Daily Archives: 5. Februar 2014


05.02.2014 - 22:11 [ ABC News ]

Dinging Assad, Dining With Tony Blair: John Kerry’s First Tweets

After a hiatus from Twitter, Secretary of State John Kerry is back, using a personal account to share images and bits of conversation from what would otherwise be secret meetings with world leaders.

05.02.2014 - 22:09 [ Yahoo ]

Pope calls for Korean reconciliation, Syria peace

„I wish to implore from God the gift of reconciliation on the peninsula, and I trust that, for the good of all the Korean people, the interested parties will tirelessly seek out points of agreement,“ Francis said in a speech to the Vatican diplomatic corps.

Francis also expressed grave concern about the humanitarian situation in Syria and said urgent aid should be allowed to reach all parts of the country.

05.02.2014 - 22:07 [ Voice of Russia ]

Libya: why so much secrecy over chemical weapons destruction operation?

As the last batch of Libyan chemical weapons left after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi has been successfully destroyed, Paul Walker, Director of Green Cross International’s Environmental Security and Sustainability program, tells the Voice of Russia why there is so much secrecy surrounding the operation and explains why a schedule for the elimination of Syrian weapons is so „tight“ as opposed to other countries.

05.02.2014 - 18:57 [ The Australian ]

Swedish MPs tired of Assange impasse

„The fact that an MP openly questions a prosecutor‘s decision- making in an individual case is remarkable,“ he said. „It violates the foundation of power division between the legislative and the executive authorities in Sweden.“

Anne Ramberg, the secretary-general of the Swedish Bar Association, said: „You have to be a bit pragmatic to put an end to such a circus.

„They should have headed to London to interrogate him.“

05.02.2014 - 17:15 [ guardian ]

US navy second military branch struck by exam cheating scandal this year

Admiral John Richardson, director of the navy‘s nuclear propulsion program, said an undisclosed number of senior sailors are alleged to have provided test information to their peers. He was not more specific, but one official said the information was shared from the sailors‘ home computers, which could be a violation of security rules because information about nuclear reactors operations is classified.

05.02.2014 - 17:12 [ pressefreiheit-in-deutschland ]

Frontal21: So geht Bedrohung der Pressefreiheit in Deutschland

Das Ziel der Ermittler ist es immer, den “Verräter” zu identifizieren, der Informationen an die Presse durchgestochen hat. Und dazu werden Journalisten gezielt unter Druck gesetzt. Ob die “geleakten” Informationen dabei relevante Missstände aufdecken und ein relevantes Informationsinteresse der Öffentlichkeit bedienen, ist dabei vollkommen irrelevant. Es gilt: Staatsräson vor Pressefreiheit.

05.02.2014 - 16:59 [ Ria Novosti ]

Duma-Außenpolitiker: Finanzhilfe des Westens für Ukraine – alles nur Schönrednerei

„Es gibt keine solchen Pläne“, sagte Puschkow, Vorsitzender des Auswärtigen Ausschusses der Staatsduma (russisches Parlamentsunterhaus), am Mittwoch auf einer Pressekonferenz bei RIA Novosti. Nach seinen Worten sprechen amerikanische und europäische Diplomaten lediglich von „Garantien“ und „Investitionsaussichten“, die von Konsultationen mit der zukünftigen Regierung in Kiew abhängig gemacht würden.

05.02.2014 - 16:42 [ Organisation der Vereinten Nationen ]

Different Worlds of Welfare Capitalism: Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Hong Kong and Singapore

(Juli 2001) Since the ideologically coloured meaning of the ‚welfare state‘, implying a massive level of redistribution and high government spending in the field of social policy, does not match the reality of a number of today‘s welfare state systems, especially outside Europe, this article examines the existence of at least eight different forms of welfare capitalism, i.e. welfare state systems, all represented by model countries.

05.02.2014 - 16:33 [ Techdirt ]

Holy See (The Pope) Criticizes TPP And TAFTA/TTIP In WTO Speech

There‘s no shortage of critics of massive trade agreements like TPP and TAFTA/TTIP, but today saw strong condemnation from a very unexpected quarter: the Holy See, often, if erroneously, equated with the Vatican. Whatever the jurisdictional differences, the statement delivered by His Excellency Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, Apostolic Nuncio, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva at the 9th Session of the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization presumably comes with the full approval of Pope Francis himself. We can assume that because of the extremely controversial statements it contains, which would have required approval at the highest level.

05.02.2014 - 16:25 [ New York Times ]

Capitalism vs. Democracy

Thomas Piketty’s new book, “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” described by one French newspaper as a “a political and theoretical bulldozer,” defies left and right orthodoxy by arguing that worsening inequality is an inevitable outcome of free market capitalism.

Piketty, a professor at the Paris School of Economics, does not stop there. He contends that capitalism’s inherent dynamic propels powerful forces that threaten democratic societies.

05.02.2014 - 16:21 [ OpEd News ]

Pope Francis = 1: Paul Ryan = 0

„Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) on Sunday suggested that Pope Francis had been touting the same „free market“ principles opposing the „welfare state“ that the Republican Party has been pushing for years.

Late last year, Ryan, who is Catholic, was asked how the pope‘s criticism of capitalism squared with the Republican Party‘s message. Paul had argued that the pope didn‘t really understand the U.S. economy because the „guy is from Argentina, they haven‘t had real capitalism in Argentina.“

05.02.2014 - 16:14 [ Journalistenwatch ]

Endlich – Volksbegehren gegen Wowereit!

Auch aus den eigenen Reihen bekam Berlins Regierungschef Gegenwind. Der Berliner Juso-Chef Kevin Kühnert sagte der RBB-Welle radioeins, es sei ein Fehler gewesen, Schmitz nicht früher zu entlassen. „Ich kann mir das nur mit dem engen persönlichen Vertrauensverhältnis der beiden erklären, was natürlich keine Rechtfertigung sein kann”, sagte er.

05.02.2014 - 15:36 [ Basis-Film Portal ]

Frauen, Film, Feminismus: Herzlichen Glückwünsch zum Geburtstag, Ula Stöckl

Für “Der Schlaf der Vernunft” erhielt sie 1984 den Deutschen Filmpreis und den Preis der Deutschen Filmkritik. Die Liste alle ihrer Filme über die Jahrzehnte, einige davon im Basis-Film Verleih, sind zusammen mit einer Zusammenfassung auf ihrer Netzseite ula-stoeckl.com zu finden. Bis heute arbeitet sie als Beraterin für das Auswahlgremium der Biennale, der Internationalen Filmfestspiele von Venedig.

Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag, Ula. Wir wünschen neun Leben.

05.02.2014 - 15:13 [ Vatikan ]

Holy See responds to UN Committee on Rights of the Child

According to the proper procedures forseen for the parties to the Convention, the Holy See takes note of the Concluding Observations on its Reports, which will be submitted to a thorough study and examination, in full respect of the Convention in the different areas presented by the Committee according to international law and practice, as well as taking into consideration the public interactive debate with the Committee, held on 16 January 2014.

The Holy See does, however, regret to see in some points of the Concluding Observations an attempt to interfere with Catholic Church teaching on the dignity of human person and in the exercise of religious freedom.

The Holy See reiterates its commitment to defending and protecting the rights of the child, in line with the principles promoted by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and according to the moral and religious values offered by Catholic doctrine.

05.02.2014 - 14:19 [ Techdirt ]

Feds Own Cybersecurity Efforts Are A Joke: Employees Have ‚Gone Rogue‘ To Avoid ‚Ineptitude‘ Of IT Staff

One of the key parts of the various cybersecurity bills that have been pushed over the past few years is the idea that the federal government would help the private sector better protect against attacks. Of course, for that to makes sense, you‘d think that the federal government would have its own „cybersecurity“ house in order. However, a report from the Senate shows what even it describes as „ineptitude“ by various government agencies. Pick your agency and you‘ll find problems.

05.02.2014 - 14:06 [ Syrian Arab News Agency ]

Foreign Ministry signs agreements with UN and OPCW on joint mission for chemical weapons disposal

Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Faisal Mikdad stressed that Syria is heading with determination, strength and credibility towards full implementation of the agreements signed with the UN and the OPCW.

„Difficulties facing Syria, particularly in the framework of the country‘s countering of terrorism, could hinder the implementation of some commitments from time to time“, Mikdad said, adding that the countries which are backing the armed terrorist groups must realize that they are committing crimes against humanity.

„There is no room for tolerance at all when it comes to transferring the chemical weapons outside Syria,“ Mikdad stressed.

05.02.2014 - 14:04 [ Seymour Hersh / London Review of Books ]

Whose sarin?

(19.12.2013) ‘The Op Order provides the basis of execution of a military mission, if so ordered,’ the former senior intelligence official explained. ‘This includes the possible need to send American soldiers to a Syrian chemical site to defend it against rebel seizure. If the jihadist rebels were going to overrun the site, the assumption is that Assad would not fight us because we were protecting the chemical from the rebels. All Op Orders contain an intelligence threat component. We had technical analysts from the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, weapons people, and I & W [indications and warnings] people working on the problem … They concluded that the rebel forces were capable of attacking an American force with sarin because they were able to produce the lethal gas. The examination relied on signals and human intelligence, as well as the expressed intention and technical capability of the rebels.’

05.02.2014 - 13:57 [ Reuters ]

Libya says destroys last chemical weapons with Western help

Andrew Weber, the U.S. assistant defense secretary for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs, said that among the Libyan chemical stocks destroyed were 507 shells filled with mustard gas. Gaddafi‘s government originally declared 25 metric tons of bulk mustard agent and 1,400 metric tons of precursor chemicals used to make poison gas munitions.

05.02.2014 - 13:50 [ Sky ]

London Underground Staff Stage 48-Hour Strike

David Cameron has said he „unreservedly condemns“ a 48-hour strike by London Underground staff that has paralysed the capital.

Speaking at Prime Minister‘s Questions, Mr Cameron said London needed a „modernised Tube line“ that works for the millions of people who use it every day.