Category: Communities of Practice

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1997 Reference: CIA’s Intelligence Sharing With Congress + RECAP

Ethics, Government

EXTRACT:

From my point of view, the academic community in some ways is even more remiss [than the media]. During my brief fledgling career as a novice academic, I have come to the conclusion that most university-level courses on the American foreign policy process are absolutely mute on this subject [intelligence sharing with Congress, and the repercussions thereof, as a major change in the US foreign policy process]. It is as if time was frozen in the 1960's. I believe the current scholarly literature on foreign policy processes has little discussion of this — almost none. I am not aware of any Ph.D. theses being done in this area, although I can think of some wonderful case studies that could be the basis for doctoral dissertations. The media and the academic community do not quite get it.

(U) 1997 CIA's Intelligence Sharing with Congress

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Mongoose: Attaboy Australia — Beheading IO Stopped — But What Should US Do?

Ethics, Government, Law Enforcement, Media, Military, Peace Intelligence
Mongoose
Mongoose

Very well done, Australia!

Australia raids foil reported ISIS beheading plots

Australian counterterrorism forces detained 15 people Thursday in a series of suburban raids after receiving intelligence that the Islamic State movement was planning public beheadings in two Australian cities to demonstrate its reach.

About 800 federal and state police officers raided more than a dozen properties across 12 Sydney suburbs as part of the operation — the largest in Australian history, Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Andrew Colvin told the Associated Press. Separate raids in the eastern cities of Brisbane and Logan were also conducted.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the plan involved kidnapping randomly selected members of the public off the streets in Sydney and Brisbane, beheading them on camera, and releasing the recordings through Islamic State's propaganda arm in the Middle East.

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Steve Aftergood: Court Requires In Camera Review of State Secrets Documents

Ethics, Government, Law Enforcement
Steven Aftergood
Steven Aftergood

COURT REQUIRES IN CAMERA REVIEW OF STATE SECRETS DOCUMENTS

Over the objections of government attorneys, a federal judge said yesterday that he would require in camera review of documents that the government says are protected by the state secrets privilege. The issue arose in the case of Gulet Mohamed v. Eric Holder, challenging the constitutionality of the “no fly” list.

The government had argued that it is “inappropriate” for a court to review such records to verify that they are validly privileged, and that instead the court should grant dismissal of case on the basis of official declarations. (Gov’t Resists Court Review of State Secrets, Secrecy News, August 27). The government moved for reconsideration of an August 6 order to produce the records for in camera review.

Yesterday, Judge Anthony J. Trenga of the Eastern District of Virginia granted the government's motion for reconsideration, but he said that having reconsidered the matter, he determined that he had been right the first time around.

“Upon reconsideration of its Order, however, the Court finds that none of [the] objections justifies vacating the Order, as the defendants request. The Court therefore affirms its Order.”

“This case involves complex and unsettled issues pertaining to the respective roles of the legislative, executive and judicial branches,” Judge Trenga wrote. “One central issue is the extent to which the War on Terrorism may expand the ability of the executive branch to act in ways that cannot otherwise be justified.”

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Yoda: US Constitution Now an App

09 Justice, 11 Society, Ethics, Government, Officers Call
Got Crowd? BE the Force!
Got Crowd? BE the Force!

The Washington Times launches U.S. Constitution app for smartphones, tablets

The Washington Times on Wednesday launched a smartphone and tablet app celebrating the U.S. Constitution and other important founding documents as part of a nationwide project to empower schools, parents and community leaders to teach constitutional literacy to the newest generation of Americans.

The Washington Times’ Pocket Constitution App, developed in partnership with the nonprofit Essentials in Education, is debuting on the 10th anniversary of Constitution Day, a national holiday created through the efforts of Sen. Robert C. Byrd, West Virginia Democrat, and signed into law by President George W. Bush.

Read full article.

See Especially:

Review: Liberty Defined–50 Essential Issues That Affect Our Freedom

Review: The Thirteen American Arguments–Enduring Debates That Define and Inspire Our Country

See Also:

Worth a Look: Book Reviews on Democracy Lost & Found

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Chuck Spinney: Gary Leupp on Washington’s Ignorance About the Sunni-Shia Divide — PLUS Sunni-Shia Graphic and ISIS RECAP

04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 07 Other Atrocities, Civil Society, Cultural Intelligence, Peace Intelligence
Chuck Spinney
Chuck Spinney

ISIS and Washington’s Ignorance About the Sunni-Shia Divide

“Most Americans Don't Have a Clue”

by GARY LEUPP

Counterpunch, SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

EXTRACTS

Patrick Cockburn reports that Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to Washington (1983-2005), once told  M16 head Sir Richard Dearlove: “The time is not far off in the Middle East, Richard, when it will literally be ‘God help the Shia.’ More than a billion Sunni have simply had enough of them.”

There are thus deep animosities within Islam, as there have been, historically, within Christianity.

There was a time when Protestants viewed Roman Catholics as idolatrous heretics and bloody wars of religion ravaged Europe. ISIL is now fighting such a war against Shiites, Christians, Yezidis, secularists, and others it sees as unbelievers and as stooges of the west. But its primary target is the Shiites.

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ScwartzReport: Cargill Sues Syngenta (Monsanto) for Closing China Market — Should US IT Industry Be Suing Dell ,HP, IBM, Etc. for Selling Out to NSA?

07 Other Atrocities, 10 Transnational Crime, Commerce, Corruption, Government
Stephan A. Schwartz
Stephan A. Schwartz

It is beginning to look like GMO, principally an American economic activity, may not endure as structured. This is one example of why I say that. There is a developing consensus against it.

Cargill Sues Syngenta Over Sale of GMO Seeds Unapproved in China
JACOB BUNGE – The Wall Street Journal

In a fight that highlights global sensitivity over genetically modified crops, Cargill Inc. sued Syngenta AG SYNN.VX -0.56% , claiming that the Swiss seed maker's push to sell bioengineered corn seeds that weren't approved in China cost the U.S. grain company $90 million when Beijing rejected corn shipments.

The suit, filed on Friday in Louisiana state court, escalates tensions that have shaken U.S. agribusiness since China last year sharply curtailed imports of U.S. corn. Beijing's move all but closed off a major market for the grain, contributing to a sharp decline this year in prices for the U.S.'s biggest crop by value and costing shippers hundreds of millions of dollars, according to U.S. grain groups.

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