Orange Raisin

Stuart Turnbull bit.ly/UsFLZI

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Pencil: Object

Women: Not an Object

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How I would describe my basketball Career.

The sages of the Talmud offered the same piece of advice to anyone who wanted to join the faith: don’t do it, it’s seriously not worth it, it’s just an objectively bad idea. The ancient rabbis suggest that you ask a potential convert, “Are you not aware that today the people of Israel are wretched, driven about, exiled and in constant suffering?” It’s a rhetorical question. But if the person replies that he or she indeed embraces wretchedness and constant suffering, you explain to him or her how taxing it is to practice the religion. You mention the gruesome punishments for breaking the Sabbath and other laws. You try very hard to dissuade any would-be applicants. You mess with them—and that is how you welcome them. Joining, in other words, happens through a process of opposition, irony, and dissent. If you’re going to join a messed-up club, you have to pass the messed-up entrance exam. You enter into the sect only when you push back, when you finally say, Listen, I don’t care what you tell me. I know it’s a bad idea, but I’m determined to do it, and I will do it. Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2013/02/elizabeth-gilbert-versus-philip-roth-is-writing-torture.html#ixzz2Ke3VXlMZ

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..The fundamental question of the postwar period was how far and for how long the US would remain committed to free trade once other economies, benefiting from precisely the liberal economic order made possibly by US hegemony, began to catch up. Would Americans revert to protectionist policies in an effort to perpetuate their hegemony or stick with free trade at the risk of experience relative decline?

Niall Ferguson in Colossus. He argues brilliantly that the US is a new kind of empire, and that like all before it that it will fall. Hopefully, gracefully. 

Read this post election column by Niall and realize that partisan and ego can blind even the most insightful minds. 

[tedx]

As a New York Times article put it this morning, “The presidential campaign entered a delicate phase on Tuesday, suddenly becoming...

[tedx]

With Americans electing their president tomorrow, we revisit our playlist from last week—10 TEDxTalks every American should watch before voting:

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You can't wake a person whose pretending to sleep

We are living at 1.3 Planets. If we were bankers, we would be living off the principle not the interest. If we were farmers we would be eating the seed.

25% of demand leverages 40-50% of production. 

Companies can push producers faster than consumers can. 

Risk and Demand: Companies don't care what the prices of commodities is, they care about availability. For producers, if a buyer wants to buy something produced a certain way, that's what brings them to the table. 

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Corporate Knights: Clean Capitalism

Who are they? A company providing information to decision makers in order to empower markets and foster a better world. 

They are hiring for an Ad Sales position. Below is what rolled off my tongue into the cover letter. I FORGOT to add, I think empowering consumers with the right INFO at the right TIME is important and their decisions will foster a better world. Also, it will help to influence decision makers.   

I fundamentally believe that the greatest power citizens wield is voting with their wallet in every purchase they make. The moral heightened awareness and data driven environment we find ourselves in create a unique position to wield this power. What we lack in data is information in order to make these decisions. But given this information I believe consumers can and will accurately represent their views on how companies bring their products and services to market. In doing so, it will force companies through revenue fluctuations to operate in a manner that is acceptable to them. Some major brands have taken the first step towards truth in branding as a marketing and operating advantage. Most notably McDonald's recent transparency campaign and Dove’s ideal beauty.

I hope they agree and are moved with my analysis. 

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The Chinese government swiftly blocked access early Friday morning to the Chinese-language Web site of The New York Times from computers in mainland China and gradually halted most access to the English-language site as well after the news organization posted an article in both languages describing wealth accumulated by the family of the country’s prime minister

Freedom of the Press = Freedom of Speech

Robert Bolt's A Man For All Seasons

Every time you violate the free speech of someone else you are in fact making a rod for your own back. To whom do you award the right to decide which speech is harmful or who is the harmful speaker or to determine in advance what are the harmful consequences going to be, that we know enough about in advance to prevent. To whom would you give this job?

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A man cannot be great as well as good

Lord Acton

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Free Speech: Hitchens argues Religion is the Worst Offender. Malala agrees, probably. 

The freedom of speech is meaningless unless it means the freedom of speech for the person who thinks differently

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nomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnom

I am pretty sure this screams out for Big Lebowski clips 'Lady I got buddies who died face down in the muck...' http://bit.ly/T0NqJu

'Smokey, this is not 'Nam, it's bowling. There are rules.' http://bit.ly/PaFudW 

[sturnbu2]

"To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle"

George Orwell