Posts By Michael J. Russell

Lighting the Darkness

[Publicly-shareable version of this post (not protected by login): http://j.mp/blackoutinfo] As of Thursday evening, 9/8/11, much of Southern California, Arizona and Northern Mexico remain in darkness due to an apparent, tripped 500k volt power line near Yuma, AZ, that has resulted in major, regional power outages. Friends and colleagues in our Crisis Commons community areRead… Read more »

Three Big Pigs: Geopolitics, 2011 Style

Been looking for a better way to understand the ever-evolving complexities of middle Eastern populist uprisings, even if you may not know your Gulf of Sidra from your Jersey Shore, or your Oman from your Conan? Fear not, gentle Govloop reader. My vote goes to this inspired YouTube video, produced by Russian animator Egor Zhgun.Read… Read more »

TroopSwap.com: An Online Marketplace Serving Those Who Serve

Note: This article is also published as a guest blog post on the AFCEA (Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association) official SignalScape blog. Blake Hall is a man on a mission: to help U.S. military personnel use Web 2.0 technologies to help one another and themselves. Hall’s no stranger to demanding missions. A decorated formerRead… Read more »

Help for Haiti Conference Call

In the wake of the devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Haiti Tuesday, many concerned government, NGO and private sector technology folks from diverse organizations are mobilizing to help. I’m especially proud of the fact that some of my friends and colleagues from the Crisis Camp community are leading the charge. If you are a humanitarian assistance,Read… Read more »

Event: Real-Life Government in Virtual Worlds

Dr. Paulette Robinson, leader of the Federal Consortium for Virtual Worlds, will describe how VWs are now being used in government — and discuss the benefits and challenges faced by users, developers and decision makers in applying this new medium. She will also describe a new vGov (Virtual Government) project that will provide a secureRead… Read more »

Blood Donations for Ft. Hood: Can You Help?

Blood Donations Needed Update – Friday , 11/6/09, 23:30 EST Blood donations for U.S. Army personnel wounded in the Ft. Hood shooting incident are being accepted at Scott & White Healthcare’s Blood Center in Temple, TX on Saturday, 11/7 from from 9:00 AM – noon local time and again on Monday, 11/9 starting at 8:00Read… Read more »

Live Webcast: Media as Global Diplomat II – New Findings on the Science of Media & Conflict

Today the Washington, DC-based United States Institute of Peace (USIP) will host a symposium and live webcast on the impact of New media Now media on global conflict resolution. * Are social media tools and technologies at the core of statecraft in the 21st century? * What do new research findings suggest is the impactRead… Read more »

Rural Telehealth & Advanced Technologies Conference

(The full text of this excerpted blog post appears on Mike Russell’s blog at: blog.planetrussell.net) As the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania heads into the 60th day of its marathon state budget impasse, that’s no deterrent to some of the best and brightest minds in healthcare technology, military medicine, rural development and public policy. They’ll be convergingRead… Read more »