From The Mainichi
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/perspectives/news/20120402p2a00m0na002000c.html
In light of further nuclear risks, economic growth should not be priority
The government continues to take regressive steps in spite of the torrent of criticism it has received and the lessons that should have been learned since the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear disaster.
This is evidenced in the fact that starting this week, which marks the beginning of a new fiscal year, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) and the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan (NSC) have no budget. The new nuclear regulatory agency that was supposed to begin operations on April 1 in NISA’s stead is now floundering amid resistance in the Diet from opposition parties. In other words, government agencies overseeing nuclear power now have an even more diminished presence.
According to Japan’s general budget provisions, funds for a new government organization can be diverted to existing government organizations if the money is being used for its original purpose. The situation doesn’t do much for morale, however. Back-scratching relationships between government ministries, the indecision of both the ruling and opposition parties, and the unchanging fact that much of the current crisis is still left in the hands of plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) remains the same.
One of the biggest issues that we face is the possibility that the spent nuclear fuel pool of the No. 4 reactor at the stricken Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant will collapse. This is something that experts from both within and outside Japan have pointed out since the massive quake struck. TEPCO, meanwhile, says that the situation is under control. However, not only independent experts, but also sources within the government say that it’s a grave concern.
The storage pool in the No. 4 reactor building has a total of 1,535 fuel rods, or 460 tons of nuclear fuel, in it. The 7-story building itself has suffered great damage, with the storage pool barely intact on the building’s third and fourth floors. The roof has been blown away. If the storage pool breaks and runs dry, the nuclear fuel inside will overheat and explode, causing a massive amount of radioactive substances to spread over a wide area. Both the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and French nuclear energy company Areva have warned about this risk.
A report released in February by the Independent Investigation Commission on the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident stated that the storage pool of the plant’s No. 4 reactor has clearly been shown to be “the weakest link” in the parallel, chain-reaction crises of the nuclear disaster. The worse-case scenario drawn up by the government includes not only the collapse of the No. 4 reactor pool, but the disintegration of spent fuel rods from all the plant’s other reactors. If this were to happen, residents in the Tokyo metropolitan area would be forced to evacuate.
continues….
Evacuating Tokyo is far from the “worst case scenario”. The consequences of such a collapse, in the opinion of MANY international experts, would reach far beyond the confines of Japan. Even here, in the United States, the EPA, right on the heels of the Tsunami, raised the acceptable limits of radiation in our food and water, and took their monitor readings offline. Since, radiation levels and releases at Fukushima have WORSENED, not abated.
TEPCO is in charge of containing this disaster. They have told us that the reactors are in a state of “cold shutdown”, which is a bald faced and blatant lie. How long will it take for the international community to wake up and DEMAND that Japan invite and allow international assistance in managing and mitigating this unprecedented and dire global emergency?

Posted by: PissedOffAmerican | May 2 2012 14:43 utc | 3

– 4 days til French election and 20 or so days until the Egyptian election (which Amr Moussa is looking likely to win).
– On Yemen, a good article travelling into the areas of Yemen controlled by Al Qaida Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/30/alqaida-yemen-jihadis-sharia-law
– Rejoice All !!! Last night Obama flew into Afghanistan to bring his message of Hope and Change to the Afghan people ! “We broke the Taliban’s momentum” he announced in Kabul, a few hours later the victorious US embassy in Kabul was on “lockdown” after two explosions by the momentum-less Taliban.
Alternatively you can read GlobalPost’s report from Afghanistan, where Kapisa province, an hour drive from where Obama gave his speech, is on the verge of falling into Taliban hands and why Kapisa is so important.
Source: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/afghanistan/120501/obama-kabul-security-taliban-kapisa-province

Posted by: Colm O’ Toole | May 2 2012 16:23 utc | 5

Syria prepares for elections
BEIJING, May 1
For the first time in 40 years, seats in the Syrian parliament will be up for grabs by multiple parties in the country’s much-postponed elections, now scheduled for May the 7th.
Previously, only parties that belonged to the National Progressive Front were allowed to stand for election. More than 7,000 candidates from more than eight parties will be competing for 250 seats in parliament.
Streets in Syria are decked with candidates’ election campaign banners and posters, with most of the slogans emphasizing national unity, greater youth participation and peaceful change. Many Syrians believe the upcoming elections can bring vitality to the country and pave the way for reforms.
They also hope new parliamentarians will be more responsive to people’s needs. Others say they’ll go to the polls to show support for strengthening the country.

Syrian opposition stresses the importance of closing ranks
“We are the first opposition forces on ground that sought to unite the Syrian opposition,” said Ali Haidar, a member in the Popular Front for Change and Liberation (PFCL).
The Syrian opposition is known of its fractured nature, as the exiled opponents, who have assembled under the title Syrian National Council, have been calling since the first days of unrest last year for foreign military intervention to help toppling the 40-year-old ruling regime in Syria.
Meanwhile, Haidar made it clear that dialogue is the only way out to Syria’s 13-month unrest but said that it should be under the title of preserving the Syrian sovereignty as well as its stability and its strategic options.
Asked about unity opposition with the broad-based opposition, Jamil said “there would be no unity with the Syrian National Council had they persisted on calling for foreign intervention in Syria.”
“We have been always excluded by the Arab League because we don ‘t go along with its schemes and we call on that league to be evenhanded and impartial when dealing with the Syrian opposition.”

Syrian opposition trying to derail peace plan: Russian FM
MOSCOW, April 18 (Xinhua) — Russia accused the Syrian opposition Wednesday of trying to derail UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan.
“Recently, mass media reports have proved that the armed opposition is making attempts to organize provocations in order to wreck reconciliation,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying.
Lavrov said some people would like to see Annan’s plan fail in the hope of creating other scenarios, which implied primarily the use of force.
The Russian top diplomat said the leading opposition forces, including the Syrian National Council, had not officially agreed to Annan’s peace plan, which was accepted by the Damascus government.
Moscow was concerned over the ongoing attempts to privatize Annan’s plan and grant function to assess the fulfillment of the plan to self-created structures, such as the Friends of Syria group, Lavrov said.
The minister called on UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon not to delay submitting concrete proposals in the Security Council on parameters for the observer mission in Syria.
The five-member advance team of UN observers arrived in the Syrian capital overnight Sunday to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire. which was brokered by Annan and went into effect Thursday.
Their arrival came a day after the UN Security Council unanimously approved the observer mission. The advance team will be followed by other batches of observers and the total number of monitors may eventually reach 250.

Posted by: Alexander | May 2 2012 17:01 utc | 7

I think b, POA is right, it should be in the news, and it should be an international issue, as the Japanese are not able to handle it on their own …
the IAEA has stopped its Fukushima update log June last year – however the crisis is still ongoing and will go on for many years
http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsunamiupdate01.html
this is a German television film interviewing a Fukushima engineer and seismological experts
there are instructions how to get the English subtitles ..
http://real-economics.blogspot.de/2012/03/fukushima-is-still-big-problem.html

Posted by: somebody | May 2 2012 17:57 utc | 9

1) It’s an open thread. All (serious) topics should be included.
2) I’m interested in Fukushima and don’t have time to research sites into that and Middle Eastern politics. It’s good to have someone keeping an eye on other issues.
3) No one is forcing people to read every comment. If you think there is a comment that doesn’t interest you just skip it. Not like scrolling down is some huge undertaking.

Posted by: Colm O’ Toole | May 2 2012 19:24 utc | 11

What is really missing is some proper status report on what is actually going on with the 1 2 3 4 and even 5 & 6 reactors, the 1 2 3 4 5 6 used fuel pools, and the shared used fuel pool. Because, there isn’t any good verified info on what has happened with those. I mean, I can guess, but it’s not a very educated guess.
Reactors:
1 meltdown
2 meltdown
3 meltdown
4 not in operation?
5 stopped?
6 stopped?
Fuel pools:
1: blasted?
2: blasted?
3: blasted
4: Barely hanging on?
5: stable?
6: stable?
Shared pool: stable?

Posted by: Alexander | May 2 2012 19:35 utc | 13

War Under Table: Ex-Blackwater mercs in Syria ‘backed by US’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6NtwrkCkQKY
From RT

Posted by: Marmite | May 2 2012 19:58 utc | 15

American State Department spokeman Victoria Nuland said US does not take seriously a desicion by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to hold parliamentary elections in the country hit by flagrant violence.
“Security and logistical concerns notwithstanding, the
credibility of the vote has also been dented by the refusal of the main opposition forces to participate.”

Posted by: Alexander | May 2 2012 20:22 utc | 17

Well, there have been confirmations today that the Afghan media reported Obama’s imminent arrival hours before he did arrive yesterday. And the Taliban attack in Kabul this morning was apparently a hasty improvisation once they saw those reports. They seem to have launched their attack just a couple of hours after Obama departed.
That was close-run. As a result of the leak, the Taliban came very close to being able to attack Obama himself.

Posted by: lysias | May 2 2012 20:53 utc | 19

“Security and logistical concerns notwithstanding, the
credibility of the vote has also been dented by the refusal of the main opposition forces to participate.”
In Yemen, on the other hand, where the US candidate won 99% of the vote (there was no other candidate), Ms Nuland was ready to suggest that the election was a success and that there had been a transition to democracy.

Posted by: bevin | May 2 2012 21:37 utc | 21

This is b’s blog and I will honor his request even though I too an vitally interested in Fukushima. However b is our host and I am a guest. As long as I’m here at his pleasure I intend to respect his requests.
Actually, I don’t believe there is anything stopping someone from posting on the old Fukushima thread and that might be more appropriate than filling OTs with the subject. However, under the circumstances perhaps one should check with b when doing so.

Posted by: juannie | May 2 2012 21:58 utc | 23

juannie is of course absolutely right.

Posted by: Alexander | May 2 2012 22:00 utc | 25

In many ways the unusability of this once vibrant open thread is the logical endpoint of an ongoing process that concerns me greatly and since everyone else is happy to use this open thread to trumpet their concerns, illusions or delusions, I may as well do the same.
Albeit with a Did warning at commencement:
WARNING THE SUBJECT OF THIS THREAD IS BASED UPON A TALK JULIAN ASSANGE GAVE AT THE START OF THE YEAR. IF YOU BELIEVE ASSANGE/WIKILEAKS IS AN AGENT FOR USUKI READ NO FURTHER, THE ISSUE CANVASSED HERE IS IMPORTANT TO SOME OF US AND WE HAVE NO DESIRE TO GET INTO STUPID SLANGING MATCHES WITH PEEPS WHO CAN’T ADEQUATELY SELF MEDICATE.
Some may remember a press conference that Assange gave a few months ago where he informed those few of us who weren’t already aware, that IPhone, Blackberry, Gmail and Facebook accounts were being used as the unique identifier to enable individuals’ internet activity to be traced and attached to a specific identity.
I don’t use Iphone, blackberry or facebook but I have a huge range of gmail accounts along with associated google products such as docs, blogs, gps services etc which I use in my work as well as play.
Unlike many I have gone to considerable lengths to keep these separate, some of which I will detail here other which are nunya (not yer bizness).
This I hasten to add isn’t because I’m doing anything that could be the least bit of interest to law enforcement/security services, but because exercising muscles in good times, that may be needed in an emergency makes sense.
To spend money on the net, I only use those cash cards credit card operators sell. I live in a reasonably rural region where I can drive off in most directions and find stores selling these things which don’t have cctv. It’s kinda backward here – no armed robberies for many years. Having virtually untraceble money allows me to buy time on Virtual Private Network (VPN) servers altho most still require an email address – fine because even if the transaction provider doesn’t accept one of the many instant email providers, gmail used to be easy to sign up to via a wireless hotspot using a device that had fallen off the back of a truck.
Then the new ‘google account security measures’ came into play this year as Assange indicated, I have developed my own workaround but it is complex and nunya.
The worst of it is the impact this policy has on bloggers.
I dunno about others but in the last few weeks whenever I go into one of my many email accounts the inbox has at least one of these messages:

Hello, You are receiving this message because your email address is associated with an unmigrated legacy Blogger account. As we announced in April of last year, legacy accounts will no longer be accessible after May 30th, 2012 unless they are updated to the Google Account system. Any blog content associated with this account will also be unmodifiable after that date. To transfer your blog to the Google Account system you need to visit the Legacy Migration page at http://www.google.com/appserve/nunya right now to make sure that your account and associated blogs are claimed. If youâve forgotten the Blogger password that is associated with this email address, you can use our Account Recovery page at http://www.google.com/appserve/nunya to request password information to be sent via email. For more information, please see our initial announcement we posted to our blog athttp://www.google.com/appserve/nunya . If you have questions, please visit our Help Forum at http://www.google.com/appserve/nunyaand create a message with [Legacy Account] in the subject line. Regards, The Blogger Team Google 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 —- This e-mail is being sent to notify you of important changes to your Blogger account.

Post something controversial to a mainstream site that doesn’t already demand a facebook sign-in (eg Salon comments for the last 6 months or so), and if yer blog id has gmail at the basis of it, pretty soon you will get an “update security settings to make your mail/docs/maps more secure for you”. This message demands you provide a mobile phone number so they can txt you an identifier which you must then enter into your google account to prove you saw the txt.
Sure there are mways around this. Burners bought in cctv free stores – only start em up close to a cell tower far away from home, is one.
But the sheer cumbersomeness of these countermeasures make them impractical for many ordinary peeps. Exactly as they were designed to do.
The other thing is the sudden announced nature of some new protocols.
I haven’t updated my Skype software (which I barely use anyhow), pretty much since Facebook bought out Skype.
This year I have been roped into providing classes on aspects of consumer IT for battlers, that is those people who are unlikely to take advantage of the good parts of the internet because (i) they cannot afford it (ii) the whole computer thing scares them & (iii) they donn’t have a clue how to.
During a VoIP class a couple of the participants complained about the new Skype trick whereby it takes a picture of yer face as soon as it logs on, telling the user this is their new facial recognition technology which ensures no one but the account holder can use that skype account.
The picture is taken and sent back to the Skype server before the user has a chance to object. You cant get the pic back either. Any cameras around me are either disconnected until I need to use em or have several layers of gaffer tape on the lens & I’m sure many other MoA-ites use similar means to attempt control over our personal space.
but that is off track. I stayed away from MoA because I believed the security here was needlessly intrusive & came back after deciding that this was prolly a typepad decision not a b one.
Nevertheless I have noticed that when I connect via a vpn my post will not ‘take’ unless I am using a machine which has certificates issued to a valid gmail address (or hotmail n prolly facebook/blackberry would work too). That is almost certainly a typepad security function.
I have mentioned the ‘validation’ certificates issued by the handful of recognised certificate authorities (CA) before.
These certificates are meant to ensure that computers at each end of a network link are exactly who they claim to be. they also form the basis for the Transport Layer Security (TLS) that seeds the encryption keys in HTTPS – used to guarantee peeps’ logins and financial transactions etc cant be read by others.
We are lucky we don’t have to log in to MoA an almost unique feature for blogs nowadays, but it is important to recognise that the assholes have developed alternate means of achieving the goal of enforced logons without actually having us logon.
Their process is not foolproof but once again work arounds are cumbersome, and once again this is most likely a function of typepad something totally outside of b’s control.
Aside from the incredible amount of work that rebuilding the blog using some other app would demand, it is highly likely that all the others have just as bad, prolly worse ways of keeping track of ‘loudmouths’ – should they want to – I doubt any echelon operator has ever bothered to scan their eyeballs across any of my lumpen prose – or anyone else who posts here. These are ‘just in case’ surveillances.
We do however have to accept that a decreasing number of easily accessible blogs combined with an increase in repression in most societies, does mean MoA is gonna cop more posts that many of us consider disruptive because the poster’s self obsession has induced a carelessnes vis a vis considering the concerns of teh other members of this community.
Yet time and time again peeps allow themselves a free pass to indulge in fucking tiresome extended interactions with dingbats. Why?

Posted by: Debs is dead | May 3 2012 1:14 utc | 27

Hmmmm. Changed my mind.
Shove it.
Adios

Posted by: PissedOffAmerican | May 3 2012 1:31 utc | 29

slighty related to Deb’s post
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-04/27/how-deep-packet-inspection-works
“The phrase “deep packet inspection” has been cropping up quite a bit, of late, particularly with regard to the UK government’s proposed web surveillance plans. But what is it, how does it work, and why should you worry about it?
In a nutshell, deep packet inspection is a type of data processing that looks in detail at the contents of the data being sent, and re-routes it accordingly. It can be used for perfectly innocuous reasons, like making sure that a feed of data is supplying content in the right format, or is free of viruses. Or it can be used for more nefarious motives, like eavesdropping and censorship. Between those two extremes is a grey area of datamining and privacy violation, and it’s these aspects that are raising hackles in some parts of the web.”

Posted by: Marmite | May 3 2012 2:14 utc | 31

@29&28
You know you could just have taken juannie’s advice and posted in the Fukushima threads. Even if he eventually decided that he did not want you to do that either, I doubt b would have come down too hard on you.
Maybe not as satisfying as posting ‘shove it’ but it definitely would have been a more mature reaction to what was at the end of the day a perfectly polite and reasonable request.
The “Start your own blog” comment was not even aimed at you, so I’m sorry that you thought it was – all it was was a (possible ill-phrased/ill-concieved?) attempt at a little levity. I merely took Colm O’Toole’s point above where he said “3) No one is forcing people to read every comment. If you think there is a comment that doesn’t interest you just skip it. Not like scrolling down is some huge undertaking. ” and changed a few words.
(Maybe I should have inserted a little smiley?)

Posted by: Marmite | May 3 2012 2:35 utc | 33

Drones: The Nightmare Scenario – http://www.aclu.org/blog/technology-and-liberty-national-security/drones-nightmare-scenario
“In our drones report, we discuss the coming onslaught of domestic drones and the weak state of the privacy laws that should protect us, and we outline our recommendations for protections that Congress and local governments should put in place.
But if nothing is done, how might things go? Let’s take a look at how police drone use could unfold: . . . ”

Posted by: Marmite | May 3 2012 3:04 utc | 35

@ Dr Wellington & Marmite. Thanks blokes. I don’t spend time on the cypherpunk type sites anymore because I lack the time to sort the wheat from the chaff and we don’t see any useful information about maintaining anonymity on the web anywhere much any longer. We may as well keep ourselves up to date here by letting each other know of the actual issues we have faced on the net & attempt to get to the bottom of em.
It really concerns me that so much of the important communications between humans occurs on Facebook an app which was developed by way of US intelligence funding via Peter Thiele.
The deep packet inspection techniques have been around for a while and when you consider the Layered networking construct and the changes made to network protocols with the shift to IPv6 eg the large increase in packet header space, it rather makes one wonder if some of the extra room hasn’t been set aside for some type of security tagging.
I haven’t had occasion to work much with IPv6. Where I live many internal switches are still IP4 and it is only when new installs or major upgrades that the full changeover occurs.
It is difficult to even talk about this stuff without sounding like a member of the tinfoil hat brigade, a circumstance that is typical of sockpuppets of the elites exploiting the herd mentality of some humans.
It is impossible to prevent what I call ‘free speech space’ on the net from diminishing further, not enough humans care sufficiently about that; so now we are stuck with hangin on to what is left and making it function as best as possible in an environment that isn’t particularly conducive to freely spoken thoughts.
It sucks when people decide to opt out rather than show just an iota of interest in the wishes of others, but I hate it more when entire threads of 150+ messages get skipped because readers don’t have time to sort through the 120 pieces of what they consider to be shit to find the 30 pieces of what they want to consider.

Posted by: Debs is dead | May 3 2012 3:12 utc | 37

Some very basic Anonimity Advice for complete beginners : At the very least you should never remain logged into sites such as FB, GMail etc if you wish to leave some sort of anonymous comment anywhere on the web – ALWAYS delete ALL cookies history etc before logging into sites such as FB or GMAIL –
ALSO delete all cookies and history AFTER logging out of such websites – restarting your router to obtain a new IP-address before and after using those sites is also a good idea.
Personally I use a different seperate Web Browser to my main browser for logging into websites such as FB and GMAIL – eg: I use Firefox mainly, then swith to Opera for FB and GMail – but I always obtain a new IP before and after.

Posted by: Marmite | May 3 2012 3:49 utc | 39

@Marmite #43:
Yes, that article on Barr is a MUST-READ – shows how the ‘security establishment’ is often just a bunch of Keystone Kops. I laughed, I cried, I damn near peed my pants!

Posted by: Dr. Wellington Yueh | May 3 2012 4:18 utc | 41

One small cavil regarding Debs post @27

The other thing is the sudden announced nature of some new protocols.
I haven’t updated my Skype software (which I barely use anyhow), pretty much since Facebook bought out Skype.

Presumably “Facebook” should be replaced by either e-Bay or
Microsoft.
Skype was purchased by E-Bay in 2005, with the hope of adding support to its auctions and its PayPal subsidiary.
On September 1, 2009 E-Bay announced that it was selling 65% of Skype to a group led by Silver Lake Partners, a Cupertino private equity outfit. As part of the that $2.75 billion deal, the buyers agreed to pay $1.9 billion in cash, which includes a loan from E-Bay of $125 million, so E-Bay took a loss.
In May of 2011 Microsoft bought Skype, apparently partly in order to head off possible acquisition by Google or Facebook.
For more detail, one can check, for example here, or the above link.
I confess that I have, of late, become a frequent user of Skype (Linux version),
although I would be glad to use other VOIP clients if I could convince my interlocutors to do so.

Posted by: Hannah K. O’Luthon | May 3 2012 9:47 utc | 43

I was wrong. Both of the following threads (the first and the last on Fukushima) are closed to further comments so even if b would consent to posts on an appropriate thread, there are none that are open to comments.
b’s original post on Fukushima was dated March 12, 2011. The last update was:June 18, 2011
B, the potential for a major global (well at least N. Hemisphere) catastrophe at Fukushima if #4 cooling pool collapses, creates for me, and I believe others, a need to keep advised. Would you consider starting a continuing thread for this purpose. That way anyone who was not interested could immediately bypass it but those who are concerned could continue to offer comments and links to pertinent information as it becomes available.
POA, I hope you reconsider.

Posted by: juannie | May 3 2012 11:41 utc | 45

@Hannah #42

I would also be very surprised if our redoutable host b didn’t have files dedicated to him in the archives of several intelligence agencies

there should be a race to track him down, enter his house, then offer him a blank cheque and beg him to work for them

Posted by: claudio | May 3 2012 12:29 utc | 47

In Syria as part of the comprehensive reforms to political institutions last year, a new law was enacted for establishing political parties. By the time of the start of the campaign for the 7 May 2012 parliamentary elections in Syria, nine new political parties had been established under the new law. It looks today that none of those parties will win any seats in the parliament. The population is very much in the mood to vote for the Baath Party, vote for National Unity, and vote against factionalism. The new parties weren’t able to attract any interest from the Syrian public on policies’ issues. Most of the public doesn’t even know the mere names of any of the new parties, much less what the parties’ political policies are. Thus the Baath Party and the governing Establishment is having a smooth, no-sweat transition to full-fledged democracy. (Of course that’s not counting the more-or-less peaceful street protests and the armed rebellion, neither of which have broad popular support. They do not pose a challenge to the government on the democratic power front). Here are the names of the nine new parties: The Solidarity Party, The Syrian Democratic Party, The People’s (Al-Ansar) Party, The Democratic Vanguard Party, The Democratic Arab Solidarity Party, The National Development Party, The Syrian National Youth Party, The National Youth for Justice and Development Party, and the Syrian Homeland Party.
A summary of Syria’s new Parties Law in English: http://www.sana.sy/eng/361/2011/08/04/362192.htm
A summary of Syria’s new Elections Law in English: http://www.sana.sy/eng/361/2011/08/04/362216.htm
A summary of Syria’s new Political Info Media Law in English: http://www.sana.sy/eng/361/2011/08/29/366490.htm

Posted by: Parviziyi | May 3 2012 12:58 utc | 49

thomas, a link would have been enough: no news, only another example of growing concern over Fukushima; it’s now your turn, after PoA?

Posted by: claudio | May 3 2012 15:39 utc | 51

secrecy news blog: Admin Presses for Renewal of FISA Surveillance Authority

The Obama Administration is urging Congress to renew provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act that are set to expire at the end of this year.
“Reauthorizing this authority is the top legislative priority of the Intelligence Community,” wrote Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Attorney General Eric Holder in a February 8 letter [pdf] to Congress.
One of the key provisions, they explained, would permit the electronic surveillance of entire categories of non-U.S. persons who are located abroad “without the need for a court order for each individual target.”
Under this provision, “instead of issuing individual court orders, the FISC [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court] approves annual certifications submitted by the Attorney General and the DNI that identify categories of foreign intelligence targets.”
…

Posted by: b real | May 3 2012 17:36 utc | 53

There are some subjects that the Western news media handle well. The results of soccer games is one example.
I am interested in Syria. One of my motives for taking an interest in Syria is that the Western media is hugely misinformed and misinforming, and biased and bigoted on Syria, and I find it interesting to observe their disconnect with the reality. Thomas at #52 above says he finds the disconnect “rather boring”. That’s fine and perfectly respectable, Thomas. But I don’t find it boring myself, okay?
Syrian State TV produces a daily TV News program in English language, the content of which is a shorter version of what’s broadcast nationwide in Arabic on the Syrian State TV news. Today’s edition, 8 minutes long, is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhEYCFLZ3EI . One of the reasons why this sort of stuff is interesting to me is that the Syrians in Syria consume this stuff, and therefore when I consume it I’m getting to know what the Syrian population is consuming newswise, which is an important part of the Syrian political reality.
As I already said on this board a few weeks ago, in any country around the world, you’re not in touch with the mainstream political community in that country if you’re not regularly consuming news from the country’s mainstream broadcasters including especially the State-owned broadcaster, and the same is true in Syria. The great majority of Syrians get the great majority of their political news and information about their country from information outlets that are based in their country. By my consuming the Syria-based news media, and without seeing any public opinion polls, it is clear to me that the mainstream political community supports the institutional reform program led by the government and opposes the rebellion.

Posted by: Parviziyi | May 3 2012 19:14 utc | 55

Here are 2 more goodies I’ve read this week:
Beyond Zero Emissions: What’s Wrong with Big Green Tech (The Automatic Earth)
As usual, TAE’s message is “DECENTRALIZE!” This is a very powerful article, and stirred up some stuff I’ve been thinking about on-and-off for several years now. I’ve read (long ago, forget where) about an interesting alternate framework for governance and societal organization that might be useful in the context we seem to be entering: a loose confederation of ‘city states’ (village states? ranch/farm states?) that would not have a strong federal government. There is a huge storm of thought swirling around in my head about this topic, and I’ve been trying over the years to organize it into an essay, but it’s a slippery thing to grasp. However, I keep encountering some key questions, like “How many people are required to support certain kinds of industry?” and “How many people are required to support a space program?” and “What is the threshhold for ‘ungovernability’? How many people can you have in a state before you can no longer keep a cohesive ‘critical mass’ to pursue a worthwile project like a space program?”
Dept. of Energy extracts hydrocarbons from sea, sequesters CO2 in Davy Jones’ locker (Ars Technica)
Win-Win, right? Except that this was a scientific test project conducted under strict control. Do we dare let BP try this? IIRC, it doesn’t take a very big rise in temparature to cause the methane hydrate to boil.
Lastly, “Open Thread” is just that. But I do think the focus of this blog is not really industrial accidents etc. Fukushima does deserve mention here, and should be kept visible because it will have an impact on many issues we discuss. And, if a drunkard starts assaulting other patrons, the bouncer ejects him from the establishment…I have no problem with that!

Posted by: Dr. Wellington Yueh | May 3 2012 20:13 utc | 57

Parviziyi 49
US regime and its axis wants ‘democracy’ in syria..aka political parties it can manipulate…BUT the US in Iraq does not want democracy, as it forbade the Baathists from running in elections (how is this different from states that forbit=d political parties?)..US likes to control other states and finds ‘democracy’ a good way to do this…dissidents are also useful means to achieve this end.

Posted by: brian | May 3 2012 22:01 utc | 59

Jeez, flash! How many Luddites out there without an iPad?
Dying for an iPad? – http://development.thinkaboutit.eu/think3/post/dying_for_a_/
Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Conflict-coltan-cited-in-DRC-genocide-3344769.php

Posted by: Marmite | May 3 2012 23:00 utc | 61

It would be extremely hypocritical to claim that other devices are any less exploitative about their manufacturing practices than apple. It would be difficult to imagine a production process more exploitative than Apple sure, but it may exist.
One thing is for sure though all mobile devices use the rare earth oxides that are stolen from the Congo and in that sense all contribute to the murder rape mutilation and other egregious depredations which the people of the congo, the rightful owners of those resources, are subjected to.
So I’m not gonna sit here & claim I don’t use Apple devices because they use coltan or are manufactured in factories reminiscent of the worst of the nazi slave labour camps of central europe six decades ago.
I have other valid reasons for not buying apple. NB these are my decisions arrived at by applying my subjective values template to the purchasing decision. I don’t expect anyone else to necessarily agree with this, much less conform to it.
The first part was easy. I don’t buy amerikan, unless the purchase is essential and the product or its equivalent cannot be obtained elsewhere sourced from an economic environment that is more destructive and/or hostile to the things I value. In a nutshell that means I don’t buy amerikan, altho on occasion I will purloin amerikan sourced goods, especially when it is clear that there will be no insurance adjustment which would enrich the machine that steals pillages rapes and murders with impunity.
Regard this as being as hypocritical or selective as you choose to but I cannot use or enjoy something when I get flashes of the misery I have enabled by economically advantaging the empire.
In the case of Apple my hostility towards their products went even further after they began their nuisance lawsuits against Samsung for making the 10.1 Tablet.
Especially when just before xmas samsung tablets were being sold here at a much reduced price because Apple had successfully delayed Samsung’s entry into the neighbouring Australian market until the last week before xmas. My autistic son enjoys new technology so I grabbed a couple of samsung tablets and a galaxy s2 phone at a really good deal, for our part in the annual consumerist indulgence.
I know that in doing so I have contributed towards the continued horrors that people of the Congo face and do what I can to discourage people from needlessly buying mobiles every 12 to 18 months (I bought the galaxy because the monopoly telco here has moved from cdma to gsm and my existing cellphone (an ancient ericsson ga628 will be obsolete by the end of june 2012 [saddening it was so old it had become ‘cool’ again in the last coupla years lol])
my tablet is an important part of what I do to feed the two of us. I acknowledge none of that lets me off the hook. One of the most ignominious things about living in our current consumerist society is that there is no way I have found to exist that doesn’t make one at least partially complicit in the horrors.
That is the real issue here – that we all think about what we buy and try to reflect our core values in our purchases.
obviously amerikans will have a different take on the buy amerikan thing than humans who don’t live in amerika
The apple brand has a lot of power for some peeps who believe it is the epitome of amerikan endeavour, that it is at the nexus between form and function and I see no purpose in debating that issue, even though I couldn’t disagree more.
Why not? because not only is such a debate purposeless since these types of opinion are rarely if ever changed by people contradicting each other, imo such ‘debates’ are destructive & play into the hands of the elites, who love it when the 99% are too busy arguing over something they have no power to influence, to unite and set about acquiring the power to force change.

Posted by: Debs is dead | May 4 2012 1:46 utc | 63

Weetabix, which lays claim to being Britain’s No. 1 breakfast cereal for under-5s and is made from wheat grown within 50 miles (80 km) of its base in southern England.
This is only a ownership deal, no mention of production being moved. And definitely not change of recipe.

Posted by: Alexander | May 4 2012 11:32 utc | 65

@65, not yet, but give it ten to fifteen years and we’ll see. i wouldn’t suggest anyone buy and foodstuffs that are of chinese origin until china changes its ways.

Posted by: wenis | May 4 2012 12:33 utc | 67

@68, the difference being of course that in your scenario the consumer has full knowledge and choice. not so when it comes to chinese melamine. the chinese manufacturers sneak it in there. they don’t label it as an ingredient, and a proper choice cannot be made by the consumer if the consumer doesn’t have all the facts. however, somewhat to your point, brain dead consumers or purposefully ignorant consumers can be trained by adroit marketers to consume just about anything, chinese melamine infused products included. people still smoke despite the fact it’s a certain agonizing death sentence. lord only knows what the chinese are putting in their cigarettes, and a greater number of chinese are taking up smoking. not enough to depopulate, unfortunately.

Posted by: wenis | May 4 2012 16:33 utc | 69

china does none of those things
Such binary thinking: X is bad, therefore Y is good.
The last time Vietnam was invaded, it wasn’t by the USA or the UK; Giap’s army made fools of the incompetent invaders.
And fwiw, thalidomide was a German invention. The USA wisely never approved the drug.
(OOhh, binary thinkers must have such a headache over that..)

Posted by: nobodee | May 4 2012 22:07 utc | 71

@70, slothrop,
Many Uighurs would agree with your comment. The binary-brained would, perhaps, call that racism… by the Uighurs against the Hans?

Posted by: nobodee | May 4 2012 23:08 utc | 73

The latest piece on the Israeli leaders at Counterpunch, saying what I’ve been thinking for a long time, that Netanyahu is mentally unstable.

Dagan’s and Diskin’s assertion that Netanyahu and Barak are not rational (and perhaps not quite mentally balanced) this means that our national security depends entirely on a group of irrational and stupid leaders – and that this has been the case for years.
—
Ben-Zion Netanyahu was an extreme rightist, obsessed by the idea that Jews might be exterminated at any moment, and therefore cannot trust any Goy.
—
When Binyamin now speaks endlessly about the coming Second Holocaust and his historical role in preventing it, this need not be just a ploy to divert attention from the Palestinian issue or to safeguard his political survival. He may – frightening thought!!! – actually believe it.
The picture that emerges is exactly that painted by Yuval Diskin: a Holocaust-obsessed fantasist, out of contact with reality, distrusting all Goyim, trying to follow in the footsteps of a rigid and extremist father – altogether a dangerous person to lead a nation in a real crisis.
Yet this is the man who, according to all opinion polls, is going to win the upcoming elections, just four months from now.

Posted by: Alexander | May 6 2012 13:53 utc | 75

I haven’t spent much time on this thread but have now skimmed it from top to bottom. I’d like to thank Debs, Marmite and HKO for their timely comments on computer/privacy/security issues.
Whilst not wishing to diminish the importance or relevance of the warnings, I think it’s only fair to remind people that it is IMPOSSIBLE to intelligently analyse, assess and act upon, the mountains of data “echelon” and its variants and imitators collect each day.
As for how fearful we should allow ourselves to become about making comments on the www, I continue to believe that just about anything one sincerely believes is OK unless it involves an unambiguous and overt threat of violence to either clearly identified property or a clearly identified individual…
i.e. the kind of thing we would expect most bloggers to delete without notice.
One of the problems the powers-that-be would be faced with if they decided to take punitive action against a commenter to ‘make an example’ of him/her is the troll factor.
No Big Brother-type system aimed at collecting and nit-picking everything that people say to each other, everywhere, has a snow-flake’s chance in Hell of becoming anything more than a minor nuisance – ever.
Like most brainless right-wing plots its just another way to waste shiploads of Govt funds on Pointless ‘Privatised’ Projects.
No offense intended to anyone here.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | May 6 2012 20:48 utc | 77

I don’t agree that any of that is particularly scary, claudio.
I think it’s more about TRYING to scare as many people as possible, as cheaply as possible.
Accumulating data is cheap. Acting on it isn’t. If they act on too much (or any) it will erode profits even if there’s a ‘reward for convictions’ clause.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | May 6 2012 22:42 utc | 79

my guess would be that, aside from the monitoring of any specific target already under surveillance, the main threat is that usage of moa gets added to the vast river of data tapped into for use in predictive modeling of behavior and lifestyle.

Posted by: b real | May 6 2012 23:20 utc | 81

Re: annie | May 6, 2012 6:52:50 PM @ 80.
According to news reports in Oz there were 6000 pages/more than 1000 letters. After 12 months they’ve found 17 worth releasing – which sounds a bit Country & Western (aka Slim Pickin’s) to me.
Googling bin Laden letters throws up quite a few news articles written by people who are at least mildly skeptical about the schitzoid claims that ObL was a has-been but the letters were a good catch. I haven’t found any articles which remind us that al-CIA-duh and ObL were creations of the CIA’s Afghan policy during the Russian occupation.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | May 7 2012 3:15 utc | 83

horsew #83 I haven’t found any articles which remind us that al-CIA-duh and ObL were creations of the CIA’s Afghan policy during the Russian occupation
😉 really? well then it could not ever be.
i am having fun following the trails of marmites (barr) #40 article. just fun.

[03:28] We must resist, not as a last act of desperation, but as a first act of creation. We will raise public awareness with DDoS attacks like we have successfully done in the past. Comparable to a sit-in, DDoS protesters disrupt business or government actions by obstructing the flow of normal traffic, in order to make a political point. Anonymous will fight against censorship and oppression. The truth is too important. To Quote Bradley Manning: “I

Posted by: annie | May 7 2012 4:45 utc | 85

Yep. The Internet Kill Switch article is enlightening.
Btw, b, if you/others think my rant about fear of commenting, or anything else I’ve said on the topic, undermines valid concerns about data security, please feel free to delete it/them.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | May 7 2012 15:55 utc | 87

This could mean nothing at all but I prefer to see it as a kind of sneak preview of the sorts of things which will inspire events leading to a US foreign policy backflip in the near future.
Russian Opposition Caught Filing into US Embassy in Moscow
http://landdestroyer.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/unbelievable-russian-oppositions-confab.html
If the Yankees don’t privately shove their regime change daydreams for Russia ‘where the sun doesn’t shine’ Vlad will be delighted to do it for them, publicly. He can be such an asshole when he needs to be.
They should have kissed and made up with the temporary olive branch, Medvedev, while they had the chance. The Yankees are in a potentially awkward position re using a Russian-ish air base since they provoked Pakistan into closing their AfPak land route.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | May 7 2012 17:43 utc | 89