The CIA Director Can't See the Ground from the Ivory Tower (Arkin in Gawker)
The CIA gets a makeover (Ignatius in WashPost)
Berto Jongman: US Military Hosed — Duh!
Corruption, Government, Idiocy, Ineptitude, Military, Peace IntelligenceUS military tactics falling behind those of adversaries, Pentagon official warns
- Robert Work: ‘Our technological superiority is slipping. We see it every day’
- Deputy defense secretary wants to bring US military into ‘post-insurgency era’
On the Issues: Jeb Bush versus Rand Paul
Civil Society, Ethics, Government
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) announces his presidential candidacy today, and if you`re interested in where Rand Paul stands on the issues, there`s only one place to go — OnTheIssues.org — our website, our new book, and our App — because the mainstream media will talk all about the horserace and the politics.
OnTheIssues.org is a non-partisan website developed to counter the mainstream media`s lack of focus on issue-based coverage. We send out periodic newsletters during election campaigns to people who subscribe on our website.
Differences & Agreements Itemized Below the Fold
Neal Rauhauser: Special Ops Look at Clandestine Insurgent and Terrorist Networks
Corruption, Government, Ineptitude, Military
What most will not realize is that the insights in the document are relevant to the growing anger and potential domestic insurgency in the USA. We have 2.5 million veterans from OEF/OIF, assuming 20% in combat that's 500k, Army/Marines are about 20% black if I recall, so that's 100k guys who have “seen the elephant”. And then you have the Hispanics, many with gang connections but most clean cut and ready for righteous revenge. We got the D.C. Sniper and Oklahoma out of 38 days of ground combat in Desert Storm when vets came back to a roaring economy. Now we have guys who did three and four tours that came back to America in a tailspin.So, you tell me what happens when the next time a cop shoots a guy in the back because he had a broken tail light, and his brother has that CBI badge and a couple of equally fed up friends? Terrifies me, but we are headed that direction at a good clip and I see no signs of change.
PDF (138 Pages): JSOU Clandestine Insurgent and Terrorist Networks
Continue reading “Neal Rauhauser: Special Ops Look at Clandestine Insurgent and Terrorist Networks”
Berto Jongman: Flawed Terrorism Research Driving Flawed Counterterrorism Programs? PBI: Or Just Plain Dishonesty?
04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 09 Justice, 09 Terrorism, 10 Security, 10 Transnational Crime, 11 Society, Academia, Commerce, Corruption, Government, Idiocy, Ineptitude, IO Impotency, Media, Military, Officers Call, Peace IntelligenceIs Flawed Terrorism Research Driving Flawed Counterterrorism Policies?
More than thirteen years after the U.S. intelligence community named the prevention of terrorism its number one goal, it seems to have little understanding of what drives terrorism, or how to counter it. And, if the recently increasing criticism is correct, the government’s investment in academic terrorism research isn’t helping. It may be because the government is continuing to fund research supporting discredited theories of terrorist radicalization, rather than objective empirical analyses.
Michel Bauwens: Californians Outraged As Oil Producers & Frackers Excluded From Emergency Water Restrictions
12 Water, Commerce, Corruption, Government
Californians Outraged As Oil Producers & Frackers Excluded From Emergency Water Restrictions
California’s oil and gas industry is estimated (with official data due to be released in coming days) to use more than 2 million gallons of fresh water per day; so it is hardly surprising that, as Reuters reports, Californians are outraged after discovering that these firms are excluded from Governor Jerry Brown’s mandatory water restrictions, “forcing ordinary Californians to shoulder the burden of the drought.”
SchwartzReport: EPA Blocks New Bee-Killing Pesticides But Protects Existing Pesticides
01 Agriculture, 03 Economy, 03 Environmental Degradation, 07 Health, 07 Other Atrocities, 10 Transnational Crime, 11 Society, Commerce, Corruption, Earth Intelligence, Government
This is the current state of neonicotinoid regulation in the U.S., and it is rather pathetic. Like DDT even skeptics now have to deal with the research on neonicotinoids, because the evidence for the harm they do is overwhelming. But it is easy to see the hand of special interests in this moratorium. Products already on the market are exempted, so the impact for good will be greatly compromised. Through corruption and greed we are tipping into a real crisis in agriculture, a double whammy: drought in the food basket counties in California, and the demise of the bees, essential agents for pollination. I think it is important to note that this regulation only occurred because of citizen action. Enough people were willing to stand up for the life-affirming option to compel this EPA action. We must continue to exert our intention to create non-toxic agriculture and humane husbandry policies that work with the meta-systems of Earth. This is a first step.
EPA issues moratorium on new pesticides that kill birds and bees
