While we were sleeping, World War 3 started…

<p>Daniel Shore pointed out on NPR this morning that all the articles on the front page of today's NYT aboce the fold are about Terrorism.</p> <p>As i have been consuming media over the last 2 weeks since the London Bombings, I have been thinking about terrorism and te violence in the world and what we really do have here i think is what history books may call the third world war. The battle with terrorists, or perhaps more accurately "guerilla fighters from the extreme islamists movement" are launching campaigns on multiple fronts all around the world. </p> <p>As Saddam has leanerned, you cannot challenge the US military with a typical military campaign. It's j ust not possible. The US millitary is to big, to sophisticated. No one can beat us in head to head battle.</p> <p>Unfortunately, our enimies now realize this, and they have figured out a way to fight us and our allies that is really a different kind of asymetrical warfare. They are not challenging our military. There are no sustained campaigns. Just surgical strikes at scattered targets.</p> <p>The exception of course would be where our military and Iraqi civilians are constant targets in Iraq.</p> <p>And as we compenstate, around the world, to try to protect and spread democracy and freedom, it looks every day, like we have less of it here at home.</p> <p>New york has started random bag and package searches in the Subway System, violating every fifth passengers constitutional rights that are supposed to protect them from illegal searches. Boston and Washington DC are considering following suit. CCTV cameras are ubiquitous, our movements are...

Schundler's Software to Mobilize Other Candidates' Armies | Personal Democracy Forum

<p>[via <a href="http://www.personaldemocracy.com/node/680">Schundler%u2019s Software to Mobilize Other Candidates' Armies | Personal Democracy Forum</a>]:</p> <p><cite>%u201CIf you%u2019re offering a service why would you limit your client base?%u201D he asks rhetorically, asserting, %u201CIt would be foolish to cut out clients solely because of their affiliation.%u201D</cite> </p><p>Hmmmmm Brett, maybe you would limit yourself because you are an ideologically motivated person or firm that doesn't want to provide tool that help people who don't share the same politics as you?</p> <p>Is there anything wrong with a company like Halliburton selling munitions to both sides of a military conflict? I think there is.</p> <p>Is there anything wrong with a company like Convio, IStandFor or TeamVolunteer providing their product (service/tool/technology) to both sides of a political conflict? I think there is. I have written about it here. I don't think that you can separate providing access to the technology that helps a political candidate win an election from the goal of winning the election. It might not be strategic consulting services, but there is value in the technology beyond simply providing electricity or phone service, or a copy machine. </p> <p>Political technology is differnt than they other technologies, one is better than another. Perhapos 20 years from now there will be no difference (like with phone service, or copiers) but today, as these political technologies are emerging, there is significant value added just be providing the service (like providing bullets).</p> <p>Why would you want to be a part of helping someone who holds ideals that run contrary to your own win their election?</p> <p>Maybe Brett Shundler is a better man than me, or maybe he is...

ICE: In Case of Emergency

<p>[l:http://www.smartmobs.com/archive/2005/07/12/ice_-_whos_on_.html|This is an interesting article about using a mobile phone to store emergency contact information.]</p> <p><cite>[l:http://www.smartmobs.com/archive/2005/07/12/ice_-_whos_on_.html|By entering the acronym ICE – for In Case of Emergency – into the mobile’s phone book, users can log the name and number of someone who should be contacted in an...

Interesting Happenstance

<p>Last week I was demo-ing [lk:sandbox.openngo.org/crm|CiviCRM] to someone. I searched on a fairly common name (it was the name of the person i was meeting with, and I had just entered their record) and among the records returned was one for an employee of a major proprietary web and communication services firm. My assumption was that this person had been playing with CiviCRM too.</p>...

Feeling the rythmic oscillation (of the Social Source ecosystem)

<p>David Geilhufe writes on his Social Source Software blog:</p> <p><cite>[l:http://feeds.feedburner.com/SocialSourceSoftware?m=35|This emergent Social Source ecosystem has already begun rhythmic oscillation… PicNet and CivicActions are starting to use the technology for customers and are increasingly communicating with the partners with the strong links (CivicSpace Labs and Social Source Foundation). Over time, if enough actors join the system, communicate and exchange innovations, unexpected coordinated behavior should start breaking out across the network.]</cite></p> <p>Let me say: I am feeling the rythmic oscillation!</p> <p>As my work with [lk:civicactions.com|CivicActions] ramps up, I am constantly amayzed at teh way the open source civic engagement community is working.</p> <p>This week heralded the release of [lk:socialsourcefoundation.org|CiviCRM 1.0 Beta] and [lk:civicspacelabs.org|CivicSpace 0.8.1]. Not to sound to grandeous or anything, but these two packages will change the world (as I know it) providing solid solutions to the universal problems of contact management and content management that almost ever organization...