Author Archives: Harry Katz

Gen. David Petraeus @ Seattle Town Hall

Gen. David Petraeus spoke this evening at Seattle Town Hall in an event sponsored by the Seattle World Affairs Council.  His talk, innocuously titled US Central Command Update, focused on lessons learned from the counterinsurgency efforts in Iraq, with an … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Leave a comment

WSJ: Six scenarios for the outcome of the Iranian election

This WSJ article lays out six possible outcomes for the Iranian election.   Sadly, recent developments would suggest some combination of #3 and #4 taking place.

Posted in Politics | Leave a comment

TED Talk: How Twitter Can Make History

Excellent TED talk by Clay Shirky called “How Twitter Can Make History.”  Given earlier this month at the State Department, it succinctly summarizes the dramatic evolution of the media from one-to-one (telephone) or one-to-many communication (print, radio, television) to today’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Leave a comment

Burma’s military dictators clearly terrified of Aung San Suu Kyi

As reported in the Guardian, and other media, Burma opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi pleads not guilty to violating house arrest.  About a week before Aung San Suu Kyi was due to be released from six years of house … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Last P-I

I had a paper route when I was a kid.  I delivered The Toronto Telegram, or The Telly as it was known, to about 25 homes in the subdivision where my family lived in Oakville, a bedroom community just west … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Leave a comment

TED Talks: Hans Rosling Debunking Third World Myths

TED is a web site featuring talks from leading thinkers in the very broad fields of Technology, Entertainment and Design.  I think many of these talks are given at the annual TED conference.  If you’ve never visited TED it’s well … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Leave a comment

Paul Krugman @ Seattle Town Hall

This evening we attended a talk given by Paul Krugman at Seattle Town Hall sponsored by the Seattle World Affairs Council.  Krugman is the 2008 winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and a regular columnist at the New York … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Leave a comment

Book Review: Outliers

Outliers: The Story of SuccessBy Malcolm GladwellLittle, Brown & Co., New York, 2008 In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell examines what makes some people extraordinarily successful, statistical outliers, in their chosen fields. He looks at Bill Gates, the Beatles, professional hockey players … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Leave a comment

Roller man

To paraphrase Obi-wan Kenobi, "I don’t mind rollerblading, but what this guy’s doing is suicide."   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rgWl_7nH4w&feature=related

Posted in Inline skating | Leave a comment

Skater in the Mist

Sunday afternoon, turkey eaten, thanks given, houseguests packed up and gone home; I tossed my gear into the trunk of my car and headed out to skate off excess consumption. I arrived at Marymoor Park a little after 4pm. Not … Continue reading →

Posted in Inline skating | Leave a comment