GLOBAL GUERILLAS LINKS 8/9/2011

LINKS: August 9, 2011

Some items of interest:

• GLBSE.  A stock exchange for companies that want to raise money in bitcoins.  New virtual currencies are developing via baby steps.  Eventually there will be a currency or three that gets it right and goes globally viral (without legacy baggage we see with gold, dollars, etc. and with many new "killer" features).  Listed companies on GLBSE.
• Added a page on the Lifesaver bottle to MiiU.  The system that can convert nearly any water source into drinkable water.  Here's a little brother to the Lifesaver bottle:  The Bobble Bottle. Not nearly as robust.  Looks like a nicely packaged carbon filter system.  Anyone have any experience with the Bobble?
• London riots.  Lots of the activity going on in London is based on open source warfare precepts.  Much more going on here than a simple riot or looting.  It's a learning lab.  Communicating via BlackBerry instant-message technology that the police have struggled to monitor, as well as by social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, they repeatedly signaled fresh target areas to those caught up in the mayhem.  They coupled their grasp of digital technology with the ability to race through London’s clogged traffic on bicycles and mopeds, creating what amounted to flying squads that switched from one scene to another in the London districts of Hackney, Lewisham, Clapham, Peckham, Croydon, Woolwich and Enfield, among others — and even, late on Monday night, at least minor outbreaks in the mainly upscale neighborhood of Notting Hill and parts of Camden. NYTimes.  Facebook example: Riot page.  
• Here's a great list of recipes (via Shlok) for DIY cleaning products.  Very interesing insight into what actually is needed for different types of soaps (dishwasher, washing machine, bathroom detergent, etc.).  They should save you money by using simple, bulk discount ingrediants - and - reduce the number/amount of caustic chemicals your are exposed to in commercial products.
• Gold is being driven up by one simple idea:  that it's possible for fortunes "made" in the ponzi economy to survive the scheme's collapse.  I'm not so sure it will be that simple.
• Anti. Simple, mobile hacking app."We wanted to create a penetration testing tool for the masses." A wi-fi-scanning tool for finding open networks and showing all potential target devices on those networks. The app offers up a simple menu with commands to eavesdrop on local devices, or even “Attack.”

• Factor E Farm/Open Source Ecology need a Fabrication Manager and a few other roles filled.  Think of it as training for the future.
• New York City wants to stop urban foragers. “If people decide that they want to make their salads out of our plants, then we’re not going to have any chipmunks.” Interview with a leading forager here. 
• Excellent podcast from This American Life on Thugs. "New narcos rolled into town telling residents that they were there to liberate them. They promised that people would live in peace and tranquility. And so far, it's working."  Very GG.
• Russel recommends "The Long Twentieth Century" by Giovanni Arrighi as a framework for understanding the financial meltdown. Arrighi points to means of production having diminishing returns over time, leading to financialization. Financialization leads to meltdown.  Given we're at the cusp of just-in-place fabrication, this is an interesting perspective.
• Good pics of the London riots.