West Wing Wednesday Night #33 December 8, 2010

December is upon us, as suddenly as the unexpected snowfall last week. And the mood is funny – many things seem to be brewing from local to worldwide where the zeitgeist is unsatisfied… Ireland under severe belt tightening, Korea on the cusp of conflict (and not only because of the shortage of kimchi cabbage http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11523183 ), further evidence of the deterioration of our democracy with the no-debate-done in minutes-defeat of the environmental bill in our unelected Senate http://www.ndp.ca/press/shocking-defeat-climate-bill-hands-harpers-unelected-senators …

So let’s wrap up the year of discussions in style – here are a few topics for our December session with a bit of a “wicked question” spin a la Brenda Zimmerman (http://tamarackcommunity.ca/ssi8.html

• perhaps a great example of (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_Deviance)

• I am still trying to decide if the WikiLeaks have been good or bad http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/11/29/f-database-wikileaks-canada-cables.html  – and has Obama in the last year been naughty or nice?
• Another naughty or nice debate concerning a recent Nobel prize winner: is the recent award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Chinese dissident, Liu Xiaobo, a good deed? – perhaps not – see http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/12/opinion/12iht-edmahbubani.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=globaleua212
• Then there is really naughty: the Cookie-gate a.k.a. Marie-Antoinette redux – the head of Alberta Health losing his job over a video of him refusing to answer reporter questions on ER wait times because he is enjoying his cookie – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DxeCK5Ne_Q
• Elections gossip –  BC liberal candidates, by-elections federally, municipal elections for Vancouver…
• Is there such a thing as “ethical economics” or “ethonomics” http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/noah-robischon/editors-desk/what-ethonomics?
• Top 10 trends from 2010 … here is a list http://www.entrepreneur.com/trends/index.html – what would you add on a Canadian version? – the list is in – http://www.popsci.com/bown/2010 – what is your favorite (and please don’t say iPhone4)?