Monthly Archives: January 2005

A PRAGMATIC APPROACH TO ANIMAL RIGHTS

Posted on January 23, 2005 by Dave Pollard

There’s been another well-intentioned discussion over at Salon TableTalk about animal rights, as Soybean, the originator and moderator of the discussion, attempted to persuade other progressives that “Using animals for food and clothing causes suffering, is bad for human health, … Continue reading →

Posted in Collapse Watch | 4 Comments

EXTERMINISM, BY GLENN PARTON

Posted on January 23, 2005 by Dave Pollard

Following is the first part of a new, previously-unpublished three-part essay about the implications of last year’s US election, written by Glenn Parton, best known for his eco-philosophic and psychological essays The Machine in our Heads and Humans in the … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works | 2 Comments

SHORT, THOUGHTFUL

Posted on January 22, 2005 by Dave Pollard

This weekend’s roundup to ponder, all short articles: The NYT on the Environment: A recent short editorial at least acknowledges the extent of the problem. “As so often happens, the more we come to know about the life of any … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works | 1 Comment

THE WISDOM OF CHILDREN AND A SELF-TEST ON VALUES

Posted on January 21, 2005 by Dave Pollard

When I was a kid in Winnipeg, it was something special to be allowed, during the oppressive summer nights (no air conditioning back then) to sleep in the basement. It was pretty spartan, because every couple of years after a … Continue reading →

Posted in Collapse Watch | 4 Comments

THREE RECIPES FOR SMASHING CORPORATISM

Posted on January 20, 2005 by Dave Pollard

The world finally seems to be waking up to the fact that corporatism — the bald and amoral use of power and wealth to control political decision-making, eliminate competition and increase profits no matter what the social and environmental cost … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works | 7 Comments

IMPLAUSIBLE DENIABILITY: LA LA LA LA LA LA I CAN’T HEEEEAR YOU!

Posted on January 19, 2005 by Dave Pollard

What’s the first thing you do when you hear, or think you are about to hear, bad news? You go into denial mode. “It can’t be. You must be mistaken. I don’t want to listen to this. Change the channel. … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works | 14 Comments

TOM AND KENNY’S CRAZY WISDOM

Posted on January 18, 2005 by Dave Pollard

I‘ve been chatting back and forth with Kenny Ausubel, founder of Bioneers, whose amazing essay The Empire Strikes Out I posted last year. The important messages of this essay are: Historically, the disintegration of cultures occurs quickly, just after they … Continue reading →

Posted in Collapse Watch | 6 Comments

CRITICAL LIFE SKILLS: LEARNING TO LEARN

Posted on January 17, 2005 by Dave Pollard

Modern Western education teaches us collectively, and then kicks us out to beg for a job where we will work, for the most part, individually. No wonder this crazy system, which gets it exactly backwards, is so inefficient and dysfunctional. … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works | 22 Comments

THE TEN MOST IMPORTANT IDEAS OF 2004: BLOGS AND THE INTERNET

Posted on January 16, 2005 by Dave Pollard

1. The Blog is a Journal, and Online Journalism is Our Game: ‘Journal’ is a very inclusive term, and broadly means ‘daily writings’, and journalists are therefore those who write (or photograph) daily. A diary is a journal, and so … Continue reading →

Posted in Using Weblogs and Technology | 5 Comments

WEEKEND ROUND-UP

Posted on January 15, 2005 by Dave Pollard

Gladwell and Surowiecki Chat About Each Other’s Books: An interesting e-mail exchange over three days on Slate has Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink, and James Surowiecki, author of The Wisdom of Crowds, chatting about each other’s books and contrasting their … Continue reading →

Posted in Our Culture / Ourselves | 12 Comments