Dignitarian & Transpartisan World Emerging?

Advanced Cyber/IO, Communities of Practice, Cultural Intelligence

Dignitarian World Emerging: Arianna's Blog Predicts the Future

Pamela GerloffPamela Gerloff
Writer and educator, specialist in transformational change

Huffington Post, January 2, 2011 12:49 AM
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What's happening in Brazil and Chile heralds a new era emerging now on the planet, vividly demonstrating that there is a way to solve the problems we currently face. That path to resolution, and the term for the phenomenon Arianna describes, is dignitarian. In its simplest form, it means acting to protect, enhance, and serve the dignity of all. Not just special interests and lobbyists, banks and financiers, corporations, or political factions; not just friends and family or your network of buddies; and not just the people who voted for you or whom you officially represent. To be dignitarian means to protect the dignity of all. All of the people, all of the time. Regardless of our role in life–whether we're considered a “somebody” or a “nobody” or something in between–we can all be dignitarians, and now a few countries are showing us how.

Dignity is the principle that explains why, in one moment, a conservative politician might choose a course of action that's considered politically liberal and, in another, stick to the party line. Or why two opposing political parties can find common goals, such as becoming the first country to eliminate poverty. The deciding factor–whether articulated or not–is dignity. The question to ask is always: Does this decision, this initiative, this approach, serve the dignity of all? This is transpartisan politics at its best. It is also leadership in its purest form.

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AFIO Selected Headlines: Google, Woolsey, Hayden

10 Security, 11 Society, Cultural Intelligence, Government

Google Comes Under Fire for ‘Secret' Relationship with NSA. Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy group largely focused in recent years on Google's privacy practices, has called on a congressional investigation into the Internet giant's “cozy” relationship with U.S. President Barack Obama's administration.  In a letter sent Monday, Consumer Watchdog asked Representative Darrell Issa, the new chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, to investigate the relationship between Google and several government agencies.  Read more….

Phi Beta Iota: Google is to modern cyber-space as Standard Oil & ATT were to previous monopolies.  It is doing great evil, no least because it enables violations of the Constitution at the same time that it fails to contribute to an educated citizenry (sense-making).  Its computational mathematics are out of this world and neither understood nor regulated–Google can sell the right to show any searcher what the sponsor wants them to see, not what is relevant.

Journal: Consumer Group Calls for Hearings on Google Relations with NSA and CIA, Google’s Global Street-Level Survey of Wi-Fi Packet Interceptability
Event Report CORRECTED LINKS: Responding to Real Time Information, Open Systems and the Obama IT Vision [Google-Microsoft Meld]
Journal: Google Wave–Good, Bad, & Ugly
2009 Arnold Google: The Digital Gutenberg

Woolsey-Pollard and Hayden-Integrity Below the Line…

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Monthly CrisisWatch Report N°90, 1 February 2011

01 Poverty, 05 Civil War, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Immigration, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Terrorism, 10 Security, 10 Transnational Crime, 11 Society, Civil Society, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, CrisisWatch reports, Government, Law Enforcement, Military

CrisisWatch N°90, 1 February 2011

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Historic events in the Arab world gripped the world's attention in January. In Tunisia weeks of escalating riots and demonstrations over dire economic conditions, corruption and government repression culminated in the ouster of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali on 14 January. He was replaced by an interim government which announced the country's first free elections since independence.

Download the full issue of CrisisWatch N°90

The direction of Tunisia's transition, and its significance for the region, are not yet clear. But, assuming a successful transition, this could mark the first genuine popular revolt leading to a democratic government in the Arab world.

Inspired by the Tunisian uprising yet fuelled by their own long-standing grievances, hundreds of thousands took to the streets across Egypt towards the end of the month, protesting against authoritarian rule and poor living standards, and calling for President Hosni Mubarak to step down. Over 135 people were killed and more than 2,000 injured during the initial police response. The army was deployed at the end of the month to curb increasing chaos and looting, but vowed not to use force against the protesters.

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Alleged Egyptian Activist Plan

Civil Society, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Peace Intelligence
Marcus Aurelius Recommends

Seemingly somewhat similar approach to “monkeywrenching” ecotage (sabotage) of Earth Liberation Front originating in American Southwest…..not sure The Atlantic has done its homework–apart from the naivete of thinking that this would remain “controlled” it reads like a CIA-version of a faux activist plan.

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Egyptian Activists' Action Plan: Translated

The Atlantic,Jan 27 2011, 7:40 PM ET

Egypt protest leaflets distributed in Cairo give blueprint for mass action

Anonymous flyers provide practical and tactical advice for confronting riot police, and besieging government offices

Phi Beta Iota: Agree with Marcus Aurelius.  A simpler plan is “be on the street, be respectful and non-violent at all times, be patient.”  This is a word of mouth revolution, 26 pages is suspect and we have to wait to see the entire product as well as verification that this has gone anywhere other than The Atlantic.  This is the kind of thing CIA would do (violate the law, feed this to The Atlantic) to try to get on the boards “virtually.”  Fairly stupid to want to occupy buildings, the key is public presence, non-violent, nothing more.  V-sign?  Is this a 1960's annuitant on modern drugs?  We wait with bated breath to learn who is actually behind what the UK Guardian calls “the slickly produced 26-page document.”

FBI Intelligence Violations from 2001 – 2008

09 Justice, Corruption, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Government, Law Enforcement, Open Government, Secrecy & Politics of Secrecy
EFF report source in full

Executive Summary

In a review of nearly 2,500 pages of documents released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a result of litigation under the Freedom of Information Act, EFF uncovered alarming trends in the Bureau’s intelligence investigation practices. The documents consist of reports made by the FBI to the Intelligence Oversight Board of violations committed during intelligence investigations from 2001 to 2008. The documents suggest that FBI intelligence investigations have compromised the civil liberties of American citizens far more frequently, and to a greater extent, than was previously assumed. In particular, EFF’s analysis provides new insight into:

Number of Violations Committed by the FBI

  • From 2001 to 2008, the FBI reported to the IOB approximately 800 violations of laws, Executive Orders, or other regulations governing intelligence investigations, although this number likely significantly under-represents the number of violations that actually occurred.
  • From 2001 to 2008, the FBI investigated, at minimum, 7000 potential violations of laws, Executive Orders, or other regulations governing intelligence investigations.
  • Based on the proportion of violations reported to the IOB and the FBI’s own statements regarding the number of NSL violations that occurred, the actual number of violations that may have occurred from 2001 to 2008 could approach 40,000 possible violations of law, Executive Order, or other regulations governing intelligence investigations.1

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Americans Admire Military Personnel While Being Unaware & Uninterested in What They Do “In Our Name”

02 Diplomacy, 04 Education, 04 Inter-State Conflict, 06 Family, 07 Health, 07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, 10 Security, Civil Society, Corruption, Ethics, Government, Media, Military, Policy, Waste (materials, food, etc)

Troops Die Because of Their Country, Not For It

US admiration for its soldiers may be deep and widespread, but interest in what they are doing is shallow and fleeting

article

by Gary Younge
Published on Monday, January 31, 2011 by The Guardian

Most of the stories told about Benjamin Moore, 23, at his funeral started in a bar and ended in a laugh. Invited to testify about his life from the pews, friend, relative, colleague and neighbour alike described a boisterous, gregarious, energetic young man they'd known in the small New Jersey town of Bordentown since he was born. “I'll love him 'til I go,” his granny said. “If I could go today and bring him back, I would.”

Grown men choked on their memories, under the gaze of swollen, reddened eyes, as they remembered a “snot-nosed kid” and a fidget who'd become a volunteer firefighter before enlisting in the military. Shortly before Benjamin left for Afghanistan, he sent a message to his cousin that began: “I'm about to go into another country where they hate me for everything I stand for.” Now he was back in a flag-draped box, killed by roadside bomb with two other soldiers in Ghazni province.

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Highlights on the Democracy Front

07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, 11 Society, Civil Society, Collective Intelligence, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Government, Officers Call
Tom Atlee

Dear friends,

There is need for bright news on the democracy front — and, luckily, there is some.  (I'm also working to create some in the background, but I've got nothing to announce yet.  Cross your fingers.)  So I thought I'd share a bit of it the good stuff I've seen.

The first article is an announcement that the Vermont legislature is planning to become the first state to ban corporate personhood statewide.  This is a move in the right direction to balance social power — a topic specifically addressed by the most popular article on the Co-Intelligence Institute website, “Democracy: A Social Power Analysis“, written by my father, John Atlee.  (Perhaps you'll get a sense of how my upbringing influenced my choice of career when you read it.)

Vermont Is Gearing Up to Strike a Major Blow to Corporate Personhood, Ban It Statewide

AlterNet by Christopher KetchamJanuary 22, 2011

The second article below is an interview with Frances Moore Lappé, one of my early mentors (see “Living Democracy“) exploring themes in her new book GET A GRIP 2.  She invites us to both work wholeheartedly on the issues that concern us AND to work on changing the systems (such as money's influence in politics) that create the problems we are trying to solve.

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