Alvin & Heidi Toffler - Global Gladiators Challenge the Power of Nations (2000)
Introduction
"The process under way now is as historically significant as the 30 Years War that ended in 1648 with the Treaty of Westphalia, which laid the diplomatic groundwork for the now fading world order built around supposedly sovereign nation states."
TRADOC Mad Scientist Initiative - Visioning the Future of Warfare: 2030-2050 (U.S. Army, 2016)
Info
In November 2016, Mad Scientist launched its first Science Fiction Writing Competition with the topic “Warfare in 2030 to 2050.” We sought out unconventional thinkers and solicited their unique perspectives — we were not disappointed! With over 150 submissions from authors in 10 different countries around the globe, the diversity of input provided us with a wide variety of thoughts and ideas about warfare and the Future Operational Environment. Through the art of Story Telling, the Army was able to visualize the known, probable, and possible challenges and opportunities that the future holds.
Aurelio Peccei - The Human Quality (1977)
Description
An autobiographical statement of the author's belief in the global approach to development and world problems. How can the human species survive the crisis of its own extraordinary techno-scientific success? In this truly unique book Aurelio Peccei shows us that the solution cannot be found in external factors. It must lie in re-establishing a sound cultural balance within man himself so that he becomes capable of living in harmony with the new human condition and changed world environment. Only by a cultural revolution which changes the human quality can we control and orient the material revolutions. Aurelio Peccei's distinguished career in industry, conservation, international affairs and as a counsellor on major world problems needs little introduction. He was a founder-member of the Club of Rome in 1968 and has been a member of its Executive Committee ever since. Inevitably he draws upon his wisdom and experience to highlight the arguments in his book.
Aldous Huxley - A Positive Program of Research for Peace (1947)
Introduction
The military are "intruding" into science, because they hope that an increase in knowledge will lead to the development of more effective weapons. Scientists are advised by Dr. Ridenour to "resist intrusion"
to the extent that it threatens to degrade pure science into mere engineering by ProfessorWiener, they are advised to resist it absolutely and unequivocally, on moral grounds. This negative procedure of "resistance to intrusion" requires, it seems to me, to be upplemented by some form of positive action, designed to offsett he military program of research for war, and to render it unnecessary.
Alexander King - Education and Change (1956)
Info on Alexander King
Alexander King, who has died aged 98, was a pioneering scientist who warned of the dangers to the environment from extensive industrial development. He was one of the people who commissioned the 1972 Limits to Growth report, which triggered the first wave of international concern about the environment. This remains one of the world's largest selling books on the environment. He then became one of the founders of the international thinktank, the Club of Rome, which the Duke of Edinburgh has called the "conscience of the world".
Introduction
By the time of his untimely death in 1983, Herman Kahn was recognized by both friends and intellectual adversaries as “one of the world’s most creative and best minds.” He was one of the preeminent and best known futures studies scholars, a founding father of the field, with extensive and vital contributions to the debates on the nature of global economic development and its impact on human societies and their environment, as well as a key figure in the field of strategic studies, an area where he was also considered a founder and a leader. His work was followed all over the world and the directions he traced in the public debate on very sensitive issues of crucial public concern have continued to be unaltered today, more than twenty years after his unexpected death. Yet, in spite of the incessant influence of his arguments and ideas, today his intellectual legacy is still to be accounted for and the breath and depth of his contributions are still to be reviewed and analyzed in a systematic way.
Dennis M. Bushnell - Future Strategic Issues/Future Warfare [Circa 2025] (2001)
Info
Bushnell's above presentation was given on August 14, 2001 at the 4th Annual Testing and Training for Readiness Symposium and Exhibition organized by the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) and held at the Rosen Centre Hotel (formerly the Omni Rosen Hotel) in Orlando, Florida. For information on that, see the following page in which the above presentation is available:
"The 4th Annual Testing and Training for Readiness Symposium & Exhibition: Emerging Challenges, Opportunities and Requirements, 13-16 August 2001", Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC).
Dennis M. Bushnell, "Future Strategic Issues/Future Warfare [Circa 2025]" (sic), NASA Langley Research Center (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), July 2001, 113 pp.; PDF, 1400357 bytes, MD5: c833f3fbc55d07fe891f5f4df5fb2f57. The aforesaid PDF was found on the US Department of Defense's Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) website.
Dennis M. Bushnell is the Chief Scientist at NASA's Langley Research Center. The following is a biography page for him:
Joe Atkinson, "Dennis Bushnell", NASA Langley Research Center (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), Mar. 21, 2013.
Bushnell's above presentation was given on August 14, 2001 at the 4th Annual Testing and Training for Readiness Symposium and Exhibition organized by the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) and held at the Rosen Centre Hotel (formerly the Omni Rosen Hotel) in Orlando, Florida. For information on that, see the following page in which the above presentation is available:
"The 4th Annual Testing and Training for Readiness Symposium & Exhibition: Emerging Challenges, Opportunities and Requirements, 13-16 August 2001", Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC).
See also the following announcement page for this conference:
"4th Annual Testing and Training Symposium and Exhibition: A National Partnership, on August 14-16, 2001 in Orlando, FL at the Omni Centre Hotel", National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA).
The following is the conference proceedings:
Testing and Training for Readiness Symposium and Exhibition (4th Annual): Emerging Challenges, Opportunities and Requirements Held on 13-16 August 2001 (on CD-ROM), National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), Aug. 2001; National Technical Information Service (NTIS) Issue Number: 1014.
The text on each page stating "Future Strategic Issues, 7/01" within the above PDF refers to the document's finalization date of July 2001. The creation date of the above PDF is given as Thu 13 Dec 2001 08:48:04 AM EST, which possibly refers to when the PDF was created from a Microsoft PowerPoint file (.ppt), as it looks like the document was perhaps originally a PowerPoint file.
Matthew Holtmeier - Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB (2016)
Abstract
Short piece for the National Film Registry discussing the historical, cultural, and aesthetic significance of Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB. This essay identifies Electronic Labyrinth as an important precursor to the development of Industrial Light and Magic, a visual effects company that has shaped the past 40 years of American film.
Frater 616: Satanism, and the Illuminati (Henry Makow, 2021)
Abstract
“Petor Narsagonan” or “Frater 616” was an Australian Adept in the world of Satanism, which is synonymous with the Illuminati. Included here are Henry Makow’s article on Frater 616’s revelations of the Satanic world as well as Frater 616’s two-part manuscript.
Not since Svali’s confessions of some years back has so much been said about the Illuminati’s hidden activities.
“Petor Narsagonan” aka “Frater 616″ died March 25, 2004. Recently, his executor, an “Aloysius Fozdyke” (their satanic names) sent the 15 pp. document by email to Arthur Cristian, webmaster of “loveforlife.com.au”
“I have felt it necessary to edit very little of this work,” “Fozdyke” wrote to Cristian, “although legal considerations have ensured that some names and details were excised. It was His intention to have this published in the popular media.”
(speculative)
DARPA - Artificial Intelligence Exploration (AIE) Opportunity: Civil Sanctuary (2021)
Introduction
Social media platforms have the potential to be a great democratizing force, allowing individuals to participate in the free and productive sharing of ideas at a scale never before encountered in human history. During emergency situations and times of turmoil, these platforms can provide a crucial forum for discussing time-sensitive, potentially life-saving information. During DoD Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HA/DR) operations, relief efforts would benefit from a stable and constructive information environment that naturally facilitates informative dialogue. However, rather than aiding users in finding peaceable common ground, online social environments worldwide often fall prey to disinformation, bullying, and malicious rhetoric, which may be perpetuated through broader social dynamics linked to toxic and uncritical group conformity. New technologies are required to preserve and promote the positive factors of engagement in online discourse while minimizing the risk of negative social and psychological impacts emerging from violations of platform community guidelines.
%20-%20Google%20Zoeken.png)
Cass R. Sunstein & Adrian Vermeule - Conspiracy Theories (2008)
Abstract
Many millions of people hold conspiracy theories; they believe that powerful people have worked together in order to withhold the truth about some important practice or some terrible event. A recent example is the belief, widespread in some parts of the world, that the attacks of 9/11 were carried out not by Al Qaeda, but by Israel or the United States. Those who subscribe to conspiracy theories may create serious risks, including risks of violence, and the existence of such theories raises significant challenges for policy and law. The first challenge is to understand the mechanisms by which conspiracy theories prosper; the second challenge is to understand how such theories might be undermined. Such theories typically spread as a result of identifiable cognitive blunders, operating in conjunction with informational and reputational influences. A distinctive feature of conspiracy theories is their self-sealing quality. Conspiracy theorists are not likely to be persuaded by an attempt to dispel their theories; they may even characterize that very attempt as further proof of the conspiracy. Because those who hold conspiracy theories typically suffer from a “crippled epistemology,” in accordance with which it is rational to hold such theories, the best response consists in cognitive infiltration of extremist groups. Various policy dilemmas, such as the question whether it is better for government to rebut conspiracy theories or to ignore them, are explored in this light.
Preface
The United States’ National Intelligence Council (NIC) and the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) have joined forces to produce this assessment of the longterm prospects for global governance frameworks. This exercise builds on the experience of the two institutions in identifying the key trends shaping the future international system. Since the mid-1990s, the NIC has produced four editions of its landmark Global Trends report. The most recent one, Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World, published in late 2008, noted that momentous change was ahead, with the gap between increasing disorder and weakening governance structures widening. The EUISS produced the first EU-level report on the factors affecting the evolution of the international system, The New Global Puzzle. What World for the EU in 2025?, in 2006. The report stressed that a multipolar system is emerging and that matching the new distribution of power with new rules and institutions will be critical to preserving international peace and stability.
The US and the EU do not always see eye to eye on every issue on the international agenda, but they share fundamental values and strategic interests to an extent not matched by any other partners in the world. Transatlantic agreement is no longer enough to effectively manage global challenges. Doing so will require renewed efforts to address governance gaps and strengthen multilateralism, in partnership with other pivotal centres of power and with the international community at large. This report provides an informal contribution to an important international debate on the way forward for global, regional and bilateral institutions and frameworks to meet emerging challenges. It is not meant as an exhaustive analysis evaluating the performance of individual institutions. While not being policy prescriptive, the report shares a strong belief – as exemplified by multilateralist approaches of the US and EU governments to resolving global problems such as the recent financial crisis – that global challenges will require global solutions.
The report does not seek to examine all the various challenges likely to require multilateralist efforts, but rather highlights several important governance gaps. We therefore do not go into depth on proliferation or cybersecurity – which we believe are receiving greater attention. Instead, we focus on such issues as intrastate conflict, resource management, migration and biotechnology. Although recognised by many as ongoing challenges, we believe that the long-term impact of these issues on the strength of the international order has not been fully appreciated.
Top War - Black transplantologists of Ukraine (2022)
Info
The human organ market is a whole underground industry with billions of dollars in circulation. Criminal groups organize networks that unite entire states. Demand invariably exceeds supply, which affects the cost of human organs. The price of a kidney now starts at $60-70 and ends at $150-180. A part of the liver will cost half as much, and a corneal fragment costs only $6-10. Prices are given for situations where the donor remains alive after organ removal, albeit practically disabled. In total, by selling a part of his body to black transplantologists, the unfortunate person receives no more than 10-15% of the average world cost of the organ.
Abstract
COVID-19 and economic responses to it have amplified and changed the nature of development challenges in fundamental ways. Global development cooperation should adapt accordingly. The focus of our analysis is on the “intelligent reconstruction” phase of 2022-2030, once the immediate stabilization of economies and the health pandemic have taken place. We look at changes in the development context that may have long-term effects: global growth, debt, budget deficits and taxes, aid, capital markets, along with poverty and vulnerability. We suggest that aid is moving beyond altruism to become an instrument of national self-interest and of better planetary management of the global commons. These new objectives for aid put more emphasis on what is happening within each country, rather than across countries. Metrics of environmental sustainability and social inclusion performance, as well as governance, will become more important determinants of aid’s effectiveness. We identify the trade-offs in using aid to simultaneously relieve debt distress and development distress, and conclude that other instruments beyond aid are needed. Prominent among these is far more ambitious use of multilateral and national development banks, and global policies to reduce capital outflows from developing countries. We encourage the delineation of areas of cooperation and competition between geopolitical rivals, to limit the tainting of development priorities with elements of “us” versus “them.”
Club of Rome - The Aurelio Peccei Lectures & Dialogues (2001 - 2018)
Info
The CoR-EU Chapter started its lectures in the year 2001, before the formal constitution of the Club of Rome EU-Chapter as an autonomous association under Belgian law in January 2002. Upon initiative of Professor Dr. ir. Raoul Weiler (+ 2019), Founder President, the first lecture was given by the late Professor Sergey Kapitza, from Russia, Member of the Club of Rome. The topic dealt with the question of planetary demography on which he published a book. It was a successful start and convinced the EU-Chapter leaders to go on with the named Aurelio Peccei Lectures, a name was chosen in honour of the founder and inspirer of the Club of Rome. Over almost two decades the number has reached today the 100 lectures.
The topics and the speakers were chosen in harmony with the objectives of the Club of Rome. The city of Brussels, being the de facto capital of the European Union, provided an excellent environment with eminent experts in the different fields in which the Club of Rome has been active over half a century. Looking back over this fascinating period, it is not exaggerated to state that the CoR-EU has succeeded to build a strong intellectual profile, which has been appreciated by a large international public. A wide range of topics have been addressed: demography, poverty, globalisation & sustainability, knowledge societies & networks, ecology & alternative energies, climate change, cultural diversity, economy, micro-credit, planetary food availability, degrowth & social enterprise, ethics, and much more. The lecturers came from the entire planet, Europe, US, Africa, Asia, Australia, particularly drawn from UN organisations such as UNFCC & IPCC, UNEP and UNESCO, as well as from the World Bank, the World Economic and Social Forum, the OECD and Wikipedia. The Club of Rome EU-Chapter, through the broad spectrum of topics and eminent speakers, has gained international recognition and contributed to address the challenges the human society will face along the 21st century and beyond.
Mark DUBRULLE, 10 September 2018
President & Executive Director
Abstract
This report, authored by Peter Emanuel, Scott Walper, Diane DiEuliis, Natalie Klein, James B. Petro, and James Giordano (proclaimed Mad Scientist); and published by the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center (CCDC CBC), culminates a year-long assessment to forecast and evaluate the military implications of machines that are physically integrated with the human body to augment and enhance human performance over the next 30 years. This report summarizes this assessment and findings; identifies four potential military-use cases for new technologies in this area; and makes seven recommendations on how the U.S. should proceed regarding human/machine enhancement technologies.
Donald N. Michael - Technology Assessment in an Emerging World (1976)
Abstract
While the profound social changes under way today are by no means solely the result of technology, one of the important impacts of technology is the growing need for more concentrated efforts at producing and applying technology assessments; i.e., the need for systematic examinations of the long-range interactions between technology and the rest of societal activity. It is from this situation that I draw my thesis: The very conditions of social change, including the anticipated role of technology assessments (TA’s), preclude defining and valuing TA’s as exclusively rational, formal, technical activities. Instead, I suggest that the applicability of TA’s is at least as great if they are also valued and viewed as a form of art. Here, I do not mean, as is usually meant, that, given their primitive stage of development, TA’s are more craft than science. I mean art as art-on a par with, but different than science in process as well as purpose. The implications of this viewpoint for the producer and user of technology assessments are significant, and, if pursued, will overcome the limitations imposed by valuing TA’s only to the degree that they approxi-mate purely logical creations, useful only for technical applications. The realization of these benefits will require major efforts to conduct, use, and legitimize TA’s as an art form in which logic and the formal methodologies of TA serve the same functions as can- vas, paint, and brushes for the painter; or stone, chisels, and mallets for the sculptor; or musical notation, musical instruments, and performance capabilities for the composer.
