(Making Sense of the 21st Century)

Hello Friends and Colleagues!

I have started this webpage in attempts to answer questions regarding perhaps the most relevant issues of our decade: Etiquette, Economy, and the E-Class.

Etiquette.

By Etiquette, I mean diplomacy. I use the word “etiquette” because diplomacy can appear as just that; a number of rules in line with a facade of how people should act to get what they want. Ironically, and appropriately, the Etiquette section’s objective is to dive beneath the facade to  name the issues and provide the facts.

True to my politically-oriented form, this area will discuss some of the most difficult international and domestic issues we face today. Mid-Term election voting, the Israel-Palestine 6th round of negotiations, Darfur, India-Pakistan, you name it, it’s on the agenda. And if it’s not, I always take requests!

But Etiquette will also address those issues that we never hear about - whether it’s Kenya’s water diplomacy or Japanese constitutional development - that the public could (or should) learn a thing or two about.

Economy.

… and who isn’t concerned with this subject matter? Since the ‘07 World Financial Crisis, we have all been affected. But perhaps the most confusing to everyone is 1) Who’s guilty for the crisis? 2) Who was most affected by it? and more importantly, 3) How can we get ourselves out of this mess, and 4) How long will it take? This section, over many posts, will strive to answer all of these questions and more.

The E-Class.

Being born in the ’80s makes me of the “Internet Age”, but it pales in comparison to the younger generations who will come after. This section addresses the absolute necessity and state-changing nature of internet access in developed and developing countries, and how to adjust our educational systems to fit that hopefully not-all-too frenetic future.

A close friend of mine asked me what was different about this blog as opposed to other political blogs. I gave her a three-pronged response: 1) It tries to make issues simple for the international reader by providing sound analysis, 2) Politics and economics combine in one opinion, which is rarely, if ever, happens (economists are usually on one end, and politicians are on the other, both forced to work with each other, but both also raising their hands in cluelessness to the other side’s assessments), and 3) It parallels the importance of the internet age to politics, particularly international politics, and education.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy what is to come!

Carole Muedder