Journal ISSN 1078-1935 – Page 1749 – Public Intelligence Blog

2013/10/242013/10/24

Berto Jongman: Sunni-Shia Schism — US Has No Clue and Continues to Prostitute Itself to Saudi Arabia and Israel

01 Poverty, 02 Infectious Disease, 03 Environmental Degradation, 04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 05 Iran, 06 Genocide, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Proliferation, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Terrorism, 10 Transnational Crime, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Idiocy, Ineptitude, IO Deeds of War, IO Impotency, Peace Intelligence

How the Sunni-Shia schism is dividing the world

The unprecedented Saudi refusal to take up its Security Council seat is not just about Syria but a response to the Iranian threat

The Muslim world’s historic – and deeply tragic – chasm between Sunni and Shia Islam is having worldwide repercussions. Syria’s civil war, America’s craven alliance with the Sunni Gulf autocracies, and Sunni (as well as Israeli) suspicions of Shia Iran are affecting even the work of the United Nations.

Saudi Arabia’s petulant refusal last week to take its place among non-voting members of the Security Council, an unprecedented step by any UN member, was intended to express the dictatorial monarchy’s displeasure with Washington’s refusal to bomb Syria after the use of chemical weapons in Damascus – but it also represented Saudi fears that Barack Obama might respond to Iranian overtures for better relations with the West.

The Saudi head of intelligence, Prince Bandar bin Sultan – a true buddy of President George W Bush during his 22 years as ambassador in Washington – has now rattled his tin drum to warn the Americans that Saudi Arabia will make a “major shift” in its relations with the US, not just because of its failure to attack Syria but for its inability to produce a fair Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement.

What this “major shift” might be – save for the usual Saudi hot air about its independence from US foreign policy – was a secret that the prince kept to himself.

Israel, of course, never loses an opportunity to publicise – quite accurately – how closely many of its Middle East policies now coincide with those of the wealthy potentates of the Arab Gulf.

Continue reading “Berto Jongman: Sunni-Shia Schism — US Has No Clue and Continues to Prostitute Itself to Saudi Arabia and Israel”

2013/10/24

Penguin: Post Iran-Contra – Clean Army, Dirty Marines + A Few Special Ops Books and DVDs

Ethics, Military

Further to David Sabow: White House/Pentagon/CIA Iran Contra Drug Running — and Destruction of Senator Gary Hart to Stop Investigation see the below book, bottom line is that Army became super clean and Marines did not; and of course Army had Yellow Fruit.

Steve Emerson, Secret Warriors: Inside the Covert Military Operations of the Reagan Era (Putnam Adult, 1988)

Jim Fallows, Blank Check: The Pentagon's Black Budget (Grand Central Publishing, 1990)

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2013/10/24

SmartPlanet: The Switching Economy Puts $5.9 Trillion Up For Grabs

03 Economy, Commercial Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence, Earth Intelligence

The ’switching economy’ puts $5.9 trillion up for grabs

By Tyler Falk | October 23, 2013

For companies around the world there are literally trillions of dollars worth of revenue up for grabs in what Accenture calls, in a new report, the “switching economy.”

According to the ninth annual Accenture Global Consumer Pulse Survey, which surveys consumer attitudes toward marketing, sales and customer service in 32 countries around the world, consumers are feeling more empowered to stop doing business with, say, a mobile phone provider or any other company if the customer service isn’t meeting their expectations.

Last year, there was a four percent jump — from 62 percent to 66 percent — in the number of people switching a company globally because of poor customer service. That’s a big increase from the 49 percent of people who switched in 2005 when the first survey was conducted.

The top five industries which see the most changes by customers are: consumer goods retailers (28 percent), retail banks (20 percent), Internet service providers (18 percent), wireless phone companies (17 percent), and landline phone companies (14 percent).

Those are the industries that have the best opportunity for taking advantage of the estimated $5.9 trillion worth of revenue that’s available worldwide from consumers switching companies.

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2013/10/242013/10/24

SchwartzReport: Six Specifics That Make Denmark the Happiest (and Perhaps the Most Productive) Nation on Earth

08 Wild Cards, Civil Society, Collective Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Government, Lessons, Peace Intelligence, Policies

Lo and behold when a society is ordered on wellness and not just profit, as is the case in Denmark, we can see what results — wellness, happiness. So why aren't we doing this?

Denmark Is the Happiest Country on Earth! You'll Never Guess Why
AlterNet (U.S.)

Last month, Denmark was crowned the happiest country in the world.

‘The top countries generally rank higher in all six of the key factors identified in the World Happiness Report,” wrote University of British Columbia economics professor John Helliwell, one of the report's contributing authors. ‘Together, these six factors explain three quarters of differences in life evaluations across hundreds of countries and over the years.”

The six factors for a happy nation split evenly between concerns on a government- and on a human-scale. The happiest countries have in common a large GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy at birth and a lack of corruption in leadership. But also essential were three things over which individual citizens have a bit more control over: A sense of social support, freedom to make life choices and a culture of generosity.

“There is now a rising worldwide demand that policy be more closely aligned with what really matters to people as they themselves characterize their well-being,” economist Jeffrey Sachs said in a statement at the time of the report's release.

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2013/10/23

Sreeram Chaulia: Russia-China-India “Strategic Triangle”

02 China, 03 India, 06 Russia

A new power triangle

The relative decline of America’s military, economy and soft power has led to new possibilities for restructuring leadership. Russia, India and China have been grasping at these new horizons.

The Asian Age, 22 October 2013

Two back-to-back diplomatic summits this week between India and Russia, followed by India and China, are manifestations of an altered world order where major non-Western actors are pooling resources and strategies. Although Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are exclusive of each other and bilateral, they play into a broader dynamic of intensifying linkages and coordination that has ushered in a world with multiple power centres.

While the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) formulation has captured attention over the last decade, a parallel “RIC” grouping comprising just Russia, India and China has existed since 1996. RIC was the first front that sparked questioning about the unipolar, US-dominated international system of the post-Cold War years. More explicitly anti-American coalitions like the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) arrived after RIC had sown the seeds of a multipolar world.

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2013/10/232013/10/23

SmartPlanet: China’s Global Investment in One Map

02 China, 03 Economy, Commercial Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence

China’s massive foreign investment, in one map

By Tyler Falk | October 22, 2013, 5:32 AM PDT

Living in the United States, the scale of foreign investment by Chinese companies isn’t so obvious. Much of the $57.8 billion of Chinese investment in the U.S. since 2005 has been in the finance sector. I didn’t comprehend the scale of the Chinese investment until I visited Ethiopia earlier this month where nearly all the construction projects — including a major light rail line — were being done by Chinese firms (sub-Saharan Africa has the most investment from China of any region). Many huge factories on the outskirts of the capital city are joint projects between China and Ethiopia with the flags of both countries flying side-by-side. The redevelopment of a major road was paid for by Chinese government and is now dubbed “Ethio-China Friendship Avenue.” In other words, the scale of Chinese investment is overtly apparent in Ethiopia and many other countries around the world, if not as obvious in the developed world.

Heritage Foundation provides more insight into China’s massive investment all over the world with a new report showing moderate growth in Chinese investment so far in 2013 and the map above with total investment and contracts won since 2005. There’s also a fascinating interactive map with detailed information on Chinese investment for every country where it has investments over $100 million.

Most people I talked to in Ethiopia about all the Chinese investment had mixed feelings. They were glad for the investment — in just a few years the country will have its first light rail — but there’s also skepticism. What are their ulterior motives? Will all the investment ultimately help Ethiopians in the long run? Why us?

As Quartz points out, even if Chinese companies have nothing to hide there’s good reason to be skeptical. The main reason? A lack of transparency. In a report on 100 multinational corporations in emerging markets, Transparency International, an anti-corruption organization, shows that Chinese multinationals perform poorly. “Results show that companies from China lag behind in every dimension with an overall score of 20 percent (2 out of a maximum of 10),” the report said. “Considering their growing influence in markets around the world, this poor performance is of concern.”

2013/10/232013/10/23

David Sabow: White House/Pentagon/CIA Iran Contra Drug Running — and Destruction of Senator Gary Hart to Stop Investigation

07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, 11 Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Military

This is NOT speculation. Everything told here is documented and supported by a Tosh Plumlee's testimony and supported by letters from Senator Gary Hart to the “Kerry Commission”. I have copies of the letters. David

Phi Beta Iota: This series by Dr. David Sabow is posted in honor of his brother Col James Sabow, USMC (Aviation), murdered at the direction of Marine Corps General Officers co-conspiring with the CIA to introduce drugs into the USA in the 1980's and early 1990's. We note with interest that Senator John Kerry, today Secretary of State, became complicit after the fact. The truth at any cost lowers all others costs. The day is coming when the public appreciates the truth, and the freedom and dignity and prosperity that the truth can bring to a community and to its governance.

David Sabow: Posted on my Face Book Page in ref to John Carman contact and reply.

John very interesting background. That's what I meant when I said you paid some dues.

I don't know those people you worked with but that doesn't mean anything.

I flew into China Lakes a few times in the eighties and early nineties, and into El Toro's Marine Naval Air Station for mostly refueling before going on the “Roster Hop' to Mexico and Central America, in operation Penetrate. That was mostly in the early stages of what would be later called Iran Contra.

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