The other Chomsky: Fighting for free markets

The wallstreet journal has published a very interesting article that takes a more objective view on MIT linguistic prof. Noam Chomsky's work and position, than most observers do. It is true, it is Chomsky's own (sometimes a bit populistic) behaviour that puts him into the role as figurehead for the left, but he has written much more profound and balanced texts on linguistics and politics, it is just that his 'anti-american', anti-capitalist pieces catch most attention. This at least claims the following article which also tries to proof the point by presenting some of his 'other ideas'. I felt it was really interesting stuff Chomsky deals with http://www.e-rooster.gr/11/2005/194

UN World Summit on the Information Society and the Values & Ethics Caucus

I just spent a very very interesting week at the United Nations World Sumit on the Information Society in Tunis. There was so much going on that it is absolutly impossible to warp it up in a couple of sentence, but i am sure that i will refer to some people and initiatiatives in future posts.

My own contribution to the event was a presentation about Cosmopolitan Citizenship in the 21st Century which I held at the event organised by the Civil Society Values and Ethics Caucus (Click here to download the presentation). It was a very good experience and it looks like i will help to facilitate the work of the caucus. If you are interested please subscribe to the mailing-list under http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/values-ethics

Appreciative Inquiry

while preparing for my contribution to the WSIS civil society caucus on values & ethics, I came across an interesting organisation called The TAOS Institute. Acording to their website, they are "a community of scholars and practitioners concerned with the social processes essential for the construction of reason, knowledge, and human value." I quite liked what they do and especially the concept of Appreciative Inquiry was new and very attractive to me:

Appreciative Inquiry is about the co-evolutionary search for the best in people, their organizations, and the relevant world around them. In its broadest focus, it involves systematic discovery of what gives “life” to a living system when it is most alive, most effective, and most constructively capable in economic, ecological, and human terms. AI involves, in a central way, the art and practice of asking questions that strengthen a system’s capacity to apprehend, anticipate, and heighten positive potential. It centrally involves the mobilization of inquiry through the crafting of the “unconditional positive question” often-involving hundreds or sometimes thousands of people. In AI, the arduous task of intervention gives way to the speed of imagination and innovation; instead of negation, criticism, and spiraling diagnosis, there is discovery, dream, and design. AI seeks, fundamentally, to build a constructive union between a whole people and the massive entirety of what people talk about as past and present capacities: achievements, assets, unexplored potentials, innovations, strengths, elevated thoughts, opportunities, benchmarks, high point moments, lived values, traditions, strategic competencies, stories, expressions of wisdom, insights into the deeper corporate spirit or soul, and visions of valued and possible futures. Taking all of these together as a gestalt, AI deliberately, in everything it does, seeks to work from accounts of this “positive change core”—and it assumes that every living system has many untapped and rich and inspiring accounts of the positive. Link the energy of this core directly to any change agenda and changes never thought possible are suddenly and democratically mobilized.

you can find the paper and more docs on http://www.taosinstitute.net/manuscripts/manuscripts.html

Die zehn gebote der internet suche

der spiegel ist ja bekannt fuer seine leicht polemisch oft stimmung machenden artikel. nun der foglende ist mit sicherheit nicht ganz frei von blasphemie, aber die 10 best practice empfehlungen machen einen haufen sinn und ich werde sie allen 'netz-analphabeten' ans herz legen.

check Googles Zehn Gebote

hier nochmal die regeln ohne story

DU SOLLST...
...nie weniger als drei Begriffe eingeben mehr...	...die Syntax des Heiligen Boole in Ehren halten mehr...
...Artikel und Hilfs- verben ächten mehr...	...alles andere klein schreiben mehr...
...Nomen bevorzugen mehr...	...auch die ehrwürdigen Verzeichnisse befragen mehr...
..."Phrasen in Anführungs- zeichen" setzen mehr...	...andere Suchmaschinen haben neben mir mehr...
...Wörter gebrauchen, die du in deinen Ergebnissen zu finden erwartest mehr...	...auch der Auskunft und dem Telefon huldigen mehr...

Hacking the web when it comes down to your desktop

[Wired 13.9]

Greasemonkey is an extension for the Firefox browser that lets Java­Script- alter a Web page as it's downloaded. The site serves the same old data, but you get to decide what Firefox displays. Greasemonkey junkies have posted more than 600 downloadable site mods, or user scripts, at www.greasemonkeyed.com.

Read the whole articel

Something for the way - MP3's

As i love to listen to stories or lectures when i am engaging in an activity like driving, cleaning, strolling through a city, etc.. I have search and collected and heard a number of mp3's and I would like to recommend a good one:

In general, the Internet Archive is a source for mp3's and movies .There they have a section on buddhism of which i really liked some lectures e.g. Tse Chen Ling Buddhist Lectures

I would appreciate if you could post recommendations you have as comment.


*** GERMAN STUFF ***
There is quite a number of really weird Kafka readings on
http://www.theateraufcd.de/kafka.htm

Nachdem ich realisiert habe, dass ab diesem Punkt nur des Deutschen maechtige Besucher weiterlesen...

Der Deutschland Funk bietet sein gesamtes programm als mp3 (auch zum download) an. Was ich gemacht hab is nach interessanten und sinnvollerweise moeglichst langen beitraegen zu suchen. Ich hab da ne sammlung, die ich gerne weitergebe.

Sustainability is actually something really cool & desirable

or such is the conclusion of the paper I wrote when I attended a course on Ecology at the United Nations University in Japan.

In the first part the paper basically seeks to develop how the sustainability paradigm is related to and actually is a logical follow-up of the "mature" use of "free will" as put forward by philosophers of the Enlightenment.

In the second part I look into why sustainability has such a moralising and "do i really have to do this" connotation, and I try to bring forward some ideas how to make it more attractive to be/live sustainable.

It was a very enlightening and satisfying work and I am looking forward to re-engage in this area.

You can dowload the paper under www.un-collaboratory.net/Files/Final_UNUIC_Paper_10.doc

As always I am interested in your feedback and ready to discuss.

A little shy but persistent

believe it or not, writing in a blog is not easy for me. But i have all the best intentions to really get this started now!

Hello World

Welcome, Willkommen y bienvenido!

I will post mainly in english, but there might be some info in german or spanish.

I hope you find some interesting and/or inspiring information.

Please do not hesitate to use the possibility to comment!

THE WEB IS ABOUT COMMUNICATION, ACTION AND COLLABOTATION!

To set some background atmosphere for this environement, I suggest to read the Cluetrain Manifesto http://www.cluetrain.com/.