Jean Lievens: Millennials and the “Sharing” Economy

01 Poverty, 03 Economy, 11 Society, Civil Society, Collective Intelligence, Commercial Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence, Gift Intelligence
Jean Lievens
Jean Lievens

A new generation of cash-strapped ‘millennials' have very different expectations about jobs, credit and money. As Michelle Fleury reports, they are using the internet for a new ‘sharing economy'.

The cash-strapped millennials using ‘sharing economy'

The ‘millennials' are the generation that came of age after the 2008 financial crisis.

Cash-strapped and internet-savvy, they have very different expectations about jobs, credit and money.

Part of the new ‘sharing economy', they have taken to the idea of sharing rather than buying with a vengeance.

Michelle Fleury reports from New York.

See video.

Sepp Hasslberger: Christopher Strevens Nuclear Reactor – PESWiki

05 Energy
Sepp Hasslberger
Sepp Hasslberger

Plasma fusion with transmutation of hydrogen into helium … brings to mind the question: Why is it that garage inventor with limited means seems to be able to achieve what has been eluding the best of our fusion scientists with billions in funding. Are the scientists working on a wrong theoretical basis?

Christopher Strevens Nuclear Reactor – PESWiki

Four years ago, then 66-year-old inventor from London, Dr. Christopher Strevens, began posting a website with instructions of how to build his “fusion reactor”, which he says: “Creates helium from hydrogen.

It also captures the power given off during the reaction as electrical power.”

Click on Image to Enlarge
Click on Image to Enlarge

He also posted several videos to YouTube showing his prototype in operation, and showing the different color of gas from before versus after; as well as showing spectral analysis that indicates that the hydrogen that he puts into the system has transmuted to helium — a nuclear phenomenon.

He said: “I found that when I increased the exciter power to 800 Watts the output rose to 2,000 Watts [2.5-times overunity], and when I isolated the reactor from the exciter this power remained. The spark gap regulator became active keeping the power at this level. I only allowed this for a short time before reconnecting the exciter and turning the power down and the reaction ceased.”

Stephen E. Arnold: Best Social Media Monitoring Tools?

Advanced Cyber/IO, Civil Society, Ethics
Stephen E. Arnold
Stephen E. Arnold

Best Social Monitoring Tool Depends on Who Is Asking

Posted: 23 Aug 2013 06:15 PM PDT

Confused about social media monitoring? A thread at Quora, “Which Are the Best Social Media Monitoring Tools?” suggests that like search, social media monitoring is pretty tricky. The overall consensus statement makes it clear there is no simple answer: “No overall best tool. Pick the best fit for your needs.” Hmm.

Several respondents share their thoughts. One had compared Radian6 and Sysomos, and found the latter much easier to use. Another liked Engagor for its low price point. Perhaps the most comprehensive (though admittedly promotional) answer comes from Web Liquid account executive Ben Semmar, who shares:

“[. . .] Over the past couple of months, I’ve been involved in the creation of a Social Media Monitoring Buyer’s Guide. We began with a list of over 40 vendors, and based on a variety of criteria, whittled it down to a list five ‘finalists’ that we then conducted hands-on trials with. We found that some tools perform better than other tools in certain areas (but, really, doesn’t everything?) and so we don’t proclaim one tool king of them all; suffice it to say, though, that the five tools we tested are, based on our experience with and objective evaluation of the market, the best out there. You can find the study here: http://www.webliquidgroup.com/social-media-monitoring-tool-buyers-guide.”

Note that the guide he mentions is free, but requires a name and email address to view. Semmar goes on to assert one important caveat: We have not reached the point where algorithms can make reliable judgments about which insights a business should focus on, and how to use them. Though quality monitoring software can be a useful tool, the human mind is still required to wield it. (For now.)

Cynthia Murrell, August 28, 2013

Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext

Andrew Garfield: War and T/Error: The U.S. Counter-propaganda Failure in Iraq

Cultural Intelligence, IO Deeds of War, IO Impotency
andrew garfield
Andrew Garfield

Middle East Quarterly (Fall 2007) pp. 23-32.

by Andrew Garfield

Defeat of the insurgency and terrorism in Iraq requires not only a military approach but also a political component. Although the “surge” may stabilize parts of Iraq and reduce the level of violence while the additional troops remain in place, long-term stability requires a more holistic approach.

Frank Kitson, a retired British military officer whose writings influenced British operations in Northern Ireland, argues that the “main characteristic that distinguishes campaigns of insurgency from other forms of war is that they are primarily concerned with the struggle for men’s minds.”[1] To defeat the insurgency, coalition forces must persuade the Iraqi population to reject extremism and deny safe haven to those fighting the new Iraqi political order. This will require dialogue, inducements, and the proportionate use of force to win the battle for “hearts and minds.”

Effective engagement with key segments of the Iraqi population requires, in turn, a comprehensive information operations campaign. To date, it is this component that is most lacking in coalition strategy. The coalition has failed to counter enemy propaganda either by responding rapidly with effective counter messages or by proactively challenging the messages, methods, and ideology that the insurgents and extremists promote and exploit.

While terminology may vary—some officials refer to information operations as strategic communications, influence operations, psychological operations, perception management, or just propaganda—the intent to influence the hearts and minds of target audiences through the effective use of information remains constant.

In Iraq, while the coalition fumbles its information operations, the insurgents and militia groups are adept at releasing timely messages to undermine support for the Iraqi government and bolster their own perceived potency. They are quick to exploit coalition failures and excesses; they respond rapidly to defend their own actions, often by shifting blame to the authorities; and they hijack coalition successes to argue that change only occurs as a result of their violence. The slow speed of the U.S. military’s clearance process—typically it takes three to five days to approve even a simple information operations product such as a leaflet or billboard—creates an information vacuum that Iraqis fill with conspiracy theories and gossip often reflecting the exaggerations or outright lies of insurgents and extremists.

Continue reading “Andrew Garfield: War and T/Error: The U.S. Counter-propaganda Failure in Iraq”

Berto Jongman: Worth a Look — Modern Catastrophism

Cultural Intelligence, Earth Intelligence, Extraterrestial Intelligence
Berto Jongman
Berto Jongman

A registered educational charity. Registered under the Charities Act, 1960 – registration no. 286264. 



       The oldest and most up-to-date Society

      for information and research

      into cosmic catastrophes

      and ancient chronology revision

Visit home page, many links, index since 1960.

The Society's PRINCIPAL  OBJECT is ‘to advance  the education  of the public and, through the combined use of historical and contemporary evidence of all kinds, to promote a multidisciplinary approach to, and specialised research into, scientific and scholarly problems inherent in the uniformitarian theoriesin astronomy and history,  and thus to promote active consideration by scientists, scholars and students of alternatives to those theories.'  One of the Society's  furtherances of its ‘Principal Object' is ‘to promote co-operation between workers in specialised fields of learning in the belief that isolated study is sterile'.

The SIS is a UK-based, non-profit-making organisation with a worldwide membership, which includes laymen and academics alike. With its publications, Chronology & Catastrophism Review and Chronology & Catastrophism Workshop, plus residential weekend conferences and general speaker meetings, it brings together people from a wide-ranging spectrum of backgrounds and beliefs. The Society also:
 

Continue reading “Berto Jongman: Worth a Look — Modern Catastrophism”

4th Media: US/Israel, Britain, France Reach Consensus on Syria Invasion with their Arab Allies

03 Environmental Degradation, 04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Proliferation, 08 Wild Cards, Corruption, Government, Idiocy, IO Deeds of War, Military, Peace Intelligence

4th media croppedThe US/Israel, Britain, France and Their Arab Puppets Reach “Consensus” on Syria Invasion

Western and Arab military leaders have reached a “consensus” on military intervention in Syria over accusations that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons, a Jordanian security official told German news agency, DPA.

“It was decided that should the international community be forced to act in Syria, the most responsible and sustainable response would be limited missile strikes,” the official said on condition of anonymity on Tuesday following a meeting held in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

The military leaders led by Chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey agreed to prepare for the strike as early as this week, the official added.

Meanwhile, the British Prime Minister David Cameron’s spokesman said UK armed forces are devising contingency plans for military action against the Arab country over the alleged use of chemical weapons.

The UK has been reportedly sending warplanes and military transporters to its airbase in Cyprus, situated near Syria.

US defense officials also say several navy destroyers have been deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean to be used against Syria upon an order of President Barack Obama.

Read full article.

Berto Jongman: Not Just the NSA: Data Brokers Amass Detailed Profiles on Everyone Online

07 Other Atrocities, Commerce, Corruption
Berto Jongman
Berto Jongman

This month, a strongly worded Washington Post op-ed by Federal Trade Commissioner Julie Brill calling for transparency in the business practices of the online data broker industry provoked a heated response.

While the ACLU and other privacy advocates have long had their suspicions about how and why data brokers were tracking individuals, as the commissioner stated in her op-ed:

It took the NSA revelations to make concrete what this exchange means: that firms, governments or individuals, without our knowledge or consent, can amass large amounts of private information about people to use for purposes we don’t expect or understand.

Clearly displeased with the link to the NSA scandal, Linda Woolley—CEO and president of the Direct Marketing Association—fired back with an open letter to the commissioner. In the letter Woolley attacks the commissioner, claiming she disregards the benefits of data collection and unfairly demonizes the entire industry. But the commissioner is right to focus on the data broker industry’s troubling practices.

Interestingly, that massive, secret databases of individuals are being created and sold is not the issue under debate. That’s a simple and open matter of fact. For example:

Continue reading “Berto Jongman: Not Just the NSA: Data Brokers Amass Detailed Profiles on Everyone Online”

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