Month: November 2011

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Chuck Spinney: Paris-Berlin-Moscow Axis Reinstated

02 Diplomacy, 03 Economy, 06 Russia, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Articles & Chapters, Earth Intelligence, Ethics, Government, IO Deeds of Peace, Peace Intelligence
Chuck Spinney

The Paris-Berlin-Moscow Axis Back Again

by Immanuel Wallerstein

It always amazes me how the world's politicians and media spend most of their energy debating geopolitical prospects that are not going to happen, while ignoring major developments that are happening.

Here is a list of the most important coming non-events that we have been loudly debating and analyzing: Israel is not going to bomb Iran. The euro is not going to disappear. Outside powers are not going to engage in military action inside Syria. The upsurge of worldwide popular unrest is not going to fade away.

Meanwhile, to minimal serious coverage in the media and on the internet, the Nord Stream was inaugurated in Lubmin on Germany's Baltic Coast on Nov. 8 in the presence of Pres. Medvedev of Russia and the prime ministers of Germany, France, and the Netherlands, plus the director of Gazprom, Russia's gas exporter, and the European Union's Energy Commissioner. This is a geopolitical game-changer, unlike all the widely discussed non-events that are not going to happen.

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NIGHTWATCH: Iran – Turkey – Brazil Nuclear Axis

01 Brazil, 04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Iran, 06 Russia, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Proliferation, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Blog Wisdom, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Earth Intelligence, Ethics, Government, Officers Call

Turkey-Iran:  A senior Iranian official recently said Iran is willing to share its nuclear technological capability with neighboring, friendly countries, which could include helping Turkey build an atomic power plant.

For years Turkey has tried to build a nuclear power plant, but no Western country has been willing to help, the official said, adding that this is true for other countries in the region. Iran is also willing to cooperate with Brazil in the nuclear field, he said.

Comment: Energy policy provides a basis for an expansion of Iranian influence and presence in the Middle East and Brazil.

NIGHTWATCH KGS Home

Phi Beta Iota:  The insanity of US foreign and security policy is breath-taking, and only explainable in the context of an out of control government that is advancing pathological short-term corporate interests.  Brazil does not need Iran's help on nuclear energy.  What is interesting here, in combination with the French-German-Russian Axis [and more distantly, India-Pakistan and China-Asia] is the isolation of the US Government – the world is beginning to isolate the pathogen.

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Patrick Meier: PhD on Liberation Technology Impact

Advanced Cyber/IO, Autonomous Internet
Patrick Meier

Do “Liberation Technologies” Change the Balance of Power Between Repressive Regimes and Civil Society?

My dissertation is now available for download. Many thanks to my dissertation committee for their support and feedback throughout: Professor Dan Drezner, Professor Larry Diamond, Professor Carolyn Gideon and Clay Shirky. This dissertation is dedicated to Khaled Mohamed Saeed and Mohamed Bouazizi.

Abstract

Do new information and communication technologies (ICTs) empower repressive regimes at the expense of civil society, or vice versa? For example, does access to the Internet and mobile phones alter the balance of power between repressive regimes and civil society? These questions are especially pertinent today given the role that ICTs played during this year’s uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and beyond. Indeed, as one Egyptian activist stated, “We use Facebook to schedule our protests, Twitter to coordinate and YouTube to tell the world.” But do these new ICTs—so called “liberation technologies”—really threaten repressive rule? The purpose of this dissertation is to use mixed-methods research to answer these questions.

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John Robb: Understanding Pathogenic Behavior

03 Economy, Blog Wisdom, Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, IO Sense-Making, Military
John Robb

THE ART OF PATHOGENIC WARFARE

Within human social and economic systems, pathogenic behavior is spreading.  This is particularly true among powerful, successful, and wealthy people (finance, economics, politics, etc.) in the developed world.  What specifically do I mean by pathogenic?  An ever greater number of these people are adopting behaviors that are actively hostile to the human systems we rely upon.  They actually think it is OK to put these systems at risk for personal benefit.  This is very dangerous.  Given the massive amounts of network, technological, and financial leverage that's currently available to these people, even a single bad actor can wreak global havoc like never before (as in, they could cause an economic collapse that's so severe that it could kill more people than every war we've ever had to date, combined).

So, why is this happening and how can we prevent it?  This has been a tough section of the book I'm currently writing.  Fortunately, I think I'm starting to unravel it.   Here we go.  In order to understand why some bad actors are willing to do grievous harm to the complex systems they rely upon, we need to visit the cutting edge of microbiology.  Let's start that exploration with a look at an amazing article by Brett Finlay in the Scientific American called, “Stopping Infections: The Art of Bacteriological Warfare.”

Good, Neutral, and Bad Bacteria

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Howard Rheingold: Information Smog Causes Depression

Advanced Cyber/IO, IO Impotency
Howard Rheingold

Why ‘Data Smog’ May Be Making You Depressed

Information overload leads to stress, especially when much of that information is useless

Andrew Weil, M.D.

TIME, 14 November 2011

We  live in the Information Age. But I’ve never heard — nor would any sane person suggest — that we live in the Useful Information Age. The modern downpour of data is largely worthless distraction, and the sheer amount is drowning us. Of all of the ways in which the contemporary environment is mismatched with our genes and harms our emotional health, I believe the revolution in information delivery is the one most responsible for epidemic depression. Research so far is sparse but indicative: a 2005 Swedish study, for example, found associations between heavy communications technology use and “prolonged stress,” sleep disturbances and depressive symptoms in young adults.

. . . . . .

When the amount of low-quality information coming at people exceeds certain real but difficult-to-quantify limits, they suffer. They are likely to ignore or forget information they need and to be less in control of their lives as a result. Neuroscientist Torkel Klingberg’s excellent 2008 book, The Overflowing Brain: Information Overload and the Limits of Working Memory, cites research showing that “there is a fixed capacity for human beings to receive information, and that this limit lies at around seven items,” a number routinely exceeded in the modern workplace, leading to forgetfulness, distractability and disorganization. In the long term, bad-information overload increases stress, with many negative consequences for physical and emotional health.

Read full article.

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Seth Godin: Has Your Journey Been Worth It?

Blog Wisdom, Ethics
Seth Godin

Worth it?

That's a question you hear a lot. “Was it worth it?”

Not certain what either “it” refers to, but generally we're saying, “was the destination worth the journey? Was the effort worth the reward?”

The thing about effort is that effort is its own reward if you allow it to be.

So the answer can always be “yes” if you let it.

Phi Beta Iota:  Those on journeys generally know they are on a journey – and the pain is part of the deal.  Those not on a journey – those who settle for being drones and gerbils repeating the same motions, the same experience, year after year without question – may not realize that the fastest way to experience conversion and start a journey is to reconnect with one word: INTEGRITY.  Is all that you do consistent with the Constitution, with service to the public, with honor toward the Republic?  If it is not, start your journey today.