#OSE Open Source Everything – Page 304 – Public Intelligence Blog

yoda with light saber — Got Crowd? BE the Force!

Follow the Money

Recent court decisions (re)affirming corporate personhood and premise that campaign contributions are (protected) free speech punctuated the fear of some that politicians—biennially for sale to the highest bidder—would increase in cost and become the exclusive province of the rich, which would give truth to the sobriquet, “the ruling class”.

It is unfair, however, to think only of politicians for sale, when it is politics in its broadest dimension that is for sale. In the instance of campaign contributions, for example, follow the money: campaigns are conducted to amass votes—to urge voters to cast their ballots for the campaigner or, at least, refrain from casting a vote for the opposition. So, is the tsunami of campaign contributions buying votes?…or, in kind, buying not (only) politicians but voters?

If we consider that campaign contributions are (in some way) buying votes/voters, it is awe inspiring to calculate the cost (value?) of a vote or, alternatively the price of a voter [an exercise left to the reader].

Once (in a Chicago-minute, when all politics was truly local) it was more direct to simply pay people for their vote—cash or spirits, take your pick. This stimulus to the economy really did trickle down. Thanks, in part, to exposure by the high-minded media, we have (largely) curtailed this practice. Too bad, perhaps: many citizens, struggling economically, would be delighted with such a biennial windfall. And, if the (contributing) power of unions has declined and shifted to the rich, all the better: doesn’t this represent a compelling expression of transfer payments—something to which every citizen is “entitled”?

Continue reading “Yoda: Follow the Money – Voters, Voting, Information and Influence”

2012/06/162012/06/16

Open Source Everything Manifesto Hits #50 for Democracy

Manifesto Extracts

For a tiny book from a boutique publisher, this is huge….there is no advertising budget, no public sales effort, etcetera. This is a word of mouth rising.

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,210 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

#50 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Government > Democracy

NOTE: Amazon is selling the book for just under $10, a savings of almost $5 from the retail price.

What the world lacks right now—especially the United States, where every form of organization from government to banks to labor unions has betrayed the public trust—is integrity. Also lacking is public intelligence in the sense of decision-support: knowing what one needs to know in order to make honest decisions for the good of all, rather than corrupt decisions for the good of the few.The Open-Source Everything Manifesto is a distillation of author, strategist, analyst, and reformer Robert David Steele life's work: the transition from top-down secret command and control to a world of bottom-up, consensual, collective decision-making as a means to solve the major crises facing our world today. The book is intended to be a catalyst for citizen dialog and deliberation, and for inspiring the continued evolution of a nation in which all citizens realize our shared aspiration of direct democracy—informed participatory democracy. Open-Source Everything is a cultural and philosophical concept that is essential to creating a prosperous world at peace, a world that works for one hundred percent of humanity. The future of intelligence is not secret, not federal, and not expensive. It is about transparency, truth, and trust among our local to global collective. Only “open” is scalable.

Review of the Book by Ralph Peters … Manifesto Extracts at Phi Beta Iota … Book Page at Amazon . Book Page at Barnes & Noble . Book Page at McNallyRobinson . Book Page at North Atlantic Books (Publisher) . Book Page at Powell’s Books . Book Page at Random House . Book Page at Super Book Depot

2012/06/162012/06/16

The Open Source Everything Manifesto: Chapter 5 Integrity, Lies, and Panarchy Extract II

Manifesto Extracts

The Open Source Everything Manifesto: Chapter 5 Integrity, Lies, and Panarchy Extract II

Every major segment of our society–academia, civil society [including labor unions and religions], commerce, government, law enforcement, media, military, and non-government/non-profit–is currently suffering from epidemic lack of integrity, which only gets worse at large scales of operation, leading to implosion from corruption of intelligence and information-sharing.

. . . . . . .

For many years I though that our elected representatives had been corrupted by corporations, and more recently, by banks (or I should say, the people who use these structures as veils for their own unethical accummulation of profit). I was in error. As we now know from numerous cases, the most blatant being that of former Congressman Randy Cunningham, it is more often the elected representative who have been shaking down banks and corporations in order to fund their own ambitions to remain in power and to profit at the expense of the people.

. . . . . . . .

This manifesto is a political and intellectual “call to arms” for carrying out a non-violent revolution that restores the sovereignty of We the People. With Oath Keepers gaining ground among law enforcement professionals, and Ron Paul receiving more support from veterans than all other 2012 Presidential candidates combined, it's possible that the police and military can come together with labor, Occupy, the Tea Party, and Independents to achieve electoral reform and then intelligence, governance, and national security reform.

2012/06/162012/06/16

Tom Atlee: Emerging Economics #3 – The Sharing Economy

Money

Emerging Economics #3: The Sharing Economy

Dear friends

One of the key features of “the new economy” is sharing. More and more people are sharing housing, cars, bikes, tools, meals, skills, money, books, ideas, music, energy, recreation, projects, transportation, knowledge, problem-solving, visions, jobs, ownership, clothes, stories, time…

Sharing is a resource in hard times as well as a source of intrinsic meaning and satisfaction any time. To an increasing number of people, sharing offers compelling alternatives to the corporate-dominated money-saturated whole-society bustle we normally think of as “the economy”.

They wonder: To what extent would we buy things and work long hours and struggle alone in separate homes and families if we could get our needs met by sharing?

The existing economy is designed to get us to look out for ourselves so that we'll consume, compete and work at paying jobs. It nurtures the illusion that we are independent, building lives for ourselves in a world where everyone else is out for themselves, too. Closer examination, however, suggests that such independence is largely a myth, a well-promoted appearance obscuring our profound dependence on the competitive buy-and-sell economy which, in turn, conceals our dependence on nature, culture, and each other.

Continue reading “Tom Atlee: Emerging Economics #3 – The Sharing Economy”

2012/06/162012/06/16

Gordon Duff: US Government & extraterrestrial Technology

07 Other Atrocities, Augmented Reality, Corruption, DoD, Government, Intelligence (government), IO Deeds of War, Knowledge, Military, Misinformation & Propaganda, Politics, Politics of Science & Science of Politics, Power Behind-the-Scenes/Special Interests, Secrecy & Politics of Secrecy, Technologies

The Strange Case of Phil Schneider

I don't have the time needed or deserved so I will publish a series of youtube lectures, many are available by Phil Schneider.

Forgotten “Accidented” UFO WhistleBlower Touches Too Close

By Gordon Duff, Senior Editor

EXTRACT:

This is where the issue of Phil Schneider comes in. He is a UFO whistleblower who spent his short life saying what was, when he said it, seemed outlandish. We are now putting so many of his 30 year old technologies into use, so many are now public or at least to the advanced defense community that more and more of us accept all of it.

Article and Seven YouTube Videos

2012/06/162012/06/16

John Steiner: Wisconsin Vote Rigging – The New Normal

Politics

Wisconsin: None dare call it vote rigging

By Bob Fitrakis 14 Jun 2012

If vote-rigging prospers, none may call it vote-rigging. It simply becomes the new norm. Once again, the universal laws of statistics apply only outside U.S. borders. The recall vote in Wisconsin produced another significant 7% discrepancy between the unadjusted exit poll and the so-called “recorded vote.” In actual social science, this level of discrepancy, with the results being so far outside the expected margin of error would not be accepted… Here's where U.S. elections become laughable. A couple of private companies count our votes with secret proprietary hardware and software, the most notable being ES&S. Every standard of election transparency is routinely violated in the U.S. electronic version of faith-based voting. How the corporate-dominated media deals with the issue is by “adjusting the exit polls.”

See Also:

We the People Reform Coalition

THE OPEN SOURCE MANIFESTO: Transparency, Truth & Trust

2012/06/15

The Open Source Everything Manifesto: Chapter 5 Integrity, Lies, and Panarchy Extract I

Manifesto Extracts

The Open Source Everything Manifesto: Chapter 5 Extract I

In the twenty-first century, intelligence, design, and integrity comprise the triad that matters most. The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth is the non-negotiable starting position for getting it right, and this is crucially important with respect to the sustainability of the Earth as a home for humanity.

Integrity at the top requires clarity, diversity, and balance.

Integrity can be compounded or discounted. It is compounded when public understanding demands political accountability and flag officers ultimately understand that they have sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution, not support the chain of command. It is discounted when flag officers are careerists, ascribe to rankism, and generally betray the public interest in favor of personal advancement.

Universal access to connectivity and content is a means of accelerating both public access to the truth and the power of the public to offset “rule by secrecy,” which inherently lacks integrity at all levels.