March 17, 2010
Television is a sucker for sex and sexy pictures. It loves a story with legs—both literal and metaphorical. So the saga of Rielle Hunter, John Edwards’s baby mama, goes on and on.
First the denials of an affair. Then admission of the affair but denial of the payments. Then admission of the payments but denial of the fatherhood. Now the exclusive in GQ Magazine: “Hello, America, My Name Is Rielle Hunter,” complete with a photo spread worthy of Playboy’s Playmate of the Month.
Now the USAToday headline: “Hunter ‘in tears’ over ‘repulsive’ photos in ‘GQ’.” Those are the photos she posed for that she labels repulsive.
The photos are quite nice. It’s Rielle and her Johnny that are repulsive. And the media’s intensive coverage and re-coverage. Her fifteen minutes of fame should be up. Bring back Paris Hilton.
34.064458
-118.451661
Tags: GQ Magazine, John Edwards, Paris Hilton, Playboy, Rielle Hunter
Posted in Ethics-general, Politics | 2 Comments »
March 16, 2010
The flap intensifies over Israel’s announcement of
plans to build 1600 new homes in East Jerusalem. After strenuous objection from Joe Biden and the State Department , Prime Minister Netanyahu apologized for the timing of the announcement but not for the substance, telling the Israeli Parliament that construction of Jewish housing in Jerusalem was not a matter for negotiation.
The New York Times quotes a senior administration official as saying, “What happened to the vice president in Israel was unprecedented. Where it goes from here depends on the Israelis.” But the Israelis seem intent on continuing to expand into East Jerusalem and more broadly into the West Bank.
The U.S. is in a difficult position, caught between the uncompromising Israeli ally on one side and Read the rest of this entry »
34.064458
-118.451661
Tags: anti-American, apology, Arab world, construction, East jerusalem, Egypt, Indonesia, Israel, Joe Biden, Jordan, Muslim world, Netanyahu, Pakistan, Palestinians, Saudi Arabia, State Department, terrorism Lieberman, Turkey, West Bank
Posted in Ethics-general, International, Politics | Leave a Comment »
March 14, 2010
We’ve written about our favorite football coach, Chip Kelly of the Oregon Ducks. Kelly has been a paragon of coaching in his first-year on the job, leading the Ducks last year to a 10-3 record and their first Pac 10 championship since 1995. He did this while insisting on good citizenship from his players, even suspending his top running back for nine games for sucker punching an opposing player after the Ducks’ opening game loss.
Duck fans were hopeful of an even better 2010, with most of last year’s stars returning, led by Heisman Trophy candidate, quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, and running back LaMichael James, who rushed for 1546 yards as a freshman last year. This could be the Ducks’ chance at a national championship, even.
Not so much, anymore. Kelly suspended James, another of the team’s offensive stars, and top placekicker Rob Beard, both of whom pled guilty to misdemeanor physical harassment. They’ll both sit out at least next season’s opening game, with the proviso that they can play after that if they adhere to the guidelines Kelly puts forward.
But the big deal was the suspension of Masoli for the entire 2010 season Read the rest of this entry »
34.064458
-118.451661
Tags: Chip Kelly, citizenship, ethics, Florida Gators, Heisman Trophy Jeremiah Masoli, LaMichael James, O. J. Simpson, Oregon Ducks, Pac 10, Rob Beard, sportsmanship, Urban Meyer, USC, winning
Posted in Ethics-general, Sports | 3 Comments »
March 13, 2010
That’s the headline in this week’s sensible editorial in The Economist about the controversy over what to name the events that led to the deaths of so many Armenians in 1915.
Their conclusion: “There is room for scholarly inquiry into the working of the murky state machinery that led to that outcome—to determine whether the tragedy was principally the result of murderous design or culpable neglect. By inviting all scholars to peruse its archives (something it has done only patchily), Turkey could disarm its critics.”
Highly recommended reading.
34.064458
-118.451661
Tags: Armenians, ethics, genocide, The Economist, Turkey
Posted in Ethics-general, International | Leave a Comment »
March 13, 2010
The Anti-Defamation League’s website says its purpose is “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.” Apparently this includes supporting any Israeli expansion—like the plan announced this week to build 1600 new houses in East Jerusalem—and opposing any criticism of Israel by the U.S. government.
Thus, Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement yesterday (March 12):
We are shocked and stunned at the Administration’s tone and public dressing down of Israel on the issue of future building in Jerusalem. We cannot remember an instance when such harsh language was directed at a friend and ally of the United States. One can only wonder how far the U.S. is prepared to go Read the rest of this entry »
34.064458
-118.451661
Tags: Abraham H. Foxman, Anti-Defamation League, Biden, East jerusalem, ethics, Israeli expansion, Netanyahu, Palestinians, Philip Crowley, Secretary Clinton
Posted in Ethics-general, International, Politics | 2 Comments »
March 12, 2010
Do you think the laws keep corporate executives from undeservedly enriching themselves at the expense of the public and their own shareholders? We already know about outright theft at Adelphia, fiddling with the books at MCI-WorldCom,. All of these were violations of laws intended to protect the public, and many of the perpetrators are now in jail.
But avarice will find a way. If you’re a CEO and you know bad news about your company is about to break, it’s against the law for you to sell stock in the company until the news is out. And even if you could sell your stock you could face a big tax bill for the money you’ve made.
It turns out you’re not helpless. While you can’t sell your stock you can hedge it by buying any of a variety of financial instruments Read the rest of this entry »
34.064458
-118.451661
Posted in Business ethics, Ethics-general | Leave a Comment »
March 10, 2010
I was puzzled, amidst all the craziness about ex-congressman (Oh, I hope it’s ex) Eric Massa (D-NY), by his early suggestion that he was being forced out of his seat for saying “I should be fracking you” to an aide. I wasn’t certain what fracking meant until I read Jack Marshall’s wise blog on “Fracking Ethics.”
I recommend this provocative analysis of obscenity, euphemism, and straight talk. Don’t miss the string of comments.
34.064458
-118.451661
Tags: Eric Massa, ethics, euphemisms, fracking, Jack Marshall, obscenity, straight talk
Posted in Ethics-general, Politics | Leave a Comment »
March 9, 2010
It’s never good politics in America to criticize Israel. It’s especially not good politics to criticize Israeli plans for East Jerusalem, which lies at the epicenter of the Israeli/Palestinian dispute.
Doubtlessly the Israeli government was counting on this when they announced a plan to build 16oo new homes in East Jerusalem. Biden’s trip was supposed to demonstrate American support; indeed Biden’s planeside remarks pledged a total U.S. commitment to Israel’s security and declaring that the bonds between the United States and Israel were “unbreakable.”
The Israeli Interior Ministry picked today to announce their expansion plans, in full defiance of the Obama administration’s plea to suspend building to give peace talks a chance. They must have figured that Biden would be too polite a guest and too much in awe of America’s pro-Israel sentiments to complain.
Not our Joe! Here’s how the leading Israeli daily, Haaretz, described Biden’s reaction:
“I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units Read the rest of this entry »
34.064458
-118.451661
Tags: Biden, courage, East jerusalem, ethics, Interior Ministry, Israel, Israeli/Palestinian, proximity talks
Posted in Ethics-general, International, Politics | 8 Comments »
March 7, 2010
George W. Bush said
a year ago, in his first speech after leaving the Presidency, “I’m not going to spend my time criticizing him [President Obama]. There are plenty of critics in the arena. He deserves my silence…I love my country a lot more than I love politics. I think it is essential that he be helped in office.”
For this major contribution to civility in our public discourse, President Bush earns a (mythical) Reinhold Niebuhr award.*
With all the criticism—much of it unfair and quite ugly–of Bush and his administration coming from the left, and with all the criticism—much of it unfair and quite ugly–of Obama and his administration coming from the right, Bush could have made things quite worse. And he would have been forgiven, even justified, because he was only defending his record. But in spite of the provocation, Bush stuck to his conviction and gave President Obama the great gift of his silence. All Americans owe George W. Bush a debt of gratitude.
______
*Christian theologian Reinhold Niebuhr wrote, ‘The temper of and integrity with which the political fight is waged is more important for the health of our society than the outcome of any issue or campaign.”
34.064458
-118.451661
Tags: civility, ethics, George W Bush, Niebuhr, Obama, silence
Posted in Politics | 4 Comments »
March 5, 2010
Steven Kinzer understands Turkey as well as anybody. While NY Times bureau chief there he even moonlighted as a disc-jockey on Turkish radio. His excellent piece is in today’s Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/mar/05/turkey-armenia-genocide-us-vote
Tags: Armenia, ethics, genocide, House resolution, Kinzer, Turkey
Posted in Politics | Leave a Comment »
Television is a sucker for sex and sexy pictures. It loves a story with legs—both literal and metaphorical. So the saga of Rielle Hunter, John Edwards’s baby mama, goes on and on.
Ethics Bob 