't seen for years," "meeting someone in a bank line," the list is endless. Social networks bridge the world with people working, attending school and communicating with each other in every country in the world. We are just a few links from almost anyone.

Popular wisdom says "it's not what you know, it's who you know." One often hears of "old boy networks." More and more articles are appearing in the business journals about the new networked way of doing business, where work is outsourced and your competitors in part of a business are partners in another. The excitement of Harry Potter travels from person to person. All of these are examples of social networks.

Businesses are social networks, markets are social networks, professional associations and much more are social networks.

Much of our day to day life is interaction with other people and the
patterns of interaction influence so much of the events around us.

Imagine that could understand and influence those patterns.
What is Social Network Analysis?

Social Network Analysis (SNA) is the set of techniques used to observe
social networks.

An example of creating a social network map is within an organization. A researcher might do a survey of the organization asking everyone: "Who are the people you are most likely to discuss technical information with?" "Who are the people you are most likely to go out with after work for a beer?" and other questions. The result will be a map of nodes (the individuals) and the relations "ask for technical information," "have a beer." The two maps are not usually the same. Interestingly, often the organizational map of the company will not have the same leader as the social network map discovers, which is a situation that must be managed.

Social network analysts look at disease transmission, terrorist networks, business networks, diffusion of innovation, formation of companies, tacit knowledge in organizations, communities, the WWW, international trade and much more.

Social Network Analysts collect the data, organize it in useful ways and see how the structure of the networks influences real world results. We can compare the structure of a healthy organization or an unhealthy one, of a healthy region to an unhealthy one a successful startup to an unsuccessful one. Even the social structure that an individual has set up for himself or herself can have tremendous influence on his or her life.

Only recently have the tools been available to analyze large sets of data as powerful computers have become common. New forms of communication and community from the Internet make data collection easier.

We are at the beginning being able to describe and influence the structure of human relationships.
What Difference Will it Make?

Economic activity takes place within social relations. When someone takes a taxi the rider has to trust the driver and the driver has to trust the ride will pay. There needs to be a balance of trust, obligation and novelty. If a business person makes a business decision based on friendship or obligation the results might not be as good. If people make decisions based only on the advice of those close to them, they may not get enough points of view to make the best decision. On the other hand, if a society is lawless and poor, the fear and lack of trust can make economic growth impossible as well.

Having accurate empirical information about the networks that work for successful startups, new product development, successful investments, successful organizations, successful communities, reaching new markets, and so much more will allow us to make better decisions and get the kind of results we would like.