The truth at any cost lowers all other costs — curated by former US spy Robert David Steele.
Climate Change E-mail Leak Indicates ‘Hacktivism' Trend
Stefanie Hoffman Nov. 24, 2009
An e-mail hack that exposed thousands of private e-mails and documents about global warming from a University of East Anglia climate change research center indicates a shifting paradigm for e-mail as a means of “private” communication, and a continuation of political “hacktivism” to further political agendas, experts say.
Important but Tedious Detail, First Book Probably BetterSadly, the book, while full of extraordinary detail at a personal level, is extremely tedious. It *felt* like it took a century to read, and my eyes just glazed over with page after page of names of relatives, classmates, town, etcetera.
The author's first book, Autopsy: The Death of South Viet Nam is probably a much better book for anyone other than a student of the genealogical details.
The photos were disappointing, and while the strategic maps were helpful there was little to enliven the thirteen chapters.
Over-all I formed three impressions:
10-year-old refuses to say Pledge of Allegiance until everyone has equal rights
Lylah M. Alphonse November 23, 2009
A 10-year-old Arkansas boy is refusing to say the Pledge of Allegiance at school until our country does a better job of living up to its ideals.
“I looked at the end and it said ‘with liberty and justice for all.' And there really isn't liberty and justice for all,” Will Phillips told CNN recently. “Gays and lesbians can't marry. There's still a lot of racism and sexism in the world.”
You know what? I think he's got a great point.
Phi Beta Iota: As featured on the Colbert Nation Show.
Editorial,Ā Wednesday 25 November 2009
Allegations about Britain's role in the torture of its own citizens in Pakistan are not new. They have been made persuasively by our own investigative reporting. What is new in the report published yesterday by Human Rights Watch is the corroboration it obtained from the torturers themselves. Ali Dayan Hasan, HRW's senior south Asia researcher, found sources in Inter-Services Intelligence, the military-controlled spy agency in Pakistan, and the Intelligence Bureau, a civilian-controlled one, to admit they tortured five British citizens at the behest, and with the full knowledge, of British intelligence.
Too technical, no processing, no analysis, no human (or cultural) intelligence to speak of, too many industry speakers, too many senior speakers, and no aggregation and integration across AF IQ, SO, YE, etcetera.Ā Other than that, a great conference to be anticipated.Ā We've asked for notes.Ā The highlight: Jim Clapper in a goatee.
James R. Clapper Jr. was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence on April 11, 2007. He is the principal staff assistant and advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense regarding intelligence, counterintelligence and security matters. He is also dual-hatted as the Director of Defense Intelligence and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence as his principal advisor regarding defense intelligence matters.Ā Ā He has been hthe National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency director as a civilian; hisĀ last military assignment was as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. His earlier assignments included a variety of intelligence-related positions such as assistant chief of staff, intelligence, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm, and as director of intelligence for three war-fighting commands: U.S. Forces, Korea; Pacific Command; and Strategic Air Command.Ā Ā He served two combat tours during the Southeast Asia conflict and flew 73 combat support missions in EC-47s over Laos and Cambodia.
Pentagon preparing to send 34,000 troops to Afghanistan, official says
CNNĀ Ā November 24, 2009
Pentagon planners expect orders to send about 34,000 more troops to Afghanistan, a defense official told CNN, a day after the president's final meeting to decide the next moves in Afghanistan.Ā The military has planning under way to send three U.S. Army brigades, totaling about 15,000 troops; a Marine brigade, about 8,000 troops; a headquarters element, about 7,000 troops; and between 4,000 and 5,000 support troops — a total of approximately 34,000 troops, according to a defense official with direct knowledge of Pentagon operations. CNN reported last month that this was the preferred option within the Pentagon.
Cynthia McKinney Letter to the President
Please bring our troops home now.
A peace demonstration is being organized for December 12, 2009 in Washington, D.C. The Emergency Anti-Escalation Rally, also known as the End US Wars Rally, is scheduled for 11am at Lafayette Park at the White House. I wholly endorse this rally and encourage all who can to participate in Washington, DC or to help a local peace organization committed to ending U.S. wars on that date.
Researcher Berto Jongman recommends 6 monographs, 5 articles, 3 books.
EDIT of 24 Nov 09: 6 monograph recommendations added.
Russia: A Promising Market for Islamic Finance
21/11/2009By Lahem al Nasser
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat- There are around 47 million Muslims in Russia, which means that Muslims make up around one third of Russia's overall population. This figure is expected to rise to 50 percent by 2050 due to the high birth rate among the Muslim community, the decrease in the non-Muslim Russian population which is decreasing at a rate of 1 million people per year, as well as the immigrations of Muslims from central Asia into the Russian Federation. The Islamic presence in Russia is centered in the Caucasus, Siberia, and Moscow.
Survey of Pakistanās Young Predicts āDisasterā if Their Needs Arenāt Addressed
By SABRINA TAVERNISE,Ā Ā November 21, 2009
LAHORE, Pakistan ā Pakistan will face a ādemographic disasterā if it does not address the needs of its young generation, the largest in the countryās history, whose views reflect a deep disillusionment with government and democracy, according to a report released here on Saturday.
Crime and Terrorism Small Wars Journal
4 November 2009 by Colonel Robert Killebrew
According to a panel of experts at a recent conference sponsored by the Center for a New American Security, terrorism and crime have now merged, to such an extent that all terrorist movements – all of them — have become partly criminal organizations to fund their operations, expand their reach – and incidentally make the people on top extremely rich, while lower-level zealots continue to be recruited for suicide missions.
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