WE’RE not talking pocket change, but we are talking ongoing rather than “thank-God(dess)-we’ve-made-it-so-far” climate change. And as it progresses, the possibility of abrupt directional switches at some point instead of extraordinary warming, extreme cooling, wind and humidity as well. After all, it is called climate “change.”

Personally, I’ve noticed that in addition to the usual climate change (and climate change denial) there’s another kind of climate change/denial going ...

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BLOODSPORT is the term for events of spectacle involving violence to the point of bloodletting. While violence and bloodletting are probably as old as humanity, they are said to have became a spectacle with the ancient pre-Roman Etruscans in or around 600 BCE — https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abi7673 and http://thespectaclesofapuleius.weebly.com/gladiatorial-combats.html#.YrSwcy-B3Fc — and later the Greek Olympics begun in 770 BCE — https://olympics.com/ioc/faq/history-and-or...

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LET’S face it: Information overload is here to stay. And much of it is spun, hoodwinked, tainted, biased or just plain untrue. I’m for a day — today — without any digital news. Nothing. Nada. And a little bit of nothing, I think, will go a long way to regaining my balance. My center. Especially in this unbalanced world. Think “The Qatsi Trilogy – Koyaanisqatsi/Powaqqatsi/Naqoyqatsi” (Hopi for “life out of balance”) — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009D004MC. Then think THE EDG...

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I was asked the other day what “sign of the times” I believe is the most significant one so far in this decade. After pondering the usual unusuals, I have to say that it’s what’s happening “in the gnus” (ha, ha) or more correctly how we get the news. But first, a bit more levity: (1) “No gnus is good gnus” (I’ve already labeled that “fake gnus”); (2) “Read only what’s gnus-worthy” (hey, they don’t call them wildebeests for nothing); (3) “any day a call may come...

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It's becoming harder these days to find unbiased news. What used to be dry factual reporting seems to have swung to its counterpoint: interpretation and opinion. What's missing, in my opinion, is BALANCE. But by balance I don't mean the "mean." 

Good news reporting involves presenting the facts (to be interpreted in various ways by the viewer/listener) and meaning (as be interpreted in various ways by the preparer/broadcaster). "Weighting" the news based on popularity moves it into the realm o...
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I don't typically comment on politics, but as a retired academic, I've watched with appall the governance of our great nation under Mr. Donald Trump, a businessman extraordinaire (though not necessarily in the positive sense). I've watched our nation become a corporation, with a single dominant, overbearing CEO focused on one main area: money. I say money, rather than economy, which is an entirely different governmental topic. 

I was, at first, primarily surprised, when I learned that Mr. Trum...
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"Fake news" isn't new. It's been around for centuries in the form of gossip. But society's never had a platform whereby gossip could be shared on a mass global basis, where its mere repetition and topic popularity could elevate it from believability to assumed truth. Bad news in a rapidly globalizing world, where politics and governments can depend on popular "news" to remain in power. 

The ancient Greeks taught us that there are five appeals that we as humans tend to accept: 1) logos (well-re...
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