What's happening?

What's happening? Discovered that a couple of my images got removed or blocked on one of my pages. Don't know which.  Images just weren't showing. Whatever happened to 'fair use'?  Replaced the images, but it's a pain to have to reconstruct something that was like a stream of consciousness at the time (rather than a plotted out and carefully recorded project).  It's also a pain to have to keep checking that the links all do their thing. Had deserters on Twitter.  It was quite funny. Compared to some of the stuff I've seen on there, my occasional outbursts are on the lame end of the spectrum of 'radical', so those followers must have been buttoned-up ultra conservative types. What's happening? There was a 'ceasefire' that wasn't a ceasefire because the Ukraine government are a pack of liars. The Frenchies are untrustworthy:  Mistral delivery up in the air.  One minute it's on & the next the French are bailing.  One minute it's a case of Hollande's 'personal opinion' the next it's a case of Russians have held up their end of the contract.  Remains to be seen, I guess. Obama had his Estonia visit & everybody's at the NATO summit.  Russia excluded, of course.  Not like they'd be welcome when they're the target. Putin's been to Altai Republic making post flood arrangements, I think. NATO's sent war ships to the Black Sea.  Done that before, so it's just more of the same. McCain and Lindsey Graham - Republican senators - are lobbying for war and pressuring Obama, I guess.  Typical republican.  Also McCain's state (Arizona) is home to military producers and Graham is Republican, Baptist, lawyer, military (rank Colonel under George W Bush), so their agenda is hardly surprising. Looks like John Kerry and other secretaries of state are at the NATO summit. Hollande's ex has put out her kiss-and-tell.  But it's dead boring.  Maybe it's those crappy French privacy laws.  The juiciest bit of info is that he represents the working classes but calls them toothless.  Geez, where's all the sleaze I was expecting? Tony Abbott's not going to export uranium to the Russians and is sending troops to Ukraine (& anywhere else the US wants), the last I heard.  Total ass-kisser. Radicals have kidnapped a heap of people.  Think that was Iraq. Truck bomb went off there as well.  Outside the secret service and military base, I think it was.  Recent car bombing there, I think.  So they're real keen on targeting that spot. Hackers are intent on targeting the Pakistan government.  There's been demonstrations and there's civil rights abuses, I think.  So it's politically motivated. UK's GCHQ are on some kind of recruiting drive - for cyber-security types.  Sounds more like they just want to identify a bunch of people who are handy with a computer.  Didn't know that hacking involved gadgetry.  Thought it was just a matter of keying crap in to get access to things.  Anyway, there's a bunch of stuff that's sold quite readily (in China, I think it was).  The more expensive stuff was for phone hacks.  The phone hacking thing is big, apparently.  It's money motivated. The Serbs anticipate more EU pressure on them to abide by anti-Russian sanctions if things hot up some more in Ukraine -- or if EU and crew decide they're revving up the sanctions. The creepiest thing I came across was black people being killed in Libya.  Didn't even know there were black people in Libya.  That probably explains the boatloads of people trying to get across to Italy. Despite my awe of ancient civilisations in the region and love of falafel, humus humous, belly-dancers, camels, Bedouin attire, Bedouin drums etc, I find the Middle East that's in the news rather scary and surprisingly alien. The religious aspects are curious.  Is it about religion really or is it more about some form of identification that's merged with religion? Even though I've taken to pointing the finger at the imperialist West or the totalitarian West, I am sooooo happy being a Westerner. The worst thing that happens to me is maybe getting stuck in a traffic jam or the annoyance of crowded parking lots. Hard to reconcile.

Donald Tusk - Poland's EU Council President

Polish Prime Minister Tusk to become new EU Council president By Christoph Dreier 4 September 2014 Last Saturday, representatives of European Union (EU) governments agreed to appoint Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk as the new EU Council president. The appointment of the nationalist, neo-liberal politician confirms the EU’s transformation into an aggressive military alliance. As Council president, Tusk will be responsible for organising EU summits to determine EU policy and adopt key decisions. He will also lead the meetings of euro group heads of government, although Poland is not part of the currency union. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/09/04/tusk-a04.html

Tusk appointment.

Sounds like an ass-kisser.

And he's no 'neo-liberal' or whatever he's supposed to be.

The party in its original form sounded pretty right wing to me.  Then merged.

Supposed to be some kind of socialist, but doesn't sound too socialist to me.

Crippling the working classes with austerity.

Check out the article.

BILL BLUNDEN on NATO BANDING AGAINST CYBER-ATTACKS

To the Editor: Re “In New Pledge, NATO Nations Would Band Together Against Cyberattacks” (news article, Sept. 1): You report that NATO leaders plan to update their collective defense policy to include a contingency for cyberattacks. The caveat of an agreement like this is that it assumes that NATO members are capable of identifying the actual source of an attack. Leaked documents reveal classified government programs like Hacienda and corporate services like Ntrepid’s Internet Operations Network, which are leveraged to reroute network traffic and undermine digital trails. Furthermore, logistical signatures can be faked and forensic artifacts can be forged. In other words, when facing off against an organized, well-funded adversary, attribution is largely a lost cause. Both national governments and private sector companies have made investments to ensure that this is the case. False flag attacks are as old as espionage and relatively simple to execute on the Internet. BILL BLUNDEN San Francisco, Sept. 1, 2014 The writer is the author of “Behold a Pale Farce: Cyberwar, Threat Inflation and the Malware-Industrial Complex” and “The Rootkit Arsenal.” http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/04/opinion/tracing-cyberattacks.html?_r=0

Trouble understanding what's going on.
If proper state-funded cyber-attacks aren't traceable, then why go through this farce?

Would that mean the NATO big banding together isn't really about defence against cyber-attacks? 

 Does that then mean this is just about collective, large-scale surveillance of the population/s?

Don't understand 'false flag'  attacks.  What, they're going to make out they were attacked to justify a cyber-attack or hostility on some other government?

What I don't understand is why national governments & private sector agencies would want to reroute traffic to undermine digital trail.  Unless they reroute to spy and thus undermine trail as the cost of being able to spy?

Very interesting.

*Digital Trail - lost.
*Logistical Signature - can fake.
*Forensic Artefacts  - can forge.

ISIL Created by CIA, Mossad – Analyst

09:48 04/09/2014 » Interviews ISIL Takfiris created by CIA, Mossad – analyst Press TV has conducted an interview with Moufid Jaber, from the Center for Middle East Studies and Public Relations from Beirut, about a former Pentagon official revealing that US President Barack Obama ignored the threats of ISIL for at least one year despite being given detailed intelligence about their advancements. Press TV: I’d like you to first of all weigh in on this revelation coming from this former Pentagon official that the US President Barrack Obama in fact ignored the hints of the rising to power of the ISIL? Jaber: You know it is my personal opinion that the CIA and the Obama administration was well aware of the strength of ISIL. Now what they did is that they are trying to portray it as being either an activity on part of the President or incompetence on part of the CIA. So they are sacrificing their own reputation to hide what the actual truth is. The truth is that ISIL is not operating alone. On one hand it had the funding from major powers in the region especially from private funders and Saudi Arabia and the Emirates and Kuwait but most importantly very few people can doubt that ISIL was strengthened through intelligence channels especially the CIA and the MOSSAD. Now the Americans are trying to portray it in a sense that they were not aware that ISIL was so strong but they are trying to hide the fact that the entire purpose of ISIL is to divide the region and most importantly it is a pretext to give the Kurds, a pretext for the Kurds to gain weapons from the West because had it not been for the threat of ISIL, the West would not have been able to give weapons to the Kurds that the Kurds would use in a confrontation in the future with the central Iraqi government because it is very well known that one of the main purposes of Israel in the region, one of the main strategies of Israel in the region is to strengthen the Kurds and to make it so that they have their own independent state because as we well know the Kurds have strong diplomatic relations with Israel and what they are seeking now, what Israel is seeking now is for Israel to have a base that is on the borders of Iraq and Iran and Syria and Turkey. So the whole purpose of ISIL which was backed by the United States and by the MOSSAD is to gain strength in the region and to give a pretext most importantly to the Kurds because now the Kurds are gaining weapons from the US, from France, from Germany and the UK. Under any other scenario the Kurds would not have been able to gain weapons from the West. So the whole purpose is for the US to have a pretext to arm the Kurds that the Kurds would use these weapons in a future confrontation with the central Iraqi government and this is a danger that we should all be aware of. We should not be naïve as to what ISIL is. It is an intelligence creation of American and Israeli intelligence. The purpose of which is to divide the region and to wreak havoc. Press TV: Mr. Jaber, in your opinion how does the United Sates explain their inconsistency with their approach to the ISIL terrorists? It was a support that the United Sates and its allies in the region gave to militants in Syria that ultimately led to the rise of the ISIL and now on the other hand when they infiltrated into Iraq and take large parts of Iraq they are attacking them and carrying out attacks to stop their advancement? Jaber: They only started carrying out the attacks against ISIL once ISIL reached the borders of Kurdistan. When ISIL was taking over Anbar we did not see any action on part of the American government. When ISIL was killing, massacring Shiites in Iraq, we were not seeing any kind of action on part of the US. The US allowed for the Islamic state to expand, they allowed it to gain ground in such a way that they would impose their authority on the Sunni regions in Iraq in order to fragment Iraq even further. So the Americans were very well aware of the extent of the strength of ISIL. They were very well aware of the plans that the ISIL had. You know ISIL has such tactical and strategic prowess that it is inconceivable that it is operating alone in such a way that they are able to outfox and outsmart everyone in the region. No, ISIL, all of the parties in the region, be it the Sunnis or the Shias, they are being played like pawns because the Americans are claiming to have been not knowledgeable of the strength of ISIL and they are doing so at the expense of their own reputation and in favor of their own long-term strategic goals. This is what is happening today. So what happened is that during the civil war, the beginning of the civil war, the revolt in Syria, Saudi Arabia took a certain strategy through Bandar bin Sultan who is now removed from his position in the sense that they would fund and arm such organizations as ISIL in order to gain ground in Syria. The Saudis now are aware of the threat that has happened but the Americans are the ones who are instrumentalizing ISIL in order to accomplish their goals in the region. And also there is a journalist in Georgia who conducted an investigation, he conducted an investigation in Georgia and found out that the commander of ISIS turned out to be an operative of the Georgian intelligence. http://www.panorama.am/en/popular/2014/09/04/moufid-jaber/

Interesting article.

I'm having an argument about how much time I spend on the computer, so I'm not really focused.

Might have to come back to this one, because it's the sort of thing I'd have to repeatedly re-read to grasp (as I know very little about the middle east).

I tend to be more into what's going on in Europe.  However, the big oil refinery in Kurd controlled Iraq is something that piqued my interest the other day, so I might eventually get the middle eastern politics bug.

...................................................................................

So it boils down to fragmenting Iraq and overthrowing the Syrian government?

I can't keep all the different parties straight and I don't get what Georgian intelligence has to do with it.

Marked up but still not clear on what's going on.

Israel wants control in some section; the US has long-term goals.  Why no mention of Turkey? 

But I am a bit distracted.  One eye on twitter.  Really addictive.

Wonder if it's the rolling/refereshing screen thing that's the addictive part?



*CHECK out this article.  While it is re Libya & Syria largely, it has bearing.

http://www.theoccidentalobserver.net/2012/02/the-war-crimes-of-nato-in-libya/

China's 'Disgusting' Susan Rice, US National Security Advisor - Visiting China

NSA Rice to pave way for Obama's China visit Updated: 2014-09-04 04:44 By ZHANG YUNBI in Beijing and CHEN WEIHUA in Washington(China Daily USA) US National Security Advisor Susan Rice's upcoming visit to China will help pave the way for upcoming meetings between Chinese and US leaders and provide an opportunity to raise issues of contention between the two countries, experts on China-US relations said. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang confirmed on Wednesday that Rice will visit China from Sept 7-9 at the invitation of State Councilor Yang Jiechi. There will be an "exchange of views on the China-US relationship and other important issues of mutual concern", Qin said. Rice "will underscore the US commitment to building a productive relationship between our two countries", US National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement on Tuesday. US President Barack Obama is expected to visit China on Nov 12 after attending the APEC summit in Beijing on Nov 10-11. He and Chinese President Xi Jinping are also likely to meet in the United Nations in New York in late September, if Xi decides to attend the UN General Assembly meetings, which will have a heavy emphasis on climate change. It will be Rice's first trip to China as National Security Advisor, a job she took on July 1 of last year after Republican Senators opposed Obama's nomination of Rice as Secretary of State to succeed Hillary Clinton, citing her role in the aftermath of the 2012 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi in Libya. Rice eventually withdrew her nomination. Douglas Paal, vice-president for studies and director of the Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington-based think tank, said Rice's visit is to set parameters for the meeting between Obama and Xi on Nov 12, as well as to provide a framework view of American policy and seek cooperation on major strategic issues. Paal believes those issues include the crisis over Ukraine, Iran nuclear talks, the Middle East and ISIS and the East and South China seas, where China and the US hold somewhat different approaches on how to solve the maritime territorial disputes. "I hope she can find a way to express both the positive cooperation the US values with China, as well as explore the more troublesome issues," Paal said. Yuan Peng, a US studies expert at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said what is behind the security adviser's visit is the ongoing efforts by both countries to "drag the relationship back on track". Her visit — in the capacity of a core designer of the Obama administration's security policy — is surely aimed at "making preparations for Obama's visit to China", and the trip will give her a chance to get a full understanding of China, Yuan said. In Washington's eyes, China has been showing "increasing assertiveness" in the South China Sea because of its growing strength. For China, the US rebalance to Asia strategy is largely aimed at China, including rallying its security allies and countries which have territorial disputes with China. There have been "a surging frequency and intensity recently of Washington's strategic initiatives and actions targeting China", said Shi Yinhong, a professor of Sino-US relationship studies at Renmin University of China. The recent close encounter of a US reconnaissance plane and a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea 220 km from Hainan Island has led to several rounds of back-and-forth barbs from foreign affairs and defense authorities. "While bickering between the two powers is somewhat common, it is of great urgency to get disputes under control," said Liu Xuecheng, a researcher of US studies at the China Institute of International Studies. Rice's style as the US ambassador to the United Nations prior to her current post drew much criticism when she called China and Russia "disgusting" after the two vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on sanctions of Syria, after the US and its NATO allies abused a UN no-fly zone resolution to go for regime change in Libya. Former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski mentioned on several occasions that Rice's behavior was undiplomatic. http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/us/2014-09/04/content_18543044.htm

Thought I'd share this.

Fancy being in the role of National Security Advisor with 'diplomacy' about as refined as mine.

NET NEUTRALITY - Sept. 10th is the Internet Slowdown

Sept. 10th is the Internet Slowdown Cable companies want to slow down (and break!) your favourite sites, for profit. To fight back, let's cover the web with symbolic "loading" icons, to remind everyone what an Internet without net neutrality would look like, and drive record numbers of emails and calls to lawmakers. Are you in? https://www.battleforthenet.com/sept10th/ Blogger may not be participating in Internet Slowdown, as the the attempt to load code onto HTML template failed  -  (:   Code needed tweak.  Message indication.  Just something small (equals sign + something else).  But ... I'm not up to it because I don't know the language/protocols or whatever.  Luckily I saved a copy of the template before I started editing! Recommend you do the same if you're anything like me. Only found out today about internet cables and the 50 mile weak point tap etc.  Didn't even know there were cables!   Seriously.   Trust this will be simple for anyone else.   Happy Internet Slowdown Day!

NATO Troops - Rapid Trident - UKRAINE

US Ground Troops to Train in Ukraine Next Week WASHINGTON — Sep 3, 2014, 12:43 PM ET Associated Press The Pentagon says 200 U.S. soldiers will participate in an exercise in western Ukraine starting next week. It would be the first presence of American ground troops in Ukraine since the crisis with Russian-backed separatists began. The annual exercise, called Rapid Trident, involves forces from 15 nations and will not involve live firing of weapons. A Pentagon spokesman, Col. Steve Warren, said it will be a peacekeeping exercise with training through Sept. 26 in convoy operations, patrolling and methods of countering improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. Warren said the U.S. troops are from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Italy. The Pentagon also announced it has delivered more non-lethal aid to the Ukrainian military, including helmets, explosive ordnance disposal robots, sleeping mats, jackets, radios, body armor and first-aid kits. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/us-ground-troops-train-ukraine-week-25231848