Gingrich has always excelled at avoiding reality.
Lunatic Press: Implosion – The End of Russia and What It Means for America
Cultural IntelligenceBerto Jongman: Al Qaeda Potpourri
04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 07 Other Atrocities, 09 TerrorismBerto Jongman: NSA Whistleblower Thomas Drake Addresses European Parliament on the American Surveillance State + NSA Role in Global Assassination Program
03 Economy, 07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Idiocy, IO Deeds of War, IO Impotency, Military, Officers Call
NSA Whistleblower Thomas Drake Addresses European Parliament on the American Surveillance State
Earlier today, former National Security Agency (NSA) Senior Executive Thomas Drake addressed a special Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) created by the European Parliament to investigate spying efforts by the United States and EU countries. Addressing specially-appointed Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), Drake spoke as a former NSA crypto-linguist who witnessed what he describes as a “persistent surveillance state” that was “born during the first few critical weeks and months following 9/11.”
Drake's testimony can be read and viewed here
Drake, a whistleblower, was the subject of a federal criminal leak investigation and faced a potential 35 years under a 10-felony count indictment, including five counts under the Espionage Act. In 2011, the federal government dropped all charges against Drake.
Seena Sharp: Fishing for New Customers [Not Something the Traditional Intelligence Communities Have Ever Considered]
Corruption, Government, Idiocy, Ineptitude, IO Impotency, Military
Fishing For New Customers
Nearly every product or service has the potential to sell to multiple target audiences, but most companies focus only on their core customers. Isn't it time to play the field a little?
Back in the 1980s, Plano plastic tackle boxes were a must for fishing enthusiasts. When game show hostess Vanna White was photographed with her tackle box full of cosmetics, Plano began making Caboodles, colorful versions of the boxes. Within five years the new customers were buying more than the fishing crowd ever did. Does this count as “out of the box” thinking?
The Caboodles story is no anomaly; here are more:
- Guns and Doses: The pellets for paintball sports use the same gelcap casings featured in prescription and over-the-counter medications – and the pellets are made by the same manufacturers.
- Puccini, Pygmalion, and popcorn: The New York Metropolitan Opera House and the U.K.’s National Theatre Live film their world-class productions for screening at movie theaters globally. The arts organizations get much-needed funds and the theaters get new patrons.
- Leveraging 101: Most community colleges have the facilities, equipment, and staff for workforce training and retraining, so some companies are partnering with their local campus to offer a specialized curriculum just for their employees.
- A classic case: Pelican Products‘ watertight, bomb-proof cases are perfect for transporting weapons, electronics, and engines. Thanks to new temperature control features, the cases are now also in demand for transporting blood, vaccines and other sensitive substances.
- Boardroom service: Ritz-Carlton Hotels, known around the world for extraordinary customer service, launched The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center in 2000 to teach its philosophy and techniques to organizations in every sector. Notable clients include Apple and the U.S. Navy.
How can you look at your products, services, technologies, skills, and facilities with fresh eyes to find ways to grow your company and create value for new customers? Get help! Sharp Market Intelligence identifies unknown “other” markets and customers who are already buying your offerings but don’t fit your customer profile.
SharpInsights are byte-size bits of food for thought for executives. You are welcome to forward this message to colleagues, tweet or reprint it, as long as you credit us and link to the source: http://www.sharpmarket.com Want more SharpInsights? Visit the archives.
Marcus Aurelius: The Beginning of the End for Washington
Civil Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Idiocy, Ineptitude
Following from Defense One, a relatively new newsletter. I'm not a political scientist, but much of what's said below seems reasonable to me. I would tell you that the current situation clearly tells us that our Constitutional republic has failed, probably irrevocably so and that we need a lawful Constitutional convention in order to rebuild the country and our Constitution from the ground up, line by line, issue by issue.
The Beginning of the End for Washington
By Ron Fournier
October 1, 2013
Step back. Try for a moment to extrapolate what a government shutdown and discredited U.S. currency could do to the economy and the public's faith in government. Think beyond next year's congressional elections or even the 2016 presidential race. Factor in existing demographic and social trends. I did, and this is what I concluded:
1. The Republican Party is marginalizing itself to the brink of extinction.
2. President Obama can't capitulate to GOP demands to unwind the fairly legislated and litigated Affordable Care Act. To do so would be political malpractice and a poor precedent for future presidents.
3. Despite the prior two points, Obama and his party won't escape voters' wrath. Democrats are less at fault but not blameless.
4. This may be the beginning of the end of Washington as we know it. A rising generation of pragmatic, non-ideological voters is appalled by the dysfunctional leadership of their parents and grandparents. History may consider October 2013 their breaking point. There will come a time when Millennials aren't just mad as hell; they won't take it anymore.
Continue reading “Marcus Aurelius: The Beginning of the End for Washington”
Jean Lievens: NSA + TSA = Questionable Due Process – a German Victim of Rule by Secrecy, or a Bulgarian Clandestine Asset Properly Barred?
Ethics, Government
Ilija Trojanow, German Writer, Banned From US For Criticizing NSA
According to Der Spiegel, German-Bulgarian writer and activist Ilija Trojanow was barred from entering the United States on Monday. Trojanow was to speak at a literary conference. HuffPost Live’s Ahmed Shihab-Eldin took a closer look at the story, which has yet to be covered by most major news sources in the U.S.
While U.S. authorities did not provide Trojanow with a formal explanation, he believes he has been banned from the US because of his outspoken criticism of the NSA’s surveillance programs.
In an article published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Trojanow voiced his frustration with the incident. “It is more than ironic if an author who raises his voice against the dangers of surveillance and the secret state within a state for years, will be denied entry into the ‘land of the brave and the free,'” he said.
Trojanow has written an open letter denouncing the NSA in addition to signing a petition that asks German Chancellor Angela Merkel to forcefully oppose NSA surveillance. He is a professor at The European Graduate School and co-author of a book that examines the surveillance state, with fellow German novelist Juli Zeh.
Zeh also expressed outrage following Trojanow’s detainment in an airport in Brazil. A Facebook post by Zeh, loosely translated, reads, “ This is a farce. Pure paranoia. People who stand up for civil rights are treated as enemies of the state.”
News of Trojanow’s denied entry into the U.S. coincided with the announcement that the U.S. government had been shut down by Congress.
Correction: An earlier version of this story indicated that Trojanow had been invited to the United States by Congress. He was not invited by Congress, but by a literary conference in Denver.
Sepp Hasslberger: The Crystal Cell — Quantum Fluctuations and Electric Energy
05 Energy
For those who think free energy is impossible, this is a tangible proof-of-principle that shows that electrical energy can indeed be extracted from an as-yet unacknowledged source.
The Crystal Cell
Coherent Quantum Fluctuations into Electric Energy
From www.sustainablemedia.co – October 1, 9:58 PM
The Crystal Cell is a capacitor like device that generates a steady electric current.
Concerning its basic construction, the Crystal Cell is similar to an electrolytic capacitor which contains a solid polycrystalline silicate instead of an electrolyte
The function of the Crystal Cell is related to a solar cell. Instead of sun light coherent quantum fluctuations are used to create a charge separation.
The emission free Crystal Cell can generate a direct electric current over an unknown period of time (since 1999).
Within the Crystal Cell processes play a role, which are similar to a hydropower plant. Just like a hydropower plant draws its energy from the flow of water the Crystal Cell draws its energy from an external source of energy.
Our hypothesis is, that the Crystal Cell extracts energy from the quantum vacuum. The power output is today at (10mW/kg/25°C).
Continue reading “Sepp Hasslberger: The Crystal Cell — Quantum Fluctuations and Electric Energy”
