Internet Freedom–The Public Dialog Continues

Advanced Cyber/IO, Analysis, Augmented Reality, Autonomous Internet, Budgets & Funding, Collective Intelligence, Collective Intelligence, Communities of Practice, Computer/online security, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Geospatial, info-graphics/data-visualization, InfoOps (IO), International Aid, Journalism/Free-Press/Censorship, Methods & Process, Mobile, Open Government, Peace Intelligence, Policies, Real Time, Reform, Standards, Strategy, Technologies, Threats, Tools
Michel Bauwens

SOURCE: P2P Foundation Category:P2P Infrastructure

This is a specialization of our general Technology section, focusing more explicitely on the ‘true internet' or distributed P2P infrastructures.  It is being updated over the next week or so.

On the overall perspective of the P2P Foundation: What Digital Commoners Need To Do, a meditation on the strategic phases in the construction of a peer to peer world

Help us improve our definition of what a true P2P Infrastructure should be: Defining True P2P Infrastructures

Programmatic Statement for the creation of a world-wide user-controlled network based on a distributed architecture, by Raffael Kéménczy

Projects we find worthty of support:

  1. We Rebuild is a cluster of net activists who have joined forces to collaborate on issues concerning access to a free internet without intrusive surveillance
  2. Open Source Mesh Networking projects monitored by Open Source Mesh
  3. Various strategies to achieve Free Fiber to the home
  4. High Priority Free Software Projects: “The FSF high-priority projects list serves to foster the development of projects that are important for increasing the adoption and use of free software and free software operating systems.”

Projects to decentralize/distribute the internet:

Continue reading “Internet Freedom–The Public Dialog Continues”

EGYPT: Can Democracy by Randomly Revolutionized?

08 Wild Cards, 11 Society, Advanced Cyber/IO, Collective Intelligence, Collective Intelligence, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, InfoOps (IO), Methods & Process, Peace Intelligence, Reform
Tom Atlee

Will Egypt Revolutionize Democracy Itself?

by Tom Atlee

Thomas Friedman suggests that the special strength of Egypt's youth-led revolutionary movement has been “the fact that it represented every political strain, every segment and class in Egyptian society.” But then he turns around and says that diversity “is also its weakness. It still has no accepted political platform or leadership.”

Of course, from a majoritarian electoral perspective, he's right. But perspective that may not provide the most potent and useful democratic approaches for Egypt's future — or ours.

If Egypt's 21st century revolutionaries want their revolution to turn the world, they will make this supposed weakness — their inclusive diversity — into the greatest strength of their emergent democracy. They will cherish, develop and institutionalize their cross-section diversity AS a political platform AND AS the principle underlying their new forms of democratic leadership.

My advice: Make random selection as fundamental to Egyptian democracy as majority vote will be. Properly institutionalized, random selection is harder to manipulate and co-opt than elections.
Continue reading “EGYPT: Can Democracy by Randomly Revolutionized?”

EGYPT: CIA’s Last Stand? Mubarak as First Domino? Advice for the USG: BUTT OUT.

07 Other Atrocities, Advanced Cyber/IO, Collective Intelligence, Communities of Practice, Cultural Intelligence, Officers Call, Peace Intelligence, Real Time
DefDog Recommends...

Suleiman: The CIA's man in Cairo

Suleiman, a friend to the US and reported torturer, has long been touted as a presidential successor.

. . . . . . .

In the mid-1990s, Suleiman worked closely with the Clinton administration in devising and implementing its rendition program; back then, rendition involved kidnapping suspected terrorists and transferring them to a third country for trial.

. . . . . . .

Under the Bush administration, in the context of “the global war on terror”, US renditions became “extraordinary”, meaning the objective of kidnapping and extra-legal transfer was no longer to bring a suspect to trial – but rather for interrogation to seek actionable intelligence. The extraordinary rendition program landed some people in CIA black sites – and others were turned over for torture-by-proxy to other regimes. Egypt figured large as a torture destination of choice, as did Suleiman as Egypt’s torturer-in-chief. At least one person extraordinarily rendered by the CIA to Egypt — Egyptian-born Australian citizen Mamdouh Habib — was reportedly tortured by Suleiman himself.

Read the entire article….

Phi Beta Iota: A great deal hinges on the next few days.  We are betting on the Egyptian people.  The USA should BUTT OUT.  Not only is the Administration completely ignorant of the dynamics in Egypt, where young people, old people, workers, and all other walks of life have “come out”–the Muslim Brotherhood has been SIDELINED–but anything the Administration says can and will be used against it and against the people of Egypt.  The USA is long overdue for getting back in touch with its core values, which should NOT include redition, torture, and dictator pals, all “in our name.”

URGENT EVOKE: The End of Old Government

Advanced Cyber/IO, Augmented Reality, Budgets & Funding, Collective Intelligence, Collective Intelligence, Communities of Practice, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Earth Intelligence, Ethics, Geospatial, info-graphics/data-visualization, InfoOps (IO), International Aid, Key Players, Methods & Process, Mobile, Peace Intelligence, Policies, Real Time, Serious Games, Threats
Four Rules of EVOKING

EVOKE is a ten-week crash course in changing the world.

It is free to play and open to anyone, anywhere.

The goal of the social network game is to help empower people all over the world to come up with creative solutions to our most urgent social problems.

VOKE was developed by the World Bank Institute, the learning and knowledge arm of the World Bank Group, and directed by alternate reality game master Jane McGonigal.

EVOKE is for all ages; recommended age 13 and up.

LEARN HOW TO PLAY: the Five Secrets of the EVOKE Network.

URGENT EVOKE Home Page

Underground world hints at China’s coming crisis

03 Economy, 05 Energy, 06 Family, 11 Society, 12 Water, Civil Society, Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Government, Key Players, Peace Intelligence

Underground world hints at China's coming crisis

To understand how far ordinary Chinese have been priced out of their country's property market, you need to look not upwards at the Beijing's shimmering high-rise skyline, but down, far below the bustling streets where nearly 20m people live and work.

There, in the city's vast network of unused air defence bunkers, as many as a million people live in small, windowless rooms that rent for £30 to £50 a month, which is as much as many of the city's army of migrant labourers can afford.

. . . . . .

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Central Asia–Failed States in the Making

07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, Communities of Practice, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Peace Intelligence, Strategy
DefDog Recommends...

Central Asia: Decay and Decline

International Crisis Group Report 201 3 Feb 2011

Quietly but steadily Central Asia’s basic human and physical
infrastructure – the roads, power plants, hospitals and schools and the
last generation of Soviet-trained specialists who have kept this all
running – is disappearing. The equipment is wearing out, the personnel
retiring or dying. Post-independence regimes made little effort to
maintain or replace either, and funds allocated for this purpose have
largely been eaten up by corruption. This collapse has already sparked
protests and contributed to the overthrow of a government.

Read full report….

Continue reading “Central Asia–Failed States in the Making”