Newsletter # 25 -- Dec. 17, 2018
About Moving Beyond Intractability Newsletters
Important information about the Newsletters, sign-up procedures, links to past newsletters, and strategies for overcoming possible delivery problems is found at the end of this Newsletter.
About this Newsletter
Our last Newsletter brought readers and viewers up to date on our Conflict Frontiers Posts, and this newsletter contains the associated Things YOU Can Do to Help Posts that are being released as part of the same seminar (Frontiers Seminar 8). (You may remember that we are now including Things YOU Can Do to Help, Conflict Fundamentals, and BI in Context Posts in the Frontiers Seminars.) This newsletter also contains the BI-in Context Posts that have appeared since the last newsletter, along with ones that are scheduled between now and Jan 1.
Things to Do to Help Blog
- Don't Take the "Hate Bait" -- Hate begets hate, fear, anger, and eventually violence. Don't fall into the trap! And if you are in, climb out!
- Treat EVERYONE With Respect -- Respect is free to give, yet its payback is huge: breaking down stereotypes and often earning respect in return.
- Find Others to Work With -- Alone we can do a little bit, but with others we can accomplish much more. Collaboration works!
- Listen To and Talk With (not to) the Other Side -- Even if you think you know what the other side thinks, you likely don't--and they don't know you either.
- Try Collaboration First! -- If we dig below positions, we often can collaborate with "our enemies" to the benefit of all.
- Pick Your Fights--Let Things Go When You Can -- Fights cost lots and may be lost! If you can live and let live, it is often much better for all.
- Confront Constructively -- Use a mediator's "tricks" to more effectively address conflicts on your own.
Beyond Intractability in Context Blog
Already Posted:
- Another part of the problem, people are becoming ever more disconnected from the social fabric. -- How Loneliness Is Tearing America Apart -- 12/17/2018
- An exploration of the multifaceted challenges that have to be met if we are going to break our addiction to coal. -- The World Needs to Quit Coal. Why Is It So Hard? -- 12/17/2018
- From Nicholas Kristof, thoughts on how the media can prevent itself from being used to spread fake facts. Trying to Fight, Not Spread, Fear and Lies -- 12/16/2018
- For those who wonder why all those people are fleeing Central America, a backgrounder from the Council on Foreign Relations. Central America’s Violent Northern Triangle -- 12/16/2018
- A radical and seldom heard idea: the "establishment" should acknowledge its past failings and take steps to correct them. The Return of the Chastened Establishment -- 12/15/2018
- The story of how environmental collapse in Gaza has become so serious that war is no longer considered an option! Israel’s About-Face on Gaza -- 12/15/2018
- Surprisingly perceptive insights from Plato's era about the dangers of information technology. How Plato Foresaw Facebook’s Folly -- 12/14/2018
- A hopeful story about peacebuilding efforts aimed at those who have abandoned Boco Haram.Boko Haram brought terror to Niger. Can a defectors program bring peace? -- 12/14/2018
- An undoubtedly controversial, and thought-provoking, article on the relationship between civil rights and Title IX enforcement.The ACLU Declines to Defend Civil Rights -- 12/13/2018
- For those interested in conflict mapping, an exploration of different strategies for drawing and thinking about history. How Would You Draw History? -- 12/12/2018
- A surprising argument worth considering -- the problem of income stagnation is overstated. The Myth of Stagnant Incomes -- 12/12/2018
- Encouraging signs that authoritarianism might not be so stable after all. The challenge is to make democracy really work. The Next Arab Uprising -- 12/11/2018
- A surprising, and probably sensible argument, that protecting biodiversity needs to include germs. Save the Germs -- 12/11/2018
- Getting beyond the rhetoric, look at the role of immigrants in the US economy. 4 myths about how immigrants affect the U.S. economy -- 12/10/2018
- An argument that the transition from democracy to authoritarianism is very difficult to reverse. Unfixable? -- 12/10/2018
- Important questions about exactly how we define hate groups, who gets to decide, and violence risks. The State of Hate -- 12/09/2018
- Evidence of public support for major changes in the structure of democracy. How do we assure positive change? The Public, the Political System and American Democracy -- 12/09/2018
- Video retrospectives on Russian efforts to propagandize the West. Operation Infektion -- 12/08/2018
- From Essential Partners, thoughts about dealing with family political conflicts over the holidays. Facing the Holidays - And Each Other -- 12/08/2018
- A look at the politics of trying to divide white America along class lines and an appeal for efforts to push back. The Democrats’ White-People Problem -- 12/07/2018
- In case you missed it, citizen initiatives aimed at strengthening democracy did well in the recent election. Let the People Vote -- 12/07/2018
- A bit of moderating perspective on fears of China's emerging, high-tech totalitarian state. China’s Orwellian Social Credit Score Isn’t Real -- 12/07/2018
- A reminder: the success of efforts to address climate change ultimately depends upon building broad support for shared sacrifice. France suspends fuel tax after weeks of unrest -- 12/06/2018
- An examination of the details of Theresa May's vision for Brexit. It sure is different from the popular vision. Divorced, But Still Living Together -- 12/06/201
Forthcoming Posts (this takes us to the end of this year).
- A profile of somebody who might just be up to the challenge of breaking up today's big monopolies. -- Tim Wu on Breaking Up Monopolies in the Age of Google --Will Be Posted: 12/28/2018
- An interesting exploration of the likely implications of the Internet technology's betrayal of the public trust. -- The Internet Is Going To End Up Like Greece --Will Be Posted: 12/27/2018 -- Edit
- For our era of fake facts, a Scientific American exploration of the complex relationship between science and the public. --America's Love–Hate Relationship with Science -- Will Be Posted: 12/27/2018
- A look at how charity has, under the tax laws at least, become the province of the very rich. -- Plutocratic politics an the age of gilded giving -- Will Be Posted: 12/23/2018
- A genuinely interesting idea, giving workers 40% of the seats on corporate boards. -- American Capitalism Isn’t Working. -- Will Be Posted: 12/23/2018
- Time to face facts, we are losing the war on climate change. We desperately need creative ideas for changing things. --Nations Are Not Reducing Emissions Quickly Enough to Meet 2C Target -- Will Be Posted: 12/22/2018
- Amid Orwellian concerns about China's "social credit" system, an argument that the US is building its version. -- China Is Building A “Social Credit” System. So Is The United States. -- Will Be Posted: 12/22/2018
- A critique of proposals for a universal basic income that are well worth considering. -- Universal Basic Income Is Silicon Valley’s Latest Scam -- Will Be Posted: 12/21/2018
- A lawsuit that I hope wins, students suing for civics lessons! -- Are Civics Lessons a Constitutional Right? This Student Is Suing for Them -- Will Be Posted: 12/21/2018
- An interesting story of an effort to combat the hate that is, too often, directed at the Roma. -- Fighting Anti-Roma Hate, One Story at a Time -- Will Be Posted: 12/20/2018
- Stats on Obama's efforts to control illegal immigration and the disconnect between policy realities and political rhetoric. -- U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Total Dips to Lowest Level in a Decade -- Will Be Posted: 12/20/2018
- Political ideology doesn't explain everything, we also have to deal with people motivated by amoral selfish ambition. --Maybe They’re Just Bad People -- Will Be Posted: 12/19/2018
- An examination of the complex social forces that are dividing the United States into hostile political regions. -- The Real Culprit Behind Geographic Polarization -- Will Be Posted: 12/19/2018
- A heartbreaking story about how a biofuel policy disaster has undone much of our effort to fight climate change. --Palm Oil Was Supposed to Help Save the Planet. Instead It Unleashed a Catastrophe. -- Will Be Posted: 12/18/2018
- A critique of left-wing protests that become counterproductive because they violate minimum standards of civility. --Left-Wing Protests Are Crossing the Line -- Will Be Posted: 12/18/2018
About the MBI Newsletters
Every two weeks or so, we will compile the new posts from the Frontiers Seminar, the Fundamentals Seminar, the Things Everyone Can Do to Help Blog, and the Beyond Intractability in Context Blog into a Newsletter that will be posted here and sent out by email to subscribers. You can sign up to receive your copy on our Newsletter Sign Up Page and find the latest newsletter as well as all past newsletters here on our Newsletter page.
Also available are past newsletters: 9, #10, #11, #12 , #13, #14, #15, #16, #17 , #18, #19 , #20, #21, #22 , #23, #24 and the 2017 Newsletter Archive.
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