News Stories

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Solace

Filthy foreigners? Don't ascribe to the American citizenry something so sweeping. I wouldn't do the same about the people of your nation.

Technically I am not trying to make Americans look worse specifically. The "Filthy foreigners" attitude is pretty universal. It's just that, well, America is a pretty big target because they have more power to abuse than others.

EDIT:Here is a recorded session when the NSA tried to recruit University students. They made the grave mistake of allowing questions at the end...
Here is the awesome result. The NSA representatives ended up confirming indirectly that they have absolute freedom to spy on anyone, anywhere, as long as higher ups told them to. More importantly they were caught out on the lies their own presentation had said about what they do for a living.

https://soundcloud.com/madiha-1/stud...ion-the-nsa-at

[Revelation]

Somewhat passed, but Bolivian presidential plane was grounded in Austria over Snowden stowaway suspicions.

July 3rd: Morales' jet was forced into landing in Vienna on Wednesday after several EU countries barred the plane from entering their airspace over suspicions that whistleblower Edward Snowden was potentially aboard.

Austrian authorities searched Morales’ plane for Edward Snowden, but found no stowaways on board, Austria’s deputy chancellor has said. The plane will now carry on its journey to the Canary Islands where it will refuel before flying to La Paz.

Snowden had requested asylum from Bolivia, which has yet to answer his request. The fugitive whistleblower has also petitioned Austria but was rejected. Reports indicated the plane was hindered in navigating Western Europe as France and Portugal would not allow the La Paz-bound plane to enter their airspace...

I find it amazing what the world is willing to do for one man, or rather one country (to make an example of said man), that they turn to such acts of diplomatic aggression. Just imagine if this happened to Air Force One, the jets would be scrambling faster than you could imagine.

[Renegade334]

Most desktop computers will be in mourning today...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Doug Engelbart, a visionary who invented the computer mouse and developed other technology that has transformed the way people work, play and communicate, died late Tuesday. He was 88.

Full article.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

1. the company that was responsible for investigating security background checks decided to cut corners.

2. Snowden became disilluion while on the job. Before he had both a military background and work for the NSA. And had express views online that are close to the governments.

He specifically says he became disillusioned as he watched the head of the NSA blatantly *lie* to US Senators (Senator Wyden,for one). The head of the NSA has apologized for gettin caught, oh, er, "misspeaking".

[ganbaru]

When is a coup not a coup? Obama faces tricky call in Egypt
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...9621HH20130704

'Obamacare' foes renew attack after employer mandate delayed
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...9621BK20130703
Not that shit again. But then how many time the Republican did vote to stop it.

[Dextro]

Originally Posted by Revelation

I find it amazing what the world is willing to do for one man, or rather one country (to make an example of said man), that they turn to such acts of diplomatic aggression. Just imagine if this happened to Air Force One, the jets would be scrambling faster than you could imagine.

As a Portuguese citizen I feel disgusted by this attitude by my own government (if we even have a government, the Foreign Affairs Minister and Coalition leader resigned recently on a power play).

[TinyRedLeaf]

So what did Mursi do wrong?

By Koert Debeuf

July 3 (Wed)

NON-EGYPTIANS may be wondering what Mohamed Mursi has done wrong to get that many people in the streets.

Some point to the economy as the main reason. It is certainly true that Egypt is at the brink of the economic abyss. Every day there are multiple outages of power and running water. There is hardly any petrol left, creating very long queues at gas stations which in turn cause big traffic jams.

Tourism, Egypt's major source of income, has fallen drastically to a fraction of what it once was. The currency lost a quarter of its value, making everything more expensive. This is particularly hard on the large group of very poor Egyptians.

Yet, this is not the reason for the massive turn out at protests. It is clearly not a hunger revolution either.

While having a cup of tea close to the presidential palace, I could observe the massive crowds passing by. The diversity was apparent: young and old, veiled and unveiled women, poor and rich, Muslim and Christian. Furthermore, it is important to stress that the atmosphere was and still is positive.

What brings all of these people together is a sense of betrayal. The Muslim Brotherhood was given a chance after the revolution. They were the best organised and had the most thought-through ideas. People imagined the Brotherhood to be the best shot at fulfilling the ideals of the revolution: freedom, dignity, justice and bread.

That was exactly what was expected of Mursi. And he was off to a good start. He replaced the hated military leader Mohammed Hussein Tantawi and reclaimed the power the armed forces had taken from the president.

All that changed in November last year. Mursi and his party were convinced of a major conspiracy in the making. His response was a constitutional declaration seizing all power and shoving an Islamic Constitution down Egyptians throats.

From that moment, more and more Egyptians became convinced that Mursi was just a Muslim Brotherhood president and not the president of the Egyptian people.

That is at the core of this week's protests. People will not accept one group forcing its agenda upon an entire nation, regardless of whether that group has an electoral majority. This rising against "the tyranny of the majority" is what we are seeing in Egypt today and what we saw in Turkey in the past month.

In Turkey too, people do not accept the economic progress generated under Recep Tayyip Erdogan's rule as an excuse to govern as he pleases.

This is Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood's big error of judgment. Convinced of their majority, they thought the opposition was small and divided and that people would eventually side with them.

On Sunday (June 30), that certainly turned out differently. No one can withstand such masses. Not even the army. The military brass saw what happened and saw that it could result in a huge spiral of violence.

This is probably why they issued an ultimatum, to prevent Egypt from descending into a giant street fight.

==========

Koert Debeuf lives in Cairo, where he represents the European Union Parliament's Alde group. He is the former adviser of a Belgian prime minister. Reporting from post-revolutionary Egypt, his blog is a window on events in the Arab world.

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

B can complain all they like, they only took power the first time because of a fragmented moderate faction.

From my understanding, that is a distorted view of the balance of political forces in Egypt largely colored by the Western media's focus on urbanites. The World Bank reports that 57% of Egyptians live in rural areas, and most of them support the Brotherhood or the various more extreme Salafist groups. As far as I can tell, Morsi had the support of a majority of Egyptians when elected last year and would have won no matter who his opponent might have been.

In the legislative elections, the Brotherhood and Salafists won about 65% of the vote and an overwhelming majority of the seats.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to find as many people in Egypt today who oppose Morsi's ouster as support it.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

From my understanding, that is a distorted view of the balance of political forces in Egypt largely colored by the Western media's focus on urbanites. The World Bank reports that 57% of Egyptians live in rural areas, and most of them support the Brotherhood or the various more extreme Salafist groups. As far as I can tell, Morsi had the support of a majority of Egyptians when elected last year and would have won no matter who his opponent might have been.

In the legislative elections, the Brotherhood and Salafists won about 65% of the vote and an overwhelming majority of the seats.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to find as many people in Egypt today who oppose Morsi's ouster as support it.

Then all the more reason for civil war. If Morsi want to rule only those who voted for him, then this was the result. You learn to rule your whole population, or get in trouble.

[ganbaru]

Ambassador Becomes Focus of Egyptians’ Mistrust of U.S.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/04/wo...ust-of-us.html

Obama: U.S. ‘deeply concerned’ about Egyptian military’s ouster of president
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...080_print.html

[SeijiSensei]

The BBC's Asia Business Report which aired at 2330 GMT tonight had two fascinating stories, neither of which I can link to because of how limited the BBC's copyrights are when it comes to distribution over the web.

In one the BBC's Seoul correspondent, Lucy Williamson, reported on the decline in the number of Japanese tourists in Seoul and their replacement with more free-spending Chinese. The fall in the yen certainly has made Seoul a less attractive destination for Japanese tourists, but the manager of one high-end duty-free shop traced the start of the decline to the visit by South Korea's President to the disputed Dokdo/Takeshima islands last August.

In the other report Jakarta correspondent Karishma Vaswani provided a comprehensive overview of relations between Australia and Indonesia in advance of the upcoming talks between Kevin Rudd and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. She pointed to the miniscule amount of bilateral trade ($10 bn) between two countries whose geographic proximity would suggest a more robust economic relationship. Once again politics plays a role. Australian revulsion to televised scenes of alleged animal abuse in Indonesian slaughter houses triggered a trade war between the two countries. A brief ban on Australian imports of beef processed by Indonesian sellers was met with an Indonesian ban on cattle imports that left Australia's ranchers with animals they could not sell and soaring beef prices in Indonesia.

[ganbaru]

Russia increasingly impatient over Snowden's airport stay
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...9630IV20130704
I wonder where they could send him, beside the US...

Insight: Nigeria seeks farming revival to break oil curse
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...96305A20130704

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by ganbaru

Russia increasingly impatient over Snowden's airport stay
I wonder where they could send him, beside the US...

How about Iran? A secret train trip to the Caspian Sea then a short flight to Tehran. The ex-Soviet states around the Sea may not like having their airspace breached, but I don't see them trying to put a stop to Mr. Snowden's departure the way the Euros did to the President of Colombia.

I just wonder if anyone can get Snowden out of the airport. Wouldn't you think the US has someone watching his every move?

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

Then all the more reason for civil war. If Morsi want to rule only those who voted for him, then this was the result. You learn to rule your whole population, or get in trouble.

That's the whole problem with ruling from a religious basis - compromise is impossible (gosh, why does that sound familiar? ah)

[sa547]

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-fi...lippines-india

What if this general could be tomorrow's strongman of China?

[ArchmageXin]

Originally Posted by sa547

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-fi...lippines-india

What if this general could be tomorrow's strongman of China?

GOD DAMN IT!

This is the third time I have to address this. THIS GUY IS A SOCIAL GENERAL WHO CARRIES NO RANK IN THE REAL CHINESE ARMY.

Luo, the deputy-director general of the world military research department at a People's Liberation Army academy, described himself at a briefing as a "reasonable hardliner".

Depend on the article, he is either the chief of staff of the Chinese army or some 2 star general, but here is what you should be looking for.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy...ic_of_China%29

IT IS A THINK TANK FOR GODS SAKE. I live next door to the compound when I was a kid, and their security was consisted of old retired ladies and men who play Majong everyday.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by sa547

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-fi...lippines-india

What if this general could be tomorrow's strongman of China?

Not likely. The heads of Chinese Communist Party are usually borderline anonymous. It's not that they don't do anything, it's that they all avoid seeking public attention to themselves prior to getting the leadership job. The leader of China is just another cog in the machine, not a demigod. So there wouldn't be a Strongman showing up in China anytime soon, he would be removed quickly.

[KiraYamatoFan]

Originally Posted by sa547

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-fi...lippines-india

What if this general could be tomorrow's strongman of China?

That would be as much as if the Superintendent of West Point, namely Lieutenant General David H. Huntoon, makes heated comments on foreign policy with the intention to become President. In other words, the answer is "no" for now, but I can't tell that ex-military would not find their way into Chinese politics in the next few years.

[ganbaru]

Delay in Obamacare requirement puts onus on the honor system
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...96402X20130705

[NoemiChan]

Originally Posted by sa547

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-fi...lippines-india

What if this general could be tomorrow's strongman of China?

Hahaha..... no way.... he's an idiot....