Communities of Practice – Page 1337 – Public Intelligence Blog

2010/04/02

Journal: ClimateGate, Israel & Greenwashing Terror

03 Environmental Degradation, 05 Energy, 06 Genocide, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 10 Security, Collective Intelligence, Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Government, Media

a a climategate — ClimateGate Rolling Update

An excellent summary of the ongoing dispute over Global Warming. Chuck.

Climate Catastrophe:A Superstorm for Global Warming Research

By Marco Evers, Olaf Stampf and Gerald Traufetter

Der Spiegel 1 April 2010

Plagued by reports of sloppy work, falsifications and exaggerations, climate research is facing a crisis of confidence. How reliable are the predictions about global warming and its consequences? And would it really be the end of the world if temperatures rose by more than the much-quoted limit of two degrees Celsius?

… are they ready for the Rubber Room or Both? My guess is the answer is “both.” But read the attached article by Jonathan Cook and judge for yourself. One thing that is becoming clear, however: Global Warming can be used as a canonical fear to justify just about anything — from Obama's plan to resurrect the nuclear power industry (while at the same time, he punts on the nuc waste issue by caving into political pressure to close the Yucca Mountain waste depository, after spending $17 billion since the 1980s) to Israel's crackpot plan to win the so-called war on terror by impoverishing the petro-states via the weaning the industrial world off hydrocarbons (see below). If you want to get a realistic idea of the size of the energy numbers as well as the socio-economic implications of the policy transformations implied by displacing the West's reliance on hydrocarbons, I urge you read my good friend Robert Bryce's important new book, Power Hungry: The Myths of Green Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future, Public Affairs Press, April 2010. You do not have to agree with his specific recommendations to accept the value of his important work.

Chuck Spinney

Marmaris, Turkey

[archive under construction at http://chuckspinney.blogspot.com/ ]

Israel greenwashing “war on terror”

Jonathan Cook, The Electronic Intifada, 30 March 2010

2010/04/022010/05/08

Court Decision (NOT Congress Oversight) Declared NSA Warrantless Wiretapping Illegal

09 Justice, Civil Society, Communities of Practice, Government, Law Enforcement, Media, Military, Secrecy & Politics of Secrecy

Court document: Alharamain versus National Security Administration

(From Secrecy News)
WARRANTLESS SURVEILLANCE OF CHARITY RULED UNLAWFUL

Warrantless surveillance of an Islamic charity in Oregon in 2004 violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a court ruled (pdf) on March 31.

In the culmination of a four-year lawsuit, Judge Vaughn Walker of the Northern District of Columbia found that the government had unlawfully intercepted international telephone conversations of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation without a warrant, as required by the FISA for intelligence and counterterrorism surveillance. The government had contended that the state secrets privilege barred a resolution of the case, but the court found that the defendants were able to make their case without the use of state secrets.

At least by implication, the ruling means that aspects of President Bush's Terrorist Surveillance Program were illegal. Significantly, that determination was made by a court, based on a private complaint years after the fact, and not through congressional intelligence oversight. While Congress did enact the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, which was the foundation of the court's ruling, contemporary congressional oversight alone would have left the Al-Haramain violation (and untold others) undiscovered and unpunished.
Continue reading “Court Decision (NOT Congress Oversight) Declared NSA Warrantless Wiretapping Illegal”

2010/04/012010/05/08

Fascinating Video (Brief) Overview of pre & post September 11, 2001 Circumstances + Two Part Radio Series on 9/11 Commission

09 Terrorism, 9/11 research, Communities of Practice, Government, Media, Military, Secrecy & Politics of Secrecy, Videos/Movies/Documentaries

Part One
Part Two

Multiple language transcription/subtitles are needed for videos like this. For more extensive videos related to 9/11, download this link table.

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Expert Witness Radio with Mike Levine says these are the most important shows he's ever done. Below are the mp3's.

2010/04/012010/09/02

Journal: CIA Seeks to Influence Opinion on Wars

02 Diplomacy, 04 Education, 10 Security, 11 Society, Ethics, Government, Media, Peace Intelligence

berto small — Berto Jongman Recommends...

Wednesday 31 March 2010

by: Daan de Wit | DeepJournal

(Image: Jared Rodriguez / t r u t h o u t; Adapted: Patrick Hoesly, CIA)

The CIA recommendations for influencing the European public into continuing their support for the mission in Afghanistan is receiving a lot of attention both in The Netherlands and beyond. But in a military conflict, war is only one stage of the struggle. The biggest struggle is for the hearts and minds of the public at large. What's special about the case of the document is not so much its content, but the fact that it is now available for all to see.

At the top of the CIA-document it states: ‘Why counting on apathy might not be enough'.

Phi Beta Iota: CIA and the Pentagon both stink at Information Operations because neither is interested in putting the truth on the table and working from there, only in manipulating perceptions to achieve ends that are neither strategic nor just. For an alternative perspective that treats the truth with respect, see INFORMATION OPERATIONS: All Information, All Languages, All the Time (OSS, 2006), and more recently, INTELLIGENCE for EARTH: Clarity, Diversity, Integrity, & Sustainability (EIN, 2010).

2010/04/012010/09/02

Journal: The Legal And Moral Issues Of Drone Use

02 Diplomacy, 08 Wild Cards, 10 Security, Ethics, Government, Military

March 30, 2010

The use of unmanned aircraft systems, or drones, to fight the Taliban and al-Qaida has increased sharply.

Text and Audio Online

The State Department's top lawyer, Harold Koh, has issued legal justification for targeted killings using drone strikes. But some civil liberties groups are critical of the decision.

2010/04/012010/04/01

Journal: The Truth on Khost Kathy

10 Security, Collective Intelligence, Ethics, Government

Phi Beta Iota: This is the single most relevant comment, by an individual present at Khost, on the reality behind the incompetence of CIA at all levels from D/CIA to the “mob” that got itself killed in Khost. See original post with link, Journal: CIA Leads the “Walking Dead” in USA.

– – – – – – – BEGIN CITED POST – – – – – – –

No one wants to be the person to speak ill of the dead. The truth, however, must trump sensibilities in this matter for a number of reasons, first and foremost being that of using this catastrophic incident as a case study in how not to conduct operations in espionage.

This horrible blunder was at once both easily predictable and preventable. I cannot think of one principle of security that was not violated here. Violations fommented out of the apparent incompetence, obvious arrogance, blind ambition and elitism of “Kathy.” Having been warned repeatedly, constantly, continuously concerning suspicious developments in the days leading up to the “meet”, Kathy was stubbornly and arrogantly dismissive of sound wisdom, counsel and warning. She marginalized and widely disregarded those who were there to conduct and advise her on ground tactical operations. The proof of this is that none were present at the “welcoming party” because they knew that it was not tactically sound, hence no “knuckle draggers” were killed or maimed; they just had to clean up the mess, which they did in the magnificent fashion that is their consistent calling card.

Continue reading “Journal: The Truth on Khost Kathy”

2010/04/012010/04/05

Journal: Audit the Fed & Cost of Wall Street Charity

03 Economy, Collective Intelligence, Commercial Intelligence, Ethics, Government

Federal Reserve Transparency Working Group and Supporters:

We have 32 cosponsors for S.604 ” Federal Reserve Sunshine Act of 2009″ and 319 cosponsors for H.R. 1207 ” Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009″

The Federal Reserve as a Confidence Game: What They Were Saying in 2007

Salon: The Federal Reserve has come clean about its covert actions
“Thomas Jefferson put a stop to Alexander Hamilton’s idea of a powerful central bank out of fear it would be unaccountable to the public. The Fed has just proven Jefferson’s point.”