China-US: The official Chinese news agency Xinhua published today a signed commentary about the failure of “Pax Americana.” Excerpts follow.
Mongoose: Is Obama Creating a Military That Will Fire on US Citizens?
Cultural Intelligence, Military
This is probably an even mix among traitors trying to start a war with Iran (USN), patriots refusing to obey illegal orders (Benghazi), and plain incompetents (nuclear) or industrial era jerks (sexual misadventure). Given the number of incompetent flag officers still serving — over 800 of them, one can be skeptical about these particular firings. The nine generals that have been fired are:
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
Major General Michael Carry, from Commander 20th Air Force
UNITED STATED ARMY
General Carter Hamm, from CG Africa Command
Lietenant General David Holmes Huntoon Jr. from 58th Sperintendent of West Point
Major General Ralph Baker, from Task Force Horn (Djibouti, Africa)
Brigadier General Bryan Roberts, from Fort Jackson
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Chuck Spinney: How Contemporary War “Reporting” Messes Up Your OODA Loops
Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Idiocy, Ineptitude, IO Deeds of War, Media
The attached article is a very important and informative essay. Patrick Cockurn describes how the media echo chamber warps the Orientation* of the public, as well as that of a government, to unfolding events in the so-called global war on terror that triggered by 9-11 and the continuously metastasizing instabilities the GWOT is unleashing. I regard Cockburn** to be one of the very finest if not THE finest observer now operating in the Middle East. I urge readers to study his analysis very closely … almost every sentence contains a nugget of wisdom. Then think about how this kind of reporting is messing with your mind — e.g., a good place to start is to work through the Orientation-related ramifications of his reference to “embedding.”
Chuck Spinney
Alexandria, VA
* Explanatory note for new readers: The American strategist Colonel John R. Boyd explained why Orientation is the most crucial yet most vulnerable part of any decision maker's Observation – Orientation – Decision – Action (OODA) Loop. The OODA loop lies at the heart of his influential strategic theories about the elemental nature of any form of conflict — i.e., the interaction of opposing MINDs. Readers unfamiliar with Boyd or his synthesis of the OODA Loop can find brief introduction in my essays Genghis John and Incestuous Amplification and the Madness of King George. More comprehensive but accessible and accurate descriptions can be found in the books by Robert Coram and James Fallows, and Chet Richards. For those readers who are interested in heavy intellectually lifting, I recommend Franz Ozinga‘s analysis of Boyd's strategic thought or even better, they could study Boyd's original presentations, which can be downloaded from this Archive.
** Truth in advertizing: I am proud to call Patrick Cockburn a friend.
OCTOBER 07, 2013
A Diary of Four Wars
Where War Reporting Goes Wrong
by PATRICK COCKBURN, Counterpunch
http://www.counterpunch.org/
The four wars fought in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria over the past 12 years have all involved overt or covert foreign intervention in deeply divided countries. In each case the involvement of the West exacerbated existing differences and pushed hostile parties towards civil war. In each country, all or part of the opposition have been hard-core jihadi fighters. Whatever the real issues at stake, the interventions have been presented as primarily humanitarian, in support of popular forces against dictators and police states. Despite apparent military successes, in none of these cases have the local opposition and their backers succeeded in consolidating power and establishing stable states.
More than most armed struggles, the conflicts have been propaganda wars in which newspaper, television and radio journalists played a central role. In all wars there is a difference between reported news and what really happened, but during these four campaigns the outside world has been left with misconceptions even about the identity of the victors and the defeated.
Continue reading “Chuck Spinney: How Contemporary War “Reporting” Messes Up Your OODA Loops”
Jon Rappoport: Who Really Runs America (Into the Ground)?
07 Other Atrocities, 10 Transnational Crime, Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Corruption
Who really runs things in America?
By Jon Rappoport
October 11, 2013
The infamous Trilateral Commission still exists.
Many people think the TC, created in 1973 by David Rockefeller, is a relic of an older time.
Think again.
Patrick Wood, author of Trilaterals Over Washington, points out there are only 87 members of the Trilateral Commission who live in America. Obama appointed eleven of them to posts in his administration.
Keep in mind that the original stated goal of the TC was to create “a new international economic order.” Knowing that you have to break eggs to make an omelette, consider how the following TC members, in key Obama posts, can help engender further national chaos; erase our sovereign national borders; and install binding international agreements that will envelop our economy and money in a deeper global collective: a new world order:
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Owl: GOOGLE EVIL + ALEC EVIL = UBBER EVIL
03 Economy, 04 Education, 07 Other Atrocities, 10 Transnational Crime, 11 Society, Commerce, Corruption, Idiocy
Evil Is as Evil Does
“Google Inc. is now aligned with the notorious ALEC. Quietly, Google has joined ALEC — the American Legislative Exchange Council — the shadowy corporate alliance that pushes odious laws through state legislatures. In the process, Google has signed onto an organization that promotes such regressive measures as tax cuts for tobacco companies, school privatization to help for-profit education firms, repeal of state taxes for the wealthy and opposition to renewable energy disliked by oil companies. ALEC's reactionary efforts — thoroughly documented by the Center for Media and Democracy — are shameful assaults on democratic principles. And Google is now among the hundreds of companies in ALEC. Many people who've admired Google are now wondering: How could this be? Well, in his recent book Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism Is Turning the Internet Against Democracy, Robert W. McChesney provides vital context. “It is true that with the advent of the Internet many of the successful giants — Apple and Google come to mind — were begun by idealists who may have been uncertain whether they really wanted to be old-fashioned capitalists,” he writes. “The system in short order has whipped them into shape.”
Penguin: Is World Waking Up to Saudi-Israeli Threat?
04 Inter-State Conflict, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Officers Call, Peace Intelligence
Conclusion up front. When will the Arabs AND the Americans wake up?
And the Israeli-Saudi axis will keep blossoming. Few in the Middle East know that an Israeli company – with experience in repressing Palestinians – is in charge of the security in Mecca. (See here and here (in French)). If they knew – with the House of Saud's hypocrisy once more revealed – the Arab street in many a latitude would riot en masse.
One thing is certain; Bandar Bush, as well as the Saudi-Israeli axis, will pull no punches to derail any rapprochement between Washington and Tehran. As for the Bigger Picture, the real “international community” may always dream that one day Washington elites will finally see the light and figure out that the US-Saudi strategic alliance sealed in 1945 between Franklin D Roosevelt and King Abdul Aziz ibn Saud makes absolutely no sense.
THE ROVING EYE
Fear and loathing in House of Saud
By Pepe Escobar
Every sentient being with a functional brain perceives the possibility of ending the 34-year Wall of Mistrust between Washington and Tehran as a win-win situation.
Here are some of the benefits:
The price of oil and gas from the Persian Gulf would go down;
Washington and Tehran could enter a partnership to fight Salafi-jihadis (they already did, by the way, immediately after 9/11) as well as coordinate their policies in Afghanistan to keep the Taliban in check post-2014;
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Marcus Aurelius: Confronting the Insider Threat
07 Health, 09 Justice, 11 Society, Commerce, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Officers Call, True Cost
Corporate approach to a “flavor of the month” that DoD is approaching with a very heavy hand…
Confronting the Insider Threat
By Laura Spadanuta
Published on Security Management (http://www.securitymanagement.com)
Edward Snowden, who has leaked classified information about intelligence collection activities of the National Security Agency (NSA), reportedly told the South China Morning Post that he sought a job as a contractor at government consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton with a goal: to collect proof about the NSA’s domestic surveillance programs and alert the public to the programs. However, Snowden is not the typical insider threat. Most insiders who later betray their employer’s trust don’t start out with that intent. The change from benign employee to malicious insider can be spurred by anything from home-life stress to frustration at being passed over for a promotion to the thought that the company does not appreciate one’s contributions.
Though the risk is great, it is not possible to deny insiders the access to data that they will need to do their jobs. So what can a company do?
The company must have clear policies regarding how corporate data is to be handled and safeguarded, and confidential data should be clearly labeled, with access as restricted as feasible. Additionally, the company should secure the data itself and use software to track access and seek signs of suspicious activity, especially with regard to what information leaves the system or is copied. This article focuses, however, on the human factor—what companies can do in the hiring process and throughout employment to detect signs that a person is likely to become, or has become, an insider threat.
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