Among the millions of records, the NSA‘s Tracfin’s also contained data from the Brussels-based Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT). Used to conduct business operations “with speed, certainty and confidence”, this global financial service is used by more than 10,000 banking organizations in 212 countries.
Daily Archives: 15. September 2013
Iran says willing to build trust with US on nuclear issue
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday in an interview with Lebanese channel Al-Mayadeen, „We are suffering from lack of mutual trust with the US,“ but stressed that the Islamic Republic was willing to „build trust with the United States“ on the issue of the Iranian nuclear program, which was „established for peaceful purposes.“
Obama says he and Rohani swapped letters
“I have. And he’s reached out to me. We haven’t spoken– directly,” Obama said.
Saudi Arabia behind armed terrorism in Iraq: former Iraqi official
Hill also said “intelligence sources reported that Saudi Arabia is based in the effort to destabilize the government of [Iraqi] Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.”
Thüringen: Lieberknecht empört sich über Doppelverdiener Machnig
Thüringens CDU-Ministerpräsidentin Christine Lieberknecht hat ihren SPD-Wirtschaftsminister Matthias Machnig aufgefordert, angesichts von Kritik an seinen Bezügen diese komplett offenzulegen – und zwar sofort. Lieberknecht sagte am Sonntag: „Das duldet keinen Aufschub.“
Stone me! It’s Britain’s newest stone circle
The circle was discovered in a meadow at Wilton, near Egremont by landowners Philip and Lyndsey Johnson. And according to Dr Terence Meaden, a research archaeologist from Oxford University, the stones could be over 4,000 years old.
Abu Ghraib Torture Victims Ordered To Pay U.S. Contractor’s Legal Fees
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered four Iraqis who were imprisoned at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison to pay nearly $14,000 in legal fees to defense contractor CACI, an Arlington, Va.-based company that supplied interrogators to the U.S. government during the Iraq War.
Senate Finally Frees the Press (Kind Of)
The recent revelations that the Justice Department has aggressively investigated members of the news media in several high-profile leaks inquiries have breathed new life into the measure, which would add federal protections on top of the 49 states that already „shield“ reporters from having to disclose their sources and work product.
Who Spends Two-Thirds of Their Salary on Guns and War? The US Government, That‘s Who
Imagine that you get up every morning, go off to work, work your butt off all week and then wait in happy anticipation for your paycheck on Friday.
Die NSA lebt von der ‚Dummheit der User‘
„Die NSA hat Krypto nicht geknackt“, sagte Erich Möchel bei seinem Vortrag auf der diesjährigen DNP-Konferenz (Daten.Netz.Politik) am Sonntag in Wien. Der ORF-Journalist gilt seit seinen Enfopol-Recherchen als Experte in Sachen Telekommunikationsüberwachung und NSA.
Eric Margolis – Obama: Spiel nicht Schach mit dem KGB
Dummerweise manövrierte Präsident Barack Obama sich in der wachsenden Syrienkrise selbst in ein Eck, indem er Fatwas über mythologische Rote Linien erliess. Als es dann darum ging, Farbe zu bekennen, blieb der silberzüngige Präsident verlassen im rauen Wind.
Who‘s a ‚Moderate Rebel in Syria? Check the Handwritten Receipts
This spring, one militia leader affiliated with the FSA—his brigade has since been kicked out—was filmed eating a dead soldier‘s heart. „This stuff happens rarely, but it‘s unfortunate,“ Layman says. „With the guy who was eating a heart, he was part of a moderate faction…We work with Idriss and let him know that he needs to prevent these things.“
A Sneak Peek at Eric Schlosser‘s Terrifying New Book on Nuclear Weapons
On January 23, 1961, a B-52 packing a pair of Mark 39 hydrogen bombs suffered a refueling snafu and went into an uncontrolled spin over North Carolina. In the cockpit of the rapidly disintegrating bomber (only one crew member bailed out safely) was a lanyard attached to the bomb-release mechanism. Intense G-forces tugged hard at it and unleashed the nukes, which, at four megatons, were 250 times more powerful than the weapon that leveled Hiroshima. One of them „failed safe“ and plummeted to the ground unarmed. The other weapon‘s failsafe mechanisms—the devices designed to prevent an accidental detonation—were subverted one by one, as Eric Schlosser recounts in his new book, Command and Control:
How War on Syria Lost Its Way
by Ray McGovern
The just announced U.S.-Russia agreement in Geneva on a “joint determination to ensure the destruction of the Syrian chemical weapons (CW) program in the soonest and safest manner” sounds the death knell to an attempt by Israel, Turkey and Saudi Arabia to get the U.S. into the war in Syria.
Cantaloupe vs. al-Qaeda: What‘s More Dangerous?
We have more to fear from contaminated cantaloupe than from al-Qaeda, yet the United States spends $75 billion per year spread across 15 intelligence agencies in a scattershot attempt to prevent terrorism, illegally spying on its own citizens in the process.
North Carolina: Polizei erschoss Fahrer nach dessen schwerem Autounfall
Mann überlebte seinen Unfall nur kurze Zeit und starb durch ungerechtfertigte Polizeischüsse
Machnig (SPD): SPIEGEL-Vorwürfe nur Wahlkampf-Klamauk?
Der SPIEGEL preschte heute Vormittag mit einem Bericht aus der Hecke, wonach der SPD-Politiker Matthias Machnig (SPD), der auch zum Kompetenz-Team rund um Peer Steinbrück zählt, vermeintlich zuviel Gehalt kassiert haben soll. Demnach habe Machnig “jahrelang Ruhebezüge aus seinem alten Amt als Staatssekretär bezogen – zuzüglich zu seinem Ministergehalt von jährlich 147.000 Euro”.
Shitty Moralists #SonoUnMoralistaDelCazzo
Yesterday in the Lower House, in response to the M5S request to expel the delinquents, there was a cry of „Shitty Moralists!“. The PDL and PDminusL appointees were filled with indignation. It’s a paradox that instead of accompanying Berlusconi to the door, Berlusconi, a delinquent who has been definitively convicted, the people appointed by the PDminusL’s local mafia bosses and by the tax fraudster, wanted to throw us out, us, the so called (shitty) moralists. We are proud to be shitty moralists and above all proud that you dislike us. Your time is up.
Delays in parliamentary vote on Berlusconi send ripples across Italy’s economy
when it became clear a decision on Berlusconi’s Senate seat was no longer imminent, the ripples went far and wide: dramatically raising the stock price for Berlusconi’s Mediaset while Italian bond yields rose as investors worried about the prospect that the Berlusconi saga could dragging on far longer than originally expected.
Iraq violence: Bombs cause mayhem across Iraq
A fresh wave of bombs has killed at least 21 people across Iraq – mostly targeting Shia areas – officials say.
Annäherung zwischen Teheran und London bahnt sich an: Treffen der Außenminister anvisiert
Die Außenminister des Irans und Großbritanniens werden im September am Rande der Uno-Vollversammlung zusammentreffen, meldet AFP unter Berufung auf einen Sprecher des britischen Außenamtes.
Boroujerdi: war drumbeaters will no more be able to continue their policies after Syria joined CWC
Chairman of the Foreign Policy and National Security Committee at the Iranian Shura Council, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, stressed that Syria‘s decision to join the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) uprooted the U.S. pretext to launch an aggression, pointing out that the countries and sides which played the war drumbeats will no more be able to continue their previous policies after this decision.
Obama Hails Syrian Pact, Calling It a Crucial Step
President Obama on Sunday hailed the agreement reached with Russia over the weekend to seize and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons as a “foundation” that could eventually lead to a political settlement of the civil war that has gripped that nation and killed tens of thousands of people over the past two years.
Syrischer Minister würdigt Einigung über C-Waffen: “Ein Sieg der russischen Diplomatie”
„Wir begrüßen diese Vereinbarung“, sagte der Minister. „Einerseits wird sie den Syrern helfen, die Krise zu überwinden, andererseits hat sie einen Krieg gegen Syrien verhindert und denen, die diesen Krieg entfesseln wollten, den Anlass dazu genommen.“ (..)
„Diese Einigung ist ein Verdienst der russischen Diplomatie und der russischen Staatsführung, dies ist ein Sieg für Syrien, der dank unseren russischen Freunden erzielt wurde“, betonte er.
SPD-Wahlkampf: Steinbrücks Helfer Machnig kassierte doppeltes Gehalt
Er teilt gern aus, doch jetzt gerät er selbst unter Druck: Matthias Machnig, Mitglied im Kompetenzteam von SPD-Kanzlerkandidat Peer Steinbrück, hat jahrelang Ruhebezüge aus seinem alten Amt als Staatssekretär bezogen – zuzüglich zu seinem Ministergehalt von jährlich 147.000 Euro.
Dennis Halliday – WHO weigert sich, Bericht über durch DU-Munition verursachte Krebserkrankungen und Geburtendefekte im Irak zu veröffentlichen
Laut dem ehemaligen stellvertretenden Generalsekretär der Vereinten Nationen Hans von Sponeck „versuchte die Regierung der VereinigtenStaaten von Amerika, die WHO daran zu hindern, Untersuchungen in Gebieten im Süden des Irak durchzuführen, wo DU eingesetzt worden war und ernsthafte Gesundheits- und Umweltprobleme verursacht.“
Iran and United Nations signed an agreement on humanitarian aid in the Middle East, including Syria
Agreement was achieved during a meeting with the head of Department for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of UN Valerie Amos, Araghchi said.
Jobcenter-Chefs: Prämien für Hartz IV Sanktionen
Während Hartz IV Bezieher schon für kleine Missverständnisse oder vergessene bzw. zu spät wahrgenommene Termine empfindliche Geldkürzungen ertragen müssen, kassieren die Jobcenter-Chefs bis zu 4000 Euro-Prämien nach Recherchen der Berliner Zeitung (BZ) für sogenannte Zielvereinbarungen.
Politics Eats Into Palestinian Breadbasket
In the Jordan Valley, contrasts are stark.
UK bioethicists promoting a second wave of eugenics
Eugenics is alive and well in British academia. Stephen Wilkinson, of Lancaster University, recently published a long discussion paper, “Eugenics and the Ethics of Selective Reproduction”, together with another bioethicist, Eve Garrard.
Before Their Ship Arrived
For all the refugees — those I‘m related to and those I‘m not.
Government Standards Agency ‚Strongly‘ Suggests Dropping its Own Encryption Standard
In its statement Tuesday, NIST acknowledged that the NSA participates in creating cryptography standards “because of its recognized expertise” and because NIST is required by law to consult with the spy agency.
Ist das das Ende? Wissenschaftler befürchten baldigen Sonnenuntergang
„Wir haben den Stand der Sonne in den letzten Stunden beobachtet, und dabei festgestellt, dass sie mit besorgniserregender Geschwindigkeit immer weiter in Richtung Westen wandert“, bestätigte Prof. Günter Lenzner gegenüber dem Postillon. „Wenn dieser Trend anhält – und davon müssen wir leider ausgehen -, dann wird sie noch heute irgendwann gegen Abend untergehen!“