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Unknown commented on "On UN Day 2024 An Occasional Pessimist Considers the Future : Tom McDermott"
17 mins ago
Thank you, Tom. Your note comes at just the right time. Now I’ll reread Paula’s.
21 hours ago
What a lovely mini-reunion it must have been. So glad to see Sheila and learn of her continuing concern and effort for pushing all to revive the History Project , even in other ways and means. There is much to report on the evolution of women's empowerment in UNICEF , and especially in Africa, and I hope that a few of our XUNICEF collegaues will take on this task. I will try to add my part in due course.
24 Oct 2024
Hello Bill,
Lovely to hear from you. Thanks for your comments. Thanks to all readers for their comments.
Yes––Meena and Sara . . . the projects were possible as we had great partnerships with UNICEF country offices, Governments, NGOs, private sectors and the communities (girls, boys, service providers, etc). Looking back, I feel so humbled. But we missed the opportunity of establishing a Meena Foundation. Both Dr Yunus (Grameen Bank) and Fazle Hasan Abed (Head of Brac) were willing to partner with UNICEF on this vision. We missed the opportunity––our agency had cold feet . . .
By the way, Meena is still going strong in Bangladesh through the education system, media and strong pirating (ha ha ha). Meena still appeals!
Lovely to hear from you. Thanks for your comments. Thanks to all readers for their comments.
Yes––Meena and Sara . . . the projects were possible as we had great partnerships with UNICEF country offices, Governments, NGOs, private sectors and the communities (girls, boys, service providers, etc). Looking back, I feel so humbled. But we missed the opportunity of establishing a Meena Foundation. Both Dr Yunus (Grameen Bank) and Fazle Hasan Abed (Head of Brac) were willing to partner with UNICEF on this vision. We missed the opportunity––our agency had cold feet . . .
By the way, Meena is still going strong in Bangladesh through the education system, media and strong pirating (ha ha ha). Meena still appeals!
Luis Oliveros commented on "Four and twenty blackbirds, baked in a pie - Ken Gibbs"
23 Oct 2024
I wish I could write like you
Paula Claycomb commented on "A Podcast Version of "News You May Have Missed This Week" : Tom McDermott"
23 Oct 2024
Ugh. I agree with Robert that their voices and the presentation style were cloying and with Ellen that it began to grate on me in the 2nd or 3rd minute. I suppose we are stuck with AI, but its consumption of fossil-fuel generated energy -- along with the horrific wars that are being waged across the globe -- spells doom for grandchildren and their children.
22 Oct 2024
Dear Yoriko and colleagues,
Thanks for this well-crafted statement that is very balanced, principled and timely, if not a bit overdue.
I have signed the petition and am sharing with a few other former UN/UNICEF colleagues who might be interested in signing it.
Let's hope that it will have some marginal impact, though many such appeals in the past have gone unheeded.
Thanks for this well-crafted statement that is very balanced, principled and timely, if not a bit overdue.
I have signed the petition and am sharing with a few other former UN/UNICEF colleagues who might be interested in signing it.
Let's hope that it will have some marginal impact, though many such appeals in the past have gone unheeded.
22 Oct 2024
What can be the impact of such statements when the party concerned has absolutely no regard for the whole United Nations System, and more so continues to insult it and its leaders, turns a deaf ear to all its Heads of Agencies, kills UN personnel by the hundreds, attacks Peace-keeping forces, etc. etc. etc.? Add this to the hundreds of equally important statements and a multitute of UN , rsolutions and other such legal issues.
22 Oct 2024
Good initiative! If only one half our 1,000 plus members of XUNICEF sign on it will be a major act of popular support to the stopping of this catastrophic situation for children in Gaza/Palestine and Lebanon. Please engage !!!
20 Oct 2024
Thanks for sharing this exciting retirement project and beautiful photo of base camp. Best wishes for the continuation of the hike,
Ian MacLeod commented on "Missing You, Warren Feek, RIP - Sad news from Robert Cohen"
20 Oct 2024
Warren - along with Mark Connolly - spearheaded UNICEF's work on adolescents and young people along with HIV and put 'programme communication'/C4D/SBC on the map! A passionate All Blacks supporter and a great person. RIP Warren.
Unknown commented on "Street Art––A Beautiful Expression of Life . . . and More . . .: Nuzhat Shahzadi"
20 Oct 2024
Nuzhat, it’s always nice to have art around your town, glad you shared these photos with us. I was in Albuquerque a few days ago and spent a nice day with Neill and Beth.
Naturally, Meena and Sara came
up in conversation. Neill spoke very highly of your important contributions to both series. I was reading his book on the plane while coming home. It was fascinating to read how you all brought it together so creatively. Congratulations for bringing both of these animated series to fruition. Bill Hetzer
Naturally, Meena and Sara came
up in conversation. Neill spoke very highly of your important contributions to both series. I was reading his book on the plane while coming home. It was fascinating to read how you all brought it together so creatively. Congratulations for bringing both of these animated series to fruition. Bill Hetzer
Ellen Tolmie commented on "A Podcast Version of "News You May Have Missed This Week" : Tom McDermott"
20 Oct 2024
An interesting experiment indeed Tom, thank you, including comments above and your response, especially (for me) on the tone of faux concern that begins to grate. Bottom line in any use of AI for reporting is that it be identified as such (as you have done). Other issues are the generic IDs (white Americans judging from accents + pic?) of the AI hosts, the still prevalent tho improving tendency of generative AI to "hallucinate" info, the biases inbred in its algorithms, and the unknown source material it draws from, leaving one unable to assess its reliability (this is a major critique of all AI-generated information, contrasted, for example, with Wikipedia that annotates its info). A principal argument for AI is its capacity to ingest ever greater loads of info, the bane of the internet and info economy. But, given which entities control it, that is yet another quantity over quality pitch for more disposable consumerism. AI undoubtedly has benefits - sorting through reams of data is certainly one of them - but its ancillary outputs desperately need regulatory guardrails that, like the proliferating lies, deepfakes, etc. on social media, are still conspicuously absent.
Rina Gill commented on "Missing You, Warren Feek, RIP - Sad news from Robert Cohen"
20 Oct 2024
Shocked and saddened to hear this news. My heart goes out to Warren’s family and loved ones.
May God give them the strength to cope with this unbearable loss.
RIP Warren
May God give them the strength to cope with this unbearable loss.
RIP Warren
Paula Claycomb commented on "Missing You, Warren Feek, RIP - Sad news from Robert Cohen"
20 Oct 2024
How very sad for Warren and his family and friends. He died too suddenly and too soon. The fragility and unpredictability of life!
20 Oct 2024
Beautiful! Love the benches and the colored manholes! Good ideas for our dull city in Britany
20 Oct 2024
The comment above was by Ken Gibbs - who was not concentrating when he wrote it. Apologies.
In response to a comment by Unknown
20 Oct 2024
What a wonderful picture of you forcing yourself to eat on a full stomach just to show that you appreciated what Enna's mother had cooked. Her paintings, by the way, look seriously good.
I had the same 'problem' in Bhutan where I had trekked for hours to see an earthquake damaged school. The staff managed to cook a meal for us despite the hardship they were facing; and as soon as I had finished what I felt I had to eat (it was delicious but I knew they would be eating what was left when we went), the children from the same school had prepared food for us to eat there and then. What to do ? Why - eat as much as I could reasonably eat leaving as much as possible for them for when we had gone. An interesting balancing act. . . . Incidentally, the food which the children had prepared was equally as delicious as the staff-prepared food. . . . . Well taught kids, for sure.
I had the same 'problem' in Bhutan where I had trekked for hours to see an earthquake damaged school. The staff managed to cook a meal for us despite the hardship they were facing; and as soon as I had finished what I felt I had to eat (it was delicious but I knew they would be eating what was left when we went), the children from the same school had prepared food for us to eat there and then. What to do ? Why - eat as much as I could reasonably eat leaving as much as possible for them for when we had gone. An interesting balancing act. . . . Incidentally, the food which the children had prepared was equally as delicious as the staff-prepared food. . . . . Well taught kids, for sure.
20 Oct 2024
It would seem that Banksy has competition in Georgetown, a town that loves itself.
Your comment about the Mayor and Council doing a walk-about 'surgery' every third Friday is perhaps a major part of the answer. What a good idea, and one which UNICEF would do well to encourage, don't you think ?
Your comment about the Mayor and Council doing a walk-about 'surgery' every third Friday is perhaps a major part of the answer. What a good idea, and one which UNICEF would do well to encourage, don't you think ?
Unknown commented on "A Podcast Version of "News You May Have Missed This Week" : Tom McDermott"
20 Oct 2024
Thankyou so much, Tom. I found it a bit frothy for such a ‘heavy but essential conversation’. But i guess that’s caused at least in part by the tone of the inputs, which could be problematic for UNICEF given its restraint in public statements and documents. But, well worth trying out and I will certainly give it a go. Rozanne
Unknown commented on "Missing You, Warren Feek, RIP - Sad news from Robert Cohen"
20 Oct 2024
Committed to communication. May he rest in peace. Rozanne
Unknown commented on "Missing You, Warren Feek, RIP - Sad news from Robert Cohen"
20 Oct 2024
I worked with him through the different phases of C4D. He was a great man. May his soul rest in peace.
Jalloh
Jalloh
Sree Gururaja commented on "Street Art––A Beautiful Expression of Life . . . and More . . .: Nuzhat Shahzadi"
19 Oct 2024
Thanks for the lovely pictures! Georgetown looks lively, less stodgy and less “governmental”. Looks like Izara is a bonny beautiful girl . Sree
19 Oct 2024
Nuzhat -- so happy you decided to share your photos - and nice ones they are! I love street art myself and have a bunch of photos too -- maybe soon they will appear on these pages! Keep it going! Myra
19 Oct 2024
May he rest in peace.
Everett Ressler commented on "A Podcast Version of "News You May Have Missed This Week" : Tom McDermott"
19 Oct 2024
Dear Tom,
For me your work was very helpful, forcing us to think more both about AI's potential benefits and its terrifying potential for destructive purposes. With regard to your experiment -
Your expanded listing of the news about children's issues is definitely in line with my thinking about the need to increase humanitarian issues in the public agenda through a compilation of news with a humanitarian focus - the realities/facts, "lived experience" of victims, and the efforts to aid them. [If no objection, I will use even this test listing in my class - I know of nothing that equals it.).
It also raises questions. What would be the challenges of adding a link? What is the optimal level of detail? Are statements by notable people or simply the facts most helpful? Can "lived experience" be more effectively communicated (not just that "50 trucks.." but what the families are eating, who is providing food and real time reports of the challenges)? Clearly if listings such as this were expanded further to include the realities of many emergencies, the list would be massive, but then, while it may be beyond what might be put in xUNICEF, isn't this massive overview of humanitarian issues just what is needed?
AI - perhaps AI is a tool that might make this doable (?).
The test of the blog on Pact for Future was interesting, impressive in its summary and presentation, but like others have said, difficult to listen to or consider credible. The introduction of judgements throughout the dialogue, knowing it was machine reporting, was chilling for me (if the machine can declare it "good", why can's the machine declare it "bad? It would be interesting to ask AI to summarize and critique the Pact for the Future or the list of news items you compiled, from a radical right perspective - what would the voices say then?
Everett
For me your work was very helpful, forcing us to think more both about AI's potential benefits and its terrifying potential for destructive purposes. With regard to your experiment -
Your expanded listing of the news about children's issues is definitely in line with my thinking about the need to increase humanitarian issues in the public agenda through a compilation of news with a humanitarian focus - the realities/facts, "lived experience" of victims, and the efforts to aid them. [If no objection, I will use even this test listing in my class - I know of nothing that equals it.).
It also raises questions. What would be the challenges of adding a link? What is the optimal level of detail? Are statements by notable people or simply the facts most helpful? Can "lived experience" be more effectively communicated (not just that "50 trucks.." but what the families are eating, who is providing food and real time reports of the challenges)? Clearly if listings such as this were expanded further to include the realities of many emergencies, the list would be massive, but then, while it may be beyond what might be put in xUNICEF, isn't this massive overview of humanitarian issues just what is needed?
AI - perhaps AI is a tool that might make this doable (?).
The test of the blog on Pact for Future was interesting, impressive in its summary and presentation, but like others have said, difficult to listen to or consider credible. The introduction of judgements throughout the dialogue, knowing it was machine reporting, was chilling for me (if the machine can declare it "good", why can's the machine declare it "bad? It would be interesting to ask AI to summarize and critique the Pact for the Future or the list of news items you compiled, from a radical right perspective - what would the voices say then?
Everett
19 Oct 2024
Thanks Robert. I think your use of the word 'cloying' hits the nail on the head. The fact that the hosts have such a breezy vocabulary is one problem. Another is that the two hosts never change. No one would want to listen to the same hosts week after week. Also, of course is a question of duration. You can listen to short pieces on a simple subject, but it is asking too much for listeners to follow a long 20 minutes podcast covering so many issues. Finally, there is the issue of tailoring to a particular audience. This is the next next function which Google has apparently built in. The current level is clearly intended for a very general audience. It would be interesting to see whether we can tailor it to a specific group, such as retired UN staff who are very familiar with the issues. Stay tuned, interesting times ahead as technology continues to evolve.
In response to a comment by Robert Cohen
Robert Cohen commented on "A Podcast Version of "News You May Have Missed This Week" : Tom McDermott"
19 Oct 2024
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