Twitter is fast becoming a branch of US state media itself. For a company with such a large international user base, that seems like a bad business plan. And it’s certainly a bad thing from the perspective of achieving the not quite realized, but clearly to be pursued, promise that the Internet holds out to humanity — connecting people around the globe without kowtowing to the increasingly obsolete and disintegrating concept of national borders.
Tag: media
Creating the Elegance of Simplicity & Focus in Your Work Day
Our days can feel like a crazy sea of distraction, stress, busyness and overwhelm. We can get lost in that sea, and it’s hard to figure out how to find mindfulness and focus in the middle of it all. The answer, I’ve repeatedly found, is in the pure elegance of simplicity.
Overcoming Our Biggest Obstacle to Creating Habits
Whether you want to start a new exercise habit, start meditating or writing daily, start to get out of debt or clear your clutter … creating a new habit isn’t always easy.
The Danger and Usefulness of Labels
It’s better to eschew labels altogether until you have a lot of clear self-knowledge. When you don’t, they stymie the process of getting it and lure you into thinking the label provides meaning. It doesn’t.
Left and Right are Bad, Left is Much Worse
I’m finding that many moderates, libertarians and independents have lost perspective on left/right cultural dynamics. I think, sometimes, their desire to not take sides (good for them), has made them equate both sides to being equal in effect and harm.
The Incredible Progress of Daily Practice
Lately in my life, I’ve been repeatedly reminded of the power of practicing something regularly. Daily is best, I’ve learned, but several times a week works well too. You’d be surprised how much progress you can make with even a small amount of practice, applied regularly.
Wake Up to the Fact of Your Own Agency
It starts with self-honesty. “My parents won’t let me do this, so I can’t” is a lie. The truth may be something like, “I want to do this but I’m unwilling to unless my parents keep funding my life.” The sooner you can admit to yourself what you’re really going after, the better.
Dying for the Empire Is Not Heroic
Predictably, the news media spent most of the week examining words Donald Trump may or may not have spoken to the widow of an American Green Beret killed in Niger, in northwest Africa, in early October. Not only was this coverage tedious, it was largely pointless. We know Trump is a clumsy boor, and we also know that lots of people are ready to pounce on him for any sort of gaffe, real or imagined. Who cares? It’s not news. But it was useful to those who wish to distract Americans from what really needs attention: the U.S. government’s perpetual war.
Thoughts on Internal Values and Instincts
We all want someone who we share values with, and is funny and we can share a good time with. However, I think people often get too clouded by problematic ways of thinking to understand there is something much deeper going on. We haven’t surpassed nature, we won’t, and we can’t.
Telephone Etiquette
What is going on? Have you encountered people who, in the middle of public places, hold their mobile phones out at crooked arm’s length, horizontally, while using the speaker feature, apparently max’ed?