Communities of Practice – Page 1419 – Public Intelligence Blog

Saigon 2009

Afghanistan is today's Vietnam.

No question mark needed.

BY THOMAS H. JOHNSON, M. CHRIS MASON

AUGUST 20, 2009

For those who say that comparing the current war in Afghanistan to the Vietnam War is taking things too far, here's a reality check: It's not taking things far enough. From the origins of these North-South conflicts to the role of insurgents and the pointlessness of this week's Afghan presidential elections, it's impossible to ignore the similarities between these wars. The places and faces may have changed but the enemy is old and familiar. The sooner the United States recognizes this, the sooner it can stop making the same mistakes in Afghanistan.

Continue reading “Journal: Afghanistan = Viet-Nam, National Security Council Remains “Like a Moron””

2009/08/21

Journal: Microsoft, Yahoo and Amazon band together to oppose Google Books settlement

Collaboration Zones, Communities of Practice, Ethics, Methods & Process, Reform

August 20, 2009

Allex Pham

Three powerful technology companies have banded together to oppose Google's proposed settlement with the Authors Guild and the Assn. of American Publishers over the Mountain View, Calif., search giant's book scanning project.

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2009/08/212009/08/26

Journal: Chuck Spinney on Gallipoli

History, Military, War & Face of Battle

Above is a picture I took looking down on Anzac Cove in Gallipoli during my recent trip to Gallipoli. The Aussies and New Zealanders assaulted a beach that is about 25 meters wide and 600 meters long. After crossing the tiny beach, they hit a slope rising at about 60 degrees or more, covered by dense Mediterranean maqui. Bear in mind, the road in my picture did not exist and the first major summit was probably 700-800 feet high, but to get there, you had to cross a labyrinth of steep, irregular ravines, covered with the dense prickly undergrowth. Moreover, it is the wrong beach. [Continued below.]

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2009/08/212009/08/21

Journal: Liberty, Propaganda, and We the People

Collective Intelligence, Ethics, Government, Reform

Ron Paul “gets” the idea of basic liberty. After all, liberty is at the core of what our country was founded upon. It is neither Republican nor Democrat; however, after years of conditioning by the main stream media, the public school system, peers and a number of other “group think” mechanisms out there, our ideas of liberty become clouded and distorted.

Phi Beta Iota Editorial Comment:

There appears to be a “convergence” of Ron Paul Republican-Libertarians, the Unified Independents,, and with lesser voices for lack of fire in the belly, the Greens, Reforms, and Socialists (who are actually populists with a Hispanic overlay, if they change their name they will double or triple their market share among eligible voters.

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2009/08/212009/10/13

Reference: Concept of Operations (CONOP) for the National Maritime Intelligence Center (NMIC)

12 Water, Director of National Intelligence et al (IC), DoD, Military

Rear Admiral Gilbride has promulgated the Concept of Operations (CONOP) for the National Maritime Intelligence Center (NMIC), effective 19 August 2009.

It is quite good and serves as a model for all others. it is, as of now, the single best attempt to truly integrate the concerns and capabilities of the inter-agency community of interest.

A few shortfalls are easily corrected. The Department of Agriculture and food security, for example, are not embraced. That needs to be corrected. The CONOPS is also too focused on security and avoids both protective and enabling opportunities for maritime intervention. Environmental Impacts, for example, focuses only on weather and the opening of the Northwest Passage, not on pollution or other maritime dumping activities that further toxify 75% of our Earth.

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2009/08/202009/08/20

Journal: Gartner Gets Stupid, Tries to Censor Any Mention of Its Name

09 Justice, Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Ethics

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by Larry Chaffin

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When censorship goes too far, we cannot say Gar-ner anymore

Gar-ner gets what it deserves, all blogs deleted with company name in it as an act of protest

Click on the logo to visit the idiots being written about. Click on the title to read the rest of the story. This is right up there with Google claiming it owns “dead souls” books and Western water companies claiming they own the rainfall in Latin America.

Idiocy is what happens when leadership is subordinated to lawyers. They subsequently backed off but the damage is done, Gartner has officially entered the twilight zone of idiocy incarnate. This comprises their epitaph.

2009/08/202009/08/20

Journal: CIA Blows–Blackwater, $5M Bar Bill, and Reprise of Rendition Atrocities

09 Terrorism, 10 Security, Ethics, Government

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is more of a laughingstock around the world than most realize. From being called “useful idiots” (tontos utiles) in Latin America to much, much worse in the Middle East, it appears to have become a bloated bureaucracy incapable of achieving anything of positive significance. Intelligence is an inherently governmental function, and clandestine and covert intelligence especially so. Both require the very highest standards of integrity and professional skill. CIA appears to be lacking in both, and nothing has changed under Leon Panetta. It is in our view high time that the President and Congress require a full General Accountability Office (GAO) of every aspect of CIA operations, as well as those of the National Security Agency (NSA).

Below are three headlines that turn our stomach.

Continue reading “Journal: CIA Blows–Blackwater, $5M Bar Bill, and Reprise of Rendition Atrocities”