Category: Definitions

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When we first heard the term, “self-radicalized militants,” we thought they were talking about Lori Wallach, the tom-boy agitator now depicted in pearls with style.  Above are three over-lapping sets of coverage on this term.  We have just two questions:

1)  Is “self-radicalized” like “immaculate conception,” one just “radicalizes” spontaneously with no external influences?

2)  Is militant the antonym for passive?  Can one be vocal, skeptical, concerned, even derogatory or condemning, and not be a “militant?”

At what point, one wonders, do the mandarins of Empire begin to understand “cause and effect?”

In our own varied experiences, the snarling “self-radicalized militants” emerge when the Empire has been Gored (now there's a turn of phrase rather sadly appropos) and is hemmoraging.  We are at a tipping point.  Tea Party, Coffee Party, Independents, Libertarians and generally pissed-off good old boys on one side, and “self-radicalized militants” on the other, with pasty-faced girly-men (Arnold Schwarzenegger's term) in the middle.

Play Ball!

Hubris means extreme haughtiness or arrogance. Hubris often indicates a loss of touch with reality and overestimating one's own competence or capabilities, especially for people in positions of power.

In its modern usage, hubris denotes overconfident pride and arrogance; it is often associated with a lack of humility, not always with the lack of knowledge. An accusation of hubris often implies that suffering or punishment will follow, similar to the occasional pairing of hubris and nemesis in the Greek world. The proverb “pride goes before a fall” is thought to sum up the modern definition of hubris. It is also referred to as “pride that blinds”, as it often causes someone accused of hubris to act in foolish ways that belie common sense. Victor in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein manifests hubris in his attempt to become a great scientist by creating life, but eventually regrets this previous desire. More recently, in his two-volume biography of Adolf Hitler, historian Ian Kershaw uses both ‘hubris' and ‘nemesis' as titles. The first volume, ‘Hubris'^[7], describes Hitler's early life and rise to power. The second, ‘Nemesis' ^[8], gives details of Hitler's role in the Second World War, and concludes with his fall and suicide in 1945.

See also:

• Groupthink
• Narcissism
• Victory disease
• Self love
• Streisand effect

Connecting Government: Whole of government responses to Australia's priority challenges

The report has defined ‘whole of government' in the Australian Public Service (APS) as:

Whole of government denotes public service agencies working across portfolio boundaries to achieve a shared goal and an integrated government response to particular issues. Approaches can be formal and informal. They can focus on policy development, program management and service delivery.

Within the US this term has been used in association with “Rebalancing the Instruments of National Power” whose earlier iteration was DIME: Diplomatic, Informational, Military, Economic.

Admiral Dennis Blair and The Honorable James Locher, founders of the Project on National Security Reform (PNSR) contintributed significantly to the Rebalancing dialog.

Joe Nye has popularized the term “soft power, of his three recent books the first and the third are the better ones.

Review: The Paradox of American Power–Why the World’s Only Superpower Can’t Go It Alone

Review: Soft Power–The Means To Success In World Politics

Review: The Powers to Lead

Also recommended:

Review: Statecraft as Soulcraft

Review: The Politics of Fortune–A New Agenda For Business Leaders

The public intelligence network (PIN, as in pin stuck in the side of the organization) might be:

– an advisory board, advising the institution via the board of directors.

– an intelligence service in support of the board

– a virtual and non-voting public “member” of the board of directors.

The PIN would key off the agenda of the board, using it where it makes sense, and criticizing it or adding to it where needed.  It would help to have the cooperation of board members who would keep the PIN informed, and to speak on its behalf during board meetings.  Otherwise, the management can continue to monitor what the PIN is saying to the board, and this is a benefit to the board because it maintains pressure between board meetings.

Definition:  Advisory Board of Directors:  Individuals appointed to offer expert advise to the elected board of directors. Neither they are bound by the legal duties imposed on the elected board members, nor the elected board is bound by their recommendations.