The truth at any cost lowers all other costs — curated by former US spy Robert David Steele.
I will not replicate all that is at www.oss.net and to a much lesser extent, www.earth-intelligence.net, but do want to recognize a handful of extraordinary individuals by isolating their especially meritorious contributiions to the long-running debate about national intelligence reform and re-invention.
A New Service for Open Access Monographs: the Directory of Open Access Books
Gary Price
From a OAPEN (Open Access Publishing in European Networks) News Release: OAPEN is pleased to announce a new service for Open Access monographs: the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB). DOAB will provide a searchable index to peer-reviewed monographs and edited volumes published under an Open Access business model, with links to the full texts… [Read more…]
So many smug people claim conspiracy theories don't exist, they are something less educated people believe. Next time someone tells you this, direct them to this compilation of 33 conspiracy theories that turned out true.
Phi Beta Iota: “Conspiracy theory” is one step up (a big step) from “watch your language.” A huge piece of the “control fraud” with active government participation in suppressing the truth, a clear betrayal of the public trust. The list is useful but not as complete or structured as is now possible, while also too US-centric. The video series Core of Corruption, is recommended.
By Jonathan Elinoff, New World Order Report
Click here to view other works by Jonathan Elinoff
If you enjoy this article, please check out my documentary film series, Core of Corruption.
Go directly to lengthy article with interspersed videos.
Below the Line: Complete List.
| More than 1.5 billion people live in countries affected by violent conflict. The World Development Report 2011: Conflict, Security, and Developmentexamines the changing nature of violence in the 21st century, and underlines the negative impact of repeated cycles of violence on a country or region’s development prospects. Preventing violence and building peaceful states that respond to the aspirations of their citizens requires strong leadership and concerted national and international efforts. The Report is based on new research, case studies and extensive consultations with leaders and development practitioners throughout the world.Following are download options for the World Development Report 2011. To read these PDF files, you need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader |
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| Overview (multilingual) | |
| English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish | |
| Complete Report | |
| Complete Report (13.9 mb) | |
| Report Synopsis (multilingual) | |
| English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish | |
| Facts and Figures (multilingual) | |
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| Part I: The Challenge | |
| Chapter 1, Repeated violence threatens development, explores the challenge: repeated cycles of organized criminal violence and civil conflict that threaten development locally and regionally and are responsible for much of the global deficit in meeting the Millennium Development Goals. Download chapter one. |
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| Chapter 2, Vulnerability to violence, reviews the combination of internal and external stresses and institutional factors that lead to violence. It argues that capable, accountable, and legitimate institutions are the common “missing factor” explaining why some societies are more resilient to violence than others. Without attention to institutional transformation, countries are susceptible to a vicious cycle of repeated violence. Download chapter two. |
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| Part II: Lessons from National and International Reponses | |
| Chapter 3, From violence to resilience: Restoring confidence and transforming institutions, presents the WDR framework, or “virtuous cycle.” It compiles research and case study experience to show how countries have successfully moved away from fragility and violence: by mobilizing coalitions in support of citizen security, justice, and jobs to restore confidence in the short term and by transforming national institutions over time. This is a repeated process that seizes multiple transition moments and builds cumulative progress. It takes a generation. Download chapter three. |
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| Chapter 4, Restoring confidence: Moving away from the brink, reviews lessons from national experience in restoring confidence by mobilizing ‘inclusive-enough’ coalitions of stakeholders and by delivering results. Collaborative coalitions often combine government and nongovernmental leadership to build national support for change and signal an irreversible break with the past. Restoring confidence in situations of low trust means delivering some fast results, since government announcements of change will not be credible without tangible action. Download chapter four. |
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| Chapter 5, Transforming institutions to deliver security, justice, and jobs, reviews national experience in prioritizing foundational reforms that provide citizen security, justice, and jobs—and stem the illegal financing of armed groups. In moving forward institutional transformation in complex conflict settings, case studies emphasize that perfection should not be the enemy of progress—pragmatic, “best-fit” approaches should be used to address immediate challenges. Download chapter five. |
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| Chapter 6, International support to building confidence and transforming institutions, turns to lessons from international support to national processes. While registering some notable successes, it argues that international interventions are often fragmented, slow to enter, quick to exit, reliant on international technical assistance, and delivered through parallel systems. The chapter considers why international action has been slow to change. International actors have to respond to their own domestic pressures to avoid risk and deliver fast results. Different parts of the international system—middle-income versus OECD actors, for example—face different domestic pressures, undermining cohesive support. Download chapter six. |
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| Chapter 7, International action to mitigate external stresses, provides lessons from international action to combat external security, economic, and resource stresses that increase conflict risk. The stresses range from trafficking in drugs and natural resources to food insecurity and other economic shocks. The chapter also addresses lessons from regional and cross-border initiatives to manage these threats. Download chapter seven. |
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| Part III: Practical Options and Recommendation | |
| Chapter 8, Practical country directions and options, provides practical options for national and international reformers to take advantage of multiple transition opportunities, restore confidence, and transform institutions in countries facing a range of institutional challenges, stresses, and forms of violence. Download chapter eight. |
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| Chapter 9, New directions for international support, identifies four tracks for international action. First, to invest in prevention through citizen security, justice and jobs. Second, internal agency reforms to provide faster assistance for confidence-building and longer term institutional engagement. Third, acting at the regional level on external stresses. Fourth, marshalling the knowledge and resources of low, middle, and high-income countries. Download chapter nine. |
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| Bibliography | |
| Selected world development indicators | |
Tip of the Hat to Berto Jongman
Phi Beta Iota: Failed States jumped from roughly 25 to over 175 during Bush-Cheney I and II. Obama-Biden have done nothing to reverse this trend. This report from the World Bank avoids the obvious: corruption across all governments and corporations–lacking is a global grid that provides public intelligence in the public interest.
See Also:
THE OPEN SOURCE EVERYTHING MANIFESTO: Transparency, Truth, & Trust (2012)
INTELLIGENCE FOR EARTH: Clarity, Diversity, Integrity, & Sustainability (2010)
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” (AC Clarke)
My pal David Pescovitz at the Institute for the Future blogged recently about the IFTF “Multiverse of Exploration Map,” an overview of the six big stories of science that will play out over the next decade:
Decrypting the Brain,
Hacking Space,
Massively Multiplayer Data,
Sea the Future
Strange Matter, and
Engineered Evolution.
“Those stories are emerging from a new ecology of science shifting toward openness, collaboration, reuse, and increased citizen engagement in scientific research.” A followup post includes a video of Luigi Anzivino from The Exploratorium talking about the relationship of magic and neuroscience.
See Also:
THE OPEN SOURCE EVERYTHING MANIFESTO: Transparency, Truth & Trust
Paul Fernhout: Open Letter to the Intelligence Advanced Programs Research Agency (IARPA)
CJCS Profession of Arms PDF 6 Pages
Phi Beta Iota: There is zero connection between this white paper and the real world. As much as the Chairman may wish to talk about trust, the fact is that there is no trust. Trust for a flag is like virginity for a courtesan. After fifty years of screwing the troops [and the public!], there is no going back.
See Also:
Continue reading “Reference: CJCS (USA) on Profession of Arms = Trust [Twilight Zone at the Top]”
Well worth a look. Note that the actual attacks do not corroborate the threat hysteria from DHS.
Ten Years Later: Insights on al-Qaeda’s Past & Future through Captured Records: A Conference Report
January 27, 2012
By Joseph J. Simons, Adjunct, CRRC
