bulldogg
Milforum's Bouncer
I will not go into a full on diatribe about this as I would like this conversation to develop naturally without too much framing by me. This is in short a condemnation on all forms of fraud that in light of current events is bothering me. To help I provide the following links...
http://www.lehmanbrown.com/Newsletters/PTO/LB3.html
http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-eastasia.asp?parentid=43933
http://www.danwei.org/intellectual_property/china_daily_plagiarizes_from_n.php
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10589085/
http://www.hackwriters.com/Teachingchina.htm
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/world/14161137.htm
There are more but this gives you a taste of what I am on about right now. There is also the case a lawyer friend from Australia is working on involving the head of a University that he is proving plagiarised his doctoral thesis.
The questions plaguing my mind are these...
Have we as a race in our self-centered pursuits of instant gratification discarded ethical behaviour?
Do the means always justify the end?
Is this specific to certain cultures or are some cultures simply better at hiding their dishonesty?
I find myself at another of life's junctures where you wonder, is it me or is it the world that is changing. I live and work in a country that if you read the articles you can begin to understand. I am neck deep in lies and no one denies it. The only one who seems uncomfortable with it all is me. I know this is not limited to the China but it is infinitely easier, if you bypass the internet censors, to find more stories of corruption, fraud, lying, cheating and stealing here than anywhere else.
Then of course it could also be my job where I am dealing on a daily basis with people smiling, buying me a beer and lying straight to my face without any compunction. Even when compelled with evidence to the contrary they will stick fast to their story. Its an amazing thing to witness. Agreeing to the validity of the evidence against them yet clinging to their story as though through sheer force of will one can rewrite the laws of the universe... but I shall digress.
What are your thoughts on this subject?
http://www.lehmanbrown.com/Newsletters/PTO/LB3.html
http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-eastasia.asp?parentid=43933
http://www.danwei.org/intellectual_property/china_daily_plagiarizes_from_n.php
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10589085/
http://www.hackwriters.com/Teachingchina.htm
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/world/14161137.htm
There are more but this gives you a taste of what I am on about right now. There is also the case a lawyer friend from Australia is working on involving the head of a University that he is proving plagiarised his doctoral thesis.
The questions plaguing my mind are these...
Have we as a race in our self-centered pursuits of instant gratification discarded ethical behaviour?
Do the means always justify the end?
Is this specific to certain cultures or are some cultures simply better at hiding their dishonesty?
I find myself at another of life's junctures where you wonder, is it me or is it the world that is changing. I live and work in a country that if you read the articles you can begin to understand. I am neck deep in lies and no one denies it. The only one who seems uncomfortable with it all is me. I know this is not limited to the China but it is infinitely easier, if you bypass the internet censors, to find more stories of corruption, fraud, lying, cheating and stealing here than anywhere else.
Then of course it could also be my job where I am dealing on a daily basis with people smiling, buying me a beer and lying straight to my face without any compunction. Even when compelled with evidence to the contrary they will stick fast to their story. Its an amazing thing to witness. Agreeing to the validity of the evidence against them yet clinging to their story as though through sheer force of will one can rewrite the laws of the universe... but I shall digress.
What are your thoughts on this subject?