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Patrick Meier: Big Data Philathropy aka Big Data Commons

Big Data Philanthropy for Humanitarian Response My colleague Robert Kirkpatrick from Global Pulse has been actively promoting the concept of “data philanthropy” within the context of development. Data philanthropy involves companies sharing proprietary datasets for social good. I believe we urgently need big (social) data philanthropy for humanitarian response as well. Disaster-affected communities are increasingly the source …

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Chuck Spinney: The Afghanistan Exit – Looting the Useful Idiots to the Bitter End

When Alexander the Great decided to leave Afghanistan, his plan was to exit via the Khyber Pass and march though what is now Pakistan and thence into India. But the Khyber was blocked by a warring Pashtun tribe. Legend has it that Alex’s exit strategy was to bribe another Pashtun tribe to open the door …

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Mini-Me: Greek Banks Run, IOUs New Drachma–Five Different Economies Running Side by Side in Greece

Huh? Greeks Bank Run; Lines Form at ATMs; Nearly $1 Billion Withdrawn in Past Week Without a government for the last eleven days, and amid mainstream discussion of a Euro Zone exit, the Greek people are realizing that the economic and political system as they know it is rapidly descending into chaos. With massive jobless …

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Top Atlee: Final Words from Ernest Callenbach the Author of Ecotopia & Ecotopia Emerging

Dear friends, Ernest Callenbach’s ECOTOPIA and its prequel ECOTOPIA EMERGING were major books in my developing thinking about how a sustainable society might evolve.  ECOTOPIA, the more famous of the two, provides Callenbach’s overall vision of what might be possible.  ECOTOPIA EMERGING – with far better characterization and more compelling plot – tells the story …

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David Stockman: Emperor Naked, Bond Market Explodes Next

The Emperor is Naked: David Stockman Testosterone Pit, May 9, 2012 Contributed by Karen Roche and JT Long of The Gold Report. A “paralyzed” Federal Reserve Bank, in its “final days,” held hostage by Wall Street “robots” trading in markets that are “artificially medicated” are just a few of the bleak observations shared by David Stockman, former Republican …

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Reference: Defense and Energy Deficit Reduction: $688 Billion

POGO Source Page, May 8, 2012 Wasteful Spending in the Department of Defense Budget Wasteful Spending on Nuclear Weapons Programs Service Contracts Conclusion Endnotes Americans are tightening their belts, and it’s time for the U.S. government to do the same. In light of the Budget Control Act of 2011 and the subsequent failure of the “Super Committee,” …

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