Policies – Page 518 – Public Intelligence Blog

2011/09/01

Cynthia McKinney: Libya Eyewitness Tour Final Report

04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Blog Wisdom, Civil Society, Corruption, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Government, IO Deeds of War, IO Impotency, Military, Misinformation & Propaganda, Money, Banks & Concentrated Wealth, Peace Intelligence, Power Behind-the-Scenes/Special Interests, Secrecy & Politics of Secrecy, Waste (materials, food, etc)

On today, the anniversary of the overthrow of King Idris in Libya, the neo-colonial powers met in France to continue their drive at the new carve-up of Africa. This set of circumstances makes many of us very sad.

I had a dream last night. I was caught in the midst of intense fighting–street fighting: house to house. I guess I was channeling what the typical Libyan is feeling and has been feeling for the past 6 months. In my chats with DIGNITY Delegation members, one thing is clear: we are traumatized by what is happening to the lovely people of Libya. But imagine, if we feel that way, how must they feel? Terrorized and worse.

When the DIGNITY Delegation of journalists was there, we could already see the impact of the bombing on patients in the hospital, children trying to understand what was happening, women trying to soothe their families, men trying to carry on with their normal activities, shopkeepers trying to eke out a living despite fighting and bombing all around them, Black Libyans who felt threatened by their fellow countrymen and the outsiders who have streamed into the country, siding with NATO and openly boasted of killing dark-skinned Libyans (who number between 50% and 58% of the population, according to one of the Libyans who joined us on the tour, now returned to his country, not the 30% written in the special interest press) and non-Libyan Africans.
Continue reading “Cynthia McKinney: Libya Eyewitness Tour Final Report”

2011/09/012011/09/01

Steven Aftergood: Top Secret America–Totally Dysfunctional

Analysis, Commerce, Corruption, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Government, InfoOps (IO), Intelligence (government), IO Deeds of War, IO Impotency, Methods & Process, Officers Call, Policies, Threats

A SPOTLIGHT ON “TOP SECRET AMERICA”

Most people can vaguely recall that there was once no U.S. Department of Homeland Security and that there was a time when you didn't have to take your shoes off before boarding an airplane or submit to other dubious security practices.

But hardly anyone truly comprehends the enormous expansion of the military, intelligence and homeland security bureaucracy that has occurred over the past decade, and the often irrational transformation of American life that has accompanied it.

The great virtue of the new book Top Secret America by Dana Priest and William M. Arkin (Little Brown, September 2011) is that it illuminates various facets of our secret government, lifting them from the periphery of awareness to full, sustained attention.

Top Secret America, which builds on the series of stories the authors produced for the Washington Post in July 2010, delineates the contours of “the new American security state.” Since 9/11, for example, some 33 large office complexes for top secret intelligence work have been completed in the Washington DC area, the equivalent in size of nearly three Pentagons. More than 250,000 contractors are working on top secret programs. A bewildering number of agencies – more than a thousand — have been created to execute security policy, including at least 24 new organizations last year alone. And so on.

But the vast scale of this activity says nothing about its quality or utility. The authors, who are scrupulous in their presentation of the facts, are critical in their evaluation:

“One of the greatest secrets of Top Secret America is its disturbing dysfunction.”

Continue reading “Steven Aftergood: Top Secret America–Totally Dysfunctional”

2011/08/312011/08/31

DefDog: Court Case Lifts Lid on CIA Rendition Flights

07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, 09 Terrorism, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, Government, IO Deeds of War, IO Impotency, Officers Call

The dam should be close to bursting…..

Court case lifts lid on secret post 9/11 flights

By STEPHEN BRAUN, Associated Press – 4 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — A hidden network of U.S. companies, coordinated by a prominent defense contractor, played a key role in the covert airlift that transported terrorism suspects and their American minders, according to newly disclosed documents in a New York business dispute between two aviation companies.

The court files of more than 1,700 pages shed new light on the U.S. government's reliance on private contractors for flights between Washington, foreign capitals, the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and, at times, landing points near once-secret, CIA-run overseas prisons. The companies included DynCorp, a leading government contractor that secretly oversaw a fleet of luxury jets, and caterers that unwittingly stocked the planes with fruit platters and bottles of wine, according to the court files and testimony.

The business dispute stems from an obscure four-year fight between a New York-based charter company, Richmor Aviation Inc., which supplied corporate jets and crews to the government, and a private aviation broker, SportsFlight Air, which organized flights for DynCorp. Both sides cited the government's program of forced transport of detainees, or “extraordinary rendition,” in testimony, evidence and legal arguments. The companies are fighting over $874,000 awarded to Richmor by a New York state appeals court to cover unpaid costs for the secret flights.

The court files — they include contracts, flight invoices, cell phone logs and correspondence — paint a sweeping portrait of collusion between the government and the private contractors that did its bidding — some eagerly, some hesitantly. Other firms turned a blind eye.

Read full article….

2011/08/29

Koko: Weak Assumptions on Nuclear, Levee Designs

03 Economy, 05 Energy, 12 Water, Commercial Intelligence, Earth Intelligence

Nuclear Plants have not been designed for being flooded by tsunami nor for earthquakes of the sort anticipated in the near-term.

Levees all across America–and perhaps in other parts of the world–have not been designed for “heavy weather” of the sort that destroyed the largest “conventional” levee protecting the city of New Orleans.

This is a short-coming that will ultimately be fatal for more than one community, and it is not being corrected by anyone.

Quake Motion May Have Exceeded Plant's Design

Earthquake simulator gives model levee a big shake

2011/08/28

Cynthia McKinney: Seeking the Truth on Libya…

04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 10 Security, 11 Society, Civil Society, Corruption, Government, IO Deeds of War, Military, Peace Intelligence

Thanks to all who have come out and participated in the Truth Tour. I have almost come to its end. Last night in Detroit, several of the women were moved to tears as I explained the situation in Libya right now as I know it to be. Every venue has had every seat occupied or was filled to capacity with standing room only.

Detroit's young singer and band, Sister Ziyah and Black Rain were phenomenal and their music set the tone for the event: first song, Kickstart the Revolution; second song, Good Morning, America; third song, Today, I'm a Better Me.

Detroit attendees were rapt in the August 26 Tripoli streetfight video that I showed.

This Truth Tour has been unique because the true peace people in this country have revealed themselves by their willingness to step forward and be counted against this war in the very midst of the worst deceit and demonization ever. NATO war crimes are being excused, discounted, or covered up by those who posed as supporters of justice and peace. It is never OK to bomb people. And it is never OK to ask the peace-loving people of this country to sacrifice Social Security and Medicare and education and housing–and I could go on and on–so that war profiteers can fatten their ill-gotten coffers.

Continue reading “Cynthia McKinney: Seeking the Truth on Libya…”

2011/08/28

John Steiner: US State Department Clueless on Tar Sands

03 Economy, 05 Energy, 08 Wild Cards, 12 Water, Civil Society, Commerce, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Earth Intelligence, Government, IO Impotency, Misinformation & Propaganda

Canada-U.S. Oil Pipeline Poses Few Environmental Risks — State Dept.

EXTRACT:

Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune slammed the department's review as “an insult to anyone who expects government to work for the interests of the American people.”

U.S. Offers Key Support to Canadian Pipeline

Phi Beta Iota: Neither the Department of State, nor any other branch of government nor even the environmentalists themselves, are doing holistic analytics. At root this project is wrong for two reasons: it uses water we cannot afford to waste to flush the tar, and it creates a third rate oil follow-on ecology–doing the wrong thing writer as Russell Ackoff would say. The US Government lacks the ability to do holistic analytics, and therefore it is incapable of rendering sound decisions in a complex world.

2011/08/27

Worth a Look: Square, the iPhone Credit Card Machine

03 Economy, Advanced Cyber/IO, Commerce, Worth A Look

square goes mainstream — Click on Image to Enlarge

Square, the iPhone Credit Card Machine, Goes Mainstream

Alexis Madrigal

The Atlantic, 27 August 2011

EXTRACT:

But really, the reason Square is exciting isn't as a direct swap-out of existing payment methods. Square is exciting because its mobility and low up-front costs allow entirely different types of business to move money with credit cards. Individuals, freelancers, farmers, nursery owners, Etsy DIY types, and a whole bunch of other people can actually treat cards as cash.

Read full story….

Tip of the Hat to Kristin Nauth at LinkedIn.