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February 15, 2011
Open Thread – Feb 15
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A Knesset bill that would criminalize support of BDS by Israeli citizens passed its first reading this afternoon.
Posted by: annie | Feb 15 2011 20:38 utc | 1
an oldie but goodie – manufacturing consent
Posted by: remembereringgiap | Feb 15 2011 22:29 utc | 5
“The deadliest of the weapons now in the hands of criminal groups in Mexico, particularly along the U.S. border, by any reasonable standard of an analysis of the facts, appear to be getting into that nation through perfectly legal private-sector arms exports, measured in the billions of dollars.”
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/bill-conroy/2011/02/pentagon-fingered-source-narco-firepower-mexico
Posted by: JohnH | Feb 16 2011 0:25 utc | 6
Reuters has an amusing comment on El Baradei: it turns out he’s not enough like Tony Blair!
(btw, what agenda does Reuters have?)
“The veteran diplomat, international lawyer and Nobel Prize winner, has emerged as a high-profile opposition figure over the past few weeks and a possible candidate to replace fallen autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
But Washington and Tel Aviv are deeply suspicious of the 68-year-old. They along with other allies were frustrated by what they said were blatant attempts by ElBaradei — who ran the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from 1997 to 2009 — to undermine their efforts to ratchet up the pressure on Iraq before the U.S.-led invasion and later on Iran over its suspected nuclear arms program.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/15/us-egypt-elbaradei-idUSTRE71E4TF20110215
Posted by: lambent1 | Feb 16 2011 11:03 utc | 8
CBS reporter Lara Logan was severely beaten and sexually assaulted while reporting from Tahrir Square last Friday, February 11.
NYTimes media blog has more info:
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/cbs-lara-logan-suffered-brutal-attack-in-cairo/
CBS released this statement:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/02/15/60minutes/main20032070.shtml
On her first trip during the protests she was detained and interrogated by gov’t authorities (not clearly id’d in article), and expelled from the country.
http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/02/03/time-exclusive-cbss-lara-logan-and-crew-detained-in-cairo-as-violence-escalates/
Posted by: jawbone | Feb 16 2011 16:20 utc | 9
What’s jawbone’s point? Is he trying to resurrect Islamophobia, which took a severe beating, as American TV showed massive, peaceful crowds consisting mostly of young Muslims?
Posted by: JohnH | Feb 16 2011 22:06 utc | 10
what is jawbone’s point?…..reporting the news as they happen.
The lady got assaulted by a bunch of blokes while she was reporting on the successfull uprising against mubarak.
And yes JohnH, She was blond and pretty and smart while working. Maybe she should have stayed at home, HER being all blond and pretty?
Whats your point John? Are you trying to say she was less sexually assaulted because the blokes happended to be egyptian?
Rape knows no race….it never did, it happens to females and some males of all races, all ages, everywhere all the time, at the moment while I bother answering your dumb assed question.
Posted by: sabine | Feb 17 2011 5:08 utc | 11
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Feb 17 2011 6:38 utc | 12
Ha, accident – mon oeil!
US government accidentally shuts down 84,000 websites during child porn raid | The Raw Story
Approximately 84,000 websites were shut down and wrongfully accused of having links to child pornography as part of “Operation Protect Our Children,” a new joint operation between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ).
The DHS Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced Tuesday that it had executed seizure warrants against ten domain names of websites engaged in the distribution of child pornography, but during the operation the domain name of a large DNS service provider was also mistakenly seized, TorrentFreak reported.
The domain name mooo.com, which belongs to the DNS provider FreeDNS, hosted 84,000 subdomains, all of which were seized and replaced with a Homeland Security Investigations banner.
Posted by: Fran | Feb 17 2011 7:25 utc | 14
b,
Your knowledge of weapons from guns to tanks has always impressed me. I am asking what type of gun and ammunition produces the type of wounds we see so common in the protesters who are attacked. The photos from the link below from a Bahrain thread show multiple wounds in this man’s backside -like from a shotgun. Are these rubber bullet wounds? What type of weapon – a shotgun or single shot repeating? How serious are these wounds? Just wondering?
http://www.wattani.net/forum/showthread.php?t=160081
Posted by: Rick | Feb 17 2011 13:06 utc | 15
From the summary of the Feb 11 CRS (congressional research service) rpt, Implication’s of Egypt’s Turmoil on Global Oil and Natural Gas Supply (pdf)
The change in Egypt’s government will likely not have a significant direct impact on the global oil and natural gas markets. There may be some short-term movements in price, mostly caused by perceived instability in the market place, but these would most likely be temporary. However, prolonged instability that raises the specter of spreading to other oil and natural gas producers in the region would likely add to upward price pressures. Although Egypt is considered an energy producer or net exporter overall, its oil and natural gas exports are not large enough to affect regional or global prices. The most serious impact would be on regional recipients of its natural gas exports.
Egypt’s main influence on energy markets is its control of the Suez Canal and the Suez-Mediterranean oil pipeline (SUMED). The current low utilization of these two pieces of infrastructure would likely limit any affect of their closure in the near term. Both the oil and natural gas industry would, over time, find alternative routes to circumvent the canal and pipeline if necessary.
Posted by: b real | Feb 17 2011 17:13 utc | 16
quote (my bold):
Launched as an outcome of the Movement’s first International Youth Forum, “The Power of Youth for Peace—Youth Speak, We Listen,” our International Youth Network links young people from all over the world to maximize their personal development and help them fulfill their social responsibilities. By exchanging best practices and learning across nations, our young people gain a deeper understanding of themselves and a strong incentive to establish peaceful relations within their own communities across the world.
We established a Cyber Peace Initiative (CPI) to utilize the infinite potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to promote intercultural understanding, empathy and human security. The initiative rests on a “culture of shared responsibility,” and is an integrated effort to rally the local, regional and international youth community to use ICT to foster a culture of peace.
——
These words come from the ‘about us’ section of Suzanne Mubarak’s Women for International Peace Movement.
home page:
http://www.womenforpeaceinternational.org/English/Pages/default.aspx
The last meeting of this body was in Luxor on 12.12.2001. It was about human trafficking. Suzanne speaks on a ‘trailer’ for this event. 1 minute, recommended:
http://www.endhumantraffickingnow.com/luxorforum.htm
here is a snippet from the program:
Throughout the workshop, young participants will also get the opportunity to create a FREEDOM WALL, showcasing symbols of support (written messages, handprints, poems, etc.) to the victims of trafficking. (Steigenberger Hotel)
Posted by: Noirette | Feb 17 2011 18:31 utc | 17
@Rick – What type of weapon – a shotgun or single shot repeating? How serious are these wounds? Just wondering?
The backside of that man show buckshot wounds. Astonishing is number of pellet wounds. Usual “tactical” police weapons use ammunition with less than the usual pellet number in hunting ammunition. Some police use ammunition with plastic pellets, some with regular metal. Hurts like hell and has a high infection risk. Very dangerous when hitting the face. What type of gun I can not say, I’d assume repeating ones.
On one picture a doctor points to a clear bullet wound, likely deadly.
Not news to most here, but interesting to read in the whore media…
how bankers caused the financial crisis
Also see, How did the financial crash of 2008 happen?
One thing I will say, these fucks talk as if all this shit is over, or in the past, when it couldn’t be further from the truth. Consequences of ever present economic
tapeworm.
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Feb 19 2011 14:03 utc | 19
completely apropos of nothing why do al jazeera employ that buffoon david frost – beyond me – he wasn’t even good when he was good – i think it would be a healthy thing if he & john simpson were locked into a small room with a group of pashtun tribesman for a night & i think the results might be interesting for television
Posted by: remembereringgiap | Feb 20 2011 1:46 utc | 20
From the Guardian,
American who sparked diplomatic crisis over Lahore shooting was CIA spy
• Raymond Davis employed by CIA ‘beyond shadow of doubt’
• Former soldier charged with murder over deaths of two men
• Davis accused of shooting one man twice in the back as he fled
Posted by: maff | Feb 20 2011 21:10 utc | 21
US Gov. Software Creates ‘Fake People’ on Social Networks to Promote Propoganda
he US government is offering private intelligence companies contracts to create software to manage “fake people” on social media sites and create the illusion of consensus on controversial issues.
The contract calls for the development of “Persona Management Software” which would help the user create and manage a variety of distinct fake profiles online. The job listing was discussed in recently leaked emails from the private security firm HBGary after an attack by internet activist last week.
Wonder how many bots we have here at the bar this time around? I’d like to offer our bots a drink! Of hemlock…lol
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Feb 22 2011 14:43 utc | 23