Slashdot Mirror

"So I gather from the description of your examplee, the business graduate is acting in an immoral manner because he is attempting to waste both his future income potential and that of his target."

Actually the decathalon was to determine a winner who would then take over the rights of CEO.

The business man was competing against the son of the current owner of the business.

So using your corporate moral basis, this WAS the "moral" choice as he would ensure his place in the corporate struture while at the same time eliminating any competition.

But of course in the real world (where most of us live) this has real consequences as it would kill another human being and affect the lives who centered around that person.

The comparision i see in the corporate world is quite striking as often times the good of the company is put far beyond the good of anyone else who is effected by the corporation (dow chemical's response in bhopal http://www.dowethics.com/bhopal.com/ immediately springs to mind) because doing the "right" thing (in common moral practices) would hurt the bottom line of the corporation.

[Dow purchased Union Carbide after Union Carbide killed tens of thousands of Indian people when a chemical plant in Bhopal released methyl isocyanate]

ivan256 asks: What would you have prefered to happen? Somebody has to end up owning that mess.

Um, no. The above quotations are from DOW Ethics.com, which is obviously one of the parody sites.

I say obviously, because I do not for one hot second think that anyone here can or should defend DOW Chemical in this matter. Yes, The Onion is an obvious parody, but not because of the disclaimers or the site design, but because of the content. And don't pull out your tired and elitist "Joe Average" arguments, because Joe Average is probably not surfing the DOW chemical websites anyway. Those sites are for investors and business types and if they aren't smart enough to tell when they are being had, well, fuck 'em.

These are very strange times we live in today, and strange times call for strange measures. Yes, the parody people took some extreme steps (ripping off corporate design, registering similar domain names) but that's what it might take to get attention. And it certainly did get some attention, now didn't it? How many of you would even be thinking about the policies and procedures of DOW chemicals today if it weren't for this story? Probably three of you. Certainly not me, I'm nursing a headache from lack of sleep.

The entire dowethics.com website is a parody. The submitter of the slashdot story itself says that he got taken in by it. Obviously you did, too.

Yet according to Dow's press release, Corporate Freedom of Speech is one of our most precious Freedoms.

Obviously it's one of those freedoms that nobody except Dow talks about. (In fact, many of the google links are about Dow.)

Of course, the troubling part is that obviously it's more important than `generic' Freedom of Speech. At least according to Dow.

Their press release alone reads like a parody. I really hope it is. And if it's not, I hope they get spanked hard for it.

http://www.dowethics.com/r/Homepage/index.html

Did you know?
Dow is responsible for the birth of the modern environmental movement. In 1962, Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring about the side-effects of a Dow product, DDT, on North American bird populations. Her work created a groundswell of concern, sparking the birth of many of today's environmental action groups. Another example of Dow's commitment to Living. Improved daily.

From the Site http://www.dowethics.com/r/environment/freedom.htm l

Corporate Freedom of Speech is one of our most precious Freedoms

Now granted I didn't see the site (mirror anyone?) but what about Personal free speech? In this day and age of governemnt where there doesn't seem to be much for freedoms unless you invest a couple hundred thousand in your favorite politicians wallet. Why does DOW get free speech and they can threaten someone for exercising thiers?

Was the company on Thing.net causing them harm, cutting into thier billions of dollars of profits for the year?

From Dow's press release (at http://www.dowethics.com/r/environment/freedom.htm l)
Wow. dowethics. Given the circumstances, wouldn't that be an oxymoron?


"The provider, Verio, graciously complied with our letter citing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Not only did they shut down Dow-Chemical.com, but as a good corporate citizen, they agreed to shut down an entire network (Thing.net) of websites many of which, while unrelated to dow-chemical.com, appear to serve no commercial purpose, being dedicated to the unproductive analysis and critique of society and corporate behaviour.

We applaud the courage of Verio in taking this act, as it sends a strong signal to the "artists, activists," and other blatantly non-commercial users of Thing.net. That message can be stated simply: Corporate America will defend its right to Free Speech on the internet rigorously. Verio ensured that this message was understood by giving Thing.net a 60-day eviction notice following the network's restoration to the internet. This is the kind of justice which Dow can afford, and which we hope will become a model for the future of the internet."

So, apparently DOW now would like to think of themselves as net critics and that since Thing.net is hosting sites that "serve no commercial purpose, being dedicated to the unproductive analysis and critique of society and corporate behaviour" then everything's ok and we should all just grab out ankles now..

"Corporate America will defend its right to Free Speech on the internet rigorously." Oh, ok. Since those using Thing.Net aren't a corporation with a bunch of high-priced lawyers they don't get to use free speech? Thanks a lot, assholes.

This is the kind of justice which Dow can afford, and which we hope will become a model for the future of the internet." Translations: We sikked our hybrid lawyer-dogs on Verio and they put out quicker than a Freshman cheerleader at the Senior prom. We 0wnz them now. We will 0wnz j00 too.

Oh yeah, I got first post.