The truth at any cost lowers all other costs — curated by former US spy Robert David Steele.
Inside the Search for the Last Prisoner of America's Longest War
VICE, 21 July 2014
PART 1 EXTRACTS:
The next intercepts from the elated kidnappers, using their CDMA or RUIM phone while still inside the vehicle, provided the first real piece of evidence on how Bergdahl was grabbed: “We were attacking the post. He was just taking a shit. He had no gun with him. He was taking a shit. He has not cleaned his butt yet.”
Continue reading “Robert Young Pelton: Finding Bergdahl — A Tale of Deceit”
Vital Collective Learning from Biased Media Coverage
Acquiring vigilance to deceptive strategies used in mugging the world
Introduction
Biased coverage of controversy by news media
Clues to possible vigilant interpretation of media coverage
Strategic leadership as a “shell game”?
Acquiring vigilance through recognition of media bias
Elaboration of a system of media “con codes”
Future credibility of media presentations by authority
References
Genova, the Azores and our Common Future
28 June 2003
Genova – July 2001 – had a big impact on my life, probably on anybody's life here in Italy. Several hundred thousand protested the gathering of Heads of State – the G8 – and were brutally beaten by police who had been instructed, on Bush's orders, to “be tough this time”. Some of my Italian friends, Ivan and Vitale, were there and they returned shocked at the unprecedented violence that had been unleashed, by all accounts unprovoked. At the time, I said war has just been declared on the people and I wrote, enraged, that the kind of progress the mighty are talking about is not really the progress we want. At the time, one of the recurring taints thrown at the emerging global movement for justice was that it had not come up with any positive proposals.
Fast forward to Azores – January 2003 – the passage from one year to the next. Wind outside, logs crackling in the fireplace. Someone asks the question: What is it we really want? If we don't want Bush's war, we don't want “their” globalization, what can we do about it? Good question. Difficult. Susan suggests that Justice is the major problem. Prohibitionism and the non-separation of Church and State, to be exact. Agreed, but what can we do about it and what about all those other areas of life that are messed up too? We started listing them up – justice, the economy, the energy monopoly, scientific progress, the environment, health, education, ideas in the straitjacket called intellectual property, the way society is organized and how the media manages not to inform us of what's important.
Areas for Change (List Only)
Church and State Justice Economy Energy Science Environment Health Education Human Potential Intellectual Property Laws Social organization Public Media and information Privacy versus Transparency
Sharing economy shares assets and business opportunities
Peter Ladner
Business Vancouver, 22 July 2014
One of the most disruptive business trends of recent years is growing at an alarming rate. It's called the sharing economy, or collaborative consumption. The premise is pretty simple: use digital technology to reap the advantages of ownership without actually owning something, or to become a micro-entrepreneur without any investm Continue reading “Jean Lieven: Peter Ladner on Sharing Economy”
Mark Dixon is a partner in the Principled Society Project and a pioneer in Smart Local Government and Cognitive Digital Democracy.
“We have created a Star Wars civilization, with Stone Age emotions, medieval institutions, and god-like technology.”
So says E. O. Wilson in his latest book, “The Social Conquest of Earth”. I happen to agree with him, especially about our “medieval institutions”, which I consider him to primarily mean our systems of government and to a lesser extent, organized religions.
Wilson goes on to say that “[w]e are terribly confused by the mere fact of our existence, and a danger to ourselves and to the rest of life.”
Again, I have to agree.
I’ve done a lot of research and reading over the last several years, starting with the “Peak Oil” phenomenon and continuing on through the “Great Recession” and IBM’s “Smarter Planet” initiative and its derivatives, namely, “Smarter Government” and “Smarter Cities”. To put all this work in perspective, I have to take a short step back in history. This historical review, will, of primary experience, be one with an American viewpoint. But I think the lessons are relevant to the rest of the world as well. Bear with me.
Continue reading “Mark Dixon: Digital Druid – America, We Have A Problem”
Transcending an Asystemic View of Life
Review of The Systems View of Life: a unifying vision
Introduction
Inadequacy of conventional systems thinking
Restrictive comprehension of “life” and “death”?
Asystemic organization of unifying vision?
Uncritical asystemic selectivity?
Unexamined methodological constraints
Beyond promotion of “our plan”
Questionable meta-patterns of explanation
Mapping complementary and contrasting views
Transcending sterile meta-patterns of explanation
References
Self-managed villages of tiny houses => many solutions!
Self-managed villages of tiny houses can address many of the ills of homelessness, middle class struggles, civic belt-tightening, sustainability, quality of life issues, and more. Andy Heben is a pioneer bringing this vision into the world, especially in the US, with good research and on-the-ground accomplishments behind it. His new book Tent City Urbanism: From Self-Organized Camps to Tiny House Villages is a game-changing breakthrough envisioning co-intelligent housing that works for all now and into the future.
EXTRACT
In his book Andy proves that the cheapest and most effective approach to a city's “homeless problem” are city-authorized tiny-house villages managed by the otherwise homeless residents themselves and overseen by supportive people and organizations from the surrounding community. The stability, safety, and mutual assistance available in such a micro-village reduces the need for expensive services while increasing their ability to benefit from whatever services they do need, enhancing their transition from homelessness to more mainstream lifestyles.
