Wednesday, July 20, 2011
A Thought On A Hot Evening
Confined as I have been to the house today and tonight thanks to the heat and humidity, I thought I would make a brief posting. I've been writing recently about the importance of critical thinking skills. Following is a link to a National Post piece that my son just sent me in which reporter Jonathon Kay justifies publishing articles by convicted felon Conrad Black. If you are interested, take a look at the piece and see if you can spot some of the shortcomings of logic within it and the likely real purpose it serves.
Some Insights On Rupert Murdoch's Troubles
My friend Gary, who has developed quite a talent for epistolary irony, sent me an email this morning on the Murdoch appearance yesterday before the British Parliament. With his permission, I am posting it here:
Hi Lorne:
I was pleased to see and hear that the people at the top are innocent of any wrongdoing, and it appears that they were either mislead, deceived, or simply let down by those in upper or lower middle management. Once the evil had been discovered and recognized they moved quickly to extend their apologies for the actions of those they had entrusted the everyday operation of the company to. The accountability buck stops at the top and they want the public, and especially the victims, to know that it will never happen again on their watch.
Rupert himself is a victim of a pie thrower and it was only through the quick actions of his trophy wife that he escaped embarrassment and shamed the police. A person who surrounds himself, both in his personal life and working life with such beauty and talent can't be held accountable for the actions of those who let such a great man down. A man who built his empire through his own personal strength and the wise words of his father. A man who even had the ear of the Prime Minister and perhaps other body parts. It is the bad, the ugly and simply those who are jealous of this man's greatness. Rupert is a true corporate soldier who even when facing peril wanted Parliament and the Public to know the truth. A very humble man indeed.
I have notice when flipping the channels how the Sun Station is playing this all down. The Sun keeps repeating how the wiki leaks, which they hammer, was far worse, has been suppressed by the left and their left leaning papers. Sun spokespeople, with their talk experts, keep repeating that it is wrong by other media to see this as an opportunity to pile on Murdock.
Our Canadian Papers Can Take a Page and a Lesson From This:
Canadian Conservative Media 101: Gary
Hi Lorne:
I was pleased to see and hear that the people at the top are innocent of any wrongdoing, and it appears that they were either mislead, deceived, or simply let down by those in upper or lower middle management. Once the evil had been discovered and recognized they moved quickly to extend their apologies for the actions of those they had entrusted the everyday operation of the company to. The accountability buck stops at the top and they want the public, and especially the victims, to know that it will never happen again on their watch.
Rupert himself is a victim of a pie thrower and it was only through the quick actions of his trophy wife that he escaped embarrassment and shamed the police. A person who surrounds himself, both in his personal life and working life with such beauty and talent can't be held accountable for the actions of those who let such a great man down. A man who built his empire through his own personal strength and the wise words of his father. A man who even had the ear of the Prime Minister and perhaps other body parts. It is the bad, the ugly and simply those who are jealous of this man's greatness. Rupert is a true corporate soldier who even when facing peril wanted Parliament and the Public to know the truth. A very humble man indeed.
I have notice when flipping the channels how the Sun Station is playing this all down. The Sun keeps repeating how the wiki leaks, which they hammer, was far worse, has been suppressed by the left and their left leaning papers. Sun spokespeople, with their talk experts, keep repeating that it is wrong by other media to see this as an opportunity to pile on Murdock.
Our Canadian Papers Can Take a Page and a Lesson From This:
Canadian Conservative Media 101: Gary
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
More Evidence Of Bill Blair's Failed Leadership
The 'offer no apologies and accept no responsibility' head of the Toronto Police Services, Chief Bill Blair, has another facet of failed leadership to answer for. According to a report in The Toronto Star, a U of T student has documented at least eight occasions Toronto police have violated rules in place since 2006 requiring them to wear name tags.
According to the story,Vikram Mulligan says he was so troubled by police failing to identify themselves at last summer’s G20 summit he began photographing officers without proper name tags.
At a time when the Toronto force inspire more fear and loathing than admiration, this is hardly the moment for them to become de facto 'secret police.'
The rogue police behaviour the article describes is yet one more troubling indication that the lack of strong leadership and ability to inspire discipline is continuing to have widespread repercussions.
According to the story,Vikram Mulligan says he was so troubled by police failing to identify themselves at last summer’s G20 summit he began photographing officers without proper name tags.
At a time when the Toronto force inspire more fear and loathing than admiration, this is hardly the moment for them to become de facto 'secret police.'
The rogue police behaviour the article describes is yet one more troubling indication that the lack of strong leadership and ability to inspire discipline is continuing to have widespread repercussions.
Once More, The SIU Cannot Fulfill Its Mandate
In what I can only construe as inept or complicit leadership at the top, the Toronto Police Service, thanks to massive obstructionism amongst the rank and file, has once again thwarted the SIU in fulfilling its mandate to properly and effectively investigate police wrongdoing.
As reported in The Globe and Mail:
Three officers investigated in a high-profile case of alleged police brutality at last year's G20 summit will not be charged after several peers, including supervisors, did not or could not say whether the officers had been involved in beating Adam Nobody, the province's police watchdog said Monday.
In my opinion, that lead tells us all we need to know about how much the Toronto Police co-operated with the SIU in its investigation. That after all this time only one officer, Babak Andalib-Goortani, has been charged, despite the fact that Adam Nobody was attacked by a phalanx of cops, means that the corrupt concealment of the truth by Toronto's 'finest' has been ongoing, and the person most responsible for facilitating that culture in the context of the G20, Police Chief Bill Blair, has much to answer for.
Despite his unwillingness to acknowledge any responsibility for his officers' actions or their subsequent concealment and obstructionism, Chief Bill Blair needs to resign as the first step in beginning to heal the massive breach in public trust that arose from the G20 police actions. To do anything less is to put career above the public good.
As reported in The Globe and Mail:
Three officers investigated in a high-profile case of alleged police brutality at last year's G20 summit will not be charged after several peers, including supervisors, did not or could not say whether the officers had been involved in beating Adam Nobody, the province's police watchdog said Monday.
In my opinion, that lead tells us all we need to know about how much the Toronto Police co-operated with the SIU in its investigation. That after all this time only one officer, Babak Andalib-Goortani, has been charged, despite the fact that Adam Nobody was attacked by a phalanx of cops, means that the corrupt concealment of the truth by Toronto's 'finest' has been ongoing, and the person most responsible for facilitating that culture in the context of the G20, Police Chief Bill Blair, has much to answer for.
Despite his unwillingness to acknowledge any responsibility for his officers' actions or their subsequent concealment and obstructionism, Chief Bill Blair needs to resign as the first step in beginning to heal the massive breach in public trust that arose from the G20 police actions. To do anything less is to put career above the public good.
Monday, July 18, 2011
A Late Afternoon Thought On The Murdoch Scandal
I just read a post by The Disaffected Lib discussing the mounting number of resignations resulting from the Rupert Murdoch scandal. Both the Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan London Police (Scotland Yard) have resigned because of the disrepute they have brought to the organization through their actions and omissions.
Its a funny thing about the British, isn't it? I remember years ago when they were involved in the Falklands War, Lord Carrington, the British Foreign Secretary, resigned because he hadn't anticipated the conflict.
Meanwhile, in Canada, whenever something goes awry, a politician or public official may say he or she 'accepts full responsibility,' she retains her job, and everyone moves on as if nothing happened. Or to bring it even closer to home, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair, who apparently apologizes for nothing and accepts responsibility for nothing, continues in his position despite the atrocities committed by the police under his control during last June's G20 summit.
Only in Canada, you say?
Its a funny thing about the British, isn't it? I remember years ago when they were involved in the Falklands War, Lord Carrington, the British Foreign Secretary, resigned because he hadn't anticipated the conflict.
Meanwhile, in Canada, whenever something goes awry, a politician or public official may say he or she 'accepts full responsibility,' she retains her job, and everyone moves on as if nothing happened. Or to bring it even closer to home, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair, who apparently apologizes for nothing and accepts responsibility for nothing, continues in his position despite the atrocities committed by the police under his control during last June's G20 summit.
Only in Canada, you say?
An Ethical Dilemma - One Posible Answer
Yesterday I posed a hypothetical ethical dilemma sent to me by my son; briefly, it outlined a situation where a friend would be attacked by a bear, his injuries not known, but they could range from life-threatening to superficial. The only way to save him (her) from that fate was to accept a fate of your own, which was to live the rest of your life in rain. Here is the answer that I sent him:
This is the sort of vexing question that seems to have no right or wrong answer. In considering the seemingly selfless option of saving your friend from an uncertain fate, you must also consider the consequences of that act of altruism against the misery that you will inflict, not only on yourself, but on those around you. For example, if you were married, would it be fair to consign your partner, who presumably had no say in your choice, to a lifetime of rain? Indeed, wouldn't that lifetime of rain also have an effect on everyone around you, perhaps sending them into deep depression, disability or even death through suicide?
When you think about it, the dilemma involves all of your neighbours, friends, and fellow citizens. Because of the related nature of the world, none of the choices we make are truly made in isolation, so the premise of the original question is flawed. Is it more altruistic to save your friend, or is it more altruistic to consider the possible repercussions of your act on a much wider range of people?
Reminds me of the saying that no good deeds go unpunished.
I will return to this in my next post as to why recognizing this inter-relatedness is vital if there is to be any hope for humanity's future.
This is the sort of vexing question that seems to have no right or wrong answer. In considering the seemingly selfless option of saving your friend from an uncertain fate, you must also consider the consequences of that act of altruism against the misery that you will inflict, not only on yourself, but on those around you. For example, if you were married, would it be fair to consign your partner, who presumably had no say in your choice, to a lifetime of rain? Indeed, wouldn't that lifetime of rain also have an effect on everyone around you, perhaps sending them into deep depression, disability or even death through suicide?
When you think about it, the dilemma involves all of your neighbours, friends, and fellow citizens. Because of the related nature of the world, none of the choices we make are truly made in isolation, so the premise of the original question is flawed. Is it more altruistic to save your friend, or is it more altruistic to consider the possible repercussions of your act on a much wider range of people?
Reminds me of the saying that no good deeds go unpunished.
I will return to this in my next post as to why recognizing this inter-relatedness is vital if there is to be any hope for humanity's future.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
An Ethical Dilemma
Although the following might seem rather tangential to what I usually discuss on this blog, an email recently sent to me by my son is, I think, highly relevant for a number of reasons, which I will discuss tomorrow.
Here is the ethical dilemma:
Think of someone who is your friend (do not select your best friend, but make sure the person is someone you would classify as "considerably more then an acquaintance"). This friend is going to be attacked by a grizzly bear. Now this person will survive the attack; that is guaranteed. There is a 100 percent chance that your friend will live. However, the extent of his injuries is unknown; he might receive nothing but a few superficial scratches, but he also might lose a limb (or multiple limbs). He might recover completely in twenty-four hours with nothing but a great story, or he might spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Somehow you have the ability to stop this attack from happening. You can magically save your friend from the bear. But his (or her) salvation will come at a peculiar price: if you choose to stop the bear, it will always rain. For the rest of your life, wherever you go, it will be raining. Sometimes it will pour and sometimes it will drizzle-but it will never not be raining. But it won't rain over the totality of the earth, nor will the hydrological cycle de disrupted; these storm clouds will be isolated, and they will focus entirely on your specific where-abouts. You will also never see the sun again. Do you stop the bear, accepting the lifetime of rain?
He sent me the response given by a friend of his, and closed the missive with the following:
Dad, what would your response be?
I sent him a response, but won't post it until tomorrow in case anyone would like to weigh in on this scenario.
Here is the ethical dilemma:
Think of someone who is your friend (do not select your best friend, but make sure the person is someone you would classify as "considerably more then an acquaintance"). This friend is going to be attacked by a grizzly bear. Now this person will survive the attack; that is guaranteed. There is a 100 percent chance that your friend will live. However, the extent of his injuries is unknown; he might receive nothing but a few superficial scratches, but he also might lose a limb (or multiple limbs). He might recover completely in twenty-four hours with nothing but a great story, or he might spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Somehow you have the ability to stop this attack from happening. You can magically save your friend from the bear. But his (or her) salvation will come at a peculiar price: if you choose to stop the bear, it will always rain. For the rest of your life, wherever you go, it will be raining. Sometimes it will pour and sometimes it will drizzle-but it will never not be raining. But it won't rain over the totality of the earth, nor will the hydrological cycle de disrupted; these storm clouds will be isolated, and they will focus entirely on your specific where-abouts. You will also never see the sun again. Do you stop the bear, accepting the lifetime of rain?
He sent me the response given by a friend of his, and closed the missive with the following:
Dad, what would your response be?
I sent him a response, but won't post it until tomorrow in case anyone would like to weigh in on this scenario.
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