Monthly Archives: August 2014

Winning glory on today’s battlefield: The Modern Mind

Renault’s excellent book The Persian Boy shows the difficulty of learning, and of teaching. Both would probably be easier if our society understood what it takes to teach a person a useful and neccesary skill from start to finish. Hence … Continue reading

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Gatekeepers and Quipu (Khipu) Democracy

In Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad, Tobin and Dobard point to what is essentially a Quipu made of fabric. The question is whether the gatekeepers of today will allow our modern quipus, … Continue reading

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Do gatekeepers enslave human potential?

In Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation 1838-1839 Frances Ann Kemble points to the reactions of slave owners and overseers in the capacity of gatekeepers, preventing the voices of slaves from being heard. More generally and in the … Continue reading

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La Cooperativa de Matrimonio

La Cooperativa de Matrimonio Para Todos La Cooperativa Matrimonia se trata de una cooperativa, es decir un grupo de gente igalitaria, que quieren ayudar en arreglarse matrimonios para los miembros sin pareja. Cada soltero debe consentir a dos cosas: 1.) … Continue reading

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Harry Quebert: friend, liar, or both?

Love and friendship are entwined with community. In Joel Dicker’s book , Harry makes one think about all three: Common committment to the idea of community: open communication, positive action, pro-active,consensus-oriented. That is the type of community I have hoped … Continue reading

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Universal Income or Land: Reminding Us What We Could Be

I am a true Democrat: following the example of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Chaos or Community , I take seriously the idea that all are equal in dignity, in rights to live up to their full potential, and in ability … Continue reading

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Is your butcher in harmony with your Planet?

Written in 1978, Christian Grenier’s YA SF novella ‘The Spark Displayer’ English and French: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23002450-le-montreur-d-tincelles raises questions about not only where your food comes from, via a sentient planet as the setting of this still highly readable book, but also … Continue reading

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Why write your autobiography? Mar shows the adults…

Michel Grimaud shows us how one young person, too young to know that his task was impossible (a bit like Harry Potter and his friends, but written in 1978…), can do something worth writing about, as he becomes an adult. … Continue reading

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Courage of Convictions, Meaning, and Framing in Context of…

Community Cooperation. As Hillary Clinton pointed out, it does indeed take a village, a united sense of purpose, and conviction to give meaning to life, and to our way of life. We should learn to ask why, before we arrive … Continue reading

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Respect for Teachers == Respect for US All as a Society

02/27/2013 10:00:00 shirad Generating more respect for teachers requires cultural change People certainly should respect the difficult work that teachers do. This would probably be made easier if our children and adults understood what it takes to teach a person … Continue reading

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Share the Research Data, NOW…

Normally this blog is not meant to address current events, but the Ebola outbreak begs a compelling question: Why can’t the Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc share the basic data that led to the creation of ZMapp, with other research labs around … Continue reading

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