A Post About Nothing

A post about nothing Starting to zone out staring at a stream of mesmerising updates on the 'puter.  So I'm probably part-sleeping as I read.  It's oddly soothing to be between wakefulness and sleep, staring at this inanimate thing as it turns over information.  A ticking, prolific information-clock that is both time and clock -- sometimes throwing up the most surprising (or shocking) and random things. Moving on ... Politics -- even if confined in one region -- is tricky to watch well. For example, when looking at the Novorossiya conflict, I'd completely forgotten about the national big business interests in the region that also have a stake in what's going on. It's unclear to me who all the local business players are and what parts they play, or what connections (national & foreign) they may have. Right now, I'm like a juggler that's focused on this ball, or that ball, as the reason for whatever conclusion I happen to draw at the time of meeting some piece of information, rather than drawing conclusions that take into account the many elements simultaneously in operation. Perspective needs adjustment.  I'm near-sighted.  Putin & Poroshenko have already discussed steps towards negotiating a ceasefire between the independence supporters and Kiev.  The talks were to continue and presumably they're still on the agenda, but there's been no further word. What's happened in the meantime is that the fake ceasefire the Ukrainians sought (and broke) has given them an opportunity to regroup, resupply and so on.  Furthermore, the Novorossiya side released 1,000 captured personnel.  So that's 1,000 released men Novorossiya will have to overcome again, when these men join their own ranks to resume fighting. The NATO forces are doing the Black Sea thing.  Russia's hooking up with China and others for a summit, which is seen by some as a counter-balance to NATO. Talk of Russia intending to negotiate trading grain for oil from Iran.  Doesn't mean much to me.  It's just a snippet of information that came to mind. The French have been pressured into blocking the Mistral delivery due to Russia at the end of this year, and they're making out like they're deferring decision-making until October, I think it was.  So they're just stringing it out.  The guess is they're not delivering.  Hope Russians sue the culottes off them in due course, and I hope their arms trade drops because they're clearly dishonourable and unreliable if they do bow to pressure and dishonour the agreement.  French arms trade has been doing well this past year.  Particulars are:  sales up 43 % 2013 @$8.84 billion.  Economy's not doing so well.  Hollande is also reportedly in danger of losing office, in due course.  Popularity score is something like 13% and right wingers are gaining ground.   It stands to reason Hollande's government would be unpopular, when he's slashing and selling, and cutting back services, while giving companies tax breaks.   By the time I'm over sifting through information that catches my attention during the course of my online travels, I'm 'over' information and couldn't be bothered regurgitating.  So this won't grow into a riveting political blog.  Turning into more of a boring, personal comment about nothing -- the Seinfeld of political blogging (minus the laughs).

Best option Google Drive, Dropbox, SpiderOak or OwnCloud?

Best option Google Drive, Dropbox, SpiderOak or OwnCloud? http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/09/08/owncloud_review/ Check this out. I would if I could. But I've got someone ranting in my ear and I can't focus.

The Cuban Five - Wasp Network

Check out the Cuban Five - "La Red Avispa" (Wasp Network): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Five Only skimmed the info.  Might have to come back to this one. Mentioned in relation to an article about not getting fair trials & CIA infiltrated media.

Argentina - US Vulture Funds - AMIA Bombing

Sunday, September 7, 2014 Wikileaks founder Assange claims US supports 'vulture funds' in dispute with Argentina Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has alleged that the United States is supporting holdout investors in their dispute with Argentina over debt defaulted in 2001, as a way of punishing the country for the memorandum of understanding signed with Iran to advance investigations into the AMIA bombing. "It seems that Argentina is now being punished for a geopolitical decision that [the US] did not like," Assange stated, referring to the agreement with the middle-eastern country, during an interview published today with Página/12. The activist is currently seeking asylum in the Ecuadorean assembly located in London, as he claims that he is under risk of being extradited to the United States if he stays in the UK. "It is interesting to wonder why the US government supports these actions, because at the start of the trial it seemed that the State Department wanted easy relations with Argentina and it did not support the vulture funds," he explained. "Now it is supporting them, even though this is clearly causing tension with Argentina." In Assange's opinion, the dispute between the Argentine government and holdout investors presided over in New York by judge Thomas Griesa "seems to respond to the US' desire to set a precedent so that US businesses can seize the assets of foreign governments, which gives US businesses a clear advantage when it comes to negotiating with foreign governments." "I had to experience this myself. My prosecutor, the prosecutor who has the case against Wikileaks, is based in Alexandria, Virginia, which is an extension of the centre of power that is Washington DC," he underlined. http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/169132/wikileaks-founder-assange-claims-us-supports-vulture-funds-in-dispute-with-argentina

The above article is interesting because I didn't know anything about the 1994 AMIA bombing in Argentina - here.

Figured the bombing may be related to the Mustafa Dirani kidnapping by Israel - here.  Reason:  kidnapping was just before the bombing.

Reading about the bombings -- ie 1992 bombings directed at Israeli targets, this bombing and later stumbling on a news item about a new al-Shebab appointment, I am positively FREAKED out big time about these kinds of organisations.

To be honest, I feel fear.  But I don't know why.  It's an irrational fear.  Or maybe it's an instinctive fear.

It's very hard to understand a region or to build empathy for people from that part of the world, when the people scare you. 

It's like a horror movie scare that sort of creepily lingers long after the credits have rolled.

I'm like a dog that needs a really good shake to get creepy feeling off me.

Need to find a music video or something distracting.

US & GCHQ spy on everyone

Spying on friends: strange bedfellows Thanks to high-tech equipment, the American spy agency, the National Security Agency (NSA), accessed the Mexican president's e-mail domains, which were also used by members of his cabinet. And, no surprise, the domains contained “diplomatic, economic and leadership communications which continue to provide insight into Mexico's political system and internal stability.” Let's take a moment to reflect on the gold mine these NSA guys discovered. After NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed this information every intelligence agency in the world envied their American colleagues. The Mexican president's office, according to the NSA report, was now “a lucrative source” of information. Infiltrating foreign governments is the dream of any spy agency. But only under one unbreakable condition (remember the golden rule of the game): Do not get caught. The NSA got caught in the Mexican job thanks to an NSA worker spilling the beans. And our “gentlemen” diplomats, who are never supposed to know anything about this dirty business, rush to the scene of the crime to do damage control. Whether you engage in old-fashioned spying or high-tech interception, the method has been and always will remain the same: Get as much systematic information about your rivals as you can, categorize the information, do your utmost to confirm its authenticity, evaluate it, and disseminate all available knowledge according to the political goals specifically identified by government. Under direct orders from the government, the main task of any spy agency is simple but clear: to feed the policy-making process with accurate and timely information. [... CONTINUED @ SOURCE ... ] http://www.todayszaman.com/_spying-on-friends-strange-bedfellows_357667.html

Only an extract. Link to article for full.

Found this interesting because I didn't know the US spied on Mexico or that the G20 delegates got spied on by GCHQ.

US - DoJ release memos - Bush Admin. justification warrantless tapping

Bush-era memos justify NSA wiretaps Sep 07, 2014 | Secret programme allowed NSA to obtain data within US The US justice department has released two memos detailing the Bush administration’s legal justification for monitoring the phone calls and emails of Americans without a warrant. The documents, released late on Friday, relate to a secret programme, dubbed Stellar Wind, which began after the September 11, 2001 attacks. It allowed the National Security Agency to obtain communications data within the United States when at least one party was a suspected Al Qaeda or Al-Qaeda affiliate member, and at least one party in the communication was located overseas. “Even in peacetime, absent congressional action, the president has inherent constitutional authority ... To order warrantless foreign intelligence surveillance,” then-assistant attorney general Jack Goldsmith said in a heavily-redacted 108-page memo dated May 6, 2004. “We believe that Stellar Wind comes squarely within the commander in chief’s authority to conduct the campaign against Al Qaeda as part of the current armed conflict and that congressional efforts to prohibit the President’s efforts to intercept enemy communications through Stellar Wind would be an unconstitutional encroachment on the commander in chief’s power.” The document was obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union rights group through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. Mr Goldsmith at the time also headed the justice department’s office of legal counsel under then-attorney-general John Ashcroft and then-deputy attorney-general James Comey, who now heads the FBI. According to Mr Goldsmith, Congress’ authorisation for the use of force passed shortly after 9/11 provided “express authority” for Stellar Wind. He suggested that the congressional approval granted the President authority that “overrides the limitations” of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a law requiring a court order to monitor the communications of any American or person on US soil. The second memo, dated July 16, 2004, pointed to a Supreme Court decision handed down just over two weeks earlier as providing additional justification for Stellar Wind. http://www.asianage.com/international/bush-era-memos-justify-nsa-wiretaps-721

Flipping through the news stories (and other articles regarding this release), I first took it to be an 'illegal' wiretap.

Turns out memos released justify the tapping. Doh!

Anyway, thought I'd transfer this over because it's rather interesting.

It would seem that no matter what, governments have the final trump card: National Security.

I'm not that focused on the finer ins and outs of this right now, so I don't fully understand it.

Might have to come back. I'm on a roll digging stuff up and I want to keep up the pace.

Dodgy Dave's Broken Election Promise - New Airport for London

A depressing mistake? Posted on » Sunday, September 07, 2014 As a frequent flyer into Heathrow from Bahrain, I am closely following the row over a new airport for London. There seems to be a hidden convention in Whitehall that a difficult decision is made more palatable if it is recommended not by the politician who has to make it but by an independent body. When the prime minister appointed Sir Howard Davies to run the Airports Commission it seemed a ruse to legitimise a decision that had already been taken. The suspicion was that David Cameron had come to regret his pledge that he would not permit a third runway at Heathrow Airport. The Davies Commission was a way of unravelling that promise by providing an independent rationale for a change of policy should the Conservative party win the 2015 election. That suspicion has been confirmed by Sir Howard's regrettable decision to throw out the prospect of building a four-runway hub airport in the Thames Estuary, a plan that has been enthusiastically supported by the mayor of London, Boris Johnson. Cameron's promise on Heathrow was so clear that his credibility would be at risk if he were to renege on it. As he said, the extra disruption to an already crammed west London that would result from expanding Heathrow, as well as the noise and pollution, would be too great. Heathrow is already the noisiest airport in Europe. This position, however, pinned him in a corner from which the Davies Commission was designed to free him. That Britain needs extra airport capacity is not in doubt. Indeed, the best case for a new hub airport on the Isle of Grain in the Thames Estuary is that an expanded Heathrow would be full no sooner had it been built. An airport with three runways will not even match Paris or Frankfurt, which have four, or Amsterdam, which has six. As soon as the third runway was in operation, which would not be for 15 years, the pressure would begin for another. It is not a viable future for Britain that it should continue without a direct flight to, for example, Osaka in Japan. The hub airport for flights between China and Europe is already Frankfurt. The evidence that more business is done in countries into which flights come directly is clear. The problems of trying to locate such an airport in a suburb of west London are obvious. The cost of the Thames Estuary, at £26 billion by 2030, is likely to be much less than Davies suggests. The Confederation for British Industry has pointed out regularly that Gatwick cannot be the answer as it does not offer the capacity. However, now that Sir Howard has said that 'Boris island' will not be added to the shortlist for the final phase of deliberations, Heathrow is emerging as the only option. This whole issue needs politicians to lift their sights and their ambition, as Johnson has done. The benefits of a bolder approach are, according to the Greater London Authority and Transport for London, the creation of more than 200,000 jobs. By 2050 the airport could be contributing £92 million to the British economy. The longer-term benefit is that Britain would be at the hub of a wheel of trading connections. The Davies decision shows that a 50-year history of avoiding tough decisions is not yet going to come to an end. The argument about building a new airport began in the 1960s. In the half century that has followed other nations have argued about, concluded on and built their airports. Britain has suffered from ambition blight, compounded by a planning blight. This perfunctory look at the Thames Estuary and an ill-considered dismissal is a stitch-up to hide a decision already made. Britain is the loser. http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=385370

Article appeals to me, as it show how politicians make promises and break promises -- with third-party help.

Very good lesson.