GUNS -A Brief History of the USA - Bowling for Columbine - Michael Moore

Satirical humour but also very informative.

Knowledge Issue - what role does emotion and reason play in the gun debate in the USA?

The statistics for gun deaths in various countries are posted on other posts on this blog. About 40 per year in the UK with 70 million people and about 10,000 in the USA with 350 million. Do the math! Yet here you can watch Mr Pratt defend the gun laws and call for more guns. He advocates that teachers should carry guns in school. Mr Crockett Keller, a gun shop owner in Texas has advocated that School Principals should have assault weapons in the office.  

PAKISTAN TERROR Karachi polio killings: Vaccination workers shot

Continue reading the main story

Related Stories

• Vaccine checks 'to control polio'
• Pakistan polio worker shot dead
• Polio doctor attacked in Pakistan

Five female Pakistani polio vaccination workers have been shot dead in a string of coordinated attacks - four within 20 minutes across Karachi.

The fifth woman was killed in Peshawar. A male health worker was shot dead in Karachi on Monday.

Stolen Money Keeps Africa Underdeveloped - EQUATORIAL GUINEA - ETHICS OF OIL

                                        SECOND VIDEO ANGOLA - WHERE DOES THE OIL MONEY GO?

                                                                                                                                                                    TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL 

     http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2012/       

Corruption Perceptions Index 201

Why did an ex-US soldier commit mass murder in Oklahoma in 1996 and call it 'patriotic' to murder men, women and children?

•                                                  
• What is the Radical Right in the USA? They are small in number but dangerous because they are armed and dangerous and they hide behind the 'right to bear arms' guaranteed in the ancient Second Amendment of the American Constitution.
• There are many different groups. Some are extreme Christian groups, these groups hate secular values and the separation of church and state.
• Some are "SURVIVALISTS" who form paramilitary organisations in rural America, convinced one day that Communism or some other ideology will take over America and they will 'rescue' the country by force of arms. They are often described as 'militias'.
• Some are American Nazis who follow Hitler's toxic ideology of racism.
•  Because of the Second Amendment (the right of citizens to bear arms dating back to the 1700s) they operate legally, wear uniforms and train on weekends. Most do not take their 'fight' beyond pamphlets and weekend miliatry camps but TIMOTHY MCVEIGH went further and drove a truck bomb into a Federal Building in Oklahoma in 1996.
• All these different groups, including American Nazi groups are united in one thing - they hate their own government in Washington. They have a special hatred for the FBI, ATF and other Federal Law Officers. 
• Ironically, these groups consider themselves 'patriots' and just as George Washington raised a civilian army to fight the British in American, they believe that one day they will overthrow the government in Washington. Why? They believe the Federal Government is part of a world-wide conspiracy of Jews and Communists who 'want to destroy the American way of life'. This is nonsense of course but as we know from TOK emotional belief systems are not open to logical debate. Do they offer any proof of their claims? Oh yes! They believe that the Federal Government want to take away their guns so that they can control the citizens more easily. That is why they love their guns.
• There is a 1988 feature film, "Betrayed" starring Tom Berenger which is loosely based on these right-wing militia groups.

THE INSANITY OF THE AMERICAN ULTR-CONSERVATIVE RIGHT WING AND TWO OF THEIR HATE POSTERS. Above their absurd claims about President Obama and below  a leaflet issued by those 'patriots' against the great President Kennedy. The climate of hate generated around President Kennedy was just that of a vocal deranged minority. The film clips of the President's trip to Dallas show that he was loved by the vast majority of Americans.

Knowledge Issue - What role does human vanity play in hoax or false claims in Science?

Brilliant example of Human Sciences (human behaviour) impacting on Knowledge in the Natural Sciences. How was this hoax perpetrated and how was it exposed? How important is the Scientific Method in avoiding false claims? What role does ethics play in ensuring the pursuit of justified true belief in Science?

Darth Vader - a display of power by keeping your subordinate off balance

Is Pakistan a failed state? What does it tell us about the terrorists when they attack Pakistani soldiers?

Gunbattle follows Pakistan airport attack - Central & South Asia - Al Jazeera English

ETHICS in Journalism - Fox news anti-Obama bias - distortion of the facts or deliberate lies and misinformation?

Fox News is generally considered to be pro-conservative, pro the Republican Party, sympathetic to the American Rifle Association, hostile to liberal positions and the Democratic Party and President Obama. In the early days of television news, journalists were expected to state the facts and generally viewers were expected to weigh the evidence and form their own opinions. Fox News and many right-wing 'talk-radio' hosts like Rush Limbagh have fostered a climate of paranoia and conspiracy theories around President Obama suggesting that he is an enemy of the American people.

Interesting blog on global issues. See link below.

India: Graduates of the Trivandrum Medical College rejoice after their convocation ceremony in Thiruvanantapuram. (Anand Shinde)

http://globalbhasin.blogspot.in/p/education-around-world.html 

NYPD Police Officer Gives Shoes To Homeless Man

As our news channels and this blog have carried news of the savage act of violence in an American Elementary School, I wanted to re-post this story, to remind myself and you my readers that there are many good, kind, decent caring people doing their best to improve the lives of others. This New York Police Officer, who did not know he was being photographed when he bought a pair of boots for a homeless and shoeless man in New York is just one example of those 'little nameless unremembered acts of kindness and of love'.

Better to light a candle than curse the darkness

Why can USA citizens buy assault weapons? Who are the special interest groups who continue to block efforts to control ownership of guns in the USA? Why are assault weapons legal there?

The gun ownership and gun homicides murder map of the world

 

 Excellent resource - click on link here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/interactive/2012/jul/22/gun-ownership-homicides-map 

Which countries in the world have the highest firearms murders - and the highest rates of gun ownership? Click on a country to see how it compares - and use the dropdown menu to see the map in different ways.
The Second Amendment (Amendment II) to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights.
Here is a video which shows the attitude of some gun owners who invoke their right under the Second Amendment of the US Constitution drafted in the 1700s when George Washington and others needed the citizens to arm themselves to resist the British Government during the war of independence. Yes dear readers, that is the legal basis for this poster wearing his gun on the beach and then almost taunting the police with his legal rights.

While our first thoughts and feelings go to the victims of these horrific crimes, it is legitimate to ask in a TOK context, why is the USA so different to other developed  and developing countries in this area of gun ownership? I noted on a list that that the USA has 88 guns per 100 persons in the population. Has it made them safe? 

Gun ownership list by country from The Guardian UK

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/jul/22/gun-homicides-ownership-world-list 

Gun homicides and gun ownership listed by country

Where are the world's guns - and which countries have the highest rates of firearms murders?
• Interactive map
• Get the data
• More data journalism and data visualisations from the Guardian

The latest gun tragedy in the USA and the polarised debate between pro-gun control and anti-gun control groups.

All of us extend our deepest sympathy to the families of the murdered children and adults in the USA shooting today.
This article is interesting but the comments below it reveal the huge gap in thinking between those who believe that gun controls are needed and the pro-gun lobby who oppose gun control.

The UK has about 40 gun murders per year
Japan less than 30
Canada has about 200 murders
USA has 10,000 approximately.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2012/07/rest-first-world-astounded-americas-enduring-gun-culture/54967/

The Rest of the First World Is Astounded by America's Enduring Gun Culture

 

 

 

TOK - Knowledge Issues - weapons of mass destruction 'scare' regarding invasion of Iraq

No weapons of mass destruction were found after the invasion. Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator and it was good that he was removed from power. However, only time will tell if one monster will be replaced by another one. Also the scare tactics used by the Bush administration to mobilise public opinion behind the invasion, the idea that Saddam had chemical weapons and was in league with Al Qaeda was shown to be false. No weapons were found. This led to an even greater distrust of politicians generally and a final sad outcome is the massive number of murders in Iraq in strife between Sunni and Shia groups. The West removed Saddam but has not been able to ensure a stable government to replace him. Even today murders continue in that sad country.

Exploring Issues with Knowledge-TOK Presentation

Some good points here but overall the presentation is both interesting and at times meandering. However the student is clearly engaged with the topic.

TOK Knowledge Issues VIDEO

CORPORATE ETHICS - HSBC US money laundering case

Professor Alice Roberts - Origins of Us: Human Anatomy and Evolution

      

   LECTURE ABOVE AT BIRMINGHAM UNIVERSITY and BBC Documentary.

Excellent TOK Website - click on link

http://lancastertheoryofknowledge.blogspot.mx/

MR.C.'s TOK Blog BD Somani Mumbai -Theory of Knowledge: SENSE PERCEPTION - FAULTY Eyewitness Testimony

MR.C.'s TOK Blog BD Somani Mumbai -Theory of Knowledge: SENSE PERCEPTION - FAULTY Eyewitness Testimony

PAKISTAN - NUCLEAR WEAPONS - MR A Q KHAN

Sports Ethics

ITALY -Scientists on trial for failing to predict eathquake - knowledge issues?

Physics - Professor Krauss - Why There is Something Rather Than Nothing

 

 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nothingness/

Larry DePrimo, NYPD Cop, Buys Homeless Man Boots

It is important to note that his act of kindness was not staged for the camera, the photograph was taken by a tourist from Arizona on a trip to New York. Each one of us should try to perform acts of kindness whenever we can. Wordsworth called these 'little nameless unremembered acts of kindness and of love'.

Technology, Human Sciences, Crime, Ethics - hackers and passowords.

How safe is your online data? Read this and see how even an expert was hacked. A very honest and frightening article by someone determined to expose a huge problem which is perhaps under reported as most of us hope it will never happen to us, the writer has shown great moral courage in sharing his experience here.

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/11/ff-mat-honan-password-hacker/all/

 
This summer, hackers destroyed my entire digital life in the span of an hour,” says Wired senior writer Mat Honan.
Photo: Ethan Hill
 Wired (stylized as WIRED) is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wired_%28magazine%29

This is posted for educational purposes and as a possible topic for Theory of Knowledge students in essays or oral presentations. Source of article on link above. No copyright infringement intended. Students and readers are encouraged to click on the link to the original article which I found on the BBC website, so I assume that it is in the public domain.

Gender TOK Presentation Part 1 - Biology (Natural Sciences) and Cultural Constructs (Human Sciences)

                                          What role does biology and human society (culture) play in forming our knowledge claims for gender? Does our education and environment also play a role in how we define our gender identity?
NOTE: while this is very interesting, perhaps the students should have highlighted their TOK questions to emphasise the KNOWLEDGE ISSUES in the presentation.  Students are reminded to use TOK terms like AOK and WOK and the other terms we have discussed in class, claims, counterclaims, bias etc

      PART 3                                             

PART 4

PART 5

Nonetheless, this is interesting but it could have been much better if the TOK had been more explicit. I also think it's a good idea to link your presentation or essay to the broader academic discourse by at least referencing a few scholars in your chosen area of knowledge.    

 Feminist authors are prominent in this discourse for example, though we are primarily interested in the views of students themselves.

Stephen Fry - The language in Nazi Germany - Language as a Way of Knowing - labeling and dehumanising 'the other' - leading to murder

TOK presentation - To What Extent is the Language of Persuasion Ethical?

What are Knowledge Issues in TOK?

What is Historiography?

TOK lesson starter, fallacies

TOK Presentation - Common Sense

Some observations: the presentation engages the attention of the audience. There are several real life examples. The knowledge issue is clear - how common is common sense? There are some TOK terms used, notably claims and counter-claims. I liked the clear reference to personal bias. I liked the friendly tone of the speaker. I liked the opening with a personal knower's perspective based on a real life situation, the sign on the toilet.
What was missing? More explicit references to Areas of Knowledge and Ways of Knowing.
What was the best point for me in this presentation? Clear logical sequence of ideas, the structure was strong and logical and the humour generally worked both in the tone of voice and in the slides.

Theory of Knowledge Sample Presentation - Part 1

GREAT RESOURCES FROM OTHER WEBSITES - THANK TO THEIR AUTHORS

http://lancastertheoryofknowledge.blogspot.mx/search/label/Writing%20an%20essay


http://tok.ism-online.org/

Daniel Tammet: Different ways of knowing

ToK Essay Advice.wmv

Great debate on religion - Hitchens, Dawkins etc

                                 PROPOSING THE MOTION: Christopher Hitchens, Professor Richard Dawkins & A.C. Grayling. OPPOSING THE MOTION: Dr Nigel Spivey, Roger Scruton & Rabbi Julia Neuberger. The point here is that intelligent people can disagree and argue respectfully. Each human being has a right to work out their views based on the evidence. Which arguments do you find persuasive? It's important to note that some terms can be confusing. We need to distinguish between religion as organised religion and personal spirituality.You will notice that these speakers all reflect their own reactions to the ABRAHAMIC religions. These are not the only religions in the world as a glance at Indian spirituality will show.

Tintern Abbey - William Wordsworth's poem about how the beauty of nature inspires him.

           http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Poetry/WordsworthTinternAbbey.htm                                        

These beauteous forms,   

                                                                                                                                                     Through a long absence, have not been to me
As is a landscape to a blind man's eye:
But oft, in lonely rooms, and 'mid the din
Of towns and cities, I have owed to them
In hours of weariness, sensations sweet,
Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart;
And passing even into my purer mind,
With tranquil restoration: -- feelings too
Of unremembered pleasure: such, perhaps,
As have no slight or trivial influence
On that best portion of a good man's life,
His little, nameless, unremembered, acts
Of kindness and of love.

Great sadness at death of Savita, a series of protests has begun to demand a change in the law on abortion

                                            The scene is outside the Irish Parliament (Dail) in Dublin. The purpose is to demand a change in the law on abortion in Ireland. The larger issue is the separation of Church and State in the laws of the country. Many hospitals are owned and managed by the Catholic Church which teaches that human life begins at the moment of conception not later.
They hold the life of the foetus is a human life and there is always an ethical dilemma when  Catholic medical staff are faced with the issue of balancing the rights of the foetus and the rights of the mother. Abortion is not available in Ireland, it is illegal. 

Abortion in the Republic of Ireland is illegal even in cases of rape or incest. Theoretically there is one case where it can be performed legally. That is only as the result of a medical intervention performed to save the life of the mother and where it is clear that the foetus is a direct threat to the life of the mother.

 In practice, doctors are reluctant to perform terminations of pregnancy in the absence of a readily available method of determining the circumstances in which an abortion might be lawfully obtained. (How can we be sure the mother will die if we don’t abort? How can we be sure the foetus is a direct threat to the life of the mother? We have a duty to treat both persons as living beings with equal rights.) Abortion is a controversial issue in Irish politics and five national referendums have been held on the topic in the last 30 years.

In Catholic schools students are taught that abortion is murder even if the life of the mother is in danger. In my time, we were shown graphic videos of what was described as the 'murder of innocent and defenseless babies in the womb.' When I asked a priest if abortion was justified in the case of a mother's life being in danger, I was told 'God will decide to save the baby or the mother'.
The doctors are not deliberately callous or cruel, they are products of the cultural constructs of Irish society and those constructs are supported by the laws of the state. In other religions, we see female genital mutilation being practised. Why? Because we are all influenced by the values of our religion and culture. This is why critical thinking, questioning our ideas and reflection are so important.
Ireland is nominally 95% Catholic but has been evolving into a more secular society over the last 20 years. Some think it has not been evolving fast enough. NOTE - THIS VIDEO CONTAINS SWEAR WORDS FROM AN AMERICAN NEWS SHOW. Sadly he weakens his argument but the first part of the report is interesting.

This issue has nothing to do with racism and everything to do with religion dictating the laws of the land. Irish women in Irish hospitals have also died because of this patriarchal policy.
The Catholic Church is a patriarchal society its popes, bishops and priests have all been male for 2000 years. In the United Nations, the Catholic Church (Vatican State) works with Saudi Arabia, Iran and other patriarchal theocracies to block progressive social policies particularly on women's rights. In the USA, the Catholic Church has formed alliances with the most extreme parts of the Christian Evangelical (Protestant) churches and some Islamic groups to block progressive legislation on individual rights for men and women. The issue is the power of religion to dictate medical ethics for everyone, even people who are not members of that religion.

Liberal thinkers argue that the decision should be made by the individual patient and the law of the state needs to be changed to empower women to have control over what happens to their bodies. While this is a very emotional issue it is also a question of ethics and the balancing of individual rights against those of a religion. We must build societies where we allow individuals the maximum personal freedom consistent with the common good. So far I have not seen any statements from priests or bishops (all men of course) on the current tragic case. Their silence is deafening. Our thoughts are with the family of Savita and our hope is that the publicity this case has generated will lead to a change in the law- allowing the individual woman to make decisions for herself- and prevent future tragedies such as this one.  

Derrida On Animals

Critical Theory, Postmodernism & Feminist Critique

Is God Great? - Christopher Hitchens vs John Lennox

Why Beauty Matters - Full Version - BBC & Roger Scruton/Aesthetics as AOK

                                              As with all TOK Knowledge Issues, students are encouraged to weigh the arguments and form their own views using more research and critical thinking skills. This video will prove useful to students who want to use Aesthetics and the Arts as an Area of Knowledge in either the oral presentation or the essay.

Mr. C.'s IB English Blog - BD Somani Int School - Mumbai: Origin of Diwali - Best wishes to my students, their families, my colleagues and all readers of this blog around the world.

Mr. C.'s IB English Blog - BD Somani Int School - Mumbai: Origin of Diwali - Best wishes to my students, their families, my colleagues and all readers of this blog around the world.

Kuhn's Scientific revolution

Thomas Kuhn's paradigm shift

Karl Popper and Justified True Belief

BBC - Malala Yousafzai Pakistan Activist, 14, Shot In Swat By Taliban

GRADE 12 COMMENTS - TOK ISSUES IN "COPENHAGEN"

Students must post here one comment of 80-100 words on the play "Copenhagen". This is a TOK EXERCISE NOT LITERATURE. PLEASE DO NOT REVIEW THE PLAY. FOCUS ON TOK :)

• SUGGESTIONS -
• KNOWLEDGE ISSUES CONCERNING HISTORY AS AN AREA OF KNOWLEDGE- HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT WE KNOW?
• KNOWLEDGE ISSUES - HOW CAN WE KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT SOMEONE WAS THINKING OR THEIR INTENTION?
• What are the ethical limits of knowledge when it concerns weapons of mass destruction? Should we use our knowledge to build chemical weapons, biological weapons and nuclear weapons?
• SCIENCE AS KNOWLEDGE - ETHICAL DUTY? ( Scanners on foetus - checking gender of foetus in advance- infanticide?)
• Amartya Sen - "The Argumentative Indian" -  chapter on nuclear weapons.
• You - as a  TOK STUDENT IN INDIA IN 2012 - WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE PLAY AND ITS RELEVANCE IN THE WORLD OF 2012?

'COPENHAGEN' - The background to the Bohr -Heisenberg meeting

 BBC Documentary.



http://www.usnews.com/usnews/doubleissue/mysteries/nazi.htm

Absence of A-bomb
Were the Nazis duped–or simply dumb?

BY WARREN P. STROBEL
 

John Locke's theory of knowledge - does knowledge comes through sense perception and human experience?

In his Essay, (An Essay Concerning Human Understanding), Locke explains the gradual unfolding of this conscious mind. Arguing against both the Augustinian view of man as originally sinful and the Cartesian position, which holds that man innately knows basic logical propositions, Locke posits an "empty" mind, a tabula rasa, which is shaped by experience; sensations and reflections being the two sources of all our ideas.           (Wikipedia)
                                                                                                                                                          Locke's central premise in his epistemology is that all knowledge is grounded in experience. He also argues that we are born without innate knowledge, and that the mind is a blank slate:

'Let us then suppose the mind to be, as we say, white paper, void of all characters, without any ideas:- How comes it to be furnished? Whence comes it by that vast store which the busy and boundless fancy of man has painted on it with an almost endless variety? Whence has it all the materials of reason and knowledge? To this I answer, in one word, from EXPERIENCE. In that all our knowledge is founded; and from that it ultimately derives itself.'
 (An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Book 2, Chapter 1)

This short video introduces and briefly considers Locke's claim.

COPENHAGEN BBC FILM ADAPTATION with Daniel Craig

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3325831859220140461&hl=en

Documentary above and actors performing below.

Copenhagen Fall Out - Niels Bohr & Werner Heisenberg   DANIEL CRAIG.

Inspired by the actual events that have intrigued and baffled historians for more than 50 years, Copenhagen revolves around a 1941 meeting between two brilliant physicists, Niels Bohr of Denmark (Stephen Rea) and Germany's Werner Heisenberg (Daniel Craig); long-time friends whose work together had opened the way to the atomic bomb, but who were now on opposite sides of World War II. Heisenberg made a covert trip to see Bohr and his wife Margrethe (Francesca Annis) in Copenhagen, but the meeting ended in disaster. Copenhagen explores Heisenberg's visit to Denmark and what happened during the pivotal meeting that was to become a defining moment of the nuclear age. 

Play "Copenhagen" Sun 14th October 2012 Theater - Experimental Theatre

          

Why did Werner Heisenberg mysteriously visit Neils Bohr and his wife Margrethe in Copenhagen in 1941? What are the moral implications of nuclear programming? This exciting, evocatively crafted and topical play explores the historic meeting between the two great nuclear physicists, who are on opposing sides in World War II.

 

 

During World War II, there were mounting fears that Hitler was building an atomic bomb. Such a prospect depended on two of the world’s top nuclear scientists: brilliant German physicist Werner Heisenberg, and his Danish mentor, Niels Bohr. In 1941, Heisenberg traveled 200 miles in secret to Copenhagen to meet Bohr.
The meeting put both men in immense risk, and had a cataclysmic effect on their relationship. This film was made with access to their personal correspondence and newly released documents kept secret for half a century.
Copenhagen Fall Out explores Heisenberg’s visit to Denmark and what happened during the pivotal meeting that was to become a defining moment of the nuclear age.

Copenhagen

Sun 14th October 2012

Written by Michael Frayn; Directed by Avaan Patel; Cast: Tom Alter, Veera Abadan and Vivek Tandon

English Play

A Stage Two Theatre Society Production.

Theater - Experimental Theatre

"COPENHAGEN" PLAY by MICHAEL FRAYN - Performance Mumbai Sunday 14th October

Copenhagen play review , English play review - www.MumbaiTheatreGuide.com


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_%28play%29

 

Plot synopsis

The spirits of Werner Heisenberg, Niels Bohr and Bohr's wife Margrethe, meet after their deaths to attempt to answer the question which Margrethe poses in the first line of the play, "Why did he [Heisenberg] come to Copenhagen?” They spend the remainder of the two-act drama presenting, debating and rejecting theories that may answer that question.
Heisenberg – "No one understands my trip to Copenhagen. Time and time again I’ve explained it. To Bohr himself, and Margrethe. To interrogators and intelligence officers, to journalists and historians. The more I've explained, the deeper the uncertainty has become. Well, I shall be happy to make one more attempt."
Along the way, Heisenberg and Bohr "draft" several versions of their 1941 exchange, arguing about the ramifications of each potential version of their meeting and the motives behind it. They discuss the idea of nuclear power and its control, the rationale behind building or not building an atomic bomb, the uncertainty of the past and the inevitability of the future as embodiments of themselves acting as particles drifting through the atom that is Copenhagen.



Writer : Michael Frayn

Direction : Avaan Patel Cast : Tom Alter, Veera Abadan, Vivek Tandon

MR.C.'s TOK Blog BD Somani Mumbai -Theory of Knowledge: Tests and ASSESSMENT FOR GRADE 12 Q1 Reports

MR.C.'s TOK Blog BD Somani Mumbai -Theory of Knowledge: Tests and ASSESSMENT FOR GRADE 12 Q1 Reports

Myanmar or Burma's President Thein Sein: 'Aung San Suu Kyi could be president'

                                         Good news on our news channels is a rare event and therefore especially welcome. Thein Sein is now working with Aung San Su Kyi to bring democratic change to Burma. The situation was very different a few years ago when the Military Junta (Dictatorship) suppressed all dissent and brutalised its citizens including the murder of monks on the streets.

Gandhi Jayanti

More than one Gandhian narrative calling for a deeper study?

2ND OCTOBER  Gandhi Jayanti:

 Learning Gandhigiri inside the classroom

 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Gandhi-Jayanti-Learning-Gandhigiri-inside-the-classroom/articleshow/16635718.cms

 -------------------------------- 

Here is a second article I found online today, one may not agree with every point but it is well written.

DR. JAVID IQBAL : Gandhism: Post modernistic impact

Gandhism being a recurring political theme, its post modernistic impact is worth a study on Gandhi Jayanti...143rd birth anniversary of one called Mahatma. In Dubai, I was surprised to see a huge Gandhi portrait in the lecture hall for business leaders. I turned to my son—Wajahat engaged in imparting crash training in business ethics and leadership to business executives, asking…how come Gandhi has such a huge presence in your lecture hall. Leadership and holding diverse elements in his fold…a strategy which could pay dividends in corporate world, pat came the reply. But wasn’t Gandhi against huge businesses, a supporter of charka and cottage industry. Yes, that is besides the point, Gandhism is a lesson in leadership strategies, said my son—a Rumi devotee in Sufi mould, finding message of love a fundamental element in weaving the desirable social fabric. Father and son interested in historical narratives, we went into a huddle. From Rumi to Gandhi, the historical distance is considerable, the narratives are different. Message of love and humanistic understanding of diverse narratives could be a common denominator, my son put forth. I wasn’t taken in wholly by his argument.
Read the whole article here:
http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2012/Oct/2/gandhism-post-modernistic-impact-31.asp 

Wilfred Owen inspires lecturer at Harvard Law School.

http://harvardhumanrights.wordpress.com/tag/wilfred-owen/

Inside the Classroom: Using Literature and History to Introduce Disarmament Law  

Posted by Bonnie Docherty

The International Human Rights Clinic, part of the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School.

COLD - TRAILER - Thanks Illesha for sharing this with us!

In class, we often discuss nature and its impact on the environment and on individuals whether in extreme sports or even in war. Wilfred Owen and his comrades in the trenches is one example. This video helps remind us how our senses become key to our survival when we are in extremis.

ETHICS NATURAL SCIENCES HUMAN SCIENCES RUSSIAN BIO-WEAPONS

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/andrewbrown/2012/sep/26/evil-science-soviet-bioweapons-research?CMP=email

Ethics and Human Sciences - Banking Crisis driven by greed

Dick Fuld
Photo Credit: Reuters
In 2006, Fuld was named No. 1 CEO in the Brokers & Asset Managers category, by Institutional Investor magazine. In 2007 he received a $22 million bonus.

After Lehman Brothers Bank Collapse                                       http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/meltdown/about.html

On November 10, 2008 Fuld transferred his Florida mansion to his wife Kathleen for $100 in order to protect the house from potential legal actions against him. They had bought it four years earlier for $13.75 million.