[gu-new] (20101205) Production of documentary video programs out of our GEWS project

[Tak Utsumi]

<<20101205>> Archived distributions can be retrieved at;
<http://tinyurl.com/2fzx23e> This archive includes a html version of this
list distribution and its MS/WORD version with its filename as
³year-month-date.doc.² You can also access all of its attachments, if any.

Daniel P. Molina
606 Winding Road
Houston, Texas 77504
(713) 944-6078
danielpmolina at gmail.com


References:

> (a) (20101122) (1) Climate Change conference in Cancun, Mexico, (2) Possible
> mtg with Energy Minister of Mexico, (3) Dan Molina's excellent offer (4)
> Possible GUS/Cebu/Philippines
> <http://tinyurl.com/3a9andv>
> 
> (b) Utsumi, T., P. Tapio Varis, and W. R. Klemm, (2003), "Creating Global
> University System (GUS)"
> <http://tinyurl.com/sfgm7>
> 
> (c) Utsumi, T., (2003), "Globally Collaborative Environmental Peace Gaming
> (GCEPG)"
> <http://tinyurl.com/k2c7a>

> (d) Utsumi, T., (2008-a), ³Development History of Peace Gaming and Global
> University System²
> <http://tinyurl.com/bdcjha>

> (e) Utsumi, T., (No date-1), Chapter 1 of Draft of Proposed Book "Electronic
> Global University System and Services"
> <http://tinyurl.com/lyysx>
> 
> (f) Utsumi, T., (No date-2), Chapter 2 of Draft of Proposed Book "Electronic
> Global University System and Services"
> <http://tinyurl.com/6r8c63>

> (g) Speech made recently by former Prime Minister Hatoyama at Tokyo Institute
> of Technology
> <http://tinyurl.com/29u8wte>
> 
> This was in the following list distribution;
> (h) (20100707) Absolute necessity of backup link to optical submarine cable in
> west coast Africa from Rwanda through DRC
> <http://tinyurl.com/2aqckuu>
> 

Dear Dan:

(1) Many thanks for your very interesting msg (ATTACHMENT I below), in
response to the Reference (a) above.

> I am taking the liberty of continuing our dialog in this list, since Chinese
> proverb says ³Multiple head is better than one,² -- someone may jump into our
> list dialog with his/her bright ideas as you came in recently.

(2) Reference (d) above describes when and how our GEWS (which is the
outgrowth of GCEPG and its sister project GUS) was initiated.

Reference (e) described how I extended a packet-switching telecom network
(predecessor of Internet) to many Asian countries, particularly to Japan,
and worked on the de-regulation of the Japanese telecom policies on the use
of email (*), so that distributed simulation system can be achieved by
dispersed game players around the world.

> (*) My most joyous moment this year was when I learned that the Nobel Peace
> Laureate Mr. Liu Xiaobo said ³Internet is a Gift of God!² -- that is, the
> spread of Internet is now apparently threatening the Chinese government based
> on feudalistic authoritative Confucianism.  The equivalent to this for Japan
> is ³If you want to save Japan, you have to clash the University of Tokyo² by
> Prof. Edwin O. Reishauer who was a US Ambassador to Japan once before ‹ my
> mother was once taught by his father at Tokyo Women¹s Christian University and
> had a intimate one and a half hour long conversations in fluent Japanese when
> I brought her to his office when he came back from Japan.

I then realized that, as an engineer and a son of medical doctor, we need to
have image and graphic transmission and display ‹ in addition to mere
text-oriented email messaging alone at that time in 1980s.  This led to
conduct a series of multipoint-to-multipoint, multimedia, interactive
videoconferencing spanning globe from New Zealand to Moscow with many, many
universities between them.  This was done once or twice every year from the
mid 1980s to the early 2000s.  Reference (f) describes about them.

> BTW, I have now DVD of almost all of those videoconferencing so that I can
> lend them to you when you would need.
> 
> Since you are in Houston area, you may contact the following person;
> 
>>> Roger Lee Boston
>>> Rockwell Chair/Instructor
>>> Distance Education/Technology Center
>>> Houston Community College System
>>> 4310 Dunlavy Street
>>> P.O.Box 7849
>>> Houston, Texas 77006
>>> USA
>>> Tel: +1-832.654.5627
>>>      +1-713.718.5260
>>> Fax: +1-713.718.2030
>>> Roger.boston at hccs.edu
>>> boston_r at hccs.cc.tx.us (secondary)
>>> http://tc1.hccs.cc.tx.us
>>> http://tc1.hccs.cc.tx.us/hist/yr99/finland/ -- Tampere event
>>> http://tc1.hccs.cc.tx.us/hist/yr00/brazil/ -- Manaus event
>>> http://www.rboston.com
>>> http://www.teched.org/
>>> http://www.teched.org/hist/iia.htm

> He and I pioneered to explore the so-called ³low-cost² videoconferencing for
> many years in 1990s and occasions.  He has videotapes of our events, as well
> as his own with many Chinese trips, which may be of some interest to you.

(3) I am very delighted to know that our project approach meet with your
desired direction.

We will create the Globally Collaborative Network of the Centers for
Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution (GCN/CCPMRs) on economic,
social and environmental issues in various countries, such as Nigeria,
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), etc., which will be
interconnected through broadband Internet to enable the following two-tier
system:
 
> a.   One tier for training young would-be decision makers to understand
> interwoven world phenomena with rational analysis and critical thinking on
> policy analysis and evaluation, as well as on crisis management, conflict
> resolution, and negotiation techniques based on "facts and figures" and,
> 
> b.   The other for helping decision makers to develop and use a globally
> distributed decision-support system for policy analysis and evaluation with
> positive sum/win-win alternatives to conflict and war.
 
Our first milestone for this project is to make the GCN/CCPMRs part of the
Research and Training Center (RTC) program of the United Nations University
(UNU).

In essence, our aim (my life dream) is to apply scientific and rational
approach for policy analysis, evaluation and settings, as then Prime
Minister of Japan urged students at Tokyo Institute of Technology (my alma
mater) when one of its alumni (Mr. Naoto Kan) was about to become the
present Prime Minister -- see Reference (g) above.

(4) As said in the Reference (a) above, we plan to conduct the followings;

> (a) GEWS/Nigeria:
> On the verification of Gore/Obama energy policy proposition with normative
> plus quantitative gaming/simulation, -- hopefully with a mission control room
> as similar to NASA¹s,
> 
> (b) GEWS/Rwanda:
> On the issue of water usage along Nile River in relation to the linkages among
> Water <==> Food <==> Health,

For the former, we plan to conduct a gaming/simulation demonstration at the
School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) of Columbia University
next August.  We submitted our grant application for this event to the
Center for Global Partnership of the Japan Foundation recently.

> As you may know, the SIPA is where President Obama was once a student and
> produced his first paper on elimination of nuclear bomb ‹ BTW, the Manhattan
> Project (which created an atomic bomb) started at the Physics Department of
> Columbia University in Manhattan of New York City ‹ that is why it was named
> as ³Manhattan² Project.

For the latter, our proposal was accepted by the President Office of Rwanda
government to create a hub of GEWS for nearby regional countries in Kigali,
Rwanda.  African Development Foundation (a subsidiary of the US Agency for
International Development (USAID)) indicated their willingness to finance
our facts-finding trip to Rwanda in the coming few months.

(5) We have lined up world top notch experts to perform the above tasks;

> (a) Donal O'Neill, Hoptoad Enterprises Ltd. <http://tinyurl.com/28ybmj6>,
> 
> (b) Prof. Jenik Radon, SIPA, Columbia University <http://tinyurl.com/2367xbm>,
> 
>> The above two are for scenario setting at the world renowned SIPA.
>  
> (c) Hans R. Herren, Millennium Institute <http://tinyurl.com/23om7xu>,
> 
>> He is at the world famous think tank with system dynamic methodology.
> 
> (d) Akira Onishi, Center for Global Modeling <http://tinyurl.com/293bpe9>,
> 
>> He is with the world largest econometric simulation model.
> 
> (e) Dorien DeTombe, International Research Society on Methodology of Societal
> Complexity <http://tinyurl.com/26xfejh>,
> 
>> She is the originator on the world renowned COMPRAN methodology for solving
>> complex social problems.
> 
> (e) Ralph Huntsinger, California State University in Chico
> <http://tinyurl.com/33tnq6p>,
> 
>> He is the world authority on continuous system simulation and other
>> simulation technologies as serving the president of the Society for Modeling
>> and Simulation International several times.
> 
> (f) Gregory S. Cole, GLORIAD <http://tinyurl.com/28wn8oj>
> 
>> He is the originator of worldwide broadband Internet with huge fund from the
>> NSF.
> 
> See others in Section III-B of <http://tinyurl.com/2cjga3q>.

(6) Dan, we are very privileged to have you to make video documentary of our
project with those world experts.

Not only those events listed in the Item (4) above, we expect a series of
workshops, demonstrations and videoconferences from now as spanning the
globe.  Your filmmaking would be very valuable for disseminating our
efforts.

(7) As your next step, you may construct a concept paper for our fund
raising with your participation for which we would be very happy to work
together with you ‹ sorry you came in late for my inclusion of you into the
budget of our grant application to the Japan Foundation mentioned above.

(8) BTW, about Titanic, its discoverer, Dr. Ballard was from Billings,
Montana, a junior alumni of my alma mater, Montana State University in
Bozeman, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Happy Holidays!! 

Best, Tak


ATTACHMENT I 

From: Daniel Molina <danielpmolina at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2010 15:14:39 -0600
To: Tak Utsumi <takutsumi0 at gmail.com>
Cc: Ed de Mulder <e.demulder at planet.nl>, Ralph Baird <ralph at bairdusa.com>,
Ellen Goldberg <ellen at goldberg.net>, Tony Shelton <shelton at vollmerpr.com>,
Ning Wu <ningwu05 at gmail.com>, John Lin <bywin8 at gmail.com>, Lennard Tenende
<lennard.tenende at cilicorp.com>
Subject: Videos/programs/science

Dear Tak:  I trust you'll indulge my using your familiar name, since we
haven't yet met.  I write outside of your normal dialogue chat to add a few
thoughts about how I could contribute to the efforts that you and your
colleagues are pursuing.
 
First, thank you for including my material in your latest round of
communication.  It's long been my conviction that efforts such as yours can
become part of a much wider public dialogue.  The world of news is divided
in two: a mass-media version which is largely trivial, and serious efforts
which tend to be restricted to a professional community.  What I am
suggesting is that there is a broad middle ground -- dialogue regarding
crucial matters of our day, combined with effective storytelling -- which
can be a magnet for public interest.  I believe this is what David Brooks
was saying in the New York Times opinion article I sent you.  There is, as
he points out, a renewed public willingness to pay attention to messages of
substance which they are not yet receiving.  I've written separate notes on
the reasons this is true.
 
I'm thinking not of just one or two projects, but an ongoing stream of
outreach using traditional and "new media".  The technique would be to
gather as much information as possible about current developments in one
area of study, then creatively digest it into an interesting story.  This
story could feature determined individuals, it could focus on breakthrough
work, it could feature an unexpected place -- whatever the storytelling
device, it would reach out to a general, yet curious audience as a
"gateway".  That is, it would link to further information and resources.
 
I first came up with this idea many years ago, when I was a student at
Berkeley.  The reason I got into television news was originally to learn how
to turn out a finished product quickly; I always intended to return to this
original motivation.  I suggested it to some of those I met with
International Year of Planet Earth, but time was too limited in their 3-year
UN charter to explore a new avenue such as this.
So you see, Tak, my sense that now was a good time to get in touch with you
was not based simply on a desire to do a project and move on.  Invariably,
as I've read the various items you circulate, I've seen a consistency in
your perceptive sense of priorities.  I am indeed suggesting that the sooner
production gets under way, the better -- the Millennium Institute's Green
Economy Report, for one thing, to my thinking cries out for a watchable
video version, and you're right about the Africa initiatives being such a
fertile field.  But beyond that, I'm suggesting the idea of a video
component that compliments serious study.
 
This, in David Brooks fashion, is a new concept of what news can be.  In
addition to documentary productions, we could be talking about establishing
a regularly scheduled show.  This could start on a shoestring.
 
One final thing, a quick item of interest -- I saw your reference to the
discovery of the Titanic.  In the last couple of years you may have seen The
History Channel's new Titanic productions.  I have communicated with the
filmmakers who did that work, Kirk Wolfinger and his Lone Wolf Productions
in Maine, and I know they will have interest in what I propose.  It may also
interest you to hear that The History Channel's new motto is "History Made
Every Day".  I look forward to communicating more about this.  Best regards
and Happy Thanksgiving, Dan
 
-- 
Dan Molina
iPhone 713-417-5382
Home office land line 713-944-6078


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***
* Takeshi Utsumi, Ph.D., P.E., Chairman, GLOSAS/USA
*
* (GLObal Systems Analysis and Simulation Association in the U.S.A.)
*
* Laureate of Lord Perry Award for Excellence in Distance Education
*
* Founder and V.P. for Technology and Coordination of
*
*   Global University System (GUS)
*
* 43-23 Colden Street, #9L, Flushing, NY 11355-5913, U.S.A.
*
* Tel: 718-939-0928; Skype: utsumi
*
* Email: takutsumi0 at gmail.com
* 
* Web: http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/
*
* U.S./IRS Employer ID: 11-2999676 <http://tinyurl.com/534gxc>
*
* New York State Tax Exempt ID: 217837 <http://tinyurl.com/47wqbo>
*
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***