White House nightmare persists

At the end of Barack Obama’s worst week since taking power a year ago, the US president’s fortunes look set only to deteriorate over the coming days.

Phi Beta Iota: We find it quite remarkable that there is absolutely no “intelligence” in the sense of decision-support anywhere in this story. The last two Administrations (Bush-Cheney and now Obama-Biden) have been noteworthy for the completely absence of strategy, intelligence, Whole of Government management, balanced budget–just about everything a public has a right to expect from its elected and appointed and paid government.

Nightmare is the wrong word–this is self-imposed insanity based on willful ignorance and the absence of a national Open Source Agency (OSA) with a degree of independence equal to that of the Judiciary. In the Age of Information, information itself has become the Fourth Estate, and the Administration either needs to get a grip on reality and start governing with informed maturity, or watch as others pass them by–Brazil, China, India, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela, for example.

Search: smart nation intelligence reform electoral reform national security reform

2010/01/262010/01/26

Journal: Chavez versus CIA–No Contest

07 Venezuela, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Government

Chavez Calls Sentence in CIA's Online Almanac “A Declaration of War” Against Venezuela

If you've ever been curious to know any country's GDP, literacy rate, languages, etc., at a glance, the CIA's online World Factbook is the place to start.

And evidently Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been Googling his own country lately, because he's taken serious issue with the sort of government-issue Wikipedia's summary description of the South American nation.

From the CIA World Factbook:

“…For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by generally benevolent military strongmen, who promoted the oil industry and allowed for some social reforms. Democratically elected governments have held sway since 1959. Hugo CHAVEZ, president since 1999, seeks to implement his “21st Century Socialism,” which purports to alleviate social ills while at the same time attacking globalization and undermining regional stability. Current concerns include: a weakening of democratic institutions, political polarization, a politicized military, drug-related violence along the Colombian border, increasing internal drug consumption, overdependence on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations, and irresponsible mining operations that are endangering the rain forest and indigenous peoples.”

The text above constitutes, according to Chavez this past week, “a declaration of war.”

Phi Beta Iota: Chavez is right, CIA is wrong. A World Factbook is not the place for subjective politicized “judgments,” and if one wishes to speak about the Open Veins of Latin America–Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent, the CIA should cut its own throat first or to use another metaphor, not throw stones when it lives in a glass house. CIA is no longer the destructive monster it used to be, but perhaps worse, Clowns in Action or Contractors in Action, take your pick. CIA should remove the offending words and surprise Venezuela with a printed corrected copy of the book, and a letter of apology–and it can apologize for its last bungled coup attempt while its at it. Newsflash for CIA: imperial globalization bad, indigenous self-determination good. Duh.

2010/01/262010/09/02

Journal: Home-Grown Terrorism in USA

08 Immigration, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Justice, 09 Terrorism, 10 Security, 11 Society, Government, Law Enforcement

aa real instistitute — Full Review Online

The Homegrown Terrorist Threat to the US Homeland (ARI)

Lorenzo Vidino

ARI 171/2009 – 18/12/2009

EXTRACT 1: All these plots are very diverse in their origin, degree of sophistication and characteristics of the individuals involved. Yet they all contribute to paint the picture of the complex and rapidly changing reality of terrorism of Islamist inspiration in the US. Moreover, they smash or, at least, severely undermine an assumption that has been widely held by policymakers and analysts over the last 15 years. The common wisdom, in fact, has traditionally been that American Muslims, unlike their European counterparts, were virtually immune to radicalisation.

EXTRACT 2: The wave of arrests of the last months of 2009 has contributed to shedding light on a reality that is significantly more nuanced, showing that radicalisation affects some small segments of the American Muslim population exactly like it affects some fringe pockets of the Muslim population of each European country. Evidence supporting this view has been available for a long time, as the cases of American Muslims joining radical Islamist groups date back to the 1970s.[12] According to data collected by the NYU Center on Law and Security, for example, more than 500 individuals have been convicted by the American authorities for terrorism-related charges since 9/11.[13] Most of them are US citizens or long-time US residents who underwent radicalisation inside the US.

Phi Beta Iota: Recommended by Contributing Editor Berto Jongman.

2010/01/262010/01/26

Journal: In Search for Truth….Maybe Not

Civil Society, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Government, Media, Military

Pentagon’s Gitmo Recidivism Claims Don’t Add Up

Researchers at Seton Hall and New America Foundation track the Pentagon's claims that released Guantanamo detainees ‘returned to battle.'

Phi Beta Iota: Government claims 1 in 5 and counts those who speak to the press against USG and Guantanamo. Researcers find 1 in 25 at best and observe that the USG is simply not able to get the same story told in the same way more than once.

Appeal Hearing on Guantanamo: Main Issues

On January 26, 2010, a panel of military officers will hear the historic first direct appeal from the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay. Oral argument in the case of United States v. al Bahlul will focus on three constitutional issues that reach beyond military commissions and terrorism trials. The main issue in the case asks whether the war on terrorism justifies the censorship of foreign media. [Emphasis added.]

aa affirmation — My Truth & Only My Truth

The Age of Affirmation: A new study finds that TV viewers watch the news more for affirmation than for information.

A new study suggests that viewers worldwide turn to particular broadcasters to affirm — rather than inform — their opinions. It's a notion familiar to those dismayed by the paths blazed by cable news networks FOX and MSNBC — although the study finds one (perhaps unlikely) network may actually foster greater intellectual openness.

The study in the December issue of Media, War & Conflict by Shawn Powers, a fellow at the USC Center on Public Diplomacy, and Mohammed el-Nawawy, an assistant professor in the department of communication at Queens University of Charlotte, found that the longer viewers had been watching Al Jazeera English, the less dogmatic they were in their opinions and therefore more open to considering alternative and clashing opinions.

2010/01/25

Journal: Give the Public Information–It Does Help!

Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence

Fast Food Nutrition Labels May Help Parents Pick Lower-Calorie Meals for Kids

In a small study, parents ordered about 20 percent fewer calories for their kids when they chose from a menu with nutrition information on it, Dr. Pooja Tandon of the University of Washington and colleagues reported online in the journal Pediatrics.

“One hundred calories over time and at a population level is actually a significant amount in terms of being able to avert weight gain,” Tandon told MedPage Today.

Phi Beta Iota: This is noteworthy as an example of the importance of providing the public with “true cost” information at the point of every sale–not just of food, but of all products and services. What most businesses have not realizes that that the only sustainable business is one that is both green and attractive to an informed public. Advertising should NOT be a tax-deductible expense, providing truthful information about any product or service should be tax deductible.

2010/01/252010/01/25

Journal: Pope Takes to the Web

Civil Society, Cultural Intelligence

Pope asks priests to become more Web savvy

The pope is asking priests to become more media savvy by preaching to the faithful from the Internet as well as the pulpit.

Pope Benedict XVI

(Credit: The Vatican)

In his message for the Catholic Church's 2010 World Day for Social Communications, Pope Benedict XVI called on the ministry to use the latest technologies, such as Web sites and blogs, to preach the gospel and encourage a dialogue with their practitioners.

2010/01/252010/01/25

Worth a Look: Citizen-Centered Talking Points Memo

Media, Worth A Look

Talking Points Memo is the flagship blog of TPM Media LLC, which also publishes TPMmuckraker, TPMDC, TPMtv and TPMCafe. Founder and editor Josh Marshall began publishing Talking Points Memo during the 2000 Florida vote recount. The site specializes in original reporting on government and politics and offers breaking news coverage, investigative reporting, high profile guest bloggers and a book club.

Talking Points Memo is one of the most innovative political news organizations in the country. Media watchers consider TPM the site to watch as the news business transforms from the old world of print to the online digital future. In March 2009 TPM topped TIME Magazine's list of 25 Best Blogs of 2009. “Talking Points,” wrote Time's editors, “has become the prototype of what a successful Web-based news organization is likely to be in the future.” And in September of 2009 The Atlantic listed founder Josh Marshall among the nation's 50 most influential commentators.

Phi Beta Iota: If we had to pick one source of citizen-centered political news that represents clarity, diversity, and integrity, it would be this one. Since we shy away from politically-oriented material and focus mostly on process, these folks get our vote as a righteous source of information.

Category: Communities of Practice

Journal: White House Nightmare, Insanity, or Ignorance?