"Peace in Our Time?" Maybe Not

With all of the prophecy pundits speculating about the doings of Vlad Putin, "Blood Moons," and Israel's deteriorating relationship with Syria, Iran, and the Palestinians, it might be helpful to consider these matters from the well-informed, critical stance of a seasoned diplomat.  Does the return of geopolitics and the failure of liberal pluralism mean that the threat of regional wars is a real and present danger?  Might that tenuous "peace in our time" actually be facilitating war in the near future?  This author raises the possibility and discusses why (h.t. Rod Rosenbladt).  Click Here

On a far less ominous note (albeit, still a serious one), I thought Kareem Abdul-Jabbar raised several very salient points regarding the Donald Sterling/Clippers fiasco.  Granted, racism is sinful, and as Kareem and many others have now pointed out, institutional racism is a far deeper problem than the recent thoughts of a misogynistic, pathetic, old man like Donald Sterling.  But Kareem also addresses the troubling precedent arising from the taping of private conversations which are then used to destroy someone's public life--and few seem to care.  No doubt, the dangers of allowing private rants to become public are ignored, in this case, because everyone in the NBA wants the worst owner in the history of pro sports kicked out the league--white owners as well as black players.  Sterling is a racist and inept as an owner, and both the players and other owners hate dealing with him.  The greater good, right?  Abdul-Jabbar on Donald Sterling

I knew it.  Meat-eaters live longer!  I love my Nutri-Bullet.  But for dinner, I always strive to eat something which had parents.  Meat-eaters live longer

Comments

[reg]

If you read the comments following the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar article it becomes very clear how many sick, hate-filled individuals are out there.

[pb]

How far do we have to go from the Sterling scenario to the point where private conversations opposing same-sex "marriage" are recorded and leaked (legally or illegally) resulting in public shaming or even more, governmental action for "hate speech"? Old law school saying "hard cases make bad law". Just because Sterling is pitiful and vile the larger privacy implications go silent.

[George]

Pb - this very same issue is one that I've wondered about ever since the last national election. Clearly, the comment that Romney made about "45% or so of the population who don't pay taxes vote Democratic" that was recorded and leaked to the media (without his knowledge) worked heavily against him. Was that remark of his made during a private conversation? It certainly appeared that way. Yet, I don't recall ever hearing any outrage against the clandestine taping and privacy issues.

I'm not defending Sterling or his comments in any way, but one does have to question privacy issues these days …

[JPC]

Going a little further than Kareem, I am amazed how we overlook the more egregious sin of adultery. I'm ashamed to say that initially I was more caught up in the sin of racism than that of a married man sitting across court from his wife with his mistress. This incident reminds me of John the Baptist who lost his head not for calling our Herod on his hatred of Jews, but his improper behavior toward Phillip and his wife.

[armk]

Great point, JPC.

The privacy concerns mentioned are important but secondary to the breakdown of marriage in our culture and the pitchforks-and-torches tar-and-feathers slippery slope from CEO's being forced to resign for their views on traditional marriage and major sports and political writers now wondering out loud why other pro sports team owners with those same views are "still allowed" to own teams:
see http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Sports/2014/05/01/Sterling-Slippery-Slope