Billary versus Georjeb

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Why do you think people in America (and elsewhere) have a tendency to vote for people from established families?   Does the fact that so many politicians come from these families show that social mobility is on the decline?  How does this "dynasty" trend compare to the situation in Slovakia?

This is your brain on teenage hormones

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What do you think of this author’s explanations for teenage behaviour?  Does looking for the causes of behaviour in the brain provide too easy an excuse and an escape from individual responsibility?  Does she give good advice to parents?  What do the parents’ questions reveal?

I don’t see “Indo-European” on your list of languages…

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How can studying the history of language(s) be enriching?  Can studying our own language’s history, for example Slovak, help us feel more rooted–whatever that means?  How can we protect other, smaller languages/dialects and cultures from the pervasive influence of English, if such protection is necessary?

Preventing Prevaricating in Politics

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Do you agree with this author’s definition of lying?  How can politicians best be held accountable for their lies?  Would a law against lying in Parliament work?

Let’s get physical, physical (instead of digital)

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Are you attracted to non-digital film, books and music?  What do you think of the author’s explanation for why old technologies like these are making a comeback?  Will the comeback continue?  Why or why not?

Wisdom 101

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Here’s a text from an English teacher like me.  Should schools prepare students for careers, future studies, or life in general?  Should schools try to teach wisdom to students, or only skills?  Can students find it in their literature classes?  How?  What are the negative and positive effects of having government standards for curriculum on a student’s experience? 

Leaving no stone unturned

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This is the last entry you can comment on for February.

Is it acceptable for the government to gather information on its citizens and/or resident foreigners?  What is the motivation for gathering more than is necessary, as governments often seem to do?  Does the context (terrorism instead of the cold war) change anything?