Felix Unger Quotes

Craig Unger, a former editor for both the New York Observer and Boston Magazine, argues in his book House of Trump, House of Putin that, based on his own research and additional investigation by a former federal prosecutor, Trump was, through Felix Sater’s Bayrock Group, “indirectly providing Putin with a regular flow of intelligence on what the [Russian] oligarchs were doing with their money in the United States.

Ikeda:  Freedom of speech and expression is absolutely indispensable to the building of a culture of peace and tolerance. Many people, however, question the purpose of such freedom when its name is used by the mass media to threaten human rights through licence and irresponsible commercialism. The tendency to complain about this seems to justify authorities’ attempts to restrict freedom. In other words, the media themselves endanger the foundations of liberty.

Ikeda:  Freedom of expression is the basis of liberty and democracy. Though the extent to which nations and communities allow for freedom of expression varies with cultural conditions, restrictions on it should be minimized. Maintaining a balance between freedom of expression and limiting expressions of violence, hatred and discrimination requires a holistic and positive approach, including both the legal system, self-regulation and education. Education is fundamental because it elevates the standards of both those who transmit and those who receive media information. In more concrete terms, media literacy – the ability to discriminate, evaluate, and apply media information – must be thoroughly improved. Education that achieves these ends in the home, the school and the community endows the general public with the autonomy to use and criticize the media independently. This is the best way to improve the media. Education should encourage people to regard the media in the spirit of critical, independent dialogue, thus preparing the ground for a culture of tolerance and peace.

Ikeda:  The well-rounded human being has a caring eye for the conditions of other people and is capable of self-regulation. Such a person never tries to build their own happiness on others’ unhappiness