* Special Issue: Distributed Leadership for Interconnected Worlds. Special issue of Human Technology, An Interdisciplinary Journal on Humans in ICT Environments. Guest edited by Niki Lambropoulos and Marianna Vivitsou. The above special issue contains an article from our contributor Vasilis Kostakis, and contains other interesting article related to our concern for ‘peer governance’, i.e. distributed… Continue reading
Generation OS13: new must-see documentary by Anonymous
Jerome Roos introduces this ‘must-see’ documentary: “Anonymous has come forward with an amazing short documentary that happens to be called “Generation OS13: the new culture of resistance.” The film takes you on a rapid-fire tour de force through the madness of our world and the new resistance movement that’s trying to come up with alternatives…. Continue reading
The Ripple mutual credit and payment system: Will It Work?
Should it work, its consequences would be great. A mutual credit system which could scale around the world would put people in control of the money supply. It would create a decentralised source of credit money freely available whenever individuals and institutions were prepared to trust each other, and immune from the monetary abuse and… Continue reading
Towards commons-oriented urban planning
On the Commons is paying sustained attention to the development of urban commons. For example, see the articles on neighborhood commons, and urbanism applications in Portland, Oregon. Most interesting is their interview with urban planner, David Motzenbecker, who is president of the Planning Commission in Minneapolis. Excerpt: “Public process as it exists today is not… Continue reading
Setting the historical record straight: copyright was designed by distributors, to subsidize distributors not creators.
A necessary reminder of the history of copyright as a tool for distributors, not authors and creatives, by Karl Fogel: “The first copyright law was a censorship law. It was not about protecting the rights of authors, or encouraging them to produce new works. Authors’ rights were in little danger in sixteenth-century England, and the… Continue reading
Are the Pirate Parties a serious and important political force?
Last week, the Pirate Parties of Catalonia and Germany picked up municipal seats, adding another trophy to the international movement’s cabinet. Pirates have held office in Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and now Spain. In the European Parliament, two Pirates have taken considerable effort to sway opinions on ACTA, winning a vote to… Continue reading
Anonymous demands referendum in Greece
Watch the video and listen to the message: Here some background on the tipping point that is nearing thanks to the Greek mobilization, from Jerome Roos: “Signs are emerging from Greece that the roar of the ‘indignants’, who have taken to Parliament every single day for the past two weeks, attracting hundreds of thousands of… Continue reading
Chris Cook: the Commons as a Corporation
This point of view, ‘the commons must be a corporation’, may come as a shocker and is by no means an easy text, I had to reread it a few times, but, worth pondering. Chris answers the question: what is the optimal solution for combining a community, a commons, and the necessity to make a… Continue reading
Exploring the psycommons
From the article: “A psychological commons, ordinary wisdom – shared power, by Denis Postle: “The kind of aggression which the Health Professions Council (HPC) felt licensed to deploy in their approach to taking control of the psychological therapies, sparked in some of us not only resistance, but active consideration of alternatives (whilst as far as… Continue reading
Anima Mundi documentary on Permaculture, Peak Oil, Climate Change and the Soul of the World
“Anima Mundi is an innovative documentary about the planetary animal called the Earth and the human animal we deny, we deny at our own peril, yet a peril that is perfect in design.” See the trailer with list of participants here:
Why we need a European approach to the Democracy Real mobilizations
We’re reposting the important editorial by Jerome Roos: “The mass protests currently sweeping through Europe are truly unprecedented and historical both in their creative and non-violent character and in their immense geographical spread. The oncoming exacerbation of the eurozone debt crisis — Paul Krugman yesterday warned that meltdown is imminent and that it’s “time to… Continue reading
#tomalaplaza continuation – Spain
[View the story “#tomalaplaza: Should I Stay or Should I Go ” on Storify]
Can the commons bring us “beyond growth”?
Interesting conference report via Silke Helfrich: (Translation: Brian Davey; here’s the original version with notes) “Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to participate in a panel-discussion on the theme „Market, Plans and Solidarity Economy“ at the Attac Congress „Beyond Growth“ in Berlin. As initial speakers we had a time slot for a short introduction… Continue reading
In the Rockies, the War against the Wolves
Wolf hatred unites the right by emphasizing wolves’ connection to the government. Fascinating but very sad story about the struggle of the radical right against re-introducing wolves in their former natural habitats, and their victory, in a essay by J. William Gibson: Introducing the essay, he writes: “My piece on the right-wing’s successful demonization of… Continue reading
Facebook and the Unions
Walton Pantland has read: * Online social networking and trade union membership
Greece the new Argentina: John Holloway on the desperate excitement in Athens
Stirring speech by John Holloway on the absurdity of destroying populations to pay speculative bondholders: