Category: Journal ISSN 1078-1935

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NATO WATCH: Afghanistan “Zero Option” and More…

Government, Military

nato watchIn this July-September 2013 edition:

NATO Watch Editorial: ‘Zero Option' for Afghanistan – a realistic possibility?

Review Article: The Taliban at war: inside the Helmand insurgency, 2004–2012

News, Commentary & Reports: Afghanistan-Pakistan; Arctic Security; Arms Control; Counter-Terrorism; Cyber Security; Defence Budgets; Drones; Energy Security; Enlargement and Partnerships; Exercises; Kosovo; Libya; Mali; Maritime Security; Missile Defence; NATO Military Committee & International Military Staff; NATO-Russian Relations; Nuclear Weapons; R2P; Scottish Independence; Syria; Transatlantic Cooperation; Transparency & Accountability

Upcoming Events

Security News from NATO Member States: Albania; Belgium; Bulgaria; Canada; Czech Republic; Estonia; France; Germany; Greece; Hungary; Iceland; Italy; Latvia; Lithuania; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Romania; Slovenia; Spain; Turkey, UK, USA

End Word: National Security Secrecy and the Right to Know

To download the newsletter in pdf (1.2mb): click here

NATO Watch www.natowatch.org conducts independent monitoring and analysis of NATO and aims to increase transparency, stimulate parliamentary engagement and broaden public awareness and participation in a progressive reform agenda within NATO.

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Eagle: US Adults Dumber Than Average Human

03 Economy, 04 Education, 11 Society, Academia, Civil Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Idiocy
300 Million Talons...
300 Million Talons…

Did not make this up!  Associated Press says so.

US adults are dumber than the average human

Associated Press, 8 October 2013

WASHINGTON — It’s long been known that America’s school kids haven’t measured well compared with international peers. Now, there’s a new twist: Adults don’t either.

In math, reading and problem-solving using technology – all skills considered critical for global competitiveness and economic strength – American adults scored below the international average on a global test, according to results released Tuesday.

Read full story.

Continue reading “Eagle: US Adults Dumber Than Average Human”

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Owl: Dominionists — Rabid, Stupid, and Unchecked by a Government That Lacks Integrity

Cultural Intelligence, Government, Idiocy
Who? Who?
Who? Who?

Chris Hedges: Ted Cruse and Radical Republicans Implementing Dominionst/Christian Reconstructionism Agenda, “They seek total cultural and political domination”

Hedges explains one of the largest pieces of the puzzle on why the Republicans are willing to go for broke in the battle of the budget default and government shutdown and unlikely to halt the stalemate with Obama and the Democrats. The prize they seek to gain is, for them, well worth the chaos and breakdown they seek to precipitate to gain that prize, which is nothing less than total domination and control of all aspects of life in America.

Looking for which highly organized and intellectually developed manifestation – articulated over the course of decades and much longer if we factor in John Calvin's profound  inspiration on them – of American fascism and which is waiting in the wings, still half-hidden, but perhaps soon to be center-stage? Look no further than the Dominionists, who counts Ted Cruz's father as a rabid and influential member. Chris Hedges, a graduate from major theological seminary and former NYT reporter is well-qualified to recognize their real character, and plans:

Continue reading “Owl: Dominionists — Rabid, Stupid, and Unchecked by a Government That Lacks Integrity”

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Rickard Falkvinge: US Corporations Lie, Abuse, and Ignore European Privacy Data Regulations

Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Corruption
Rickard Falkvinge
Rickard Falkvinge

US Corporate “Safe Harbor” For European Private Data Lied About, Abused, Ignored; Europarl Calls For Immediate Scrapping

Posted: 09 Oct 2013 01:57 AM PDT

Surveillance camera

Privacy – Henrik Alexandersson:  US corporations routinely ignore and abuse the strict privacy rules of European private citizen data, which they have accessed under the “safe harbor” agreement of the European Union. This surfaced in this week’s Europarl hearing on mass surveillance, causing the European Parliament’s rapporteur to call for a complete scrapping of the safe harbor arrangement right in the middle of the hearing. This is a further erosion of already-brittle trust in privacy respect by the United States.

Read full post.

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John Steiner: The World Community Must Take Charge at Fukushima

07 Health, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Proliferation, 08 Wild Cards, 11 Society, Ethics, Government, Officers Call
John Steiner
John Steiner

The World Community Must Take Charge at Fukushima

By Harvey Wasserman (Contact)

To be delivered to: Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General, United Nations and Barack Obama, President, United States of America

Petition Statement
At Fukushima Unit 4, the impending removal of hugely radioactive spent fuel rods from a pool 100 feet in the air presents unparalleled scientific and engineering challenges. With the potential for 15,000 times more fallout than was released at Hiroshima, we ask the world community, through the United Nations, to take control of this uniquely perilous task.
Petition Background

The danger of huge radiation releases from Fukushima 4 has taken on a new dimension; the world community must step in!

There are currently 73,056 signatures

NEW goal – We need 75,000 signatures

Visit Petition Page at MoveOn.org
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Eagle: Charles Huge Smith on US Reaching Peak Jobs

03 Economy, 11 Society
300 Million Talons...
300 Million Talons…

It's Definitive: We've Reached Peak Jobs

he U.S. has reached Peak Jobs–at least the sort that can support a household.

There has long been a quasi-magical belief in the U.S. that capitalism's intrinsic dynamic of creative destruction will always create more jobs than it destroys. The evidence is compelling that this belief is no longer reality-based.

Please examine these charts of employment, keeping in mind that only full-time jobs can support households and pay sufficient taxes to fund entitlements paid by payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare) and pay enough income taxes to support the rest of government.

Full-time jobs: the number of full-time jobs is essentially unchanged from 1999 while the U.S. population has increased 28%.

peak jobs
Click on Image to Enlarge

See additional graphics.

 

noble gold