How I intend to help the Refugees.

Local Stroud Refugee Cafe - Rasmachaz

I am serious about re-orienting my life towards helping others, and I am not alone. I have met so many amazing people trying to do 'something' to make a difference. I left my job to do this. 

There are so many other people doing everything they can to help those in need, particularly refugees fleeing war and persecution. 'Rasmachaz' is a local cafe in Stroud High Street which sells  clothes and other things to support the refugees in the local area. GARAS ('Gloucestershire Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers) is a similar venture. 

I aim to raise funds for both of these organisations as well as for international charities such as UNICEF.

I will do this by selling e-books and other things. I aim to use a 'Pay what the reader considers the book is worth' basis and will donate at least 20% of whatever profits I make from each of the books. I need to take some very basic living expenses out but if I make more money then I will donate a higher percentage. 

My first e-book (A science fiction novella called 'The Ascension of Saints') is out in the new year.

This image shows the sort of things that your donations will buy. I am sure the other charities have similar lists. It does make a real difference to peoples lives. I love writing and I am good at it, but really this is about helping people in dire need. It is not about me. I hope you can support me, and more importantly support the refugees.

Science and Technology provides Hope

The home of human civilization.

Times are dark. The US presidential election is entering its final week and it is not clear who will emerge victorious. Syria and Iraq are in flames, as are many other parts of the world and many more millions of people face starvation or are locked in poverty.

We are living in 'Interesting Times' as the ancient Chinese would say. They did not mean it as a blessing.

I could throw my hands up in despair at my fellow humans. We are destroying our only functional bio-sphere. We are driving some many ecosystems into annihilation. Species like the African Elephant. Why? What has this placid creatures done to harm us? We are killing them for their teeth apparently. 

So humanity, do we really deserve to exist? Maybe Donald Trump will blast us all into oblivion. 

Obviously I hope not.

The next three or four years are critical. Britain like the USA has suffered badly in the aftermath of the 2008 Lehman's Brothers financial crash. Rather I should say, certain sections of society have. The top 0.1% have done quite well thank you. Everyone else is struggling. America has done marginally better than Europe it has to be said but the challenges faced by most people on both sides of the Atlantic have been server.  British incomes have fallen by an average of 10% in the last eight years. In this context the rise of nationalistic sentiment (BREXIT and Trump) can be understood if not condoned.

But it will get better.

If, and it is a big if, we don't slide further towards chaos then there is hope. Science and technology are promising a new beginning. We just have to hold the line. The economy is going to recover. It is going to grow like never before. A revolution in the way we live our lives is opening up. We just need to survive long enough to enjoy it.

Renewable energy tech is advancing rapidly. Solar, wind, wave and other clean energy sources are transforming how power grids are structured and leading to the development of battery giga-factories such as the one being constructed by Elon Musk's Tesla corporation. Power packs and electric vehicles will clean our cities and free us from over dependence on dirty fuel. Changes in food production could, if applied more wisely, lead to an end to world hunger. 

Something else is happening which could be even bigger. A new way of using the potential of the Internet is spreading across the globe, from one industry sector to another. It promises to enable 'Trust' between different parties via the use of cryptographic techniques, game theory and good old fashioned software engineering. It is called 'Blockchain'. Imagine not needing to use a bank to make a payment or being able to easily verify the validity of a fact with high accuracy without having to go to a single authority to do so. This means one thing, decentralization of power. All kinds of power. Economic, social and above all political authorities will lose their monopolies.

It will change the world.

So, keep the faith. Hold the line. Do not give in to the politics of despair and denial. We can pull ourselves back from this hideous brink we are staring into. The future can be better than the past and we can utilize the creativity of our species to save ourselves.

But it is not a given. I am still optimistic though.