Category: Communities of Practice

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Journal: Afghanistan–The Arithmetic of the Frontier

02 Diplomacy, 03 Economy, 05 Civil War, 08 Wild Cards, 10 Security, Government, Military

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Afghan jezail
Afghan jezail

Boston Globe

By H.D.S. Greenway

November 3, 2009

PRESIDENT OBAMA  is doing the arithmetic of fighting in Afghanistan and figuring the odds of Pakistan pulling through. He must not only add up the numbers of soldiers he wants to hand over to his generals, but must also measure what is achievable against what his country has to spend in money and blood. General Stanley McChrystal?s requests echo those of Marshal Akhromeyev, who begged the Soviet Politburo for more soldiers for his war 20 years ago.

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Journal: Chuck Spinney Sends–Katrina & Fear

03 Environmental Degradation, 08 Wild Cards, 12 Water, Earth Intelligence, Ethics, Government, Military
Chuck Spinney
Chuck Spinney

The Detritus of Katrina and the Paralysis of Fear:
A Metaphor for Contemporary Politics

The vast Mississippi Delta in Louisiana is sinking as sea water from the Gulf of Mexico seeps in to destroy its fresh water marshlands.  The Army's Corps of Engineers says it can not protect New Orleans from the inevitable storm surges caused by hurricanes (see the Guardian report attached below).

Some may dismiss this warning as alarmist hype, and the Army's Corps of Engineers certainly does not have an enviable track record in this regard.  That said, the Corps' warning does make evident the political-economic  detritus left over from Hurricane Katrina.  Inferentially, the warning also highlights the hollowness in the scare tactics used by global warming advocates to raise money for their far more costly ambitions, not to mention the paralyzing political-economic consequences posed by the politics of fear practiced by the Pentagon.

The reality of the Delta thus becomes a metaphor for the larger emptiness that now pervades American politics.

Below the Fold: Balance of Spinney Comment, Full Article with Highlight, Books
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Journal: Death to Idiot “Pay Walls”

Collaboration Zones, Communities of Practice, Ethics

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Newsday Columnist Quits Over Paywall, Wants To Be Read

One of the reasons why the NY Times eventually did away with its old “paywall” was that its big name columnists started complaining that fewer and fewer people were reading them.

The NY Times is reporting that Newsday columnist Saul Friedman quit and did so while publishing an open letter on why paywalls are a bad idea, while also telling the NY Times that he knew his column was popular with people outside of Newsday's footprint, and he was upset that those people would not be able to read his column and that he wouldn't be able to send out links to his columns.

Oh, one other thing? Mr. Friedman is 80 years old and worked for newspapers for over 50 years. In other words, he's not just some “young kid who thinks everything online should be free” as we're so often told is the real problem.

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Journal: Political-Corporate Corruption in USA

Commerce, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Government
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Online Ordering (All Sources)
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WASHINGTON — A new book detailing the political contributions and practices of nearly 5,000 companies goes on sale today, providing consumers with a powerful tool in helping them vote with their wallets.

New to The Blue Pages, Second Edition is the reporting of federal lobbying expenditures, which in 2008 totaled $3.3 billion. Additionally, the new edition expands listings with environmental policies and practices of the companies tracked. Each sector overview opens with commentary from an expert in the field.

Examples:

• AT&T — Total contributions to Republican Party: $2,875,123; Total contributions to Democratic Party: $2,531,482; Lobby Spending: $32,214,784;

• ExxonMobil — Total contributions to Republican Party: $1,085,223; Total contributions to Democratic Party: $333,799; Lobby Spending: $45,940,000;

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Journal: True Cost–Israel and Palestine

04 Inter-State Conflict, 08 Wild Cards, 10 Security, Ethics, Government, Military, Peace Intelligence, True Cost

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November 2, 2009

Clinton, Goldstone and true cost of the occupation

Hever: The Israeli government is hiding the true cost of the occupation even from itself

The Israeli daily Ha'aretz reported last Friday that at least 11 locations within settlement colonies in the West Bank are escalating construction in order to alter “facts on the ground.” In October, the joint Israeli-Palestinian organization, Alternative Information Center, organized a conference on the economy of the Israeli occupation in Bethlehem. The Real News' Lia Tarachansky attended and spoke to the AIC's Shir Hever about the real costs of maintaining Israel's occupation.

Cost estimated at US$9 billion to the governments of Israel and the USA, while profit is almost entirely privatized.

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Journal: CINCPAC Slams IC on China

02 China, 10 Security, Ethics, Government, Military, Peace Intelligence

Intelligence failures?

William C. Triplett II

Monday, November 2, 2009

On Oct. 21, the incoming commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, Adm. Robert F. Willard, made a little-noticed but astonishing accusation to reporters in Seoul:

“I would contend that in the past decade or so, China has exceeded most of our intelligence estimates of their military capability and capacity every year. They've grown at an unprecedented rate in those capabilities.”

Remainder of story no longer easily found online:

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Journal: Constant Technical Stare vs. Engaged Brain

05 Civil War, Methods & Process, Military, Real Time, Technologies

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Military Refines A ‘Constant Stare Against Our Enemy'

The rapidly increasing surveillance power of unmanned aircraft gives U.S. officials an option beside s troops

By Julian E. Barnes    November 2, 2009   Pg. 1

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon plans to dramatically increase the surveillance capabilities of its most advanced unmanned aircraft next year, adding so many video feeds that a drone which now stares down at a single house or vehicle could keep constant watch on nearly everything that moves within an area of 1.5 square miles.

The year after that, the capability will double to 3 square miles.

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