Secrecy News: The Costs of War & More (CRS)

03 Economy, 04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 10 Security, 11 Society, Budgets & Funding, Corruption, Military, Peace Intelligence

THE COSTS OF WAR, AND MORE FROM CRS

As of March 2011, Congress had approved a total of more than $1.2 trillion dollars for costs associated with the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and other post-9/11 “war on terror” operations, the Congressional Research Service said in its most recent update on the subject.  See “The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11,” March 29, 2011.

Other new or newly updated CRS reports include the following (all pdf).

“Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians,” April 6, 2011.
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Terrorism Investigations,” April 27, 2011.
“U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF): Background and Issues for Congress,” March 28, 2011.
“Sensitive Covert Action Notifications: Oversight Options for Congress,” April 6, 2011.
“Covert Action: Legislative Background and Possible Policy Questions,” April 6, 2011

See Also:

Graphic: Medard Gabel’s Cost of Peace versus War

Journal: Over $1 trillion Wasted on Wars, Veterans and Families of Veterans Vocal Against Both Elective Wars

Secrecy News: Costs of Major US Wars, Contractors in Iraq & AF, Drones & Homeland Sec

Pakistan Rules in Afghanistan–Petraeus Who?

02 Diplomacy, 03 Economy, 04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 10 Security, 11 Society, Budgets & Funding, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, History, Intelligence (government), IO Impotency, Methods & Process, Military, Misinformation & Propaganda, Power Behind-the-Scenes/Special Interests, Secrecy & Politics of Secrecy, Waste (materials, food, etc)
DefDog Recommends....

I'm told this story is in every newspaper and on television in Afghanistan.  Most Afghans believe it to be true.  Basically, in spite of the Administration's posturing, Pakistan would become the governing power in Afghanistan…..The Administration's statements show a clear lack of understanding about this region….

Pakistan Tells Afghanistan: Expel the Americans

ByAhmad K. MajidyarNational Review Online

Thursday, April 28, 2011

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Pakistan's leaders “bluntly” told Afghanistan's president “to forget about allowing a long-term U.S. military presence in his country,” and urged him instead “to look to Pakistan–and its Chinese ally–for help in striking a peace deal with the Taliban and rebuilding the economy.” According to Afghan officials, at an April 16 meeting in Kabul in which the leaders of Pakistan's military and intelligence also participated, Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told Pres. Hamid Karzai that “the Americans had failed them both,” and that it was time for Kabul to choose “alternative allies.” The Pakistani delegation also outlined a number of demands to the Afghan leader. Afghanpaper.com, quoting an unnamed Afghan official, lists Pakistan's demands as:

Read full article….

Continue reading “Pakistan Rules in Afghanistan–Petraeus Who?”

Reference: Opening the World–Social networks and the formation of free [prosperous] communities

Advanced Cyber/IO, Budgets & Funding, Civil Society, Collective Intelligence, Collective Intelligence, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Gift Intelligence, InfoOps (IO), International Aid, Key Players, Methods & Process, microfinancing, Mobile, Policies, Real Time, Strategy, Threats, Tools
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37-Slide Briefing

Openworld.com

Reference: Dr. Joseph Tainter, Seven YouTube Segments on “Why Societies Collapse and What It Means to Us”

Advanced Cyber/IO, Analysis, Budgets & Funding, Collaboration Zones, Communities of Practice, Corruption, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, InfoOps (IO), IO Impotency, Methods & Process, Officers Call, Policies, Policy, Politics of Science & Science of Politics, Power Behind-the-Scenes/Special Interests, Real Time, Secrecy & Politics of Secrecy, Serious Games, Strategy, Threats, YouTube
Dr. Joseph Tainter

Utah State University. Professor in the Department of Environment & Society, (Social conflict in environmental issues, human responses to climate change and environmental degradation, human uses of energy and resources).

“We Need An Adult Conversation–Our Political System is Dysfunctional”

See Also:

Review: The Collapse of Complex Societies

Worth a Look: Book Review Lists (Positive)

Worth a Look: Book Review Lists (Negative)

Wikipedia Joseph Tainter

FEATURED (2010):

Collapse of Complex Societies by Dr. Joseph Tainter (1 of 7)

Collapse of Complex Societies by Dr. Joseph Tainter (2 of 7)

Collapse of Complex Societies by Dr. Joseph Tainter (3 of 7)

Collapse of Complex Societies by Dr. Joseph Tainter (4 of 7)

Collapse of Complex Societies by Dr. Joseph Tainter (5 of 7) (Conclusions)

Collapse of Complex Societies by Dr. Joseph Tainter (6 of 7) (Q&A)

Collapse of Complex Societies by Dr. Joseph Tainter (7 of 7) (Q&A)

Tip of the Hat to newculture at YouTube for gifted uploads.

Found and recommended by Contributing Editor Lucius.

Phi Beta Iota: There are no challenges that cannot be addressed with a combination of collective intelligence and individual integrity.  Infinite free energy, and the eradication of waste across all industries, are immediately achievable if (big if) the public will reengage in its own governance.

See Also:

M4IS2

Government 2.0 Melds with Crowd-Sourcing

Advanced Cyber/IO, Analysis, Budgets & Funding, Collaboration Zones, Collective Intelligence, Communities of Practice, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Ethics, InfoOps (IO), Methods & Process, Open Government, Policies, Reform, Serious Games, Strategy, Threats, Waste (materials, food, etc)
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In Oakland, A Creative Strategy for Financing the City's Solar Roofs

Using a new “crowdfunding” program called Solar Mosaic, the city is selling solar tiles to locals for $100 a pop and installing them on public buildings

By Maria Gallucci, SolveClimate News

Apr 22, 2011

The city of Oakland, Calif., is getting its residents to help build out a clean energy economy, one solar tile at a time.

By selling 5,000 tiles at $100 each to locals, the city is aiming to piece together entire rooftop solar arrays at seven budget-strapped schools, youth centers and houses of worship. A team of Oaklanders will be trained and hired to install the panels by as early as July.

The city's efforts are part of a pilot program called Solar Mosaic, a web-based marketplace for community solar initiatives that launched on April 15.

Using the “crowdfunding” model, residents can help generate energy savings and scale back greenhouse gas emissions without having to shell out tens of thousands of dollars for a solar installation at home.

Read rest of article….

Phi Beta Iota: The existing tax system in the USA is so corrupt it must be abolished.  The public is now ready for line-item crowd-sourcing and the fully-transparent Automated Payments/Transaction Tax.

See Also:

Seven Promises to America–Who Will Do This?

Serious (Honest) Thinking About US Budget

Massive Fraud, Common Crime, No Prosecutions

03 Economy, 07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, 11 Society, Budgets & Funding, Civil Society, Collective Intelligence, Commerce, Corruption, Government, Law Enforcement, Money, Banks & Concentrated Wealth, Power Behind-the-Scenes/Special Interests
Michael Ostrolenk Recommends...

Why haven't any high-profile execs been prosecuted for their role in the financial crisis?

In Financial Crisis, No Prosecutions of Top Figures

By GRETCHEN MORGENSON and LOUISE STORY

The New York Times, April 14, 2011

It is a question asked repeatedly across America: why, in the aftermath of a financial mess that generated hundreds of billions in losses, have no high-profile participants in the disaster been prosecuted?

Read full article….

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Neil Weinberg, Corrupt Bank Oversight Is Creating New Immoral Hazard, Forbes, 14 April 2011

To me the moral of this story is that Washington has created a vast immoral hazard. We are all truly in a world of peril when regulators and law enforcers believe our financial institutions are too big to be brought to justice—and when our leadership in Washington is so gutless that its response is to let these same institutions emerge bigger and more beyond challenge than ever.

Read rest of this hard-hitting article…

Tip of the Hat to Lynn Wheeler at LinkedIn for the clean links.

Phi Beta Iota: It is our view that the President, the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Treasury, and most Senators and Representatives are immediately impeachable for failing to uphold their oaths to the Constitution  and failing to represent the public interest in the face of massive legalized fraud on the part of Wall Street.