Communities of Practice – Page 1153 – Public Intelligence Blog

The Narrative Battle & Public Diplomacy in the 21st Century

By John Marke

Warfare in the 21^st century is about the battle for the mind – it is about ideas and perceptions. Understanding how people make sense of what’s happening around them, i.e., socially constructed reality is a key element of this dynamic.

Military strategists, at least the ones I favor, i.e. Sun Tzu, Liddell Hart, and John Boyd, would all agree that ideas have consequences and are perhaps more consequential than bullets, especially in today’s environment of limited war. What we think, what we say, and how we act need to be congruent – that is the essence of integrity. Clearly articulating our ideas and demonstrating the integrity between ideas and actions – are vital components of war and peace in the 21^st century….and they must authenticate basic human values of justice and truth. There is a moral dimension to war; and without a firm commitment to justice and truth, no narrative will be sustainable.

I choose to look at Israel’s Operation Defensive Shield as the context for exploring the importance of the narrative in war because it is timely but has also passed into history, as contrasted to Iraq or Afghanistan which are battles still in play as of this writing.

Continue reading “Narrative Battle & Public Diplomacy in 21st Century”

2011/06/18

Obama Over-Rules Top Lawyers on Libya Attacks

04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Military, Officers Call, Peace Intelligence

2 Top Lawyers Lost to Obama in Libya War Policy Debate

By CHARLIE SAVAGE

June 17, 2011

WASHINGTON — President Obama rejected the views of top lawyers at the Pentagon and the Justice Department when he decided that he had the legal authority to continue American military participation in the air war in Libya without Congressional authorization, according to officials familiar with internal administration deliberations.

Read full article….

Phi Beta Iota: Obama is in violation of the Constitution and an active sponsor of crimes against humanity that should subject him to consideration for appearance before an International Tribunal. His “national security advisor” is a Goldman Sachs apparatchik with his eyes fixed on the substantial holdings of real gold that could be looted (as opposed to paper gold where Goldman holds a strong but fraudulent position). Congress remains a craven foot-soldier to the Executive, and is liable for impeachment in detail for failure to fulfill its Article 1 responsibilities. US soliders are starting to come back from Libya in body bags, making it starkly clear that the US already has “boots on the ground” and blood in the sand. NATO pilots and commanders attacking Libya (not part of the “no fly” mandate) are liable for prosecution as war criminals. US flag officers accepting illegal orders are liable for court-martial should the US have an honest president in the future. An invasion of Libya is said to be planned for October, with the oil and the water and the gold as the presumed objectives. The lunacy continues….

Cynthia McKinney Reports from Libya

2011/06/182011/06/18

Mis-Understanding Al Qaeda and Arab Spring

Cultural Intelligence, Government, IO Impotency

It is apparent that there is a limited view of what is really going on in the MENA arena. Zawahri is tied to the Muslim Brotherhood, who is beginning to appear to be the real underlying role player in the so called “Arab Spring” that most American policy makers (read the Administration) believe want democracy. It has become very apparent that is not the case. Zawahri's ties therefore place him, and by association AQ, in tandem with
the Brotherhood. But the IC has completely missed this point because of their focus, or lack thereof….

Qaeda Selection of Its Chief Is Said to Reflect Its Flaws

By SCOTT SHANE

New York Times, June 16, 2011

WASHINGTON — American counterterrorism officials all but welcomed the announcement on Thursday that Ayman al-Zawahri would succeed Osama bin Laden as leader of Al Qaeda, arguing that his deep flaws are likely to weaken the core of the terrorist network.

Read full article….

Phi Beta Iota: Secular corruption is the common enemy of the people. The US Government is just as guilty of secular corruption as are the Arab government, and on a global scale, does vastly more damage to the Earth and commits vastly more crimes against humanity than any individual dictatorship. The general US public–and the so-called literati–have been dumbed down and channeled to the point that they are relatively useless as a countervailing force. Alone among the candidates for the Presidency, Ron Paul and Cynthia McKinney each in their respective ways, champion truth in governance.

2011/06/18

Turkey Rising–21st Century an Ottoman Century?

02 Diplomacy, 08 Immigration, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Advanced Cyber/IO, Civil Society, Corruption, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Government, IO Impotency, Strategy

editor spinney time — Chuck Spinney Recommends...

Turkey in Position to Lead Region Out of Tumultuous Century

By William Pfaff, Truthdig, Jun 14, 2011

Looking backward, there is a great deal to be said for leaving well enough alone, which is more difficult than one might think. Western Europe in the 19th century is now generally looked back upon as having constituted a pinnacle of Western civilization. Certainly in literature, music and the plastic arts this was so, the last-named in the century’s final decade, when painting ceased its period as domestic decoration and exploded into a myriad of ways to perceive not only the external world but the interior universe as well.

The modern Western intelligence was invented then, and the world has since played variations on 19th century political themes: nationalism, colonialism, imperialism, populism, class liberation, revolution, anarchism, class and racial warfare. The Napoleonic wars began the century and transformed its political institutions. The Franco-Prussian War ended the century, setting the scene for the hyper-destructive 20th century.

. . . . . . .

There is a Muslim community of peace for Turkey to inspire.

Read full article….

Phi Beta Iota: Science and religion and philosophy, when at their best, seek to establish “best truths.” All three have been corrupted by politics, dogma, and laziness. Peace costs one third of what is now spent on war, and infinite wealth for the many can only be achieved in the context of a universal peace. If Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India come together on this point, Islam will be a global force in the 21st Century, not least because it will control secular corruption.

See Also:

Pfaff via Spinney at Phi Beta Iota

William Pfaff, The Irony of Manifest Destiny: The Tragedy of America's Foreign Policy (Walker & Co, 2010)

Event: 26 Oct 2011 Assisi Italy Pope, Peace, & Prayer — 5th Inter-Faith Event Since 1986 — Terms of Reference…

2011/06/17

Seth Godin: How We Pay for Crap from Media

11 Society, Blog Wisdom, Media

Who pays for the news media?

It's easy to act as though the news media is something that is done to us. Some alien force, projected onto all of us, pushed out by them.

Of course, that's not true. It's something we buy, something we pay for.

We're paying for superficial analyses, talking points, shouting heads, *****gate of the moment, herd journalism and silly local urgencies instead of important international trends. We're paying for fast instead of good. We believe we're paying for hard questions being asked, but we're not getting what we're paying for.

We might pay with a dollar at the newsstand, but we're probably paying with our attention, with attention that is turned into ad sales.

Too often, we fail to stop and say, “Wait, I paid for that?”

Almost everything else we buy is of far higher quality than it was twenty years ago. The worst car you could buy then was a Yugo… clearly we've raised the bar at the bottom. Is the same thing true of your news?

As the number of outlets and channels has exploded, media companies have faced a choice. Some have chosen to race to the bottom, to pander to the largest available common denominator and turn a trust into a profit center. A few have chosen to race to the top and to create a product actually worth paying for.

I fear that the race to the bottom will continue, but it's hard to see how anyone could be happy winning it.

Their civic obligations aside, it's up to us to decide what to buy.

2011/06/16

FCC Report Finds Major Shortage In Local Accountability Journalism

Media

Source

WASHINGTON — There is a shortage of in-depth local journalism needed to hold government agencies, schools and businesses accountable, the federal agency that regulates television broadcasters concludes in a new report.

The dearth of reporting comes despite an abundance of news outlets in today's multimedia landscape, the report says.

The report being released Thursday by the Federal Communications Commission is the product of an 18-month effort to explore the turmoil sweeping the traditional media business in the U.S. – particularly daily newspapers.

READ THE REPORT

2011/06/16

“Intentional Communities” map

Civil Society, Maps, Uncategorized

http://directory.ic.org

Intentional Community is an inclusive term for ecovillages, cohousing communities, residential land trusts, communes, student co-ops, urban housing cooperatives, intentional living, alternative communities, cooperative living, and other projects where people strive together with a common vision.

This web site serves the growing communities' movement, providing resources for starting a community, finding a community home, living in community, and creating more community in your life.