Daily Archives: 13. August 2014


13.08.2014 - 15:08 [ Techdirt ]

Intelligence Community Warns That Releasing CIA Torture Report Details Might ‚Inflame Anti-US Passions‘ In Middle East

And, yet, the memo is being passed around and used by the supporters of the surveillance state to protest the releasing of any details from the Senate Intelligence Committee‘s CIA torture report:

13.08.2014 - 15:07 [ taz ]

Kommentar Linke und die Kriegsfrage: Jenseits der Rechthaberei

Eigentlich verfügt Gregor Gysi über ein untrügliches Gespür, was der Linkspartei zumutbar ist. Er ist ein Virtuose des Konsens, der zusammenhält, was nicht unbedingt zusammengehört: sozialdemokratische Realos und linke Fundis zum Beispiel. Anscheinend hat nun sein Radarsystem versagt: Von Ausnahmen wie Jan Korte abgesehen, steht die Partei von rechts bis links gegen die große Integrationsfigur. Das ist neu.

13.08.2014 - 15:05 [ Rudaw ]

President Barzani: Kurdistan Independence Referendum in Months

(2. Juli) ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A referendum to decide on independence for the autonomous Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq “is a question of months,” Kurdish President Massoud Barzani told the BBC in an interview.

“I cannot fix a date right now but it’s a question of months,” Barzani said about a referendum, adding it was up to the Kurdish parliament to decide on the date.

13.08.2014 - 15:04 [ Pentagon ]

Officials: Pentagon considering rescue mission for Iraqis trapped on mountain

The troops will work with State Department officials and USAID to develop plans to help the Yazidi people, a religious minority displaced on Sinjar Mountain.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel formally announced the deployment in remarks to Marines at Camp Pendleton, California.

„This is not a combat boots on the ground kind of operation,“ Hagel said.

13.08.2014 - 15:02 [ Urs Hölzle / Google Plus ]

At Google we want our products to be fast and reliable, and that requires a great network infrastructure, whether it‘s for the more than a billion Android users or developers building products on Google Cloud Platform.

And sometimes the fastest path requires going through an ocean. That’s why we’re investing in FASTER, a new undersea cable that will connect major West Coast cities in the US to two coastal locations in Japan with a design capacity of 60 Tbps (that‘s about ten million times faster than your cable modem).

13.08.2014 - 15:01 [ NEC ]

A Global Consortium to Build New Trans-Pacific Cable System „FASTER“

The six-company consortium is comprised of China Mobile International, China Telecom Global, Global Transit, Google, KDDI and SingTel. The name FASTER was adopted to represent the cable system’s purpose of rapidly serving surging traffic demands.

13.08.2014 - 15:00 [ Fefe ]

Google ist Teil eines Konsortiums für ein neues Glasfaserkabel zwischen den USA und Japan.

KDDI ist auch aus China, Global Transit aus Malaysia. Mit anderen Worten: außer Google arbeitet da keine US-Firma mit. Das sieht fast aus, als wolle Google mal so einen richtig großen Stinkefinger in Richtung NSA schicken.

13.08.2014 - 14:52 [ The Telegraph ]

Imran Khans supporters to march on Islamabad after new ballot rigging claims against prime minister

Dissident cleric Tahirul Qadri, one of the country‘s most popular religious leaders, announced his supporters would join the protests.

Pakistan‘s government and military leadership have promised to stop the marchers reaching the capital. Protesters will be met with thousands of troops and roads blocked with truck containers, officials warned.

Mr Sharif has denounced the planned demonstrations as a threat to the country‘s fragile democracy.

13.08.2014 - 14:51 [ Mondo Weiss ]

Tough Hillary Clinton says ‘dreadful’ pictures of dead women and children make it hard to get at truth– Hamas is to blame

Yes, Goldberg gets sick access, and why? Because the former Israeli corporal is the living embodiment of the Israel lobby in American politics: Jewish leaders read him closely, they trust him. And any ambitious Democratic politician, say Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, who wants to kiss the tuchus of the Israel lobby can do so readily by sitting down across from him and performing in such a manner that Goldberg will proclaim “masterful,” as he does of Hillary’s mind.

13.08.2014 - 14:50 [ Brookings ]

The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit: A Resounding Success Exposing American Media’s Ignorance of Emerging Africa

The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit convened by President Barack Obama last week is evidence of the growing importance of Africa in the global stage and the realization by the Obama administration that there are gains for the United States in deeper involvement in the continent. For a president who has been criticized for apparent disengagement in global affairs, this summit was important and could signify a turning point in U.S.-Africa relations.

13.08.2014 - 14:50 [ The Express Tribune ]

Long march: PTI warns govt against arresting Imran Khan

He said the PTI had arranged four big public gatherings and 100 workers’ conventions since it started its protest campaign in April. “We remained peaceful and no damage was done to public or private property,” Chaudhry said.

13.08.2014 - 14:48 [ Techdirt ]

Recording Industry Exec Says It‘s Not Censorship To Block Sites He Doesn‘t Like

We see this kind of claim every so often, but usually not from a high-ranking legacy entertainment industry executive. However, TorrentFreak has the story of how the CEO of IFPI in Austria (IFPI is basically the international RIAA), Franz Medwenitsch, claiming that blocking websites like the Pirate Bay isn‘t censorship, because how can it be censorship to block stuff that he doesn‘t like?

13.08.2014 - 14:46 [ Techdirt ]

NYPD Officer Chokes Man To Death; Cops Blame Cellphone Recordings And People ‚Feeling They Have More Rights‘

In the wake of Eric Garner‘s death via cop chokehold, the NYPD is coming under all sorts of additional scrutiny. This is in addition to the appointed oversight ordered by Judge Scheindlin after finding that elements of its infamous stop-and-frisk program were unconstitutional. Scott Greenfield has a very stark recounting of the incident, as well as a recording of Eric Garner‘s last moments. (Here‘s additional footage, which includes the officer who applied the lethal chokehold waving at the camera, as well as several officers gamely pretending Garner is simply passed out.)

13.08.2014 - 14:46 [ Deccan Chronicle ]

Imran Khan says he is against military rule in Pakistan

Former Pakistani cricketing hero Imran Khan on Monday tried to play down the suspicion that he was paving way for a military takeover through his anti-government protests and said martial law is not a solution to the country‘s problems.

The chief of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) said he would never support military rule in the country.

13.08.2014 - 12:02 [ Veterans News Now ]

Obama’s Half-Billion to Syria’s ‘Moderates’

(30. Juni 2014) President Obama’s plan to spend another half-billion dollars on Syria’s “moderate” rebels will add more fuel to the destructive violence just as the killing was finally dying down. It’s also hard to see how this investment will promote serious negotiations, notes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar.

13.08.2014 - 12:01 [ International Business Times ]

$60 billion For War: Obama Requests Money From Congress To Arm And Train Syrian Opposition, Fight ISIS

(26. Juni 2014) President Obama requested $500 million from Congress Thursday to train and arm the moderate opposition in Syria. The request was part of the 2015 war-funding request, which totaled nearly $60 billion.

The request for $500 from Congress would go toward helping a Syrian opposition that is now waging an offensive against President Bashar al-Assad and also against extremist groups like ISIS.

13.08.2014 - 11:58 [ Christian Science Monitor ]

Saudi Arabia woos Pakistan with $1.5 billion grant. Why now?

(28. März 2014) The grant was confirmed at a briefing by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s advisor on national security and foreign affairs, who also said that Saudi Arabia had agreed to purchase weapons from Pakistan.

The Pakistan government declined to specify what kind of weapons the Kingdom was looking for and denied that any arms purchased by Saudi Arabia will be sent to Syria.

13.08.2014 - 11:56 [ Neues Deutschland ]

1,5 Milliarden Dollar sollen Syrien helfen

(16. Januar 2014) Katar und Saudi Arabien sagten jeweils 60 Millionen US-Dollar Hilfsgelder für die vom Krieg drangsalierte syrische Bevölkerung zu. Beide Staaten finanzieren gleichzeitig Kampfverbände in Syrien, die Menschen, die mit ihrem Vorgehen nicht einverstanden sind, aus Wohnungen, Dörfern und Stadtteilen vertrieben haben.

13.08.2014 - 11:47 [ Radio Utopie ]

Syrien-Invasion am Hundehalsband

(17. März 2013) Was hinter dieser nicht von alleine endenden Arie von Nebelkerzen, Märchen und Desinformationen der U.S.-Regierung und der C.I.A. (mit dem Bundesnachrichtendienst an der Leine) steckt, ist simpel. Den Befehlshabern und Betreibern dieser Invasion – den Regierungen in Washington und Berlin, London und Paris – geht es darum die Syrien-Invasion erfolgreich abzuschließen. Wie und um welchen Preis ist völlig egal, solange man nur am Ende als Sieger dasteht.

13.08.2014 - 11:45 [ Guardian ]

Syria: Jordan to spearhead Saudi Arabian arms drive

(14. April 2013) Jordan has agreed to spearhead a Saudi-led push to arm rebel groups through its borders into southern Syria, in a move that coincides with the transfer from Riyadh to Amman of more than $1bn (£650m).

It marks a significant change for Jordan, from a policy of trying to contain the spillover threat posed by the civil war across its border to one of actively aiming to end it before it engulfs the cash-strapped kingdom.

13.08.2014 - 11:42 [ Wall Street Journal ]

Saudis Seek to Funnel Arms to Syria Rebels

(29. März 2012) Saudi Arabia has argued strongly for weapons supplies to Syrian rebels despite U.S. concerns. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was traveling Thursday to Saudi Arabia to meet with the king and other senior Saudi officials, was expected to raise any Saudi plans to arm the Syrian rebels, U.S. officials said. The officials said the Obama administration remains opposed to introducing more arms into the conflict.

13.08.2014 - 11:32 [ Wikipedia ]

Foreign involvement in the Syrian Civil War: France and Britain

On 1 November 2011, NATO said it had no intention of taking military action in Syria, after it closed its seven-month campaign in Libya. On that same month, Libyan rulers offered weapons, money and potential volunteers, it was reported that 600 rebel fighters have gone from Libya to Syria in order to support the rebels.

In June 2012, Reuters suggested that the prospect of British special forces entering Syria on the ground is growing, following unconfirmed reports from an Israeli website that SAS Commandos were conducting covert operations within Syrian territory, operating from Turkey on 26 June 2012.

At a conference in Paris in July 2012, Western and Sunni Arab countries nonetheless announced they were going to „massively increase“ aid to the Syrian opposition.

In 2012, the United States, United Kingdom and France provided opposition forces with non-lethal military aid, including communications equipment and medical supplies. The U.K. was also reported to have provided intelligence support from its Cyprus bases, revealing Syrian military movements to Turkish officials, who then pass on the information to the FSA.

A crucial line of support began in spring 2012 as Saudi Arabia and Qatar announced they would begin arming and bankrolling the opposition. Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Middle East Centre in Beirut, and Emile Hokayem of the International Institute of Strategic Studies argued such support would be unlikely to immediately make a decisive impact. A ship carrying weapons from Libya believed destined for Syria‘s rebels has also been intercepted. Qatar is reported to be shipping arms to Sunni Islamists in Syria as a means of cementing alliances in the Middle East.

On 22 April 2013 the European Union lifted its embargo on Syrian oil to import barrels directly from rebel groups. Several of the oil fields are believed to be under control of Jabhat al-Nusra. Some analysts say the decision might also set up a deadly competition between rebel groups over the resource.

In late August 2013 a number of commercial pilots and local residents have reported seeing increased numbers of British military aircraft at RAF Akrotiri including C-130 transports and fighter aircraft.

A vote was held within the British House of Commons on 29 August 2013 to decide whether the United Kingdom would join the United States in initiating militant action against the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Government. Despite support from the Prime Minister David Cameron, the motion was defeated by 285 votes to 272. Cameron said that he would respect this Parliamentary decision and that the United Kingdom would not partake in military action against Syria.

On 19 September 2013, French President François Hollande hinted that France was ready to begin supplying lethal aid to the Free Syrian Army during a press conference in Bamako in a „controlled framework“. Hollande told the conference that „On delivering weapons we have always said that we want to control these supplies so that they do indeed go to the Free Syrian Army … because they represent the Syrian National Coalition that we recognise as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people and today they are caught between a hammer and an anvil. The hammer is the air strikes and actions of the Syrian regime and the anvil is radical Islam.”

13.08.2014 - 11:20 [ lse.co.uk ]

Top Court Backs Iraqi Premier Al-Maliki‘s Quest For New Term

(11. August) The broadcaster said the Federal Supreme Court ruled that al-Maliki‘s State of Law Coalition was the largest parliamentary bloc – meaning that President Fouad Massoum will be obliged to task al-Maliki with forming a new government.

The report came hours after a midnight speech by al-Maliki, a Shiite, in which he said he would take Massoum to court for violating the constitution by failing to nominate him.