The truth at any cost lowers all other costs — curated by former US spy Robert David Steele.
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”
Village in a Box: Open Source Ecology Project Uses 3D Printers to Build The Next Economy
by Tiffany Orr
3dprint.com, July 24, 2014
…the folks at the Open Source Ecology project say you only need about 50 machines such as a wind turbine, cement mixer and sawmill to get things going. And they should know since they are currently building and creating open source industrial machines and sharing the designs online without cost.
Communities worldwide want economies that are stronger, greener, fairer, more resilient, more democratic, and more diverse. Jobs must be created, climate change addressed, infrastructure repaired, schools upgraded, and more. The LEDDA economic direct democracy framework, now under development, offers a bold yet practical solution.
The LEDDA framework provides greater organization to a local economy, one hard-wired for cooperation and steeped in democratic decision-making processes. A complete description is given in the book Economic Direct Democracy: A Framework to End Poverty and Maximize Well-Being.
This is basic research – not ready to use quite yet, but a neat idea anyway and it could well turn out useful.
MIT creates graphite ‘solar sponge’ that converts sunlight into steam with 85% efficiency
EXTRACT
