Re: Village water projects
Subject: Re: Village water projects
From: Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com>
Date: 5/9/10, 13:56
To: Clark Robinson <robinsonchicago@yahoo.com>, Caleb Pritchard <cpritchard2001@gmail.com>, Mirna Hariz <mirnahariz@gmail.com>

Clark-

Apologies for the delay in getting back to you.

Thank you very much for your work on this so far. I'm going to set up some shared Google documents and place this raw info in one of them that we will designate as our scratch pad for the water project until we establish a more formal schematic for collaboration (hopefully we'll have a widget integrated into the software when it's ready this August, but otherwise Google docs will work fine). I suggest that you set up a gmail account so that you'll have Google docs as well; the new version is really nifty in terms of what you can do with them, and it also allows you to store your documents on the Google cloud in such a way as that you can never lose them (I wrote my upcoming book in this fashion, and it's a damn good thing I did because my laptop was stolen). I'll share the doc with the hedge fund manager and my lawyer Mirna Hariz so you can all communicate on this, and then I'll send out a mass e-mail to everyone providing a general update and ask anyone else who'd like to contribute to this sub-project to let me know, in which case I'll make the document available to them as well.

Meanwhile, there are a number of details we need to determine this summer - for instance, should we set up the media network in such a way as to encourage an emphasis on attacking major outlets and pundits, and if so, how? And should the governing network operate under some sort of "constitution" or other formal procedures, or should it operate in a free-for-all, more anarchistic fashion? If it's the former, should we set up subcommittees? Is there a more clever approach we can take in order to ensure that its operations are not bogged down by undue red tape and other constraints on creativity/the best ideas being implemented in the most efficient manner? Of course, we want to avoid falling into the same self-imposed orthodoxy we see among many pre-internet (and even post-internet) institutional structures, but of course some things really do exist for a reason. You may have more insight into this particular question than I do by virtue of having lived quite a bit longer and having worked in collaborative environments far more than I (I quit school when I was seventeen and have been a freelancer my entire adult life, so am at a disadvantage in terms of knowing how such things actually work).

I'm going to put those questions to everyone when I send out the mass e-mail; let me know if you have any thoughts in the meantime. I'll send you another e-mail soon.

Thanks again for your help on this. I am putting my lawyer Mirna Hariz (mirnahariz@gmail.com) and "vice-president" in charge of recruits Caleb Pritchard (cpritchard2001@gmail.com, also an NBC affiliate producer and former radio host) at your disposal in the meantime in case you can think of anything else that needs to be done; both are old friends of mine and extraordinarily competent. Also, I'll ask some other members if they know of a property lawyer who would be willing to advise us on how to proceed in terms of setting up the trust.

Another thing - although we don't have formal titles yet, I'd like you to be among our "inner circle" that will determine various aspects of Project PM until such time as we are ready to turn it over to the governing body, at which point we will all take as-yet-undetermined advisory roles (I'm not entirely sure yet if I should relinquish all control over this at that time or if I should maintain some degree of control in case tweaks need to be made as things proceed). So, you can make whatever decisions you think appropriate and recruit anyone you see fit to join us. Anyway, do consider setting up a gmail account, as you'll find it very useful.


On Wed, May 5, 2010 at 8:56 PM, Clark Robinson <robinsonchicago@yahoo.com> wrote:
Hi Barrett,

I have been looking at village water project material online (there is a lot), and wanted to share some links with you.

Eric Stowe (video) I find this guy interesting because of the scope of his efforts (he states that by 2012, his organization will have provided microfiltration to every orphanage in China) and because he is interested in information exchange among organizations engaged in water projects, which he says have been territorial and not-sharing in the past. Eric's current project is about clean water more than water supply and it is urban and peri-urban, not village-oriented. His organization's website

akvopedia This aspires to be a central information collection site for water project information. It is very much a work in progress, with many pages "under development;" however, there appear to be ongoing updates, But this may be a useful portal resource, even in its incomplete form. Includes list of organizations.

Edward Breslin This guy gets one demerit for pomposity--he wants to talk about "hydro-philanthropy" rather than saying 'water,' but his interest is in sustainability. Water supply systems all require maintenance: a villager walks past a a well with a broken hand-pump to get water from a ditch, that's a failed gift. He advocates community engagement, which you mention in the message below. He describes  'metrics' for sustainability.. Seems like a good discussion despite the buzzwords. Similar discussion from Guardian.  And another similar discussion "Technology transfer only works when the end-users take ownership."

WaterCredit This outfit addresses sustainability and community engagement by enabling poor communities to build and maintain their own water systems by lending to them.


Clark Robinson
Chicago
217 722-8680


--- On Tue, 4/27/10, Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Hey, thanks
To: "Clark Robinson" <robinsonchicago@yahoo.com>
Date: Tuesday, April 27, 2010, 1:16 PM

Ha, I'll consider it. Incidentally, just got an e-mail from a fellow here in Brooklyn who's heavily involved in a couple of youth programs, including one that takes local teenagers to developing nations in order to have them volunteer with rural villages; he's asked me to give a talk to the kids, and I've asked him in turn if he'd be willing to provide us with his insight into what sorts of programs might be most effective in terms of charitable action towards such villages (for instance, what new methods exist by which to provide clean drinking water at a minimum cost, what programs can be put into place in such a way as to employ locals in the process, etc.). Of course, we won't be ready to move on any of this for quite a while, but it will be helpful to get some ideas early on.

On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 12:33 PM, Clark Robinson <robinsonchicago@yahoo.com> wrote:
Hi, Barrett,
Immense thanks for the tutorial last night, I got a much better conception of the project, especially as it will appear to the reader.  I look forward to your further efforts; if you go ahead with a video, you can splice in a few seconds of Johnny Rotten.
Clark





--
Regards,

Barrett Brown
Brooklyn, NY
512-560-2302




--
Regards,

Barrett Brown
Brooklyn, NY
512-560-2302