Mongoose: UNASUR to Investigate US Destabilization Campaigns Against Venezuela

04 Inter-State Conflict, 07 Other Atrocities, 07 Venezuela, 10 Transnational Crime, Commerce, Corruption, Government, IO Deeds of War, Peace Intelligence
Mongoose
Mongoose

UNASUR Committee to Examine US Destabilization Efforts

The head of the regional bloc  announced the special committee will meet Monday to examine U.S. intervention in Venezuela. 

The Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) Ernesto Samper announced that a special a committee will convene next Monday in Montevideo, Uruguay to discuss U.S. destabilization efforts in Venezuela.

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SchwartzReport: Congressman Confesses 9 Crimes — #ElectoralReform

Corruption, Government
Stephan A. Schwartz
Stephan A. Schwartz

The Congress has become so fundamentally degraded we are beginning to see whistleblowers telling us the suppressed truth. This is the state of American democracy, and it is not a happy story. Not particularly his first point, that Congresspersons are not out of touch with the people that elect them. Ultimately in a democracy people get the kind of government they vote for. Note also his second point: Congress listens first and foremost to money.

Congessionsl of a Congressman: 9 Secrets from Inside

Full text below the line — this is why we need #ElectoralReform

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Mongoose: Peter Mattis on 4 Flawed US Intelligence Assumptions

Corruption, Director of National Intelligence et al (IC), Government, Ineptitude, Office of Management and Budget, Officers Call
Mongoose
Mongoose

Provocative.

4 U.S. Intelligence Assumptions That Need to Go

Peter Mattis, The National Interest

The flaws in this intelligence-reform mentality are four-fold—and each plays a role in how proposals like Brennan’s reported reforms are generated and discussed, as well as past reforms such as creating the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. First, many intelligence-reform proponents conflate the very different disciplines of what we normally think of as intelligence and security intelligence, which includes activities like counterterrorism. Second, the problems with the CIA and the U.S. Intelligence Community are organizational. Third, security stovepipes no longer reflect modern intelligence concerns. Finally, they assume U.S. intelligence agencies are basically the same, making centralization and reducing duplication effective means of improving intelligence performance.

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Berto Jongman: War Is New Normal — Stop It!

01 Poverty, 03 Economy, 04 Inter-State Conflict, 07 Other Atrocities, 11 Society, Commerce, Corruption, Government, Idiocy, IO Deeds of War, Media, Military, Officers Call
Berto Jongman
Berto Jongman

War Is the New Normal: Seven Deadly Reasons Why America’s Wars Persist

How do we inoculate our children against such a permanent state of war and the war state itself?  I have one simple suggestion: just stop it.  All of it.

by William Astore, CommonDreams

LIST ONLY: 1.  The privatization of war; 2.  The embrace of the national security state by both major parties; 3.  “Support Our Troops” as a substitute for thought; 4.  Fighting a redacted war; 5.  Threat inflation; 6.  Defining the world as a global battlefield; 7.  The new “normal” in America is war. Read full article.

SchwartzReport: Treason at the Top — “National Security” Pork Over Education, Infrastructure, Family, and Everything Else

03 Economy, 07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, DoD, Government, Military, Officers Call
Stephan A. Schwartz
Stephan A. Schwartz

We have grossly inadequate funding for schools, infrastructure, elder care, child-care, and a host of other programs and projects that create a more compassionate and life-affirming society. But, boy, the dollars fall like a blizzard on the military industrial security industries. Here is the real truth of where you tax dollars are going. The sums are so large I think they are essentially incomprehensible to ordinary people.

America’s Real National Security Budget — A Trillion Dollars a Year

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John Robb: Bringing Down the (Corrupt) USA

Corruption, Government, Idiocy, Ineptitude, IO Deeds of War, IO Impotency
John Robb
John Robb

Exploiting the Robocaller Gap

Here's an interesting US systempunkt — a systempunkt is the point in a big network where even a small attack would cause the entire network to fail. This systempunkt would enable a prepared individual the unique ability to shut down a large part of the US without shedding a drop of blood. For example, this attack has the ability to:

Read full article.

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SchwartzReport: Joseph Stiglitz: Stupid Politics = Bad Economics

03 Economy, Corruption, Government, Idiocy, Ineptitude
Stephan A. Schwartz
Stephan A. Schwartz

Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman for the past 15 years have been notable for the accuracy and insight of the comments they make about our economy. When you think about Representative Paul Ryan on the right, and Stiglitz and Krugman on the social progressive side you realize that there is no real comparison to be made. Rightwing economic theory is nonsense and, wherever it is in force failure and crisis follow. Here is Stiglitz' latest.

Why Stupid Politics Is the Cause of Our Economic Problems

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