Category: Journal ISSN 1078-1935

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Genghis Khan to Communism to Public Capitalism

Advanced Cyber/IO, Collaboration Zones, Communities of Practice, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Ethics, InfoOps (IO), Key Players, Methods & Process, Officers Call, Policies, Real Time, Strategy, Threats
John Robb

JOURNAL: The Economic Juggernaut of Genghis Kahn

Global Guerrillas

Some fun thinking for Wednesday…

Here are some of the economic reforms that turned the horde of Genghis Kahn into a steamroller than flattened most of the world's kingdoms/empires.*  He:

  1. Delayed gratification.  He banned the sacking of the enemy's camp/city until all of the fleeing soldiers, baggage, etc. were rounded up.  This radically increased the loot accumulated and ensured it could be shared among all of the participants (he confliscated the wealth of those men that cheated by looting early).
  2. Systematically shared the loot based on contribution and merit.  He disregarded title or status and systematically rewarded loot to everyone in the horde that earned it (the traditional approach was to let a few take it all — sound familiar?).  Of course, that fairness pissed off the nobility since they were used to backroom dealing and hereditary rights.  However, the benefits of this system, were far greater than the costs.  To wit:  He cemented the loyalty of the men and was able to attract thousands to his banner for every noble lost.
  3. Protected those that make sacrifices.  For men killed in the campaign, he paid their share of loot to their widows/orphans posthumously.

*of course, the first unsaid lesson is:  attack the places with the most loot.

The economic strategy of Genghis Kahn works well against any corrupt, top-heavy system (loot rich targets that are defended by nobility + serfs).  Sounds somewhat similar to today's global economic formula.  Of course, it's also important to view this simple but effective strategy as something apart from the figure that used it. For example, a decent/moral decentralized system that replicates this merit based approach could reproduce some of the success Ghengis had against the feudal holdings and petty tyrannies of today's marketplace.

Phi Beta Iota: Brother John raises the spectre of honorable leadership with integrity….that means no rule by secrecy, no earmarks, no back office deals.  Ronald Reagan (thank you Peggy Noonan) had it right: the US Congress [and Executive] is no better than the Soviet Politburo.  ALL “top down” elite systems have failed for lack of integrity (holistic informed analysis).  Populism failed as well–bottom up mobs are no better than corrupt elites for different reasons.  The combination of open information and honest crowds is ripe with potential.  The leaders that enable and empower the public, while revealing the “true cost” of predatory capitalism, virtual colonialism, and unilateral militarism, will go down in history as the Epoch B Founding Fathers.

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How Egyptian Activists Kept Ushahidi Alive

Autonomous Internet
Patrick Meier

How Egyptian Activists Kept Their Ushahidi Project Alive Under Mubarak

Patrick Meier | May 25, 2011 

This is my second blog post on the U-Shahid project in Egypt. The first one analyzed 2,000+ reports mapped on the Ushahidi platform during the country's recent Parliamentary Elections. Egypt is one of my dissertation case studies and in this blog post I summarize some initial findings based on a series of interviews I had several Egyptian activists who were part of the U-Shahid project.

Read rest of post….

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BRICS Revolt on IMF–Tipping Point?

Advanced Cyber/IO, Communities of Practice, Cultural Intelligence, Earth Intelligence, Ethics

BRICS' open revolt against European grip on IMF

Narayan Lakshman

The Hindu, 26 May 2011

Paris: The International Monetary Fund's Executive Directors from the BRICS economies have openly revolted against the prospect of the Fund's Managing Director role reverting to a European, deepening the woes of an organisation that was recently rocked to its very core by the resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn as its chief following sexual assault allegations.

Read rest of article….

Phi Beta Iota: The BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa] are now powerful enough to route around the West, but have not yet created a coherent multinational information sharing and sense-making capability such that they can confront the West in real-time with every lie to the public.  When that happens, and it will happen within five years, we anticipate a complete shift in power to the south and the east.  A near term test could be the illegal military actions against the Libyan leader, government, and capital.  The era of “because we say so is coming to an end.”  The era of direct assaults on NATO soil of “rear-area” launching pads and support facilities is here now.

See Also:

From BRIC to BRICS–Sanya Declaration

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US Government Lies Part II [one source, one day]

07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, IO Impotency, Law Enforcement, Military
DefDog Recommends....

There’s a Secret Patriot Act, Senator Says

By Spencer Ackerman

WIRED, May 25, 2011

You may think you understand how the Patriot Act allows the government to spy on its citizens. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) says it’s worse than you’ve heard.

Congress is set to reauthorize three controversial provisions of the surveillance law as early as Thursday. But Wyden says that what Congress will renew is a mere fig leaf for a far broader legal interpretation of the Patriot Act that the government keeps to itself — entirely in secret. Worse, there are hints that the government uses this secret interpretation to gather what one Patriot-watcher calls a “dragnet” for massive amounts of information on private citizens; the government portrays its data-collection efforts much differently.

Read rest of article….

Phi Beta Iota: Further to our comment on Part I, we strongly believe the time has come to discontinue funding for the US Intelligence Community as a whole, beginning with the National Security Agency (NSA), which is in our view the most mis-managed and corrupt (as well as  grotesquely expensive for lack of any reasonable return) part of the US Government.  The fact that they are abusive of the Constitution and devoid of any common sense at all is the other half of their crime against humanity.   An honest President actually interested in the public interest would create an Open Source Agency, and then on the basis of sound decision-support shareable with  the public and Congress, cut the secret world as well as the defense and homeland security worlds by 20% each year for each of five years, restoring 10% each year to new initiatives that pass all common sense tests for need, relevance, and affordability.   All it takes is INTEGRITY.

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US Government Lies Part I [one source, one day]

07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, 11 Society, Corruption, Government, Law Enforcement
DefDog Recommends....

U.S. official cites misconduct in Japanese American internment cases

By David G. Savage, Washington Bureau

Los Angeles Times, May 24, 2011

Acting Solicitor Gen. Neal Katyal says one of his predecessors, Charles Fahy, deliberately hid from the Supreme Court a military report that Japanese Americans were not a threat in World War II.

Read rest of article….

Phi Beta Iota: We are totally fed up with this”Empire of Lies and Secrecy.”  Anyone who has sworn an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies domestic and foreign, who LIES to Congress or the Courts, should be indicted for treason [just as individual members of Congress should be IMPEACHED for any abdication of their Article 1 responsibilities].  The US public needs to demand INTEGRITY of its officials.

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New Concept: Holding Experts Accountable

03 Environmental Degradation, 07 Other Atrocities, 11 Society, Academia, Advanced Cyber/IO, Civil Society, Earth Intelligence, Ethics

(AP) – 25 May 2011

ROME (AP) — Seven scientists and other experts were indicted on manslaughter charges Wednesday for allegedly failing to sufficiently warn residents before a devastating earthquake that killed more than 300 people in central Italy in 2009.

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Vote Now to End the Drug War–Regulate & Save

07 Health, 07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, 11 Society, Civil Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Law Enforcement
John Steiner

Please do consider sharing this one with everyone you know!

Phi Beta Iota: Actionable part right here up front, strongly recommended to one and all.  It's time we put the various “complexes” out of business.

If we can create a worldwide outcry in the next few days to support the bold calls of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, we can overpower the stale excuses for the status quo. Our voices hold the key to change — Sign the petition and spread the word:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/end_the_war_on_drugs_a/?vl

Dear friends,

In days, a group of powerful world leaders will ask the UN to end the war on drugs and move towards regulation. But politicians say that the public will not support alternative drug policies. Let's give this unique opportunity massive public support and get urgent action. Sign below, and tell everyone:

In days, we could finally see the beginning of the end of the Œwar on drugs¹. This expensive war has completely failed to curb the plague of drug addiction, while costing countless lives, devastating communities, and funneling trillions of dollars into violent organized crime networks.
Continue reading “Vote Now to End the Drug War–Regulate & Save”

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