WORTHY OF NOTE
Next up in the Reuben Fleet's “Exploring Ethics” lecture series is “Surveillance and Sensors: Who's Watching Whom?” The program will take a look at advancements in camera, video and sensor technology and how they have made it easier for both public and private organizations to track your moves.
If there's a Big Brother tracking your movements and activities, logging your Internet use, monitoring your purchases, synthesizing information on your whereabouts and relationships, what effect does that have on personal privacy and security?
Find out Aug. 6, when a panel of experts will discuss the issues from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Lecture Hall at the Fleet Center in Balboa Park. There is no admission fee, but registration is required. To RSVP, call (858) 822-2647 or send an e-mail to ethicscenter@ucsd.edu with the date and name of the program, your name, phone number and e-mail address.
ET CETERA
Students interested in learning Hebrew to fulfill their public high school language requirement are invited to enroll in Temple Adat Shalom's Hebrew for Credit Program.
The Hebrew for Credit class is open to students in grades 9 through 12 in the San Diego Unified, Poway Unified, Ramona and San Dieguito school districts, says the Poway temple's education director, Susan Cohn.
Classes, she adds, are limited to 12 students and are taught entirely in Hebrew. During twice-a-week sessions, from 5:15 to 7:30 p.m., students will learn to speak, read, write and understand modern spoken Hebrew and prepare to take the SAT II Modern Hebrew exam. Coursework also will include understanding Biblical history, learning about the culture of the Middle East and exploring current affairs. Projects, films, special programs and other audiovisual experiences are part of the UC-approved course. Cost: $1,250 a year for Temple members, $1,500 for nonmembers. Information: adatshalom.com/pages/hebrew.php or (858) 451-8480.
GOD AND COUNTRY
Religion News Service reports that the two presumed presidential candidates – Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama – will make their first appearance together at a discussion focused on “broad moral issues rather than policy debates.” It's happening at Orange County's Saddleback Church, where Rick Warren, author of “The Purpose Driven Life” is pastor.
Warren will moderate the Saddleback Civil Forum on Leadership and Compassion and, according to The New York Times, the co-sponsor is “Faith in Public Life, the multidenominational religious group that held the Compassion Forum at Messiah College in Grantham, Pa., in April,” featuring Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton during their primary battle.
The forum is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. Aug. 16 at the church, 1 Saddleback Parkway in Lake Forest, just east of Mission Viejo. Go to saddleback.com for ticket information.
CHAPTER AND VERSE
It's often said that Americans barely slow down, certainly not long enough to contemplate their blessings. David Michie must have felt like one of them, which led him to write “Buddhism for Busy People: Finding Happiness in an Uncertain World” (Snow Lion Publications, $14.95).
The book, a best seller when published in Australia in 2004, is available in the United States beginning this month and is billed as a memoir, professional development and personal growth book.
Among other topics, Michie addresses how to achieve more balance between work and life; the art and science of happiness; mind training for productivity and meditation for busy people.
