Category: Journal ISSN 1078-1935

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Berto Jongman: DHS Intelligence – Additional Actions Needed

Government, Ineptitude, Law Enforcement
Berto Jongman
Berto Jongman

DHS Intelligence Analysis:

Additional Actions Needed to Address Analytic Priorities and Workforce Challenges

GAO-14-397: Published: Jun 4, 2014. Publicly Released: Jun 4, 2014.

What GAO Found

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has established mechanisms—including an intelligence framework and an analytic planning process—to better integrate analysis activities throughout the department, but the mechanisms are not functioning as intended.

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Eagle: Half of Americans Cannot Afford Rent or Mortgage

03 Economy, 06 Family, 07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, 10 Transnational Crime, 11 Society
300 Million Talons...
300 Million Talons…

Half of Americans can’t afford their house

Over half of Americans (52%) have had to make at least one major sacrifice in order to cover their rent or mortgage over the last three years, according to the “How Housing Matters Survey,” which was commissioned by the nonprofit John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and carried out by Hart Research Associates. These sacrifices include getting a second job, deferring saving for retirement, cutting back on health care, running up credit card debt, or even moving to a less safe neighborhood or one with worse schools.

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Worth a Look: Center for Planetary Culture

Civil Society, Worth A Look

logo center for planetary cultureWe are delighted to announce the launch of Center for Planetary Culture, a new not-for-profit think tank, with upcoming events in New York on June 11, and Los Angeles on June 24. 

Center for Planetary Culture advances new ideas and solutions to today’s most pressing ecological, social, and political issues. The mission of the Center is to change global beliefs and practices, supporting the transition to a regenerative society. The Center was founded by Executive Director Daniel Pinchbeck, author and thought leader, with his wife, Creative Director Jana Astanov. Supported by Peter and Jennifer Buffett and the Novo Foundation, the Center will produce issue papers, research projects, and educational media. 

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Patrick Meier: Learning from Conservation UAV Campaigns — with Comment on 21st Century Neighborhood Watch, Alternative ISR, Citizen Intelligence

Advanced Cyber/IO, Drones & UAVs
Patrick Meier
Patrick Meier

What Humanitarians Can Learn from Conservation UAVs

I recently joined my fellow National Geographic Emergency Explorer colleague Shah Selbe on his first expedition of SoarOcean, which seeks to leverage low-cost UAVs for Ocean protection. Why did I participate in an expedition that seemingly had nothing to do with humanitarian response? Because the conservation space is well ahead of the humanitarian sector when it comes to using UAVs. To this end, we have a lot to learn from colleagues like Shah and others outside our field. The video below explains this further & provides a great overview of SoarOcean.

Video, post, other links.

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EXTRA: Video of Bergdahl Handed Over to Contractors or CIA — Patted Down Next to Helicopter Not Before

Ineptitude, Military, Officers Call
Click on Image to Enlarge
Click on Image to Enlarge

Evidently the US military did not feel it could or should be responsible for the direct recovery of Bergdahn, whether he is a returning deserter or a freed prisoner. A more professional exchange would have dropped off the receiving team, which would have a) taken the time to engage and b) called in for lift-off after being fully satisfied Bergdahl was not another Khost Kathy moment (do not, EVER, wait until you are next to the platform before doing your explosives search).

VIDEO, Photos, Story

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Penguin: Doug Macgregor on Army Headed for Collapse — and How to Fix It

Ethics, Military
Who, Me?
Who, Me?

A sharper spear (good) pointed nowhere (bad).

Our Army’s Headed for Collapse

Here’s how to fix it.

By DOUGLAS MACGREGOR

Politico, June 02, 2014

Today, the Army of 550,000 has 11 active-duty four stars, each of which comes with massive amounts of overhead. This makes no sense. If the Army were a rowboat with nine passengers, four would steer, three would call cadence and two would man the oars.

Read full article.

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