5 Star – Page 54 – Public Intelligence Blog

Mark Bowden

Huge Story, Most Readers are Not Getting the Point,March 19, 2012

I've been a fan of Mark Bowden's since I was asked to investigate how he got parts of his story for Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw. Speaking with him directly, already knowing he was a gifted writer, I added patriot and truth-teller to my short list of his attributes. This book would normally be a four for lack of an index, schematics, and perhaps some photographs of working spaces to achieve some contextual sense, but given all the negative reviews that are in my view off the mark, I am going with a five.

Most of the reviews of this book are in my opinion missing at four HUGE points:

01) Microsoft is the source of most of our problems because they build sloppy code and do not do due diligence. Apart from the fact that Microsoft is exceeded in evil only by Google, both of them holding third party developers hostage to mutating APIs and neither of them being at all interested in helping empower human cognition with tools for thinking, Microsoft sells second-rate software backed up by first-rate legal and marketing. The word is long over-due for dumping not must Microsoft, but Apple as well. India just followed Richard Stahlman's advice and pushed Microsoft out of their universities, they are creating the open source alternative, and as I like to paraphrase that world, “put enough eyeballs on it, no bug is invisible.”

Continue reading “Review: WORM – The First Digital World War”

2012/03/042012/03/04

Review: Rescuing the Enlightenment from Itself – Critical and Systemic Implications for Democracy (C. West Churchman’s Legacy and Related Works)

5 Star, Complexity & Resilience, Consciousness & Social IQ, Culture, Research, Decision-Making & Decision-Support, Information Society, Intelligence (Public), Nature, Diet, Memetics, Design, Priorities, Public Administration, True Cost & Toxicity, Values, Ethics, Sustainable Evolution

cover rescuing the enlightenment — Amazon Page

Janet McIntyre-Mills

5.0 out of 5 stars Original Solution Not Chosen by Club of Rome, They Blew It,March 4, 2012

This is a seminal work going back in time, integrating reflexive practice, what is now known as third phase science and dialogic design science. A major contribution within this book is A. N. Christakis, “A Retrospective Structural Inquiry of the Predicament of Mankind, Prospectus of the Club of Rome.”

The short story: the Club of Rome chose the Meadows/Randers top-down micro-management solution now famous as the Limits to Growth model. They rejected the reflexive / third order science solution that recognized that all humanity must be engaged, all humanity must comprehend and agree on solutions, or the solutions would never be implementable nor sustainable.

Other vital books that close the circle on where a few of us continue to try to make progress:

Turning Learning Right Side Up: Putting Education Back on Track (paperback)
Idealized Design: How to Dissolve Tomorrow's Crisis…Today (paperback)
How People Harness Their Collective Wisdom And Power to Construct the Future (Research in Public Management (Unnumbered).)
Architecture in Transition
The Talking Point: Creating an Environment for Exploring Complex Meaning (PB)
A Democratic Approach to Sustainable Futures: A Workbook for Addressing the Global Problematique
Science of Generic Design: Managing Complexity Through Systems Vol 1 and Vol 2
A Handbook of Interactive Management
Reflexive Practice: Professional Thinking for a Turbulent World
Ideas and Integrities: A Spontaneous Autobiographical Disclosure

My own book that I cannot link to but am allowed to mention, is THE OPEN SOURCE EVERYTHING MANIFESTO: Transparency, Truth & Trust. Find it here on Amazon. I believe Western “democracy” (largely a fraud) and Western capitalism (largely predatory and now gravely wounded by the legalized global financial fraud of Goldman Sachs, Morgan, Citi-Bank, and Bank of America, among others) are both going to implode in the near term (by 2014). Solutions are going to come from bottom up. All of these books are critical design-related texts for bottom-up holistic design, what Buckminster Fuller called “comprehensive architecture.” We need to future-proof our cities, one block at a time. This book is a fine starting point.

2012/03/03

Review (Guest): Earth into Property: Colonization, Decolonization, and Capitalism: The Bowl with One Spoon

5 Star, 9-11 Truth Books & DVDs

Anthony J. Hall

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the Time and Effort- A Transformative Journey, October 17, 2010

Carol Liane Brouillet “9-11 activist” (Palo Alto, CA, USA)

Earth into Property is the second book in a series, the first being The American Empire and the Fourth World: The Bowl With One Spoon, which together are the magnum opus of Professor Hall, coordinator of Globalization Studies at the University of Lethbridge. Both books are epic journeys, odysseys into world history, but especially the history of the Americas, after Western contact and conquest. There are stories within stories, themes within themes that weave the immense tragedies, details, lives, narratives, ideas into comprehensible patterns, in the hopes of sorting fact from fiction, truth from deception, wisdom from insanity, possibility from despair.

I am awed by the research and thought that has gone into both volumes, the discoveries, treasures unearthed by Professor Hall. At the same time, these are not just an accumulation of facts, lost history for students trying to understand the complexities of modern life, and how we came to this moment in time. “Tony” inserts himself, his life, his journey, into his quest. He unites the past with the present, forgotten ordeals with the current battles and struggles for truth, justice, survival, in a world increasingly dominated by corporate forces, backed by military might, cloaking themselves in a veil of legality, as they continue to plunder mental, physical, financial, geographical, cyber-space frontiers.

Continue reading “Review (Guest): Earth into Property: Colonization, Decolonization, and Capitalism: The Bowl with One Spoon”

2012/03/032012/03/03

Review: Peace (for Palestine and Israel)

5 Star, Country/Regional, Intelligence (Public), Peace, Poverty, & Middle Class

Josef Avesar

5.0 out of 5 stars Common Sense, Great Virtue,March 3, 2012

This is a *very* nice book, easy to read, well-ordered, full of common sense and a totally righteous contribution. The sadness is that there is nothing rational about how the Israelis, Palestinians, Arabs, and intervening (or abdicating) great powers are approaching the entire matter. The best book on the insanity of the artificial boundaries creating by Western colonialism / imperialism remains The Health of Nations: Society and Law beyond the State.

I have an inherent sympathy toward the Palestinians, being genocided day by day by an out of control Israeli government that does not, in my own experience, truly represent the majority of the Jewish people. Just as we have a two-party tyranny in the USA that has sold us all out to the banks while excluding Independents and third parties (Constitution, Green, Libertarian, Reform) from the entire process, Israel appears to be under the control of a minority that has lost its mind and become all that they claim to abhor.

The book is noteworthy for presenting, in addition to its own arguments, the full gamut of alternative views and opposing points of view. In other words, this book has integrity.

I do not see this book — or the problem it confronts — being solved in my lifetime for the simple reason that corruption characterizes all but a few governments, and war is a racket — a means of profiteering. What is being done to the Palestinians is profitable for the few who control the agenda. I fully expect some form of neutron bomb or special gas poisoning of Palestine to occur one day, to be rapidly “covered up” as a fatal epidemic — the word Henry Kissinger likes to use is “eugenics.” The formal policy term is “Forced Population Reduction.”

As I look back at the history of the land, see for instance Nelson's Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts, 3rd Edition, it is clear the Palestinians merit half of Israel including full access to the sea. It is equally clear that Israel will never agree to this while it has the arms and the financial support from the USA.

It pains me to contemplate this, but I fear that the common sense and virtue of this book will be sidelined. There is no hope for any of the parties in the near term.

AA Mind the Gap — Vote and/or Comment on Review

2012/02/242013/11/01

Review: Cain at Gettysburg – Ralph Peters at his best

5 Star, Biography & Memoirs, Culture, Research, Fiction, History, Leadership, War & Face of Battle

PRINTABLE DOC (3 Pages): Review Peters Cain at Gettysburg

Ralph Peters

5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular Blend of Rigorous & Populist History,February 24, 2012

I have read The Killer Angels: A Novel of the Civil War (Modern Library), which the author himself acknowledges as one of the best books about Gettysburg – but also one that bought into the prevalent myths. This book is the equal of Killer Angels in its atmospheric electricity, certainly the equal if not more moving with respect to “aha” professional insights and “feeling in the fingertips” gut-wrenchers (I counted six goose-bump moments reading Cain, I recall only one in reading Killer Angels), and vastly more important than Killer Angels in the grand scheme of things because this author and this book have restored the reputation of General George Meade at his finest hour – given the Army THREE DAYS before Gettysburg, and leading that Army to the single most important victory of the Civil War, however one may view that war while also instantly assessing and correcting the mistakes of his predecessor, the most important being a scattered leaderless army.

This is a book written by a professional military officer who is also a historian, a brilliant and often poetic author of both non-fiction and historical fiction better than dry academic texts, and an adventurer who knows the world from gutter to grand salons.

The book concludes with a very clear explanation of how General Meade's reputation was ruined by a scheming General Sickles, and how some of the main characters fared after the war of secession. More to the point, this is the definitive book that rescues the reputation of General Meade. While there are many other books, one in particular being Meade: Victor of Gettysburg (Military Profiles), no other book can match the eloquence, authenticity, and level of detail of this ultra-historical and poetic work of redemption.

Here are some of the professional highlights that I noted down – I do not report the goose bump moments–for those, buy the book.

Continue reading “Review: Cain at Gettysburg – Ralph Peters at his best”

2012/02/242012/02/24

Review: Derision Points – Clown Prince Bush the W, the Real Story of His “Decision Points”

5 Star, America (Founders, Current Situation), Biography & Memoirs, Crime (Corporate), Crime (Government), Culture, Research, Democracy, Executive (Partisan Failure, Reform)

Ted Cohen

5.0 out of 5 stars Work of genius, superb detail, ignore the critics,February 24, 2012

This is a fast read, but it is truly scary, for anyone who has actually paid attention and read such strong non-fiction books as The Bush Tragedy. Not only does this book provide searing, gripping “reality” but as we fast-forward to understanding how a nothing like “W” could get to the White House and unleash Dick Cheney (see for instance Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency), it helps to put the well-intentioned village-idiot president in context.

It is clear to me that the Bush Family is a crime family (see for instance Family of Secrets: The Bush Dynasty, the Powerful Forces That Put It in the White House, and What Their Influence Means for America, that W was a Walker, not a Bush, that he was abused his entire life and naturally became an abuser himself. What this book drives home is that our political institutions have hit bottom.

The author has a claim to credibility in writing this book. Others may not like it, but it reeks of the truth and in my view is a useful depiction of the reality that is now known as “W.”

Other books I recommend:
George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography
The Case for Impeachment: The Legal Argument for Removing President George W. Bush from Office
Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy
Fraud: The Strategy Behind the Bush Lies and Why the Media Didn't Tell You
A Pretext for War: 9/11, Iraq, and the Abuse of America's Intelligence Agencies
The Mafia, CIA and George Bush

It makes me sick to my stomach to be reminded of how decrepit our political process has become. This is an educational down-to-earth book, and as much as it pained me to read it, it also strengthens my commitment to helping reform our process. There isn't a citizen out there who could not have been a better president solely armed with integrity — “W” was possible because we have all lost our integrity and let the while collar upper class crime families rock on. IMHO.

2012/02/20

Review: Instruments of the State – A Novel

5 Star, America (Founders, Current Situation), Asymmetric, Cyber, Hacking, Odd War, Atrocities & Genocide, Banks, Fed, Money, & Concentrated Wealth, Capitalism (Good & Bad), Complexity & Catastrophe, Corruption, Crime (Corporate), Crime (Government), Culture, Research, Empire, Sorrows, Hubris, Blowback, Impeachment & Treason, Intelligence (Government/Secret), Justice (Failure, Reform), Military & Pentagon Power, Misinformation & Propaganda, Secrecy & Politics of Secrecy, Terrorism & Jihad, Threats (Emerging & Perennial), War & Face of Battle

cover instruments of state — Amazon Page

D. W. Aossey

5.0 out of 5 stars Rings of Truth Against Rings of Lies, February 20, 2012

I cannot improve on Betsy's review, “Instruments of the State: Propaganda or Just the Facts, May 20, 2011” and recommend that review. Here I just make a comment and link to some other books. Normally I do not do fiction, but this book came to me and I have a very high interest in the truth at any cost, it lowers all other costs. Unfortunately, all forms of human organization, from governments to religions and certainly including corporations and non-profits, all seems to believe that any lie good for them is an “acceptable cost.”

It is not. Lies are like sand in the gears of an extraordinarily complex and delicate machine. Lies kill and lies cost. The last fifty years have seen a web of lies and a web of deliberative destruction of humanity and the planet such as has never before been orchestrated. Deep secrecy and deep technologies have allowed the 1% to impoverish the 99% while concentrating wealth and looting public treasuries in a manner scarcely imaginable.

By all means read the book, but especially so if you do not have the time or the money for all of the non-fiction that backs up this book's story line. I list my allowed ten books below. Many more can be accessed at Phi Beta Iota the Public Intelligence Blog, where my 1700 plus reviews are sorted in the 98 categories within which I read, all leading back to Amazon.

9/11 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA
A Pretext for War: 9/11, Iraq, and the Abuse of America's Intelligence Agencies
Griftopia: A Story of Bankers, Politicians, and the Most Audacious Power Grab in American History
The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic (The American Empire Project)
Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11
The Two Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great Credit Crash
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
Freedom Next Time: Resisting the Empire
War is a Racket: The Antiwar Classic by America's Most Decorated Soldier

My own books are free online as well as for sale here at Amazon. My next book, coming out in June, is the antidote to all of the lies, it is entitled THE OPEN SOURCE EVERYTHING MANIFESTO: Transparency, Truth, and Trust. It will NOT be free online, as it is being distributed by Random House and published by North Atlantic Books.

The truth at any cost lowers all other costs — that, in my view, should be the battle cry of the 99%.