NIGHTWATCH Special Report: Afghanistan Taliban Numbers

NightWatch 29 November 2010 Special Report: October in Afghanistan Findings: The number of clashes in October in the NightWatch data base, which contains exclusively open source reports on fighting, remained elevated, at 701. The Taliban “victory” offensive continues. NightWatch estimates this number represents a fourth to a half of the actual total, but it includes …

Review: Rethink–A Business Manifesto for Cutting Costs and Boosting Innovation

It’s About Context, Business Ecosystems, and IT Impact September 18, 2010 Ric Merrifield I bought this book on the recommendation of a colleague whom I have known for twenty years, both of us members of the Silicon Valley Hackers Conference started by Stewart Brand and now managed by Glen Tenney. When I came to buy …

Reference: End Climate Change with Four Initiatives

You and I Can End Climate Change Right Now. And all at negligible cost. “Don’t need to….  …    Not possible….  ….    Don’t bother….  …..    Doesn’t exist….  …..     It’s all natural…. ……  Much too complex.” Says Big Oil, with $5 billion a week budget to spend on advertising, public relations and bribery, and to massively influence the media. MASTER …

Worth a Look: Space Storm Can Fry Power & Water

On this power-grid map of the United States, the black-circled areas are regions especially vulnerable to collapse during an extreme geomagnetic storm. Inside those boundaries are more than 130 million people. Credit: National Academy of Sciences report on severe space weather. A contemporary repetition of the Carrington Event would cause … extensive social and economic …

Review: Shooting the Truth–The Rise of American Political Documentaries

Both a Tour of Substance, and an Eye Opener for Book People July 29, 2010 James McEnteer This is a 6 Star and Beyond book and is so categorized at Phi Beta Iota, the Public Intelligence Blog, where one can browse all 1600+ of my non-fiction reviews sorted into 98 categories and easily found with …

Review: Hack the Planet–Science’s Best Hope–or Worst Nightmare–For Averting Climate Catastrophe

Tour of the Horizon, the Smartest of Skeptics July 25, 2010 Eli Kintisch I bristled when I saw the title, but bought the book in association with my own talk to Hackers on Planet Earth (HOPE) on “Hacking Humanity.” I’ve put the book down glad I did not give up in the early pages, and …