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n The Online ClassroomOf the Future

The source forthe article GirlsEducation: Key to

Virtuous Circle(World Trends andForecasts January-February 2008)about educationf o r t h e T h i r dWorld girls has akindred article, The Case for UniversalEducation, posted on Global Envisionon September 18, 2007.

The technology is now available forworldwide efficient and effective educa-tional instruction. The approach is to usean Online Video Classroom (OLVC). Twospecific advantages to such a classroom

include having students of comparableintelligence and knowledge levels in sep-arate locations able to learn together. Thesystem is ideal for remote areas and forconfined studentswhether for medicalor legal reasons.

The primary Web site for OLVC ishttp://Onlinevideoclassroom.com.

A case may be made that the futurebattle of wits will be won by the ThirdWorld.

Thomas B. AlbrightLewisville, Texas

n In Defense of AmateurGatekeepers

As a longtimesubscriber and fu-turist, I find yourmagazine excel-lent. As an open-minded reader, Iboth agree and, onoccasion, disagreewith your content.I write because, asopen minded as I think I am, I foundAndew Keens magnanimity offensive in

Fighting the Cult of the Amateur(January-February 2008).

The people whom Keen calls expertgatekeepers very often manipulate infor-mation to suit their agendas. I wouldrather make the decision about what toleave in and leave out after I have beenexposed to all agendas, as I consider my-self neither an expert nor a dunce, buta fairly well-informed reader.

YouTube and Google already managesome of the information through theirportals (for example, Google China), and,in no small way, it suits their agendas, also.

Lupe SmitMiami, Florida

n Coping with Fears of theApocalypse

In the article on Nihilism, Fundamen-talism, or Activism: Three Responses toFears of the Apocalypse (January-Febru-ary 2008), RichardE c k e r s l e y d e -scribes bringinghope to the ex-cluded and im-proving quality ofl ife for all . Hedraws attention tothe social dimen-sions of sustain-abilitythe needto combine material and economic life

with the need for conservation and sus-tainable resource use.Material progress and sustainable de-

velopment are good, but we also needspiritual development to move forward.Spiritual development gives us a reasonto create a better and sustainable worldfor the sake of generations yet to come; itcalls on us to have respect for ourselves,for all people and races, and for the envi-ronment. It is the ground floor of hope.By acknowledging all aspects of our be-ing, we will become what Gandhi calls atruth force that will set us free andadopt laws, values, and a sense of moral

purpose. Our spiritual instincts lead us tochoose what is right, not only for our-selves but for all members of the humanrace, especially those who are feel ex-cluded, left out, or considered worthless.

The Divine is not vengeful but a com-passionate being who places the healingof the world in our hands, however weakor flawed we may find ourselves. Let usbegin today courageously. What are wewaiting for?

Sister Brenda WalshRacine, Wisconsin

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