Archive for the ‘politics’ Category

Education Quality

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Education is important and as my son will be starting his school-based education in a little over a year I find myself with a keen eye for discussion on the topic of education quality. I was lucky enough to leave school thinking that school failed me but those not so lucky more often leave school feeling like they failed school and this belief one way or another can set you up for life.

So if you too find the topic interesting I recommend having a read of this short blog post by Max Wind-Cowie of the Demos Think-Tank blog: Education is a high-stakes game

This TEDtalk from Bill Gates is also very interesting. I think it is in the second half where he talks about quality of education.

Posted in alternative media, family, politics | 5 Comments »

So what does Cap & Trade mean?

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

So I have tried to flog a little mini doco called The Story of Stuff for a while now and if you have not seen it yet please do… it’s relevance will be around for too long I think.

But the hot topic at the moment is Cap & Trade or some variation of that. At first I thought it was a very good idea or at least a good place to start. Now I am pretty sure it is not a good idea and fear that it might in fact be a very bad idea. I would love to hear your thoughts but first please watch the video Cap & Trade, made by the same guys that made The Story of Stuff.

http://www.vimeo.com/7908590

Posted in alternative media, design, environment, inspiring, movies, peace, politics | 3 Comments »

PARK(ing) Day 09

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

It’s that time of year again where you find a good car parking space, put down some tarps, roll out your turf and invite people to PARK. Urban Grind’s park will be in Harcourt St this year from 7am till 11am. For me PARK(ing) Day is about many things but mostly about starting conversations because that tends to lead to those other things anyway. What? Anyway…

It all started here… www.parkingday.org
Find all of the Brisbane PARKS here… www.brisbaneparkingday.com

That time of year is this Friday the 18th of September 2009. Thanks Simon.

Posted in art, design, environment, inspiring, local community, politics, urban grind | 8 Comments »

Hope, World Leaders and Us

Sunday, August 23rd, 2009

Awesome. This guys speech gives me hope. First Obama now this guy. Surely Australia can’t be far off leadership like this.

At first I think that this guy must have been a past Prime Minister and was so surprised to find out that he is the current. Gordon Brown’s speech is far from political spin. It talks practically and wisely about the future. How problems like climate change will need a global effort and how we need to be structuring ourselves towards this effort. I found his talk very inspiring. He doesn’t talk like a politician – he talks like a man that can understand a problem and formulate a solution that includes concerns far beyond his own political party or personal political aspirations.

But what does this say about us? I said, first Obama, now this guy. I feel like something is happening/changing and it must be us. Men like these exist all the time, You probably know or have at least heard of one. Check out TED.com if you haven’t. I heard it said once that Hitler emerged as a leader because the mindset of the people allowed him too. I hesitate to call it democracy as I am not so sure that is what we have in our country nor is it the force I think which is at play, but I do believe it to be true that leaders emerge when the people are ready. But the kind of leader, is determined by the mindset of the people. At elections it feels as though there are no Obamas or Gordon Browns to choose from in Australia. Are we ready for such leaders? If they did emerge would we recognise them? I think we like to think in business terms in Australia, especially when it comes to politics. Maybe the leaders I dream of don’t see a market for their kind of leadership just now?

When I think of Australia and leadership as it relates to the rest of the world I see Australia having a wonderful opportunity to play a leading role as we face the challenges that lie ahead. My reasons are derived from the following 2 quotes.

“People who have wild ideas about how to run the earth ought to start with a small garden” – Ahmed Kathrada

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead

Posted in alternative media, environment, inspiring, personal, politics | 2 Comments »

350.org: Because the world needs to know

Sunday, June 21st, 2009

This looks like an interesting campaign for climate change. I will reveal more details later but I do have an idea on a way that Urban Grind can participate.

350.org

Posted in alternative media, environment, inspiring, local community, politics, zeroWaste | No Comments »

ideas festival 09 program now online

Sunday, February 15th, 2009

This is exciting. I hope I can find the time. As you know I am a massive advocate of TED and if have managed to convince you to check out TED and you have fallen in love with it like so many of my friends then you don’t want to miss the Ideas Festival cause it is the closest thing to TED that we get. I usually only make it to a couple of talks each time but the ideas and speakers are always stimulating. I have only had a quick look at the program and there looks to be quite a focus on climate change which grabs my interest. If you have never been to an ideas festival I suggest you check it out. Heaps of the sessions are free so if you still think that climate change is a myth it won’t cost you a cent to challenge that idea. Check out the Ideas Festival Program 09 for more info.

Posted in alternative media, design, environment, friends, inspiring, local community, peace, politics | No Comments »

Obama and the Vision Thing

Saturday, January 17th, 2009

I am going to be thinking and possibly blogging about Obama in the next few months I suspect. I hope I can do the man justice.

I have been following Joel Makower for a while now and he is an amazing writer on Sustainable Business and his latest article is a perfect example of the wisdom he has to impart: Obama and the Vision Thing. I encourage you to read it.

Posted in alternative media, environment, inspiring, politics | 1 Comment »

The Story of Stuff International

Wednesday, January 7th, 2009

I have posted about this before but they have news of now being able to view the Story of Stuff movie in many many languages which makes for a good opportunity for me to plug it again. If you have not seen this short film then you probably bought your family and friends way too many presents for Christmas or you are still sleeping on pillows that have been dowsed in chemicals known to damage the human brain. Maybe it is not for everyone but I suggest you check it out: The Story of Stuff International

Posted in alternative media, environment, inspiring, peace, politics | No Comments »

The year 2008 in photographs

Tuesday, January 6th, 2009

Via boston.com

The year 2008 in photographs (part 1 of 3)
2008 in photographs (part 2 of 3)
2008, the year in photographs (part 3 of 3)

Posted in art, environment, peace, politics | No Comments »

Keep the Internet Open

Friday, December 5th, 2008

Innovation, Information, Evolution.

Sure I don’t want my internet speed to get slower and I certainly don’t want this Government Filter to fail us by being inaccurate. And who doesn’t want to see child porn removed from society but is this filter the answer?

This unrestricted information highway that we are surely taking for granted by now has created such innovation in our society and things are only just beginning. I try to keep up with it, but even I couldn’t articulate to you the positive impact of this Innovation. Here are some keywords though: Google (Stop there if you need to), YouTube, Blogs, Email, IM, Video Chat, Facebook. These things are connecting us in ways we never imagined and it turns out we still go outside even with these things. These things are informing us.

I agree that the internet makes it possible for the ‘bad’ stuff to be shared too and I can say for sure that there are things I do not want my son to stumble across, but I just googled the word ‘child‘ and was not presented with porn. Firstly this will be because google is not going to show me porn as far as I understand, but it also for me reflects that fact that google works on relevance. So what appears on your top 10 search results is a reflection on how people are using the internet relative to your search term. Is it not true that Einstein didn’t remember formulas because he thought it was silly to fill his head with things he could find in a book. For me the internet is like that. My knowledge over the last 5+ years is made up from google search results. This tool has been priceless like so many other features on the internet. The abilty to share information the way the internet enables us is helping us as a species evolve if not avoid our possible demise due to lack of climate change information. Governments keep climate change from us long before the internet came along. They have proven themselves able to do sure things. The open internet has been able to by pass them. This cannot change. The internet has become a tool for us to keep our governments in check and now they want to use it to keep us in check. Just when things were starting to feel a bit more democratic.

If we as a society cannot govern ourselves on what is appropriate or not for our children then it is a measure of how evolved our society is. There must be a more in-depth conversation that can be had beyond simply the idea of stopped these people from being able to share images of child pornography. Um… why are people sharing images of child pornography and isn’t it a bit late if we are stepping in at that point??? Our evolution is also at stake. There is so much goodwill on the internet that it far outweighs the bad in my opinion and good will win over evil in the end anyway. So many people on the internet are trying to empower each other not exploit. If you are seeing the internet in the negative light then it might just be a reflection of your overall world view. Too much 6pm news and Courier Mail. The world is a beautiful place with a wonderful species called human beings. There is more good in man than there is bad. If you don’t believe me check out www.ted.com.

Want to truly understand the internet. Read Lawrence Lessig’s book: The Future of Ideas. Please note that you can buy this book from a book shelf or download the whole thing for free from that link.

Nearly forgot to add a link to the Australian Campaign to stop this all from happening. No Clean Feed. Check it out.

Posted in alternative media, computers, peace, politics | 2 Comments »

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