Cultural Intelligence – Page 779 – Public Intelligence Blog

2012/05/112012/05/12

Robert Steele: World Bank Open Access / Open Knowledge

Access, Advanced Cyber/IO, Civil Society, Collective Intelligence, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Earth Intelligence, Ethics, Future-Oriented, Government, International Aid, IO Deeds of Peace, Key Players, Knowledge, Non-Governmental, Officers Call, Open Government, Peace Intelligence, Policies, Politics of Science & Science of Politics, Resilience, Threats, True Cost, World Bank

steele smiling final — Robert David STEELE Vivas

Press Release

WASHINGTON, April 10, 2012 – The World Bank today announced that it will implement a new Open Access policy for its research outputs and knowledge products, effective July 1, 2012. The new policy builds on recent efforts to increase access to information at the World Bank and to make its research as widely available as possible. As the first phase of this policy, the Bank launched today a new Open Knowledge Repository and adopted a set of Creative Commons copyright licenses.

The new Open Access policy, which will be rolled out in phases in the coming year, formalizes the Bank’s practice of making research and knowledge freely available online. Now anybody is free to use, re-use and redistribute most of the Bank's knowledge products and research outputs for commercial or non-commercial purposes.

“Knowledge is power,” World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick said. “Making our knowledge widely and readily available will empower others to come up with solutions to the world’s toughest problems. Our new Open Access policy is the natural evolution for a World Bank that is opening up more and more.”

The policy will also apply to Bank research published with third party publishers including the institution’s two journals—World Bank Research Observer (WBRO) and World Bank Economic Review (WBER)—which are published by Oxford University Press, but in accordance with the terms of third party publisher agreements. The Bank will respect publishing embargoes, but expects the amount of time it takes for externally published Bank content to be included in its institutional repository to diminish over time.

Event 21 May 2012 1230-1400 Washington DC

Join us for an Open Discussion: What the Bank's Open Access Policy Means for Development

Monday, May 21, 2012 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. ET/16:30 – 18:00 GMT

The World Bank will be adopting an Open Access Policy as of July 1. In addition, the Bank recently launched the World Bank Open Knowledge Repository (OKR) and became the first major international organization to adopt a set of copyright licenses from Creative Commons. As a result, a wealth of Bank research and knowledge products are now freely available to anyone in the world for use, re-use, and sharing.

Why is this so significant?
How can open access contribute to the goal of eliminating poverty?
How does the new policy impact the Bank's researchers and authors?
How will the OKR benefit users of Bank knowledge, in particular those in developing countries?

Join us in person at the World Bank or online for a lively conversation about these and other aspects of open access to research, and its potential for development progress.

FEATURED GUESTS:
Peter Suber Director of the Harvard Open Access Project and a leading voice in the open access movement	Cyril Muller Vice President for External Affairs at the World Bank
Michael Carroll American University law professor and founding board member of Creative Commons	Adam Wagstaff Research Manager of the World Bank's Development Research Group
HOST:
Carlos Rossel World Bank Publisher

THE OPEN SOURCE EVERYTHING MANIFESTO: Transparency, Truth & Trust

INTELLIGENCE FOR EARTH: Clarity, Diversity, Integrity, & Sustainability

COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace

Open Source Agency: Executive Access Point

2012/05/11

Eagle: Are We Eating Ourselves to Death?

07 Health, 07 Other Atrocities, Civil Society, Commerce, Cultural Intelligence, Government

Is The Food We Eat Killing Us?

Are we digging our own graves with our teeth? Is the food that we eat every day slowly killing us? When I was growing up, I just assumed that everything in the grocery store was perfectly safe and perfectly healthy. I just assumed that the government and the big corporations were watching out for us and that they would never allow something harmful to be sold in the stores. Boy, was I wrong! Today, the average American diet is extremely unhealthy. Most of the foods that we all love to eat are absolutely packed with things that will damage our health. Many of the ingredients that make our foods “taste good” such as fat, salt and sugar can be extremely damaging in large amounts. On top of that, most processed foods are absolutely loaded with chemicals and preservatives. The next time you go to the grocery store, just start turning over packages and read the “ingredients” that are being put into our food. If you have never done this before, you will be absolutely amazed. In many of our most common foods there are “ingredients” that I cannot even pronounce. Sadly, most Americans have no idea that eating a steady diet of these processed foods will likely leave them massively overweight, very sick and much closer to death.

American Pig — Click on Image to Enlarge

Eating healthy takes more time, more effort and more money than eating poorly does. Unfortunately, most Americans are content to chow down on foods that are quick to make and that taste good. In particular, Americans are absolutely addicted to foods that are loaded with sugar and high fructose corn syrup. When you start looking at food product labels, you will find that either sugar or high fructose corn syrup is in almost everything. For example, I was absolutely amazed when I learned that most bread sold in our grocery stores contains high fructose corn syrup. Why in the world would they need to put that into our bread? Today, Americans are consuming far more sugar and high fructose corn syrup than ever before, and this has many health professionals very alarmed.

Read full article.

2012/05/112012/05/11

Marcus Aurelius: British Agent, American Leak, Who’s on First?

09 Terrorism, 10 Security, Articles & Chapters, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Director of National Intelligence et al (IC), Government, IO Deeds of War

Marcus-Aurelius-150x150 — Marcus Aurelius

British secret agent was al-Qaeda mole who cracked new ‘underpants' bomb plot

A British undercover agent infiltrated al-Qaeda, volunteered to be a suicide bomber and smuggled out the latest version of the deadly underpants bomb, it can be disclosed.

Read full article.

CIA launches inquiry into media leaks over ‘underpants' double agent

US spy chief James Clapper has ordered an inquiry into leaks to media outlets that exposed how the CIA foiled an al-Qaeda plot using a spy who infiltrated the terror group, officials said Wednesday.

Read full article.

Phi Beta Iota: There are three levels here. First, it is most likely the leak came from the White House, deliberately, and the IC investigation is mostly for show–and to make the subtle point that their investigation cannot cover the White House (if we had a proper national counterintelligence capability and the FBI had integrity, this would not be happening). Second, as we found in Central America and elsewhere, the White House runs its own intelligence and covert action operations without regard to the secret intelligence chain of command, and we have no doubt that John Brennan is playing a double game (pun intended). Third and last, if this is real, and we are inclined to think that it is not, it should be said that the British can be very very good, and the UK has the most target-rich environment on the planet for recruiting penetrations — it also has the most extremist penetrations of legitimate groups. Just as the Soviets nailed every recruited emigree sent back in after WWII, we suspect that the extremists have a better grip on their own community than the Brits do. In terms of evaluating the integrity of the British, we remind one and all that they supported the White House on all the lies about Iraq, and even went so low as to plagarize an unclassified paper from the Moneterey Institute of International Relations (MIIR), a desperate move made necessary in their eyes because they had no secret sources and had no real knowledge. On balance, this smells.

2012/05/102012/05/10

Theophillis Goodyear: US Propaganda Disaster? Officers Taught They Must “Nuke” Islam? + RECAP

07 Other Atrocities, Cultural Intelligence, IO Deeds of War

According to Wired Magazine:

U.S. Military Officers Taught: Use ‘Hiroshima' Tactics for ‘Total War' on Islam

EXTRACT:

For the better part of the last decade, a small cabal of self-anointed counterterrorism experts has been working its way through the U.S. military, intelligence and law enforcement communities, trying to convince whoever it could that America’s real terrorist enemy wasn’t al-Qaida — but the Islamic faith itself. In his course, Dooley brought in these anti-Muslim demagogues as guest lecturers. And he took their argument to its final, ugly conclusion.

– – – – – – – – –

I don't know if this is true, but if so, it's insane. Most Islamic scholars agree that most of the so called “jihads” issued by fanatical Islamists aren't legitimate jihads. according to the Quran. But if any group ever invaded the Holy Land—-Mecca or Medina—-that would be a justification for legitimate jihad according to virtually anyone's interpretation of the Quran. In that case it would be the duty of every Muslim in the world to wage war on the invader. If the invader as the U.S., that would mean that every Muslim in the U.S. would then be at war with the U.S.

Imagine if the Saudi regime was toppled and a Saudi version of the Taliban took over. It could well happen. Then the U.S. and the entire world would be in a precarious situation. It would be foolhardy to attack or invade Saudi Arabia, because—-unless Mecca and Medina were not attacked or invaded, I suppose—-it would force all Muslims, around the world, to wage war against America. The idea of going to war with Islam is one of the stupidest ideas ever invented. Muslims live in virtually every country of the world. Every country in the world would erupt in war within its own borders. The consequences would be disastrous. This document, if it's authentic, is the best possible gift to Islamist propagandists, because it justifies their greatest fears and suspicions. If it's true, it's mind boggling that anyone in the military could be that dumb.

No one could ever win a war with the one billion Muslims that are scattered out across the world. It's impossible.

Phi Beta Iota: There is a huge difference between contemplating a war on Islam, and forbidding Islam to undermine one's own homeland. Spain came to the same conclusion about both Islam and Jews, hence the Expulsion Edicts. Both of these religions have deeply subversive aspects and seem to inevitably threaten the integrity of the society, the government, and the private sector of any host nation that permits them to carry on without oversight or restraint. This is one reason we have been stressing religious counterintelligence for over a decade. Catholics, Mormons, Pentecostals, they all have their own agendas, their own ways of conducting espionage and formenting treason, but they are not quite as pernicious. It's time we got a grip on religion as a threat to society and the state.

Journal: Muslim Tide Arousing US Heartland Anger But Loss of Moral Legitimacy Via Israel and Loss of National Intelligence Shackles America

Journal: NIGHTWATCH Extract France & Citizenship

Koko: CIA Bows to Islamic Radicals, with Strong Comment on Need for Religious Counterintelligence

Mini-Me: Agents of Religion – Religion of Agents

Reference: Study of Islamic Theology

2012/05/102012/05/10

Mini-Me: Agents of Religion – Religion of Agents

07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, 09 Terrorism, 10 Security, 10 Transnational Crime, Articles & Chapters, Commercial Intelligence, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Intelligence (government)

Huh?

AGENTS OF RELIGION-RELIGION OF AGENTS (Vol. I): THE INFLUENCE OF FAITH IN THE INTELLIGENCE SERVICES

Zhyldyz Oskonbaeva (RIEAS Senior Advisor & Eurasian Liaison)

NEWSLETTER Issue #5 – May 2012 (Mediterranean Council for Intelligence Studies)

The more followers you have, the stronger is their belief in you. The more believers you have, the greater your chances of getting elected. With both you can rule the nation. The difference between the two is that believers will fight for their cause. This forms the basis for real power (From author).

The influence of religion is such that power, order and government perceive their effects as a stabilizer on society as well as the legitimation of their rule. Depending on the history, the state depends on a society that is moral, consistent and trusting in their institutions. As decision makers, real power ensures that their decisions will be both supported and followed by society. From the very beginning of society, religious institutions fought for “believers-parishioners.” As a result, politics borrows from religion in that it is a secularization of bureaucratic competencies formally entrusted to an absolute ruler ‘personally’ chosen by a supreme being and counseled by his representative on earth – embodied as the senior religious leader. Sometimes this symbiotic relationship is equal, sometimes dependent upon the other but always it is both visual and implied. What both understand is that power is expressed in numbers which is something they both need.

This analysis is a series of articles consisting of historical and contemporary facts in order to examine this relationship in more detail. By minimizing editorial comment and without bias to any particular religion, the intent to explore a dimension that remains largely underexplored in modern scholarship. In other words if intelligence professionals are dedicated patriots above the norm then what effect does religion play in the composition of their national identity and their duties in serving the state?

Continue reading “Mini-Me: Agents of Religion – Religion of Agents”

2012/05/102012/05/10

David Swanson: Colin Powell’s Treason – Lest We Forget

Blog Wisdom, Civil Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, IO Deeds of War, Law Enforcement, Military, Officers Call, Peace Intelligence

Colin Powell's Tangled Web

“I get mad when bloggers accuse me of lying — of knowing the information was false. I didn’t.” — Colin Powell.

Can you imagine having an opportunity to address the United Nations Security Council about a matter of great global importance, with all the world's media watching, and using it to… well, to make shit up – to lie with a straight face, and with a CIA director propped up behind you, I mean to spew one world-class, for-the-record-books stream of bull, to utter nary a breath without a couple of whoppers in it, and to look like you really mean it all? What gall. What an insult to the entire world that would be.

Colin Powell doesn't have to imagine such a thing. He has to live with it. He did it on February 5, 2003. It's on videotape.

I tried to ask him about it in the summer of 2004. He was speaking to the Unity Journalists of Color convention in Washington, D.C. The event had been advertised as including questions from the floor, but for some reason that plan was revised. Speakers from the floor were permitted to ask questions of four safe and vetted journalists of color before Powell showed up, and then those four individuals could choose to ask him something related – which of course they did not, in any instance, do.

Bush and Kerry spoke as well. The panel of journalists who asked Bush questions when he showed up had not been properly vetted. Roland Martin of the Chicago Defender had slipped onto it somehow (which won't happen again!). Martin asked Bush whether he was opposed to preferential college admissions for the kids of alumni and whether he cared more about voting rights in Afghanistan than in Florida. Bush looked like a deer in the headlights, only without the intelligence. He stumbled so badly that the room openly laughed at him.

Continue reading “David Swanson: Colin Powell's Treason – Lest We Forget”

2012/05/102012/05/10

Chuck Spinney: Marriage Myths and Political Prancing

Cultural Intelligence

… why a little scholarship can be a dangerous thing. Bravo.

The Myth About Marriage

Garry Wills, The New York Review of Books, 2012-05-09, 1:30 PM

Why do some people who would recognize gay civil unions oppose gay marriage? Certain religious groups want to deny gays the sacredeness of what they take to be a sacrament. But marriage is no sacrament.

Some of my fellow Catholics even think that “true marriage” was instituted by Christ. It wasn’t. Marriage is prescribed in Eden by YHWH (Yahweh) at Genesis 2.24: man and wife shall “become one flesh.” When Jesus is asked about marriage, he simply quotes that passage from Genesis (Mark 10.8). He nowhere claims to be laying a new foundation for a “Christian marriage” to replace the Yahwist institution.

Some try to make the wedding at Cana (John 1.1-11) somehow sacramental because Jesus worked his first miracle there. But that was clearly a Jewish wedding, like any other Jesus might have attended, and the miracle, by its superabundance of wine, is meant to show the disciples that the Messianic time has come. The great Johannine scholar Father Raymond Brown emphasizes this, and concludes of the passage: “Neither the external nor the internal evidence for a symbolic reference to matrimony is strong. The wedding is only the backdrop and occasion for the story, and the joining of the man and woman does not have any direct role in the narrative.”

Continue reading “Chuck Spinney: Marriage Myths and Political Prancing”