Weekly Topic + Announcement
Atenshun, atenshun. Before we go into the regular weekly-topic stuff, here's an announcement. We give you the talk_politics newest moderator, mahnmut!
Of course we all know him so well and love him so much, and undoubtedly he's been one of the coolest guys around. We believe he'll add a new dimension to the mod team (which is now a dirty half-dozen, yay!), and he'll continue being as enormously helpful for the betterment of this community as he has always been.
Frankly, i think you'd agree that this was long overdue. mahnmut is probably the person who knows this comm better than anyone and holds it very dear, and in fact anyone who's familiar with the (rather short) history of this place, would recall that he was that tiny last drop that triggered the birth of this awesome forum that we're all enjoying now. Besides, as you might've noticed, TP has been steadily growing ever since its inception 23 months ago. Time flies so fast... The comm has established itself as one of the most prominent places for political analysis and discussion on LJ, first of all due to this specific "product" that we've been trying to create over the years. And you know what? Most importantly, its thanks to all of you guys that we're where we are now. So, a big bow to all of you, and hopes for many more interesting moments together!
And of course, hail to our new overlord! :)
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Now that we've brushed the tears of adoration off, back to biz. On the last poll, the bi-weekly topic that you chose for the period Nov 29 - Dec 12 was:
"Political Fiction, Futurism and Alternate History"
Now thats something curious... Its a fruitful ground for unleashing our imagination. Be the thinkers and philosophers that you surely are. This is not just about what cool (or horrific) story some guy wrote somewhere about politics, the state, etc, or what some other guy speculated about the future of humankind; its not just about "What if...". Its about you and your own political views, beliefs and convictions, refracted through the twisted prism of time, now stripped of all the shackles and conventionalities of this thing that we call "reality", and gone berserk into the land of hypothesis. Or a parallel universe, if you like. Some points that might or might not be included:
- Prominent political thinkers and authors of Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and their theories.
- Politicians, writers and philosophers in the Rennaissance, and modern times, and their key works and concepts.
- The schools of thought in politics - old and modern.
- Political fiction in cinema, television and theater; in music and satire.
- Political fiction of today; editorial cartoon; comic strips.
- The tenets of futurism: in art, ethics, religion, aesthetics, and their relation to politics.
- Futurology: its social, economical and political aspects.
- The probability and predictability factor; the role of statistical analysis.
- Shaping alternative futures: utopia/dystopia. Political theories and projects embraced by governments.
- Predictions about ecological catastrophies, climate change, the technological singularity.
- Future analysis and risk management in business and economy; future-assessment methodology.
- Conspiracy theories, NWO, End Times, end of civilization.
- The possible future wars: reasons, factors, major entities, possible outcomes.
- Prominent futurologists, and their works and hypotheses.
- Futurologist projects, organizations, think-tanks, foundations and studies.
- The future of technology; IT, space exploration, nanotechnology, biotechnology.
- The future of humankind, evolution, transhumanism.
- Global socio-political challenges for the future.
- The ultimate fate of the Universe, physical research and its applicability in technology.
- Alternate history in fiction: literature, cinema, television.
- Free-for-all: your alternate history. Wild hypotheses. "What if..."
And here's the poll for the period Dec 13 - 26.
Poll Weekly topic
(Feel free to suggest more).
Of course we all know him so well and love him so much, and undoubtedly he's been one of the coolest guys around. We believe he'll add a new dimension to the mod team (which is now a dirty half-dozen, yay!), and he'll continue being as enormously helpful for the betterment of this community as he has always been.
Frankly, i think you'd agree that this was long overdue. mahnmut is probably the person who knows this comm better than anyone and holds it very dear, and in fact anyone who's familiar with the (rather short) history of this place, would recall that he was that tiny last drop that triggered the birth of this awesome forum that we're all enjoying now. Besides, as you might've noticed, TP has been steadily growing ever since its inception 23 months ago. Time flies so fast... The comm has established itself as one of the most prominent places for political analysis and discussion on LJ, first of all due to this specific "product" that we've been trying to create over the years. And you know what? Most importantly, its thanks to all of you guys that we're where we are now. So, a big bow to all of you, and hopes for many more interesting moments together!
And of course, hail to our new overlord! :)
---
Now that we've brushed the tears of adoration off, back to biz. On the last poll, the bi-weekly topic that you chose for the period Nov 29 - Dec 12 was:
"Political Fiction, Futurism and Alternate History"
Now thats something curious... Its a fruitful ground for unleashing our imagination. Be the thinkers and philosophers that you surely are. This is not just about what cool (or horrific) story some guy wrote somewhere about politics, the state, etc, or what some other guy speculated about the future of humankind; its not just about "What if...". Its about you and your own political views, beliefs and convictions, refracted through the twisted prism of time, now stripped of all the shackles and conventionalities of this thing that we call "reality", and gone berserk into the land of hypothesis. Or a parallel universe, if you like. Some points that might or might not be included:
- Prominent political thinkers and authors of Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and their theories.
- Politicians, writers and philosophers in the Rennaissance, and modern times, and their key works and concepts.
- The schools of thought in politics - old and modern.
- Political fiction in cinema, television and theater; in music and satire.
- Political fiction of today; editorial cartoon; comic strips.
- The tenets of futurism: in art, ethics, religion, aesthetics, and their relation to politics.
- Futurology: its social, economical and political aspects.
- The probability and predictability factor; the role of statistical analysis.
- Shaping alternative futures: utopia/dystopia. Political theories and projects embraced by governments.
- Predictions about ecological catastrophies, climate change, the technological singularity.
- Future analysis and risk management in business and economy; future-assessment methodology.
- Conspiracy theories, NWO, End Times, end of civilization.
- The possible future wars: reasons, factors, major entities, possible outcomes.
- Prominent futurologists, and their works and hypotheses.
- Futurologist projects, organizations, think-tanks, foundations and studies.
- The future of technology; IT, space exploration, nanotechnology, biotechnology.
- The future of humankind, evolution, transhumanism.
- Global socio-political challenges for the future.
- The ultimate fate of the Universe, physical research and its applicability in technology.
- Alternate history in fiction: literature, cinema, television.
- Free-for-all: your alternate history. Wild hypotheses. "What if..."
And here's the poll for the period Dec 13 - 26.
Poll Weekly topic
(Feel free to suggest more).