For some of us, the problem with land mines is an old one, and the fact that it continues is and should be a blot on our conscience. The casualties are increasing, for 2016, the last year for which there are statistics, there were 8,605 casualties, a number which includes 2089 deaths. These numbers represent about 25% more than the casualties the year before and are more than double the number for 2014. Much of the damage is done by cluster landmines. As their name indicates, they are Continue reading “The Landmines Problem”
Category: Social Conscience
Business Schools Teaching Ethics Again
It’s no longer enough to teach what will make a business successful. Highlighting new trends in our society, business schools are now adding a heavier dose of ethics. They study the well-known problems of Uber, Wells Fargo and the NFL, for example, and besides finance, marketing and economics, they are including behavioral psychology and discussing the responsibility of businesses. That is in part because Continue reading “Business Schools Teaching Ethics Again”
The Lack of Palliative Care
In many poor and middle income countries untold millions are in pain due to illnesses like cancer and are not able to receive needed relief. A chief reason is the opioid epidemic in the US. These countries are afraid that if the opioids needed to alleviate pain were made available more freely, that they too would end up with an epidemic. While the US has 31 times the amount of drugs it needs, the result of this fear and avoidance is that Haiti has about 0.2% of what it requires and Nigeria even Continue reading “The Lack of Palliative Care”
Google and Facebook–The Issue of Size
In the wake of the discovery that Russians bought ads on social media while trying to further divide the US electorate, several, including the authors of an article in The Guardian, find the description of companies as large as Google and Facebook by Louisiana senator John Kennedy very apt. During the senate hearing exploring the role these companies had in the Russian ads, Kennedy said that the corporations know too much about us and too little about themselves. The authors of the article quote him, “If the CEO came to you… and said I want to know everything about Senator Graham… You could do that, couldn’t you?” and Kennedy continued that on the other hand, “You don’t have the ability to know who every one of your advertisers is, do you?” Leaving aside other issues, and addressing their size, the article’s authors recommend that Continue reading “Google and Facebook–The Issue of Size”