Corruption – Page 784 – Public Intelligence Blog

2011/05/312011/05/31

Post-Legal Amerika: Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Justice

04 Inter-State Conflict, 07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, Civil Society, Commerce, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Law Enforcement, Military

Tom Engelhardt, co-founder of the American Empire Project, runs the Nation Institute's TomDispatch.com. His latest book, just published, is The American Way of War: How Bush's Wars Became Obama's (Haymarket Books). Watch a Timothy MacBain TomCast video of him discussing the American way of war by clicking here.

Dumb Question of the Twenty-first Century: Is It Legal?

Campaign for Liberty, 05/31/2011

Is the Libyan war legal? Was Bin Laden's killing legal? Is it legal for the president of the United States to target an American citizen for assassination? Were those “enhanced interrogation techniques” legal? These are all questions raised in recent weeks. Each seems to call out for debate, for answers. Or does it?

Full post with many names and links….

2011/05/312011/05/31

USA: Thirteen Big Lies — Needed Counter-Narrative

07 Other Atrocities, Advanced Cyber/IO, Analysis, Budgets & Funding, Civil Society, Collective Intelligence, Corporations, Corruption, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, History, info-graphics/data-visualization, InfoOps (IO), Intelligence (government), IO Impotency, Journalism/Free-Press/Censorship, Methods & Process, Misinformation & Propaganda, Money, Banks & Concentrated Wealth, Officers Call, Policies, Politics of Science & Science of Politics, Power Behind-the-Scenes/Special Interests, Reform, Secrecy & Politics of Secrecy, Standards, Strategy, Technologies, Waste (materials, food, etc)

Here are a few of the BIG lies used to support the status quo. What we need, rather urgently, is a counter-narrative

LIE 1. The earth is an open system with infinite supplies and sinks;

POSSIBLE TRUTH: Earth is a closed system, changes that used to take 10,000 years now take three, humanity is “peaking” the entire system.

LIE 2. Everything must be monetized;

POSSIBLE TRUTH: Money is an exchange unit and an information unit; in the absence of holistic analytics and “true cost” transparency, mony is actually a toxic means of concentrating wealth and depriving communities of their own resources (e.g. land).

LIE 3. The extreme unregulated free market is the only option for a modern economy;

POSSIBLE TRUTH: Information asymmetries and “rule by secrecy” have been clearly documented–the free market is neither free nor fair. A modern economy needs to be transparent, resilient, and hence rooted in the local.

Continue reading “USA: Thirteen Big Lies — Needed Counter-Narrative”

2011/05/312011/05/31

Weak Signals: USG Debt

03 Economy, 07 Other Atrocities, 11 Society, Budgets & Funding, Civil Society, Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government

FACT: USG poised to borrow $1.6 TRILLION in 20

FACT: No one is talking about stopping borrowing as a pre-condition for addessing the problem.

FACT: No one is talking about strategic analytics across the entire budget

FACT: Democrats are demanding tax increases without any reference to reduced borrowing.

FACT: Some, not all, Republicans beginning to associate “truth” with “debt.”

Wikipedia Overview

News on US Debt

2011/05/302011/05/30

UK Joins US in Illegal Attacks on Libyan Capital

01 Brazil, 03 India, 04 Inter-State Conflict, 06 Russia, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, Government, Military, Peace Intelligence

Gunships vs Gaddafi: UK to send Apache attack choppers to Libya

YouTube Russian Television (RT)

Phi Beta Iota: We are surprised that Brazil, India, and Russia are not doing more to put a complete stop to the illegal and immoral attacks on Tripoli. The US and UK governments are completely out of control, completely without any possible legal ethical justification for what they are doing, and shaming all of us–at our expense in incurred debt, we might add. Flag officers, commanders, and pilots should be held accountable for failing to refuse illegal orders–their lack of individual integrity is what enables a lack of government integrity to be so dangerous and costly to humanity.

2011/05/30

Obama Above the Law…

04 Inter-State Conflict, 07 Other Atrocities, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, Government, Law Enforcement, Peace Intelligence

WAR POWERS ACT

Is Obama above the law

By GEORGE F. WILL

Miami Herald, 05.30.11

The U.S. intervention in Libya’s civil war, intervention that began with a surplus of confusion about capabilities and a shortage of candor about objectives, is now taking a toll on the rule of law. In a bipartisan cascade of hypocrisies, a liberal president, with the collaborative silence of most congressional conservatives, is traducing the War Powers Resolution.

Read full article….

2011/05/302011/05/30

Dennis Kucinich: Impeach Obama for Libya?

04 Inter-State Conflict, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Civil Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, IO Multinational, IO Sense-Making, Military, Peace Intelligence

Congress Returns to Town With Demand Obama Get OK on Libya

Fox News, May 22, 2011

President Obama could be impeached for violating U.S. Constitution and law by going into Libya without congressional consent, but Rep. Dennis Kucinich says he doesn't want to cause that kind of havoc on the Republic, he just wants the United States to get out of Libya's civil war. While many lawmakers in general support the U.S. role in Libya, even if they want the final say on approving military action, Kucinich, D-Ohio, will introduce a joint resolution when Congress returns this week that he says “hopefully will lead us out of this mess that we've waded into in Libya.”

. . . . . . .

Kucinich said the U.S. has no business intervening in Libya because it's a civil war. He added that the rebel forces the U.S. and NATO appear to be backing are demonstrating some disturbing behaviors, including “committing some of the same practices that they accused Colonel Qaddafi of.” Beyond that, he added, the whole operation stinks of a bid for the oil fields of Benghazi, where the rebels have set up their stronghold.

Read full article….

Libya, Water, and War + RECAP

2011/05/302011/05/30

White House skips legal deadline on Libya

04 Inter-State Conflict, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Military

White House skips legal deadline on Libya

Salon, 21 May 2011

Military action passes 60-day threshold, but Obama won't seek congressional approval

The White House is skipping a legal deadline to seek congressional authorization of the military action in Libya — but few on the Hill are objecting.

Under the War Powers Resolution of 1973 a president can only send troops into combat for 60 days without congressional mandate. That deadline fell Friday, but in absence of pressure from Congress, White House officials say they think they're on solid ground continuing U.S. involvement in the mission, now led by NATO, without formal congressional sign-off — as long as consultations with Congress continue.

In that spirit President Barack Obama sent a letter to congressional leaders Friday saying U.S. involvement remains critical and welcoming congressional input.

Phi Beta Iota: Unconstitutional, illegal, immoral — business as usual.