10.3.13

» Blogger's Sentencing Threatens U.S., Vietnam Ties
03/10/13 11:50 from WSJ.com: World News
Vietnam's warming relations with the U.S. appear set to hit a frosty patch after a Hanoi court Wednesday sentenced one of the country's best-known bloggers to 30 months in prison.

» Japan and US Agree to Broaden Military Alliance - New York Times
03/10/13 11:00 from Top Stories - Google News
The Star OnlineJapan and US Agree to Broaden Military AllianceNew York TimesTOKYO — The United States and Japan agreed on Thursday to broaden their security alliance to allow an expanding role for Japan while also reaffirming a continued...

» Agreement will allow US to fly long-range surveillance drones from base in Japan - Washington Post
03/10/13 11:22 from Top Stories - Google News
Washington PostAgreement will allow US to fly long-range surveillance drones from base in JapanWashington PostTOKYO — The U.S. military will deploy long-range Global Hawk surveillance drones from Japan next year, U.S. and Japanese offici...

» US, Japan Strengthen Security Alliance - Voice of America
03/10/13 08:05 from Top Stories - Google News
Washington PostUS, Japan Strengthen Security AllianceVoice of AmericaThe United States will station a new missile defense radar in Japan and deploy surveillance drones in the Pacific under a deal reached by top U.S. and Japanese official...

» US, Japan to modernize alliance to counter 21st century threats - Reuters
03/10/13 07:25 from Top Stories - Google News
Montreal GazetteUS, Japan to modernize alliance to counter 21st century threatsReutersBy Lesley Wroughton and David Alexander. TOKYO | Thu Oct 3, 2013 3:19am EDT. TOKYO (Reuters) - The United States and Japan agreed on Thursday to modern...

» Kerry, Hagel Meet with Japanese Counterparts in Tokyo
03/10/13 04:44 from Voice of America
The top diplomats and defense chiefs from the United States and Japan are meeting Thursday in Tokyo to review and strengthen security ties. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the leaders hope to lay out a clear vision for the U.S....

» Fukushima Leaks Radioactive Water Into Pacific
03/10/13 07:28 from Sky News | World News | First For Breaking News
Workers at Japan's crippled nuclear plant discover new leaks of toxic liquid believed to be seeping into the ocean.

» Syrian Regime Blocks Food to Gassed Town
03/10/13 11:14 from WSJ.com: World News
Government forces are tightening the noose around one of the suburbs gassed by chemical weapons in August, raising concerns of a fresh humanitarian crisis as residents forage for olives, grapevine leaves and other basic foods.

» 8 fascinating trends in how American Jews think about Israel
03/10/13 11:02 from World: World News, International News, Foreign Reporting - The Washington Post
There are dozens of fascinating details in a new Pew Research study on American Jews. But a few that jumped out at me have to do with American attitudes toward Israel. While Americans remain supportive of Israel across the board, the na...

» 5 things to know about the federal shutdown Thursday - USA TODAY
03/10/13 11:01 from Top Stories - Google News
Washington Post5 things to know about the federal shutdown ThursdayUSA TODAYWASHINGTON — It's Day 3 of the federal government shutdown, with no end in sight. President Obama says he's "exasperated," which probably sums ...

» Wall St. Fears Go Beyond Shutdown - New York Times
03/10/13 10:29 from Top Stories - Google News
New York TimesWall St. Fears Go Beyond ShutdownNew York TimesWith Washington preoccupied by the government shutdown, Wall Street is shifting its attention to an even more worrisome situation: the possibility that the government could run...

» Shutdown stalemate continues; White House meeting unproductive - CBS News
03/10/13 10:06 from Top Stories - Google News
New York TimesShutdown stalemate continues; White House meeting unproductiveCBS NewsUpdated at 8:15 p.m. ET. President Obama's 70-minute White House meeting late Wednesday afternoon with congressional leaders, an effort to break the ...

» US Shutdown Enters Third Day
03/10/13 07:51 from Voice of America
A partial U.S. government shutdown has entered its third day Thursday with no end to the deadlock in sight. U.S. congressional leaders met for about an hour late Wednesday with President Obama, but they emerged from the closed-door ses...

» US Shutdown: White House Talks Inconclusive
03/10/13 07:39 from Sky News | World News | First For Breaking News
Barack Obama says he is "exasperated" while the Republican House Speaker John Boehner says the president refuses to negotiate.

» Indonesia president under pressure as top judge arrested for graft
03/10/13 11:01 from Reuters: International
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's anti-corruption agency has arrested the chief justice and head of the Constitutional Court, the latest in a string of scandals coming to light in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's attempts to crack down...

» Putin, Obama may discuss Syria next week in Bali: Kremlin
03/10/13 10:27 from Reuters: International
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama may discuss the Syria crisis on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit next week in Bali, a Kremlin aide said on Thursday. 

» BP Claims Gulf Spill Compensation Victory
03/10/13 10:27 from Sky News | World News | First For Breaking News
The oil firm's share price rises as a US court rules in its battle against 'false' claims over the massive spill in 2010.

» Tom Clancy, Best-Selling Master of Military Thrillers, Dies at 66 - New York Times
03/10/13 10:23 from Top Stories - Google News
NPRTom Clancy, Best-Selling Master of Military Thrillers, Dies at 66New York TimesTom Clancy, whose complex, adrenaline-fueled military novels spawned a new genre of thrillers and made him one of the world's best-known and best-selli...

» Appreciation: Tom Clancy mastered the techno-thriller - USA TODAY
03/10/13 10:19 from Top Stories - Google News
NPRAppreciation: Tom Clancy mastered the techno-thrillerUSA TODAYNovelist Tom Clancy, who died Tuesday night at the age of 66, was a former insurance salesman who never served in the military, CIA or FBI. But with help of a few friends w...

» Author Tom Clancy dies in Baltimore hospital at age 66 - The Guardian
03/10/13 07:28 from Top Stories - Google News
The GuardianAuthor Tom Clancy dies in Baltimore hospital at age 66The GuardianTom Clancy, the thriller writer behind The Hunt for Red October, has died aged 66. Photograph: Andrew Gombert/EPA. Tom Clancy, a writer who was as famed for wh...

» NYC slashing victim: Bike path attacker never said a word during rampage with ... - Minneapolis Star Tribune
03/10/13 10:23 from Top Stories - Google News
NYC slashing victim: Bike path attacker never said a word during rampage with ...Minneapolis Star TribuneNEW YORK — One of the five people slashed by a homeless man on a New York City park bike path says the attacker never said a word. J...

» FBI Captures Alleged Silk Road Pirate Boss Using His Own Methods - Businessweek
03/10/13 10:19 from Top Stories - Google News
San Francisco ChronicleFBI Captures Alleged Silk Road Pirate Boss Using His Own MethodsBusinessweekFrom an Internet café in San Francisco, a 29-year-old free-market evangelist who called himself “Dread Pirate Roberts” used untraceable we...

» Silk Road: FBI Shuts Online Drug Marketplace
03/10/13 10:05 from Sky News | World News | First For Breaking News
The alleged owner of the "eBay of the drug trade" is also accused of trying to hire a hitman on his own secret website.

» Cyber Drug Bazaar's Alleged Boss Paired EBay Style, Crime - Bloomberg
03/10/13 04:19 from Top Stories - Google News
San Francisco ChronicleCyber Drug Bazaar's Alleged Boss Paired EBay Style, CrimeBloombergThe Silk Road website, before being shut this week by the U.S., was a cyber-bazaar of the criminal underworld that connected buyers and sellers ...

» At least 82 dead, many missing as migrant boat sinks off Sicily
03/10/13 09:53 from Reuters: International
ROME (Reuters) - At least 82 people died and scores were missing after a boat carrying migrants from Africa sank off the Sicilian island of Lampedusa on Thursday, officials and rescuers said. 

» NSA chief: Agency tried to track Americans via cellphones - CBS News
03/10/13 09:35 from Top Stories - Google News
Voice of AmericaNSA chief: Agency tried to track Americans via cellphonesCBS NewsWASHINGTON Top U.S. intelligence officials are revealing more about their spying in an effort to defend the National Security Agency from charges that it ha...

» NSA Head Admits Testing US Cellphone Tracking - NPR
03/10/13 09:16 from Top Stories - Google News
AFPNSA Head Admits Testing US Cellphone TrackingNPRIntelligence chiefs said recent media reports are wrong about their efforts to gather information about the social networks of Americans. They told a Senate panel such efforts are focuse...

» NSA reveals more about its spying efforts at home - Kansas City Star
03/10/13 08:27 from Top Stories - Google News
San Francisco ChronicleNSA reveals more about its spying efforts at homeKansas City StarWASHINGTON — Top U.S. intelligence officials are revealing more about their spying in an effort to defend the National Security Agency from charges t...

» NSA reveals more about its spying efforts at home - Houston Chronicle
03/10/13 07:24 from Top Stories - Google News
Voice of AmericaNSA reveals more about its spying efforts at homeHouston ChronicleWASHINGTON (AP) — Top U.S. intelligence officials are revealing more about their spying in an effort to defend the National Security Agency from charges th...

» NSA chief says it tested tracking of cellphone locations, never used that information - Fox News
03/10/13 07:15 from Top Stories - Google News
The GuardianNSA chief says it tested tracking of cellphone locations, never used that informationFox NewsWASHINGTON – Top U.S. intelligence officials are revealing more about their spying in an effort to defend the National Security Agen...

» Feinstein appears to confirm NSA gathering cellphone locations despite public ... - MiamiHerald.com
03/10/13 03:00 from Top Stories - Google News
MiamiHerald.comFeinstein appears to confirm NSA gathering cellphone locations despite public ...MiamiHerald.comWASHINGTON -- Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a staunch defender of the National Sec...

» Here's The Letter Telling NSA Staff To Go Home For The Government Shutdown - Forbes
03/10/13 08:52 from Top Stories - Google News
AFPHere's The Letter Telling NSA Staff To Go Home For The Government ShutdownForbesGiven that the government shutdown makes an exception for “national security,” some employees of the National Security Agency may have been surprised ...

» Kerry, Hagel: U.S. won’t be fooled by Iran
03/10/13 08:59 from World: World News, International News, Foreign Reporting - The Washington Post
TOKYO — Rapprochement with Iran won’t come at the expense of Israel’s security or its relationship with the United States, top Obama administration officials said Thursday, but it would be “diplomatic malpractice” not to explore whether ...

» The world's top 100 universities 2013 - how the Times Higher Education ranks ... - The Guardian (blog)
03/10/13 08:53 from world - Google News
The Guardian (blog)The world's top 100 universities 2013 - how the Times Higher Education ranks ...The Guardian (blog)The California Institute for Technology (Caltech) has been named the best university in the world for the third yea...

» Michael Jackson's family lose wrongful death lawsuit
03/10/13 08:14 from Uploads by ITN
Michael Jackson's family lose wrongful death lawsuitSubscribe to ITN News: http://bit.ly/itnytsub A jury has cleared a concert promoter of negligence in a case that attempted to link the death of Michael Jacks...From:ITNViews:...

» Jury: Concert promoter not negligent in Jackson death - USA TODAY
03/10/13 02:59 from Top Stories - Google News
Telegraph.co.ukJury: Concert promoter not negligent in Jackson deathUSA TODAYLOS ANGELES – A jury ruled Wednesday in favor of concert promoter AEG Live, finding it was not liable in the death of singer Michael Jackson. Katherine Jackson,...

» Dr. Conrad Murray sees vindication in Michael Jackson death trial verdict - CNN
03/10/13 08:06 from Top Stories - Google News
ABC NewsDr. Conrad Murray sees vindication in Michael Jackson death trial verdictCNNLos Angeles (CNN) -- The doctor convicted in Michael Jackson's death sees the jury's verdict in the Jackson wrongful death civil trial as his vin...

» Berlusconi Backs Down, Challenges Loom
03/10/13 08:05 from WSJ.com: World News
The prime minister kept his government alive, but the bigger battle will be to revive a sclerotic economy that is emerging as a major threat to the euro-zone recovery.

» Kerry: Iran Must Prove Sincerity in Nuclear Program Engagement
03/10/13 07:21 from Voice of America
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has expressed cautious hope about engaging with Iran over its nuclear program, but also says Iran must take concrete steps to prove its sincerity. Speaking Thursday in Tokyo, Kerry made clear that not...

» Partial Victory for BP in Dispute Over Settlement - New York Times
03/10/13 05:07 from Top Stories - Google News
The Louisiana RecordPartial Victory for BP in Dispute Over SettlementNew York TimesHOUSTON — A federal appeals court gave BP a partial victory on Wednesday by ordering a lower court judge to reconsider his interpretation of a settlement ...

Hello, the long awaited for bright and brave new world; and I say: survey more, not less, and survey as much as you can!

October 1, 2013, 8:59 am 

Message Said to Be From Edward Snowden Read to European Parliament Rights Panel

By DAN BILEFSKY

PARIS — Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who disclosed thousands of classified government documents and is now in hiding in Russia, made a surprise appearance of sorts at the European Parliament in Brussels on Monday.

Reading from a statement that she said had come from Mr. Snowden, Jesselyn Radack, a former ethics adviser to the United States Department of Justice and a former government whistle-blower, quoted Mr. Snowden as saying that “the surveillance of whole populations, rather than individuals, threatens to be the greatest human rights challenge of our time.”

Ms. Radack, who has represented several prominent dissident former officials from the N.S.A., came to prominence after she revealed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had committed what she said was a breach of ethics in its interrogation of John Walker Lindh, who was captured during the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and dubbed the “American Taliban.”

Ms. Radack told Parliament’s civil liberties committee on Monday that Mr. Snowden said in his statement that it should not take what he called “the persecution and exile” of leakers like him to generate robust international debate over the breadth of government surveillance.

“If we are to enjoy such debates in the future, we cannot rely on individual sacrifice, we must create better channels for people of conscience to better inform not only trusted agents of government but independent representatives of the public outside of government,” she said, quoting Mr. Snowden’s message.

Mr. Snowden, 30, who has been granted temporary asylum in Russia, has been charged in the United States with espionage and theft, after his leaking of N.S.A. materials exposed a massive surveillance program in the United States and internationally. While his critics regard him as a traitor, many Europeans portray him as an effective civil liberties advocate.

The polarization between Europe and the United States over the Snowden affair was laid bare in September when the European Parliament, in a rebuke to Washington, nominated Mr. Snowden for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, considered Europe’s top human rights award. Previous recipients of the award include Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar and Nelson Mandela of South Africa.

Ms. Radack, who works for the Government Accountability Project, a Washington-based advocacy group, said by telephone from Brussels on Tuesday that the Snowden case showed the importance of credible government oversight bodies where whistle-blowers could turn. “When government bodies are functioning the way they are supposed to, whistle-blowers are willing to go through them,” she said.

The hearing was also attended by Thomas A. Drake, a former senior executive at the N.S.A. who leaked information to the media in 2006 about wasteful government spending and alleged snooping on American citizens.

He told the committee that the N.S.A. was “not just eavesdropping on all Americans and building the architecture for a police state in the U.S., it has created the largest set of mass surveillance programs in the history of the world.”

Mike Nova comments: 

"Truth is the Best Propaganda" - Edward R. Murrow

First of all, our poor little piece of shit Ms. Snow White is (as always) full of herself and she better blow her guts; that's her best whistle, just like with her other "fellow traveler" blowers, who just love to blow. 

PussyPut and Snow White

Ms. Snow White's twisted language in this direct quote clearly demonstrates the presence of formal thought disorder (just like in her Hong Kong interview) which places her in a schizophrenic - schizoid - paranoid spectrum. But this is her and their problem; all these assangoids - radackoids - drakoids, etc. look and act like all of them definitely belong to this same sick bunch; it is their nature and their personalities: to shit and to blow; they just love to blow, to enjoy watching themselves in all sorts of mirrors with their cheeks puffed and their hot air coming through their eyes, and they cannot even talk straight (or gayed, does not matter). Nominate your little Snow White for the Best Shitter of the year prize (for the most shitty formal thought disorder). Do you see not that all they are trying to do is to discredit and belittle, and in fact simply to kill by doing this, both Sakharov Prize (for Freedom of Thought) and Nobel Prize, with recent Putin nomination (by, of all people, Joseph Kobzon, very well known and indisputable "godfather" of Russian criminal under-and-super-world and mafia; the Nobel Committee should take it into consideration very carefully, indeed). This is a part of the same propaganda campaign, in this case to discredit these prizes as a revenge for the scandal with the Quadriga Prize, refused to Putin several years ago. He is so vain and so desperate to create the image of himself as the great statesman and historical figure as his legacy and as the "monumentum" ("memento mori", and "memento" he does) that he does not have any compunctions of deserting, as usually, to his cheap propaganda means. He wants to be known in history as Putin The Great, not as PussyPut. 

Let us get to the point though, and I will try to get to the point for our poor little hot air blowers too. 

I say: there is nothing wrong with surveillance if it is done ethically, professionally, productively and efficiently. We all "survey" each other, the world, our souls and everything and everyone. Parents survey their children, the lovers constantly survey and jealously guard each other, every government or governing entity try to survey as much as they can, both at home and abroad (and the better they survey, the more efficient they are), the law enforcement agencies and police survey their realms, etc., etc., etc. “The surveillance of whole populations..." is a blessing, not a "human rights challenge", as the hostile intelligence services want us to believe. And there is nothing wrong with "creating the largest set of mass surveillance programs in the history of the world” either. 
And I say: survey more, not less; and survey as much as you can. Blessed are the surveyors, for they will inherit whatever has and can be inherited. 

Буревестник

Blessed are all sorts of drones and drone-chicks, for they are the tools of the new era, the Sturmtauchers of the new coming bliss: peace, prosperity and happiness; no crime, no transgressions, no conspiracies, no evil; everything has and must be known, learned, studied, analysed and prevented, from little Johnny trying to bully little Jane, to Al Qaeda and KGB trying to blow bridges and bomb the crowds. 


Great White Pelican in breeding condition flying in Walvis Bay, Namibia

There is no direct cause and effect relationship between the mass surveillance, if it is done properly, lawfully, smartly and productively and the human rights violations; just the opposite: all sorts of human rights will be enhanced by the humane and sophisticated mass surveillance: Big Brother will be first of all and most of all The Brother, and it is better that he is Big. He will be kind, caring, protective, educating, nurturing and healing Big Brother; so fear him not. I can envision this situation in the US and Europe easily, but I would have real difficulties envisioning it in Russia or China, because there many different types of Big Brothers, and some of them are not so kind and benign, and this is exactly what the point is. 

Veterans Today

But this issue will take us into a completely different and quite complex subject. We ourselves do have to watch our own Big Brother too, to prevent him from degeneration and tendency to abuse, because potentially it is always there; humans are just humans, and only all too humans. Trust your Good Big Brother, but watch him too, and if the need be, give him a little slap on a wrist so he would behave himself! 

Brother Quote for Orkut – I Love My Big Brother

So, methinks it is not mass surveillance which is an issue and a problem, it is the type of Big Brother (who performs the surveillance and who will always perform the surveillance, no matter what, for it is his job, his duty and his essence) which is an issue and potentially a problem: the creation and maintenance of humane, honest and efficient government structures and policies. 

So do not give the Sakharov Prize to Ms. Snow White, definitely not; it would be an abomination, and do not give the Nobel Prize to Putin, it would be the worst case of hypocrisy and the insult to humanity and to the prize itself. Give it to those who deserve it and trust The Good Big Brother to survey the population and to find them. 

U-u-u-u-u!!! 
Hello, the long awaited for bright and brave new world! 

-

» Citing Efforts to Prevent Attack on Syria, Group Nominates Putin for Peace Prize

02/10/13 21:11 from NYT > Europe

Citing his role in forestalling an attack on Syria, a Russian advocacy group says their president deserves it as much as a certain other president.  

» Putin Should Win Nobel Peace Prize, Prominent Russians Say
02/10/13 19:48 from EU-RussiaCentre
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, has said that Putin was aware of the letters but is not lobbying for a nomination. Peskov added: “Putin does not actually seek any awards, prizes, etc. What he is really after is satisfaction from seeing...

» Academy Nominates Putin for Nobel Prize
02/10/13 19:46 from EU-RussiaCentre
The International Academy of Unity of Nations of the World has nominated President Vladimir Putin for the 2014 Nobel Prize in light of his involvement in the attempts to resolve the Syrian crisis. Beslan Kobakhiya, vice-rector of the aca...

Не заснуть никак от таких страстей-мордастей. 

Включил ящик, а там – другой бородатый… (И что это за мода пошла, все в раввины записались: 999 пророков на тысячу населения.) На первой линии всех распекает, что ему Нобеля не дали. Я, говорит, и такой, и сякой, а мне не дали. Обаме вот дали, а мне нет. За что? И жалобно так гундосит. А комиссары спрятались за своего короля и в этого гундосого пальцами тычат: не заслужил мол, врёшь мол ты всё, отзынь! Однако! Ну, думаю, и время пошло, жадные какие все стали, даже Нобеля не дают. И так хочу крикнуть им: «Дяденьки, ну дайте же ему этого Нобеля-Шнобеля, ему ведь так хочется… Посмотрите на него, что он, чубарыжий какой? У него ведь вообще никаких талантов нет. Разве бы он от хорошей жизни в ящик залез?» 

» Maduro Backs Putin's Nomination for Nobel Prize
02/10/13 20:00 from The Moscow Times Top Stories
Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro said that President Vladimir Putin's efforts to prevent a strike on Syria make the Russian leader deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Mike Nova comments: 

Кукушка хвалит петуха за то что хвалит он кукушку.