Category: ethics

Lance Armstrong: Enough is enough.

On By Rick McIn cycling, ethics, sport - pro2 Comments

Lance Armstrong:

AUSTIN, Texas – August 23rd, 2012 – There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, “Enough is enough.” For me, that time is now.

I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999. Over the past three years, I have been subjected to a two-year federal criminal investigation followed by Travis Tygart’s unconstitutional witch hunt. The toll this has taken on my family, and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today – finished with this nonsense. …

LanceArmstrong.com

… Lance Armstrong says he will not fight charges brought by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, a surprising decision that sets the stage for the cyclist to be stripped of the Tour de France titles that turned him into an American hero. …

Armstrong refuses arbitration; faces sanctions

I’ve clung to hope that Lance is actually innocent, despite the dozens of top Tour riders of his era found guilty.

Ben Johnson, the sprinter, was a doper. Stripped of the Olympic Gold in the 100m in Seoul.

Coach Charlie Francis had all his athletes, including Ben, doping. Charlie claimed most of the top guys of the era were — including Carl Lewis.

Ben was retroactively stripped of his 1987 World Record — a mistake, I thought. Going back in history to re-test under new protocols is unfair. Unethical.

I’m sympathetic of Lance’s position.

PQ proposes Charter of Secularism

On By Rick McIn ethics, government, humourLeave a comment

The pro-independence party in Quebec proposes to forbid employees in public institutions from wearing overt religious symbols.

They want to separate Church from State.

You wouldn’t see these symbols associated with some (or all?) Quebec government employees.

Though the proposal is being mocked widely, there’s some logic to it.

… Hold on. …

PQ leader Pauline Marois says small symbols like a crucifix on a chain are OK.

That’s a problem. Where do you draw the line, Pauline?

Aside from all the many other problems with this proposal, it smacks of racism.

Why is it that the biggest minority in Canada, Francophones, are so often intolerant of minorities?

… Am I being intolerant of Québécois now? I was just there last week. Some of my best friends wear the Fleur de Lys.

And you know what — they can keep wearing the Fleur de Lys, even if they work for a PQ Provincial government. 🙂

Doesn’t the PQ have some serious issues to deal with Madame Marois?

stupid States have no helmet laws

On By Rick McIn ethics, government2 Comments

I don’t like government regulations. But mandatory helmets for motorcycles is a no brainer. And State without a helmet law needs to have it’s head examined.

… A report released today by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) finds that no progress was made in reducing motorcyclist deaths in 2011.

Based upon preliminary data from 50 states and the District of Columbia, GHSA projects that motorcycle fatalities remained at about 4,500 in 2011, the same level as 2010. Meanwhile, earlier this month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration projected that overall motor vehicle fatalities declined 1.7 percent in 2011, reaching their lowest level since 1949. Motorcycle deaths remain one of the few areas in highway safety where progress is not being made. …

freakonomics

Between 1994 and 2007, six states repealed laws that required all motorcyclists to wear helmets. Here’s a look at per-capita organ donations from male victims of motor-vehicle crashes in those states versus all other states.

lobbyists write American laws

On By Rick McIn economics, ethics, government, things getting worseLeave a comment

That’s the fact, Jack.

NY Times op-ed By PAUL KRUGMAN”

Florida’s now-infamous Stand Your Ground law, which lets you shoot someone you consider threatening without facing arrest, let alone prosecution, sounds crazy — and it is. And it’s tempting to dismiss this law as the work of ignorant yahoos. But similar laws have been pushed across the nation, not by ignorant yahoos but by big corporations.

Specifically, language virtually identical to Florida’s law is featured in a template supplied to legislators in other states by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a corporate-backed organization that has managed to keep a low profile even as it exerts vast influence (only recently, thanks to yeoman work by the Center for Media and Democracy, has a clear picture of ALEC’s activities emerged). And if there is any silver lining to Trayvon Martin’s killing, it is that it might finally place a spotlight on what ALEC is doing to our society — and our democracy.

What is ALEC? Despite claims that it’s nonpartisan, it’s very much a movement-conservative organization, funded by the usual suspects: the Kochs, Exxon Mobil, and so on. Unlike other such groups, however, it doesn’t just influence laws, it literally writes them, supplying fully drafted bills to state legislators. In Virginia, for example, more than 50 ALEC-written bills have been introduced, many almost word for word. And these bills often become law. …

Lobbyists, Guns and Money

One day historians will marvel at the stupidity of having for profit corporations write legislation.

related – Wikipedia – ALEC

This American Life – RETRACTION

On By Rick McIn Apple, audiocasts, ethicsLeave a comment

This guy’s a liar. Or is he just taking artistic license?

This weekend, esteemed radio program “This American Life” aired “Retraction” — a stunning refutation of its most popular episode ever — “Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory“, which aired on January 6.

A “Marketplace” investigation has revealed that Mike Daisey fabricated or exaggerated aspects of the stage play upon which the segment is based. …

The crimes of the Chinese, Foxconn, Mike Daisey and ourselves

It’s a fascinating story. But the most interesting aspect of all is how superbly This American Life handled the retraction. I listened to the hour long show twice.

TAL – 460:RETRACTION

If you’ve no time to listen to hour long podcasts, here’s a quick summary:

‘This American Life’ Issues Stunning Retraction On Show Critical Of Apple, Foxconn

This will go down as one of the best examples ever of how media should handle stories later proven to be untrue.

It’s fair to the liar. Well done Ira Glass.

Journalism lives.

entertainment industry lawyers / lobbyists LIE

On By Rick McIn economics, ethics, movies, music, TVLeave a comment

That’s their job.

Lawyer / lobbyists sell their souls for money.

Everybody knows it. … So why does anyone believe a word they say?

Comic author Rob Reid unveils Copyright Math (TM), a remarkable new field of study based on actual numbers from entertainment industry lawyers and lobbyists.

Rob Reid is a humor author and the founder of the company that created the music subscription service Rhapsody.

TED Talks – Rob Reid: The $8 billion iPod

Click PLAY or watch it on TED.

(via Michael Geist)

why we share online …

On By Rick McIn blogs, books, ethics, friends, internet4 Comments

Jeff Jarvis, author of Public Parts:

We are sharing for good reason—not because we are insane, exhibitionistic, or drunk. We are sharing because, at last, we can, and we find benefit in it. Sharing is a social and generous act: it connects us, it establishes and improves relationships, it builds trust, it disarms strangers and stigmas, it fosters the wisdom of the crowd, it enables collaboration, and it empowers us to find, form and act as publics of our own making.

For individuals, sharing is a choice; that is the essence of privacy.

Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, told me that before the net, we had “privacy through obscurity”. We had little chance to be public because we had little access to the tools of publicness: the press, the stage, the broadcast tower (their proprietors were last century’s 1%). Today, we have the opportunity to create, share and connect, and 845m people choose to do so on Facebook alone. Mr Zuckerberg says he is not changing their nature; he is enabling it. …

read more on Buzz Machine

Jeff Jarvis is defending sharing in an Economist magazine debate with Andrew Keen.

I voted for Jeff.

Online sharing is one of the best things that’s happened in my lifetime. But I’m surprised bloggers have not changed the world MORE.

If you are against empowering idiots to spew hate and misinformation online, your best argument is a blog called “LITERALLY UNBELIEVABLE“:

… examples from Facebook of people who think stories from The Onion are real.

You’d successfully argue that many people shouldn’t be allowed to share online. 🙂

(via Kottke)

who accumulated $14 trillion debt?

On By Rick McIn economics, ethics, government1 Comment

And who holds that debt?

George W Bush was by far the worst President from an economics point of view. I always felt his goal (Cheney’s goal) was to shovel as many dollars to rich friends as possible.

Leave a comment if you’ve got data to refute these numbers.

(via myinnermonoblog)

why I love Glee

On By Rick McIn ethics, music, TV3 Comments

I don’t know anyone who disliked Friends as much as I did.

Four Six (Dana had to correct me.) good looking white people whining about their lives. 63 Emmy Awards. That’s my definition of over-rated.

Glee, in contrast, tries to tackle important issues. They did a terrific job on Rachel’s nose.

Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.

http://vimeo.com/34004085

Glee doesn’t always hit the right note. But when they do, it’s awesome.

… less Hebraic and more Fabrayic …

That mash-up was voted Best Glee Song of All Time by TV Line readers in a July 2011 poll.