We, the unemployed, the underpaid, the subcontracted, the precarious, the young … demand a change towards a future with dignity. We are fed up of reforms, of being laid off, of the banks which have caused the crisis hardening our mortgages or taking away our houses, of laws limiting our freedom in the interest of the powerful. We blame the political and economic powers of our sad situation and we call for a turn.’
In early January the BBC reported that Mohammad Bouazazi, a Tunisian college graduate who illegally sold fruits and vegetables in Sidi Bouzid, had died from his self-inflicted burns. He had set himself on fire by dousing his body with petrol when police confiscated his produce. He didn’t have the proper permits. Public protest had been rare in Tunisia before. When he died, the BBC reported that “a crowd estimated at 5,000 took part in his funeral.” The crowd chanted the same message together, out loud: “Farewell, Mohammad, we will avenge you. We weep for you today, we will make those who caused your death weep.”
Safety copy below the line–note ending on Bush-Obama “crowd control” plans.
Iran's Intelligence Ministry says it dismantled ‘a complex espionage and sabotage network' and uncovered the identities of 42 operatives [CIA employee case officers] in various countries.
EXTRACT:
The statement alleged that the network was run by CIA agents via U.S. embassies in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Malaysia and sought to “gather information from scientific, research and academic centers … especially in terms of nuclear energy, aerospace and defense industries and biotechnology” as well as on oil and gas pipelines, telecommunications and electricity networks and border controls.
Phi Beta Iota: On the one hand, it would appear that CIA is finally learning how to do global targeting. On the other, it is clear that CIA is still living immunity out of official installations, rather than “cover” and certainly not non-official cover. In our view, the entire US Intelligence Community leadership needs to be flushed, and a fresh start made on the basis of an Open Source Agency (OSA) that addresses 80% of all needs by all those not now served by classified intelligence, *and* validates classified requirements as being both valid and uncollectible by open sources–which the Dutch have been doing since the 1990's.
Hi All: This is well worth paying attention to, checking out and even sampling. Do see the great endorsements below. Learn more about my old friend and colleague, Jeff Golden, the creator of this remarkable new program. Immense Possibilities is also interactive. As you'll see from the website, Jeff is looking for our input and collaboration. Congratulations to Jeff for creating a new public forum for what's working and for those making a true difference in these challenging times and are offering solutions of great benefit, who so often don¹t make it into mainstream news. May this show become part of the “:new main stream”.
PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD.
Cheers, John
From: Jeff Golden
Dear Friends:
Suppose you found a public television program that brought you stunningly creative people who
¨ Craft brilliant projects that strengthen their communities for hard times to come
¨ Unite people across political and philosophical divides
¨ Connect Millenials, Gen X- and Y-ers, Baby Boomers and Elders in compelling ways
And suppose it was right there on your computer or television every Tuesday evening. Would that be worth your time?
Tuesday evening, May 24, 7:30 pm: Frances Moore Lappé
In the right-hand corner you'll see a box to enter your email address.
If you do that, you¹ll get a message about once a week on what IP is doing. We will not, repeat not, pass your address onto anyone else for any reason. Every message we send to you will have an easy option to unsubscribe.
Hope you'll give IP a try.
IMMENSE POSSIBILITIES is a weekly public television program, followed by an interactive webcast, that pull together the work of Jeff Golden and other social inventors who share a clear set of beliefs, values and goals. If these align with your own, and you share our passion for boosting possibilities that can forge a healthier future than the one that seems likely if we don¹t change and innovate, let's work together.
Networked tribes, systems disruption, and the emerging bazaar of violence. Resilient Communities, decentralized platforms, and self-organizing futures.
The most likely scenario for the next decade starts with the resumption of global economic depression (D2). Economies shrink. Wealth evaporates as former “assets” become worthless. Commodities fall (even energy) due to declines in economic activity. Currencies gyrate, explode, and/or evaporate.
In this environment, sovereigns will begin to default as the industrial nation-state model runs out of gas. Developed nation-states will find themselves crushed between bailouts of their cronies and excess spending (i.e. social spending (EU), national security spending (US), or mercantilist over-investment (China). Developing nations will just implode.
Things will continue on this track until one of two things happen:
things really begin to fail (complete system breakdown) or
new, better economic and social systems become viable as replacements to our broken one.
I'm betting on new economic and social systems. Part of that bet, and something many people now get, is accomplished through the establishment of self-reliant resilient communities. However, resilient communities aren't a sufficient replacement, in and of themselves (unless you want to turn back the clock to the 1800s). By themselves, they don't represent a superior alternative to a failing and flailing global system. Something else is needed, but what?
It's simple. What's needed are (note the plural here), virtual global economic systems built on a sound footing (i.e. better and more sensible rules than we currently have), prosperous participants, and a hard currency. Systems that people can flee to when currencies become scarce (deflation) or worthless (inflation) or nation-state political systems fail (corruption/crime) or flail (repression).
My advice to you: when you see a system that looks like the one outlined above, start to diversify your economic activity into it as soon as is practicable.
While those involved in Arab uprisings welcomed Obama's support, others were disappointed with his failure to apologize for US support for Middle East dictators
EXTRACT:
“Obama really had an opportunity to reshape and reframe the debate and … he gave it away,” says Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center, adding that there was nothing distinctive or imaginative about the address. “This speech was an opportunity to say to Arabs, ‘We as Americans made mistakes, we did not support democratic aspirations as much as we should have, but we’re going to do better.’ Obama didn’t say that.”
Phi Beta Iota: The USG has no strategic analytic model, no strategy, and no concept for how to achieve Whole of Government and multinational eight-tribe harmonized non-zero (win-win) outcomes….because to do so would stop the co-option of the USG on behalf of the few at the expense of the many. Obama–and Clinton–confuse “strategic communication” with strategic intelligence, and they are bad at it.
Terrorists To Protest Organizers: Lessons Learned From The Demise Of bin Laden and The Future Of U.S. National Security
Phi Beta Iota: Below the line is a very ably crafted press release from the Project for National Security Reform (PNSR) led by Jim Locher and Dennis Blair, long-time champions of inter-agency reform or “Beyond Goldwater-Nicols.” This is a brilliant contribution to the dialog that points out that we no longer have money to win UGLY, we now have to win smart. That is what we, the Phi Beta Iota collective, have been advocating since 1988.
