The New York Times periodically rotates bureau chiefs and reporters across cities and regions. When tracking the Jerusalem bureau, it is interesting (and sad perhaps) to notice a trend where many of them arrive with a positive outlook and are moved elsewhere after they start adopting an increasingly dour (if not pathologically cynical) perspective with [...]
It is not news that our bodies rely on bacteria to perform many functions, such as the bacteria in our digestive system that help deconstruct and process food. But what is fascinating according to a story in Genome Research reported by The New York Times, is the sheer volume of such relations, to the point [...]
Related to and independent of the prior posting, I’ve noticed that letting someone go in an NGO (when that is the right and necessary path) is much harder for Executive Directors than it is for CEOs of a company. Why is this? The most immediate reason may have to do with the culture and mission [...]
I hate the term "firing" an employee – along with today’s corporate culture of swift, cold departures that fits and imbues the term. Today’s prevalent system for leaving a company or organization is unnecessarily inefficient and impersonal. There are much better ways to approach this. It is never pleasant letting a team member go, or [...]
Robert Lee Hotz reports in the Wall Street Journal about how our brains are transformed by the alphabets and languages we learn. Those who learn English and those who learn Chinese use different areas of their brains – confirmed by alternate patterns of energy use and brain structure. Hotz explains this could also be behind [...]
When returning a rental car on my last trip to LA, I noticed a car packed to the ream with bags and random stuff. I wondered what it was. It turns out it was a repossessed car. Many relate to the sub-prime mortgage implosion as a financial disaster. Some Wall Street traders may lose [...]
Wouldn’t it be great if ordinary citizens all joined together and said, "I have had enough – and I am going to do something about it!" and then pushed their Heads of State to once and for all deliver a two-state-agreement?! They could draw inspiration from this: "I am mad as hell, and I am [...]
This is better than a warning on a cigarette box.
The film-maker Jehane Noujaim dreamt a day when people across the world would see the same films, images and messages on the same day, at the same time: Pangea Day. She dreamt and, thanks to a partnership with TED, she acted on her dream and pulled it off amazingly. Witnessed across the world by a [...]
I just got this very cool invitation from Laurel Rapp, who runs our International Education Program… You’re Invited: Global Town Hall Meeting (webcast live to your classroom!) Ever wonder what young Israelis and Palestinians growing up in conflict zones hope for, dream about, and are working to change? Ever wonder what both groups are doing [...]