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WinslowWheeler Cropped — Winslow Wheeler

Foreign Policy is running my description of the hearing that Buck McKeon put on yesterday with Lockheed-Martin and a cast of lesser, not entirely cooperative, other characters. Find my analysis at http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/07/19/hard_of_hearing?print=yes&hidecomments=yes&page=full, and below:

Hard of Hearing

Why the House's attempt to save defense spending might flop.

BY WINSLOW T. WHEELER | JULY 19, 2012

It was probably the most ballyhooed congressional hearing on defense for the year. As the monthly economic news continues to show poor job growth, and as the elections heat up, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Buck McKeon, and defense contractor Lockheed-Martin saw a major opportunity to protect the Pentagon budget and their bottom line. On Wednesday, just as the House of Representatives was about to debate the 2013 Department of Defense Appropriations bill, McKeon held a big hearing with Lockheed and other industry representatives to explain why the American economy could not possibly stomach the $55 billion in defense cuts set to occur in January, as required by last summer's Budget Control Act and the failure of the congressional “Super Committee” to cut a broad budget deal.

Continue reading “Winslow Wheeler: Hill Hearing on Defense Backs Into the Truth”

2012/07/192012/07/19

Worth a Look: The Party Is Over: How Republicans Went Crazy, Democrats Became Useless, and the Middle Class Go Shafted

Cultural Intelligence, Worth A Look

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The Party Is Over: How Republicans Went Crazy, Democrats Became Useless, and the Middle Class Go Shafted

Mike Lofgren (Viking 2012)

Available 2 August – can be pre-ordered online now.

The ultimate Republican insider’s caustic exposé of what passes for business as usual in Washington today

There was a time, not so very long ago, when perfectly rational people ran the Republican Party. So how did the party of Lincoln become the party of lunatics? That is what this book aims to answer. Fear not, the Dems come in for their share of tough talk— they are zombies, a party of the living dead.

Mike Lofgren came to Washington in the early eighties—those halcyon, post–Nixonian glory days—for what he imagined would be a short stint on Capitol Hill. He has witnessed quite a few low points in his twenty-eight years on the Hill—but none quite so pitiful as the antics of the current crop of legislators whom we appear to have elected.

Based on the explosive article Lofgren wrote when he resigned in disgust after the debt ceiling crisis, The Party Is Over is a funny and impassioned exposé of everything that is wrong with Washington. Obama and his tired cohorts are no angels but they have nothing on the Republicans, whose wily strategists are bankrupting the country one craven vote at a time. Be prepared for some fireworks.

See Also:

BRIEF: Robert Steele, 2012: Testing the Two-Party Tyranny and Open Source Everything – The Battle for the Soul of the Republic (Hackers on Planet Earth 9, 13 July 2012)

BOOK: Matt Taibbi, Griftopia: A Story of Bankers, Politicians, and the Most Audacious Power Grab in American History (Spiegel & Grau, 2011)

BOOK: Theresa Amato, Grand Illusion: The Myth of Voter Choice in a Two-Party Tyranny (New Press, 2009)

BOOK: Robert Steele, Election 2008: Lipstick on the Pig (Substance of Governance; Legitimate Grievances; Candidates on the Issues; Balanced Budget 101; Call to Arms: Fund We Not Them; Annotated Bibliography) (Earth Intelligence Network, 2008)

BOOK: Peter Peterson, Running on Empty: How the Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do About It (Picador, 2005)

Worth a Look: Book Review Lists (Positive)

Worth a Look: Book Review Lists (Negative)

2012/07/192012/07/19

Hackers on Planet Earth (HOPE) 2012 DVDs Now Available

Advanced Cyber/IO, Cultural Intelligence, Hacking, Knowledge

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You can get yourself a DVD at http://store.2600.com/honunidv.html and experience the HOPE conference in the comfort of your own home (no DRM or region restrictions).

HOPE 9 Schedule . HOPE 9 Speakers

2012 Robert Steele at Hackers on Planet Earth (HOPE)

2012/07/192012/07/19

Breaking News: Israel False Flag Attacks (Bulgaria & Madame Clinton Done, Olympics False Flag Planned)

Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, IO Deeds of War, Law Enforcement, Military

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Breaking/Confirmed: Sec Clinton Assassination Attempt in Israel (Updated)

Al-Alam and Reuters Report Hillary Clinton Convoy Attack in Israel

By Gordon Duff, Senior Editor

Veterans Today, 19 July 2012

Israeli radio and Reuters broke the story then went mysteriously silent, an assassination attempt inside Israel, on Secretary of State Clinton.

Soon afterward, Iran’s national network, al Alam went public with a translated version which is being boycotted by news services.

Details on the unsuccessful murder attempt on America’s top diplomat below but first some background.

Possibly responsible for the assassination attempt on Clinton is this tale of deceit by Rep. Michelle Bachmann as outlined by CNN’s Andersen Cooper:

We see this as part of a pattern of escalation by Israel, carefully orchestrated terrorism which may well culminate in an attack on the London Olympics as has been predicted by many. Nothing less could bring about the result Netanyahu desires, a massive US and NATO air attack on Iran, and note this carefully, not an attack on Syria.

The video below describes how Israeli contractors are sabotaging London Olympic security. Highly credible source:

Continue reading “Breaking News: Israel False Flag Attacks (Bulgaria & Madame Clinton Done, Olympics False Flag Planned)”

2012/07/192012/07/19

Michel Bauwens: What is specific about the positioning of the P2P Foundation?

Access, Advanced Cyber/IO, Collective Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence, Knowledge

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220px-Michel_Bauwens_crop — Michel Bauwens

What is specific about the positioning of the P2P Foundation?

“Like Oekonux, the P2P Foundation is a collective marked by diversity, but it also has dominant personalities and themes, with a substantial influence of the author of this article, who is also the initiator and founder of the initiative. So, when I make claims here below, and above, on the ‘P2P Foundation’s approach, they are my own approach, not necessarily the approach of every participant in our community and knowledge commons.

Learn more.

2012/07/192012/07/19

Howard Rheingold: About · Q-Sensei FeedBooster

Advanced Cyber/IO

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About · Q-Sensei FeedBooster

I haven't tried this one yet, but it looks like it might be a more advanced alternative to my present favorite RSS dashboard, Netvibes — Howard

“The FeedBooster is a free, advanced web-based feed reader that offers a new way of discovering relevant and timely information from the wealth of RSS news, blogs and business feeds. Based on Q-Sensei's powerful search and indexing technology, FeedBooster helps you stay on top of your favorite feeds and get the most out of them.

Very special to FeedBooster is that it provides you with more than just a list of feed items. Every single feed imported into FeedBooster is pre-processed in a way that makes it easier to search, browse and explore. FeedBooster is a dynamic knowledge and productivity tool to quickly mine for personally-relevant information that is important to you. Powered by Q-Sensei's unique multi-dimensional search capabilities, FeedBooster presents the available content of feeds in an organized, dynamic and clickable index to hone in quickly on the right sets of news. FeedBooster also provides a fully-customizable dashboard to best suit your feed-reading and information discovery needs”

Learn more.

2012/07/192012/07/19

Sepp Hasslberger: The Most Important New Technology Since the Smart Phone Arrives December 2012 – Technology Review

Advanced Cyber/IO

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face Sepp Hasslberger — Sepp Hasslberger

The Most Important New Technology Since the Smart Phone Arrives December 2012 – Technology Review

By now, many of us are aware of the Leap Motion, a small, $70 gesture control system that simply plugs into any computer and, apparently, just works. If you've seen the gesture interfaces in Minority Report, you know what it does.

More importantly, if you're familiar with the touch modality — and at this point, most of us are — the interface is entirely intuitive. It's touch, except it happens in the space in front of the screen, so you don't have to cover your window into your tech with all those unsightly smudges.

To understand how subtly revolutionary Leap will be, watch the video below, shot by the folks at The Verge, where you'll also find more juicy details on the device's specs and inner workings.

Watch video and read more.