Category: Government

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Steve Aftergood: CRS on “Contingent Election”

Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Government
Steven Aftergood
Steven Aftergood

Contingent Election of the President and Vice President by Congress: Perspectives and Contemporary Analysis by CRS Specialist Thomas H. Neale, November 3, 2016
What would happen if no candidate for President of the United States won a majority of electoral votes?

The Congressional Research Service explains: “In these circumstances, the 12th Amendment . . . provides that the House of Representatives would elect the President, and the Senate would elect the Vice President, in a procedure known as ‘contingent election'.”

This is not a purely speculative scenario. “Contingent election has been implemented twice in the nation's history under the 12th Amendment: first, to elect the President in 1825, and second, the Vice President in 1837.”

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William Blum: Reflections on the American Empire

04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 06 Genocide, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Proliferation, 09 Terrorism, 10 Transnational Crime, Corruption, Government, Military, Officers Call, Peace Intelligence
William Blum
William Blum

A collection of thoughts about American foreign policy

Since the end of World War 2, the United States has:

  1. Attempted to overthrow more than 50 foreign governments, most of which were democratically-elected.
  2. Dropped bombs on the people of more than 30 countries.
  3. Attempted to assassinate more than 50 foreign leaders.
  4. Attempted to suppress a populist or nationalist movement in 20 countries.
  5. Grossly interfered in democratic elections in at least 30 countries.*
  6. Plus … although not easily quantified … has been more involved in the practice of torture than any other country in the world … for over a century … not just performing the actual torture, but teaching it, providing the manuals, and furnishing the equipment.

Continue reading “William Blum: Reflections on the American Empire”

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Antechinus: Lessons from Hillary Clinton’s Emails

Civil Society, Collective Intelligence, Commerce, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Ineptitude, IO Impotency
Antechinus
Antechinus

What I learned from visualizing Hillary Clinton’s emails

Political systems scale poorly. The most influential actors in them are spending a substantial fraction of their mental capacity thinking about how to communicate, and do not have the bandwidth needed to deal with many incoming messages. This is not surprising considering the large number of people they interact with. Our modern political world is one where a few need to interact with many, so they have no time for deep relationships — they physically cannot. So what we are left is with a world of first impressions and public opinion, where the choice of words matters enormously, and becomes central to the job. Yet, the chronic lack of time that comes from having a system where few people govern many.

Graphic, Comment, Links Below the Fold

Continue reading “Antechinus: Lessons from Hillary Clinton's Emails”

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Greg Palast: FREE Movie The Best Democracy Money Can Buy — Today and Tomorrow Only

Commerce, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Law Enforcement, Media

palast-free-movie

The Best Democracy Money Can Buy – A Tale of Billionaires & Ballot Bandits

The soul of this nation is on the line, so…with the very generous approval of our distributor, I am releasing our film while it is still completing its sold-out, smash-hit runs in Hollywood, New York and nationwide—for no charge until 2am on Election Night.
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Berto Jongman: Russian Arctic + Chinese Silk Road

02 China, 03 Economy, 06 Russia, 08 Wild Cards, Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence, Earth Intelligence, Government
Berto Jongman
Berto Jongman

The Russian Arctic meets the Chinese New Silk Road

In this article on the development of the energy, business and military nexus of the Arctic by Russia, the Red (Team) Analysis Society studies how the Russian Arctic is becoming a new crucial business and strategic “centre” in the world, through the creation of numerous energy and infrastructure projects and operations, which attract Chinese companies (Jean-Michel Valantin, “Russian Arctic Oil: a New Economic and Security Paradigm?”,The Red (Team) Analysis Society, October 12, 2016). Read full post.

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