Graphic: Four Stages of the Resilience Cycle
Balance, Earth Orientation, Leadership-Integrity, Policies-Harmonization, Political, Processing, Strategy-Holistic CoherenceGraphic: Panarchy as Ecological Resilience System
Balance, Earth Orientation, Policies-Harmonization, Political, Processing, Strategy-Holistic Coherence, True Cost
Landmark Afghan hotel attacked
08 Wild Cards, 10 Security, 11 Society, Civil Society, Corruption, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Government, IO Deeds of War, Military
UPDATED to add photo. Guards at the front door, no guards across the totally exposed back end. Sheraton San Salvador was attacked from the ravine. Deja vu.
Landmark Afghan hotel attacked
Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2011
Gunmen and suicide bombers strike the tightly secured Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, which has large foreign clientele. It was not immediately known how many people were killed or wounded.
Phi Beta Iota: Well-intentioned professionals like to say that if the US only has enough will to persist, it can prevail against any enemy. That is not correct. When the US engaged in elective wars and lacks legitimacy in the eyes of the occupied public, it will inevitably lose. When the US Government is delusional and ignoring the harsh realities at home, it loses its domestic legitimacy. Events like the Tet Offensive, or the increasing attacks in the heart of Kabul, accentuate the cognitive dissonance among all parties. This will not end well for the US.
Structural Power and Federal Feudalism
09 Justice, 11 Society, Civil Society, Corruption, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Government
While the U.S. government may be described as a massive wealth transferring scheme, looting the middle class for the elite, I’d suggest that ‘wealth’ and ‘elite’ are not precisely correct. The transformation in Western power structures over past three centuries is such that the ‘elite’ was formerly indistinguishable from the government, which is the hallmark of feudal government; whereas now, the locus of power is the government itself, not any particular group of people.
We still find the old system at work in dictatorships – Libya, N. Korea – in which the government is indistinguishable from a small group of people and for whom wealth accumulation is the primary goal.
But wealth isn’t the primary goal of western governments; they have a nearly unlimited ability to create their own wealth (debt and printing money) – or destroy it (debt and printing money). The primary concern of these supposedly post-feudal governments is stability and power, and their primary means to securing these ends is patronage.
Patronage existed in feudal governments, but it was a means to an end (wealth accumulation), and not the end in itself. As such, it’s then not surprising that the primary purpose of most government endeavors – the education and court systems, intelligence communities, healthcare – is to employ the greatest number of people, thus securing widespread government support. Critical mass is reached when a simple majority of the voters earn >50% of their income from government sources – there are people who work for a living and people who vote for a living, and once the latter reaches >50%, the former becomes politically irrelevant.
Tax Cuts & Elective Wars Created the Deficit….
03 Economy, 07 Other Atrocities, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Waste (materials, food, etc)
This op-ed was written by one of my closest friends, who happens to be an old fashioned Republican in the best sense of the term.
Chuck Spinney
Nice, France
The big deficit facing the U.S. is mostly Republican in origin, the Congressional Budget Office says. The Bush tax cuts alone have added $3 trillion in red ink, yet the party wants to double down on its failed policy.
By Mike Lofgren
June 26, 2011
. . . . . . .
Polarization based on juvenile talk radio sloganeering is dragging this country to the cliff's edge. If neither the Democrats nor the party I have served for three decades is willing to act like adults, perhaps it's time for a party that is willing to step into the void.
Resiliency Wiki & Open Source Insurgency
09 Justice, 11 Society, Blog Wisdom, Civil Society, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, IO Deeds of Peace
JOURNAL: The Resilient Community Wiki
The great part about starting out small, simple, and a little cheesy is that it can only get better from there. Using that logic, my friends and I have launched a wiki called Miiu (pronounced me-you). Miiu is a visual wiki. Essentially, a catalogue of things (products, tools, etc.) and places (homes, businesses, gov't buildings, etc.).
To start off, our goal is to do what lots of people have asked me to create: a wiki that catalogues everything related to resilient communities. We'd like to create a visual catelogue of the things (from DIY solar stills to an inventory of homes, farms, businesses in your community) that will be useful in the development of resilient communities.
JOURNAL: Lulzsec as an Open Source Insurgency
Lulzsec has some claims to being an open source insurgency. It operated as a foco by generating a plausible promise: its hacks were high profile and successful, proving that it's possible to successfully attack/damage all big organizations despite the billions they spend on computer security. This promise has also generated copycats/clones around the world. Finally, it is now disbanding (forgoing any formal leadership role). If they can disband in a way that lets them escape unscathed, that only adds to the promise. Quote from their website:
“For the past 50 days we've been disrupting and exposing corporations, governments, often the general population itself, and quite possibly everything in between, just because we could. We hope, wish, even beg, that the movement manifests itself into a revolution that can continue on without us. The support we've gathered for it in such a short space of time is truly overwhelming, and not to mention humbling. Please don't stop. Together, united, we can stomp down our common oppressors and imbue ourselves with the power and freedom we deserve.”
Event 29 Jun Atlanta Re-Colonization of Africa?
04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 06 Genocide, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, IO Deeds of War
PRESS ALERT
Contact: 404-527-7756/404-344-5454
ATLANTA, GA. USA — Members of the African Diaspora will hold a press conference with the “Dignity Delegation” this Wednesday June 29, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. in Atlanta on their eyewitness and investigative Fact-Finding Mission to Libya. The Press Conference will be led by the former congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and other members of the “Dignity Delegation”.
The press conference on Libya will be held in front of the office of Congressman John Lewis, located at 100 Peachtree St NW, Atlanta, Georgia. John Lewis who voted against the action in Libya did not vote to cut off the President’s funding. This vote essentially allows for the continued bombing, of which Cynthia McKinney, a former Presidential candidate and many African Diaspora leaders strongly oppose. The press conference will include key African Diaspora leaders, community activists and members of the Green Party.
The press conference is to provide an investigative report to the American people on the United States involvement in the French led NATO attack on Libya, rejected now by the African Union (AU) as a bogus war on Africa. Second, it is also to warn the African Union and Black leaders to take decisive actions to protect its people after centuries of colonialism and slavery to counter what is now confirmed by many as the “re-colonization” of Africa. Finally, the press conference is to urge the U.S. government to use its limited resources to support economic justice, jobs, education and peace across the U.S. and the world.
Those who would like to participate or support these efforts, please contact us at WADUPAM.ORG, the African Community Centers at 404-344-5454 or Bro. Sobukwe at 404-456-7962.
