“Think about the strangeness of today's situation. Thirty, forty years ago, we were still debating about what the future will be: communist, fascist, capitalist, whatever. Today, nobody even debates these issues. We all silently accept global capitalism is here to stay. On the other hand, we are obsessed with cosmic catastrophes: the whole life on earth disintegrating, because of some virus, because of an asteroid hitting the earth, and so on. So the paradox is, that it's much easier to imagine the end of all life on earth than a much more modest radical change in capitalism.” ThinkingYearsStillsEndsWholeHandsTodayEarthSituationAcceptingIssuesImagineEasierCapitalismYears AgoWhole LifeDebateRadicalObsessedThirtyFortyParadoxCommunistCosmicCapitalistHittingModestCatastropheVirusesFascistsStrangenessAsteroidsRadical Change Author:Slavoj Žižek
“I'm most enthused by the younger people...and I wouldn't have said that two years ago. I spoke at two college campuses (in Wisconsin) and the students weren't interested. Public Service was a dirty word to them. Now they see it differently. They see you can come together and have a positive impact. I'm encouraged because they now see that we can win on these issues.” PeopleYearsSaidTwoTogetherWinningIssuesStudentsCollegeYears AgoImpactDirtyTwo YearsSpokesPublic ServiceCampusWisconsinPositive ImpactDirty WordsTwo Years AgoCollege Campus Author:Ed Garvey
“Humans have changed little over time. We think we've invented the modern world but they were making better speeches 2,000 years ago and grappling with issues of empire and terrorism.” ThinkingWorldYearsHumansLittlesIssuesModernChangedSpeechYears AgoTerrorismEmpiresModern WorldGrappling Author:Robert Harris
“I mean five thousand years ago people emerge out of nowhere -sproing!- with brains and everything and begin wrecking the planet. You'd think we'd give the issue a little more thought than we do.” PeopleThinkingGivingYearsMeanLittlesBrainIssuesFivePlanetsThousandYears AgoEnvironmentalThousand YearsStewardship Author:Douglas Coupland
“The old rule in Massachusetts politics is shape of the field determines the winner. If you have got a whole bunch of hawks, all the way from [Mike] Huckabee all the way across to [Chris]Christie, that covers the spectrum on every other issue, all hawks, all hawks, and one guy out there saying, not me, Jimmy Carter won that way back in `76. I know it`s 1,000 years ago.” IfsKnowsWayYearsWholeGuyIssuesFieldsShapesYears AgoDetermineBunchWinnerMikeSpectrumJimmyCarterHawksMassachusettsChristie Author:Chris Matthews
“I don't think we've ever lived in such a dangerous time, on a range of different levels. We also live in an extremely exciting time with a multitude of opportunities for each and every one of us to engage our individual voices, to engage more effectively collectively, to tackle some of these issues that would have seemed beyond our reach just a few years ago.” ThinkingYearsDifferentOpportunityIndividualVoiceLevelsIssuesDangerousYears AgoExcitingRangeMultitudesDifferent Levels Author:Queen Noor of Jordan
“Margaret [Hodge] is obviously entitled to do what she wishes to do. I would ask her to think for a moment, a Tory prime minister resigned, Britain's voted to leave the European Union, there are massive political issues to be addressed, is it really a good idea to start a big debate in the Labour Party when I was elected less than a year ago with a very large mandate not from MPs, I fully concede and understand that, but from the party members as a whole.” ThinkingYearsIdeasWholeMomentsBigsPoliticalAsksWishPartyIssuesMembersYears AgoUnionsDebateMinistersBritainLabourMassivePrimeGood IdeasEntitledPrime MinisterEuropean UnionMandatesResignedLabour PartyPolitical IssuesMps Author:Jeremy Corbyn
“We woke up some years ago about the consequences of ozone depletion, the hole in the atmosphere. You can't see it. You can't taste it. You can't smell it. But now we do regard that as a key issue. It's a scientific finding.” YearsIssuesKeysTasteFindingsConsequenceYears AgoRegardSmellHolesAtmosphereOzoneOzone Depletion Author:Sylvia Earle
“Some years ago our Japanese counterparts asked us to resume the discussions of the issue and so we did meeting them halfway. Over the passed couple of years the contacts were practically frozen on the initiative of the Japanese side, not ours. At the same time, presently our partners have expressed their eagerness to resume discussions on this issue [the Kuril Islands].” YearsSidesIssuesCoupleYears AgoMeetingsPartnersContactDiscussionIslandsInitiativeFrozenHalfwayResumesCounterpartsEagerness Author:Vladimir Putin
“I do a certain amount of work in religious communities on these issues. It's not the central focus of my work but it is certainly an area where I have worked a lot. It has gotten much better over the years, especially over the last couple years. There wasn't a religious environmental movement 15 years ago, but there is now - in the Catholic community, the Jewish community, the mainline Protestant community, and in the Evangelical community.” YearsLastsCertainCommunityReligiousIssuesFocusMovementAmountCoupleAreasYears AgoCatholicEnvironmentalProtestantsEvangelicalJewish CommunityReligious Community Author:Bill McKibben
“I also think we need unconventional political action, and I increasingly think that there is a need for people of faith to be able to do the kind of things that people of faith did 40 years ago in the heat of the civil rights revolution. This is a moral issue of every bit as much importance requiring every bit as much sacrifice, courage, and energy as that crisis did.” PeopleThinkingNeedsYearsKindAbleActionPoliticalEnergyBitsMoralIssuesRightsSacrificeRevolutionYears AgoImportanceCrisisCivil RightsHeatUnconventionalMoral IssuesPolitical Action Author:Bill McKibben
“Everything that we [with Shindzo Abe] are talking about has come to us as a result of the events of 70 years ago. In some way or other, during these 70 years we have been involved in some kind of dialogue on the issue, and that includes the conclusion of a peace treaty.” WayYearsKindHas BeensResultsTalkingIssuesEventsInvolvedYears AgoDialogueConclusionTreatiesAbePeace Treaties Author:Vladimir Putin
“There are two outstanding issues in democratic politics these days. One is the relationship with the media, which is now 24/7, and operates with a completely different intensity than even 15 or 20 years ago. How do we have a proper conversation between leaders and country when it's moderated sometimes in a very partisan and inflammatory way? And the second thing is the effectiveness of our democracy. How do we get the right gene and talent pool in politics?” WayYearsTwoDifferentCountrySometimesLeaderDemocracyIssuesTalentMediaConversationYears AgoDemocraticThese DaysIntensityPoolGenesEffectivenessOutstandingPartisans Author:Tony Blair
“Forty years ago this country went down a rabbit hole in Vietnam and millions died. I fear we're going down a rabbit hole once again - and if people can stop and think and reflect on some of the ideas and issues in this movie, perhaps I've done some damn good here!” PeopleIfsThinkingYearsIdeasCountryDoneMillionsIssuesYears AgoDiedHolesDamnFortyVietnamRabbitsBrilliant IdeasDamn GoodRabbit Holes Author:Errol Morris
“But my lord, when we addressed this issue a few years ago, didn't you argue the other side?" He said, "That's true, but when I get more evidence I sometimes change my mind. What do you do?” YearsMindSaidSometimesSidesLordIssuesEvidenceYears AgoArguing Author:John Maynard Keynes
“There will never be a "perfect" time to quit smoking. A time when you don't have any distractions or stress... If you had started today one year ago, this would not even be an issue for you today! Don't waste another year!” IfsYearsTodayPerfectIssuesWasteYears AgoStressEncouragementQuittingSmokingDistractionQuit SmokingAnother Year Author:Mark Twain