Journal ISSN 1078-1935 – Page 1754 – Public Intelligence Blog

The African Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Maj (Ret) Rob Sentse, Royal Netherlands Army

Two major and interlinked issues of note include the perceived necessity to review the focus of current military engagement by both NATO and the EU, and the strategic importance of both the African Continent and the Atlantic Ocean, which are in fact interrelated and of vital importance to Europe. It is critical to increase serious investments in port facilities and services on the western seaboard of the African Continent, and in so doing to forge affiliations with the African states based on enduring historic relationships. We must deepen these relationships with due recognition of national needs, heritage, and ambitions, and thus strengthen regional blocks of like-minded African nations. This article will try to fuel crucial discussions for unconventional and progressive approaches instead of characterizing them a “enemy thinking” or “perceived hostile acts.”

It has already been established that the African Continent has the fastest growing population in the world. This boom will cause Africa to surpass both China's and India's populations by 2025, less than 15 years away. The combined poplations of Asia, including China and India, will still exceed Africa's.

PDF (6 Pages): AIJ African Boulevard of Broken Dreams

2013/10/19

Paul Craig Roberts: Five Socko Truth Stories

Corruption, Government, Officers Call

Bin Laden’s “Killing”

Darth Vader In The White House

De-Americanization Of The World

The Man Who Usurped The Constitution

Worse Is To Come

All stories with links accessible via A Potpourri of Exciting Reading — Paul Craig Roberts

2013/10/192013/10/19

Stephen E. Arnold: Tables and News — or Tables and Decision-Support?

Advanced Cyber/IO

Tablets and Periodicals

October 19, 2013

Are tablets the salvation of the newspaper industry? Google’s chief economist thinks they may be. In a speech he recently gave in Milan, Hal Varian points to the ways consumers’ usage of tablets differs from that of other devices. Writer Will Conley summarizes:

“Varian said tablets are the most newspaper-like electronic medium due to their status as ‘leisure time’ reading devices. Citing a Pew Foundation study, Varian pointed out that tablets are the preferred electronic news reading medium for mornings and evenings—during which readers spend the most time absorbing the news—beating out both desktop and smartphones for those periods. Ad revenue depends on the amount of time spent reading the news, he said, and therefore the proliferation of tablets will help the online newspaper industry to gain a new foothold for the first time in 40 years.”

Varian believes tablets might even prompt users to devote more time to reading news, restoring the “analytic depth” that has been eroding along with our attention spans. It’s a nice vision. Unfortunately, an article at Gigaom that came out on the same day as Conley’s piece takes a contradictory stance. Gigaom contributor Jon Lund explains “Why Tablet Magazines are a Failure.” (I think we can extrapolate his points to periodicals in general.)

Continue reading “Stephen E. Arnold: Tables and News — or Tables and Decision-Support?”

2013/10/192013/10/19

SchwartzReport: NSA Has Not Foiled a SINGLE Terrorist Plot + NSA Meta-RECAP

Corruption, Government, Idiocy, Ineptitude, IO Impotency, Military, Officers Call

Here is what I believe is a correct assessment concerning the creation of the national security state in which we live today. Absurd amounts of money have been spent, and civil liberties abridged to an unprecedented degree, on the basis of a threat consisting of little gangs. It is transparently disproportionate, there has to be something underneath that.! I believe it results from a long-term strategic assessment of what is going to happen with climate change. Since 1991 I have been following and publishing stories on this trend. It's very clear, on the basis of the scientific research in the open literature, that it is going to cause massive disruption, and social disorder. I am sure there are lots of other studies that are classified that say the same thing, perhaps in greater detail, and with a security perspective not usually found in open research literature

NSA Spying Did Not Result In a SINGLE Foiled Terrorist Plot
WashingtonsBlog

Entire article with links below the line.

Continue reading “SchwartzReport: NSA Has Not Foiled a SINGLE Terrorist Plot + NSA Meta-RECAP”

2013/10/192013/10/19

Rob Sentse: The Battle for the Information Domain

Advanced Cyber/IO

The Battle for the Information Domain

By Major Rob Sentse[1] Bachelor. Infantry, Royal Netherlands Army
and Major Arno Storm, Bachelor. Infantry, Royal Netherlands Army

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
–Maya Angelou (American Poet, b.1928)

(This publication has been written on our personal title and does not refl ect the opinion of the Royal Netherlands Army.)

PDF (7 Pages): IOJ Feb 2010__Rob Sentse Battle for the Information Domain

Phi Beta Iota: Includes very well done graphics.

Who’s Who in Peace Intelligence: Rob Sentse

2013/10/18

SmartPlanet: On Demand Public Transit App in Helsinki

Advanced Cyber/IO

Public transit goes on-demand in Helsinki

By Tyler Falk | October 17, 2013

Sure, there are many cities around the world where you can hail a taxi or hitch a ride in a private car using a smartphone with apps like Uber and Lyft.

But Helsinki is taking that idea to the next level with on-demand public transit.

The capital city of Finland has an on-demand minibus service run by the city’s transit agency. Kutsuplus, as the service is called, lets you choose where you want to be picked up by the bus and if you want a private trip (like using Uber) or a shared ride. If you decide to share a ride, an algorithm will determine the best route for getting you to your destination and picking up others, but you’re only charged as if you’re the only passenger. The minibuses can accommodate up to nine passengers.

The cost of the service is 3.50 euros, plus 0.60 euros per kilometer. That’s more than a bus but less than a taxi, but as Wired points out, the point of it isn’t to replace either form of transit.

Despite its on-demand nature, Kutsuplus isn’t designed to put cabs out of business. Rather, it’s supposed to make it easier for motorists to switch to public transit. According to Kari Rissanen, a Program Director at the Helsinki Regional Transport Authority, Kutsuplus makes transit more attractive for those whose commutes would require multiple changes of buses or trains.

Kutsuplus is currently running as a pilot program with 10 minibuses. According to Wired, the could soon grow to 100.

2013/10/182013/10/18