The truth at any cost lowers all other costs — curated by former US spy Robert David Steele.
A good start … now on to politicians.
A list of Pope Francis' 15 “Ailments of the Curia” delivered in his Christmas address
15 Cardinal Sins (this is a Catholic pun) below the line.
Continue reading “Mongoose: Holy Father Kicks Cardinal Ass…”
Open Cooperativism for the P2P Age
Our recommendations for the new era of open cooperativism are:
1. That coops need to be statutorily (internally) oriented towards the common good
2. That coops need to have governance models including all stakeholders
Continue reading “Michel Bauwens: Open Cooperativism for the P2P Age”
Robert, you are the originator of the concept of a Smart Nation, with your article in 1996 published in the Government Information Quarterly, entitled “Creating a Smart Nation: Strategy, Policy, Intelligence, and Information.” Quebec is a nation, recognized by Canada, with a distinct culture, a distinct geography, and perhaps a distinct future.
Citing Health Risks, Cuomo Bans Fracking in New York State (NYT)
Health Department Report on Fracking in New York State (Report)
New York State Just Banned Fracking (Mother Jones)
Phi Beta Iota: The media coverage of this historic decision has been mediocre. Everyone has missed two really big deals. First, the NY ban stems from a single legal couple going village to village over the years, persuading each village to pass an ordnance against fracking. Although industry took the case to the Appeals Court, they lost. Second, fracking is recommended as an energy solution in Global Trends 2030, the flagship of the US secret world's grasp of intelligence with integrity — in other words, they don't have a clue. So this specific decision on fracking in NY represents both the triumph of informed localized citizens, and the pathetic collapse of any semblance of “national” intelligence.
See Especially:
SchwartzReport: Grass-Roots Anti-Fracking
See Also:
Intelligence with Integrity @ Phi Beta Iota
Way ahead, this is.
Platform Cooperativism vs. the Sharing Economy
The Bad: Sascha Lobo and Martin Kenneyrecently introduced the term platform capitalism, which I’d define in reference to subcontracting and rental economies with big payouts going to small groups of people. Occupations that cannot be off-shored, the pet walkers or home cleaners, are now subsumed under platform capitalism.
The Good: Worker-owned cooperatives can offer an alternative model of social organization to address financial instability. They will need to be · collectively owned, · democratically controlled businesses, · with a mission to anchor jobs, · offer health insurance and pension funds and, – a degree of dignity.
This bitcoin alternative is a threat to Wall Street
Peer-to-peer loans imperil banks, and cryptocurrencies may finish the job
EXTRACT
Digital currencies circumvent the fees and roadblocks to access that come with traditional financial services. The possibilities, especially in the underdeveloped world, are enormous. As much as $9.6 trillion in assets locked out of the global economy could be freed up, according to the International Monetary Fund.
