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​The Guardian: As political discourse descends into rage, thank god for Michelle Obama. http://google.com/newsstand/s/CBIwotbP_i8

The Tallinn experiment: what happens when a city makes public transport free?
http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/oct/11/tallinn-experiment-estonia-public-transport-free-cities?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_WordPress
UPDATE: Just to be clear, even though it is clear that some parts of this experiment may not be financially sustainable in the long term – in the current circumstances – I am still a big fan of making public transportation more accessible. Perhaps if some of the funds that so often gets spent on building bigger highways got redirected to public transit, the financial situation would look different. 🙂

World’s wealthiest nations accused by Amnesty of leaving poorer countries bearing the brunt of global refugee crisis.
http://aje.io/q2f6

VOA News: Using The sun to Solve Fuel Shortages. http://google.com/newsstand/s/CBIw8KebgC0

Just came across this work being done in Gaza – looks like an amazing prototype. Hopefully the will get some funding to move the project forward. 🙂

I watched this TED Talk and thought you would find it interesting.

Jamila Raqib: The secret to effective nonviolent resistance

https://go.ted.com/CyH7

Learn more about watching TED Talks on all of your favorite platforms: https://www.ted.com/about/programs-initiatives/ted-talks/ways-to-get-ted-talks

I watched this TED Talk and thought you would find it interesting.

Monica Araya: A small country with big ideas to get rid of fossil fuels

https://go.ted.com/CyW6

Learn more about watching TED Talks on all of your favorite platforms: https://www.ted.com/about/programs-initiatives/ted-talks/ways-to-get-ted-talks

This came out a little while ago – apologies for the delay in posting. The Pope is speaking out against economic injustice and the latest trend towards equating whole faith groups with any particular negative brush. http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/world/pope-francis-islam-violence-1.3702795. Glad to see statements such as this coming from various people – but I have to wonder how we have ended up in an environment in which something like these needs to be pointed out. Is it not clearly evident to everybody that a such broad, negative stereotypes are inaccurate at best and highly destructive at worst?

On a slightly lighter note, someone made sure that Donald Trump got the wall he has been trying to get – but not exactly in the way he intended: http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/trending/donald-trump-star-wall-1.3687158.   

I watched this TED Talk and thought you would find it interesting.

eL Seed: A project of peace, painted across 50 buildings

https://go.ted.com/CykE

Learn more about watching TED Talks on all of your favorite platforms: https://www.ted.com/about/programs-initiatives/ted-talks/ways-to-get-ted-talks

Teachers are thanking Melania Trump – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-36836599

For everybody out there who has ever done the hard work of doing good academic research, I think this article is worth passing on – and it’s amusing to see some academic good come out of something that is otherwise so dismal. Seems that there is a bit of a social media campaign going on explaining exactly what plagiarism is, and why it shouldn’t happen. Looks like there are a lot of students who will be getting a refresher course on why it’s important to use references – thanks to the Trump campaign. Likely not the outcome the campaign intended for the speech, I imagine. 

For further proof, this scientist estimates that there is a 1 in 87 billion chance that the speech was original: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/math-melania-trump-plagiarism_us_578e66bbe4b04ca54ebef2b6. 

Pediatrics experts make recommendations to curb ‘virtual violence’ in children’s lives

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/violence-children-teens-1.3681849

Shared via the CBC News Android App

I have a long-standing opposition to violence in any media that kids and youth are consuming. I was also never convinced by the “I watched violent movies and I turned out OK” argument that some people tried to convince me with. 🙂 I’m glad to see that more concrete evidence is coming out that confirms that violence in media for kids and youth is a clear problem and steps need to be taken to adjust what is being viewed. Although this study is looking at kids and youth, I would suggest that the same applies to violence being used for entertainment for adults, as well. Do we really need to be more desensitized to violence? Shouldn’t we be working towards peace and justice instead?