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WinslowWheeler Cropped — Winslow Wheeler

Dina Rasor and Pierre Sprey have collaborated on an important and informative piece on the F-22. It expands the publically available thinking about the nature of the toxicity problem facing F-22 pilots, and–just as importantly–it probes the nature of one of the prime suspects for the problem: the F-22's “stealth” coating. Note at the end of the piece: for all the astronomic cost, low sortie rates, and aerodynamic mis-shaping of aircraft those stealth coatings have caused, they bring little meaningful tactical advantage against an enemy who knows how to deal with them. Case in point: not mentioned in the brief but important discussion of radars that see “stealth” aircraft is the antiquated Soviet era radar and SA-3 missile system that was used by the Serbs in the 1999 Kosovo air war to shoot down one “stealthy” F-117, as was widely reported, but also damaged a second F-117 seriously enough that it never flew again in the conflict–giving the F-117 the highest casualty rate of any US aircraft in that conflict.

Consider also, as Rasor and Sprey make clear, the values of a system that places the continued operation of a hardware system above the health, well-being and confidence of the pilots operating it. It literally reminds me of Upton Sinclair's “The Jungle” when nothing, not even workers' severed body parts, were permitted to stop the sausage machine.

Find the important and informative Rasor authored piece at Truthout at http://truth-out.org/news/item/9195-pilots-as-lab-rats-the-reprehensible-risk-taking-on-the-f-22-raptor and below:

Pilots as Lab Rats: The Reprehensible Risk-Taking on the F-22 Raptor

Thursday, 17 May 2012 09:58 By Dina Rasor, Truthout | Solutions<

Full article and comment below the line.

Continue reading “Winslow Wheeler: The F-22, Toxic Stealth, Secrets Screw Sick…”

2012/05/17

Josh Kilbourn: “We Are About To Have Another 2008-Style Crisis”

03 Economy, 08 Wild Cards, Commerce, Corruption, Government

Chris Martenson: “We Are About To Have Another 2008-Style Crisis”

EXTRACT:

There really is no choice for Greece but to leave the euro, and the sooner, the better. Even then, there is a lot of hardship coming their way. But in my estimation, that’s better than the imposed austerity that is a guaranteed torture chamber. The institutions that avoided taking losses on their Greek debt on the first pass through, due to their preferred status in the process (the ECB among them), are almost certainly going to eat big losses this time, perhaps a full 100% of them.

Long article, many links, worth a full read.

spanish debt yields — Click on Image to Enlarge

2012/05/172012/05/17

Mini-Me: Public So Alienated They Have Given Up on “The System”

Corruption, Government

Huh?

Militia Groups

The Problem: The depth of hostility which divides the United States is clearly evident to any observer of the ongoing political campaigns. What's more worrisome, however, is the possibility that this conflict could escalate beyond the violence threshold. In this context, the Southern Poverty Law Center's recent report on “patriot” groups and militia activity is quite troubling. It reveals that increasing numbers of people feel so alienated from society that they have essentially given up hope of working within the system. When we further consider the recent FBI report indicating that extremist groups have been recruiting military personnel, we have even more cause for concern.

Explosive Growth of the “Patriot Movement” and Militias

White Supremacist Recruitment of Military Personnel Since 9/11

The Patriot Movement Explodes

Domestic Terrorism: Focus on Militia Extremism

Right-Wing “Patriot” Groups Girding for Actual Class Warfare, Report Says

Sovereign Citizens: Radicals Exercising “God-Given Rights” or Fueling Domestic Terrorism?

Source

Phi Beta Iota: Emphasis added. The Southern Poverty Law Center has always had a problem understanding that when a government fails to actually represent the public interest, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government. What the Southern Poverty Law Center does not get is that it is not just white militants that are making plans for life without the existing government, but all groups with any degree of sense. The USA suffers from massive corruption across all elements of the society, led by a two-party tyranny of corruption so deep and pervasive as to make a third world dictator envious. Europe is on the verge of implosion, with Spain, Portugal, and Italy primed to follow in the steps of Greece, where the banks have collapsed and informal currencies are proliferating. After the faux US election in November 2012, it is highly likely there will be a severe Reduction in Force (RIF) across the government, at the same time that multiple forms of economic collapse come to the fore in the US. In a situation like this, it is good to recollect the words of Bob Seelert, Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide (New York):

When things are not going well, until you get the truth out on the table, no matter how ugly, you are not in a position to deal with it.

INTELLIGENCE FOR EARTH: Clarity, Diversity, Integrity & Sustainability

2012/05/172012/05/17

Mini-Me: Greek Banks Run, IOUs New Drachma–Five Different Economies Running Side by Side in Greece

01 Poverty, 03 Economy, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Justice, 11 Society, Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Corruption, Government

Huh?

Greeks Bank Run; Lines Form at ATMs; Nearly $1 Billion Withdrawn in Past Week

Without a government for the last eleven days, and amid mainstream discussion of a Euro Zone exit, the Greek people are realizing that the economic and political system as they know it is rapidly descending into chaos.

With massive jobless rates that have forced many into bartering to survive, and facing credit destruction across the entirety of the country that has led to shortages of critical supplies like life saving medicines, those with any money left at national banks are taking the desperate step of withdrawing as much of their savings as they can from a banking system on its last leg.

This is what it looks like when a populace plagued with uncertainty finally loses trust in the credibility of their country’s leadership and financial system.

Continue reading “Mini-Me: Greek Banks Run, IOUs New Drachma–Five Different Economies Running Side by Side in Greece”

2012/05/152012/05/15

Owl: Anonymous Makes a Statement – Has Meat, Add Salt

Advanced Cyber/IO, Civil Society, Commerce, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Hacking, Liberation Technology, Non-Governmental

This interview overall undoubtedly has misconceptions, self-inflated bravado, gross exaggerations and so forth, but if the last statement he utters is true about people coming to them, even to a significantly lesser degree than he indicates, the world-ruling elites might be quaking ever-so-slightly, but involuntarily, in their boots. And much more so if indeed insiders are giving Anonymous the “keys to the kingdom,” the passwords into it.

Insider tells why Anonymous ‘might well be the most powerful organization on Earth

EXTRACT:

Q. What’s next for Anonymous?

A: Right now we have access to every classified database in the U.S. government. It’s a matter of when we leak the contents of those databases, not if. You know how we got access? We didn’t hack them. The access was given to us by the people who run the systems. The five-star general (and) the Secretary of Defence who sit in the cushy plush offices at the top of the Pentagon don’t run anything anymore. It’s the pimply-faced kid in the basement who controls the whole game, and Bradley Manning proved that. The fact he had the 250,000 cables that were released effectively cut the power of the U.S. State Department in half. The Afghan war diaries and the Iran war diaries effectively cut the political clout of the U.S. Department of Defence in half. All because of one guy who had enough balls to slip a CD in an envelope and mail it to somebody. Now people are leaking to Anonymous and they’re not coming to us with this document or that document or a CD, they’re coming to us with keys to the kingdom, they’re giving us the passwords and usernames to whole secure databases that we now have free reign over. … The world needs to be concerned.

Read full article.

Phi Beta Iota: 01 Any system built by humans can be hacked by humans. 02 A system's security is heavily dependent on the legitimacy of the system owner in the eyes of those using the system.

The Search for Security: A U.S. Grand Strategy for the Twenty-First Century

2012/05/15

Owl: VIDEO – Twelve Year Old Nails Canadian Government & Banks

03 Economy, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Justice, 11 Society, Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, IO Deeds of War, Movies, Officers Call

WATCH THIS. 12 year old Canadian girl on banksters and debt

This little girl is simply amazing. She must have some pretty awesome parents. In a concise and clear way she explains the problem of national debt in language that anyone can understand.

VIDEO (5:26) from GodLike Productions

Phi Beta Iota: Going viral, and rightly so.

See Also:

Matt Taibbi: GRIFTOPIA – RECAP

2012/05/15

NIGHTWATCH: Saudi Arabia Begins to Absorb Bahrain — Is Qatar Next?

03 India, 04 Indonesia, 04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 05 Iran, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 11 Society, Blog Wisdom, Cultural Intelligence, Government, IO Deeds of War

global distribution sunni shia — Click on Image to Enlarge

Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia and Bahrain discussed a political union at a meeting in Riyadh on 13 May. The arrangement under discussion would allow Bahrain to retain its seat at the United Nations, but the two states would merge foreign relations, defense and economic policy, according to press sources. The details have not been released.

Bahrain's Prime Minister, the Army Chief of Staff and the Foreign Minister – all members of the al-Khalifa royal family — have stated their support for the union.

Comment: The King of Bahrain and the royal family are Sunni Muslims who govern a population of mostly Shiite Muslims. Thus, the news that a union with Saudi Arabia is under discussion has prompted widespread criticism that Saudi Arabia intends to make Bahrain a vassal state so as to keep the Shiites disenfranchised and subjugated.

On the other hand, the limited information in the public domain suggests Bahrain's administration of internal affairs will not be changed by the union proposal. Bahrain, by itself, is not defensible against an Iranian attack or subversion, but in a union arrangement with Saudi Arabia it would not be alone.

Saudi King Abdallah has warned Iran repeatedly against meddling in Arab affairs. This union is consistent with his policy decision to stop Iranian meddling in Arab countries as well as the spread of Shi'i Islam which the Sunnis consider a heresy.

One advantage of the union would be that it would bypass tricky conditions attached to US foreign military sales. Conditions of the sales include that US military equipment can only be used for defense, cannot be resold without US permission and cannot be used outside the recipient country without US permission. Under a union arrangement, the Saudis would not need to consult the US before sending Saudi forces equipped with US tanks and armored personnel carriers back to Bahrain, unless they chose to.

NIGHTWATCH KGS Home

Phi Beta Iota: It is entirely possible that Saudi Arabia is moving to a whole new level of global diplomacy, information-sharing, military alliances, and economic entanglements (DIME). Qatar is similar to Bahrain in multiple ways. Below is a map of the Sunni – Shi'ite spread. A religious war is brewing, not just Sunni – Shi'ite, but Pentecostals against Islam, Jews against everyone, Catholics in a panic, and so on. We say it again: counter-intelligence generally, and religious counter-intelligence specifically, is the ONE 21st Century aspect of the craft of intelligence that must continue to be secret and that must *explode* in the near-term. Note: within the eight “tribes” or communities, we include religion and labor organizations within the Civil Society tribe. The others are academic, commerce, government at all levels, law enforcement, media, military, and non-government/non-profit.

2012 PREPRINT AS SUBMITTED: The Craft of Intelligence