Cultural Intelligence – Page 571 – Public Intelligence Blog

2014/04/302014/04/30

Tom Atlee: Upshifting Empathy — and Burying Nuclear Code in a Human Who Must be Killed by the President Before Using…

Cultural Intelligence, Peace Intelligence

Upshifting our limited empathy to face Big Issues

Our empathy is built in us with a kind of disconnect which can make it hard to usefully integrate our feelings with our reason. This has profound implications for the climate crisis, the possibilities of nuclear war, and many other “extinction level” issues. A leading negotiator offers a provocative story to stimulate our thinking about this, to which I add some videos.

. . . . . . .

Given that context, I stumbled yesterday on the little story below, written by the late Roger Fisher, co-author of the watershed negotiation classic Getting to Yes: How to Negotiate Agreement Without Giving In. His story was written 33 years ago at the height of the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union when many people – myself included – felt that we were on the edge of a global thermonuclear war which would have quite thoroughly wiped out all higher forms of life on earth – and which could have happened at a moment’s notice, even by accident (and still could).

. . . . . . .

FROM “PREVENTING NUCLEAR WAR” BY ROGER FISHER
BULLETIN OF THE ATOMIC SCIENTISTS, MARCH 1981

My suggestion was quite simple: Put that needed code number in a little capsule, and then implant that capsule right next to the heart of a volunteer. The volunteer would carry with him a big, heavy butcher knife as he accompanied the President. If ever the President wanted to fire nuclear weapons, the only way he could do so would be for him first, with his own hands, to kill one human being. The President says, “George, I’m sorry but tens of millions must die.” He has to look at someone and realize what death is—what an innocent death is. Blood on the White House carpet. It’s reality brought home.

When I suggested this to friends in the Pentagon they said, “My God, that’s terrible. Having to kill someone would distort the President’s judgment. He might never push the button.“

Read full post with other links.

2014/04/292014/04/29

Eagle: Charles Hugh Smith on America’s Nine Classes

Cultural Intelligence

300 Million Talons... — 300 Million Talons…

Summary:

1. Deep State
2. Oligarchs (1%)
3. New Nobility
4. Upper Caste
5. State Nomenklatura (9% with Upper Caste)
6. Middle Class (20%)
7. Working Poor (30%)
8. State Dependents (20%)
9. Mobile Creatives (8%)

America's Nine Classes: The New Class Hierarchy

Eight of the nine classes are hidebound by conventions, neofeudal and neocolonial arrangements and a variety of false choices.

There are many ways to slice and dice America's power/wealth hierarchy. The conventional class structure is divided along the lines of income, i.e. the wealthy, upper middle class, middle class, lower middle class and the poor.

I've suggested that a more useful scheme is to view America through the lens not just of income but of political power and state dependency, as a Three-and-a-Half Class Society (October 22, 2012):

The three-and-a-half class society is comprised of: the “entrenched incumbents” on top (the “half class”), the high-earners who pay most of the taxes (the first class), the working poor who pay Social Security payroll taxes and sales taxes (the second class), and State dependents who pay nothing (the third class).This class structure has political ramifications. In effect, those paying most of the tax are in a pressure cooker: the lid is sealed by the “entrenched incumbents” on top, and the fire beneath is the Central State's insatiable need for more tax revenues to support the entrenched incumbents and its growing army of dependents.

A recent Foreign Policy article on China's New Class Hierarchy: A Guide inspired me to assemble America's nine classes.

Continue reading “Eagle: Charles Hugh Smith on America's Nine Classes”

2014/04/292014/04/29

Richard Falk: Nonviolent Geopolitics – Law, Politics, and 21st Century Security

Cultural Intelligence, Peace Intelligence

Nonviolent Geopolitics: Law, Politics, and 21st Century Security*

In this short essay, my attempt will be to articulate a conception of a world order premised on nonviolent geopolitics, as well as to consider some obstacles to its realization. By focusing on the interplay of “law” and “geopolitics” the intention is to consider the role played both by normative traditions of law and morality and the “geopolitical” orientation that continue to guide dominant political actors on the global stage.

Such an approach challenges the major premise of realism that security, leadership, stability, and influence in the 21st century continue to rest primarily on military power, or what is sometimes described as “hard power” capabilities. [1]

From such a perspective international law plays a marginal role, useful for challenging the behavior of adversaries, but not to be relied upon in calculating the national interest of one’s own country. As such, the principal contribution of international law, aside from its utility in facilitating cooperation in situations where national interests converge, is to provide rhetoric that rationalizes controversial foreign policy initiatives undertaken by one’s own country and to demonize comparable behavior by an enemy state. This discursive role is not to be minimized, but neither should it be confused with exerting norms of restraint in a consistent and fair manner.

My intention is to do three things:

• to show the degree to which the victors in World War II crafted via the UN Charter essentially a world order, which if behaviorally implemented, would have marginalized war, and encoded by indirection a system of nonviolent geopolitics; in other words, the constitutional and institutional foundations already exist, but inert form;

• to provide a critique of the realist paradigm that never relinquished its hold over the imagination of dominant political elites, and an approach has not acknowledged the obsolescence and dangers associated with the war system;

• and, finally, to consider some trends in international life that make it rational to work toward the embodiment of nonviolent geopolitics in practice and belief, as well as in the formalities of international law.

Continue reading “Richard Falk: Nonviolent Geopolitics – Law, Politics, and 21st Century Security”

2014/04/282014/04/28

Robert Young Pelton: General Dostom is INNOCENT of the Dasht-i-Leili Massacre [PBI: What’s It Worth To Set Record Straight in Time for Run-Off?]

05 Civil War, 07 Other Atrocities, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Government, Military, Peace Intelligence

ROBERT STEELE: General Dostom is accused of the being directly responsible for the Dasht-i-Leili massacre aka container massacre that has been hugely overblown — as well as civilian collateral damage over time — and this remains a sore point with many Pashtuns and of course those that also consider themselves Taliban. What is your understanding?

ROBERT YOUNG PELTON: I was there for all this and have told many journos (NYTimes, Newsweek, BBC etc) that they are full of shit since they use second hand sourcing and constantly avoid using my first hand testimony since I was in the prison, saw the containers unloaded, took real time photos, notes etc. I also was there with Doran when his doco on Dostum got cancelled by the BBC and he had to make a “massacre” doco, first with British then American troops…using second hand footage and testimony. I have already gathered all the facts at: www.generaldostum.com, see especially the Conflict & Controvery section including the detailed timeline inclusive of photographs. I have been out of touch but this is a long beaten horse started by Atta [Muhammad Nur] with the eager ear of the State Dept flunkies. They wanted to minimize the threat of Dostum to promote Karzai. Ghani was no where near all this but the Pansjiris love to spread this bullshit before every election. One also has to be aware that there are Massoud groupies in the journo world that hate Dostom blindly and have been caught fabricating stories.

2014/04/282014/04/28

Berto Jongman: UK Paedophiles to be treated as terrorists under new crackdown [but only the little people — Lords & CEOs continue to get a free pass]

06 Family, 07 Health, 07 Other Atrocities, 10 Transnational Crime, 11 Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Law Enforcement

Paedophiles to be treated as terrorists under new crackdown

PM moves to close loophole that allows sexual predators to produce and possess ‘manuals' to help them commit crimes

Paedophiles will be handed the same treatment as terrorists under a crackdown on child abuse to be included in the Queen's speech.

David Cameron said he wanted to close a loophole that allows sexual predators to produce and possess “manuals” giving tips on how to identify victims, groom them, and evade capture.

In future, they will face the same kind of sanctions as extremists who download guides to bomb-making.

The issue came to light after GCHQ and the National Crime Agency found online examples of the guides in the chaotic part of cyberspace known as the “dark web”.

Read full article.

Continue reading “Berto Jongman: UK Paedophiles to be treated as terrorists under new crackdown [but only the little people — Lords & CEOs continue to get a free pass]”

2014/04/272014/04/28

Ashraf Ghani on Reversing History (2008) with Clare Lockhart Plus 2014 News & Books & Preliminary PBI Call on Run-Off and BSA NOT Being Signed

Cultural Intelligence, Peace Intelligence

Phi Beta Iota: Our preliminary view, pending some additional inquiries, is that Ghani will win the run-off quite easily (60-40 or better), and that he will NOT sign the Bi-Lateral Security Agreement (BSA). The roles of Abdullah and Barshadost remain to be defined. We have no doubt that everyone EXCEPT the Americans is deep into planning for a non-BSA post-2014. The way forward is positive — if you have intelligence with integrity.

2014/04/272014/04/27

Percy Bysshe Shelley: Declaration of Rights (1880)

Collective Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence, Earth Intelligence, Peace Intelligence

Phi Beta Iota: As cited by Peter Linebaugh, STOP, THIEF! The Commons, Enclosures, and Resistance (PM Press, 2014)

DECLARATION OF RIGHTS
01 GOVERNMENT has no rights; it is a delegation from several individuals for the purpose of securing their own. It is therefore just, only so far as it exists by their consent, useful only so far as it operates to their well-being.

02 IF these individuals think that the form of government which they, or their forefathers constituted is ill adapted to produce their happiness, they have a right to change it.

03 Governmnent is devised for the security of rights. The rights of man are liberty, and all equal participation of the commonage of nature.

04 As the benefit of the governed, is, or ought to be the origin of government, no men can have any authority that does not expressly emanate from their will.

Continue reading “Percy Bysshe Shelley: Declaration of Rights (1880)”