Tag Archives: current events

“Using devices to track oneself” – or “missing the point of what it means to be human”

March 12, 2013 · by · in civics, culture, current events, hard lessons, philosophy, Technology · 2 Comments

There’s a new fad out there. Have you heard of it? It’s called “quantified self.” It’s all about self-tracking everything you do. You track obvious things like how many steps you take, how many cups of water you drink or what your daily caloric intake is. But you track other things as well, such as […]

Guest Post: Sean Hannity and the War with Iran

March 5, 2013 · by · in civics, culture, current events, guest post, politics · 3 Comments

NTI is pleased to present the second post in our Guest Poster series. Our first guest poster was Zubin Doshi.  Well he’s back, and this time he’s talking about Sean Hannity and his version of “news journalism.”  Comments are always welcome. Enjoy! Sean Hannity and the War with Iran ~ by ZUBIN DOSHI I have […]

Last Night’s Oscars Were So Excruciating They Make Me Wonder If Torture Is Ever Permissible

February 25, 2013 · by · in culture, current events, philosophy, politics · 7 Comments

Everybody’s talking about last night’s Oscar awards and that makes me want to talk about torture. Just kidding, Seth McFarlane did a great job and actually made the Oscars enjoyable for the first time in a long time. Seriously though, today I’d like to talk about Zero Dark Thirty, how it has once again revived […]

The Politics of Peppers: New Mexico’s Attempt to Save Its Identity

February 22, 2013 · by · in culture, current events · Leave a comment

The New York Times ran an article today that is near and dear to my heart.  The article is about the State of New Mexico’s efforts to cease the sale of counterfeit New Mexican chiles.  As a native of Albuquerque, NM, (you know, that city Buggs Bunny should have taken a left turn in), I […]

The world has too few heroes, and we just lost another: the tragedy of Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp

February 20, 2013 · by · in culture, hard lessons · Leave a comment

Yesterday was the bail hearing for Oscar Pistorius in the Magistrates Court in Pretoria, South Africa.  Mr. Pistorius is accused of murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steempkamp, on St. Valentine’s Day.  The tragedy of an event like this cannot be overstated, and our hearts go out to both families. Initial assessments do not look good.  The […]

UPDATE: Lawmakers place limits on police use of drones

February 19, 2013 · by · in current events, drones, law, politics · 1 Comment

If you read the New York Times over the weekend you may have seen this article.  If you read this blog, and I assume you do because you’re reading it now, then you may have also read our recent post about drones.  Ok, maybe that post was actually about the advent of the data-revolution, but […]

Data, the Dalai Lama, and Drones

February 8, 2013 · by · in current events, drones, politics · 2 Comments

Today’s post is about data, the Dalai Lama, and the federal Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).  If you’re wondering how on earth these three are connected, read on. Data-ism.  In a recent Op-Ed, New York Times Columnist David Brooks announced his intention to study something he calls “data-ism” — the philosophy of data.  According […]

Bridgeport Police Beatings not black and white, but instead reflect a fundamental societal problem

February 6, 2013 · by · in current events, politics, poverty · Leave a comment

Like many, I was shocked by the recent CT Post report of a new video depicting the brutal beating of Orlando Lopez-Soto of Bridgeport, Connecticut, by the police in Beardsley Park in 2011.  Atrocious conduct such as this is unequivocally unacceptable, should be condemned and we should both demand and expect not only that the […]