Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.Robert Louis Stevenson

Inner Life Directions

Expanding Reality

Governance

  • Cyber-Exploitation

    https://oag.ca.gov/cyberexploitation That’s the URL for a website giving victims of cyber-exploitation—otherwise known as porn revenge—resources, including help with how to have images, videos, and sometimes damaging statements, removed from social media. I do feel that it’s particularly important to give it because several stories I read from mainstream media spoke about such things as how ground breaking it was that California was the first state to do this but did not include it. The site began by California Attorney General, Kamala Harris, does not seem to me to be a cure all for cyber-exploitation, but (more…)

  • European Perspective of US Politics

    It surprised me that one of the most read pieces on the http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-27074746 recently was “The US Is Dominated by a Rich and Powerful Elite.” Both the title and subject of the article were the result of a study by two professors, Martin Gilens of Princeton University and Benjamin Page of Northwestern University. Their stark conclusion was clearly, if academically, stated, “Americans do enjoy many features (more…)

  • Virtual Reality at The UN

    True, I don’t know much about virtual reality, but usages like the one suggested by the movie “Her” makes me queasy, wondering if our very humanity is being mechanized. But as is the case with most people, my fears and opinions do not always match the reality. You can imagine how intrigued—and I admit glad—I was to read that the UN headquarters had used virtual reality to draw attention to and create better grasp of the refugee problem. A group affiliated with the UN Millennium Campaign had made a special film—using a girl in the Za’atary refugee camp on the Jordan-Syrian borders, one of the largest refugee camps and one that houses some 80,000 Syrian refugees. Heads of states and delegates were able to view the virtual reality film and get a sense of presence of what’s it’s like to be there. Later a portal was set up where heads of state and delegates could have anonymous conversations with people in those refugee camps. It was at first thought that the portal would be there temporarily and it may now be permanent. Other portals are being set in in D.C and San Francisco. The idea is that there’s a difference between pity and empathy, and that such methods are conducive to a unique understanding which policy makers often need.
    As far as the UN was concerned it was all very successful, so much so it drew the attention of ADWEEK, the advertising magazine which wrote about it and suggested that it was an instance tech-minded marketers could learn from. So now I have a new set of fears and concerns.

Subscribe and Be Notified of New Posts

* indicates required

We will never sell or share your information, we promise.