Collaboration Zones – Page 1263 – Public Intelligence Blog

2011/05/212011/05/21

Immense Possibilities: TV Show & Web Community

Advanced Cyber/IO, Civil Society, Collective Intelligence, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, IO Sense-Making, Methods & Process, Policies, Real Time, Threats

Hi All: This is well worth paying attention to, checking out and even sampling. Do see the great endorsements below. Learn more about my old friend and colleague, Jeff Golden, the creator of this remarkable new program. Immense Possibilities is also interactive. As you'll see from the website, Jeff is looking for our input and collaboration. Congratulations to Jeff for creating a new public forum for what's working and for those making a true difference in these challenging times and are offering solutions of great benefit, who so often don¹t make it into mainstream news. May this show become part of the “:new main stream”.

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD.

Cheers, John

From: Jeff Golden

Dear Friends:

Suppose you found a public television program that brought you stunningly creative people who

¨ Craft brilliant projects that strengthen their communities for hard times to come

¨ Unite people across political and philosophical divides

¨ Connect Millenials, Gen X- and Y-ers, Baby Boomers and Elders in compelling ways

And suppose it was right there on your computer or television every Tuesday evening. Would that be worth your time?

Tuesday evening, May 24, 7:30 pm: Frances Moore Lappé

http://www.immensepossibilities.org

In the right-hand corner you'll see a box to enter your email address.

If you do that, you¹ll get a message about once a week on what IP is doing. We will not, repeat not, pass your address onto anyone else for any reason. Every message we send to you will have an easy option to unsubscribe.

Hope you'll give IP a try.

IMMENSE POSSIBILITIES is a weekly public television program, followed by an interactive webcast, that pull together the work of Jeff Golden and other social inventors who share a clear set of beliefs, values and goals. If these align with your own, and you share our passion for boosting possibilities that can forge a healthier future than the one that seems likely if we don¹t change and innovate, let's work together.

All the best,
Jeff

2011/05/21

Arab Spring, Turkish Summer?

07 Other Atrocities, Advanced Cyber/IO, Civil Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Government, IO Multinational, Officers Call, Policies

aa chuck time — Chuck Spinney Recommends....

As someone who spent the better part of 2008 and 2009 in Turkey, I find the attached analysis a very useful summary of Turkish developments. To be sure, I am biased. Turkey is one of my very favorite countries, I love the people, the culture, and food, and I have been fascinated by its ongoing political evolution.

Mr. Heydarian's cogent comparison of Turkey's evolution to the so-called Arab Spring* provides much food for thought, and I find it eyeopening.

* I prefer the term Arab Revolt to Arab Spring, because the forces of counterrevolution seem to be taking over, and like its predecessor in WWI, it might not lead anywhere.

Chuck Spinney
Saintes Maries de la Mer
France

A Decisive Shift

Arab Spring, Turkish Summer?

By RICHARD JAVAD HEYDARIAN, Counterpunch

May 20 – 22, 2011

Turkey is emerging as an attractive model for the new generation of democrats in the Middle East and North Africa. Turkey, as a bastion of Islamic moderation, economic dynamism, military might, and foreign policy creativity, has inspired many who envision a prosperous and free Arab world.

Read full article….

Phi Beta Iota: The USA is part of the autocratic corrupt system against which the Arabs are revolting. It is neither a leader nor a model–it is an obstacle for the simple reason that the US Government lacks intelligence and integrity, and therefore has nothing to offer in the way of non-zero strategic analytics acceptable to Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, and everyone else. The US Government is morally and intellectually bankrupt.

2011/05/21

Carlos the Jackal on Osama versus Obama

04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Terrorism, 11 Society, Advanced Cyber/IO, Civil Society, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Military

Marcus-Aurelius-150x150 — Marcus Aurelius Recommends

‘Carlos The Jackal,' Cold War Terrorist: Osama Bin Laden ‘Will Be Remembered In 100 Years' Time'

05/19/11 11:16 AM ET

STOCKHOLM — The notorious Cold War terrorist Carlos the Jackal says in an interview to be aired Thursday that Osama bin Laden is a martyr who earned himself a place in history through terrorism.

In the interview with Swedish national television, the Venezuelan terrorist said the former al-Qaida leader will still be remembered in 100 years' time because “of what he has done, the example he gave.”

He said “nobody” will remember President Barack Obama.

Carlos, or Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, is serving a life sentence in France for killing two French secret agents and an alleged informer in 1975.

He is also accused of having a role in two 1982 bombings – on a Paris-Toulouse train and outside the Paris office of Arab-language newspaper al-Watan – and is suspected of two other train bombings on Dec. 31, 1983.

Swedish television providedThe Associated Press with the unedited version of the telephone interview, parts will be aired in Sweden Thursday evening.

Phi Beta Iota: From the beginning we have emphasized the financial asymmetries achieved by those who seek to engage the US with asymmetric tactics–for every dollar they spent, initially the US spent $500,000 and now the US spends closer to $5 million. It costs $50 million PER BODY in Afghanistan, and the cost in national blood, treasure, and spirit has both finished the destruction of the US economy AND revealed the lack of integrity and intelligence at the top in Washington DC. Bin Laden's greatest gift may be to have finally inspired a “Day of Rage” in the USA at some point in the near-term future.

2011/05/21

Global Guerrillas: Thriving as Old Economy Dies

Advanced Cyber/IO, Blog Wisdom, Collective Intelligence, Commercial Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Gift Intelligence, Methods & Process, Policies, Strategy, Threats

Networked tribes, systems disruption, and the emerging bazaar of violence. Resilient Communities, decentralized platforms, and self-organizing futures.

By John Robb

HOW TO THRIVE (ECONOMICALLY) AS THINGS FALL APART

Posted: 20 May 2011 11:30 AM PDT

The most likely scenario for the next decade starts with the resumption of global economic depression (D2). Economies shrink. Wealth evaporates as former “assets” become worthless. Commodities fall (even energy) due to declines in economic activity. Currencies gyrate, explode, and/or evaporate.

In this environment, sovereigns will begin to default as the industrial nation-state model runs out of gas. Developed nation-states will find themselves crushed between bailouts of their cronies and excess spending (i.e. social spending (EU), national security spending (US), or mercantilist over-investment (China). Developing nations will just implode.

Things will continue on this track until one of two things happen:

things really begin to fail (complete system breakdown) or
new, better economic and social systems become viable as replacements to our broken one.

I'm betting on new economic and social systems. Part of that bet, and something many people now get, is accomplished through the establishment of self-reliant resilient communities. However, resilient communities aren't a sufficient replacement, in and of themselves (unless you want to turn back the clock to the 1800s). By themselves, they don't represent a superior alternative to a failing and flailing global system. Something else is needed, but what?

It's simple. What's needed are (note the plural here), virtual global economic systems built on a sound footing (i.e. better and more sensible rules than we currently have), prosperous participants, and a hard currency. Systems that people can flee to when currencies become scarce (deflation) or worthless (inflation) or nation-state political systems fail (corruption/crime) or flail (repression).

My advice to you: when you see a system that looks like the one outlined above, start to diversify your economic activity into it as soon as is practicable.

2011/05/212011/05/21

NIGHTWATCH: Pakistan Backlash Continues

02 Diplomacy, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, IO Impotency

20 May

China-Pakistan: Update. On the third day of Pakistani Prime Minister Gilani's visit to China – and the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations, China warned that any attack on Pakistan would be tantamount to an attack on China, The News reported.

After the US, China is emerging as the largest beneficiary from the death of bin Laden!

21 May

Pakistan: An improvised explosive device attack against a two-vehicle US government motorcade on 20 May in Peshawar, western Pakistan, killed one Pakistani and injured 10 others, the Islamabad government said. A suicide bomber executed the attack, according to the US Embassy. No Americans were injured, though a vehicle was damaged. The Tehrik-e-Taliban claimed responsibility.

Comment: This is one of several directions in which the Pakistani Taliban are moving to avenge the death of Usama bin Laden.

Pakistan-US: Pakistan's Punjab Province government has canceled 18 memoranda of understanding with the United States, The Nation reported 20 May, according to the province's law minister, Rana Sanaullah. Speaking on 19 May, he said the federal government should reject foreign aid, as the province has done, and adopt a policy of self-reliance. He said Punjab's ban on aid only applies to the United States and not China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Turkey.

Comment: This is the first wave of a growing anti-American backlash. Pakistanis in the Army and civilians blame the US for driving bin Laden into Pakistan in the first place.

Americans in Pakistan must expect that Pakistani security forces will not protect them competently, will not respond in a timely fashion to requests for help and that emergency services will not arrive on time.

That is precisely the pattern of Pakistani official behavior when Pakistani rioters burned down the US Embassy in Islamabad after an Arab shooting crisis in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, that was blamed on the US. NightWatch was on duty that night in 1979. Pakistan Army troops are credited with having saved 100 US officials from the US Embassy, but that was after they and the police stood by and did nothing as the US Embassy burned and as a US Marine and another US official burned to death inside it. The British Embassy did more to rescue the 100 Americans than the Pakistanis.

The backlash against the “humiliation” of Pakistan is just beginning. The Tehrik-e-Taliban attack and the action of the Punjab provincial government are different manifestations of the same backlash, reminiscent of 1979. The American civilian community and US military personnel in Pakistan need to maintain special alert for the next few months. A drawdown of nonessential personnel – especially families with children — would be timely.

A period of re-evaluation and transition to a significantly modified and realigned Pakistani foreign policy is beginning. It will be much more hostile to the US.

NIGHTWATCH KGS Home

2011/05/192011/05/19

Obama Blows the Middle East Overture

02 Diplomacy, 08 Wild Cards, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Government, History, InfoOps (IO), IO Impotency, Strategy, Threats

Obama's Middle East speech missed ‘historic opportunity,' say many Arabs

While those involved in Arab uprisings welcomed Obama's support, others were disappointed with his failure to apologize for US support for Middle East dictators

EXTRACT:

“Obama really had an opportunity to reshape and reframe the debate and … he gave it away,” says Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center, adding that there was nothing distinctive or imaginative about the address. “This speech was an opportunity to say to Arabs, ‘We as Americans made mistakes, we did not support democratic aspirations as much as we should have, but we’re going to do better.’ Obama didn’t say that.”

Read full article….

Phi Beta Iota: The USG has no strategic analytic model, no strategy, and no concept for how to achieve Whole of Government and multinational eight-tribe harmonized non-zero (win-win) outcomes….because to do so would stop the co-option of the USG on behalf of the few at the expense of the many. Obama–and Clinton–confuse “strategic communication” with strategic intelligence, and they are bad at it.

Review: Reconciliation–Islam, Democracy, and the West

Review: Leap of Faith–Memoirs of an Unexpected Life

Review: Faith-Based Diplomacy–Trumping Realpolitik

Review: Democracy Matters–Winning the Fight Against Imperialism (Hardcover)

Review: Palestine Inside Out–An Everyday Occupation

Review: Palestine–Peace Not Apartheid

Review: What Went Wrong? Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response

Review: Devil’s Game–How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam

Review: A Peace to End All Peace–The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East

Review: Blood and Oil–The Dangers and Consequences of America’s Growing Dependency on Imported Petroleum

Review: Blood in the Sand–Imperial Fantasies, Right-Wing Ambitions, and the Erosion of American Democracy (Hardcover)

Worth a Look: Book Reviews on Empire as Cancer Including Betrayal & Deceit