Tag: Music

Anti-Defamation League Chickens Out!

On By southwerkIn Corporate Social Responsibility, corruption, Editorial

ADL Caves to Demands by Elon Musk and Prominent Rightwing Accounts

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/01/anti-defamation-league-removes-extremism-research

The Anti-Defamation League, one of the most prominent Jewish advocacy and anti-hate organizations in the US, removed over a thousand pages of extremism research from its site on Tuesday night following online backlash from rightwing influencers and Elon Musk.

The ADL’s now-deleted “glossary of extremism” contained over a thousand entries that gave background information on groups and ideologies connected to racist, antisemitic and otherwise hateful incidents. Its pages on neo-Nazi groups, militias and antisemitic conspiracies now redirect to the landing page for its extremism research.

Musk and prominent rightwing accounts on X had targeted the ADL in recent days over the glossary, which included an entry on slain far right activist Charlie Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA. Musk also attacked the group for its page on Christian Identity, responding to posts on X that falsely conflated that extremist movement with Christians as a whole. In reality, the term refers to a movement which believes in a racial holy war against Jews and other minorities.

Nick Robins-Early wrote this article for the Guardian.

(A vanishing species, an American with courage standing up for what he believes.)

Seeing this kind of cowardice and moral bankruptcy is painful.

This is a case of massive organizational failure. What are they supposed to be doing if not discouraging defamation? Should they change their name? How about “On Rare Occasions We Oppose Lies and Misleading Information?” I have to admit this isn’t very catchy. But since they gave up on that anti-defamation stuff, what’s left?

Since the rise of Donald Trump, we have seen more and more of this institutional cowardice and a complete lack of a moral and ethical backbone. Universities, Businesses, Law Firms and Media Companies rushing to pay money and give up their principles for a little safety and a little relief.

We see it again and again. The bully shows up, demands the lunch money, and he gets it. What happened to American courage and honor?

I really don’t get it. Wasn’t the ADL supposed to call out these people instead of cravenly surrendering?

How do they live without honor, decency or courage?

It must be a bleak existence to surrender up your basic principles in the face of the every people you were supposed to be keeping an eye on.

Every true American should be sickened by this pitiful display. What cowards!

James Alan Pilant

Friday Links (via A Thinking Reed)

On By southwerkIn business ethics

I love those blog entries that list little teasers connected to links. It’s a sort of internet buffet, a little of this and a little of that. This one has some fun teasers and interesting ideas.

James Pilant

–A challenge to libertarians on the coecivene power of private entities. –A.O. Scott on superhero movies as a Ponzi scheme. –Richard Beck of Experimental Theology on why he blogs. –A political typology quiz from the Pew Research Center. (I scored as a “solid libera.l” Although I’d take issue with the way some of the choices were presented.) –An end to “bad guys.” –Def Leppard’s Hysteria and the changing meaning of having a “number 1” album. … Read More

via A Thinking Reed

Music Helps Patients To Breathe!

On By southwerkIn ethics

A World of Music!
From BBC news –

Playing music to hospital patients on ventilators helps them to breathe more easily, findings show.

Experts at the Cochrane Library say music could be better than drugs to calm patients during forced ventilation.

In studies involving more than 200 intensive care patients, listening to music reduced anxiety and helped slow patients’ breathing rates.

More work is planned to determine if the type of music played is important.

One day, I asked my class how many of them would give up listening to music for their entire lives for a million dollars. I had no takers. Now, you might get a different result from a different classroom. Certainly that was unscientific.

However, I believe that music lengthens our lives, gives intensity to our emotions and enriches our thought. How to measure that drives me crazy. I ask music teachers why music is important. The principle result of this exercise is that music teachers avoid me.

I am biased. My utterly huge You-Tube collection of music is testament to my focus and my willingness to spend hours looking for a song a solid indicator of the importance of music in my life. (Hunting down Wadsworth Mansion’s song Sweet Mary was that last one I’ve worked on.)

A lot of the music I listen to is bad music. It’s garage band stuff from the mid sixties and early seventies. But it helps me remember when I was young and everything was possible.

Currently I listen to Aqua and BWO (Bodies Without Organs) as well as my old stuff. I told my class I didn’t want the my musical taste to end with The Loving Spoonful’s “Do you Believe in Magic.”

Maybe you’ve seen a study I haven’t. Don’t send the one where babies in the womb benefit from classical music. I tried to explain this to an overseas reader with little success, and now that I think about it, it’s just not that convincing.

But if you know something about the benefits of music I don’t, charge in here. Write huge comments. I’ll publish them. Let me know what this stuff is all about.

Why is it important to me that I listen to two or three songs in the morning before I go to work? Why do I feel like I did so long ago when a once familiar song is played? Why does any of this work, drums, guitar, etc. Why do they affect people?

If you can, tell me.

James Pilant