Inside Facebook's 'cult-like' workplace, where dissent is discouraged and employees pretend to be happy all the time; CNBC, January 8, 2019

Salvador Rodriguez, CNBC; Inside Facebook's 'cult-like' workplace, where dissent is discouraged and employees pretend to be happy all the time

"Former employees describe a top-down approach where major decisions are made by the company's leadership, and employees are discouraged from voicing dissent — in direct contradiction to one of Sandberg's mantras, "authentic self."...

"All the things we were preaching, we weren't doing enough of them. We weren't having enough hard conversations. They need to realize that. They need to reflect and ask if they're having hard conversations or just being echo chambers of themselves.""

Ethics Webinar: When an Attorney or Expert Screws Up; American Bar Association (ABA), Thursday, January 24, 2019

AMBAR.ORG     |      CAREER CENTER     |      MEMBERSHIP     |      CALENDAR     |      CLE     |   PUBLISHING

Oops: What To Do When an Attorney or Expert Screws Up Webinar | January 24, 2019 1:00 PM — 2:00 PM ET 1.00 Ethics/Professionalism CLE Credit   LEARN MORE

This program will address the ethical rules governing attorneys when they make a mistake or discover that someone else has made a mistake. The program also provides:

Practical tips for identifying mistakes Strategies for addressing mistakes with clients Practical solutions for resolving mistakes and avoiding malpractice claims Adverse consequences of not addressing mistakes early Practical tips to comply with ethical obligations and avoid malpractice claims Sponsor(s): Section of Litigation; Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division; Senior Lawyers Division; Young Lawyers Division; Standing Committee on Paralegals; ABACLE Panelist(s): David Benkert (Ankura Consulting, Inc); Latoyia Watkins Pierce (AXA); Michael Leboff (Partner, Klein & Wilson); and Selena E. Molina (Associate, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP) (Moderator)

Ethics and Guidelines at Vox.com; Vox, December 7, 2018

Vox Staff, Vox; Ethics and Guidelines at Vox.com

"As a part of Vox Media, Vox.com adheres to the Vox Media Editorial Ethics & Guidelines and to the following:

Vox has evolved and will continue to evolve as it builds a portfolio of modern editorial networks and partners across multiple mediums driving the future of journalism and entertainment. However, our commitment to the core values of integrity and passion will never change.

We believe in working with talented people, the judgment of our staff, and the transcendent importance of serving the interests of our audiences. Through the Vox Media editorial guidelines we aim to give our teams clear guidance about what to avoid and the public knowledge of what to expect. Simultaneously, we recognize the impossibility of reducing the complexity of real life to a simple checklist or rulebook and encourage conversation and dialogue with colleagues and supervisors about concrete situations as superior to trying to craft an ethics policy that would address every conceivable dilemma.

As the needs of our newsrooms and audiences change, our guidelines will adapt in kind to ensure that Vox Media’s work is always deserving of our audiences’ trust."

Farting unicorn row: artist reaches settlement with Elon Musk; The Guardian, July 21, 2018

Damien Gayle, The Guardian; Farting unicorn row: artist reaches settlement with Elon Musk

"A Colorado artist says he has reached a settlement with Elon Musk after challenging the Tesla tycoon’s use of a farting unicorn motif that he had drawn as an ironic tribute to electric cars.

Musk used the cartoon image on Twitter, without attribution, to promote his Tesla electric car range, and ignored Tom Edwards’ attempts to come to a licensing arrangement, telling the artist’s daughter it would be “kinda lame” to sue."

This sad, embarrassing wreck of a man; The Washington Post, July 17, 2018

George F. Will, The Washington Post; This sad, embarrassing wreck of a man

"Americans elected a president who — this is a safe surmise — knew that he had more to fear from making his tax returns public than from keeping them secret. The most innocent inference is that for decades he has depended on an American weakness, susceptibility to the tacky charisma of wealth, which would evaporate when his tax returns revealed that he has always lied about his wealth, too. A more ominous explanation might be that his redundantly demonstrated incompetence as a businessman tumbled him into unsavory financial dependencies on Russians. A still more sinister explanation might be that the Russians have something else, something worse, to keep him compliant.

The explanation is in doubt; what needs to be explained — his compliance — is not. Granted, Trump has a weak man’s banal fascination with strong men whose disdain for him is evidently unimaginable to him. And, yes, he only perfunctorily pretends to have priorities beyond personal aggrandizement. But just as astronomers inferred, from anomalies in the orbits of the planet Uranus, the existence of Neptune before actually seeing it, Mueller might infer, and then find, still-hidden sources of the behavior of this sad, embarrassing wreck of a man."

Elon Musk drawn into farting unicorn dispute with potter; The Guardian, June 27, 2018

[Kip Currier: Given the facts as presented in this article (and knowing that the U.S. only recognizes "moral rights" vis-a-vis the very narrow Visual Artists Right Act [VARA]), is there anyone who still doesn't think that at the very least the "decent" thing to do would have been for Elon Musk/Tesla to provide attribution (let alone some kind of compensation) when repeatedly using Tom Edwards' image? Imagine if the situation were reversed and someone was using Elon Musk's "original expressions" without attribution.]

"Edwards said he wanted to speak out in part because he often hears similar stories from artists. “I realize my farting unicorn is not as serious as whistleblowers,” he said, “but honestly, it’s all about integrity.”

He added: “I’d really like to get on Elon Musk’s good side … He’s really really interesting. But he isn’t above copyright law.""

China Issues Rules to Get Tough on Academic Integrity; Reuters, May 30, 2018

Reuters via New York Times; China Issues Rules to Get Tough on Academic Integrity

"China has issued new guidelines to enforce academic integrity in science that include plans to "record and assess" the conduct of scientists and institutions and punish anyone guilty of misconduct, state news agency Xinhua reported.

The guidelines, released on Wednesday by the ruling Communist Party and the State Council, or cabinet, prohibit plagiarism, fabrication of data and research conclusions, ghost-writing and peer review manipulation, according to Xinhua."

Here are the internal Facebook posts of employees discussing today’s leaked memo; The Verge, March 30, 2018

Casey Newton, The Verge; Here are the internal Facebook posts of employees discussing today’s leaked memo

"The publication of a June 2016 memo describing the consequences of Facebook’s growth-at-all-costs triggered an emotional conversation at the company today. An internal post reacting to the memo found employees angry and heartbroken that their teammates were sharing internal company discussions with the media. Many called on the company to step up its war on leakers and hire employees with more “integrity.”...

Nearly 3,000 employees had reacted to Bosworth’s memo when The Verge viewed it, responding with a mixture of likes, “sad,” and and “angry” reactions."

Croatia’s top judge sues national ethics panel after it finds him guilty of plagiarism; Science, February 22, 2018

Mićo Tatalović, Science; Croatia’s top judge sues national ethics panel after it finds him guilty of plagiarism

"One of Croatia’s top judges is hitting back at the country’s national research ethics panel after having been found guilty of plagiarism. Miroslav Šeparović, president of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia, announced last week that he has filed criminal complaints against all five members of the Committee on Ethics in Science and Higher Education (CESHE), after it concluded that Šeparović’s 2013 doctoral thesis about children’s rights in EU and Croatian law contained repeated instances of “incomplete and opaque citations” of other people’s work.

Šeparović confirmed to Science that he is suing the CESHE members—as a private citizen, not in his capacity of a judge—for misusing their positions and overstepping their jurisdiction, which his own court limited last year. “I am not happy for having to sue, but I have had no alternative,” says Šeparović, who says he seeks to “protect my right to honor and reputation.” Šeparović says he filed the charges on 28 November 2017, days after CESHE ruled against him, and decided to make them public last week after the committee’s unpublished report leaked to the press. Šeparović’s legal team has also called on the CESHE members to resign immediately."

Whatever Trump Is Hiding Is Hurting All of Us Now; New York Times, February 18, 2018

Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times; Whatever Trump Is Hiding Is Hurting All of Us Now

"Putin used cyberwarfare to poison American politics, to spread fake news, to help elect a chaos candidate, all in order to weaken our democracy. We should be using our cyber-capabilities to spread the truth about Putin —just how much money he has stolen, just how many lies he has spread, just how many rivals he has jailed or made disappear — all to weaken his autocracy. That is what a real president would be doing right now.

My guess is what Trump is hiding has to do with money. It’s something about his financial ties to business elites tied to the Kremlin. They may own a big stake in him. Who can forget that quote from his son Donald Trump Jr. from back in 2008: “Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross section of a lot of our assets.” They may own our president.

But whatever it is, Trump is either trying so hard to hide it or is so naïve about Russia that he is ready to not only resist mounting a proper defense of our democracy, he’s actually ready to undermine some of our most important institutions, the F.B.I. and Justice Department, to keep his compromised status hidden.

That must not be tolerated. This is code red. The biggest threat to the integrity of our democracy today is in the Oval Office."

It’s Time to End the Scam of Flying Pets; New York Times, February 4, 2018

David Leonhardt, New York Times; It’s Time to End the Scam of Flying Pets

"The whole bizarre situation is a reminder of why trust matters so much to a well-functioning society. The best solution, of course, would be based not on some Transportation Department regulation but on simple trust. People who really needed service animals could then bring on them planes without having to carry documents.

Maybe a trust-based system will return at some point. But it won’t return automatically. When trust breaks down and small bits of dishonesty become normal, people need to make a conscious effort to restore basic decency."

EDITORIALLY SPEAKING: Ethics code should steer conduct; Muskogee Phoenix, August 9, 2017

Muskogee Phoenix Editorial Board; EDITORIALLY SPEAKING: Ethics code should steer conduct

"The document requires everyone to sign a confidentiality agreement before entering an executive session. Anyone who refuses to sign the agreement will not be allowed into the meeting.

We would hope that anyone who is elected to public office would have the integrity and character to understand that what happens in executive session must stay in executive session. That is, after all, the entire point of an executive session.

We would hope anyone elected to public office would not need a piece of paper to ensure ethical conduct."

The moving target of ethics; Idaho State Journal, July 17, 2017

Jeff Hough, Idaho State Journal; The moving target of ethics

"An easy way to determine ethical behavior is to ask, “Who benefits?” If actions benefit an individual more than the whole, the behavior is unethical. It is unethical regardless of viewpoint because the behavior is selfish. Unselfish behavior is rarely unethical.

The essential part of ethics is to maintain your integrity and act accordingly as situations change. As a person grows and matures, perspectives can and should change. That is part of the growth process. Yet, in the end, the question of does this specific end justify this specific means holds true. That is what ethics is all about."

Surprise Us, Mr. Trump: Name an Ethics Watchdog With Teeth; New York Times, July 7, 2017

Editorial Board, New York Times; Surprise Us, Mr. Trump: Name an Ethics Watchdog With Teeth

"Walter Shaub Jr. announced his resignation as director of the Office of Government Ethics on Thursday, plunging the federal government’s top ethics watchdog agency into limbo. President Trump now has the chance to appoint an accommodating loyalist who’d give him far less trouble than Mr. Shaub has. Or he could surprise us, and name another independent director committed to the ethical rules of public service. The president’s past behavior doesn’t offer much hope, but it would be in his long-term interest to choose a director with integrity.

The 70-person O.G.E. works with some 4,500 executive branch ethics officials whose goal is preventing conflicts of interest among 2.5 million civilian federal employees. The energy, commitment and character of the person at the top is crucial to the office’s success, not least because it has no real enforcement power. Its influence derives from a mix of financial disclosure rules, public pressure and, ideally, White House support for its mission of ensuring that civil servants act on the behalf of Americans, not themselves."

Comey’s testimony changed everything — and not in Trump’s favor; Washington Post, June 9, 2017

Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post; Comey’s testimony changed everything — and not in Trump’s favor

"Before Comey, Republicans and Democrats had many bones to pick with Comey. After Comey, both sides avoid questioning his integrity. Republicans carped about his refusal to rebuke the president in the Oval Office (for a group that has never seriously confronted Trump on much of anything, this is rich). They made hay out of — gasp!– a leak of unclassified materials after Comey was fired. Not once, however, did any senator say he disbelieved Comey’s account or try to shake his recollection. Aspects of Comey’s factual account can be supported now by others, which will further bolster his own credibility and diminish Trump’s. Comey may be prickly, overly concerned with his own reputation and even a little schoolmarmish, but few will argue that he is a liar."

LeBron may or may not be a better player than Jordan, but he's a better man; Guardian, June 1, 2017

Damon Young, Guardian; LeBron may or may not be a better player than Jordan, but he's a better man

"Anyway, while the debate about their games and their talents and their respective grades of greatness remains relevant, there’s no argument that the 32-year-old LeBron far surpasses both the 32-year-old Jordan and today’s 54-year-old Jordan in integrity and bravery. And not the contrived, SkipBaylian artificial measure of character that bases and assesses a man’s testicular fortitude on his LinkedIn profile and whether he possesses an arbitrary “clutch gene,” but real actual character."

The Coat of Arms Said ‘Integrity.’ Now It Says ‘Trump.’; New York Times, May 28, 2017

Danny Hakim, New York Times; 

The Coat of Arms Said ‘Integrity.’ Now It Says ‘Trump.’

“In the United States, the Trump Organization took Mr. Davies’s coat of arms for its own, making one small adjustment — replacing the word “Integritas,” Latin for integrity, with “Trump.”

Joseph D. Tydings, a Democrat and former United States senator from Maryland who is the grandson of Mr. Davies, learned that Mr. Trump was using the emblem, at least at Mar-a-Lago, when he visited the property. Mr. Trump had never asked permission...

The organization has trademarked the Davies coat of arms in the United States, which has far less attachment to such symbols. It is used on the company’s website and is a prominent branding detail of Mr. Trump’s many American golf courses and resorts — emblazoned on golf balls, shirts and bottles of body lotion.

When the Trump Organization created a Civil War memorial at the golf course near Washington commemorating a battle and a “river of blood” that never occurred, a plaque marking the fictitious event was embossed with the coat of arms."

"Modern Life"; Bizarro, May 19, 2017

Dan Piraro, Bizarro; "Modern Life"

Why Don’t Supreme Court Justices Have an Ethics Code?; NBC News, April 11, 2017

Rich Gardella, NBC News; 

Why Don’t Supreme Court Justices Have an Ethics Code?

""When we do a Supreme Court justice, we want to know about their background in the law and everything that they know," said U.S. Representative Louise Slaughter of New York, an 87-year-old Democrat. "Nobody ever asks them, 'Are you an honest person?'"

Slaughter has been waging a long battle to pass a bill that she says would make the justices more transparent about and accountable for conduct outside the Court.

"The one thing that we take for granted, and give them the benefit of the doubt," said Slaughter, "is that they're not going to do anything that they would not have done as a federal judge."

Slaughter has been sponsoring legislation since 2013 that would require the nation's highest Court to create and follow a code of ethics.

Her bill is called "The Supreme Court Ethics Act." Last Wednesday, she reintroduced it for the third time.

All other federal judges are subject to a published official "Code of Conduct for United States Judges," which applies to all employees of the Judicial Branch's Administrative Office of the United States Courts. The code includes specific rules about ethics, integrity and even appearances of impropriety relating to outside business and political activities and the acceptance of gifts."

"Counting on Nobody "Fact-Checking" It"; Blondie, March 27, 2017

Blondie; "Counting on Nobody "Fact-Checking" It"