Category: 08 Wild Cards

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Journal: Bribes from US Okay, from Venezuela Not OK

07 Other Atrocities, 07 Venezuela, 08 Wild Cards, Corruption
Marcus Aurelius Recommends

Nicaragua Government Took Bribes From Drug Traffickers, Cable Says

December 9, 2010

Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega’s government accepts bribes from drug traffickers, harbors terrorists and attempts to endear itself to Iran, according to leaked U.S. diplomatic cables.

By Samuel Rubenfeld

U.S. diplomats accused Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s government of taking bribes from drug traffickers in exchange for freeing suspects, in cables released by Wikileaks.

The bribes formed a kind of “judicial ‘campaign finance’ machine” in return for not-guilty verdicts, according to a May 5, 2006, cable from the U.S. Embassy in Manangua, Nicaragua. It says the ruling Sandinista party regularly accepted cash from drug traffickers, “usually in return for ordering Sandinista judges to allow traffickers caught by the police and military to go free.” The scheme, the cable said, was run by the director of the state security service and overseen by Supreme Court judges, including Rafael Solis and Roger Camillo Arguello.

Read full article….

Phi Beta Iota:  What US diplomats don't get is that CIA lies to them all the time, and very often is also paying the same people while sanctioning the drug trans-shipments.  Similarly, DEA and the FBI cut deals.  The single best known case with respect to Nicaragua and the CIA destroying an entire black population in the USA dealt with Contra leader Blandon, a strategic-level (massive) drug exporter.  This is told inReview: Dark Alliance–The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.  Hark back to Panama and General Noriega, who regularly received warm assurances (as well as serious cash payments) from CIA, in some cases from Bill Casey personally, to the effect that as long as he allowed CIA support for the Contras out of Panama, all drug-related matters were “off the table.”  It was an ambitious attorney general in Florida that actually undid that deal.  What CIA has done in our name–what the Pentagon and Special Forces have done in our name–is reprehensible.  Tim Wiener has it right in Review: Legacy of Ashes–The History of the CIA and so do General Smedley Butler, USMC (Ret) in Review: War is a Racket–The Antiwar Classic by America’s Most Decorated Soldier and James Carroll in Review: House of War.  ENOUGH!

See Also:

Journal: CIA and the Culture of Corruption

Journal: Nato’s Secret Armies (It’s Not Terror if CIA Pays and Locals Do the Dirty….)

Worth a Look: Book Reviews on Corruption

Worth a Look: Book Reviews on Dereliction of Duty (Defense)

Worth a Look: Book Reviews on Disinformation, Other Information Pathologies, & Repression

Worth a Look: Book Reviews on Empire as Cancer Including Betrayal & Deceit

Worth a Look: Impeachable Offenses, Modern & Historic

Worth a Look: Book Reviews on Intelligence (Lack Of)

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Journal: US Army Civil Affairs Left for Dead…

08 Wild Cards, Civil Society, Corruption, Government, Methods & Process, Military, Non-Governmental, Officers Call, Policies

14 December 2010 CRYTOME

US Army Starving its Civil Affairs Functions: Prefers New Age HTS, PRT’s

by John Stanton

“If the expansion of the Human Terrain System gains traction at TRADOC it could kill any efforts to develop a cultural expertise construct by the Civil Affairs community, specifically the Civil Affairs Proponent at USA JFK SWCS. Everybody is looking to get as much money as they can for their organizations as the Defense budget begins to get squeezed. Naturally there could be a potential dog fight between TRADOC and any other Army organization making claims for HTS-like capability. Once something becomes institutionalized in the military it is difficult to change the new status quo.”

Read full article….

Phi Beta Iota: The US Army Civil Affairs Brigade got off to a very good start under Col Ferd Irizzarry, USA, and then he got sent to Afghanistan to punch his pre-flag combat operations ticket and it took a nose dive.  HRT is the most badly managed–unethically managed–program in the DoD Human Intelligence inventory.  While recognizing that the author above is on a vendetta against HRT, the bottom-line is that he is right, HRT is wrong, and TRADOC does not know the difference.

See Also:

2010: Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Trilogy Updated

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Journal: Sun Tzu is with the Taliban in Afghanistan

02 Diplomacy, 03 Economy, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 10 Security, 11 Society, Budgets & Funding, Civil Society, Commerce, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Military, Non-Governmental, Officers Call, Peace Intelligence
Chuck Spinney Sounds Off....

December 14, 2010

Memo From Sun Tzu to President Obama

Who is the Wise General in Afghanistan?

By FRANKLIN C. SPINNEY Counterpunch

In the first treatise written on the art of war, sometime around 450 BC [1], Sun Tzu explained why “the wise general sees to it that his troops feed on the enemy,”

EXTRACT:  The militarization of development aid is a central pillar of General Petaeus's counterinsurgency strategy to buy the hearts and minds of the Afghan people, ninety per cent of whom are spread out in remote rural areas. So it should not be surprising that the military is controlling the bulk of the billions of dollars in aid money flowing into (and being smuggled out of) Afghanistan.

In the very important CounterPunch report on 13 December, Patrick Cockburn, certainly one of the most informed observers of insurgencies in the Middle East and Central Asia, described how the militarization of development aid in Afghanistan is riven with corruption.

Read full article….

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Health: Fish Watch (US) & the Bluefin Tuna Black Market Global Investigation (Global)

01 Agriculture, 04 Education, 07 Health, 08 Wild Cards, 12 Water, True Cost
link

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/fishwatch/

“..providing the most accurate and up-to-date information on seafood available in the U.S. FishWatch is brought to you by NOAA Fisheries Service, the U.S. authority on marine fisheries science, conservation, and management.”
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report

Looting the Seas: How Overfishing, Fraud, and Negligence Plundered the Majestic Bluefin Tuna
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Also see:
+ Seafood harvest calendar
+ FishPhone: Text 30644 with the message FISH and the name of the fish in question. We'll text you back with our assessment and better alternatives to fish with significant environmental concerns. Also: text the word BLUE to 30644 to opt-in to receive ocean-alerts, info on new seafood rankings and cooking tips.

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Journal: Appeal to Obama on Afghanistan

02 Diplomacy, 08 Wild Cards, 10 Security, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Military
DefDog Recommends...

Obama ‘must talk to Afghan Taliban'

By Staff Reporter
AFP Global Edition

Dec 11, 2010 11:36 EST

A group of influential international experts on Afghanistan Saturday appealed to US President Barack Obama to radically change his strategy in the war-ravaged nation and negotiate directly with the Taliban.

. . . . . . .

“It is better to negotiate now rather than later, since the Taliban will likely be stronger next year.”

“The situation on the ground is much worse than a year ago because the Taliban insurgency has made progress across the country,” the letter said.

“The Taliban today are now a national movement with a serious presence in the north and the west of the country.”

. . . . . . .

“Like it or not, the Taliban are a long-term part of the Afghan political landscape and we need to try and negotiate with them in order to reach a diplomatic settlement. The Taliban's leadership has indicated its willingness to negotiate and it is in our interests to talk to them.”

Full article….

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Reference: Innovation From, By, and For Africa

08 Wild Cards, Collective Intelligence, Collective Intelligence, Commercial Intelligence, Communities of Practice, Cultural Intelligence, IO Mapping, IO Sense-Making, Methods & Process, Mobile, Policies, Reform
Jerri Chou

Jerri Chou

Co-Founder All Day Buffet, The Feast, TBD and Lovely Day

Posted: December 10, 2010 12:39 PM

Innovation From, By and For Africa

Collaboration is never easy, particularly when dealing with complex issues like development. So imagine an attempt at galvanizing an entire continent to collaborate for societal change and innovation and the task seems daunting, difficult, if not impossible. Well turns out it's always worth trying and that the results can be greatly inspiring.

I'm talking about The Open Innovation Africa Summit (OIAS) I recently attended, hosted by Nokia, The World Bank and Cap Gemini. Over the course of three days, 200-plus leaders and innovators convened in the Rift Valley of Kenya, Africa to share, connect, and take action toward fostering innovation in and from Africa.

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Facilitated by Cap Gemini's exploratory process, this remarkable body of people broke out into working groups to focus and dive deep into four specific areas:

  • African Innovation Ecosystem
  • Emerging Business Models for the BoP
  • Human Capital — Education for All
  • Mobile Information Society.

Read rest of article….

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NIGHTWATCH Extract: Iran/NKorea Rockets for Venezuela

08 Wild Cards, Cultural Intelligence, Government, IO Sense-Making, Peace Intelligence

Venezuela-Iran: Die Welt is the original source for the following item, which is too important to overlook.

“Iran is planning to place medium-range missiles on Venezuelan soil, based on unidentified western sources, according to an article in the German daily, Die Welt, on 25 November. According to the article, an agreement between the two countries was signed during the last visit of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to Tehran on 19 October 2010.

Continue reading “NIGHTWATCH Extract: Iran/NKorea Rockets for Venezuela”