Iran and nuclear threats...

Loved hearing this commentor talking to a guest re: attacking Iran as they may have nuclear weapons. Where did we hear this before? What logic is used to want to strike another country? Why are some nuclear states ok'd to have nuclear weapons and others not? Find the commentary here...very interesting arguments.

This picture...indeed worth a thousand words!!!

They say a picture tells the story. What's this one say and what are the implications when it comes to the political scene?

Court rules that corporations can donate like individuals to campaigns...

It has always been a mystery to me that we have tared the political landscape with money in what is supposed to be a unbiased process. This is an example of what a supreme court has decided to our south but what do we know already...what happens to the south, often happens up here...beware!

To argue that corporations or other groups like unions should be able to contribute whatever they like to political compaigns is I believe risking being on the illiberal edge of politics...here's the short video to start you off.

Hey...eat your veggies folks...so grab a slice of pizza...

Incredible that at it takes is to have a lobby group pressure congress and all of a sudden...a new food is declared to be a veggie and so good for you. Hey, I love pizza but if I tried to tell you that eating a lot of it was healthy for you I'd be a laughing stock but not anymore, take a look here, then go grab a slice.

Topics that link in this short video...propaganda, lobby groups, democratic decision making and ???

Hey let's pepper spray grandma...should be good for a laugh hahaha....

Some people have no shame! The home of the brave and the free is pepper spraying grandma...this made me sick to hear about and my anger is growning. Are the actions of Seattles 'finest' liberal or illiberal? I wonder what freedom of expression and association really means...view it here, would love to hear your thoughts.

Right to Work Laws...modern or classical liberal policy?

What is the Right to Work legislation designed to do? After view this clip ask yourself it is a classic or modern liberal tactic. There is little doubt in my what the answer is but how about yours? Looking forward to your response.

Torture: some Presidential hopefuls agree with it..

It is beyond my imagination that after outlawing torture (see United Nations declaration here) that some GOP candidates for President agree with it...view the short video here. I wonder what some of our studied political thinkers would think about this method of military tactics?

Keystone Project on hold...should it be scrapped????

Our Premier Alsion Redford is down in Washington (and New York) lobbying for the Keystone pipleline to be built. I'm not sure this is the wisest thing to do yet it would bring in money just the same. Is it worth it? Are there alternatives? Who is allowed to make suggestions about this project? Read the short article here.

JM Keynes vs F. Hayek...no contest ???

This article describe some of the differences between the two. After reading it, let me know who makes the stronger argument and why. The article can be found here.

Occupy Rap Story...interesting

Outing the ringers is the theme. Who are the 'ringers' according to the rap, great 4 minute video, so much in it. Take a look and hear and let me know what you think.

Oakland Occupy Police Action

As requested I'm posting the video we watched re: the Oakland storming of the police upon the Occupy Protest. Here it is.

Naomi Wolf arrested at Occupy Rally...

Ms. Wolf is an author who writes on progressive themes (Give me Liberty is her latest book) who questions the kind of power governments have to prevent voices of dissent. We are told we have 'freedom/liberty' but what does it look like? Here's two sources, one a short interview with Keith O. of current tv. The other source is from the Guardian in the U.K. In the Guardian, both a short article and video is available.

Inspirational Video

This was sent to me by a student (Amber ty) and I thought it more than worthy of blogging. Take a look, so much in it, how does it connect to social and you? Love to hear your responses. The video can be found here.

More on the Occupy Movement

I enjoyed this video as a former Olympic champion and activist spoke about his perspectives on the Occupy movement. What do you think of his notions/idea's? What does he mean by the 'oppressors' when it comes to people taking action? Finally, does he present and pessimistic or optimistic point of view? The short video can be found here.

Incredible story that may be worthwhile to follow....

As I was deciding to turn off the computer having read/viewed some 50 or so stories for blogging purposes I came across this one. It is a fine example of how society is stuck when corporate influence dictates how things are run. This is a better political blog rather than economic but it contains elements of both. Short article follow by a 10 minutes video can be found here, let me know what you think. Ty

Climate change is down to us - the 99%

In a passionate plea for change this article brings compelling arguments to act on climate change. However, the consequences on our economy and the economy in generally will be gravely effected. The question is, is it worth the 'cost'? Take a read here. If interested on more about climate change, visit this link for more and evidence of climate change.

Anitwar protest part of the Occupy Movement

Very short video on the personal effects of the economic downturn to the 99% of Americans. Is their rant against the war machine fair? Other issues you see? Love to hear from you and here's the video.

Ok, how about some Occupy Movement humor???

I love the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, his take on the movement, or rather discussion on it. If you have to search for the show, it is the Oct. 5th show. If the link works directly, you can find it here.

What? Alberta's new Premier is a woman...anything is possible!!!!

Simply incredible show of courage and determination from Ms. Redford to win the conservative party leadership, thus making her Premier. For news on this, click here. I know some of you who blogged me, wished her to win so would love to hear follow up comments, especially on her policies.

Wall Street Protest

What's happening on Wall Street, why is it happening. This short video should provide some insight, take a peek here.

How do these nutballs even get on TV...

Halloween is 'Statan's Night'...excuse meeeeeeee I had no idea. Time to tell my son the party is OVER!!! He's going to be pissed at me, hey I heard it on the internet so it MUST be true right?

A rant about a new movement, what's it saying...

When I saw this I went, yahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my kind of RANT! Listen to the points it is trying to argue for, would you be on side or against it? Give me a sense of what you think of this.

Ms. Warren on debt and taxes....

This Elizabeth Warren is quite educated and involved in political and economic issues. The article and short video is trying to make a point against classical liberal thought. Can you speak to what she is saying from an economic perspective? More to follow, let me know your thoughts.

Global Zero

This link takes you to Global Zero's website full of information on nuclear weapons. Having been a peace activist for the past 20 years, I thought I would share it with you. If you, like I, share in it's beliefs you can sign the petition as I have. For on on nuclear issues ask me in class and if you want to blog about questions posed, please feel free to do so. Another link worth checking out is Countdown to Zero which features a film about nuclear issues.

What can be questioned in the news media???

This six minute clip features Keith Olbermann of Current TV discussing the shooting of Osama BinLaden the response 'liberal' journalist had to face. Micheal Moore and Keith themselves were under a barrage of criticism for questioning tactics and need to assassinate Bin Laden as was done. Given your study on individualism and liberalism, what do you make of this video? Is media allowed to be varied in points of view expressed or is there the 'right' (excuse the pun) to express things?

assignment

issue:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n_9u7oaoM8

this may be the cause ---->http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/30/louisiana-oil-spill-2010_n_558287.html#s172644&title=Gulf_Oil_Spill

I believe that this event is certainly a huge issue because it will affect our environment and possibly the way we live. with the spontaneous death of certain populations of fish, birds, and mammals...one could speculate that the world as we know it is going to change. The sudden death of these populations is undeniably going to create a dominoes affect on other species including us humans. unless society(north america...b/c we tend to take food for granted...) changes its consumption rate, things are going to take a catastrophic turn. riot and crime rates will sky rocket, people will be fighting all over the world to preserve their former lifestyle! if humans are unable to maintain mother earth's habitat, we are doomed...

I believe that in order to maintain what we have, government intervention may be required in aspects such as energy, food distribution, and pollution control. An ideology of green conservatism is ideal in order to keep society from destroying itself.

International Day of Peace

September 21 is designated as the International Day of Peace. Check out the website and give me feedback if you'd like on initiatives/ideas on creating a peaceful world.
The link is here.

The Golden Laws of Prosperity...

Interesting read. Here's a list of suggestions to conduct economic activity. Feel free to take on a few ideas and discuss positive/negative impacts. Looking forward you your responses. The link is here.

Alternative Voting...interesting concept?

Hey, maybe this is some kind of system that will enhance democracy, what you do you think. Here's the link.

Both telling and entertaining....

The Roseanne show was never my favorite but this excerpt is so telling. It features a politician 'door knocking' and I think he went to the wrong house. Says a lot about the political process....take a look here...worth the laugh I believe.

Understanding US debt problem/s.....

There is a lot of discussion around US debt issues and how to handle the problem of a an ever growing debt. This simple graph I will give you providing some debt information can be very revealing. What stands out as you look at the graph? What factors have added to and continue to support high debt and deficits? What kind of conclusion do you derive from the chart? The chart can be seen here. There are other telling graphics and short articles you can access in this blogg if you want more information.

The Spin....how ideas are transformed and shaped

This is an excellent film on how the media spin's stories to reach audiences. It is over an hour in length but worth watching if you like this sorta of thing. I would love to hear feedback from you, and you can find the film by going to this link.

Animal Experimentation

Short but insightful article on the use of animal testing. Where do you stand on this issue? Why? The article can be found here.http://www.newint.org/blog/2011/07/07/animal-testing-costs-benefits/?utm
Note this my first attempt at using a tablet to blogg so I need to learn how to imbed links. So for now copy and paste link into your browser ty.

The lessons of Easter Island

Most are unaware of the story of Easter island but it has been created with a different twist using Deer...that's right those cute four legged creatures used for human consumption. The lesson can be download in comic book form here. For those of you out there who want information on Easter island after you consume the above, click here. Is this our fate? Can we turn to sustainable development as an alternative to trashing the planet...love to hear your thoughts. As I delved into this more, I also delved into an interesting article that contained a 2 minute video which contained a trailer of a movie I must see...view it here.

Taxes, taxes, taxes....we hate paying them, especially those on top...

but here is what FDR had to say about them. Do you agree with position, if so, why and if not, why not? Interesting video but do check out short snippets from his speech for a sense of what he is talking about...then link is here.

Why fast foods are cheaper then healthier choices....

You have to love our system - you can get a burger and fries cheap at places like McDonald's... the answer will surprise you, read it here.

Feeding a crowded world

We take food for granted here in the West despite the rising costs for it. For many parts of the world it's still a major concern and the problem will get worse when we hit the 9 billion mark by 2050. What solutions are being proposed and what is in the way? Very interesting article can be accessed here.

Why the government fell...conservative spending here and the US...links?

Incredible how a US show can show the links between conservative spending here in Canada and the US. What can we glean from this lesson? How are the conservatives like the ones in the States (Republican)? What issues are they favoring here and there and what are the consequences? I found this 10 minutes a fascinating comparison to 'fiscal' issues faced here and there. Let me know what you think after watching it here. Note if you have trouble getting to the story, see previously shown March 25...conservative spending....at rachel maddow show.

The rise of right wing populism ... silences us all

In this article from out world, there is a notion that it is the job of the right to criticize and nullify facts from what we would call mainstream schools of thought. That is to say, that we are caught but emotional responses to what seems to be fact based intellectual discourse from what I call the 'loony bin' folks like Fox's Glenn beck. It's a few pages long but for those willing to take the plunge, have a look and send me an email response, TY. This also puts into my mind a short political satirical political video sent to me by a former student (tyvm Ethan S.)that captures some of the articles sentiment, it's hilarious and can be found here.

Let's do something different with green space....

Sustainability, what does it mean? We've spent a lot of time looking at how our economic system gives us a lot of 'stuff' but lots of it, especially food can be suspect given toxic chemicals used. Here's an idea becoming more and more vogue that perhaps we should consider...check out the short video here.

What's really happening in Wisconsin....

In this short article, the essence of the labor strife currently going on in Wisconsin is described. As you read the article pay particular attention of the 5 motives included within the bill that is proposed by the Republican Governor. Is this a bill to 'balance the budget' or are there other motives behind it? If you were a union worker in Wisconsin right now, how would you see what's happening in your state? How are individual vs collective rights playing out now in that state? Do you think this could happen here for similar motives? Love to hear your take on this, the article can be found here.

Union Busting in Wisconsin...can it happen here

It's been long understood by those of us the support unions that conservative forces do not. We are witnessing this act out in Wisconsin but the occurrences of similar types of actions happen in Canada as well. In this Maddow clip you see Democratic Senators leaving the state so the Republican Governor cannot pass legislation designed to bust unions. Why is this occurring and speak to the ideologies you see present here. View it here.

Moral force in the middle east

This Maddow program focuses on the hypocritical action the US and it's allies applies to some middle eastern countries and yet say little about other autocratic rulers in the middle east. Why is this so? What principles that we have studied play in to this situation? Love to hear your comments, you can view it here.

Obama is the anti-christ????? what the....

Incredible that the conservatives in the states believe that events in the middle east to union busting in Wisconsin is tied with the 'end times' theories. This would be laughable except that for some they really believe in this stuff. Take a look at the show and discuss how the 'evidence' of a dark sinister plot is about to overcome us all. View it here.

Argument against immigration in the US but can be applied anywhere..

This is an interesting set of videos that discuss the impact of immigration and whether or not we are doing any favors to those that can escape poverty in their own country. Would love to hear your reaction to the first video which is 6 minutes long.

Why attack journalists in Egypt...

a so called democracy has been allowing the attack of journalists to take place. Why? What does the country have to hide? Is there a justification for the attacks? In our study of ideologies over time, what ideas are being upheld and what are going under fire? I'd love to hear your reaction to this story which you can get here.

Martin Luther King...national holiday for past 25 years in the US...

What a beautiful man, what a vision, and yet the difference between him and other famous or infamous people is that his 'dream' lives on. Inside all of us we can come to know the beauty that can happen when people of good will come together. it's a call that we forget sometimes but I'm glad I'm reminded of it from time to time. Here's one of many videos you can find on this great man.