Month: April 2011

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Review: Questions of Truth–Fifty-one Responses to Questions About God, Science, and Belief

5 Star, Consciousness & Social IQ, Cosmos & Destiny, Culture, Research, Information Society, Nature, Diet, Memetics, Design, Philosophy, Religion & Politics of Religion, Science & Politics of Science, True Cost & Toxicity, Truth & Reconciliation, Values, Ethics, Sustainable Evolution
Amazon Page

John C. Polkinghorne and Nicholas Beale

5.0 out of 5 stars Key Contribution at a Very Good Time
April 7, 2011
This is one of three books that I selected to explore the science versus religion or science with religion reflections. Although I awarded the six star ranking to the shortest of three, God and Science: Coming Full Circle?, it must be acknowledged that John Polkinghorne, co author of this book, and Hans Kung, author of the third book I chose, The Beginning of All Things: Science and Religion are Nobel-level pioneers on the topics of God's existence and the complementarity of science and religion. 

In general all three of the books slam Richard Dawkin's The God Delusion, which my own review found to be sophmoric, but I was too quick to accept God and reject religion. The three books together make a very persuasive case for the value of the spiritual, which I have always accepted, and also for religion as organized emphathy, which I now see as a spectacular offset for uncaring governments and corporations, if, if, if inter-faith collaboration can recognize that secular corruption is the obstacle to creating a prosperous world at peace [see my letter to the Pope at Phi Beta Iota the Public Intelligence Blog, or tiny URL Assisi-Intelligence.

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Review: God and Science–Coming Full Circle

6 Star Top 10%, Complexity & Resilience, Consciousness & Social IQ, Cosmos & Destiny, Culture, Research, Information Society, Nature, Diet, Memetics, Design, Philosophy, Religion & Politics of Religion, Science & Politics of Science, Survival & Sustainment, True Cost & Toxicity, Truth & Reconciliation, Values, Ethics, Sustainable Evolution
Amazon Page

James F. Molben

5.0 out of 5 stars 6 Stars Plus for SImplicity, Coherence, & Importance
April 7, 2011

I tend to read in threes, and read this book together with Questions of Truth: Fifty-one Responses to Questions About God, Science, and Belief and The Beginning of All Things: Science and Religion. The three books complement each other very nicely, and if you can afford the time and money, all three are recommended. Of the three, this is the six plus, with the other two being solid fives, but with the added comment that Questions of Truth is easily the second recommended book, and for the more general audience, while Beginning of All Things is more of a graduate review. It must be said that John Polkinghorne and Hans Kung are Nobel-level pioneers on this topic, and hence I must emphasize that while their intellects and total published contributions in the aggregate are six plus in every way, in this instance, this particular book by James Molben won by a solid head and neck.

The discussion of science and religion as NOT being in conflict, and as both being complementary and both sharing a focus on finding the truth, has been given recent impetus by Pope Benedict XVI, who has appointed a Protestant to head the Science Academy of the Catholic Church; sponsored an inter-faith summit at Assisi in October 2011 that we hope will focus on the reality that secular corruption and indemnification from the truth are what create war and poverty; and made direct statements to the effect that there is no conflict religion and science, and both strive toward the same end, the truth. As I like to say, the truth at any cost lowers all other costs, it is high time We the People demanded the truth, and nothing but the truth, from what I call the eight tribes of intelligence (academic, civil society including labor and religion), commerce, government, law enforcement, media, military, and non-government/non-profit).

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US Army Brainwashing Experiment

Corruption, IO Impotency, Military

The Dark Side of “Comprehensive Soldier Fitness”

Friday 1 April 2011
by: Roy Eidelson, Marc Pilisuk and Stephen Soldz, Truthout

Why is the world's largest organization of psychologists so aggressively promoting a new, massive and untested military program? The APA's enthusiasm for mandatory “resilience training” for all US soldiers is troubling on many counts.

The January 2011 issue of the American Psychologist, the American Psychological Association's (APA) flagship journal, is devoted entirely to 13 articles that detail and celebrate the virtues of a new US Army-APA collaboration. Built around positive psychology and with key contributions from former APA President Martin Seligman and his colleagues, Comprehensive Soldier Fitness (CSF) is a $125 million resilience training initiative designed to reduce and prevent the adverse psychological consequences of combat for our soldiers and veterans. While these are undoubtedly worthy aspirations, the special issue is nevertheless troubling in several important respects: the authors of the articles, all of whom are involved in the CSF program, offer very little discussion of conceptual and ethical considerations; the special issue does not provide a forum for any independent critical or cautionary voices whatsoever; and through this format, the APA itself has adopted a jingoistic cheerleading stance toward a research project about which many crucial questions should be posed. We discuss these and related concerns below.

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Inept to Switch Jobs–the Obama Way

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Marcus Aurelius Recommends

While I'm kind of a Petraeus fan, not sure he is a good fit for D/CIA.  Also not sure Panetta is a good fit for SECDEF.

NPR.org
April 4, 2011

Gen. Petraeus Being ‘Seriously Considered' For CIA Director, NPR Reports

By Tom Bowman

General David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, is expected to leave that job by early fall. And the question has been, where does he go from there?

Several sources, including government officials, say Petraeus is being seriously considered for CIA director, and would take the job if offered.

The current spy chief, Leon Panetta, is currently seen as the top replacement for Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who says he will step down this year.

Phi Beta Iota: If this were not so real, it would be shocking.  The White House is treating the government as nothing more than a staging ground for cronies, not as a weighty public responsibility demanding the best possible non-partisan mix.

See Also:

Petraeus Being ‘Seriously Considered’ for CIA Director [NY Magazine]

General David Petraeus tipped to take over CIA [Telegraph UK]

Journal: Reflections on Integrity

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Historical Backgrounder on Libya

05 Energy, 08 Wild Cards, 10 Security, Civil Society, Cultural Intelligence, Government, IO Sense-Making, Military, Peace Intelligence
Chuck Spinney Recommends...

The author of this long but very useful historical analysis on the history of Libya is also the author of Violent Politics: A History of Insurgency, Terrorism, and Guerrilla War, from the American Revolution to Iraq, one of the very best books I have ever read on the subject of guerrilla warfare.

Whence Libya?  Why Libya?  Whither Libya?

William R. Polk, March 31, 2011

Since the Libyan regime was established by a coup d’état in 1969,  Americans and Europeans — with a three-year intermission from 1986 to 1988 — found it acceptable enough to recognize it, sell it arms and buy its petroleum.  In that one interval, on April 15, 1986, the American government under President Ronald Reagan attempted to kill Colonel Muammar Qaddafi by bombing his residence and did wound his wife and kill about 75 Libyans including his adopted daughter.  Two years later, Qaddafi retaliated by bombing an American airliner.  That attack killed 270 people including 190 Americans among whom were at least four intelligence officers.  These were just the major events; there were many others.  Of course, Americans and Libyans took very different views of them.  But both sides eventually smoothed over their angers, and relations again became profitable and “correct” on both sides, as they remained until early this year.

So, what is the basis of those attitudes and the causes of those actions?  Who are the Libyans anyway?  And what is the position of Qaddafi among them?  What motivates the Libyans?  What governs their action?  And what is likely to be the outcome of the revolt, the regime’s resistance to it and the Western intervention?

With the prejudice of a historian, I find that seeking answers to these questions requires at least a glance at the past.  That is the aim of this essay.

Read the essay….

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US Diplomats Lighting Electronic Insurgency Fire

02 Diplomacy, Advanced Cyber/IO, Cultural Intelligence, Government
DefDog Recommends...

Interesting…..what are the potential ramifications, electronic
insurgencies?

Hillary Clinton's Senior Tech Advisor Talks “Radical” Global Citizenship

BY Gregory Ferenstein, 4 April 2011

Alec Ross on subversive technologies, Libya, Wikileaks, and the future of digital diplomacy.”We're willing to make mistakes of commission,” he tells Fast Company, “rather than omission.”

In the turbulent center of the Venn diagram involving President Obama's multilateral foreign policy, open government mandates, and Middle-East unrest is Alec Ross, the Senior Advisor for Innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. From asking Twitter to delay down-time maintenance during the 2009 student uprising to courting programmers for Africa, Ross's office has been tasked with coordinating the monumental logistics of a new philosophy that embraces global interdependence. Ross spoke with Fast Company about the meaning of the highly controversial “global citizenship” concept, the diplomatic difficulties in supporting subversive technologies, and the future of transparency.

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