Googling Google

"Don't be Evil." If Googled Google's Code of Ethics, this would be the first thing you would read. In Business Management, we have just concluded our Ethics unit. We looked up the Codes of Ethics of many companies - from Enron to Nike to Google. I have heard about some new policies that may take place between Google and China recently and came back to the subject today. In China, there is censorship on some pornographic and political content on Google.cn. Google has recently found that they are disagreeing with the policies they once upheld regarding censorship, and want to discontinue their services in China, even though it would mean a great loss in profits. China still wants to regulate what viewers will see, but advertisers are fearing for a great loss in profits. So, both sides of the conflict have been waiting impatiently since January.

Google goes on to say in their Code of Ethics,

"Yes, it's about providing our users unbiased access to information, focusing on their needs and giving them the best products and services that we can. But it's also about doing the right thing more generally -- following the law, acting honorably and treating each other with respect."

Is this an advertisement or this the truth? Would Daniel J. Boorstin call this good advertising and news? Would leaving be Google's very own Declaration of Independence? Is this a move that will bring profit despite the great losses because people love to support the Freedom of Speech and Anti-Communist ideas?

What do you think Google will do? Consider its past and the way it treats their employees (they have a dog policy in that code, I love it).

Sudan Sham 2010

Today is Illinois' day during the Sudan Sham 2010. The main goal of this campaign is to get all 50 states to address their politicians and President about the upcoming elections in Sudan. Along with the fact that Obama did not mention Darfur in his State of the Union Address, according to this article from the Washington Post, "The U.S. special envoy to Sudan warned Wednesday that efforts to bring peace to the country's troubled Darfur region could become less of a priority for the Obama administration if a full-fledged peace agreement is not reached before Sudanese elections scheduled for mid-April."

These elections are very hopeful as years have passed without one with more than one party, and there is a possibility that South Sudan can secede from the state, but the U.S. is not being wary enough. Millions of our taxpayer dollars are spent on elections that may not be fair, and there was a tentative peace agreement put in place in February that has not prevented violence from occurring in Darfur.

Some states have not even signed on to the campaign, so it is very important that everyone from Illinois participates in its actions.

Here are our actions:

Text Secretary Clinton at 90822:
“Stop support of Sudan Sham elections! Work for the peace, protection and justice the civilians deserve.”


Call Senator Durbin at (202) 224-2152:
“I urge you to stop support of Sudan Sham elections this April and instead focus your attention on working for FAIR and FREE elections in Darfur.”


Call the White House at (202) 456-1111:
"This April, Sudan will hold its first elections in 24 years, yet its current political conditions prevent free and fair elections from taking place. With violence and human rights violations escalating in Sudan, unlawful elections will force the country even farther from peace. We cannot allow our government to support these elections and legitimize a corrupt government."


Sign online petition at: www.sudansham2010.org.

How legitimate is an indicted war criminal, after he steals an election?

Sophomore Sports Cut at CPS

Today in Business Management I found out that only freshman and varsity teams at CPS would be able to begin practice today, and that all sophomore spring sports would be cut. I have not an athletic bone in my body but I've found myself very shaken up by this. We have recently discussed in class the importance of art programs, and how in times of economic crisis, they are usually the first to go. But sports?! For thousands of athletes? Hundreds of schools and thousands of students and employees make up the Chicago Public Schools district. If cutting Art programs is unthinkable to us at New Trier, how are thousands of talented athletes supposed to deal with finding out that they don't have practice after finding out they made the team moments earlier?

The article above states that superintendents have been abusing the state's pension system. I guess the reason why I cared so much is because there is no way New Trier would have any of this, and in reality, CPS students are not very different from us. Test scores, graduation rates, and athletics are also very high and competitive. Unfortunately, however, CPS is in a multi-million dollar deficit, and we were discussing a possible multi-million dollar referendum in weeks past. Several times this year we have discussed Illinois' policy on school funding; income property taxes determine how much money a school gets. It was hard for me to decide whether or not this was fair at first. Now, I'm even more confident that there is no possible way that it is.

Kids living so near us, especially those that depend on scholarships based off of sports in high school, should not suffer while we sit here and refuse to give to them a second thought. In complete honesty, I do not know how well Mayor Daley has taken care of CPS in the past, but I believe that more money should be spent on education.

How would you react if this happened to you? Is this even fathomable in an upper class area such as the North Shore? I came home and told my dad "We should do something." Is there anything we can do - who has to step up and take care of this? Do we truly "have a moral obligation to help people less fortunate than ourselves" (think back to the opinionnaire)?