Cultural Intelligence – Page 858 – Public Intelligence Blog

2011/07/16

Chuck Spinney: Israel To Bomb Iran Soon + RECAP

04 Inter-State Conflict, 07 Other Atrocities, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, IO Impotency, Military, Officers Call, Peace Intelligence

Former CIA Official: Israel Will Bomb Iran In September

July 15, 2011 4:04 pm ET — MJ Rosenberg

A longtime CIA officer who spent 21 years in the Middle East is predicting that Israel will bomb Iran in fall, dragging the United States into another major war and endangering U.S. military and civilian personnel (and other interests) throughout the Middle East and beyond.

Earlier this week, Robert Baer appeared on the provocative KPFK Los Angeles show Background Briefing, hosted by Ian Masters. It was there that he predicted that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is likely to ignite a war with Iran in the very near future.

Read full story….

Phi Beta Iota: We know and admire Bob Baer, one of the greats in clandestine case officering, whose books, Sleeping With the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude and See No Evil–The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA’s War on Terrorism correctly observe that no amount of professionalism in the intelligence ranks can make up for massive ideology, corruption, and impeachable malfeasance in the White House, Congress, and the military-industrial cabal. War is how the unethical elite deal with unrest at home–it syphons the poor angry young men out of the system and distracts the booboisee. Israel, like the USA, has multiple governments, and right now the two extremist versions are nominally in charge and think they can get away with bombing Iran and then redirecting the US military against Iran. The Israeli attack on the USS Liberty is the best “truth-teller” on how crazy they can get, and how much they disrespect the USA. They give no thought at all to the five front war that George Bush started with the Islamic virtual caliphate, or the consequences of “burning” the young seeking reform, turning them all against Israel and the USA.

2011/07/152011/07/24

Koko: Oil Prices & Human Ingenuity

03 Economy, Advanced Cyber/IO, Blog Wisdom, Civil Society, Collective Intelligence, Commerce, Cultural Intelligence, Earth Intelligence

Gorilla Kitten on Top — Koko the Reflexive

Published 23 August 2005, the Ludwig von Mises Institute article by Pierre Lemieux discusses the actual decline of resource prices–including “scarce” resources–and the reason: advances in human ingenuity. This supports our basic proposition on this web site, that the single best investment that could be made to create a prosperous world at peace is to give the five billion poor free access to the Internet so as to nurture and harvest their brainpower.

The Oil Price Mirage

Mises Daily: Tuesday, August 23, 2005 by Pierre Lemieux

EXTRACT

Until his death in 1997, economist Julian Simon predicted a continuous decline in resource prices. In 1980, he made a famous bet with environmentalist Paul Ehrlich. Simon’s bet was that a $1,000 basket of any five metals chosen by Ehrlich would be worth less (in constant dollars) 10 years later. Ehrlich lost. In 1990, the value of the basket at current market prices was down more than 50%. Ehrlich had to send a $576.07 check to Simon, representing the drop in the basket value. In fact, the prices of all the metals chosen by Ehrlich had fallen.[5]

In his challenging 1981 book The Ultimate Resource, Simon showed that resource prices had generally decreased over time. The relative price of oil (in terms of other goods) has fallen by perhaps as much as two-thirds between the 1860s and today. During the same period, the price of oil in terms of salaries has decreased by more than 90%.

2011/07/152011/07/15

Jimmy Carter: Choosing the Righteous Path…

Cultural Intelligence

“We are at a turning point in our history. There are two paths to choose. One is a path I've warned about tonight, the path that leads to fragmentation and self-interest. Down that road lies a mistaken idea of freedom, the right to grasp for ourselves some advantage over others. That path would be one of constant conflict between narrow interests ending in chaos and immobility. It is a certain route to failure. All the traditions of our past, all the lessons of our heritage, all the promises of our future point to another path, the path of common purpose and the restoration of American values. That path leads to true freedom for our nation and ourselves. We can take the first steps down that path as we begin to solve our energy problem.”

Primary Resources: Crisis of Confidence

Jimmy Carter delivered this televised speech on July 15, 1979.

Phi Beta Iota: Carter's mistake was in not being clearer about the corruption of the Republic. Malaise was a symptom–corruption–and public recognition of the corruption that was destroying the Republic from within–is the root cause. Until we can speak the truth about what ails us as a Republic, it will not be addressed.

See Also:

Review: Palestine–Peace Not Apartheid

Review: Our Endangered Values–America’s Moral Crisis (Hardcover)

Journal: Reflections on Integrity

2012 Manifesto for Truth: Intelligence with Integrity . . . in the Public Interest (Evolver Editions, July 2012)

2011/07/152011/07/15

John Steiner: Hackers for Public Justice?

Advanced Cyber/IO, Civil Society, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Hacking, IO Deeds of Peace, Officers Call

From: Dan Drasin

Some say the internet is the only field of effective protest-activism left — in the face of intractable establishment power, the growing militarization of local police and so forth. That may be a bit melodramatic, but the hacker group Anonymous has been giving it a shot with their actions that started in June of this year. What I didn't know until I saw this video (uploaded July 7th) is that Anonymous claims to be rolling out a one-year, three-phase plan, of which the first phase recently concluded. Here's their video manifesto — full of sound, fury and gung-ho chest-beating, but also entertaining and provocative.

YouTube “What Are We Capable Of?

[Anon Press, 13 Minutes, 1 of 27 Videos]

Phi Beta Iota: The video is a blast–very professional, deeply developed. We are ALL “anonymous” in the face of tyranny. Anonymous Attack is the alter ego of Public Intelligence. When no one goes to jail for crashing the US Economy, the US Government loses all legitimacy and credibility. Lies are neither patriotic or helpful. Epoch A is crashing. Epoch B is emergent. Our focus is on non-violent intelligence (decision-support) with integrity in the public interest. In the face of the vastly more destructive actions of the governments and corporations, and the benign corrupt neglect of non-governmental organizations, we can understand digital destructive attacks in the name of public justice. Learn more about our public intelligence plan below. May God Bless and Preserve the American Republic as it was originally conceived, not as it has been corrupted. “Ideas are bullet-proof.”

Reference: Intelligence for the Spirit of Assisi

ON INTELLIGENCE: Open Letter to the President

2012 Manifesto for Truth: Intelligence with Integrity . . . in the Public Interest (Evolver Editions, July 2012)

2010: Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Trilogy Updated

2010 INTELLIGENCE FOR EARTH: Clarity, Diversity, Integrity, & Sustainability

2011/07/15

Chuck Spinney: Obama Implodes…the Story Continues

02 Diplomacy, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Justice, 11 Society, 12 Water, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, IO Deeds of War, IO Impotency

President Obama in trouble at home and around the world. The common denominator in his problems is a failure to follow through on expectations he recklessly excites … while this mismatch is clear in the mounting alienation of his domestic political base in the United States, it is also evident his plummeting popularity abroad, particularly in the Arab World, as shown in the attached survey by Zogby International for the Arab American Institute Foundation.

ARAB ATTITUDES, 2011

Conducted by Zogby International, Analysis by James Zogby

Arab American Institute Foundation

The full report can be downloaded from this link.

Executive Summary

After improving with the election of Barack Obama in 2008, U.S. favorable ratings across the Arab world have plummeted. In most countries they are lower than at the end of the Bush Administration, and lower than Iran's favorable ratings (except in Saudi Arabia).
The continuing occupation of Palestinian lands and U.S. interference in the Arab world are held to be the greatest obstacles to peace and stability in the Middle East.
While many Arabs were hopeful that the election of Barack Obama would improve U.S.-Arab relations, that hope has evaporated. Today, President Obama's favorable ratings across the Arab World are 10% or less.
Obama's performance ratings are lowest on the two issues to which he has devoted the most energy: Palestine and engagement with the Muslim world.
The U.S. role in establishing a no-fly zone over Libya receives a positive rating only in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, but, as an issue, it is the lowest priority.
The killing of bin Laden only worsened attitudes toward the U.S.
A plurality says it is too early to tell whether the Arab Spring will have a positive impact on the region. In Egypt, the mood is mixed. Only in the Gulf States are optimism and satisfaction levels high.

2011/07/14

John Steiner: Angry Moms & Active Shareholders Rebel

Advanced Cyber/IO, Civil Society, Collective Intelligence, Corporations, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, InfoOps (IO), Methods & Process, Misinformation & Propaganda, Money, Banks & Concentrated Wealth

How Angry Moms Toppled the ‘World'

Influential British parenting website Mumsnet was instrumental in bringing down scandal-ridden News of the World. Bill Coles reports from London on the remarkable grassroots campaign.

Bill Coles, The Daily Beast, 10 July 2011

Curb the Corporate Agenda of Activist CEOs

Tell Your Members of Congress to Cosponsor the Shareholder Protection Act

The Shareholder Protection Act proposed by Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.) would empower shareholders to vote on whether to allow corporate executives to spend corporate money on political campaigns. Shareholders — not the CEO and not the board of directors — are the real owners of any publicly traded corporation, and the decision should be theirs.

2011/07/13

Marcus Aurelius: 82nd Airborne Not Happy in Garrison

10 Security, 11 Society, Cultural Intelligence, Military, Officers Call, Peace Intelligence

Marcus-Aurelius-150x150 — Marcus Aurelius

This is a very fine piece of reporting at multiple levels.

82nd Airborne Paratroopers Unhappy With Iraq, Afghanistan Troop Withdrawals

David Wood

Huffington Post, 11 July 2011

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Among the paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne's 1st Brigade Combat Team, there's a sinking feeling the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will fade away. Instead of an exciting and challenging combat tour, they'll be relegated to the dread “garrison life” here at Fort Bragg.

. . . . . .

Garrison life can be more dangerous than living in Afghanistan. In a major study released last year, the Army reported that a small but growing number of soldiers who perform credibly in combat turn to high-risk behavior at home, including drug abuse, drunk driving, motorcycle street-racing, petty crime and domestic violence.

The study, commissioned by Gen. Peter Chiarelli, assistant chief of staff, estimated that 40,000 soldiers are using drugs illicitly, and misdemeanor offenses are rising by 5,000 cases a year. Among the growing number of Army suicides — which soared past the civilian rate and reached a record 300 cases last year — almost half had never deployed from garrison.

In addition to the suicides, the Army study noted there were 107 fatal accidents among its active-duty soldiers and 50 murders in 2009, part of an ugly toll of 345 active-duty, non-combat deaths — about 100 more than were killed in combat that year.

Read full article….