Book: Property Outlaws: How Squatters, Pirates and Protesters Improve the Law of Ownership. By Sonia Katyal and Eduardo Penalver. Yale University Press, 2010 Excerpt from a review by David Bollier: (and check out our new wiki section on Peer Property!) “Property law tends to expand private prerogatives and suppress public benefits. Its priorities — to… Continue reading
Date archives "June 2010"
Software Patents – will Defensive Patent Licensing help?
Florian Mueller, a software developer and government affairs professional, deplores the lack of progress on actually reversing the laws that permit registration of software patents. In 2004, Florian founded the NoSoftwarePatents campaign, which contributed to the European Parliament’s rejection of a proposal for European software patent legislation. Unfortunately, the push for the total abolition of… Continue reading
The skyrocketing cost of evil in a hyperconnected world
1. Today’s organizations are subject to a new range of forces that amplify the costs of evil and the benefits of good. Think of this set of forces as a ladder that people, communities, and society across the global economy are building. It’s this ladder that next-generation organizations must climb. 2. According to a forthcoming… Continue reading
Thai and Argentine workers launch global sweatfree garment brand
Via Prachatai: Excerpt: “From two corners of the world, Thailand and Argentina, two groups of workers have joined to make their own common call to arms: no more chains in the garment industry! Dignity Returns in Bangkok and La Alameda in Buenos Aires jointly call upon consumers and activists alike to support decent work in… Continue reading
Free eBook of Martin Ford, The Lights in the Tunnel
The Lights in the Tunnel by Martin Ford, which I reviewed here, is now available as a free eBook.
Four Propositions about the no-growth economy
The transition to a no-growth economy (or one in which growth is defined in a fundamentally different way) is inevitable, but it will go much better if we plan for it rather than simply watching in dismay as institutions we have come to rely upon fail, and then try to improvise a survival strategy in… Continue reading
Crop Mob and Farmsharing videos
Via: Here’s a video about a crop mob event in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA to give you a taste of the crop mobbing life, followed by a second one on FarmShare: (see for more commentary about the projects below) Video 1: Video 2: John Robb has comments about Stacy’s project just above: “Stacy Murphy is… Continue reading
Localize production. Virtualize everything else. A collection of citations on open design and manufacturing
(detailed sources and links here) 1. On Open and Shared Design * Marcin Jakubowski on open access to digital design open access to digital design – perhaps in the form a global repository of shared open source designs – introduces a unique contribution to human prosperity. This contribution is the possibility that data at one… Continue reading
Does the current “Peer Review” system invite deception?
Christopher Turner, neuroscientist and author of a novel about fraud and ambition in the biomedical sciences, entitled Convergence, explains to us why peer review is so open to fraud, in the form of a FAQ: (here is an enthusiastic review of the novel) On peer review and scientific fraud: “Scientific fraud and career development Fraud,… Continue reading
“Heart of Dryness” and Peer-to-Peer Water Networks
from http://paulbhartzog.org/node/133/ I recently read Heart of Dryness (http://www.heartofdryness.com/) by James G. Workman. In an age of permanent drought, this book explores what we might learn from the Kalahari Bushmen about how to manage water resources. The book is well-worth reading, both intellectually and emotionally rewarding. Circle of Blue is doing a 7-part series of… Continue reading
Is Facebook a utility? and what are the alternatives?
A contribution by Venessa Miemis: I’ve been reading through danah boyd’s recent posts, Facebook is a utility; utilities get regulated and Facebook and “radical transparency” (a rant) and all the other posts out there about Facebook and this privacy issue – and would like to add my voice to the mix. Everything seems to be… Continue reading
The high road towards p2p is dying, prepare yourself for the low road
I’m a big fan of John Robb, but I must admit I initially thought he was way to pessimistic. Indeed, faced with the 2008 meltdown, John predicted a rapid rise of hollow states, who retain the form, but can no longer function as we expect states to do. As I witness the self-destruction of the… Continue reading
Introducing Bildr, a lego for makers?
Not a lot of information is available as yet about bildr. It’s presentation video provides a run-down of its basic concept. But it’s a very powerful concept that, if implemented, could catalyze a breakthrough in open technology development Bildr.org is a new community who is completely rethinking the idea of DIY. bildr is for anyone… Continue reading
Visualizing the open manufacturing value stream and cooperation network
Reto Stauss has tried to visualize the open manufacturing value stream and the inter-relationship of the different players within it. An important exercise! For the full article, go here. Comment: Reto Stauss: “I roughly outlined the participants and their connections in this kind of economy. * user: chooses from offerings from local producers like SMBs… Continue reading
DIY Britain on the growing resilience movement
Don’t Panic made a two-part documentary for The Guardian on the real DIY Britain, i.e. people who are rebuilding their lives in autonomous ways, do it yourself and do it together. If not mistaken, it features our good friend Vinaj Gupta! Part 1 is here, followed by part 2.
The dangers of relational inflation: a social media bubble?
The social isn’t about beauty contests and popularity contests. They’re a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It’s about trust, connection, and community. That’s what there’s too little of in today’s mediascape, despite all the hoopla surrounding social tools. The promise of the Internet wasn’t merely to inflate relationships, without adding depth, resonance, and… Continue reading