Civil Society – Page 231 – Public Intelligence Blog

editor spinney time — Chuck Spinney Recommends...

This important essay by Robert Parry contextualizes Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's arrogant stuffing of President Obama, which took place after Obama gave a weak-kneed speech on the Middle East. If Parry is right, a really dirty game is in the offing.

And look at the banality of language that provoked Netanhahu: Obama's speech purported to analyze the implications of the Arab Revolt with an analysis that was viewed as being weak, inept, and self centered by some Arabs (e.g., see this cogent analysis of his language) as well as his goals for the pursuit in the Arab-Israeli peace process: namely a return to Israel's 1967 borders, with some land swaps, in return for the security of a Jewish state within these borders (a choice of language that may have been an attempt to appease Netanyahu*).

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*Mr. Obama's language was somewhat ambiguous when he said the primary Israeli-related goal of the peace process was to establish conditions for Israel as a Jewish state
and the homeland for the Jewish people.” But it does raise a question of whether he is acceding to the sectarian interpretation of a Jewish democracy demanded by Benjamin Netanyahu, who has made recognition of Israel as aJewish nation-state a prerequisite for any final agreement with the Palestinians. This kind of sectarian definition in a democracy has unknowable ramifications for the non-Jewish minority making up 20% of Israel's citizens. For a discussion of this issue, see Isabel Kirshner, “Some Question the Existence of Israel as a Jewish State,” New York Times, 24 October 2010.

Netanyahu Sets Limits for Obama

This public rebuke raises questions about whether Netanyahu will now try to sink Obama’s reelection the way earlier Likud leaders undermined President Jimmy Carter

by Robert Parry, Consortium News, May 21, 2011

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Oval Office rebuke of U.S. President Barack Obama – and the Republicans’ immediate attempt to exploit the dispute to peel away Jewish voters – suggest that American politics may be in for a replay of Campaign 1980.

Continue reading “Carterizing Obama–Netanyhu Tells Him Off…”

2011/05/21

$1bn fraud at Kabul Bank upsets UK pull-out from AF

03 Economy, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Justice, 10 Transnational Crime, Civil Society, Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Corruption, Government

Note buried within the report about classification of documents……..

$1bn fraud at Kabul Bank puts UK's Afghan pull-out in peril

IMF and Britain's foreign aid department both withhold money for reconstruction

By Jonathan Owen and Brian Brady

Sunday, 22 May 2011

EXTRACT:

The Department for International Development (DfID) confirmed last night that it had followed the lead of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in withholding contributions to bankroll hundreds of “nation-building” projects in Afghanistan.

The move, to “protect taxpayers' money”, came as the full extent of the scandal at Kabul Bank – described as the biggest fraud in modern times – became clear. A secret US government report into the debacle “indicates that insiders at Kabul Bank used fraudulent loans to misappropriate $850m (£525m), representing 94 per cent of outstanding loans”.

. . . . . . .

And it notes that, in addition to oversights by Deloitte, which failed to spot and report warning signs of fraud, a team from PwC didn't identify any fraud at Kabul Bank and gave it “a clean bill of health” – something
that “may have acted to delay understanding of the gravity of Kabul Bank's true financial condition both among the examination staff and the international community”, according to the document.

Full Story….

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.

2011/05/182011/05/18

Supreme Court Says Warrants, States’ Rights Unnecessary

07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, Civil Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Law Enforcement

Supreme Court Says Warrants, States' Rights Unnecessary

Thomas R. Eddlem, 18 May 2011

NewAmerican

States cannot grant their citizens wider freedoms from search and seizure than federal courts do, and police may manipulate events that allow them to avoid getting Fourth Amendment search warrants from judges for home searches, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled May 13 in the case of Kentucky v. King. The 8-1 decision included a stinging dissent from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, one of the most liberal justices on the bench.

Ginsberg argued in her dissent: “The Court today arms the police with a way routinely to dishonor the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement in drug cases. In lieu of presenting their evidence to a neutral magistrate, police officers may now knock, listen, then break the door down, nevermind that they had ample time to obtain a warrant.”

Read rest of article….

Phi Beta Iota: We don't make this stuff up. The USA is down the toilet at multiple levels.

2011/05/18

Denmark to Claim North Pole–Really BAD Idea

06 Russia, 08 Wild Cards, Civil Society, Earth Intelligence, Government, IO Multinational, Strategy

Denmark to lay claim to North Pole

CNN, May 18th, 2011

The Kingdom of Denmark is preparing to claim ownership of the North Pole, according to a Danish media report.

In a document leaked to the Danish newspaper Information, Denmark will ask the United Nations to recognize the North Pole as a geologic extension of Greenland, the vast Arctic island that is a Danish territory. Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen confirmed the annexation attempt, Information reported.

According to The Copenhagen Post, “The kingdom is expected to make a demand for the continental shelf in five areas around the Faroe Islands and Greenland, including the North Pole itself.”

Read rest of article….

Phi Beta Iota: As much as we respect the Danish, this is a very BAD idea and should be promptly rejected (and vetoed) by the members of the UN Security Council. Both the North and the South regions are perfectly positioned to be what they have always been–commons–and to be administered by a hybrid trust that relies on transparency, truth, and trust to assure both regions are not “owned” by any mere state, but rather held in trust for all. How these two regions are managed could ultimately be a model for how we mange the Earth as a whole.