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The Open Source Everything Manifesto

Robert David Steele

Reality Sandwich, 13 June 2012

The following is excerpted from The Open-Source Everything Manifesto: Transparency, Truth, & Trust published by Evolver Editions, an imprint of North Atlantic Books.

The circumstances underlying this manifesto are stark and compelling: We are at the end of a five-thousand-year-plus historical process during which human society grew in scale while it abandoned the early indigenous wisdom councils and communal decision-making. Power was centralized in the hands of increasingly specialized “elites” and “experts” who not only failed to achieve all they promised but used secrecy and the control of information to deceive the public into allowing them to retain power over community resources that they ultimately looted.

In the beginning, there was the commons. Over vast stretches of prehistoric time, tribal cultures evolved in tandem with the natural environment. They did this without creating private property or hierarchical relationships of control and dominance that led to consumption of nature as a resource. Open-source culture provided for community sharing and community development. With the rise of patriarchy, empire, and systems of egoic control and empowerment, this open-source approach to community was destroyed. Over the course of the last centuries, the commons was fenced, and everything from agriculture to water was commoditized without regard to the true cost in non-renewable resources. Human beings, who had spent centuries evolving away from slavery, were re-commoditized by the Industrial Era.

The corruption of the commons led to the loss of integrity between and among individuals, organizations, and community. Artificial paradises made up of objects and possessions were substituted for true community based on authentic heart-to-heart relationships. Secular corruption is made possible by information asymmetries between those in power and the public. In the absence of transparency, truth, and trust, wealth is concentrated and waste is rampant.

We, Homo sapiens, are defined by what we know in the context of the Cosmos and the Earth — larger Whole Systems.

Continue reading “2012 Reality Sandwich: The Open Source Everything Manifesto”

2012/06/142012/06/14

The Open Source Everything Manifesto: Chapter 4 Philosophical Concepts Extract III

Manifesto Extracts

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The Open Source Everything Manifesto: Chapter 4 Philosophical Concepts Extract III

Education

The core value of universal education must inform the most intrinsic function and principle of a democratic society, in order that self-directed reason is inculcated into the populace.

. . . . . . . . .

To this end, Durant [in Philosophy and the Social Problem] draws out the importance of not having a standard government-defined education, and of making education fun, exploratorytty, diverse, and open-ended. I cannot help but recall her how my hacker friends consider schools to be prisons.

. . . . . . . . .

For Durant, the mission of philosophy is to facilitate among all people the growth and spread of intelligence, hence also the capacity to use reason to discriminate and make coherent [individual as well as collective] decisions. Unlike history, which reconstructs the past, philosophy seeks to construct a living future. Instead of analysis, synthesis; instead of categorization, reconstruction and redirection. Innovation and creativity come from having a whole-systems perspective, inculcated through education that recognizes a diversity of approaches.

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

2012/06/142012/06/14

Tom Atlee: Occupy Adopts Open Everything Meme

#OSE Open Source Everything

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Occupy Rio+20 Publishes Open Source Imperative

The following statement will be presented by the Earth Summit WG to the United Nations as a participating group in the Rio+20 conference in Brasil.

The Open Source Imperative

Hello World, We Who Occupy The Earth thank the UN for supporting civil society through granting us “interested party” status in Rio +20's drafting process. Humanity's Elders (The Kogi, The Hopi, The Council of Grandmothers) warn Mother Earth is in critical condition, our scientists confirm the life systems are collapsing, our economists predict the next market crash coming soon. But for the first time, a truly global institution recognizes what civil society has been perpetually assaulted for voicing – the global governing system is broken. We respond directly to UN Under- Secretary General (USG) Achim Steiner's appeal to activists June 6th with a real solution:

Open Source Everything

What does Open Source Everything mean to the UN?: Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Sustainable Development (RDSD) empowers The 99% with deep participation in the United Nations:

Environmental issues are best handled with the participation of all concerned citizens, at the relevant level… each individual shall have appropriate access to information concerning the environment that is held by public authorities…

Since the last Earth Summit, humanity has mastered the open communications systems, information technology and software to enable global collaboration, participation and innovation. As Marshall McLuhan predicted, today's living generations are birthing one of the greatest social transformations in history — the shift from the Industrial Age to the Age of Shared Wisdom and Innovation. The Internet and associated technologies form an evolutionary system for the human race, encompassing the tools and diverse traditions to harness a holistic and resilient approach to build future civilization.

Continue reading “Tom Atlee: Occupy Adopts Open Everything Meme”

2012/06/13

DefDog: Intel Dorks Launch Forward Cyber-Centers

IO Impotency

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Best quote of the article:

“A bunch of intel dorks wrote this, not understanding how people interact or how things work,” a former intelligence officer said.

U.S. Regional Commanders Get New Cyber Muscle

ZACHARY FRYER-BIGGS

Defense News, 9 June 2012

Just as details of the covert American/Israeli collaboration in the delivery of the famed Stuxnet bug surface, the U.S. Defense Department has created a formal structure for cyber operations that places increased capability in the hands of geographic combatant commanders.

The structure, based on an outline drafted by the Joint Chiefs of Staff in January, creates new cyber-focused structures within each command that will organize the implementation of intelligence and cyber tools, both defensive and offensive. The transitional structure will be evaluated and potentially improved within the year.

Previously, combatant commanders had limited access to cyber tools, relying on reaching back to U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM). The delay and lack of capability limited cyber operations.

The new structure looks to change that, allowing for tightly integrated cyber effects. In a memorandum marked “For Official Use Only,” dated May 1, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta authorized the plan designed as a “first step” toward standardized cyber operations, according to documents obtained by Defense News.

Under the new structure, joint cyber centers (JCCs) will have chief responsibility for forward cyber operations, and serve as a link between combatant commanders and CYBERCOM cyber support elements (CSEs) that will provide intelligence information and operational know-how.

The May 1 memorandum authorized the implementation of a transitional framework, and directed officials to act with haste.

“It is imperative that we move quickly and put the transitional framework in place as soon as possible,” Panetta wrote.

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2012/06/122012/06/12

Event: 13-15 July NYC Hackers on Planet Earth

Advanced Cyber/IO, Communities of Practice, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Hacking, InfoOps (IO), Liberation Technology, Officers Call, Politics

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Home . Pre-Register . Speakers .

Travel . Volunteer . Vendors

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Welcome

Latest News

Call for Activities: workshops, artwork, collaborative spaces. Submit your ideas.

HOPE Number Nine Call for Hackerspaces seeks participation

Keynote announced! The Yes Men will talk about their approach to hacking corporations and saving the world. See the press release at 2600.com.

About HOPE

HOPE Number Nine will be taking place on July 13, 14, and 15, 2012 at the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City. H.O.P.E. stands for Hackers On Planet Earth, one of the most creative and diverse hacker events in the world that's been happening since 1994.

We're planning three full days and nights of activities, including more of the provocative and enlightening speakers that the HOPE conferences are known for. In addition, we have access to a massive amount of space to put together all sorts of hacker projects and assorted fun stuff. In the past we've had huge hackerspace villages, film festivals, Segway rides, lockpicking villages, a wide variety of vendors, art installations, live radio, vintage computers, robots, ham radio installations, electronics workshops, book signings, and the country's biggest supply of Club-Mate.

Now imagine all of that happening right in the middle of New York City, across the street from Penn Station and down the block from the Empire State Building. It seems impossible, but with the hard work and dedication of our huge volunteer staff, we're able to pull it off. You can also become part of the magic, whether by attending or volunteering to help run the event with us. We also encourage attendees to submit ideas for talks or to suggest projects that we may not have ever thought of before.

We'll be adding more information to the various sections of this site as it develops. Please explore and spread the word!

Phi Beta Iota: The least expensive most versatile mind-expanding event in the English-speaking world.

2012/06/11

DefDog: Vanishing Middle Class – Lost 38% Wealth in 3 Years

07 Other Atrocities, Commerce, Corruption, Government

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Vanishing middle class…..

Wealth of US families tumbles

The wealth of American families plummeted by 38.8 per cent between 2007 and 2010, according to fresh data from the Federal Reserve, highlighting the deep damage inflicted by the housing crash, financial crisis and recession on the economic health of US households.

According to the Fed’s survey of consumer finances, which is released every three years, the median net worth of US families declined from $126,400 in 2007 to $77,300 two years ago, as millions of Americans witnessed a sharp drop in the value of their homes, in many cases their main investment.

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The fall in wealth due to the mortgage collapse more than offset the gains of the housing boom. In 2004, family median net worth as measured by the same survey was $107,200, while in 2001 it was $106,100, meaning even much of the benefit of the economic expansion of the 1990s was wiped away.

In its report, the Fed noted that families living in the west with a head of household between 35 and 44 years old bore the brunt of the hit to the net worth, since “housing was a larger share of their assets”.

As their wealth plummeted, many Americans also suffered a steep drop in median income, with unemployment and underemployment rising. According to the Fed study, median income fell 7.7 per cent between 2007 and 2010, a sharp acceleration from a small decline in the previous three years.

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2012/06/112012/06/11