Von Beginn des syrischen Bürgerkriegs war die Türkei mit an Bord, unterstützte die Rebellen und beherbergte sie in Istanbul und eröffnete ihnen sogar diplomatische Zugänge durch das türkische Außenministerium.

Ambulances are seen entering the park. Police have also entered the park for the first time after two weeks. Security forces took over the park, demolishing the tents of the protesters. The police have also cordoned off the Taksim Square.

Observer/Opinium poll also found 45% saying Edward Snowden should be reprimanded, but only 30% believing he had committed a crime

Wegen, äh, der Terroristen, wissenschon.

Obama has flippantly dismissed the controversy. Resorting to the worst tactics of the Bush years, his message is: „Trust us. We‘re the good guys.“ And then Congress is briefed – in secret, of course – about the „dozens“ of terrorist plots such industrial-scale espionage has stopped.

Jorge Sampaio, former President of Portugal, and 77 personalities from politics and culture express their solidarity to Greece’s public broadcaster ERT and their opposition to the sudden shutdown blackening the TV screens and silencing the radio programs.

Anti-G8 protesters march through the streets of central Belfast on Saturday, ahead of the G8 meeting in nearby Enniskillen. Despite the wind and heavy rain, demonstrators turned out in their thousands, some in large lorries wearing fancy dress.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed bilateral ties and the situation on the Korean Peninsula in a telephone conversation Saturday.

Wie das Weiße Haus am Samstag mitteilte, telefonierte Obama am Freitag mit dem britischen Premier David Cameron, dem französischen Präsidenten Francois Hollande, dem italienischen Regierungsvorsitzenden Enrico Letta und der Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel.

In Beijing or Washington, DC, the question: “Where is Europe going?” has become synonymous with: “What do the Germans want?”

Bureaucrats in Brussels talk ruefully about Berlin becoming the capital of Europe. “When the German position changes on an issue, the kaleidoscope shifts as other countries line up behind them,” says one official. “That’s unprecedented in the history of the EU.”

We are Robert and Jenn Meeropol, son and granddaughter of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. We are acutely aware of the political lessons to be drawn from the conviction and execution of the Rosenbergs at the height of the McCarthy period. The charge was conspiracy to commit espionage, but our family members were presented as traitors who gave the Soviet Union the secret of the atomic bomb.

At least 5,000 people expected to attend march in Northern Ireland, where two-day meeting of world leaders starts on Monday

With the help of EBU, the program can be watched in many aras across the country via analogue or diginal. EBU makes it possible that the ERT program can be retransmitted in several countries as well.

Too sad that some guys in the current government have no culture at all.

Both junior partners in Greece‘s ruling coalition have turned down a compromise by the prime minister over the shutdown of public broadcaster ERT, raising the prospect that the rift among the parties might be impossible to mend.

Former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela is recovering well from a lung infection which has kept him in a serious condition in hospital for a week, his grandson said on Saturday.

Facebook and Google deny they gave the NSA special access to their servers. But ‚the stink of being a pawn of the U.S. government could really hurt‘ global growth, a prominent tech entrepreneur says.

For years, Google‘s computers have scanned the content of millions of Gmails — Google‘s popular email service — in order to figure out what ads the users might respond to. Many users don‘t realize they‘ve given Google permission to eavesdrop in the agreement that opens their account.

Only when the men returned the next day did they reveal what they were up to. Inside the red ball was an antenna that would give the MacKenzies Internet access. It was custom-designed to communicate with a similar antenna that would be floating by in the stratosphere, over 60,000 feet above sea level. On a solar-powered balloon.

Oh, and the men work for Google.

John le Carré on secret courts, surveillance and the excessive influence of the CIA and MI6 on democratic institutions

U.S. troops will soon leave Afghanistan. Al-Qaeda is in shambles. What reason is there for Congress to abdicate responsibility for declaring war?

It’s time. It’s time for President Obama to live up to his own words. It’s time for Congress to do its job. It’s time to contract the ever-expanding national security state. And it’s time to roll back the Patriot Act.

The ACLU‘s suit is an important first step, but it‘s crucial that Congress finally take on Section 215 in earnest. The days of closed-door briefings and secret court orders must end. Congress must force public disclosure about what information the government is collecting, and what‘s being done with it. The Administration and the secret FISA Court will continue this spying if Congress doesn‘t stop them.

Local lawmakers remain mum on reports of government eavesdropping on American acitizens

Er plädiert für einen Fragenkatalog auf europäischer Ebene, der den Amerikanern präsentiert wird. (…)
Er will, betont er im Parlament, erst „dem Partner Gelegenheit geben, umfassend Stellung zu nehmen“, ehe man an das Suspendieren von Abkommen mit den USA denkt.

“On the 18th day of our resistance, we are continuing to stand guard for our park, city, trees, living spaces private lives, freedoms and future,” the Taksim Solidarity Platform, which has been at the center of the protests since the first day, said in a written statement.

The Foreign Ministry stated that the Syrian regime’s attacks must be halted and a “democratic transition process, which will be in line with Syrian people’s legal demands and will“ must start in Syria as soon as possible.

Russia said on Friday that US data on the Syrian regime‘s alleged use of chemical weapons was „unconvincing“, and warned Washington against repeating the mistake it made when invading Iraq after falsely accusing Saddam Hussein of stocking weapons of mass destruction.

As happened with the substantially similar Smith-Amash amendment last year, this effort failed by a close 226 to 200 vote on the floor of the House.

Over the last 24 hours, the House debated and voted on nearly 200 amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2014 (H.R. 1960). Many of these amendments were approved via “voice vote” (there was no formal recording of how members voted); quite a few others were approved en bloc (grouped together and voted on as a package) on the floor.

Der National Defense Authorization Act ist ein US-Bundesgesetz, das den Haushalt des US Department of Defense (DoD) bestimmt. Der Beschluss des Etats bekommt mit dieser Norm jährlich Gesetzescharakter und ist die Voraussetzung für das Budget der US-Streitkräfte. Mit dem National Defense Authorization Act 2012 wurden auch Befugnisse des Militärs ausgeweitet, amerikanische Bürger und Ausländer auf Verdacht zeitlich unbegrenzt zu inhaftieren.

(11.06.) Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) submitted five amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2014. Lee offered amendments ranging from ending the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) to further disclosure and debate surrounding the lethal use of drones.

(10.06.) Today, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), a senior Member of the Intelligence Committee, announced that he was introducing legislation tomorrow – before the debate on the National Defense Authorization Act begins this week – that would sunset the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) beginning in 2015.

They talk about everything to avoid talking about something. Anti corruption laws to claw back 100/120 billion? Laws to cut useless State costs starting with 16 billion a year in superfluous costs of politics? Laws to recover tens of billions, giving back to the State the management of concessions, starting with the motorways? Zilch. Every day, in Parliament, the M5S is putting forward proposals on these topics but the media (fed and watered by the parties) stays silent. How many laws has parliament approved in recent years? The M5S will not stay silent and watch. It will go out from the Palace more and more to tell people what’s happening, to listen and to share opinions. Citizens among the citizens.

Cheered like a rock star when he passed through Berlin five years ago on his way to the White House, Barack Obama faces a cooler reception and tough questions about U.S. spying methods when he returns next week for talks with Angela Merkel and a speech at the Brandenburg Gate.

The total for Facebook: About 18,000 accounts over a six month period, or one-thousandth of one percent of user accounts.

Microsoft‘s total was about 31,000 accounts over the same six month period ending December 31, 2012.