Formula 1 cancels Bahrain race for 2011
UN established new task force toward ending criminalization of drugs
Seven Promises to America–Who Will Do This?
11 Society, About the Idea, Advanced Cyber/IO, Civil Society, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Officers Call, Strategy
UPDATED 26 Oct 2011 to add YouTube overview
Seven Promises to America – Raising the Bar for 2012
UPDATED 20 June 2011 after talking to Cynthia McKinney. Changes 7th promise to subsume End of Empire to Start of Green Non-Zero World that works for all.
Over the course of the past decade, as I have turned to non-fiction reading and reflections on integrity and intelligence, I have come to realize just how corrupt the US Government is at the political level, and how compliant the good people are that are trapped within a very bad system.
Below are the 7 promises I would demand of anyone who aspires to be President of the United States of America. I know of no one else who can credibly commit to these 7 promises.
1. Electoral Reform (9 points, 1 page)
Continue reading “Seven Promises to America–Who Will Do This?”
US IC In Search of Enemies & Unwitting of Change
02 Diplomacy, 04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 06 Genocide, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Advanced Cyber/IO, Civil Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Government, IO Impotency, Military
Another misstep by the IC…..Zawahiri has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, the same group that has brought you the “Arab Spring”, Washington's perception of a move toward democracy…..
Zawahiri's goal has always been to overtake AQ (hence the belief he was responsible for Azam's death) and make it a weapon of the Islamic Jihad. If true, and the Arab Spring is tied to the Brotherhood, then giving up UBL is another step of the ladder. He was no longer needed.
Al-Qaeda’s Zawahiri, Bigger Threat Than Osama?: Raymond Ibrahim
Now that Ayman Zawahiri has assumed leadership of al-Qaeda, it is important to end the widespread perception that he is a dour intellectual who is disconnected from young, would-be jihadists. The fact is, Zawahiri is a wily, dangerous and imposing leader who should be considered no less of a threat — and perhaps even more so — than his predecessor.
Continue reading “US IC In Search of Enemies & Unwitting of Change”
Panera (bread) “cares cafes” pay what you can
03 Economy, 06 Family, 07 Health, 11 Society, Civil Society, Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Gift Intelligence, IO Deeds of Peace
Ron Shaich Lets Panera Bread Customers Pay What They Can
Lucas Kavner
Huffington Post, 15 June 2011
Ron Shaich, the founder and chairman of Panera Bread, has sculpted his company into one of the most successful small restaurant chains in the country. He's also done something no other chain has done before.
By creating a unique, pay-what-you-can model at three “Panera Cares” cafes around the country — and more are coming soon — he has proven an idea that seems revolutionary for a large corporation, but is actually very simple: trust people; they'll often surprise you.
. . . . . . .
“It worked,” Ron said. “20 percent would leave more than the suggested donation, 60 percent would leave the suggested amount, and 20 percent would leave less.”
Post-Fukushima Infant Deaths in the Pacific Northwest
03 Environmental Degradation, 04 Inter-State Conflict, 06 Family, 07 Health, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Proliferation, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Justice, Advanced Cyber/IO, Civil Society, Corruption, Earth Intelligence, Government, IO Deeds of War
Each week, on a Friday, Alexander Cockburn publishes a weekly diary in the weekend edition of Counterpunch, which he co-edits with Jeffrey St. Claire. Last week’s diary included a particularly important entry that expands on earlier CP essay analyzing the possibility of increased infant deaths in the western US resulting from the poisons spewed out by the multiple meltdowns in the Fukushima nuclear power facility in Japan.
Cockburn enlisted Pierre Sprey, a recognized expert in the proper use of nonparametric statistics to extract unbiased information out limited but important data samples, to examine the data/analysis in the original CP essay and to expand or critique the analysis, if possible. (caveat: Pierre is a close friend of mine)
Attached below is Cockburn’s summary of Pierre’s findings … it makes for very important reading for two reasons: it is a good discussion of the limits implicit in in quality statistical analysis, and it is a sobering discussion of a danger that has receded from the public consciousness.
Chuck Spinney, Saint Rafael, France The Blaster
Post-Fukushima Infant Deaths in the Pacific Northwest
Weekend Edition, June 17 – 19, 2011
By ALEXANDER COCKBURN, Counterpunch
Last weekend on this site we ran a piece by Dr. Janet Sherman and Joseph Mangano, reviewing some recent figures from the Center for Disease Control: here's how they interpreted the data in the context of the disaster at Fukushima on March 11, 2011:
“The recent CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report indicates that eight cities in the northwest U.S. (Boise ID, Seattle WA, Portland OR, plus the northern California cities of Santa Cruz, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, and Berkeley) reported the following data on deaths among those younger than one year of age:
“4 weeks ending March 19, 2011 – 37 deaths (avg. 9.25 per week)
10 weeks ending May 28, 2011 – 125 deaths (avg.12.50 per week).
“This amounts to an increase of 35 per cent (the total for the entire U.S. rose about 2.3 per cent ), and is statistically significant. Of further significance is that those dates include the four weeks before and the ten weeks after the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster…
CIA-JSOG Bases “Beyond” War Powers Act
04 Inter-State Conflict, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Justice, 09 Terrorism, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, IO Impotency, Military, Misinformation & Propaganda, Policy, Waste (materials, food, etc)
The CIA base in the Persian Gulf came up in several conversations over the week-end, along with the “nominal” subordination or transfer of JSOG to the CIA.
This is clearly an Executive move to sidestep the War Powers Act.
This means that the military-industrial complex is in charge of our “national security” apparatus and policy, we now have four wars, and we are certain to have seven in the near term, adding Somalia, Yemen, and Iran as well as Syria while scuttling out of Afghanistan.
Phi Beta Iota: Dr. Robert Gates spent the week-end telling obvious lies and strong mischaracterizations about every topic he addressed. The US Executive is out of control and detrimental to the Constitutional health of the Republic. Impeachment is called for now–and could explain the timing of Gates/ departure.
CIA Further Out of Control–New Persian “Base”
Wesley Clark interview (March 2007): “We plan to take out 7 countries in 5 years”
Black on Black: Cornell West Nails Barack Obama
01 Poverty, 07 Other Atrocities, Academia, Civil Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Government, Policies
Two Princeton scholars clash over the president's record, but the real divide is between assimilation and racial unity.
By Erin Aubry KaplanLos Angeles Times, June 19, 2011
It was the kind of insular, issue-driven, black-on-black debate that ordinarily doesn't attract the media spotlight, even on the slowest news day. But thanks to the unprecedented profile of Barack Obama, the most famous black person in modern history, this one got hot.
The Obama Deception: Why Cornel West Went Ballistic
Chris Hedges
truthdig.com, 16 May 2011
The moral philosopher Cornel West, if Barack Obama’s ascent to power was a morality play, would be the voice of conscience. Rahm Emanuel, a cynical product of the Chicago political machine, would be Satan. Emanuel in the first scene of the play would dangle power, privilege, fame and money before Obama. West would warn Obama that the quality of a life is defined by its moral commitment, that his legacy will be determined by his willingness to defy the cruel assault by the corporate state and the financial elite against the poor and working men and women, and that justice must never be sacrificed on the altar of power.
Phi Beta Iota: Cornell West is a Nobel-level philosopher (when the Nobel is not being pimped by Nowegian politicans). He has kept his integrity when white men like Larry Summers and half-white men like Barack Obama have lost theirs–if they ever had it. This discussion is NOT about race. It is about integrity. West wins, Obama loses…as do we all.
Review: Democracy Matters–Winning the Fight Against Imperialism (Hardcover)
Review: Betrayal: How Black Intellectuals Have Abandoned the Ideals of the Civil Rights Era
Review: Waiting for Lightning to Strike–The Fundamentals of Black Politics
