Journal: The Cloud Bubbas (Two Bubbettes) Met on 3 September and You Were Not Invited

Collaboration Zones, Communities of Practice, InfoOps (IO), Key Players, Methods & Process, Mobile, Policies, Technologies, Threats, Tools
Early Warning Story Online
Early Warning Story Online

Cloud of Clouds is the new new meme, burying Semantic Web. You can see Vint Cerf in his traditional vest.  We've asked for the names of all those attending, perhaps that will come out soon.

In the meantime, we see Google and CISCO-Nokia going head to head, whle Amazon and IBM fritter on the sides, HP brings out SkyRoom, and China creates its own Google killer.  What India might be up to is a mystery–if we were in their shoes we'd be putting a Nokia factory in EACH province, and demanding that all computers sold in india be wireless equipped and capable of creating ad hoc neighborhood clouds that can survive the Obama Administration's shutting down of the Internet in the USA.

Of possible interest:

Robert Steele's Briefing on Real Time Information

IBM's White Paper on Creating a Dynamic Infrastructure Through Virtualization

IBM's Short Video New Intelligence Toward a Smarter Planet

IBM's Short Video Dynamic Infrastructure for a Smarter Planet

Phi Beta Iota: We need an MCC equivalent for the whole enchilada from analog data capture to desktop decision-support.

Journal: Eye Opener–Census Worker Found Hanged

11 Society, Civil Society, Ethics, Peace Intelligence, Reform
Full Story Online
Full Story Online

A part-time Census Bureau field worker was found hanged in Kentucky Sept. 12 with the word “fed” scrawled across his chest, according to a law enforcement source. Bill Sparkman, 51, who was white, was found at the Daniel Boone National Forest in rural southeast Kentucky, the Associated Press first reported Wednesday night.

Summary of Book
Summary of Book

Summary of Book
Summary of Book

Phi Beta Iota: The Washington Post was among the early casualties in the new business.  They don't read a lot, just replay the hand-outs from government, so something that is an eye-opener to them is old news to the rest of us.  This story is note-worthy because it is the first story we have seen that a politician in Washington might actually read.  To better understand the Legitimate Grievances of all Americans against the “out of control” Federal Government that has–with the best of intentions and really rotten intelligence–combined with  the Federal Reserve (neither Federal nor a Reserve) to destroy the pension funds and the life savings of the vast majority of the public, see the two reviews behind the two covers, and contemplate some of the other books accessible via the Reviews menu.  We spoke in 19 small towns and cities across America after 9/11 and that was our own eye-opener.  The anger against the Federal Government across the land cannot be exaggerated, and is co-equal with the elitist obliviousness to the plight of the people.  The public is losing its mind because the government has lost its soul.

Journal: Ralph Peters on The Rules Murdering Our Troops

05 Civil War, 10 Security, Military, Policy, Reform, Strategy
Marine Barracks Today
Marine Barracks Today

Over 200 Marines died in the barracks by the beach in Beirut, in their sleep, because the White House failed to understand that the strategic situation had changed; because chicken hawk staff approved the launching of battleship salvos (think really pissed-off Volkswagons in flight) that certified the US was “taking sides” rather than seeking to preserve the peace;  and because the “rules of engagement” imposed on Colonel of Marines Tim Gerrity required that his Marines not have rounds in the chambers and not fire as approaching vehicles that failed to stop–at the same time, intelligence sucked then as it sucks now.

The photos are our own, from Beirut in August 2007.  We grieve for our Marines, who sought to serve their country while being used as an expendible tool by the White House.  Today the same thing is happening in Afghanistan and Ralph Peters has unleashed his own volley against the insanity of asking our troops to allow themselves to be killed whenever a civilian is in the area.  Click on the collage for today's deja vu.

Journal: Barack Obama, College Administrator

Communities of Practice, Ethics, Policies, Reform, Threats
Full Story Online
Full Story Online

CBS replaying National Review Online

Other NRO Stories
Other NRO Stories

Victor Davis Hanson

23 September 2009

If you are confused by the first nine months of the Obama administration, take solace that there is at least a pattern. The president, you see, thinks America is a university and that he is our campus president. Keep that in mind, and almost everything else makes sense.

Many of the former Professor Obama's problems so far hinge on his administration's inability to judge public opinion, its own self-righteous sense of self, its non-stop sermonizing, and its suspicion of sincere dissent. In other words, the United States is now a campus, we are the students, and Obama is our university president.

Continue reading “Journal: Barack Obama, College Administrator”

Worth a Look: HP Builds Collaboration Tool Into Workstations

Technologies, Tools, Worth A Look
Full Story Online
Full Story Online

Hewlett-Packard is building collaboration software with video, application-sharing and 3-D graphics support into several of its workstation models, giving the high-definition conferencing market an option well below the cost and scale of telepresence.

SkyRoom is available worldwide as a free, preinstalled feature of HP Z800, Z600, Z400 and xw4600 workstations. Some premium business PCs and laptops coming from HP in the next few months will offer the software on a 90-day trial basis.

The software is also available for purchase for an estimated U.S. street price of US$149 and can be used on workstations and PCs from Dell, Lenovo and Sun, HP said. In addition to the Core 2 Duo or equivalent processor, those systems will need at least 2GB of RAM, a webcam and XP or Vista. HP is also offering the HP SkyRoom Accessory Kit, which includes a high-resolution webcam and headphones or speakers, for $119.

Journal: Afghanistan–Connecting the Dots

10 Security, Military, Strategy

2001: What to do about Afghanistan?  Prospects for Stability

2008: Memo Leak Says Mission In Afghanistan Doomed

Meet the Afghan Army: Is it a figment of Washington's imagination? by Ann Jones

Afghan agony: More troops won't help by Ralph Peters in the NY Post

Time to Get Out of Afghanistan By George F. Will Tuesday, September 1, 2009


Journal: Information Arms Race

10 Security, Government, Reform, Strategy

Full Story Online
Full Story Online

Information as the New Arms Race

An official report last week reveals weaknesses in our effort to prevent another 9/11.

Gordon Grovitz
Gordon Grovitz

L. GORDON CROVITZ

Monday, September 21, 2009

The U.S. is the only country whose laws mandate the release of details of its intelligence goals and operations. Every four years, the National Intelligence Strategy document discloses the priorities of the usually hidden operations of the country's 16 intelligence agencies.

A key theme of last week's report is that we're now in what might be called an information arms race, driven by technology.

. . . . . . .

One previously top-secret disclosure last week was the amount the U.S. spends across its civilian and military intelligence operations. Mr. Blair said this is $75 billion a year, including 200,000 intelligence professionals. These details alert other countries to what it would take to close the intelligence gap.

Continue reading “Journal: Information Arms Race”

noble gold