Media – Page 110 – Public Intelligence Blog

2012/05/14

Patrick Meier: Departing for Qatar

08 Wild Cards, Advanced Cyber/IO, Blog Wisdom, Civil Society, Collective Intelligence, Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence, Earth Intelligence, Ethics, Government, Media, Mobile

Joining the Qatar Foundation to Advance Humanitarian Technology

Big news! I'll be taking a senior level position at the Qatar Foundation to work on the next generation of humanitarian technology solutions. I'll be based at the Foundation's Computing Research Institute (QCRI) and be working alongside some truly amazing minds defining the cutting edge of social and scientific computing, computational linguistics, big data, etc. My role at QCRI will be to leverage the expertise within the Institute, the region and beyond to drive technology solutions for humanitarian and social impact globally—think of it as Computing for Good backed by some serious resources. I'll spend just part of the time in Doha. The rest of my time will be based wherever necessary to have the greatest impact. Needless to say, I'm excited!

My mission over the past five years has been to catalyze strategic linkages between the technology and humanitarian space to promote both innovation and change, so this new adventure feels like the perfect next chapter in this exciting adventure. I've had the good fortune and distinct honor of working with some truly inspiring and knowledgeable colleagues who have helped me define and pursue my passions over the years. Needless to say, I've learned a great deal from these colleagues; knowledge, contacts and partnerships that I plan to fully leverage at the Qatar Foundation.

It really has been an amazing five years. I joined the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) in 2007 to co-found and co-direct the Program on Crisis Mapping and Early Warning. The purpose of the program was to assess how new technologies were changing the humanitarian space and how these could be deliberately leveraged to yield more significant impact. As part of my time at HHI, I consulted on a number of cutting-edge projects including the UNDP's Crisis and Risk Mapping Analysis (CRMA) Program in the Sudan. I also leveraged this iRevolution blog extensively to share my findings and learnings with both the humanitarian and technology communities. In addition, I co-authored the UN Foundation & Vodafone Foundation Report on “New Technologies in Emergen-cies and Conflicts” (PDF).

Continue reading “Patrick Meier: Departing for Qatar”

2012/05/09

DefDog: Bruce Hoffman, the US IC, Bin Laden…Many Contradictions

07 Other Atrocities, 09 Terrorism, Articles & Chapters, Corruption, Government, IO Deeds of War, IO Impotency, Media, Military

Bruce is bascially saying that the IC has failed completely…..which we know it has. This also supports my view that the folks who dreamed up the latest air attack are also out of touch with AQ reality. But the media has dumbed down the public enough that they believe almost anything….

The thing I find interesting is that Bruce has openly said that the IC is a failure. He also raises some questions that would suggest bin Laden was not alive, i.e. the focus on the Arab Spring. This does not fall into line with UBL as much as it does with Zawahiri….and his Muslim Brotherhood.

As I noted, the fact that someone with Hoffman's stature is questioning the IC should make people pause and reflect on the state of affairs within those halls….

Bruce Hoffman: What Osama Was Thinking at the End

Bin Laden was more fearful that his men might be affected by the weather than by any effort of the Pakistani government to apprehend them.

By releasing 17 documents seized last year from Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, the U.S. government has supplied a needed corrective to the bunkum that has passed for analysis throughout the war on terrorism's first decade.

For too long, government officials and pundits alike have made extravagant and incorrect claims about the weakness of al Qaeda and the irrelevance of its founding leader.

Continue reading “DefDog: Bruce Hoffman, the US IC, Bin Laden…Many Contradictions”

2012/05/03

Bojan Radej: Data Journalism Handbook & Graphic Map

Advanced Cyber/IO, Civil Society, Collective Intelligence, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Ethics, Media, Methods & Process

The Data Journalism Handbook is Out

6 months ago at Mozilla Festival 2011, the Data Journalism Handbook was born. Thanks for your interest in the book – I have great pleasure in announcing that the Handbook is now live!

The Handbook features contributions from over 70 leading practitioners of data journalism from every corner of the globe, from Japan to Finland, Nigeria to the US and from leading news outlets such the New York Times, Zeit Online, the BBC and the Guardian. The Handbook is an open educational resource, under a creative commons licence (CC-BY-SA) so please share it with your friends and remix it. We hope that it will encourage many budding data journalists to look at data as a source and give them courage to tackle it, as well as showcasing some great examples of journalism using data as inspiration for future stories.

You can find the handbook at: http://datajournalismhandbook.org/

Also available for pre-order is the e- and print version from O'Reilly Media – http://oreil.ly/ddj-e-print – so if you are interested in a version to read offline, take a look!

We will soon have the facility to submit feedback via the website if you spot any errors or have any improvements for the next version,

—
Lucy Chambers

Infographic impresario Lulu Pinney created this superb poster, which gives an overview of the contents of the Data Journalism Handbook.

2012/04/302012/04/30

Mini-Me: Were Real Persons Murdered on 9/11?

07 Other Atrocities, Commerce, Corruption, Government, IO Deeds of War, Law Enforcement, Media, Military

Huh?

EXTRACT from second story:

Even after almost 9 years, there are still NO remains for 1,123 of the victims who died at Ground Zero.

Were Real Persons Murdered on 9/11?

Stewart Ogilby

Veterans Today, 29 April 2012

The question is an absurd one except to those of us who have spent part of our lives exploring contradictions and mysteries posed by official narratives regarding events of that world-changing day. Increasingly, the question is becoming, “How many real persons died as a result of alleged events that occurred in connection with the destruction of buildings in New York City’s World Trade Center Complex on September 11, 2001?”

A logical tentative answer is provided by Mr. Simon Shack, the brilliant creator of SeptemberClues.info web site and supported by members of his CluesForum.info, two online resources that call into serious question reports of that day’s victims.

Shack’s sites initially postulated all alleged victims to be computer created fakes who never existed, based on absurdities of photoshopped and digitally morphed memorial images. Proofs presented on their Vicsim Report are overwhelmingly convincing when one takes sufficient time to carefully review its eighty pages.

Read rest of story.

Over 70 Body Parts from 9/11 Found on New York City Streets (Yes, in 2010)

Brian Romanoff Nor Cal Truth June 23, 2010

Another search for human remains from the 9/11 attacks has yielded more evidence of an explosive death, coupled with a lack of forensic integrity.

. . . . . . .

Even after almost 9 years, there are still NO remains for 1,123 of the victims who died at Ground Zero.

Many of the 20,000 body parts found so far are from the same people – as mentioned in the same story as the above quote:

Read full article, with video inserts and active links.

Phi Beta Iota: There are three lines of thinking emergent on 9/11 that are gathering some momentum. The first is that the mainstream media were fully engaged in showing manipulated video enhanced with some computer simulation — this has not been investigated to our knowledge. The second is that the body count for 9/11 was fabricated. We would add the likelihood that the same force that pulverized all the concrete was also responsible for pulverizing most of the bodies within the buildings. The third, the most interesting, has actually begun to connect the dots among all the Zionists in NYC and neo-cons in Washington, D.C. We have no direct knowledge. We only know that the truth of the matter remains to be found.

See Also:

9-11 Truth Books & DVDs (38)

9/11 at Phi Beta Iota

2012/04/22

Jon Lebkowsky: 21st Century New Sources & Methods for Journalism

11 Society, Advanced Cyber/IO, Blog Wisdom, Media, Methods & Process, Mobile

International Symposium on Online Journalism: New approaches in engaging with the news community

ISOJ Program

Angela Lee: Audience preference and editorial judgment: a study of time-lagged influence in online news

To what extent are audiences influencing editors and journalists, and vice versa? Editorial judgement measured based on placement on paper; audience preference measured by clicks, looking at a 3-hour interval. Audience preference influences editorial decisions three hours later (which suggests editors are watching behavior and responding). However not seeing a reciprocal effect of editorial judgement on audiences.

I’m wondering if the results are influenced by assumptions embedded in the structure of the methodology for the report.

Some popular stories get pushed down on the home page, not sure why? Could be relevance of speed and immediacy – stories might be pushed down to make room for fresh content. Lee calls for input from journalists at the conference.

Alfred Hermida (who’s also been live blogging the conference, and who wrote the book on Participatory Journalism).

Sourcing the Arab Spring: A case study of Andy Carvin’s sources during the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions. How is sourcing evolving in the networked social sphere?

“We looked at sourcing, because sourcing matters.” Who we talk to as journalists affects not just what we report, but the meaning we derive from the reporting. When journalists cite non-elite sources or alternative voices, we treat them as deviant, as the others. Powerful and privileged dominate sourcing.

Carvin was doing a very different type of reporting, messaging and retweeting on Twitter. Carvin was like a “must-read newswire” (per Columbia Journalism Review). 162 sources in Tunisia, 185 sources in Egypt. Coded into categories: mainstream media, institutional elites, alternative voices, and other. Alternative voices included people involved in the protests.

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2012/04/082012/04/08

Richard Wright: Washington Post – No Memory on Iraq & No Integrity on Iran

05 Iran, 08 Wild Cards, 10 Security, Government, IO Impotency, Media

An Mini-Me would say, “Huh”?

US intelligence gains in Iran seen as boost to confidence

By Joby Warrick and Greg Miller

The Washington Post

Published: April 8, 2012

More than three years ago, the CIA dispatched a stealth surveillance drone into the skies over Iran.

The bat-winged aircraft penetrated more than 600 miles inside the country, captured images of Iran’s secret nuclear facility at Qom and then flew home. All the while, analysts at the CIA and other agencies watched carefully for any sign that the craft, dubbed the RQ-170 Sentinel, had been detected by Tehran’s air defenses on its maiden voyage.

“There was never even a ripple,” said a former senior U.S. intelligence official involved in the previously undisclosed mission.

CIA stealth drones scoured dozens of sites throughout Iran, making hundreds of passes over suspicious facilities, before a version of the RQ-170 crashed inside Iran’s borders in December. The surveillance has been part of what current and former U.S. officials describe as an intelligence surge that is aimed at Iran’s nuclear program and that has been gaining momentum since the final years of George W. Bush’s administration.

Continue reading “Richard Wright: Washington Post – No Memory on Iraq & No Integrity on Iran”

2012/04/08

Marcus Aurelius: Defense Spending Contradictions – Panetta’s Week-Ends versus TRICARE Cuts

Corruption, Government, Media

Marcus-Aurelius-150x150 — Marcus Aurelius

So, proposed TRICARE fee increases are intended to cover costs of SECDEF's weekend trips home? Would not be surprised.

CNN
April 6, 2012

A $32,000 Trip Every Weekend

The Situation Room (CNN), 5:00 P.M.

JOE JOHNS: Imagine working in Washington Monday through Friday then flying home almost every weekend to California. That’s a weekly ritual for Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, and get this, he does it for the most part on the taxpayers’ dime.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is back with that story.

Double duty for you today, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR: Indeed, Joe. Well, you know, look, here at the Pentagon it’s all about cutting the budget, trying to save billions of dollars, so why are taxpayers paying nearly $1 million for Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to fly home on the weekends?

Continue reading “Marcus Aurelius: Defense Spending Contradictions – Panetta's Week-Ends versus TRICARE Cuts”