Recent Commentaries

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The Cloud
Here’s one symptom of a growing problem: “Jeff Rothschild’s machines at Facebook had a problem he knew he had to solve immediately. They were about to melt. “The company had been packing a 40-by-60-foot rental space here with racks of computer servers that were needed to store and process information from members’ accounts. The electricity pouring into the computers was...
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November 26, 2012
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The Turkeys are Here!
I realized that in today’s fast-paced, scandal-driven, ADD-addicted, multi-platform media age, everybody offers awards but me! No longer. Owing to the ‘true’ American spirit of our fast-paced, yada, yada, yada age, I hereby offer The (First Annual?) Ethics Stupid Turkey Awards. Honorable mention: * Rudy the Parrot. C’mon folks, are we really that desperate to “Find out what’s happening,  » Read more about: The Turkeys are Here!...
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November 21, 2012
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The Sword of Damocles, Part II
At five years of age, Kikuko Otake, along with her two brothers and young mother, survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan living just a little more than one mile from the hypocenter. In the first half of her book, Masako’s Story, she shares her mother’s account. “The rain soaked us to the skin. You began to shake, And grew pale....
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November 19, 2012
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The Sword of Damocles
I have never read a first person account so painful and powerful, yet so important to our future about an issue that hangs over all of us to this day. From the first words of prose-poetry (the book’s entire narrative is written in free-verse), I could not stop reading. It was shortly before 8:15 a.m., Monday, August 6, 1945 in...
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November 16, 2012
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Three Cheers for the Duck
Spoiler Alert: The following commentary contains absolutely NO shameful or shocking ethics scandals! Every day, we open newspapers, (on iPads, Kindles, etc.) to read, principally, bad news. Cable channels assault us with every angle on all manner of fraud, corruption, deceit, bribery, and the old reliable, sex scandal. But good news is out there. The Ethisphere Institute is an international think-tank based in New York whose...
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November 14, 2012
Featured image for “November 2012 Ethical Hero – Tony de Brum”
November 2012 Ethical Hero – Tony de Brum
Every year since 1984, “The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation” has held its annual “Evening of Peace” dinner where they honor an individual with “The Distinguished Peace Leadership,” and/or “World Citizenship” award. For four out of the last five years, I have been fortunate to be invited to an event that continues to open my eyes to issues and individuals who...
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November 12, 2012
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The Bad Samaritans
The “better angels of our nature” are not always present during times of disaster. Among the hero stories throughout Hurricane Sandy, one account stands in stark contrast. During the height of the storm, with water rushing into her home on New York’s Staten Island, Glenda Moore gathered her two sons, 4-year-old Connor and 2-year-old Brendan, strapped them into the backseat...
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November 12, 2012
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Rules for Living
The fall of a leader is always tragic, and in David Petraeus’ case, much unexpected. In the immediacy of the moment, there is an understandable shock, and, within the ranks, it is not uncommon for those closest to him to feel a sense of betrayal. I was in the process of writing-up General Petraeus’ 12 Rules of Leadership when it was announced...
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November 9, 2012
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Did Lance Really Cheat?
This story’s been on my desk since last month (Washington Post, Oct. 26). My attention comes, not so much from Armstrong’s clear violation of U.S. doping rules regarding competitive cycling, but from an astonishingly implausible defense of Armstrong’s actions by author Brad Allenby. Allenby, a Lincoln professor of ethics (remember this part) and engineering at Arizona State University, writes, “Whether...
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November 7, 2012
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Head to Head
It’s hard to believe that the 2012 presidential campaign is at an end… almost. What will “likely voters” do without all those hard-hitting, rhetoric-flailing, endless campaign ads? According toOpenSecrets.org, the total spent by both campaigns is reported to be almost $2 billion, and that doesn’t include money spent by PACs and Super PACs. After all the negative campaigning, what we...
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November 5, 2012

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