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category archive listing Category Archives: politics

TEDTalks Barry Schwartz: The real crisis? We stopped being wise

February 19, 2009 – 3:30 pm

Here’s another winner from TEDTalks. This time Barry Schwartz dissects the inherent absurdity in building societies atop a foundation of bureaucracies that defy common logic.

This talk echoes some excellent commentary made by Russian Nobel Laureate  Alexander Solzhenitsyn in his 1978 speech at Harvard entitled A World Split Apart:

Legalistic Life
Western society has given itself the organization […]

By Steven Nishida | Also posted in community, human nature, perspective, philosophy, history, video, rants | Comments (0)

President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address

January 26, 2009 – 9:53 pm

Because this speech deserves another listen, and a long, close read…
 

FULL TRANSCRIPT: President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address
President Barack Obama Delivers Inaugural Address at US Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Jan. 20, 2009
Full transcript as prepared for delivery of President Barack Obama’s inaugural remarks on Jan. 20, 2009, at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
My fellow […]

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New York Times Op-Ed on Sarah Palin as VP candidate

October 5, 2008 – 10:51 pm

I could have written this myself…
(Authored by Bob Herbert of the New York Times)
The problem with Ms. Palin’s candidacy is that John McCain might actually win this election, and then if something terrible happened, the country could be left with little more than an exclamation point as president.
After Ms. Palin had woven one of […]

By Steven Nishida | Also posted in perspective, debate, human nature, community, rants | Comments (1)

Sarah Palin debate flow chart

October 4, 2008 – 9:24 pm

This is pretty much how I saw it too….

Let’s be clear: I don’t mind the Palin as a person, though I strongly disagree with her folksy view of the world. In any case, I don’t think she has any business running for the White House, however cute and spunky her speeches may be.
Technorati Tags: politics, […]

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Taking one for the team, permanently.

November 12, 2007 – 1:39 pm

(No comment necessary. Click image for more.)

Steve
Technorati Tags: politics, image, debate

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Grim Reality is a dish best served by an economist.

November 6, 2007 – 8:22 pm

Speaking of people who make a whole lot of sense while confronting the big, ugly issues…
Bjorn Lomborg, TED 2005

Technorati Tags: technology, rants, debate, economics, politics, perspective, health, philosophy, money, human_nature, environment

By Steven Nishida | Also posted in philosophy, human nature, perspective, debate, money, economics, rants, environment, health, technology | Comments (0)

Did You Know 2.0? (by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod)

October 21, 2007 – 2:39 pm

Here’s another thought-provoking video which touches on some of the same themes as my last post and the video contained therein.
Actually Did You Know 2.0 is an official update to the video entitled Shift Happens by Karl Fisch (author of The Fischbowl) and Scott McLeod (author of Dangerously Irrelevant). These guys are always hard at […]

By Steven Nishida | Also posted in community, language, teaching, parenting, perspective, autonomous learning, efl, education, web2.0, learning, blogging, media, economics, video, technology | Comments (0)

Defining Anti-Nationalism and Welcoming Americans to the World: Arundhati Roy’s “Come September” (2002)

October 15, 2007 – 5:51 am

I don’t want you to think like me….I just want you to think.
I almost didn’t post this, because it’s more politically charged than my usual fare, and might be perceived as slightly off topic. After lengthy consideration, however, I realized that I needed to clarify where all that anti-nationalism talk was coming from […]

By Steven Nishida | Also posted in human nature, parenting, perspective, debate, autonomous learning, baby, community, learning, video, history, teaching, rants | Comments (5)

Shortsighted Policies (AKA Reckless Planning)

October 2, 2007 – 4:48 am

Whatever you do, have a reason for doing it–and make sure it’s a good one. Trouble is, having good reasons to act is less than half the battle. You’ve got to convince yourself it’s worth it to change things up, and then you’ve got to follow through. And don’t ever forget this: you can talk […]

By Steven Nishida | Also posted in video, philosophy, community, perspective, media, religion, science, learning, rants | Comments (4)

In Silent Protest: ‘Bringing the War Home,’ from ‘Eyes Wide Open’

September 25, 2007 – 2:35 pm

You really should take a look at this exhibition honoring those who have lost their lives in Iraq. It is certainly quite powerful, even from a distance through a video.
And it seems that the exhibition has now grown too large for traveling, due the mounting number of casualties. Apparently, it’s physically unmanageable to cart around […]

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