May 2011 - P2P-Foundation - lists.ourproject.org

Fwd: Interaction Networks : Ants
by Michel Bauwens 24 May '11

24 May '11

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Dante-Gabryell Monson <dante.monson(a)gmail.com> Date: Tue, May 24, 2011 at 8:07 PM Subject: Interaction Networks : Ants To: econowmix(a)googlegroups.com "In some contexts it's clearly better not to spread information as quickly and then the question becomes understanding in what context it's good to be efficient and in what context it's not good to be efficient." http://www.sciencecodex.com/ants_give_new_evidence_for_interaction_networks# http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interaction_network // found via Wildcat2030 <http://twitter.com/#%21/Wildcat2030> Wildcat2030 Ants give new evidence for interaction networks | Science Codex http://ff.im/-E4xzK -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens

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p2p-streamed: could we do this too ...
by Michel Bauwens 24 May '11

24 May '11

see http://www.socialistproject.ca/leftstreamed/ I really like this, and as there is a lot of videos passing my way, this could be an interesting companion blog, easy to maintain ... Michel -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens

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graphic on open textbook savings
by Michel Bauwens 24 May '11

24 May '11

Hi chris, when you have time, could you also upload this graphic on our blog, see http://p2pfoundation.net/Case_For_Making_Online_Textbooks_Open_Source -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens

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Fwd: Commons Future: Rise & Fall of a Libertarian Utopia
by Michel Bauwens 24 May '11

24 May '11

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Jay Walljasper <jay(a)jaywalljasper.com> Date: Tue, May 24, 2011 at 1:48 AM Subject: Commons Future: Rise & Fall of a Libertarian Utopia Dear Commoners: This is an excerpt from All That We Share that I worked up into a story for the OTC website. It takes a look at a (fictional) experiment in libertarian anti-commonsism from the perspective of an article written in the year 2035. it's gotten some attention on the web, including links from the Wall Street Journal and the Libertarian Party (although I am not expecting either to recant anytime soon). I thought you'd get a kick out of it. Rise and Fall of a Libertarian UtopiaA commons resurgence in one Texas town, as seen from the year 2035BY JAY WALLJASPER<http://www.onthecommons.org/users/jay-walljasper> SHARE - [image: Facebook]<http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.onthecommons.org%2Fri…> - [image: Twitter]<http://twitter.com/home/?status=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.onthecommons.org%2Frise-an…> - [image: Digg]<http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.onthecommons.org%2Frise…> - [image: del.icio.us]<http://del.icio.us/post?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.onthecommons.org%2Frise-and-fa…> - [image: LinkedIn]<http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ontheco…> Movements don’t live on bright ideas and hard work alone. Martin Luther King Jr. said that movements need to offer people a portrait of what the future could look like. So here is a vision of a commons-based society of the future, rising out of the ashes of greedy individualism in a gated community outside Houston. Excerpted from On the Commons’ new book “All That We Share: A Field Guide to the Commons”: (The New Press) Cato, Texas, seen as it looked in 2012, the height of its fame as an experiment as in extreme individualism. At that time the town offered no government services and very few civic organizations. (Credit: Photo by Walmart Stores under a Creative Commons license from flickr.com) This outer-ring suburb of Houston, founded as a gated community in 2004, gained widespread media attention for its almost complete lack of government services. >From the Wolf Network Information Link 26 May 2035 1:15:29 p.m. CATO, TX (USA)— Libertarians, with their revulsion of government and worship of greedy individualism, dominated politics in the U.S. from the 1980s until the second decade of the 21st Century. Their mission was to dismantle nearly all government programs outside of the military, law enforcement, corporate subsidies and highway building. They deemed the public sector outmoded and dangerous— a threat to our economic liberties and future prosperity. So-called conservatives of that era heralded the free market as an infallibly efficient instrument capable of directing decisionmaking at every level of society. They ascribed almost mystical powers to the market, and invoked its wisdom as if this economic theory was actually a sacred union of the Ten Commandments and the Laws of Physics. The fact there was nothing at all conservative about this political agenda seemed to trouble no one on the right. (Many moderate and more than a few liberal politicians and pundits also jumped on the libertarian bandwagon.) Indeed, rather than “conserving”natural resources and cultural traditions it was actually a radical plan leading to their devastation, and the weakening of the whole intricate web of ecological systems and human relationships which today we call the commons. The basic blueprint of libertarian ideology was to privatize practically all of the commons, from municipal water supplies to the management of our parks, with the idea that owners’ drive for profits would result in the best outcomes for everyone. It’s not clear whether free market advocates actually believed this would work, but they certainly knew it would result in the best outcomes for wealthy investors and corporate top dogs who lavishly supported them with money and media attention. Libertarianism reached its high water mark in American life in 2010 when the zealously anti-government, anti-tax Tea Party scored notable success in the mid-term elections, essentially taking over the Republic party and putting the Democrats on the defensive. But over the next few years it gradually disappeared from U.S. politics, as people realized that libertarian policies enacted over the previous thirty years were undermining economic security, community wealth, environmental quality and cooperative spirit for the vast majority of Americans. *Libertarian Paradise Lost* If you were looking for a place that symbolized the triumph of libertarianism in the early years of the century—the abiding faith that economic competition represents the only path to the good life and that government is essentially our enemy—Cato, Texas, would be it. This outer-ring suburb of Houston, founded as a gated community in 2004, gained widespread media attention for its almost complete lack of government services. The local water utility was a subsidiary of the Bechtel Corporation, and nearly all the community’s children attended private prep schools or Christian academies. Even the police department was run by a security company, with different levels of protection available to households depending on the premiums they paid. Most lower-cost plans, for instance, did not cover house calls for nuisance crimes, burglaries, or domestic disputes. Cato never attracted anywhere the 125,000 residents projected by its giddy developers. Today, the population stands at 4,200, down from about 11,000 in 2014. At one point there was serious discussion about leveling the place to create parkland and community gardens, but the town got a reprieve when a station on Houston’s expanding light rail system opened near what had been the community guardhouse. But the real change happened in 2019 with the formation of People United to Build Livability in Cato (PUBLIC). Buffy Ayn Beauchamp, one of PUBLIC’s instigators, recalls, “At that time, all anyone could talk about was what’s wrong with Cato—no sidewalks, no parks, no locally owned businesses, no one who knew their neighbors. But this community had some good things going for it too, namely that a lot of people living here were willing to roll up their sleeves to make things better.” *Commons Regained* Meeting weekly in the back room of the local Starbucks, PUBLIC drafted an ambitious agenda to tackle the town’s problems by looking at what everyone shared in common—a sentiment that would have been anathema to the community’s founders. Launching a baby-sitting co-op, youth mentoring programs, neighborhood tool exchanges, a car-sharing club were the first orders of business of this hard-charging organization. Then came the new park, the public school, a community recreation center, and the recycling depot—all funded by state, federal and foundation grants but built by local volunteers. A vacant mall was fashioned into a Main Street, and a Latino cultural center now occupies the Old Navy store. Local churches spearheaded construction of a community-owned grocery, café, hardware store, fitness center, and cantina. The Houston Park District took over management of the country club, opening it to the public. Strolling through the community on a spring evening, there are few reminders that the town began as an experiment in creating a privatized utopia. Indeed, historical preservationists recently lost the battle to save a statue of economist Milton Friedman that stood next to the now demolished guardhouse at the town’s main entrance, where today you’ll find a memorial to victims of the Great Texas Heat Wave of 2021. Cato now embodies the spirit of the commons—the renewed emphasis on cooperation and mutual aid that gradually emerged as a solution to 21ST century economic and social conditions—as much as any town in America. Jay Walljasper **Writer *Speaker *Storyteller* JayWalljasper.com <http://www.jaywalljasper.com/> * * * * -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens

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Re: [P2P-F] 2011-05-19 The #Spanishrevolution starts in Madrid as an experiment in participatory democracy #acampadasol #yeswecamp #democraciarealya | WL Central
by Michel Bauwens 23 May '11

23 May '11

this morning in our blog: http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/constructing-participatory-democracy-in-the-s… On Sat, May 21, 2011 at 10:26 PM, Chris Pinchen <chrispinchen(a)mac.com>wrote: > > http://wlcentral.org/node/1786 > > > > *Chris Pinchen* > http://cataspanglish.com > http://twitter.com/cataspanglish > > -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens

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Fwd: Strauss-Kahn & Africa
by Michel Bauwens 23 May '11

23 May '11

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: David Bollier <david(a)bollier.org> Date: Mon, May 23, 2011 at 4:51 AM Subject: Strauss-Kahn & Africa To: Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004(a)gmail.com> Greg Palast has another, less attractive perspective on Strauss-Kahn's policy choices at IMF: http://www.gregpalast.com/strauss-kahn-screws-africa/ __________________ D A V I D B O L L I E R david(a)bollier.org Now blogging at www.Bollier.org www.viralspiral.cc 511 Old Farm Road Amherst, MA 01002 -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens

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Fwd: "Engineering Nonkilling" book now available
by Michel Bauwens 23 May '11

23 May '11

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Joám Evans Pim <jevans(a)nonkilling.org> Date: Mon, May 23, 2011 at 10:49 PM Subject: "Engineering Nonkilling" book now available To: Joám Evans <jevans(a)nonkilling.org> Dear Research Committee Member, The Center for Global Nonkilling is proud to announce the release of its latest book "Engineering Nonkilling: Scientific Responsibility and the Advancement of Killing-Free Societies", featuring chapters by Antonino Drago, David Haws, Usman Mushtaq, Amir Nosrat, W. Richard Bowen, Vivek Patkar, David Wagner, Ubiratan D’Ambrosio, Benjamin Kuipers and Balwant Bhaneja, from our Nonkilling Science and Technology Research Committee. This new volume raises an important question: what kind of science and applications needs to be engineered to work towards a killing-free world? Bringing forward a nonkilling approach to problem-solving, the diverse chapters provide insights into practice of engineering, mathematics, and physics, but are extensible to other sciences, pointing to the potential scope of new research agenda that could benefit from focusing on interplay between science, ethics, philosophy, politics, and human nature. As the reader will realize, the nonkilling vision of this book goes far beyond the normative stand of rejecting killing. It implies the constructive engagement in societal transformation, where all fields of knowledge need to be thoughtfully applied. The book can be download for free in PDF at the usual link: http://nonkilling.org/node/18 Paperback copies can also be ordered at US$ 10 following the link from the previous site or directly from: http://www.lulu.com/product/15818475 All CGNK materials are released under a Create Commons licence and we welcome wide distribution, so please share this new with colleagues and students. We also encourage you to feature this and other relevant CGNK publications in your course syllabi and to consider the possibility of preparing reviews for journals and websites. Thank you for your interest and kindness. Best wishes, Joám Evans Pim Research, Global Team Leader Center for Global Nonkilling (CGNK) P.O. Box 12232, Honolulu, Hawai'i 96828 http://www.nonkilling.org Board member, Brazilian Institute for Nonkilling Rua Uruguai, 472, Apt. 1002, Itajaí/SC, Brazil http://www.naomatar.org "Die if you must, but never kill." Marechal (General) Cândido Rondon (1865-1958) -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens

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Fwd: DEMlab BCN: laboratoire de démocratie/laboratorio de democracia/democracy laboratory
by Michel Bauwens 23 May '11

23 May '11

*DEMlab BCN: democracy laboratory* In response to the improbable productivist « innovation » proposed by political leaders of all stripes as a solution to the crisis, Spanish youth are mobilising for major social innovation in a break with capitalism. The way forward may still be vague, but the point of departure is clear: a radical renewal of ‘actually-existing’ democracy, where utilitarianism is the basic principle, democracy is for the rich and breeds corruption, social exclusion , destruction of the environment, democracy with all its green, pink, security and magic solutions, all with technological answers as a way out of the impasse in order to ”securely” return to business as usual. These young people have a very different reading of the world and of the fundamental crisis of civilization we are going through. Undoubtedly as surprised as anyone by the massive - and intergenerational - response to their call, they are now faced with writing a new page of history, nothing less. But they do have at least one important asset: unemcumbered by ties, they have demonstrated their capacity for initiative and innovation and their inherent desire to create. And you? and me? and all the rest of us? Where are we? Alain Ambrosi Impressions recorded on my mobile Plaza Catalunya de Barcelona from May 16 to 20 and edited by Daniel Torrico. ( DEMlab refers to the multiple "livinglabs<http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_lab>", "fablabs", "citilabs" and now a "mandalab"in Montreal which are citizen-centered innovation spaces with NTIC) -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens

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commons law conference in Turino
by Michel Bauwens 23 May '11

23 May '11

Is anyone planning to attend this very important conference on re-inventing a commons-based legal tradition? I can't be there, but would really appreciate reports of any attendees for the p2p blog, Michel -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens

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Fwd: Reminder: MADE REAL. An exhibition by Scott Kildall and Nathaniel Stern
by Michel Bauwens 23 May '11

23 May '11

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: info <info(a)furtherfield.org> Date: Mon, May 23, 2011 at 7:26 PM Subject: Reminder: MADE REAL. An exhibition by Scott Kildall and Nathaniel Stern To: *Furtherfield presents* *MADE REAL** ** **An exhibition by Scott Kildall and Nathaniel Stern, the founders of Wikipedia Art * *[image: (if image does not appear check attachment)] * *27 May – 25 June 2011 – 12-5pm* *Private View: Thursday 26 May 2011, 6.30-9pm* Furtherfield, Unit A2, Arena Design Centre, 71 Ashfield Rd, London N4 1NY Networks – social, political, physical and digital – are a defining feature of contemporary life, yet their forms and operations often go unseen and unnoticed. For this exhibition Scott Kildall and Nathaniel Stern, artists and co-founders of Wikipedia Art take these networks as their artistic materials and play-spaces to create artworks about love, power-play and a new social reality. Three works are shown for the first time in the UK: *Wikipedia Art*, a collaborative work “made” of dialogue and social activity; *Given Time*, an Internet artwork that creates a feedback loop across virtual and actual space; and *Playing Duchamp*, a one-on-one meeting and game between an absent artist and viewer/participant. Contact Alessandra Scapin ale(a)furtherfield.org +44 (0) 2088022827 Free admission to exhibition and events http://www.furtherfield.org/exhibition/made-real *Wikipedia Art* by Scott Kildall and Nathaniel Stern *‘**if you claim something to be true and enough people agree with you, it becomes true.’* Steve Colbert on Wikiality *'I now pronounce Wikipedia Art ... It’s alive! Alive!'* Kildall and Stern Scott Kildall and Nathaniel Stern famously used Wikipedia as an artistic platform, creating a collaborative project that explores and challenges our understanding of how knowledge is formed and disseminated. For over a year they planned the initiation of *Wikipedia Art*, a socially generated artwork that exploits a feedback loop in Wikipedia’s citation mechanism. Here, a "word war" across blogs, interviews and the mainstream press, which involved Wikipedians, artists, journalists, lawyers and even the Wikimedia Foundation itself, continuously defined and transformed a work of art in much the same way that these categories define the discourses of the everyday. *'We ask our potential collaborators – online communities of bloggers, artists and instigators – to exploit the shortcomings of the Wiki through performance.'* Kildall and Stern (Often unwitting) collaborators 'performed' the work through a debate about its aesthetic, conceptual and legal legitimacy in over 300 texts in over 15 languages on the Internet via blogs and forums such as Rhizome and Slashdot, and in the press including the Wall Street Journal and the Guardian UK. This exhibition charts the inception, birth, life, death and resurrection of *Wikipedia Art*, which questions the authoritative role of Wikipedia, and reveals its fallibility whilst debating the control of access to and creation of knowledge. *Wikipedia Art *featured in the Internet Pavilion of the Venice Biennale 2009. In 2011 it was an awarded finalist at the Transmediale festival in Berlin. Also showing in this exhibition *Given Time* by Nathaniel Stern Furtherfield presents Stern's polar projections of Second Life lovers. Second life is a 3D simulated and virtual world, inhabited daily by thousands of people around the globe. To access Second Life, you must embody an avatar (a virtual human representation of yourself), seeing what they see through a computer screen. Stern places us, and his lovers, in a feedback loop between virtual and actual space. In *Given Time*, two life-sized and hand-drawn avatars simultaneously stare longingly across their virtual pond, and the real world gallery floor. They hover in mid-air, almost completely still, supported by the gentle sounds of their breath, the wind blowing, and birds in the far off distance. The viewer is both the observer and participant of this reciprocal relationship. Through the bodies and eyes of another, we see, look and are seen. Stern says: "Here, an intimate exchange between dual, virtual bodies is transformed into a public meditation on human relationships, bodily mortality, and time’s inevitable flow." *Playing Duchamp* by Scott Kildall The American artist Scott Kildall, exhibiting for the first time in the UK, has fused the two worlds of art and chess in an homage to Marcel Duchamp, chess master and artist recognised for shifting the paradigm of conceptual art. Using the recorded matches of Duchamp's 72 tournament games, Kildall has modified an open source chess engine to play chess as if it were Marcel Duchamp. By sitting down to this game of computer chess, visitors interact with the ghost of Marcel Duchamp, whose love for chess rivalled his attraction to art. Furtherfield invites you to come and play because as Duchamp said:* “**The creative act is not performed by the artists alone”.* Events *Going the distance for fine dining with global friends* To accompany this exhibition, in June, Furtherfield will be hosting two telematic dinner parties with the aim to create a co-presence dining experience with our remote friends mediated by digital technologies (network connections, projections, laptops and sonified objects). As food is the greatest mediator, we aspire to a satisfying remote connection through the frame of the dining experience. Contact ale(a)furtherfield.org for details on how to become a dinner guest. About the Artists *Scott Kildall* Scott Kildall is cross-disciplinary artist working with video, installation, prints, sculpture and performance. He gathers material from the public realm to perform interventions into various concepts of space. Scott has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Philosophy from Brown University and a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago through the Art & Technology Studies Department. He has exhibited his work internationally in galleries and museums and received fellowships, awards and residencies from organisations including the Kala Art Institute, The Banff Centre for the Arts, Turbulence.org and Eyebeam Art + Technology Center. Scott is a founding member of Second Front — the first performance art group in Second Life. He is an artist-in-residence at Recology San Francisco. He currently resides in San Francisco. More information: *www.kildall.com* <http://kildall.com/> *Nathaniel Stern* Nathaniel Stern (USA / South Africa) is an experimental installation and video artist, net.artist, printmaker and writer. He has produced and collaborated on projects ranging from interactive and immersive environments, mixed reality art and multimedia physical theatre performances, to digital and traditional printmaking, concrete sculpture and slam poetry. Nathaniel has held solo exhibitions at the Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johnson Museum of Art, Museum of Wisconsin Art, University of the Witwatersrand, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and several commercial and experimental galleries throughout the US, South Africa and Europe. His work has been shown at festivals, galleries and museums internationally, including the Venice Biennale, Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art, International Symposium for Electronic Art, Transmediale, South African National Gallery, International Print Center New York, Milwaukee Art Museum and more. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Art and Design at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. More information: *http://nathanielstern.com* <http://nathanielstern.com/> *Download** **Wikipedia Art: Citation as Performative Act **(Creative Commons licensed) at** ** http://wikipediaart.org/Citation-as-Performative-Act.pdf*<http://wikipediaart.org/Citation-as-Performative-Act.pdf> by Scott Kildall and Nathaniel Stern, to be included as a chapter in ’ Wikipedia: Critical Point of View. Eds. Geert Lovink and Nathaniel Tkacz. Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures (University of Amsterdam), 2011. Forthcoming Print. Furtherfield, Unit A2, Arena Design Centre, 71 Ashfield Rd, London N4 1NY, +44 (0) 2088022827 (If you wish to be unsubscribe simply return with unsubscribe written in the subject header) -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens

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