"This has been deliberately mischaracterized by the media," he said of his meeting with the Big Five accounting firms, which he said led to the decision by the industry to support what he called tough new restraints.
Some elements in the generally masterly plot have to be battered into place at the end — when it seems that McBride, steering clear of Harriet Beecher Stowe's viscous sentimentality, overcorrects by applying more tough-minded restraint than is strictly necessary.
Among those testifying today was Arthur Levitt, the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who had tried with limited success to impose tough conflict-of-interest restraints on the accounting industry.
And the private sector may find it hard to push through another tough round of pay restraint.
Bowing to calls for restraint in tough economic times, Goldman said that its most senior executives would forgo cash bonuses this year.
Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the military's chief spokesman in Iraq, told reporters on March 22. "While each of those cases is nothing to take great pride in, the fact is that 99-plus99-pluspercente soldiers are operating well within those rules of engagement, under very tough conditions, showing remarkable restraint, day after day, operating inside this country," General Kimmitt added.
Neil Carberry, director for employment and skills at the Confederation of British Industry, said: "Pay restraint, though tough for many, has been crucial in protecting jobs and keeping people in work in the toughest economic climate for decades.
In a ruling that puts new restraints on get-tough "zero tolerance" discipline, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled Friday that schools must provide strong reasons for denying alternative schooling or tutoring to students after they are suspended for misbehavior.
After first staunchly defending its outsize profits and pay, and then bristling at calls for restraint in these tough economic times, Goldman is trying a new tack: It is apologizing for past mistakes that led to the financial crisis — and sharing at least some of its riches.
Careful to avoid those pitfalls, Mr Netanyahu opted for prudence, talking tough but acting with often marked restraint.
