January 2013 - P2P-Foundation - lists.ourproject.org

Fwd: In The New Mexican Revolution, Resistance Is Fertile By Jen Wilton
by Michel Bauwens 22 Jan '13

22 Jan '13

fyi ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: <info(a)zcommunications.org> Date: Tue, Jan 22, 2013 at 10:49 AM Subject: ZNet Daily Commentary: In The New Mexican Revolution, Resistance Is Fertile By Jen Wilton To: michelsub2004(a)gmail.com *From:* Z Net - The Spirit Of Resistance Lives<http://email.zsustainers.org/wf/click?upn=xrLDuKs9E-2FW2gJyS-2BCwKWwqejxOUz…> *URL:* http://www.zcommunications.org/in-the-new-mexican-revolution-resistance-is-…<http://email.zsustainers.org/wf/click?upn=xrLDuKs9E-2FW2gJyS-2BCwKWwqejxOUz…> -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

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Lisbon Summer School * July 8-12 * STTF2013 ISCTE-IUL
by Susana Nascimento 21 Jan '13

21 Jan '13

*** Please Disseminate Widely *** Apologies for Cross-Posting *** *SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES AND TRANSDISCIPLINARY FUTURES:* *FROM COLLABORATIVE DESIGN TO DIGITAL FABRICATION* *STTF2013 Summer School * July 8-12 * ISCTE-IUL University Institute of Lisbon* [ *sttf2013.iscte-iul.pt* ] [ *facebook.com/sttf2013* ] [ * twitter.com/sttf2013* ] STTF2013 invites you to apply for a one week intensive programme of social and technical methods, in a transdisciplinary environment that will engage participants in both conceptual and practical activities with all four pillars of sustainability as background. STTF2013 is intended for Master and PhD students, researchers, and professionals from STS, Product and Service Design, Social Sciences and Humanities, Architecture and Engineering, Communication and Media, Environmental Studies, Economics and Management, Computer Sciences, and others. Regardless of individual experience, everyone will have the opportunity to work in sociotechnical processes of design, construction and discussion of concrete objects, through Introductory Sessions, Masterclasses and Hands On Workshops. *KEYNOTE SPEAKERS* > Jerry Ravetz (University of Oxford UK) > Liz Sanders (MakeTools US) > Tomas Diez (FabLab Barcelona ES) > Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent (Université Panthéon-Sorbonne FR) > Alex Schaub (FabLab Amsterdam NL) *IMPORTANT DATES* > Application Deadline – APRIL 1 > Notification of Selected Participants – APRIL 15 > Early Registration and Payment Deadline – MAY 1 > Late Registration and Payment Deadline – JUNE 1 *FIND OUT MORE* > For more information on How To Apply, Fees, Programme, Speakers, or Venue, please visit our website *http://sttf2013.iscte-iul.pt* > STTF2013 is a joint initiative of *VitruviusFabLab-IUL<http://www.vitruviusfablab.iscte-iul.pt/> * (Digital Fabrication Laboratory) and *CIES-IUL<http://www.cies.iscte-iul.pt/en/> * (Centre for Research and Studies in Sociology), research units of * ISCTE-IUL <http://www.iscte-iul.pt/en/home.aspx>* (University Institute of Lisbon) > For any additional inquiries, contact us at *sttf2013(a)iscte.pt* or call CIES-IUL Front Desk *+351 210 464 018 <00351210464018>* Best regards, STTF2013 Scientific and Organizing Committee

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Fwd: Feedback dynamics in climate and society
by Michel Bauwens 21 Jan '13

21 Jan '13

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Tom Atlee <cii(a)igc.org> Date: Mon, Jan 21, 2013 at 11:42 AM Subject: Feedback dynamics in climate and society To: undisclosed list <cii(a)igc.org> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Dec 2012-Jan 2013 Co-Intelligence Institute fundraiser progress report: Funds raised so far: $3740 // Our target: $20,000 Percentage of needed funds raised so far: 18.7% People on our list: 1781 // Days remaining in this fundraiser: 11 Thank you to the 37 people who have responded so far! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ If you value our work, please participate with a donation. See the end of this mailing for how to contribute. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ http://tom-atlee.posterous.com/feedback-dynamics-in-climate-and-society short link: http://post.ly/A8l23 Dear friends, In the debate over climate change, I find myself paying more attention to authorities who highlight important positive feedback loops through which a warming atmosphere triggers increased climate change. Their troubling scenarios come not from innate pessimism but from paying attention to system dynamics. A feedback loop is a systemic dynamic through which outputs re-enter the system, magnifying (positive feedback) or balancing (negative feedback) the conditions in the system. For a positive feedback loop, consider a wealthy person who donates to a candidate and gets legislation favorable to his business, so that he can make more money to support candidates who pass favorable legislation, etc. His investments (output) generate returns (input) which he reinvests (output) ad infinitum, steadily increasing his stock of money as he repeats this feedback process. Feedback dynamics have a powerful impact shaping what happens next in a system. To the extent we understand the feedback dynamics, we gain insight into what will happen next in a system and, perhaps most importantly, what we might do about it. So here are four major positive feedback dynamics impacting the rate of climate change. They involve reflective ice, methane, oil reserves, and trees, and they cause the atmosphere to continue to warm faster than we would expect if we didn't take them into acount. FOUR CLIMATE "POSITIVE FEEDBACK" LOOPS Feedback loop #1 - ALBEDO: As skiers and other snow-sport enthusiasts know, ice and snow reflect sunlight - an effect known as albedo. When ice melts in the Arctic, less of the sun's energy is reflected off into space and more of it is absorbed by the dark water water and land that's left behind. The absorbed solar energy heats up the Earth and our atmosphere. The more glaciers melt, the more heat is absorbed, which leads to more glaciers melting, etc., an effect dramatized by the disturbing (and incredibly beautiful) 2012 movie "Chasing Ice". (A related but seldom-discussed albedo effect is the fact that climate change causes sub-arctic trees which lose their dark needles in the winter - thereby increasing reflection - to be replaced by trees that keep their dark needles - thereby trapping more heat. This causes the atmosphere to warm and replace more of the trees, causing the atmosphere to warm further, etc...) Feedback loop #2 - METHANE RELEASE: Hundreds of gigatons of environmental methane exist in the form of methane clathrate (methane frozen into water crystals, also known as methane hydrate) frozen beneath Arctic ice and on the sub-arctic sea floor, and in frozen tundras and peat bogs. As global warming melts these frozen methane deposits, gaseous methane is released. (You can watch videos online of people lighting methane fires though a hole in Arctic ice http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wofv9o0j1Ew.) That's not good news, because methane has a global warming potential 72 times as great as carbon dioxide over 20 years, and 25 times as big over 100 years. So the more methane that gets released into the atmosphere, the more the sun's heat gets absorbed by that atmosphere. The atmospheric warming melts more glaciers and more tundra acreage, releasing more frozen methane into the atmosphere, and on it goes.... (To get a glimpse of how big a deal this is, here are estimates of how much frozen methane exists and how much carbon that adds up to: The 390-455 gigatonnes of carbon (Gt C) currently stored in peatlands is about one-third of the total land-based carbon store and over half the amount of carbon already in the atmosphere. The estimated 0.24 to 1.2 million cubic miles of oceanic methane clathrate contains 500-2500 Gt C, which is smaller than the 5000 Gt C estimated for all other fossil fuel reserves but substantially larger than the ~230 Gt C estimated for other natural gas sources. One estimate suggests that 70,000,000,000 tonnes of methane might be released over the next few decades.) Feedback loop #3 - ARCTIC OIL (very few people are talking about this as a feedback loop): Arctic ice melting uncovers vast oil deposits previously unreachable thanks to the polar ice cap. A 2008 United States Geological Survey estimated that areas north of the Arctic Circle have 90 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil. Nations and corporations are jockeying with increasing intensity - economically, politically, diplomatically, militarily - for access to that oil (and other newly available minerals). Such rivalry is pretty much business-as-usual in our competitive global economy when new resources are discovered. But notice the feedback dynamic: As that arctic oil starts to be used - i.e., burned - more CO2 will be released, warming the climate, melting more ice, opening up more oil to burn, releasing more CO2... (Well subsidized oil companies are also working on mining methane clathrate as an energy source, adding to our carbon fuel stock. So as new sources of carbon fuels are developed, the pinch (or catastrophe) of "peak oil" gets delayed a bit longer, helping us continue our carbon-based business as usual longer, emitting more CO2 into the atmosphere and further suppressing healthy pressures for developing more sustainable forms of energy - which gives us another unhealthy positive feedback loop.) Feedback loop #4 - DYING/BURNING TREES: Trees absorb CO2. Climate change causes droughts in rain forests and other places near and far - California, Colorado, Australia - setting conditions for fires (caused by lightning or humans) which burn down millions of trees. Not only are those incinerated trees no longer able to absorb CO2, but their burning released their sequestered CO2 back into the atmosphere, causing the climate to heat up, stimulating more droughts and fires, causing more atmospheric heating, etc., in an ascending spiral of heat... (Related dynamics: Climate-induced desertification also wipes out vegetation that previously absorbed atmospheric carbon. And in many areas climate change is increasing populations of microorganisms, parasites and insects that kill trees. This cluster of tree-destroying feedback loops adds to the already overwhelming deforestation activities of humanity in search of lumber, biofuels, and land for housing, farms, ranches, roads, golf courses... all of which undermine the biosphere's capacity to constrain atmospheric CO2.) COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE FEEDBACK LOOPS Intelligence is a cognitive feedback system that allows us to adjust appropriately to changing conditions. Here's how it works - at least ideally: Using our intelligence, we observe and organize what's going on in and around us. We learn - by reflecting on what we observe, calling up memories, and creating understandings - recognizing patterns and creating ideas and narratives. We decide on how to act, based on our understandings. When we observe the results of our actions and reflect on what we observe, we can modify our understandings - our ideas, stories, beliefs, and worldviews - to take into account what we've observed. This is "learning from experience" - the most fundamental role of intelligence. The same dynamic happens with collective intelligence in society. As a society, we use things like science, journalism, blogs, twitter feeds, and intelligence services to collectively observe what's going on within and around our society. We use pundits, academia, government deliberations, boardroom conferences, online forums and other conversations to reflect on what we've observed and to formulate our responses based on what we think we're learning. We call up relevant pieces of the past using libraries, databases, history, the records of mass media, and our own individual memories. We take action through corporate and government policies and activities and the billions of decisions and activities of variously informed individuals, families, networks, and other social groupings. We then reflect on the results of what "we" have done, not only through the institutions I mentioned earlier - science, journalism, etc. - but also through the investigations and protests of activists and other political players working through political campaigns and lobbying. This is our societal collective intelligence - or lack of it - the feedback system through which our society responds to changes in its collective circumstances - changes like climate change. If our society is not responding well to the issues it faces, we can be sure there are faulty circuits in the cognitive systems that constitute our collective intelligence. Are there forces distorting science and journalism, preventing them from performing their proper roles with integrity? Are their systemic design issues or parasitic influences that prevent government deliberations, corporate conferences, and individual citizens and consumers from taking into account what needs to be taken into account? Do certain cultural assumptions and worldviews color the thinking of both powerholders and depowered citizens so they can't perceive - or they obsessively deny - emerging threats and possibilities? Is the flow of information and collective memory smooth and useful - or does the society manifest dangerous levels of collective Alzheimer's, unable to even remember who it is in the larger scheme of things? Do the change agents who seek to correct society's failings attend only to specific cases or issues - or to healing and upgrading the systems and cultures that constitute their society's collective cognitive capacity - it's collective intelligence and wisdom? These are important questions that can direct the attention of change agents to more fruitful targets, based on an understanding of collective intelligence. How well does our society's collective intelligence feedback system - the many ways we collectively learn (or not) from experience - recognize and deal with the feedback systems that generate climate change? What factors help us do this - and which ones hinder us? THIS is what we need to attend to. Because ultimately, climate change is not the issue. Ultimately, the issue is our collective ability to observe, think, feel, decide, act, and reflect on our actions and their results. If we can do that well, we can deal well with every issue we face because - thanks to our own cognitive feedback powers - it doesn't matter where we start. We'll be able to improve and correct our course as we proceed, collectively, into a better future. Coheartedly Tom +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ TO SUPPORT THE CO-INTELLIGENCE INSTITUTE & TOM ATLEE'S WORK... Please send a tax deductible donation of any amount -- $10, $25, $50, $100, $500 or more -- to The Co-Intelligence Institute PO Box 493 Eugene, OR 97440 or use your Visa or MasterCard - or Paypal - to make an online donation at http://co-intelligence.org/donations.html or tell some friends you know about our work, and invite them to support it. Do let me know when you've mailed a donation, so I can add it to our tally right away. Including your email address on your check will help me keep track of your gift. You can also use the link above to arrange a monthly donation. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ For a contribution of $100 or more we will send a signed copy of "Empowering Public Wisdom". +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ________________________________ Tom Atlee, The Co-Intelligence Institute, POB 493, Eugene, OR 97440 http://www.co-intelligence.org / http://tom-atlee.posterous.com Read THE TAO OF DEMOCRACY - http://www.taoofdemocracy.com EMPOWERING PUBLIC WISDOM - http://empoweringpublicwisdom.us REFLECTIONS ON EVOLUTIONARY ACTIVISM - http://evolutionaryactivism.com ________________________________ -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

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Fwd: ZNet Daily Commentary: In Greece, The Criminals Live In Other Villas By Leonidas Oikonomakis
by Michel Bauwens 20 Jan '13

20 Jan '13

raids in greece against the squats ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: <info(a)zcommunications.org> Date: Sun, Jan 20, 2013 at 5:37 PM Subject: ZNet Daily Commentary: In Greece, The Criminals Live In Other Villas By Leonidas Oikonomakis To: michelsub2004(a)gmail.com http://www.zcommunications.org/in-greece-the-criminals-live-in-other-villas…<http://email.zsustainers.org/wf/click?upn=xrLDuKs9E-2FW2gJyS-2BCwKWwqejxOUz…> -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

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January 22nd and 23rd : Institute for the Future : Connected Citizens
by Dante-Gabryell Monson 19 Jan '13

19 Jan '13

( found via Mark J. and Bet Ola via fb ) Connected Citizens: Re-imagine How Government Works Pre-register today: gameplay begins on January 22 at 12pm PST! ( 20.00 GMT ) *http://www.connected-citizens.org/* <http://www.connected-citizens.org/> What if we could re-program government together? What bugs would you fix? What would be the killer app? How would you combine citizen and government data to improve services and quality of life in your community? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv8Xn7PUcI4 Connected Citizens *On January 22nd and 23rd, join us for a global conversation about how new civic technologies could transform the relationship between citizens and governments, and how government services will be designed and delivered in the future.* * Play the game, share your ideas, and help create the future of government.* http://www.iftf.org/home/ *January 22 *at* 12:00pm PST / 20:00 GMT*. *More on Foresight Engine* - *Fast Company Co.Exist*—"Foresight Engine Asks The Crowd To Change The Future<http://www.fastcoexist.com/1678827/foresight-engines-asks-the-crowd-to-chan…> " - *Forbes*—"Over to You Mr. Smarty-Pants: How Would You Fix the World<http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamgordon/2012/04/04/rockefeller-iftf/> ?" *Questions?* - Civic Labs: Connected Citizens Game—email Jake Dunagan at jdunagan(a)iftf.org - Foresight Engine Platform—email Sean Ness at sness(a)iftf.org

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Fwd: <nettime> Software developer outsources own job and whiles away shifts on cat videos
by Michel Bauwens 19 Jan '13

19 Jan '13

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: nettime's employee of the the year <nettime(a)kein.org> Date: Thu, Jan 17, 2013 at 7:51 PM Subject: <nettime> Software developer outsources own job and whiles away shifts on cat videos To: nettime-l(a)kein.org Software developer Bob outsources own job and whiles away shifts on cat videos Verizon's hunt for firm's mysterious hacker exposes 'top worker' at firm who let Chinese consultants log on to do his daily work guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 16 January 2013 18.12 GMT When a routine security check by a US-based company showed someone was repeatedly logging on to their computer system from China, it naturally sent alarm bells ringing. Hackers were suspected and telecoms experts were called in. It was only after a thorough investigation that it was revealed that the culprit was not a hacker, but "Bob" (not his real name), an "inoffensive and quiet" family man and the company's top-performing programmer, who could be seen toiling at his desk day after day and staring diligently at his monitor. For Bob had come up with the idea of outsourcing his own job – to China. So, while a Chinese consulting firm got on with the job he was paid to do, on less than one-fifth of his salary, he whiled away his working day surfing Reddit, eBay and Facebook. The extraordinary story has been revealed by Andrew Valentine, senior investigator at US telecoms firm Verizon Business, on its website, securityblog.verizonbusiness.**com <http://securityblog.verizonbusiness.com> . Verizon's risk team was called by the unnamed critical infrastructure company last year, "asking for our help in understanding some anomalous activity that they were witnessing in their VPN logs", wrote Valentine. The company had begun to allow its software developers to occasionally work from home and so had set up "a fairly standard VPN [virtual private network] concentrator" to facilitate remote access. When its IT security department started actively monitoring logs being generated at the VPN, "What they found startled and surprised them: an open and active VPN connection from Shenyang, China! As in this connection was live when they discovered it," wrote Valentine. What was more, the developer whose credentials were being used was sitting at his desk in the office. "Plainly stated, the VPN logs showed him logged in from China, yet the employee is right there, sitting at his desk, staring into his monitor." Verizon's investigators discovered "almost daily connections from Shenyang, and occasionally these connections spanned the entire workday". The employee, whom Valentine calls Bob, was in his mid-40s, a "family man, inoffensive and quiet. Someone you wouldn't look twice at in an elevator." But an examination of his workstation revealed hundreds of pdf invoices from a third party contractor/developer in Shenyang. "As it turns out, Bob had simply outsourced his own job to a Chinese consulting firm. Bob spent less than one-fifth of his six-figure salary for a Chinese firm to do his job for him." He had physically FedExed his security RSA "token", needed to access the VPN, to China so his surrogates could log in as him. When the company checked his web-browsing history, a typical "work day" for Bob was: 9am, arrive and surf Reddit for a couple of hours, watch cat videos; 11.30am, take lunch; 1pm, eBay; 2pm-ish, Facebook updates, LinkedIn; 4.40pm–end of day, update email to management; 5pm, go home. The evidence, said Valentine, even suggested he had the same scam going across multiple companies in the area. "All told, it looked like he earned several hundred thousand dollars a year, and only had to pay the Chinese consulting firm about fifty grand annually". Meanwhile, his performance review showed that, for several years in a row, Bob had received excellent remarks for his codes which were "clean, well written and submitted in a timely fashion". "Quarter after quarter, his performance review noted him as the best developer in the building," wrote Valentine. Bob no longer works for the company. # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/**listinfo/nettime-l<http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l> # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime(a)kein.org -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

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Fwd: Ancient Athens didn't have politicians. Is there a lesson for us?
by Michel Bauwens 19 Jan '13

19 Jan '13

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Tom Atlee <cii(a)igc.org> Date: Thu, Jan 10, 2013 at 1:04 PM Subject: Ancient Athens didn't have politicians. Is there a lesson for us? To: undisclosed list <cii(a)igc.org> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Dec 2012-Jan 2013 Co-Intelligence Institute fundraiser progress report: Funds raised so far: $3650 // Our target: $20,000 Percentage of needed funds raised so far: 18.3% People on our list: 1780 // Days remaining in this fundraiser: 22 Thank you to the 34 people who have responded so far! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ If you value our work, please participate with a donation. See the end of this mailing for how to contribute. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ http://tom-atlee.posterous.com/ancient-athens-didnt-have-politicians-is-ther short link: http://post.ly/A6cdv Few people realize that in ancient Athens - the original democracy from which modern democracies supposedly grew - no one was elected to be a representative. There were no public offices elected by the people. They just didn't have politicians.* They had voting, of course, because it was a democracy. But they voted for proposed laws, not for candidates. And they had a Council of 500 (the "boule") who proposed laws for all the citizens to vote up or down in Athens' participatory Assembly. Ah! So that's a powerful role, being able to create the proposals that the people voted on! So how were those 500 councilmembers chosen? Well, believe it or not, those powerful people were ordinary citizens who had been chosen by lot - by random selection. And Athens' democracy didn't stop there. No way! Nearly EVERYONE holding public office or serving on a governing board was an ordinary person who had been chosen by lot. (The only exceptions were top military and financial posts, which constituted about 100 of the nearly 1000 government positions to be filled.) In other words, Athens - that ancient city-state we consider "the birthplace of democracy" - was governed by randomly selected ordinary citizens. (For more detail, see http://www.stoa.org/projects/demos/article_democracy_overview?page=6&greekE… web search for Athens random selection) This random selection approach - technically called "sortition" or "allotment" - was THE method for selecting people in government positions and, especially, in the Council of 500. Here's how it worked: Each of Athens' ten tribes (which were themselves defined to contain people from diverse territories and clans) picked 50 of its members at random to be on Athens' Council of 500. No citizen could serve on the Council more than twice, but most citizens served at least once in their lifetimes. Within the Council, one of the ten tribal groups was chosen - by lot - to serve as presidents for the Council's various sub-activities for about a month. Furthermore, within that group of 50 presidents a chairman was chosen - again by lot - to preside over the other presidents for just one day. Why only one day? The chairman of the Council's presidents was the most powerful office in Athens, holding the state seal and the keys to the state's treasury and archives. So we find that ordinary Athenian citizens - like ordinary Americans or other citizens of modern democracies - could EACH aspire to preside over their ENTIRE government. However, those ordinary Athenians - UNLIKE most ordinary modern citizens - ACTUALLY had an excellent chance of serving in that lofty office. It is estimated that "approximately one half of all Athenian citizens would, at some point during their lives, have the privilege and responsibility of holding this office, arguably the closest equivalent to a Chief Executive in the Athenian democracy." (ref: the link given above) The Athenians were obsessed with the necessity of random selection for a democracy. They believed - quite rightly, it seems to me - that random selection not only made corruption very difficult but also involved the entire citizenry very directly in the challenges and powers of government. In other words, random selection made Athens a true government of, by, and for its citizens. For them, what made a democracy a democracy was random selection with few, if any, officials being elected. Thus no politicians. (We might also note that although they also supported voting, they were wary of mob rule and gave it a name: ochlocracy.**) As the Wikipedia article on Athenian democracy says, "elections would favor those who were rich, noble, eloquent and well-known, while allotment spread the work of administration throughout the whole citizen body, engaging them in the crucial democratic experience of, to use Aristotle's words, 'ruling and being ruled in turn'". Compare that with our electoral system. Electing people to office actually makes us a republic like the Roman Empire more than a democracy like ancient Athens. We elect representatives... but who is this "we" and how representative are these "representatives"? In the United States only around half the voting age population votes in presidential election years and even fewer vote in other election years - and fewer yet in primary elections. So we don't actually practice majority rule, because when - as is usually the case - 50-52% of voters elects the president, that's only about a quarter of the whole electorate, and an even smaller proportion of the total population. For example, in 2012 Obama won reelection with 62,615,406 popular votes. Although that was 51% of all the voters, it was only 27% of the voting age population (233 million) and only 20% of the whole population (313 million). Is this majority rule? When we add to that pseudo-majoritarianism the media manipulations and lies that characterize electoral politics, the incredibly high percentage of white male millionaires who get elected to national office, the lobbying and back room deals that shape our laws and budgets, the number of broken promises and state secrets that make a mockery of "political platforms" and "answerability", and the highly corruptible campaign financing systems that allow money to thoroughly overwhelm the principle of "one person one vote" - the whole idea of elections being popular self-government looks more mythic than real. At that point the Athenian allotment approach starts to look a lot more like democracy than what we have in most so-called "democracies" today. The only aspect of our political system that looks more democratic than Athens' is our definition of who is a citizen. In Athens only free adult men born in Athens of Athenian parents were considered citizens. Most modern democracies consider any person born or naturalized in their country to be a citizen. So let's apply such modern standards of citizenship to a sortition-based political system like Athens had. Just as we have certain qualifications - age, residency, registration, criminal status, etc. - for people to perform certain citizenship functions like voting, jury duty, getting on the ballot as a candidate and so on, we could have certain agreed upon (and evolving) standards for being selected by lot for serving (for example) in an ad hoc citizen deliberative council or in an ongoing citizen legislature. Give it some thought. I know the idea of randomly selecting people to make laws or hold important positions seems like a recipe for chaos, stupidity and serious dysfunction. But think again. We randomly select juries - and how stupid are they? They could certainly be improved - and we should certainly improve them. But random selection is not where the problems with juries lie. Take a moment to let it sink in that a whole city-state managed its democracy primarily by random selection for about 200 years - an era comparable to the American republic. We could and should use sortition more in our own politics and government, to reduce our dependence on politicians, to reduce the role of money and corruption, and to engage more citizens in the hard and powerful work of government. There are dozens of ways to do this. For one one approach, consider http://co-intelligence.org/CDCUsesAndPotency.html And here is a short (4.5 minutes) video about one of the few places where this citizen-empowering principle is used in the United States: http://healthydemocracy.org/video/ Coheartedly, Tom --------- Notes: * In its broadest dictionary definition a "politician" can include anyone involved in government or in elections. That broad definition could include campaign managers, pundits, partisan spokespeople, dictators, appointed bureaucrats, and hired policemen as well as other government employees. Even though they may qualify technically, most of us don't think of such people as "politicians". In the essay above, the narrower, more familiar definition is used: someone who runs for or holds elected office, especially professionally. ** Ochlocracy or mob rule is government by mob or a mass of people, or the intimidation of legitimate authorities. As a pejorative for majoritarianism, it is akin to the Latin phrase "mobile vulgus" meaning "the fickle crowd", from which the English term "mob" was originally derived in the 1680s. Ochlocracy ("rule of the general populace") is democracy ("rule of the people") spoiled by demagoguery, "tyranny of the majority" and the rule of passion over reason, just like oligarchy ("rule of a few") is aristocracy ("rule of the best") spoiled by corruption, and tyranny is monarchy spoiled by lack of virtue. Ochlocracy is synonymous in meaning and usage to the modern, informal term "Mobocracy," which emerged from a much more recent colloquial etymology. (excerpted from Wikipedia) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ TO SUPPORT THE CO-INTELLIGENCE INSTITUTE & TOM ATLEE'S WORK... Please send a tax deductible donation of any amount -- $10, $25, $50, $100, $500 or more -- to The Co-Intelligence Institute PO Box 493 Eugene, OR 97440 or use your Visa or MasterCard - or Paypal - to make an online donation at http://co-intelligence.org/donations.html or tell some friends you know about our work, and invite them to support it. Do let me know when you've mailed a donation, so I can add it to our tally right away. Including your email address on your check will help me keep track of your gift. 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PECT Link Sent.
by robert searle 18 Jan '13

18 Jan '13

Forgot to send PECT link from my blog. http://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/psycho-electronic-test.ht…

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Psycho-Electronic Connection Testing (PECT)
by robert searle 18 Jan '13

18 Jan '13

The following has been updated a bit but may require clearer sorting, and presentation. I sent a copy to MB for possible inclusion in the spirituality section, or some other relevant section in the p2pfoundation site but he may have found it a "bit over the top". However, it does have its own unusual form of reasoning. R.Searle. The following article is by the blogger of Esoteric Other Worlds, and may present some intriguing ideas. RS Brief Introduction. What is suggested here may seem strange. But if one understands the basic reasoning behind it then all should appear clear, and "obvious". It is based on the experiences of the originator, Robert Searle which may seem very novel especially to those who have had no "psychic," or "spiritual" experiences. It is hoped though that such persons may maintain an open mind. The Basic Concept of Psycho-Electronic Connection Testing ( PECT). One important way to "prove" that there are such things as subtle energies from some form of psycho-spiritual universe is to actually experience them. This can happen via meditation (or indeed, via a "healing" session) in which degrees of a highly subtle bliss may be experienced, and visions even may be had. However, one way way to facilitate any "connection" may be through being in the prescence of some esoteric Teacher of any tradition. He, or she may give out "positive vibes". Depending on ones degree of sensitivity these can be picked up, and may even include visual phenomena such as seeing an aura, or coloured rays, et cetera. Such experiences with a Teacher may lead to some degree of "mystical" awakening. How long this awakening continues probably depends on the amount of purity, and genuine desire to seek self-unfoldment. This process is a spontaeous initiation. In , a Teacher may be willing to disclose some form of meditation which helps to enhance the awakening into something more permanent, and more purifying. However, some awakenings may involve an official initiation in which subtle energies may then be experienced. In India, just looking at the Guru to receive such inner experiences, or "Grace" is known as Mouna Upadesa, or Silent Initiation. Searle, the originator of PECT had two awakenings from Dr, Sharma, and Sant Harjit Singh who belonged to the same lineage of the originating Master, Faqir Chand. The descriptions which I gave, and published in Thoughts, and Visions blog were almost identiical to one another but difficult ofcourse to describe completely. This seemed to be suggestive that both Gurus emanated from the "same" spiritual level of superconciouness. Apart from this, for many years I associated myself with a sect known as Radh Soami Satsang Beas. These involved attending varous spiritual meetings along with their rareified "atmosphere" or "energies" which along with the two awakenings probably increased my sensitivity to essentially positive "vibrations". What was later discovered when I had contact with Sant Harjit Singh in 2007 is that I became aware of waves of highly subtle energy. This was notably the case via a landline telephone which seemed to be "less" effective than a mobile phone which ofcourse has no "wire" connections.. Anyway, a respected devotee of Harjit Singh, James Chagula also had a like experience, and probably others likewise.. It was as if the electronic transmission of the telephonic communication was not only transmiting physical energy but also uplifting psycho-spiritual energies at the sametime. This in turn lead to a raising of conciousness to a "high". However, the aftereffects of this awareness may last for sometime after communication with the Guru on the phone. It also appears too that just looking at a photo of some live, or dead Master may also stimulate "higher conciousness". It is suspected though that the voice transmited via electronic means is perhaps the most potent means to bring about "connection" But it must be said that what is experienced is probably in most cases a low grade form of higher energy. Another remarkable thing happened when I started to realize that I could actually feel different grades of this subtle energy from various voice (and visual) recordings of Gurus ,and other advanced Teachers on the internet. It seemed immaterial whether they were living, or dead. Their recorded words still carried energies which could transcend time, space, and distance. Virtually no visual "phenomena" were involved. A fascinating aspect to this which needs to be fully tested is to see if certain Adepts came from the same plane of superconciosness. Thus, one line of Teachers from one tradition teaching the same meditation practice should have the "same" energy as his, or her predessor. If so, this could be suggestive of them being from the same plane of higher concioussness. Such a notion has already been mooted at in connection with Dr Sharma, and Sant Harjit Singh.. but is worth repeating. It indicates a degree of objective dynamics at work. Creating PECT as a Structured System. It should become obvious now that such psycho-electronic connection testing, or PECT ofcourse could be a structured system in which people could make deliberate attempts to contact energies via spiritual Teachers of one sort, or another. Such an approach may inspire those who are really keen for spiritual development to have their progress quickened possibly. Yet, as indicated this will be only temporary in most cases but at least it would be a step in the right direction. The internet could play a major part in the development of PECT in which a series of Teachers, and/or advanced disciples could be filmed in real-time, or otherwise. People staring at them on their computer screens may receive experiences. This in the main will probably be super tactile as opposed to visual in any way. Attempted discriptions of the resulting PECT experiences could be recorded, and compared at a "centralised" point of researchers in the network of internet users. No doubt other ideas could be developed in the structuring of PECT. But the present should suffice. PS. On the internet somewhere (if it still exists) there was an image of guru, or yogi who claimed to cure illnesses just by looking at his picture.Whether anyone had any success at this at all is another matter, and could result in a placebo effect! One is also reminded here that someone went to a healer, and later discovered through meeting him, or her that the "gift" of healing had been "transmited" to them. Incidently, feeling healing energies, or being "healed" is usually an easy, and quick way of experiencing "subtle energies". Unlike PECT though, none of this involved physical electrical energy as a "carrier" of psycho-spiritual energy save for the case of the guru, or yogi mentioned in the last paragraph above. Some "Relevant" Material. The links below originated notably from my blog entitled Thoughts, and Visions. Here again, they do not deal with the use of electronic energy to facililtate human connection but the matters discussed here may still be of relevance, and interest. Electrical energy, and its relationship with "psychic" energy is still esentially terra incognito from a more scientific point of view. http://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/meeting-dr-sharma… http://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/more-light-on-two… http://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/anyone-can-feel-e… The following is copy of a section from the above mentioned blog. http://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/religare-gurinder… "...Depending on ones sensitivity when I have attended Satsang at Southall there is an intense concentration of the subtle energies of higher conciousness. This awareness I believe has been increased after my experiences with Sant Harjit Singh. What is significant is that this "sea" of higher energies does NOT come from the Satsangis alone. In other words, it may well have a divine source, or sources. I recall feeling this Power descending from the ceiling of the Satsang Hall in most a gentle, and spontaneous manner. Sometimes ofcourse one can see a white glow in some of the Satsangis themselves which is extremely subtle. When I leave the Southall Satsang this higher energy of conciousness can be experienced in the wonderful park nearby. I also recall Sant Harjit Singhs energy not only in his house but also outside...and beyond ofcourse. This is a matter of personal experience, and I cannot prove it unfortunately... Ofcourse, critics would say that the above is experienced in places like football matches, and pop music festivals...when the atmosphere becomes electric!! However, what I experience (along with many others) is something far more than this. It is A POWER unlike anything of this world..." The following link is of great interest in regards to PECT, and comes from a google discussion group, and it is clear that a devotee of Harjit Singh received "energies" via a telephonic conversation....to quote in brief ... ".......as I (James Chagula ) listened to the Saint's voice; a very tangible, warm, Love-energy began to seep directly from the telephone handset into my earlobe. The shakti (energy) then permeated my body and began to flood my mind................ Full text https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/alt.meditation.shabda/Ul…

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new industrial internet report from GE
by Michel Bauwens 17 Jan '13

17 Jan '13

http://files.gereports.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/ge-industrial-interne… Dear Kevin, I wonder if you have time to look into this for us? Michel -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

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