Sunday, December 20, 2015

Exploring the Future of Innovation


As I reported earlier, the CES Expo and Conference is being held in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 5-9, 2016. Like in previous years, I attend it as a credentialed member of the Press representing Asian Journal USA.

As of today, I have received over a hundred invitations coming from companies worldwide in order to witness, checkout and review their new creations, inventions, and innovations. The latter is composed mostly of new technologies that affect the lives of consumers.

There are also significant events that I thought that we should not miss. Worth mentioning in this column is a Press Release coming from CES’ Consumer Technology Association.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE




 FCC and FTC Chairs, U.S. CTO and CEOs Steve Case and Nick Woodman to Explore Future of Innovation During CES 2016


Government leaders, industry experts to join engaging discussions during CES SuperSessions



Arlington, VA, December 15, 2015 - Leaders from the government sector and technology industry will address current events and the future of innovation during a series of SuperSessions at CES 2016. Owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)TM, formerly the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)®, CES is the world's gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technology.

The SuperSessions series lineup includes:

Wednesday, January 6  

Insights with the FTC and FCC
11:30 AM-12:30 PM

Consumer Technology Association President and CEO Gary Shapiro interviews FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler about their challenges in navigating the changing technology landscape.

An Inside Look: Industry Innovators and Government Join Forces
1-2 PM

U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith and Deputy Director for Technology and Innovation Tom Kalil discuss how collaborations are moving the needle on key topics including entrepreneurship, smart cities and inclusion.

The Next Big Thing: Is Typing Dead?
3:30-4:30 PM

Presented by CNET and led by Tim Stevens and Brian Cooley, a panel of linguists, artificial intelligence specialists, and industry experts will discuss the future of our relationship between devices and people.

Thursday, January 7

IoT Business Strategies: Partnerships for the Sharing Economy
9-10 AM

Presented by Internet of Things World, panelists will focus on maximizing marketing channels, creating value for IoT, and partnership models.

Forecasting the Future of Entrepreneurship
 11:30 AM-12:30 PM

Rebecca Jarvis, chief business and economics correspondent, ABC News, will moderate a discussion with Stewart Butterfield, CEO and co-founder, Slack; Steve Case, chairman and CEO, Revolution; and Nicholas Woodman, founder and CEO, GoPro to predict the next big categories in tech and the opportunities and risks ahead for future leaders.

Making Disney Magic: Connecting Digital and Physical Worlds
1-2 PM

Leaders from Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, ESPN, ABC Television Group and Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media explore the evolution of physical experiences in a digital world.

Global Innovation  
2:30-3:30 PM

Alan Murray, editor, Fortune Magazine conducts a discussion with global political and business leaders, including Neelie Kroes, special envoy, StartupDelta, exploring and identifying the most beneficial political climates for innovation and where these environments can be found in today's society.

All SuperSessions will be held in LVCC, North Hall Upper Level, Room N257.








Thursday, November 26, 2015

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

This Thursday, we celebrate what George Washington in his proclamation on November 26, 1789 " as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God"

This day is not only about Pilgrims but also about American Indians graciously hosting in their territory the former in celebrating with them the good harvests.

This day reminds me of an event held in the 1990s when the National Congress of American Indians invited me to speak before their group in Takoma, Washington. The National Congress at that time was presided by Joe de la Cruz, Chief or Chairman of the Quinault Tribe and of Filipino and Native American descent. He was also a good friend.

After the conference, I was invited by Ms. Roleen Hargrove, the first Female Chairman of the Puyallup Tribe to visit their reservation. The Puyallup Tribe owns 2/3 of Takoma, which was the host of the conference and the site of the Takoma Sea Port and Airport. It has a land area of 28,547 sq. miles and owns the Emerald Queen Casino, one of the largest Native American casinos in Washington.

Accompanied by my close friend, Fred Lane, Executive Director of the American Indian Trade and Development Council and concurrently Vice-Chairman of the Lummi Tribal Council, we joined Ms. Hargrove in a paw-wow celebrating and thanking the good things bestowed upon Puyallup.

As one of the gifts, I was given this sketch painting that I uploaded, done by George Starr, a local Tribal artist. I have it to this day! It was an only copy.

by Artist GEORGE STARR












Wednesday, September 30, 2015

POPE FRANCIS’ WORDS OF WISDOM


                                            


In his Little Fiat, and as he goes around addressing the US Congress and the American people as well as the United Nations and the world, POPE FRANCIS’ words take the moral equivalent of papal decrees with the virtual force and effect of “legislative fiats”.

In his Little Fiat, his actions also send messages that are virtually equivalent to the moral force and effect of law. Just by riding in his Little Fiat, POPE FRANCIS displays humility and simplicity; preference for gas-saving and less expensive vehicles; the need to protect the environment; the desire to save in order to help the poor, feed the hungry, and provide homes for the homeless.

I collected some of Pope Francis’ Words of Wisdom during his visit to the US.To many Catholics they are considered virtual Papal Fiats. I thought of sharing them with our readers.

POPE FRANCIS > American Legislators and Leaders

"A nation can be considered great when it defends liberty as Lincoln did, when it fosters a culture which enables people to "dream" of full rights for all their brothers and sisters, as Martin Luther King sought to do; when it strives for justice and the cause of the oppressed, as Dorothy Day did by her tireless work, the fruit of a faith which becomes dialogue and sows peace in the contemplative style of Thomas Merton."

Quoting THOMAS JEFFERSON: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

POPE FRANCIS: "If politics must truly be at the service of the human person, it follows that it cannot be a slave to the economy and finance. Politics is, instead, an expression of our compelling need to live as one, in order to build as one the greatest common good: that of a community which sacrifices particular interests in order to share, in justice and peace, its goods, its interests, its social life. I do not underestimate the difficulty that this involves, but I encourage you in this effort."

POPE FRANCIS > US CONGRESS

"Today I would like not only to address you, but through you the entire people of the United States. Here, together with their representatives, I would like to take this opportunity to dialogue with the many thousands of men and women who strive each day to do an honest day's work, to bring home their daily bread, to save money and — one step at a time — to build a better life for their families. These are men and women who are not concerned simply with paying their taxes, but in their own quiet way sustain the life of society. They generate solidarity by their actions, and they create organizations which offer a helping hand to those most in need."

POPE FRANCIS: "I am happy that America continues to be, for many, a land of "dreams." Dreams which lead to action, to participation, to commitment. Dreams which awaken what is deepest and truest in the life of a people.
In recent centuries, millions of people came to this land to pursue their dream of building a future in freedom. We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners. I say this to you as the son of immigrants, knowing that so many of you are also descended from immigrants."

POPE FRANCIS > UNITED NATIONS

"Solemn commitments, however, are not enough, even though they are a necessary step toward solutions. The classic definition of justice which I mentioned earlier contains as one of its essential elements a constant and perpetual will: Iustitia est constans et perpetua voluntas ius sum cuique tribuendi. Our world demands of all government leaders a will which is effective, practical and constant, concrete steps and immediate measures for preserving and improving the natural environment and thus putting an end as quickly as possible to the phenomenon of social and economic exclusion, with its baneful consequences: human trafficking, the marketing of human organs and tissues, the sexual exploitation of boys and girls, slave labour, including prostitution, the drug and weapons trade, terrorism and international organized crime. Such is the magnitude of these situations and their toll in innocent lives, that we must avoid every temptation to fall into a declarationist nominalism which would assuage our consciences. We need to ensure that our institutions are truly effective in the struggle against all these scourges."

POPE FRANCIS at the 9/11 Memorial Interfaith Service:

"Here, amid pain and grief, we also have a palpable sense of the heroic goodness which people are capable of, those hidden reserves of strength from which we can draw. In the depths of pain and suffering, you also witnessed the heights of generosity and service. Hands reached out, lives were given. In a metropolis which might seem impersonal, faceless, lonely, you demonstrated the powerful solidarity born of mutual support, love and self-sacrifice. No one thought about race, nationality, neighborhoods, religion or politics. It was all about solidarity, meeting immediate needs, brotherhood. It was about being brothers and sisters. New York City firemen walked into the crumbling towers, with no concern for their own well-being. Many succumbed; their sacrifice enabled great numbers to be saved."
"This place of death became a place of life too, a place of saved lives, a hymn to the triumph of life over the prophets of destruction and death, to goodness over evil, to reconciliation and unity over hatred and division."

POPE FRANCIS at the Memorial Interfaith Service

"It is a source of great hope that in this place of sorrow and remembrance I can join with leaders representing the many religious traditions which enrich the life of this great city. I trust that our presence together will be a powerful sign of our shared desire to be a force for reconciliation, peace and justice in this community and throughout the world. For all our differences and disagreements, we can live in a world of peace. In opposing every attempt to create a rigid uniformity, we can and must build unity on the basis of our diversity of languages, cultures and religions, and lift our voices against everything which would stand in the way of such unity. Together we are called to say “no” to every attempt to impose uniformity and “yes” to a diversity accepted and reconciled."

POPE FRANCIS (At the Independence Mall in Philly):

"One of the highlights of my visit is to stand here, before Independence Mall, the birthplace of the United States of America. It was here that the freedoms which define this country were first proclaimed. The Declaration of Independence stated that all men and women are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, and that governments exist to protect and defend those rights. Those ringing words continue to inspire us today, even as they have inspired peoples throughout the world to fight for the freedom to live in accordance with their dignity.

But history also shows that these or any truths must constantly be reaffirmed, re-appropriated and defended. The history of this nation is also the tale of a constant effort, lasting to our own day, to embody those lofty principles in social and political life. We remember the great struggles which led to the abolition of slavery, the extension of voting rights, the growth of the labor movement, and the gradual effort to eliminate every kind of racism and prejudice directed at successive waves of new Americans. This shows that, when a country is determined to remain true to its founding principles, based on respect for human dignity, it is strengthened and renewed."

POPE FRANCIS (On remembering one's history):

"All of us benefit from remembering our past. A people which remembers does not repeat past errors; instead, it looks with confidence to the challenges of the present and the future. Remembrance saves a people's soul from whatever or whoever would attempt to dominate it or use it for their interests. When individuals and communities are guaranteed the effective exercise of their rights, they are not only free to realize their potential, they also contribute to the welfare and enrichment of society."

POPE FRANCIS (On religious freedom):

"Religious freedom certainly means the right to worship God, individually and in community, as our consciences dictate. But religious liberty, by its nature, transcends places of worship and the private sphere of individuals and families.
Our various religious traditions serve society primarily by the message they proclaim. They call individuals and communities to worship God, the source of all life, liberty and happiness. They remind us of the transcendent dimension of human existence and our irreducible freedom in the face of every claim to absolute power. We need but look at history, especially the history of the last century, to see the atrocities perpetrated by systems which claimed to build one or another "earthly paradise" by dominating peoples, subjecting them to apparently indisputable principles and denying them any kind of rights. Our rich religious traditions seek to offer meaning and direction, "they have an enduring power to open new horizons, to stimulate thought, to expand the mind and heart" (Evangelii Gaudium, 256). They call to conversion, reconciliation, concern for the future of society, self-sacrifice in the service of the common good, and compassion for those in need. At the heart of their spiritual mission is the proclamation of the truth and dignity of the human person and human rights."

POPE FRANCIS quoting SAINT JOHN PAUL II (During his visit in the US in 1987):

 "The ultimate test of your greatness is the way you treat every human being, but especially the weakest and most defenseless ones" (Farewell Address, 19 September 1987, 3).

POPE FRANCIS (To the Hispanics and recent immigrants in the US):


"Among us today are members of America's large Hispanic population, as well as representatives of recent immigrants to the United States. I greet all of you with particular affection! Many of you have emigrated to this country at great personal cost, but in the hope of building a new life. Do not be discouraged by whatever challenges and hardships you face. I ask you not to forget that, like those who came here before you, you bring many gifts to your new nation. You should never be ashamed of your traditions. Do not forget the lessons you learned from your elders, which are something you can bring to enrich the life of this American land. I repeat, do not be ashamed of what is part of you, your life blood. You are also called to be responsible citizens, and to contribute fruitfully to the life of the communities in which you live. I think in particular of the vibrant faith which so many of you possess, the deep sense of family life and all those other values which you have inherited. By contributing your gifts, you will not only find your place here, you will help to renew society from within."