The truth at any cost lowers all other costs — curated by former US spy Robert David Steele.
Being watched in Europe.
Published on May 22, 2013
Among items transfered to local law enforcement agencies have been assault rifles and grenade launchers, even Blackhawk helicopters and .50 caliber machine guns ; In fiscal year 2011 alone, the Pentagon transferred almost $500 million worth of materials to domestic law enforcement — near double the previous year's total
Continue reading “Berto Jongman: YouTube (9:34) Obama Doubles Militarization of US Police”
This story, I think, more than almost any other trend I follow on SR makes me furious. Nearly twenty five percent of the people in the richest country on earth struggle to have enough to eat. And the Republicans try over and over again to cut even the little social support that does exist to see that the elderly and the young get at least something to eat. This is immoral at a level I ca! nnot find the words to express.
Report: Nearly a Quarter of All Americans Struggle to Afford Food
KATIE MCDONOUGH, Assistant Editor – Salon
When I read this story I remembered favelas I had seen in Brazil, or the slums in Agentina, and thought to myself is it possible that the disparity between our one per cent and the 99 per cent is so great that it is worse than the difference between rich and poor in Latin America. Apparently it is. What a commentary. This is what we have sunk to.
Latin America’s Inequality Is Improving; The U.S. is The Most Unequal Country In The West
PATRICIA REY MALLÉN – International Business Times
From a SOF colleague in Kabul.
A great deal of sensational reporting….folks who were outside when it happened here did not hear anything…we are not that far away from where it happened either…
Of note, something that gets lost in the reporting, there were basically four/five guys who held off the response team for six plus hours…..in other words, a small group brought them to a standstill….part of the IO
effort on their part…..
This refers to following from NIGHTWATCH (which is read, via Phi Beta Iota, in every clime and place):
Afghanistan: Explosions and gunfire rocked central Kabul Friday as the Taliban launched an attack close to an Afghan intelligence facility and the headquarters of a government force that protects foreign firms. The Taliban said they were targeting CIA trainers. Two people died and 13 were injured in the attack. Six to eight attackers were killed in the firefight that lasted nine hours, according to press service reports.
Comment: This fighting occurred in the center of Kabul, indicating a major lapse in security. . It is another example of the ability of anti-government fighting groups to attack any target they choose at will. The damage and losses were not large, but the demonstration of the anti-government group’s ability to strike at the seat of power and the international quarter is a significant terror effect.
These 12 technologies will drive our economic future
Neil Irwin
Washington Post, 24 May 2013
As the chart shows, the McKinsey folks believe that the most economically significant technologies over the next decade-plus will be those already well underway in their development — the mobile Internet, largely in place in the adv
Indeed, maybe the single biggest takeaway from the study is this: The things that will have the greatest impact on the economy in the medium term aren’t the ones that seem to most excite the imagination and public interest. Instead, the potentially powerful innovations are mostly those that have been evolving for many years in new ways.
. . . . . . . .
The real economic benefits of innovation, at least over the near term, come not from the flashy, mind-blowing ideas, but from clever combinations of technologies that are just maturing with those that have been around for ages.
If you had any doubts about how corrupt the government has become, and how much it is an extension of the Non-geographical Corporate States, this story should settle the matter.
Leak: US Using Taxpayer Dollars To Promote Monsanto GMOs Overseas
ANTHONY GUCCIARDI – Natural Society
Just when you thought the latest Supreme Court ruling in favor of Monsanto’s anti-farmer patent policy was enough evidence of Monsanto’s deep relationship with the US government, hundreds of new cables from the State Department and embassies around the world reveal that your taxpayer dollars are being used to push Monsanto’s genetically modified seeds.
Even mainstream news websites like Reuters are now reporting on the cable details, as it becomes more than crystal clear that the United States government is literally assisting Monsanto in promoting it’s health-crushing genetically modified seeds and escalating the corporation above the law. The same corporation busted for running slave-like work rings where ‘employees’ were required to work on the GMO corn fields for up to 14 hours a day or have their pay withheld.
As it turns out, taxpayer dollars are being funneled into the pockets of international lobbyists who specifically negotiated deals that benefited Monsanto – not even the government itself. This even included crushing the biotech competition in many countries where Monsanto wanted the edge. All performed by the U.S. State Department with the taxes you pay each year from your own salary. What great use, huh? This leak is very similar to the one I discussed back in January of 2012, where the US threatened ‘trade wars’ against nations opposing Monsanto.
One circumstance from 2009 regarding Spain is particularly telling, as the cable tells us that the embassy was demanding ”high-level U.S. government intervention” at the ‘urgent request” of Monsanto to squash biotech competitors in the country so that Monsanto could come scoop up the market for itself. The organization Food & Water Watch has released a detailed report on the cables. A representative from the organization explained how this isn’t even just the promotion of Monsanto but a truly insane initiative by the US government to bend over backwards for the GMO juggernaut:
‘It really goes beyond promoting the U.S.’s biotech industry and agriculture,” said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. ‘It really gets down to twisting the arms of countries and working to undermine local democratic movements that may be opposed to biotech crops, and pressuring foreign governments to also reduce the oversight of biotech crops.”
This revelation is truly amazing, even to me. I am rarely surprised with the latest Monsanto news, but the leaks reveal that the State Department even sent out pamphlets and DVDs to promote Monsanto. They even offered to help troubleshoot any problems that the countries had with letting Monsanto in for business.
Monsanto truly has the United States government in the palm of its bloody proverbial hand.
China South Korea: At the regular daily press briefing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry disclosed, “Upon the invitation of President Xi Jinping, South Korean President Park Geun Hye is to visit China at the end of June.”
Park's spokesperson Kim Haing also told reporters in Seoul. “South Korea and China plan to announce details, including the length of the visit, at an appropriate time in the future.”
Comment: Park's will be a formal state visit. The timing of this announcement is a diplomatic block buster that humiliates North Korea. It occurred on the same day that North Korean Vice Marshal Choe was receiving guidance from President Xi. Choe departed Beijing with no invitation for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who has never been invited to Beijing.
China has “tilted” to South Korea in public.
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Afghanistan: Explosions and gunfire rocked central Kabul Friday as the Taliban launched an attack close to an Afghan intelligence facility and the headquarters of a government force that protects foreign firms. The Taliban said they were targeting CIA trainers. Two people died and 13 were injured in the attack. Six to eight attackers were killed in the firefight that lasted nine hours, according to press service reports.
Comment: This fighting occurred in the center of Kabul, indicating a major lapse in security. . It is another example of the ability of anti-government fighting groups to attack any target they choose at will. The damage and losses were not large, but the demonstration of the anti-government group's ability to strike at the seat of power and the international quarter is a significant terror effect.
Phi Beta Iota: See correction from the field, DefDog: Kabul Update – Media Gets It Wrong … Again
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Syria: Syrian troops have captured much of the rebel stronghold of al-Qusayr, in central Homs province, squeezing opposition fighters into the north of the strategic town, a military officer said on Friday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog said regime forces supported by Hizballah fighters were attacking northern areas of the city, encircling rebel fighters there.
Comment: Capture of al-Qusayr by government forces cuts the main supply route to Homs, which is the next target in the government/Hizballah offensive. Loss of Homs would eviscerate the uprising.
The recent successes will strengthen the government's position in forthcoming talks. As the leader of a successful offensive, it will be difficult to persuade Asad that he must step down or even make many concessions.
See Also:
Had to Stop. WordPress Cannot Handle So Many Links, and Entire Phi Beta Iota Site is About Peace and Prosperity Through Intelligence with Integrity. Links Below Line Estimated 25% of Relevant Links Across all 12,000+ Posts.
Excellent search and badly needed PhD thesis that could “write the book” on the role of intelligence in support of peace operations. The top three living experts are:
MajGen Patrick Cammaert, RN NL (Ret)
Col Jan-Inge Svensson, Land Forces Sweden (Ret)
Dr. Walter Dorn, CA
Others including Robert Steele have a great deal to contribute to aspects of the research. A proper study has never been done, and a book that is oriented toward and useful not just to the UN, which is a mess, but also to NATO, the EU, China into Africa, etcetera, would be most valuable.
The hardest part of dealing with peacekeeping is similar to the challenge that the US Special Operations Command and its renewed emphasis on White SOF faces: it is not possible to create a prosperous world at peace through preventive measures at the tactical levels, if the strategic level is totally corrupt and WANTS war. The Western system we have in place right now is a “war-based” system of, by, and for the banks and the 1%. Even the economic “treaties” and agreements are war-based in their motivation (persistent under-market access to resources) and war-typed (secret, corrupt, predatory).
Waging peace cannot be achieved by reforming the present structures. A transformation is required. This makes it an ethical, financial, and intellectual challenge of the first order.
Hence, a proper PhD would address the four levels of analysis:
