Journal: Haiti Update 15 February 2010 AM

Earth Intelligence, Peace Intelligence

Homeless Haitians line up before dawn for tarps

More than a million Haitians are homeless, but a month after the massive quake, UN officials said only about 50,000 families, or an estimated 272,000 people, have received emergency materials to build their own shelters.

American Red Cross must explain $175 million in unallocated Haiti donations

The complete American Red Cross Haiti one month report does not help because it fails to even mention the $175 million collected but not spent or committed to Haiti.

This is a major outrage. But more outrageous is the media's blind eye to the American Red Cross' activities. One would think a reporter would not be so lazy that they could avoid subtracting $80 million from $255 million, get $175 million, read the Red Cross' online documents, and start asking about the unallocated $175 million?

Deeper issues make recovery in Haiti so much harder

Hundreds of thousands of Haitians are homeless, desperate for tents to stave off the upcoming rainy season. But eventually, they will need homes.

They are hungry, waiting for bags of rice to prevent starvation. But someday, Haiti will need to feed itself.

Many are still injured, needing wound care and follow-up surgery to fix their broken limbs. But they also suffer from chronic illnesses.

Phi Beta Iota: This just makes us sick.  All of this was predictable from the minute we knew the magnitude of the dead, injured, and homeless.  This is a failure of humanity on the scale of Rwanda-Burundi.

Journal: Haiti Rolling Directory from 12 January 2010

Journal: Euromess & Goldman, Afghanistan & Palinistas

Uncategorized
Chuck Spinney

The Making of a Euromess (New York Times)

By PAUL KRUGMAN, New York Times, 15 Feb 2010

For the truth is that lack of fiscal discipline isn’t the whole, or even the main, source of Europe’s troubles — not even in Greece, whose government was indeed irresponsible (and hid its irresponsibility with creative accounting).

No, the real story behind the euromess lies not in the profligacy of politicians but in the arrogance of elites — specifically, the policy elites who pushed Europe into adopting a single currency well before the continent was ready for such an experiment.

By LOUISE STORY, LANDON THOMAS Jr. and NELSON D. SCHWARTZ, New York Times, 14 Feb 20110

As in the American subprime crisis and the implosion of the American International Group, financial derivatives played a role in the run-up of Greek debt. Instruments developed by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and a wide range of other banks enabled politicians to mask additional borrowing in Greece, Italy and possibly elsewhere.

In dozens of deals across the Continent, banks provided cash upfront in return for government payments in the future, with those liabilities then left off the books. Greece, for example, traded away the rights to airport fees and lottery proceeds in years to come.

Critics say that such deals, because they are not recorded as loans, mislead investors and regulators about the depth of a country’s liabilities.

Afghanistan offensive: Why Barack Obama is boxed in (Guardian)

Editorial  15 February 2010

Palin’s Cunning Sleight of Hand (New York Times)

By FRANK RICH February 13, 2010.

Below the line:  commentary on the last item. Continue reading “Journal: Euromess & Goldman, Afghanistan & Palinistas”

Review (DVD): Into the Storm (Churchill, HBO, 2009)

4 Star, Leadership, Reviews (DVD Only)

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Satisfying but Not Inspiring

February 15, 2010

Brendan Gleeson

I watched this on background while finishing up my new book and on balance it is certainly most satisfying and I would recommend it to anyone along with Ike – Countdown to D-Day.

As an admirer of the half of Churchill that was both articulate and a statesman (as opposed to the duplitous half that betrayed every promise made to the Arabs, see A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East and Web of Deceit: The History of Western Complicity in Iraq, from Churchill to Kennedy to George W. Bush), I found the movie adequate but not as inspiring as it could have been.

His great speeches on tape are delivered better on tape than in the movie (I do not recommend the books of his speeches, the publishers failed to put them in the original poetic form for proper appreciation and reading).

Continue reading “Review (DVD): Into the Storm (Churchill, HBO, 2009)”

Review (DVD): Serious Moonlight

Culture, DVD - Light, Reviews (DVD Only)
Amazon Page

4.0 out of 5 stars Killer Ending, Meg Ryan Carries It Off

February 15, 2010

Meg Ryan, Timothy Hutton
I had real reservations about this DVD based on the write-up, but Meg Ryan carried it over as I was picking out three DVDs to keep me company on an editing marathon.

BE PATIENT with the beginning. Despite Meg Ryan (doing very well playing a stressed out robot lawyer), I almost lost patience and moved on.

On balance the movie is fun, provokes thought, and it has an absolutely killer ending that makes the whole thing totally worth watching from beginning to end, and leaves me chuckling with appreciation for Meg Ryan the actress and Meg Ryan the character as played in the film.

Other DVDs that might be enjoyed:
Non-Muscials
The American President
Meet Joe Black
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Something's Gotta Give
Maid in Manhattan
Spanglish

Musicals
Beyond the Sea : Widescreen Edition
Bride and Prejudice
De-Lovely: The Cole Porter Story
Walk the Line

Vote on Review

Review (DVD): Duplicity

3 Star, Intelligence (Commercial), Reviews (DVD Only)
Amazon Page

3.0 out of 5 stars Confused, Overly Complex, Badly Staged

February 15, 2010

Julia Roberts, Clive Own

As a former spy who has spent the last 21 years in commercial intelligence, i expected much more from this film with its great actors but I was very disappointed. Had it not been in front of me on background as I edit my new book I would have turned it off completely on more than one occasion.

The ending is sort of clever and I will not spoil it, but there are no clues at the beginning so the movie more or less ends with “fooled you, didn't I, but your going to have to take my word for it.” And about that pink elephant that I am keeping away from your front lawn….

Over-all, this is a cluttered mess.

There are still no really great commercial intelligence films, nor should they be, because those who spend heavily on commercial espionage lack both ethics and brains. 95% of what you need to be a successful ethical commercial intelligence practioner is openly available and your customers should be providing you with the rest, i.e. what they want that no one else has thought to give them.

Other spy-type DVDs that I have enjoyed include
Breach (Widescreen Edition)
Firewall (Widescreen Edition)
The Departed (Widescreen Edition)
Live Free or Die Hard [Blu-ray]
U-571 (Collector's Edition)
True Lies
Out of Sight (Collector's Edition)

And of course the Bourne series and the new James Bond series and before that, everything featuring George Smiley.

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Journal: ClimateGate Update 13 February 2010

Earth Intelligence
ClimateGate Rolling Update

World may not be warming, say scientists

We concluded, with overwhelming statistical significance, that the IPCC’s climate data are contaminated with surface effects from industrialisation and data quality problems. These add up to a large warming bias,” he said.

The Uncertain Fate of the IPCC

Opponents of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change tried strangling the IPCC in its cradle when the body was formed twenty-one years ago. Only hard-core climate change deniers are now sounding the death knell of their nemesis (as they have many times before), but support for the IPCC appears to ebbing, for a variety of reasons, and the future of the foremost science-based organization on climate change is in question.

‘Snowmaggedon' in Washington spurs climate change doubters

To be sure, the IPCC has been forced to acknowledge errors and unsubstantiated statements in one of its landmark 2007 reports. The irregularities had to do with predictions of the expected effects of warming. None of them, however, undermined the report's consensus that the planet has warmed and that man's activities have contributed to the warming.

Is global warming real? Do snowstorms offer eco-lessons?

“It's going to keep snowing in DC until Al Gore cries “uncle,””  Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., wrote Wednesday on Twitter.

Phi Beta Iota: The media is not doing its homework.  The IPCC represents the worst of UN corruption and ineptitude, while the High Level Panel and its report represents the UN at its best.  In the latter, Environmental Degradation is threat #3 after Poverty and Infectious Disease.  Climate Change is less than 10% of Environmental Degradation, and within Climate Change, carbon emissions are much, much less than 10% and far outweighed by sulfer and mercury.  The media and the UN both gloss over the many acts of man, such as paving over the Mississippi wetlands and plowing deep roots into oblivion–the increasing frequency and severity of storms is most certainly man-made but NOT caused by exclusively global warning or carbon emissions.  See also Strategic Analytic Model.  It's all connected.

Event: 8-11 Jun 10 Sweden Chemical & Biological Warfare

Uncategorized

10th International Symposium on Protection against Chemical and Biological Warfare Agents
8-11 June, 2010 at Kistamässan, Stockholm, Sweden

Due to the Swedish Royal wedding on June 19, 2010, there will be many events going on all over Stockholm and in the suburbs, during the weeks prior to the wedding. Be sure to make your hotel reservation in good time.

The topics for the 10th CBW Protection Symposium are the following:
– Emerging threats and risks
– Detection, identification and monitoring of CB agents
– CBRN Crisis Management at national and international levels
– Medical management CBRN
– Physical protection
– Non-proliferation and demilitarisation issues
– Commercial developing technologies