Archive for the 'Politics' Category

Introducing TwiddleEast

Monday, December 29th, 2008

This weekend as Israelis and Palestinians clashed again in Gaza, and it seemed like everyone had a reaction to the violence.

As I consumed the popular media, I began to think about the more pedestrian views out there. It is important to understand what the everyman thinks, even if one does not agree with him or her (and I certainly do not agree with many of the opinions out there). After all, it is only by understanding others’ points of view that we will ever get ourselves out of these international confrontations. Peace comes when people understand and interact with one another.

A great place to get at peoples’ opinions is the popular new communication tool: Twitter. Twitter allows users to post messages, opinions, and thoughts 140 characters at a time. Each post is a tiny glance at a person’s thought. If you’re not a member yet, you should give Twitter a try. It’s quite fun and addictive.

So, as I set out to glance at what people were saying about the situation in the Middle East via Twitter, I decided to build a tool that would help with this task. And so I did just that, with TwiddleEast.

Here's what TwiddleEast looks like

Here's what TwiddleEast looks like

TwiddleEast allows you to quickly glance at what people on Twitter are saying about a few of the Middle Eastern countries in the news today.

Check it out, and I’d love to hear if it is helpful to you. If there is anything I can do to make TwiddleEast better, don’t hesitate to let me know, and while you’re at it: follow me or TwiddleEast on Twitter.

Get out and vote

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

And all you people are the heroes I’ve known
We’re staring off the edge into the unknown
We are not there yet, but we cannot go home
So we cry and we sing
Yeah I remember everything

How for once in our lives
We saw what we wanted and took a bite.
We picked the fruit from the tree, and it was ripe.
And it was ripe, and it was ripe, and it was ripe.”

- Ben Lee, “Ripe”

If you’re American, get out there and vote today. It’s your civic duty. We’re all counting on you. Thanks.

Yep, I’m a Barack Backer.

Saturday, February 16th, 2008

He’s able to stir up emotion in me that I haven’t felt for a politician in years and years. And for a young yet disillusioned American like myself, being inspirational is as good a reason as any to be my choice for president.

Thanks to IsraLuv for the video link.