Headlines, Comment, and Lists of Book Reviews Below the Line…
MondoNet: Global Democratized Network II
11 Society, Autonomous Internet, Civil Society, Collective Intelligence, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Earth Intelligence
Introducing MondoNet: The censor-proof, unsurveillable network
Aram Sinnreich
A few weeks ago, I gave a talk at TEDxUSC, in which I laid out the basic argument for MondoNet, a new project I'm working on with a few of my grad students at Rutgers. My basic point is that, despite the many amazing cultural, economic and political uses to which it's been put, the Internet has a fundamental flaw preventing it from being an effective tool for democratic political action and cultural innovation.
The flaw lies in its centralized architecture and hierarchical governance; no matter how much people resist against institutional power through innovative cultural forms, and no matter how much we lobby against oppressive and exploitative uses of the technology (e.g. the current battles over net neutrality), the network provides its operators with an excess of power that will necessary be exploited.
We propose to remedy this situation with an architectural intervention: namely, using ad-hoc, mesh networking technology to create a global network that is fundamentally resistant to censorship, surveillance and exploitation, because no single individual or institution can control the information flow on any significant scale.
Clearly, there is a lot to discuss here; we plan to publish a full-length academic article in The Information Society in July, and a pre-publication copy can be read at MondoNet.org. But we're still working on developing funding and fleshing out the engineering, so I welcome your feedback, criticisms and offers of help!
MondoNet: Global Democratized Network
Autonomous Internet (99 as of 8 May 2011)
Call for Nuclear Global Phase Out
Advanced Cyber/IO, Earth Intelligence, Ethics, IO Multinational, IO Sense-Making, Key Players, Policies, Serious Games, ThreatsThe Right Livelihood Award Foundation
Newsletter April 2011
Call for Global Nuclear Phase Out
In the aftermath of Fukushima, 50 Laureates of the Right Livelihood Award and members of the World Future Council demanded in a joint statement a global nuclear phase out.
“Nuclear power is neither the answer to modern energy problems nor a panacea for climate change challenges. There is no solution of problems by creating more problems,” states the declaration, issued by experts, activists, politicians, clergy, entrepreneurs and scientists from 26 countries.
Click here to read the full statement and to see the list of signees.
For Brazilian-Portuguese, please click here.
A German translation is available here.
Phi Beta Iota: Buckminster Fuller had it right. Infinite free (renewable) energy is achievable, and the foundation for everything else. That is what the anthrosphere needs, and that is what would make the anthrosphere naturally self-sustaining [it would also have extraordinary impact on water immediately and waste vaporation over time].
Regional Metamorphosis & Social Architecture
Advanced Cyber/IO, Analysis, Augmented Reality, Budgets & Funding, Civil Society, Collective Intelligence, Collective Intelligence, Commerce, Cultural Intelligence, Earth Intelligence, Ethics, info-graphics/data-visualization, InfoOps (IO), Methods & Process, Open Government, Policies, Serious Games, Standards, Strategy, Technologies, ToolsMay 10th: Let the Infinite Games Begin!
At our April 6 SVII gathering Bill Veltrop, co-founder of the Monterey Institute for Social Architecture (MISA), introduced Regional Metamorphosis as a pragmatic strategy for accelerating our movement into an Age of Conscious Evolution. Jesse Clark and colleagues then produced a video that does a great job of capturing the intent and spirit of that evening.
At the conclusion of the April 6 gathering Howard asserted that Silicon Valley had what it takes to be a leader in a regional metamorphosis movement. Howard invited us to explore this possibility together at a May 10th gathering at Serena Software from 4-7 PM.
Questions for you:
- Are you a GRIP, a game ready infinite player? Check your “symptoms” against this profile. http://www.theinfinitegames.org/e02/02.php
- Does the idea of playing a key role in bootstrapping a Silicon Valley regional metamorphosis initiative intrigue you? Below are some of the key roles we see needed if we are to turn this large idea into a global movement:
TEN MOST WANTED EVOLUTIONARIES
- Angel Investors
- Multimedia Story-tellers
- Transformational Leaders
- Champions of Generative Initiative
- Leader for a Center for Regional Metamorphosis
- Bridge-Builders from Academia
- Online Collaboration Web Weavers
- Developmental Mavens
- Providers of Generative Services
- Regional Conveners
- Are you willing to join with other interested GRIPs at Serena Software from 4-7 on Tuesday, May 10? At this gathering we will be —
- Getting to know who we are — what each of us cares about, and could bring to this emerging infinite game
- Diving more deeply into the ideas presented on April 6
- Exploring for the best approach to getting traction in Silicon Valley — and beyond
Requests
- If you plan to attend, please register here.
- The address is:
Serena Software Inc 1900 Seaport Boulevard, Redwood City, CA - If you can’t attend but are definitely interested, or if you have any questions, please contact Bill@MISA.ws or call at 831-462-1992
- If you’ve a friend/colleague GRIP who is a good fit, please invite him/her to join us.
- If you attended our April 6th gathering, you may find it helpful to refresh your memory with this video, http://vimeo.com/22894801
- If you were not at the April 6th event it’s important that you invest the time to watch the video. The May 10th gathering will build on our April 6 work together.
Tip of the Hat to David Alan and Mark Roest.
Worth a Look: Design Earth
Earth Intelligence, IO Sense-Making, Worth A Look
We bring Planet, People and Products into harmony through the projects in which we involve ourselves and others. Design Earth, the portal, is allied with other sites that, collectively, are central to a whole systems approach to creating sustainablilty. These include Wiser Earth, Digital Earth, a certification portal, Commonwealth of Learning, oneVillage Foundation, and a portal to open higher education sites such as MIT's Open University. Others include Live Earth and Many One.
See Also:
“Fighting” the Mississippi River
01 Agriculture, 03 Economy, 03 Environmental Degradation, 12 Water, Earth Intelligence, Government, Military
A Levee Breached, and New Worries Downstream
By A. G. SULZBERGER and JOHN SCHWARTZ
New York Times, May 3, 2011
Roy Presson, with his daughters Catherine, left, and Amanda, looking out at their flooded 2,400-acre farm on Tuesday in Wyatt, Mo
SIKESTON, MO. — With a rapid series of explosions late Monday that could be felt for miles through the Missouri soil, the Army Corps of Engineers successfully blew out some 11,000 feet of Mississippi River levee, taking dangerous pressure off the river above.
. . . . . .
For the people responsible for trying to manage the unmanageable river, each success is replaced by new worries.
“We’re just at the beginning of the beginning,” said Maj. Gen. Michael J. Walsh of the Army Corps of Engineers and president of the Mississippi River Commission.
Phi Beta Iota: Severe weather is an act of man, not God. Between paving over the wetlands and the many contributing factors to environmental degradation, the Earth's natural systems have been distorted to yield increasingly “unmanageable” conditions.
See Also:
Worth a Look: Book Reviews on Climate Change
Worth a Look: Book Reviews on Environmental Degradation (Other than Emissions)
There’s Something Happening Here…[or Not]
Cultural Intelligence, Earth Intelligence
There’s Something Happening Here…
May 1, 2011
by Venessa Miemis
I came across this post from Dave Pollard via Twitter the other day, and found it so provocative that I am compelled to crosspost. (I emailed Dave and he gave me his permission.) After I retweeted it, a few people wrote back saying it was overly pessimistic and doom-and-gloomy, but after looking through some of Dave’s other posts, he seems to actually be quite optimistic that the power of local community and resilience can “save the world.” Some other posts of his work checking out – A Framework for Personal Action, How to Save the World Reading List, and a really neat list of 65 Essential Abilities for a Relocalized World. Anyway, the piece just made me go “hmmm,” so I wanted to share. The original can be found here.
Phi Beta Iota: We agree with the deep dismay, we do not agree with the forecast.
The ONE THING that is agile and resilient in the face of catstrophic complexity is the human brain–all of them, all the time.
Industrial Era governments and corporations and non-governmental organizations are now pathologically inept, and must be replaced by hybrid networks that share information and achieve sustainable progress through trust and consensus.
