In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.

- Laurence J. Peter

People who are insulated from the results of their choices will inevitably choose cause for others’ regret.

Sterile insect technique is a method of biological control, whereby millions of sterile insects are released. The released insects are normally male as it is the female that causes the damage, usually by laying eggs in the crop, or, in the case of mosquitoes, taking a bloodmeal from humans. The sterile males compete with the wild males for female insects. If a female mates with a sterile male then it will have no offspring, thus reducing the next generation’s population. Repeated release of insects can eventually wipe out a population, though it is often more useful to consider controlling the population rather than eradicating it.

- Sterile insect technique at Wikipedia
2009-12-24

Techniques (action of releasing an inert actor to compete with potent actors) applied to the biological sphere have direct political, sociological, and psychological corollaries.

Subversion: Repurpose influential organizations to defuse potential opposition.

The Cult Awareness Network (CAN) was founded in the wake of the November 18, 1978 deaths of members of the group Peoples Temple and assassination of Congressman Leo J. Ryan in Jonestown, Guyana. CAN is now owned and operated by associates of the Church of Scientology, an organization that the original founders of CAN strongly opposed. Prior to its hostile takeover, CAN provided information on groups that it considered to be cults, as well as support and referrals to exit counselors and deprogrammers.

- Cult Awareness Network at Wikipedia
2009-12-24

[Similarities to action of Glyptapanteles and other zombism-inducing parasitoids]

Exterminate rational analysis: Disseminate easily-falsified information to weaken the position of those who do not accept the official story.

Do you see the difference between conspiracy theories and real theories now? Basically, the definition of a conspiracy theory is that it is false, yet people continue to believe in it despite all evidence to the contrary.

- Has a Conspiracy Theory ever been Proven True?
2008-05-21

[Note the cognitive kill switch for veracity applied within the phrase conspiracy theory - there can be a proven conspiracy and there can be a proven theory but there cannot be a proven conspiracy theory so far as the commenter's bias is concerned]

Influence consumer behavior: Paid representatives make use of social interactions and relationships in which their relation to the advertiser remains undisclosed to promote products.

They [individuals bringing product to events] were invited guests, friends or relatives of whoever organized the get-togethers, but they were also – unknown to most all the other attendees – ”agents,” and they filed reports. ”People could not believe they weren’t pork!” one agent related. ”I told everyone that they were low in fat and so much better than pork sausages.” Another wrote, ”I handed out discount coupons to several people and made sure they knew which grocery stores carried them.” Another noted that ”my dad will most likely buy the garlic” flavor, before closing, ”I’ll keep you posted.”

- The Hidden (in Plain Sight) Persuaders by Rob Walker
New York Times
2004-12-05

[Note that there is no effective way to screen - or regulate - the nature of undercover marketing's corporation-backed confidence scam]

Successful application of the sterile insect technique in its various incarnations will reduce opposition, defuse opposing viewpoints, and create an ideal environment for continued exploitation of extant relationships.

Well, there’s things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin’ everywhere you go,
But ’til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You’ll never see me wear a suit of white.

Ah, I’d love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything’s OK,
But I’ll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
‘Till things are brighter, I’m the man in black

- Man in Black by Johnny Cash

Also, it obscures the dirt, grime, and blood stains.

Nothing says “holidays” like a trip to the liquor store. Maybe I haven’t been “real good” this year – but I don’t need a lump of coal… just some charcoal-filtered whiskey. I’ll trade up fruit cake and cookies for some rum – it’s all still sugar, right? (Unless it’s high fructose corn syrup – never trust baked goods from a factory) … no fireplace to burn yule logs, no burn barrel for newspaper – that’s okay. I’ll keep warm in other ways.

“Listen to me, ma’am,” the operator told a panicked Melissa Doi during a 20-minute phone call. “You’re not dying. You’re in a bad situation, ma’am.”

. . .

“I’m going to die, aren’t I?” Doi asked the dispatcher. “Please God, it’s so hot. I’m burning up.”

The operator encouraged Doi to keep her composure: “Ma’am, just stay calm for me, OK?”

The conversation was one of more 1,613 previously undisclosed emergency calls from the morning of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. They include the voices of at least 19 firefighters and two emergency medical technicians killed when the twin towers collapsed, although most of the calls are from firefighters asking dispatchers where they should report for duty, the Fire Department said.

- More 9/11 tapes: “I’m going to die, aren’t I?”
by Amy Westfeldt for The Seattle Times
2006-08-16

Just stay calm.

“I have been hacked; taking evasive maneuvers. Much apology, my friends,” wrote Rocky Barbanica, a producer for Rackspace Hosting, an Internet storage firm, in one such note.

Mr. Barbanica sent that out last month after realizing he had sent messages to 250 Twitter followers with a link and the sentence, “Are you in this picture?” If they clicked, their Twitter accounts were similarly commandeered.

“I took it personally, which I shouldn’t have, but that’s the natural feeling. It’s insulting,” he said.

- Viruses That Leave Victims Red in the Facebook
by Brad Stone for NY Times
2009-12-13

Hijacked communications are the tip of the iceberg – wait’ll you see how the underlying data gets used…

After the Emirates gained independence in 1971, oil wealth continued to flow to the area and traditional mud-brick huts were rapidly replaced with banks, boutiques and modern highrises.

- Abu Dhabi at Wikipedia.org

Dubai is a cool city and all, but have you ever gotten the feeling that it’s just flaunting its endless wealth? That’s because it is. Dubai is rich, filthy rich and they aren’t afraid of letting the world know it by dropping billions of dollars on over-elaborate fountains and animated skyscrapers.

- Another Act Of Wealth From Dubai
by Ryan Ash
2009-10-10

We invite you to begin your Dubai sightseeing with Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world. The Burj Dubai skyscraper is a world-class destination and the magnificent centerpiece of Downtown Burj Dubai, Dubai’s new urban masterpiece. The world’s tallest building is surrounded by hotels, must-visit shopping destinations and a world of entertainment options.

- Burj Dubai Official Website

Speaking to Al Jazeera on Sunday, Robin Amlot, managing editor of CPI Financial, based in the emirate, said: “Dubai is not oil-rich. It’s a service economy. And as all service economies it has suffered in the global retrenchment that we have seen in the last two years.

- Dubai wealth fund under stress
Al Jazeera
2009-09-15

“This is kind of above and beyond what people expected. It is a crucial and essential lifeline … at a time when the markets really needed it,” said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi-Credit Agricole. “That should bring in a lot of confidence. Basically Abu Dhabi is footing the bill.”

- Debt-hit Dubai gets surprise $10 billion bailout
Reuters
2009-12-14

The reality is that in many Gulf states, all this “surplus savings” is rather the private wealth belonging to the royal family that runs that state, or quite likely a single individual member of that family. There is no proper transparency nor accountability. And this is why we use the term “benevolent dictator”: because when a sheikh builds roads and schools and hospitals, it is effectively benevolence. It is his own personal money that he is using to benefit (or bribe) “his” people, not (what should be) their national money that he holds in trust.

Because Gulf states are not democracies, their citizens are not really stakeholders. To put it simply: the prime minister of Norway could not just walk away with all the cash in Norway’s massive future fund. It is not his personal money, it belongs to the people of Norway. But in the average Gulf state, that money belongs to the ruling family or just the rule, and he can do with it as he wishes.

- The sovereign’s wealth fund
Secret Dubai
2008-01-24

If you can suspend disbelief for a moment and consider international investment networks to be a kind of mycelia, you’ll have accurate picture of Dubai’s future:

Fairy rings are not only detectable by sporocarps in rings or arcs, but also by a necrotic zone (dead grass) or a ring of dark green grass. If these manifestations are visible a fairy fungus mycelium is likely present in the ring or arc underneath.

- Fairy rings at Wikipedia.org
2009-12-14

Warning: Necrotic zone. No lifeguard on duty.

Rahner and Horton realized comic books were an ideal medium for portraying their story of a reluctant government agent sent to investigate strange happenings in remote and often backward Western towns — and its underlying criticism of today’s social and political ills. In their series, as in real life, “If you’re a rational, skeptical, independent thinker, you’re going to be alone — and you’re going to have a lot of enemies,” Rahner said.

Like horror movies, comics have always been “stand-ins for what people were really scared of,” Reid said.

- Zombies in Seattle: Be afraid, be very afraid
by Christy Karras for the Seattle Times
2009-12-12

A sentiment I’ve mused upon in the past – there is certainly something to the notion… (and I do tend to talk of zombies often enough)

That’s great. Now shut up and get back to work.