1-7 Star Rating – Page 54 – Public Intelligence Blog

Thomas Bruneau and Steven Boraz

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful on the 30% That is Old Think — Oblivious to Evolution & Nuance, January 25, 2014

Although this book is seven years old, as the world confronts the twin debacles of CIA rendition & torture combined with drone assassinations of thousands (only 2% of whom could be construed somewhat legitimate targets) and NSA's mass surveillance combined with its financial and cyber subversion of most other foreign intelligence services, I thought it important to buy and review this book.

It emerged from the Center for Civil-Military Relations (CCMR) at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in the USA.

It losed one star on page one, the opening chapter by Bruneau & Boraz:

Continue reading “Review: Reforming Intelligence – Obstacles to Democratic Control and Effectiveness”

2014/01/252014/01/25

Worth a Look: Causation, Physics, and the Constitution of Reality – Russell’s Republic Revisited

5 Star, Cosmos & Destiny, Intelligence (Collective & Quantum), Nature, Diet, Memetics, Design, Philosophy, Worth A Look

This book has been ordered and will be reviewed shortly. There are no guest reviews to be drawn from.

Amazon Book Description:

The difference between cause and effect seems obvious and crucial in ordinary life, yet missing from modern physics. Almost a century ago, Bertrand Russell called the law of causality ‘a relic of a bygone age'. In this important collection 13 leading scholars revisit Russell's revolutionary conclusion, discussing one of the most significant and puzzling issues in contemporary thought.

Look over the Table of Contents.

2014/01/232014/01/23

Review: 24 Carat BOLD – Claim Your Position as the Top Expert in Your Field

4 Star, Best Practices in Management

Mindy Gibbins-Klein

4.0 out of 5 stars Concise, Clear, Logical, Missing the Magic Sauce, January 23, 2014

I read this book and have ordered a book recommended by this author, Ron Brown's How to Build Your Reputation.

Having published nine books myself, I am a little jaded when someone says “write a book and be recognized.” However, I do like this book. It has a clear message, it is concise, it is very well written, and on balance I think it provides anyone interested in becoming “known” with a very fine starting point.

Continue reading “Review: 24 Carat BOLD – Claim Your Position as the Top Expert in Your Field”

2014/01/232014/01/23

Worth a Look: Beyond Transparency – Open Data and the Future of Civic Innovation

5 Star, Data, Information Operations, Information Society, Information Technology, Worth A Look

by Brett Goldstein (Editor) , Lauren Dyson (Contributor)

The rise of open data in the public sector has sparked innovation, driven efficiency, and fueled economic development. While still emerging, we are seeing evidence of the transformative potential of open data in shaping the future of our civic life, and the opportunity to use open data to reimagine the relationship between residents and government, especially at the local level. As we look ahead, what have we learned so far from open data in practice and how we can apply those lessons to realize a more promising future for America’s cities and communities?
Edited by Brett Goldstein, former Chief Data Officer for the City of Chicago, with Code for America, this book features essays from over twenty of the world’s leading experts in a first-of-its-kind instructive anthology about how open data is changing the face of our public institutions.Contributors include:

Michael Flowers, Chief Analytics Officer, New York City
Beth Blauer, former director of Maryland StateStat
Jonathan Feldman, CIO, City of Asheville
Tim O’Reilly, founder & CEO, O’Reilly Media
Eric Gordon, Director of Engagement Game Lab, Emerson College
Beth Niblock, CIO, Louisville Metro Government
Ryan & Mike Alfred, Co-Founders, Brightscope
Emer Coleman, former director of the London Datastore
Mark Headd, Chief Data Officer, City of Philadelphia

2014/01/222014/01/22

Worth A Look: Manufactured Crisis – The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare

5 Star, America (Founders, Current Situation), Congress (Failure, Reform), Corruption, Crime (Corporate), Crime (Government), Culture, Research, Empire, Sorrows, Hubris, Blowback, Executive (Partisan Failure, Reform), Impeachment & Treason, Justice (Failure, Reform), Misinformation & Propaganda, Politics, Power (Pathologies & Utilization), Religion & Politics of Religion

Gareth Porter

Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare

Manufactured Crisis provides unique and timely background to the ongoing diplomacy around Iran's nuclear technology program. In it, award-winning investigative journalist Gareth Porter offers a well documented critique of the official ‘western' account of what the Iranian government has been doing, and why.

In Manufactured Crisis, Porter brings together the results of his many years of research into the issue–including numerous interviews with former insiders. He shows that the origins of the Iran nuclear “crisis” lay not in an Iranian urge to obtain nuclear weapons but, rather, in a sustained effort by the United States and its allies to deny Iran its right, as guaranteed in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to have any nuclear program at all. The book highlights the impact that the United States' alliance with Israel had on Washington's pursuit of its Iran policy and sheds new light on the US strategy of turning the International Atomic Energy Agency into a tool of its anti-Iran policy.

Praise for the Book:

Continue reading “Worth A Look: Manufactured Crisis – The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare”

2014/01/18

Review (Guest): Creating the National Security State: A History of the Law That Transformed America

5 Star, Civil Society, Congress (Failure, Reform), Crime (Corporate), Crime (Government), Culture, Research, Diplomacy, Empire, Sorrows, Hubris, Blowback, Executive (Partisan Failure, Reform), Force Structure (Military), Impeachment & Treason, Intelligence (Government/Secret), Justice (Failure, Reform), Military & Pentagon Power, Misinformation & Propaganda, Politics, Power (Pathologies & Utilization), Public Administration, True Cost & Toxicity

Douglas Stuart

5.0 out of 5 stars From National Interests to National Security April 24, 2011

ByKenneth J. Dillon

Many observers recognize that the U.S. Government has for decades placed too much emphasis on military might to the detriment of other interests. This book provides a sobering explanation of how such a skewed approach emerged. Stuart is an historian at Dickinson College and also adjunct professor at the U.S. Army War College. He shows how the 150-year tradition of peacetime pursuit of national interests headed by the State Department gave way to the “Pearl Harbor System” of viewing the world through the perspective of potential threats to national security.

Continue reading “Review (Guest): Creating the National Security State: A History of the Law That Transformed America”

2014/01/182014/01/18

Worth a Look: Reforming Intelligence Obstacles to Democratic Control and Effectiveness

5 Star, Civil Society, Intelligence (Government/Secret), Politics, Worth A Look

Thomas Bruneau and Steven Boraz (eds.)

These days, it's rare to pick up a newspaper and not see a story related to intelligence. From the investigations of the 9/11 commission, to accusations of illegal wiretapping, to debates on whether it's acceptable to torture prisoners for information, intelligence—both accurate and not—is driving domestic and foreign policy. And yet, in part because of its inherently secretive nature, intelligence has received very little scholarly study. Into this void comes Reforming Intelligence, a timely collection of case studies written by intelligence experts, and sponsored by the Center for Civil-Military Relations (CCMR) at the Naval Postgraduate School, that collectively outline the best practices for intelligence services in the United States and other democratic states.

Continue reading “Worth a Look: Reforming Intelligence Obstacles to Democratic Control and Effectiveness”