By the way, for those who are interested, we viewed an excellent movie last night. Perhaps some of you have heard of it? It’s a Swedish film entitled The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo.
Here’s a link:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1132620/
It renders some interesting insight into some dysfunctional cultural undercurrents in Swedish Society, amongst other things.

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Oct 30 2011 21:41 utc | 4

@Morocco Bama. Thanks for the compliment. The last word has yet to be written on the TIPNIS story. The world at large seems to think it’s been resolved, but much of the local press, as well as friends of mine who work in the Bolivian government, say that the TIPNIS communities have only achieved a temporary respite. Similar conflicts are pending in Peru too, which also has a “progressive” left-ish government which is nevertheless committed to a big developmentalist strategy and the opening up of the Amazon.
As for the AlQaeda flag story, it’s impressive to watch the lengths NTC sympathisers will go to deny that this is, in fact, an AlQaeda flag. But a quick Google Images search settles the question quite easily. Since MI6 has been working with these networks against the Gaddafi regime since at least the mid 1990s, i’m not sure how this flag incident can come as such a surprise. I guess that Western arabophile “revolutionaries” only see what they want to see.

Posted by: david montoute | Oct 31 2011 1:31 utc | 6

MB @ 4.
I’ve only seen one Dragon Tattoo movie and it’s hard to ignore its mind-f**king aspects (which is quite OK in a fictional film).
Toward the end the hero climbs the stairs of a light house and, halfway up, discovers a room about 10 times bigger than could be concealed within the upper walls of a light house.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Oct 31 2011 4:30 utc | 8

@ Hoarsewhisperer, that Qantas affair. According to British newsmedia (bbc, guardian), they’ve been forced to resume flying and resume negotiations with the unions. But those reports are quite pro Qantas. Can you clarify the whole story a little ?

Posted by: Philippe | Oct 31 2011 8:46 utc | 10

Looks like Congress has declared war on the internet

clamp down

Long time coming, but most MOA’s know that this has been in the works for a while, can’t let the people have the tools to use against the system! And what is not mentioned in the article above is that they now have the technology/software to isolate individual connections so that anything you post is seen from your end (as if you posted the said posting, and it’s available to everyone) but not seen in the wild. In other words, you see it, and assume others see it too (the public). But it’s not seen in public, only on your machine and a few others. Minimized isolation. Think About that…
Also see, People & Power – The Koch Brothers

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Oct 31 2011 12:30 utc | 12

Philippe @ 12.
Briefly and approximately, Qantas was the Oz Govt-owned International-only airline. It was privatised circa 2000 and sought to expand its brief to carrying fare playing interstate passengers within Oz in a limited way (we have to fly from Melb to Brisbane via Sydney to collect our passengers for a flight to NZ so we’ll sell tickets to anyone wanting to fly one or both interstate legs).
After privatisation they began seeking to reduce o’heads by out-sourcing a wide range of jobs including servicing and flight crew to lower wage countries. They’ve also started up a low-cost international competitor to Virgin – Jetstar (both Virgin and Jetstar can now carry interstate passengers on mainstream domestic routes).
Qantas also has a large minority stake in a low-cost Asian airline and is attempting to ‘unify’ this operation with bits of the Oz operations – with respect to ‘flexibility’ of staffing.
These relatively rapid changes have spooked the (unionised) employees of the “Proudly Australian” airline and its offshoots and for more than 12 months there have been a series of ‘work-to-rules’ campaigns, by elements in the work-force, over incremental wage claims and union desires for a clear statement of policy intentions from Qantas to its employees. The w-t-r campaigns cause minimal disruption but tend to inhibit day to day operational flexibility.
On Saturday Qantas spat the dummy, on the grounds of union intractability, and shut down their entire operation, grounding every aircraft and locking out all its employees. Shock ‘n’ Awe?
The pundits are divided over whether this was sensible. The CEO assures us that he’s received nothing but fulsome praise from the corporate world and Qantas shares were the ONLY stock to rise in value on the stock exchange today. The stranded passengers are saying they “won’t forget” what Qantas did to them.
PS I don’t follow the fortunes of airlines and haven’t flown in a commercial plane for 20 years or so. The above will almost certainly contain inaccuracies. It’s a hot topic and if I see a good summary in the media I’ll post a link.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Oct 31 2011 13:32 utc | 14

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo film contains graphic, sadistic, sexist violence which characterizes so much of our ‘entertainment’, but the good news for me was that [spoiler alert] the ‘good guys’ win in the end, and you don’t have to wait until the end for the payback to start.

Posted by: Watson | Oct 31 2011 14:11 utc | 16

Uncle $cam @ 12.
OK. I’ve thought about it.
Several years ago a person claiming to manage an Oz website with a comment facility, mentioned that one of the resources available to her was the ability to ‘bozo’ unwelcome commenters.
She explained bozo-ing as the ability to make unwelcome comments visible only to the originating person/computer. Apart from thinking banning would be simpler and foolproof, and doubting that the cost of achieving such a trivial alternative to banning could be justified, I accepted what she said as true.
The news you’re relaying suggests that it was.
However, after learning about bozo-ing I occasionally checked the occasional “iffy” comments I’d made on the www on someone else’s computer to see if I was being bozo-ed (I wasn’t). As far as I can see, this new variation on bozo-ing can’t remain undetected once suspicions are aroused.
So I doubt that the story has any foundation in fact.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Oct 31 2011 16:34 utc | 18

On Quantas:
When the airline was privatized there were certain conditions bound to it, like not selling it offshore and keeping to Australian rules/workforce.
The idea the new Quantas management then developed was to ruin Quantas to later through it back onto the government while making lots of money.
That’s why the holding founded Jetstar which runs outside the rules put on Quantas and forces Quantas to subsidize it. Over time Quantas will be squeezed out and then a profitable Jetstar will be split off into another company and sold while the dead Quantas corps goes back to the taxpayer.
That is the short story.
Details are in this PPRUNE comment.

Posted by: b | Oct 31 2011 17:08 utc | 20

@ 20.
The link is reluctant to fire up but the theory harmonises quite smoothly with unfolding events and perceptions.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Oct 31 2011 18:38 utc | 22

Mr. Fish on Obama’s insensitivity towards civilian deaths:
http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/white_guys_20111031/

Posted by: Cynthia | Nov 1 2011 0:36 utc | 24

The Greeks aren’t happy with the Germans…..again. This photo sums it up rather succinctly:
http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0ets1Ufb5N6bk/x610.jpg

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Nov 1 2011 13:05 utc | 26

There seems to be a bit of bailout brinkmanship going on behind the scenes. I’m inclined to believe the pundits who were saying, 10 days ago, that a workable bailout won’t be possible without a big contribution from China. The other side of the coin of Chinese reluctance to help is that China really can’t afford to let Europe go broke.
Given Euro-trash reluctance to lick Chines boots, this looks like degenerating into a “who blinks first” situation.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Nov 1 2011 16:21 utc | 28

Who is Zuccotti?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hBIP5ytCIY
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/culture/2011/10/3895592/bloomberg-says-theres-no-daylight-between-city-and-brookfield-touts-
hmmmm…..it appears he’s a 1%er…..and yet he doesn’t have an issue with this Occupy thing and its taking place in his park. Either he knows it’s not a threat to him, or he’s just a Good Samaritan. I’m going with the former, and if that’s the case, how can he be so confidant….unless….
Breaking with my Hasbara tradition, it appears his wife has written several books about the Holocaust. Oh my…..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Zuccotti

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Nov 1 2011 17:34 utc | 30

It’s starting to get very interesting. I wouldn’t put the fasten seat belt sign on just yet, but at least be moving your finger toward the switch.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8863728/Greek-military-leadership-changes-spark-opposition-outcry.html

In a surprise development, Panos Beglitis, Defence Minister, a close confidante of Mr Papandreou, summoned the chiefs of the army, navy and air-force and announced that they were being replaced by other senior officers.
Neither the minister nor any government spokesman offered an explanation for the sudden, sweeping changes, which were scheduled to be considered on November 7 as part of a regular annual review of military leadership retirements and promotions. Usually the annual changes do not affect the entire leadership.

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Nov 2 2011 1:08 utc | 32

Morocco Bama,
Greece is to become the model for the new world order. Perpetual indentured servitude. So much debt you can never pay it off, you live like a pauper and can barely keep up on the interest payments. Holes up and down each arm, being bled as quickly as possible. Peak interest bloodflow.
But the beasts always hunger for more, after the Greeks are subdued they’ll turn to the next country and force them to prostrate themselves. Thank goodness Iceland is an out-of-the-way island that most people don’t pay attention to. Sovereign default is no longer tolerated.

Posted by: Cynthia | Nov 2 2011 14:36 utc | 34

It’s always good to have back-up when the Plebians get out of line. The EU was thinking ahead…..and now we’re there.
http://www.golemxiv.co.uk/2011/10/foreign-riot-police-now-operating-in-greece/

Did you know that the EU has its own riot police that can operate in any European country but is answerable directly to none of them? No I didn’t either.
They are called the European Gendarmerie Force (Eurogendfor) . They are based in Italy but funded and staffed by six signatory nations who are France, Italy, Holland, Spain, Portugal and Romania. However, according to the Treaty which established Eurogendfor they can operate in any EU country and are available to others who invite them to do so. The country which invites them in is refered to as the ‘Host’.
The Gendarmerie are specifically set up to deal with riots and civil unrest and as the treaty spells out they are to be….
….The force is 3000 strong based in Italy composed of two rapid deployment brigades. Since Greece is not a member of Eurogendfor few if any of its troops/officers(?) will speak Greek. Yet they may now be operating in Greece. I have checked with friends in Athens and they tell me it is true.

Well, at least it’s not Gladio, although I’m sure something similar is operating there, as well.

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Nov 2 2011 16:04 utc | 36

This one was good for a laugh:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K7Vp1L2TJQ8/TrEKDAgCMpI/AAAAAAAAAxw/Am2pYVoErUc/s1600/02_11_11-Steve-Bell-on-Gr-006.jpg

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Nov 2 2011 17:40 utc | 38

Papandreu is just a sleazy politician that tries to cover his ass when it’s already on fire by doubling a bet he already lost. The last thing that on his mind is what the Greeks want or what would be their best interest. To late on the game to even a passing chance of that being on his mind.
The best outcome out of this would be if the EU plays on his bluff and drops dead Greece immediately and there is a default by next week.

Posted by: ThePaper | Nov 2 2011 21:18 utc | 40

A very nice small film about Afghan people.
And a good analysis by M K Bhadrakumar on the Istanbul conference about Afghanistan. The U.S. again overreached and had its ass kicked: US’s post-2014 Afghan agenda falters

Posted by: b | Nov 3 2011 18:42 utc | 42

What a sweet, happy couple with such promising careers. Who says there are no jobs. Norman Rockwell couldn’t have painted a more “American” picture.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-03/cyber-macgyvers-trade-hacking-expertise-for-u-s-scholarships.html
Jordan Jueckstock and his wife Jessica applied to the University of Tulsa’s Cyber Corps Program after receiving an e-mail from a professor with the subject line “Do you want to be a MacGyver?”
References to the TV secret agent aside, the Jueckstocks got full scholarships and a stipend to attend the two-year master’s program, paid by the U.S. government. In return, the former software developers, both in their mid-20s, must work for a federal agency for at least two years after graduation.
The U.S. is beefing up its cybersecurity as more and more sensitive data — from medical records to power grids — go online, becoming vulnerable to attacks and viruses. By offering scholarships, the government aims to win the tug of war with private contractors, Silicon Valley and Wall Street for the small pool of qualified computer-security specialists. The recruitment strategy has been successfully applied to get more doctors and military officers into government service.
“If we can get these students to stay for two to five years, that’s a win,” Mischel Kwon, former director of the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team, said in a phone interview. She now runs the Cyber Defense Lab at George Washington University.
The government is proposing to increase the budget for its Scholarship for Service program by 67 percent to $25 million next year, according to the National Science Foundation, which administers the program. Since the program began in 2001, about 1,500 graduates have joined 140 federal agencies, including the National Security Agency, Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.
I would say that Jordan and his wife are now part of the 1%…….so we can bring some further clarity to that term.

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Nov 4 2011 12:50 utc | 44

IEEE Spectrum – 24 Hours at Fukushima – A blow-by-blow account of the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl

close study of the disaster’s first 24 hours, before the cascade of failures carried reactor 1 beyond any hope of salvation, reveals clear inflection points where minor differences would have prevented events from spiraling out of control. Some of these are astonishingly simple: If the emergency generators had been installed on upper floors rather than in basements, for example, the disaster would have stopped before it began. And if workers had been able to vent gases in reactor 1 sooner, the rest of the plant’s destruction might well have been averted.
The world’s three major nuclear accidents had very different causes, but they have one important thing in common: In each case, the company or government agency in charge withheld critical information from the public. And in the absence of information, the panicked public began to associate all nuclear power with horror and radiation nightmares. The owner of the Fukushima plant, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), has only made the situation worse by presenting the Japanese and global public with obfuscations instead of a clear-eyed accounting.

Posted by: b | Nov 6 2011 9:34 utc | 46

Is this thing on?

Posted by: Monolycus | Nov 8 2011 23:19 utc | 48

Hi Outraged, happy to see you back!
Trying to post, get a comment posted message/display, but no actual post ?
There is a little bug: If you post a comment with a link the spam software ask you to fill out a code. If the comment you want to post is long, that code request is under the comment and on a small screen not visible. Scroll down after you hit “post” and fill out the code field.

Posted by: b | Nov 10 2011 15:29 utc | 50