Monday, October 31, 2011

Upcoming Kinect Development Kit Could Change In-Store Shopping | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/10/xbox-kinect-sdk-microsoft/

Fwd: The Man in the Pumpkin


Subject:
The Man in the Pumpkin

 
A friend of mine just sent me this.  She is an M.D. and head of large surgery group at Stanford Med Center.    One of her med students is obviously QUITE good with a knife already!!!
 
Laura
 

Subject: Man in the Pumpkin
 
Friends,
 
Behold 3rd year medical student Raymond Tsai's latest pumpkin creation. (Two years ago I may have shared Raymond Tsai's spectacular pumpkin carving of Michael Jackson). The unlit version follows, to truly appreciate his talent. 
 
Still working on his interest in orthopaedic surgery.
 
AL
 


Little things can make a big difference in rebuilding our country.


Little things can make a big difference in rebuilding our country.

 

 

 

 

Any time you call an 800 number
(for a credit card, banking, charter communications, health and other insurance, computer help desk, etc)
 and you find that you're talking to a foreign customer service representative (perhaps in India, Philippines, etc),  please consider doing the following:

 


After you connect and you realize that the customer service representative is not from the  USA  (you can always ask if you are not sure about the accent), please, very politely
 (this is not about trashing other cultures) say, "I'd like to speak to a customer service representative in the  United States of America ."

 

 

The rep might suggest talking to his/her manager, but, again, politely say, "Thank you, but I'd like to speak to a customer service representative in the  USA ." YOU WILL BE IMMEDIATELY CONNECTED TO A REP IN THE  USA . That's the rule and the LAW.

 


It takes less than one minute to have your call re-directed to the  USA .
Tonight when I got redirected to a  USA  rep, I asked again to make sure - and yes, she was from  Fort Lauderdale .

 

 

Imagine what would happen if every  US  citizen insisted on talking to only US phone reps from this day on. Imagine how that would ultimately impact the number of US jobs that would need to be created ASAP. If I tell 10 people to consider this and you tell 10 people to consider doing this - see what I mean...it becomes an exercise in viral marketing 101.

 


Remember - the goal here is to restore jobs back here at home - not to be abrupt or rude to a foreign phone rep. You may even get correct answers, good advice, and solutions to your problem - in real English.

If you agree, please tell 10 people you know, and ask them to tell 10 people they know....etc...etc

 

 


Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Fwd: "California becomes first state to adopt cap-and-trade program"

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ST
Date: Wed, Oct 26, 2011 
Subject: "California becomes first state to adopt cap-and-trade program"
To: John Sokol 


All money made from cap-and-trade goes straight to the corrupt banks
so, naturally, California, financially the state with the worst
economy in the entire U.S., becomes the first state to adopt these
corrupt costs in the middle of a depression.  Prepare for massively
increased taxes on EVERYTHING (again, ALL cap-and-trade money going
straight to the corrupt banks) and resulting financial collapse in
California (which should be accompanied by some serious riots and
massive increases in crime and violence everywhere) so not only will
the California government steal more money from you and give it to the
banks, but you and everyone you know will risk getting killed.  Just
f'ing brilliant.  Hawaii or Nevada are suddenly looking awfully good:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-cap-trade-20111021,0,1125437.story

Romney? Say it ain't so.

Seems people are liking Mitt Romney on Facebook even when they haven't.

If Mitt wasn't so unappealing I would have just taken it for granted, but I don't know anyone who doesn't get's disgusted of the thought of him in the White House.



So What's going on? Check your facebook and your friends. If they really are liking Mitt Romney without consent, Then this is just one more example of manipulation by fat cats attempting to cheat the system and play headgames with us yet again.  Only question is FaceBook involved? Or it is an internal, or external hacker.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Friday, October 21, 2011

Bangalore at Night

Exploring the Train Station in Bangalore at night and around the City. I try to capture the mood.

These were taken August of 2006.

So what is the next big opportunity on the Internet. Television. Yes Really.

Read :   The State of Venture Capital and the Internet
by MARK SUSTER on OCTOBER 20, 2011

Slide 26 is where is starts to get interesting.

Anything to pass the PROTECT IP censorship bill



PROTECT IP Act (short for Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011, also known as United States Senate Bill S.968) is a bill introduced on May 12, 2011 by SenatorPatrick Leahy (D-VT)[1] and 11 original co-sponsors aimed at disrupting the business model of "rogue" websites, especially those registered outside the U.S., which are "dedicated to infringing activities."[2] Having been passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Bill was placed on hold by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR).[3] The legislation is a re-write of the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act which failed to pass in 2010.[4]


Basically another very heavy handed set if Copyright Laws,  and legalized censorship controlled large corporations.  The proposed PROTECT IP Act generally exploits DNS censorship among other things. 

The PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) is a sequel to last year's COICA Internet censorship bill that would—like its predecessor—invite Internet security risks, threaten online speech, and hamper Internet innovation.




For a little over a week now, we've been receiving emails from various actors and musicians, telling us that they've been getting emails from various entertainment industry giants, telling them to join a new "grassroots" coalition called CreativeAmerica, whose main purpose is to advocate for passing the PROTECT IP censorship bill. The whole thing is clearly an astroturf campaign. It was registered via domains-by-proxy to hide who really bought the domain name. It highlights the video that was secretly created and owned by NBC Universal. It includes the totally false claim that "there's no such thing as a free movie." 

If you dig into the website to figure out who's really behind it, it claims that it's a "grassroots organization," but fails to name a single creative individual who was behind putting the group together. Instead, it lists out the following companies and organizations who really put the site together (amusingly, they even block you from cutting and pasting this part, so I just retyped it -- meaning I circumvented their DRM... come at me, entertainment industry):

CBS Corporation, NBC Universal, the Screen Actors Guild, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox, Viacom, the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment
Well, well. That's not a grassroots effort, folks. Now, the site also includes various unions, including the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild and IATSE (stage hands, etc.). But these are the old school, out of touch unions that who have done little to nothing to help their members adapt to the times (often doing the opposite). Do we see any of the actually creative folks who have embraced new technologies, new methods of distribution and new business models? Nope. 

In the meantime, how can the website seriously claim that it's a grassroots effort when it has every single major Hollywood Studio behind it. Do they think that people are stupid? And should we remind people that these are the same studios who have all sorts of scammy tricks for"Hollywood accounting" to make sure even the most successful films are never seen as profitable, allowing them to avoid paying royalties to the actual creative folks. 

Next, if you dig into the website, they have a "send a letter to your elected officials" thing. And the real evidence that it's not a real grassroots effort? Just like other faux grassroots efforts, those agreeing to send the letter have no option to edit the letter. When groups like Demand Progress and EFF let you send letters about PROTECT IP, they let you edit them to your liking -- trusting people to express themselves. 

But, this "Creative America" apparently does not trust its own members to be creative. The letter is 100% locked down. You can only send their text. Honestly, if a group supposedly representing creators won't even let its own members express themselves freely, you know that it's not actually about protecting "creative" America. 

This is not a grassroots effort. This is not about protecting "Creative America." This is about protecting a few megacorporations who are scared of new innovations, afraid of their dwindling monopoly rents, and trying to force the rest of the world to go back to the way things used to be.

---------------------

Jim Cramer & Overstock.com

From: http://www.overstock.com/50257/static.html

For six years Overstock.com has waged a war to expose Wall Street mischief. We did not go looking for a fight, but our company was attacked, and we learned we were not alone: the same manipulation-for-profit tools that Wall Street had deployed against us had also been deployed against many American companies, harming job creation, innovation, and economic growth. We knew that if left unchecked and unexposed, Wall Street's games could ultimately damage U.S. capital markets.

So in 2005 and 2007 we filed two lawsuits. The first case was against a hedge fund (Rocker Partners) and hatchet-job-for-hire research team (Gradient Analytics), both with ties to Jim Cramer. The second case was against a group of eleven Wall Street prime brokers, culminating in Goldman Sachs. The hedge fund in question (Rocker Partners) hired famed lawyer David Boies, and the prime brokers showed up with an army of the most prestigious law firms in America. Our lawyers were Dore Griffinger, Ellen Cirangle, Jonathan Sommer and Catherine Jackson of Stein & Lubin, a small but excellent San Francisco law firm.

We won the hedge fund case against Gradient and Rocker, extracting an apology, a retraction and over $5 million in cash (it felt good to beat David Boies' firm). In our prime broker case, one of the Wall Street banks (Lehman Brothers) has gone under (two, Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch were sold at fire sale prices), and another seven paid us millions to let them out.

That leads us to the main event this coming March, when O.co will square off against Goldman Sachs and Bank of America subsidiary, Merrill Lynch, in a San Francisco courtroom. Recently, we uncovered evidence of collusive action between Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and other Wall Street bad guys, in a scheme designed to fool regulators and profit illegally at the expense of O.co. As a result of this, in December 2010, we moved to add a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act claim and requested treble damages, but the court denied our motion, though we firmly believe the conduct of Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch was "racketeering" and "corrupt." Nevertheless, we are moving forward: trial is scheduled to commence March 5, 2012. At trial we will hold Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch accountable and expose to public view a slew of illegal Wall Street practices, some of which, practiced in the broader market, have been responsible for the current economic downturn.


This crap with Wall Street is basically the Rich Bankers version of looting the shops.  Just have so many people robbing and stealing at once, they just overrun the Police and the system as a whole.  Worst yet, the people in charge were openly in cahoots the thieves, and then play dumb.  So many stealing at once we can't just fight them one at a time with the courts.  Only it's done so cleverly and complicated it's hard to tell what took place. All we know is the money seems to be gone, but we can't even get a straight answer on that. 


Friday, October 14, 2011

Occupy Movement - More interesting anagrams.

anagram/ˈanəˌgram/

Noun:
A word, phrase, or name formed by rearranging the letters of another, such as cinema, formed from iceman.


Don't freakout lev... I doubt if it's really satanic. 

"Anagram Studies" anagrams are:
  • Sugared Stamina
  • ARGUED SATANISM
  • Grade us, I'm Satan!

Some of these  anagrams don't really make sense till you investigate the meaning of each word.  They you realize the intelligence behind some of these phrases.  But the Intelligence is our own, our collective Intelligence at work selecting and evolving catch phrases. Or 2 Word combinations, that express some idea.  

I am convinced we subconsciously are drawn to some that "feel right" without knowing why.  I believe it's the frequency of letters that convey meaning and that it's because there is an underlying Anagram that we can sense but not or at least very few of us can consciously see. 

The result is the Anagrams for the word pairs that appear frequently in blogs and new stories almost always have a similar or a 180 opposite meaning within it's anagram.  Keep in mind, my theory is that these are being subconciously perceive so don't try to be to literal or critical about the anagram, but that it's what's generates that gut "FEELING". 


"Climategate" anagram is "A TACTILE GEM"
Compassionate Conservative =  CONSPIRE TO SAVE A VAST INCOME 
United States Of America =  DINE OUT, TASTE A MAC, FRIES
Axis Of Evil = IS A VILE FOX
World Trade Center = LEWD TERROR ACT END



So here is the batch from the "Occupy Movement"


Occupy Wall Street
  • WELL! TRUE COPYCATS    (So True)

Occupy Movement
  • OVUM COMPETENCY   (This is really Interesting and I think it's a good sign) 

Occupy New York
  • YUCKY ROW PONCE  (People don't call it this!!! , so it's been selected against) 

Occupy San Francisco
  • FANCY CONSCIOUS CRAP

Occupy Wall Street Movement
  • CONSUMMATE LOW, CLEVER PETTY

OccupyLA
  • COUP CLAY

Leaderless Movements
  • VENOMLESS, STEEL DREAM

National Phenomenon
  • I'M AN ELEPHANT ON NOON  
    (this is deceptively profound, Noon is when the sun is at it's highest, it's peak, so it's a large thing at it's peak. Using noon actually implies that it's on an arc, rising then falling like the sun) 

Occupy The World
  • THROW UP CYCLE DO

We Are All Leaders
  • WELL AS DEARER ALE

Consciousness-raising
  • I SCORNING SO. SAUCINESS

World Poverty
  • VERY PLOT WORD

Environmental Concerns
  • NON-CENTRAL, NICER VENOMS

Amalgamation Of Movements
  • MISMANAGE FAT, MEAN MOLOTOV

Principles Of Unity

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Dennis Ritchie Passed Away 8 Oct 2011

Dennis Ritchie - the co-inventor of UNIX and C - has passed away at the age of 70.

Sunday, October 09, 2011

CD Key scam. DON"T FALL FOR THIS KIDS.

This is just mean.

You add and subtract then when it doesn't work, because it never did, you send the weakly encrypted version of your CD key to a complete stranger that now has a working key.  YOUR'S!

It's trivial for them to do all the subtractions and additions in reverse just the same way you just did.

Don't fall for it.


From:  http://www.angelfire.com/wa3/warcraft35/

Free Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos/the Frozen Throne CD Key

This is a technique to create an unused Warcraft III CD key. The technique will work for both the Frozen Throne and Reign of Chaos. This technique would be good if you had two computers, and you wanted to play on Battle.net at the same time. The CD key you create will be free and unused. 

NOTE: Make sure the CD Key you use is from the actual Warcraft III CD case. This technique will not work if you use a fake CD key. Don’t e-mail me saying it didn’t work if you didn’t use an authentic CD key. 

Instructions 

1. Find an authentic Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos or the Frozen Throne CD key. It should look something like this: XXXXXX – XXXX – XXXXXX – XXXX – XXXXXX. 
2. With the first set, add one to each number, but if it becomes a 10, make it a zero. 
3. On the second set, subtract one from each number
4. On the third set, leave it alone. 
5. On the fourth set, flip it backwards. If it was 1A2B, it would become B2A1. 
6. On the fifth set, leave it alone. 
7. Now, use your CD key, or give it to one of your friends. If the CD key doesn’t work, e-mail the CD key you created to 
(THIS GUY IS EVIL, DON"T MAIL HIM!!!) Flam3_Spr3ad3r@yahoo.com.(THIS GUY IS EVIL, DON"T MAIL HIM!!!) Make sure you do not send your original. You should never give anyone your original CD key. I will try to make your CD key work and e-mail you back the results.

Email: flam3_spr3ad3r@yahoo.com (THIS GUY IS EVIL, DON"T MAIL HIM!!!)

Friday, October 07, 2011

Fwd: Inheritance Claim and my proposal

SCAM SCAM SCAM!!!!

People must be falling for these scams because they are still sending out E-mails like the one I just received.  For god sake don't ever give anyone like this any personal information, and most certainly not your bank account numbers or credit card numbers. 


Teacup from Churchofbsd.blogspot.com I think is right when he says the best way to filter these E-mails are by the URL's.  That you need to follow the URL and scan the web page it displays also...


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <ramuster@ie-alearts.com>
Date: Fri, Oct 7, 2011 at 4:37 PM
Subject: Inheritance Claim and my proposal
To: john.sokol@gmail.com


I have discovered an Inheritance in one of the dormant accounts at our bank.

Full information on the Inheritance claim and my proposal is available at the link below


http://min.us/m9awXSMe3


With Warm Regards
---------------------------------------------------

That link leads to a free hosting service https://minus.com/  with the page below.



I am Mr. Adrian Muster, an asset management banker at Credit Suisse.  For 8 years, my colleague and i have in charge of scrutinizing and approving individual claim applications from the Database of unclaimed Swiss Bank Accounts and other Holocaust-Era Assets.  There has been a particular account which we have not been receiving any inquires about. The account and assets belonged to Charlotte Weisz. We were tasked by The Desk of Independent Committee of Eminent Persons (ICEP), Switzerland to search for any surviving person to claim the assets left by Charlotte Weisz.  After many unsuccessful attempts to trace any surviving heir in Switzerland, we decided to trace her relatives over the Internet, to locate any surviving member of her family. But all our efforts have proved abortive, hence I contacted you. We would like you to stand in as a beneficiary and claim the assets and money that belongs to Charlotte Weisz before they are confiscated or declared unserviceable by the Swiss bank where these assets were lodged.  The figures released by the bank where the deceased had an account indicates that all assets and monies is 16,737,124.69 Switzerland Francs and with the current day foreign exchange rate is valued at USD $18.2 Million. The Desk of Independent Committee of Eminent Persons (ICEP), Switzerland has issued us a notice to provide the next-of-kin or have the account and assets declared to the national treasury within the next 30 days. Since no surviving heirs have come to claim these assets for over 72 years, now I seek your consent to present you as the next-of-kin of Charlotte Weisz, so that the assets and monies of this account valued at USD $18.2 Million can be paid to you then we can share the money 55% to me and 40% to you, while 5% should be for expenses or tax as your government may require. I have the certificate of deposit that can be used to back up any claim we make. All I require is your honest co-operation to enable us see this deal through.  I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law and i also assure you that you will not have to spend 1 cent out of your pocket. I will foot all bills, including those for the attorney to represent you here.  Once you are interested in working with me, you should let me know. Whenever you are ready to proceed, I will require the following information to initiate the claim;   1. YOUR FULL NAME : ,  2. YOUR FULL CONTACT ADDRESS : ,  3. TEL/FAX NUMBER / MOBILE NUMBER :,  4. AGE :,  5. OCCUPATION : ,  6. SEX : ,                        Once again, i want to remind you that you will not have to spend 1 cent out of your pocket. I will foot all bills. With these details I will have to file an application to the bank declaring you as next-of-kin to Charlotte Weisz. To keep all communication strictly confidential, please send your reply to me at the following email:   ad-muster@live.com    With Warm Regards, Mr. Adrian Muster.

Thursday, October 06, 2011

Fwd: VLAB Weekly: Terminator Vision - Augmented Reality UnPlugged

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: JH
Date: Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 11:29 PM
Subject: Fwd: VLAB Weekly: Terminator Vision - Augmented Reality UnPlugged
To: John Sokol <john.sokol@gmail.com>


Here's the event I was talking about...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: VLAB <no-reply@vlab.org>
Date: Tue, Oct 4, 2011 at 9:33 AM
Subject: VLAB Weekly: Terminator Vision - Augmented Reality UnPlugged
To: JH



Having trouble reading this email? View it in your browser
Color-stripes
Augmented Reality is here.

VLAB October Event

VLAB Augmented Reality Link
VLAB October Event
Terminator Vision - Augmented Reality UnPlugged
When: Tuesday, October 18, 2011
6:00pm - 7:00pm: Networking and Refreshments
7:00pm - 8:30pm: Panel Discussion and Q&A

Augmented-Reality holds the promise of merging the physical world with information, but the 'killer app' remains elusive. Today, the rise of the smartphone and tablet - with powerful 3D, 4G, and high-res cameras - combined with significant advances in computer-vision, are finally unleashing the full power of AR. Technology leaders such as Intel, Qualcomm, and Nvidia, are targeting AR's disruptive potential on mobile advertising, gaming, and education, by heavily investing in next-gen AR platforms.

With a market size projected to reach $1.5 billion by 2015, leading brands, entrepreneurs and investors are developing AR applications that meld virtual experiences with everyday consumer lives. But will the mass market embrace augmented reality experiences? How will these developments change the game for retailers, advertisers, teachers, and game and mobile applications -- and which monetization models will be most successful? Click here for more details and to register. Click here to tweet this event.
Panelists:
  • William "Whurley" Hurley, GM, Chaotic Moon Labs
  • Bruno Uzzan, Co-Founder & CEO, Total Immersion
  • Vivian Rosenthal, Founder & CEO
  • Jay Wright, Senior Director of Business Development, Qualcomm

    NEW LOCATION - CEMEX AUDITORIUM AT THE KNIGHT MANAGEMENT CENTER - STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
    Please note that we are in a new location this month. Click here for more information on location and parking details.

past events

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When: 8:30am - 5:30pm | Saturday, October 15, 2011
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Join us for GigaOM RoadMap 2011 - our newest event that explores how connectedness will influence the way we live, create, consume and earn over the next 12 to 18 months.Technology market-makers will join GigaOM editors and GigaOM Pro analysts to create the blueprint for the connected future, mapping out the most significant trends in consumer connectedness.

Each speaker will be interviewed on-stage in a one-on-one chat with Om Malik and other GigaOM editors. GigaOM Pro staff analysts will present major themes and trends influencing the connected consumer. New speakers are being added weekly. See the full lineup here. VLAB members register here and save $100.

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Wednesday, October 05, 2011

Neal Stephenson On 'Innovation Starvation'

From Slashdot:

Geoffrey.landis writes"In an essay discussing the space program, author Neal Stephenson suggests that the decline of the space program 'might be symptomatic of a general failure of our society to get big things done.' He suggests that we may be suffering from innovation starvation: 'Innovation can't happen without accepting the risk that it might fail. The vast and radical innovations of the mid-20th century took place in a world that, in retrospect, looks insanely dangerous and unstable.'"Though the context is different, this reminds me of economist Tyler Cowen's premise that the U.S. has for decades been in a Great Stagnation.

Fwd: FW: Gunman at Large in Sunnyvale this morning

WTF!?!?!

________________________________________
Sent: Wednesday, October 05, 2011 10:30 AM
Subject: Gunman at Large in Sunnyvale this morning

FYI: I've heard just that the gun man is still at large and the local schools remain on lock down. If you feel you need to go home and check on your home or family, please let your manager know and please be safe.


Subject: Gunman at Large in Sunnyvale this morning

Update on the schools According to Mercurynews.com<http://Mercurynews.com>:
Cupertino High School, near Stevens Creek Boulevard and Tantau Avenue, was in lockdown this morning, said Bettylu Smith, spokeswoman for the Fremont Union High School. But only a small portion of the school's 1,800 students showed up on campus. The district sent emergency e-mails and phone calls between 7:15 and 7:30 this morning, telling the parents of its 10,400 students to keep them home from school.
For Homestead High in Cupertino, by that time many students were already on their way to school, said Principal Graham Clark. Only about 25 percent of Homestead's 2,235 students arrived on campus, he said. While the school is open and has not been in lockdown, Clark planned to keep students inside classrooms during tutorial -- an instructional time just after first period -- and brunch.
At the district's other four high schools, classes weren't scheduled to begin today until 9:30 a.m., Smith said. Of those who did come to school, she said, "students are in classrooms with adults and are safe," she said. Some parents have picked up their children from school.
Article regarding the shooting:
Workplace Shooting in Cupertino Leaves at Least Two Dead, Seven Wounded [Updated]



Gunfire broke out at an employee meeting at the Hanson Permanente Quarry in Cupertino this morning, killing two and leaving four wounded. KTVU<http://www.ktvu.com/news/29393516/detail.html> reports, "The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department said an employee apparently became upset during a shift change meeting after 4 a.m., pulled out a weapon and opened fire at the company located near Stevens Creek Blvd. and Foothill."

The shooter and the victims are all believed to be employees of the company. According to KRON 4 Morning News, there could be at least nine shooting victims.

The quarry remains on lockdown while authorities search for the gunman. A massive manhunt is underway.

We'll update as soon as we know more.

Update: The suspect is described as a black man in his 40s driving a dark vehicle. Also, KCBS reports via Twitter<http://twitter.com/#!/KCBSNews/status/121595020036935680> that "[t]here has been a second shooting in Cupertino at Homestead and Tantau Streets in a parking lot. Unknown if related to quarry shooting."

8:41: The wounded count has been upped to seven<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/05/BAPN1LDN6C.DTL>.

While trying to flee the scene via carjacking, the suspect, Shareff Allman, 45, reportedly shot a woman at Homestead. Here is a pic of the suspect who is still at large. He is considered armed and dangerous.

via KRON 4 Morning News

9:15: SWAT teams are now in Sunnyvale after the Homestead shooting, searching for Allman. Nearby schools are on lockdown.

Monday, October 03, 2011

Fwd: good approach

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: av
Date: Mon, Oct 3, 2011 at 7:12 PM
Subject: good approach
To:


superb stuff
===========

OCCUPY WALL STREET (the theory)

from Global Guerrillas by John Robb
9 people liked this

Really simple:  

Occupy Wall Street is an open source protest.

This type of protest has been very effective over the last year in toppling regimes in north Africa.  It's proving relatively successful in the US too.  

Open source protest is an organizational technique.  Probably the only organizational technique that can assemble a massive crowd in today's multiplexed environment.  Essential rules of open source protest include:

  • A promise.  A simple goal/idea that nearly everyone can get behind.  Adbusters did pretty good with "occupy wall street."  Why?  Nearly everyone hates the pervasive corruption of banks and Wall Street.  It's an easy target.
  • A plausible promise.  Prove that the promise can work.  They did.  They actually occupied Wall Street and set up camp.  They then got the message out.
  • A big tent and an open invitation.  It doesn't matter what your reason for protesting is as long as you hate/dislike Wall Street.  The big tent is already in place (notice the diversity of the signage).  Saw something similar from the Tea Party before it was mainstreamed/diminished.
  • Let everyone innovate.  Don't create a leadership group.  The general assembly approach appears to work.  
  • Support anyone in a leadership role that either a) grows the movement or b) advances the movement closer to its goal.  Oppose (ignore) anybody that proposes a larger, more complex agenda or those that claim ownership over the movement.  
  • If a new technique works, document it, use it again, and share it with everyone else.  Copy everything that works.
  • Spread the word of the movement as widely as possible.

That's the gist of it.  

What's the real goal of this protest?  Frankly, it's probably a recognition that the center of power in the US doesn't reside in Washington anymore.  It's on Wall Street.  This protest dispenses with the middle men (the US government) and goes straight after the real power.   

My guess is that the Adbuster team that launched this open source protest felt that an October financial meltdown was possible, hence the September start-date.  If the meltdown does occur, this movement is going to go global, just at the moment when the banks are going to be at their most vulnerable.  Regardless, this effort is going to set the groundwork for a fast launch in the future when the next financial meltdown occurs.

What's the big picture?  Global guerrillas are getting better at building open source protests.  We are going to see more and they are likely to become a prominent feature of the geopolitical landscape.  It will also be interesting to see if open source protests could end up taking down a Too Big To Fail bank (i.e. Goldman) or a US President in the next 5 years.  That would be very cool to see.