Charlie Rose

BENEZRAA  06/26/2012 07:57 PM Report

ATTN: MYVOICE

I can't presume to speak for the Department of State or Secretaries Baker or Clinton, but, in my humble opinion, the answer to your question is that the foci of the conversation were on (a) what it is to be an American Secretary of State, on (b) the continuity from Administration to Administration (regardless of the superficialities of Party Politics), and (c) to touch on a few of the presently hot or sustained major issues that call on the office of the Secretary of State. The challenges that face the Arabs of Palestine and the Jews of Palestine are always the active concern of the Department of State, and were the solutions simple and obvious and immediate, all of Palestine would be at peace. It is reasonable to hope that the changes taking place in Egypt and Syria will spill over to peace between the Jews and Arabs of Palestine.

Gelles  06/24/2012 05:48 PM Report

To AB and all of us, myself included:

The compliment from AB is much appreciated. After all, compliments count. Money, in spite of my theories on its importance, is not everything. ce

Presently I'm heavily into networked-human-intelligence. NHI is AI (Artificial Intelligence,) using human brains, before they become obsolete.

The source of my present passion is the book, "MacroWikinomics". MW is part two of "Wikinomics" -- by two very fine writers who have gathered many examples of the wisdom of crowds that can be organized on the WEB on the Internet to make a difference in our favor.

..... They suggest there is a system of self-organization at hand -- but it is also system that needs leadership in real time. At bottom, all systems appear to illustrate "the unity of most opposites". (If you prefer "unity of all opposites", self-contradiction occurs as you look for its opposite).

Setting paradox aside, I'm trying to join "govloop.com", a "crowd" of critical government workers and others -- seeking Utopian laws, regulations and beliefs. They seek perfect governance and the infinite know-how needed to make it work.

Baker and Clinton seek the same by a different name: they call it "diplomatic wisdom". I call it "money enough to go around."

We will soon elect Obama or Romney. I wish both would, if chosen, include Baker and Clinton on their inner circle of advisers. Neither will. Nor would the crowds in the digital cloud pick these two to advise us. Why not?

..... Because we do not know how best to crowd-source our best advisory teams. Nor do we know how to make hierarchy work any better. We have two problems at least: ignorance of know-how and evil deeply rooted in the soil. One problem would have been enough.

myvoice  06/24/2012 03:51 PM Report

I cannot understand how a 1 hour conversation with 2 Secretaries of State never included 1 question about the Palestinian plight, and the one-sided support by the U.S. for Israel, despite their human rights violations and continued land-grabbing.

ABENEZRA  06/22/2012 11:59 AM Report

THANK YOU, MR. GELLES

Below are your most cogent comments to date, I think. May we all have eyes to see and ears to hear.

Gelles  06/22/2012 08:32 AM Report

Baker and Clinton know as much about politics and statecraft as any two people you can name. So why have they always been assigned to fight a current fire -- and never asked to design a system to reduce the threat of future fires, a fire-prevention system that might work?

Because -- prevention of fires not yet started is not possible.

But we could be better prepared for future fires -- n'est-ce pas? could we not?

Are any other species out there that worry about the future? Can you worry if you can't talk? Should you worry if it does not matter?

Can we build a leaderless system to lead us better than we are lead right now? We think we already have one. It's called the MARKET. It is self-correcting and self-destructive all the time. Live with it. Today it's still correcting. Tomorrow it will stop.

Gelles  06/22/2012 08:09 AM Report

SW Lazers suggests~

..... "our warrior stupidity ... produces two wars that Baker tells us we can't afford because we are broke."

I am listening to Recorded Books Player unabridged version of Macro Wiki-Economics "Rebooting Business and the World", (Amazon code 9781591843566)-- by Don Tapscott, Anthony D. Williams. It is about leaderless internet enabled systems to reform everything standing in the way of peace and security for America and its super-power partners in Russia, Europe, China, India, Brazil and other essential nations.

Although I believe there is need of wiki-networks to invite leaderless (non-hierarchical) means to move from the depression, recession, inadequate jobs state we presently enjoy and suffer through, I am impressed by the Jim Baker, Hillary Clinton, Charlie Rose conversation on our goals.

It seems to me the thought that there are wars and lesser efforts to be undertaken in quest of peace, security and prosperity for the human race, that WE cannot afford because WE are broke, is not possible.

What does it mean to believe that "WE ARE BROKE".

How many super-powers can be broke? If America is broke, are all its rivals also broke? Would they still be broke if they all had wealth enough to perfect their nations if they tried?

The world is no doubt designed by leaderless forces busy building the rest of the universe and its destiny. And leaders like Baker and Clinton look to their current and future leaders, like Obama, Romney and un-named others, including their own faces in morning mirrors daily, with good ideas in mind and nothing out there happening at the moment.

This message that none of us and none of them can afford the money it will take to FIX the problems that we see, is an arresting one. Can it possibly be true?

I say it's a big lie. We do have the money. But we do not have the answers or the will to find them now.

Tomorrow we will find the answers and the next day we'll find he will.

SharkswithfrikingLazers  06/22/2012 03:28 AM Report

Perhaps we can send Baker and Clinton over to Congress to negotiate a peace treaty so we can get something done in 2012.

I would put our "beloved" Congress on the list with Egypt and Syria.

SharkswithfrikingLazers  06/22/2012 03:21 AM Report

Strategic Goal 1 of the Department of State: Achieving Peace and Security

http://www.state.gov/s/d/rm/rls/perfrpt/2010/html/153554.htm

"Surpassed our goal to train and equip 75,000 new peacekeepers to participate in peacekeeping operations worldwide by 2010."

What does that even mean? 75,000 folks is huge. That is folks right?

We have the LGM-118 Peacekeeper, a land-based nuclear ICBM and the Cadillac Gage Ranger armored fighting vehicles, two models of which are called "Peacekeeper" and "PeaceKeeper II". We have the Peace Corps too.

My hope is that these 75,000 peacekeepers are like their own brand of special forces and are offered into a region to help hold an election, help find clean water, help grow food, help educate, help control disease . . . so they would be in Egypt now helping with the election or helping grow food or on call and ready to go into Syria when it is safe.

Not boots on the ground but perhaps Birkenstocks.

We spend about 4+% of our GDP on Defense and about 1% of our GDP on State and even the Department of State crosses over into Defense.

So we are four times more amygdala than frontal lobe which speaks to our warrior stupidity that produces two wars that Baker tells us we can't afford because we are broke.

ABENEZRA  06/21/2012 08:09 PM Report

ARAB WINTER

The comment was made (if I heard rightly) that 'Arab Spring' has come and gone and now we are looking at 'Arab Winter' (paraphrase mine). Perhaps I am biased by my North American sense of four seasons, but, if 'Arab Spring' has come and gone, then we are now looking at 'Arab Summer'. So for now the 'summer' has not been uneventful, but, it has not yet been too hot too long; that will come. So what can we do, if anything, to prevent Egypt from exploding, come the dog days of summer? If we do not provide Egypt with sufficient 'ice cream, ice water, and air conditioning', then Eygpt's 'Autumn' may harbinger a harsh 'Winter'.

ABENEZRA  06/21/2012 07:48 PM Report

KUDOS

It was a joy to observe the collegial respect and mutual admiration between James Baker and Hillary Clinton. Would that such respect and tone would inform and transform the current political process and environment from one of a shark feeding-frenzy of partisanship extremes to one of a collegial, portioned-out, bipartisan moderation towards the common good. Service, not grandstanding, is the model to emulate; Baker and Clinton have demonstrated that model before our eyes, thanks to Mr. Rose.

tabs  06/21/2012 04:07 PM Report

This discussion illuminates the fact that there has been a continuity of American FP that has transcended party lines and ideologies since the end of WW2. No President can deviate very far off the course that was established after WW2, the most that any President can do is alter the course by a few degree to Port or Starboard. The main thrust of American FP has been to maintain peace and stability in the world while promoting Democracy and Free Market systems so that American and foreign business interests can thrive. This is the essence of the American Empire.

If the Obama administration is enjoying success in the FP arena, President Obama can thank Ms Clinton for that success because she is a tireless worker and organizer who brings a no nonsense competency to her position. As a matter of fact one thinks from her demeanor (the authority from which she speaks) during this interview that it is in fact Ms Clinton that is running the FP show while the President is consumed with running for reelection.

SharkswithfrikingLazers  06/21/2012 02:52 PM Report

“She famously called President-elect Barack Obama "naive" during a Democratic primary debate for saying he would meet with foreign leaders without preconditions.”

She also emphasized the importance of engaging Russia and China in confronting issues such as global climate change.

“This is a significant security challenge that we ignore at our peril,” Clinton said of energy issues.

Charlie, this was a tea party. You need to get them back to your darkened studio and ask them to reflect on what they thought they were getting into and what they learned.

How did Baker's government experience help him as Secretary of State?

By the way, did we hear Baker say he lied and signed a document about nuclear weapon development in Pakistan the first time he was asked? Shameful.