Public Intelligence Blog – Page 3198 – The truth at any cost lowers all other costs — curated by former US spy Robert David Steele.

2011/05/312011/05/31

US Arms Industry Bleeding Secrets–This Is Not New

02 China, 03 Economy, 04 Inter-State Conflict, 06 Russia, 08 Wild Cards, 10 Security, 10 Transnational Crime, Advanced Cyber/IO, Commerce, Corruption, Government, IO Impotency, Military, Peace Intelligence

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U.S. arms makers said to be bleeding secrets to cyber foes

By Jim Wolf

WASHINGTON | Tue May 31, 2011

(Reuters) – Top Pentagon contractors have been bleeding secrets for years as a result of penetrations of their computer networks, current and former national security officials say.

Read full article….

Phi Beta Iota: This is not new. This is just recycled crap from the White House, desperate as it is to find new enemies as well as new excuses for why our bloated weapons and mobility systems do not work. Just as DoD has known for over a decade that its drone videos were in the clear and could be picked up at will by anyone on the ground, so also DoD has known since at least 1992 that the DoD grid is hopeless, and the contractors don't really have a clue about how to keep a secret. It is all theater–the decision was made in the 1990's to be IRRESPONSIBLE and they are sticking to that. We are quite sure that the Israelis, French, and Germans are far more intrusive than the Russians and Chinese and that Iran is NOT a major player in probing US military-industrial systems–they rely on the CIA to give them nuclear weaponization plans. We are equally certain that most of what the cyber-spies find they use as an example of what NOT to waste money on. China has used its time and energy wisely–they can now incapacitate any US system with electromagnetic neutralization. Sucks for the USG, but probably a good thing for the US public.

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2011/05/312011/05/31

Post-Legal Amerika: Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Justice

04 Inter-State Conflict, 07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, Civil Society, Commerce, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Law Enforcement, Military

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Tom Engelhardt, co-founder of the American Empire Project, runs the Nation Institute's TomDispatch.com. His latest book, just published, is The American Way of War: How Bush's Wars Became Obama's (Haymarket Books). Watch a Timothy MacBain TomCast video of him discussing the American way of war by clicking here.

Dumb Question of the Twenty-first Century: Is It Legal?

Campaign for Liberty, 05/31/2011

Is the Libyan war legal? Was Bin Laden's killing legal? Is it legal for the president of the United States to target an American citizen for assassination? Were those “enhanced interrogation techniques” legal? These are all questions raised in recent weeks. Each seems to call out for debate, for answers. Or does it?

Full post with many names and links….

2011/05/312011/05/31

Ten Reasons Why China Is Different

02 China

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Emphasis added by Penguin.

Stephen S. Roach

2011-05-27

Ten Reasons Why China is Different–PLUS-CHINESE LEADERSHIP UNDERSTANDS THAT IF IT DOES NOT SERVE THE INTERESTS OF MASSES IT WILL GO DOWN.

NEW HAVEN – The China doubters are back in force. They seem to come in waves – every few years, or so. Yet, year in and year out, China has defied the naysayers and stayed the course, perpetuating the most spectacular development miracle of modern times. That seems likely to continue.

Today’s feverish hand-wringing reflects a confluence of worries – especially concerns about inflation, excess investment, soaring wages, and bad bank loans. Prominent academics warn that China could fall victim to the dreaded “middle-income trap,” which has derailed many a developing nation.

There is a kernel of truth to many of the concerns cited above, especially with respect to the current inflation problem. But they stem largely from misplaced generalizations. Here are ten reasons why it doesn’t pay to diagnose the Chinese economy by drawing inferences from the experiences of others:

Strategy. Since 1953, China has framed its macro objectives in the context of five-year plans, with clearly defined targets and policy initiatives designed to hit those targets. The recently enacted 12th Five-Year Plan could well be a strategic turning point – ushering in a shift from the highly successful producer model of the past 30 years to a flourishing consumer society.

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2011/05/312011/05/31

USA: Thirteen Big Lies — Needed Counter-Narrative

07 Other Atrocities, Advanced Cyber/IO, Analysis, Budgets & Funding, Civil Society, Collective Intelligence, Corporations, Corruption, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, History, info-graphics/data-visualization, InfoOps (IO), Intelligence (government), IO Impotency, Journalism/Free-Press/Censorship, Methods & Process, Misinformation & Propaganda, Money, Banks & Concentrated Wealth, Officers Call, Policies, Politics of Science & Science of Politics, Power Behind-the-Scenes/Special Interests, Reform, Secrecy & Politics of Secrecy, Standards, Strategy, Technologies, Waste (materials, food, etc)

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Here are a few of the BIG lies used to support the status quo. What we need, rather urgently, is a counter-narrative

LIE 1. The earth is an open system with infinite supplies and sinks;

POSSIBLE TRUTH: Earth is a closed system, changes that used to take 10,000 years now take three, humanity is “peaking” the entire system.

LIE 2. Everything must be monetized;

POSSIBLE TRUTH: Money is an exchange unit and an information unit; in the absence of holistic analytics and “true cost” transparency, mony is actually a toxic means of concentrating wealth and depriving communities of their own resources (e.g. land).

LIE 3. The extreme unregulated free market is the only option for a modern economy;

POSSIBLE TRUTH: Information asymmetries and “rule by secrecy” have been clearly documented–the free market is neither free nor fair. A modern economy needs to be transparent, resilient, and hence rooted in the local.

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2011/05/312011/05/31

Weak Signals: USG Debt

03 Economy, 07 Other Atrocities, 11 Society, Budgets & Funding, Civil Society, Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government

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FACT: USG poised to borrow $1.6 TRILLION in 20

FACT: No one is talking about stopping borrowing as a pre-condition for addessing the problem.

FACT: No one is talking about strategic analytics across the entire budget

FACT: Democrats are demanding tax increases without any reference to reduced borrowing.

FACT: Some, not all, Republicans beginning to associate “truth” with “debt.”

Wikipedia Overview

News on US Debt

2011/05/312011/05/31

Reality Always Bats Last: Personal Political Pathos

Blog Wisdom, Cultural Intelligence

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31 May 2011: BBC Link corrected.

Dear friends,

The personal is political.

This is true in so many ways. I am part of my culture and social systems, and they are part of me, embedded in me. They shape how I think and act, how I respond, what I think is right and possible — and I, in turn, play my role in them, no matter what I do or don't do.

This isn't something I can escape. It is simply what is. What I CAN do is try to be aware of it, of how this dynamic plays out in my life and in the lives around me. And try to make that dynamic into something that enlightens, empowers, and frees me and us.

Among the most important 21st century “personal is political” dynamics is the increasing personalization of commodities and the commodification of our personal lives.

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2011/05/302011/05/30

UK Joins US in Illegal Attacks on Libyan Capital

01 Brazil, 03 India, 04 Inter-State Conflict, 06 Russia, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, Government, Military, Peace Intelligence

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Gunships vs Gaddafi: UK to send Apache attack choppers to Libya

YouTube Russian Television (RT)

Phi Beta Iota: We are surprised that Brazil, India, and Russia are not doing more to put a complete stop to the illegal and immoral attacks on Tripoli. The US and UK governments are completely out of control, completely without any possible legal ethical justification for what they are doing, and shaming all of us–at our expense in incurred debt, we might add. Flag officers, commanders, and pilots should be held accountable for failing to refuse illegal orders–their lack of individual integrity is what enables a lack of government integrity to be so dangerous and costly to humanity.