What Adam Curry is reading

Syria's Assad is 'delusional' says William Hague
  Link to Article
  Source: The Guardian World News
  Sun, 03 Mar 2013 14:21
  Link to video: Hague: Assad's UK accusations are 'delusional'Britain's foreign secretary, William Hague, labelled President Bashar al-Assad "delusional" on Sunday after the Syrian leader attacked the British government for its "shallow and immature rhetoric", which he said highlighted a "tradition of bullying and hegemony".
  In an interview with the Sunday Times, many of Assad's remarks were aimed at the British government, which has taken the lead in Europe in pushing for the easing of the ban on arming the rebels. Assad accused the UK of resuming a "bullying" colonial role.
  Hague responded by telling the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: "This will go down as one of the most delusional interviews that any national leader has given in modern times."
  In the interview, Assad qualified the offer of peace talks made last week in Moscow by his foreign minister, Walid Muallem, saying it was restricted to those opponents who laid down their weapons. He described all rebel forces in Syria as al-Qaida terrorists.
  "We are ready to negotiate with anyone, including militants who surrender their arms. We are not going to deal with terrorists who are determined to carry weapons, to terrorise people, to kill civilians, to attack public places or private enterprise and to destroy the country," Assad said. "Opposition groups should be loyal and patriotic to Syria.
  "The British government wants to send military aid to moderate groups in Syria, knowing all too well that such moderate groups do not exist in Syria; we all know that we are now fighting al-Qaida or Jabhat al-Nusra, which is an offshoot of al-Qaida, and other groups of people indoctrinated with extreme ideologies. This is beyond hypocritical," Assad said.
  Link to video: Assad: UK is 'famously unconstructive' towards SyriaFollowing warnings from Hague last week that he would not rule out supplying arms to the opposition, Assad attacked the British government for its "shallow and immature rhetoric", which he said highlighted a "tradition of bullying and hegemony".
  The idea of the UK helping broker a peace deal was like expecting "an arsonist to be a firefighter".
  "I am being frank," the president said. "How can we expect to ask Britain to play a role while it is determined to militarise the problem? How can you ask them to play a role in making the situation better and more stable, how can we expect them to make the violence less while they want to send military supplies to the terrorists and don't try to ease the dialogue between the Syrians."
  The interview followed a few weeks during which hopes rose that peace negotiations might be possible. The National Coalition leader, Moaz al-Khatib, said the rebels would be ready to enter talks with their earlier insistence that Assad step down first. But he said that more than 160,000 political prisoners should be released as a precondition.
  Opposition leaders have since become more confident that the western embargo on arms deliveries to their forces is about to collapse, pushing the balance in a stalemated conflict in their favour. In his remarks on Sunday, Hague repeated his belief the weapons ban was not sustainable if the bloodshed continued.
  "I don't rule out anything for the future. If this is going to go on for months, or years, and more tens of thousands of people are going to die, and countries like Iraq and Lebanon and Jordan are going to be destabilised, it is not something we can ignore," the foreign secretary said.
  "If ever we get into that situation [of supplying weapons to the opposition] the risks of arms falling into the wrong hands is one of the great constraints. And it is one of the reasons we don't do it now. But these things are a balance of risk. You can reach consensus eventually when humanitarian need is so great and the loss of life is so great that you have to do something new to save lives. That's why I don't rule it out in the future.
DHS built domestic surveillance tech into Predator drones
  Link to Article
  Source: Infowars » Featured Stories
  Sun, 03 Mar 2013 14:16
  Declan McCullaghCNetMarch 3, 2013
  FLASHBACK: Video: DHS-Funded Drone Spies On Private Gun Sale
  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has customized its Predator drones, originally built for overseas military operations, to carry out at-home surveillance tasks that have civil libertarians worried: identifying civilians carrying guns and tracking their cell phones, government documents show.
  The documents provide more details about the surveillance capabilities of the department's unmanned Predator B drones, which are primarily used to patrol the United States' northern and southern borders but have been pressed into service on behalf of a growing number of law enforcement agencies including the FBI, the Secret Service, the Texas Rangers, and local police.
  Homeland Security's specifications for its drones, built by San Diego-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, say they ''shall be capable of identifying a standing human being at night as likely armed or not,'' meaning carrying a shotgun or rifle. They also specify ''signals interception'' technology that can capture communications in the frequency ranges used by mobile phones, and ''direction finding'' technology that can identify the locations of mobile devices or two-way radios.
  The Electronic Privacy Information Center obtained a partially redacted copy of Homeland Security's requirements for its drone fleet through the Freedom of Information Act and published it this week. CNET unearthed an unredacted copy of the requirements that provides additional information about the aircraft's surveillance capabilities.
  Full article here
  This article was posted: Sunday, March 3, 2013 at 6:54 am
  Tags: domestic spying, drones
Home of Florida man devoured by sinkhole to be demolished
  Link to Article
  Sun, 03 Mar 2013 14:14
  When the ground gives way
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  STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  Jeff Bush is presumed dead after a sinkhole opened under his bedroom"It's really not possible to recover the body," a county official saysDemolition of the his family's house could take a few daysThe sinkhole is about 20 feet wide and 50 to 60 feet deepSeffner, Florida (CNN) -- Unable to rescue a man devoured by a giant sinkhole, workers will start demolishing his Florida home Sunday -- three days after the ground under his bedroom opened up and swallowed him whole.
  Authorities made the heartbreaking decision to stop the search for Jeff Bush after the odds of survival became abundantly clear.
  "We just have not been able to locate Mr. Bush, and so for that reason the rescue effort is being discontinued," Hillsborough County administrator Mike Merrill told reporters Saturday evening. "At this point, it's really not possible to recover the body."
  Earlier, authorities warned that the massive hole under Bush's bedroom -- about 20 feet wide and 50 to 60 feet deep -- was still expanding, and the suburban Tampa house could collapse at any time.
  The Bush family's nightmare began Thursday night, just as everyone was about to go to sleep.
  A deafening noise shattered the peace in the blue, one-story home in the suburb of Seffner.
  "I ran toward my brother's bedroom because I heard my brother scream," Jeremy Bush, Jeff Bush's brother, told CNN's "AC360."
  "Everything was gone. My brother's bed, my brother's dresser, my brother's TV. My brother was gone."
  Jeremy Bush frantically tried to rescue his brother by standing in the hole and shoveling away rubble until police arrived and pulled him out, saying the floor was still collapsing.
  "I couldn't get him out. I tried so hard. I tried everything I could," he said, weeping. "I could swear I heard him calling out."
  Sinkholes: Common, costly and sometimes deadly
  The terror of those moments can be heard in a recording of the 911 cal in the moments after the sinkhole opened up.
  "The house just fell through," a female voice says on the recording released by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
  "The bedroom floor just collapsed, and my brother-in-law is in there. He's underneath the house," she said.
  Jeremy Bush and four others, including a 2-year-old child, were uninjured.
  After officials called off the search for his brother Saturday, Jeremy Bush spoke to Bay News 9.
  "It's very hard. It's not just I lost my brother. They're so many memories in this house," he told the CNN affiliate. "I don't know what we're going to do."
  Nearby homes were evacuated Friday as a precaution.
  The sinkhole compromised a house next door to the Bush home, fire department spokesman Ronnie Rivera said. That home wasn't damaged as of Saturday morning, but the family that lives there was given about 30 minutes to grab belongings before abandoning the house, he said.
  Sinkholes are common in the state, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The state lies on bedrock made of limestone or other carbonate rock that can be eaten away by acidic groundwater, forming voids that collapse when the rock can no longer support the weight of what's above it.
  Hillsborough County, on Florida's west coast, is part of an area known as "sinkhole alley" that accounts for two-thirds of the sinkhole-related insurance claims in the state, according to a Florida state Senate Insurance and Banking Committee report.
  Though the risky search for Jeff Bush has ended, the danger has not.
  Merrill said the demolition of the Bush home could take a few days. He said workers were dealing with a "very unusual sinkhole" -- deep, wide and extremely unstable.
  John Zarrella reported from Seffner, Florida, and Holly Yan reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Dana Ford and Brian Carberry contributed to this report.
France's Hollande Invades Mali, Wins UNESCO Peace Prize.
  Link to Article
  Source: WT news feed
  Sun, 03 Mar 2013 14:00
  French President Fran§ois Hollande awarded UNESCO peace prize ... "After analyzing the global situation, it is Africa that held the attention of the Jury with the various threats affecting the continent," said the former President of Mozambique, Joaquim Chissano, who chaired the Jury of the F(C)lix Houphout-Boigny Peace Prize. "Having assessed the dangers and the repercussions of the situation on Africa, and on Mali in particular, as well as on the rest of the world, the Jury appreciated the solidarity shown by France to the peoples of Africa," Mr. Chissano said after the Jury's meeting in Paris. '' UN News Centre
  Dominant Social Theme: Give that man a prize! He deserves it.
  Free-Market Analysis: France is a second-rate world power and now its President Fran§ois Hollande has been given a second-rate peace prize.
  Barack Obama walked off with the big one as soon as he was elected. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. What exactly US President Obama did to deserve the prize is unclear. He's authorized the drone-killing of US citizens around the world without due process. He's talked about removing troops from Afghanistan. That remains to be seen.
  As for Hollande? He's promised to remove troops from Afghanistan, like Obama. But he's also proposed the establishment of a common German/French EU military headquarters and is a big proponent of increased EU powers. And the prize he received from UNESCO was for starting yet another war.
  As Wikipedia tells us, "On 11 January 2013, Hollande authorised the execution of Operation Serval, which aimed to curtail the activities of Islamic extremists in the north of Mali ... During his one-day visit to Bamako, Mali's capital, on February 2, 2013, he said that it was 'the most important day in [his] political life'."
  Currently, Hollande's gamble is said to have paid off. Al Qaeda in Northern Africa has been dealt a setback and pro-Western Mali officials have some time to recover from the unexpected onslaught. So perhaps Hollande IS a "peace hero" '' or is supposed to seem like one. Here's more from the UNESCO announcement.
  The award, created in 1989 by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), honours people, institutions and organizations that have contributed significantly to the promotion, research, preservation or maintenance of peace. It is named for the first president of C´te d'Ivoire.
  Northern Mali was occupied by radical Islamists after fighting broke out in January 2012 between Government forces and Tuareg rebels. The conflict uprooted hundreds of thousands of people and prompted the Malian Government to request assistance from France to stop the military advance of extremist groups.
  "The Jury condemns the violation of Mali's territorial integrity, the violation of human rights, the taking of hostages and the destruction of the cultural heritage of humanity in Timbuktu," Mr. Chissano said. "The Jury therefore decided to award the F(C)lix Houphout-Boigny Peace Prize to Mr. Fran§ois Hollande, President of the French Republic, for his great contribution to peace and stability in Africa."
  This really is the rankest kind of politics, however. We've reported on this blossoming Northern Africa war, and its fairly clear that it is yet another staged exercise in Western aggression. Just search for "Mali" and "Daily Bell."
  What actually happened was that Western powers, for whatever reason (we've explained that, too), destabilized Libya and stirred up tribes there loyal to now-dead chief Muammar Gaddafi. Top Western elites '' the ones who create these messes '' then apparently approached the Tuaregs and offered to give them their own country (a nation the migratory Tuaregs have long desired) if they would serve as a counterweight to the increasingly militant pro-Gaddafi tribes.
  Mali was the sacrificial lamb in all of this, as the new Tuareg nation was to be carved out of Mali with chunks perhaps elsewhere as well. Duly the Tuaregs were armed and various mercenaries infiltrated the area to fight alongside the Tuaregs.
  What the Tuareg leadership probably didn't understand was that it was being set up as well. The Tuaregs were willing to fight pro-Gaddafi forces, but after having begun this task, they were suddenly identified as being allied with "al Qaeda."
  This is how it always works when one does mercenary business with the West. One is identified as both friend and foe, as the top elites like to first introduce a war and then control it. The rank and file knows little of these machinations, but the very top people certainly do '' eventually anyway.
  This is France's second war in Africa in several years. The first we have written about at length '' the destabilization of the Ivory Coast on behalf, partially, of France's cocoa interests and the empowerment of Alassane Ouattara. His opponent, Laurent Gbagbo is on trial now in front of the International Criminal Court for the crime of trying to insist on his lawful election. You can see more here: Illegally Accused, Ivory Coast President Gbagbo Begins ICC Hearing.
  Hollande, who now lords over an increasingly aggressive and unjust France that has started two wars in about as many years, has just received a peace prize.
  Conclusion: Oh, the irony.
SpaceX's capsule arrives at ISS
  Link to Article
  Source: Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories
  Sun, 03 Mar 2013 13:58
  A privately-owned unmanned US space capsule arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday, bringing to the space outpost food, scientific materials and other crucial equipment.
  The capsule named Dragon was captured'--with the help of a robotic arm - by NASA Expedition 34 Commander Kevin Ford and Flight Engineer Tom Marshburn, 5:31 am EST (1031 GMT), when the ISS was over northern Ukraine, US space officials said.
  The craft, owned by SpaceX corporation, will now be inspected via cameras, brought to the Earth-facing port of the ISS's Harmony module and bolted into place by commands from mission control.
  The original plan was for Dragon to attach to the space station on Saturday and return to Earth on March 25, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula.
  But the capsule ran into troubles with its thrusters shortly after launching Friday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, triggering the delay.
  SpaceX engineers found that only one of the spacecraft's four thruster pods, which help maneuver the capsule in orbit, was working. The problems were later fixed.
  The delay, however, will not affect the capsule's splashdown, which remains planned for March 25, the US space agency said.
  Dragon is carrying 1,200 pounds (544 kilograms) of supplies on SpaceX's second resupply mission to the ISS.
  This is the third commercial mission by SpaceX'--Space Exploration Technologies'--to the orbiting space station under contract with NASA.
  In May 2012, SpaceX made history when Dragon became the first commercial spacecraft in history to successfully attach to the International Space Station.
  Previously only four governments'--the United States, Russia, Japan and the European Space Agency'--had achieved this challenging technical feat.
  SpaceX has now begun regular missions to the Space Station, completing its first official resupply mission in October 2012.
  NASA is relying on SpaceX and other commercial ventures to take over for its retired fleet of space shuttles, which last flew in July 2011.
  Before SpaceX's successful mission in October, NASA had been relying on Russian spacecraft'--but the Soyuz craft does not have room for cargo on the return flight.
  SpaceX says it has 50 launches planned'--both NASA missions and commercial flights'--totaling about $4 billion in contracts.
  So far, SpaceX has only sent unmanned flights into orbit, but the company aims to send a manned flight within the next three or four years. It is under a separate contract with NASA to refine the capsule so that it can carry a crew.
  NASA also has a $1.9 billion resupply contract for the station with Orbital Sciences Corporation, which will launch the first test flight of its Antares rocket from a base in Virginia in the coming weeks.
  The cargo for the 25-day mission includes equipment for 160 experiments to be conducted by the space station crew, which currently consists of two Americans, three Russians and a Canadian.
  (c) 2013 AFP
TERROR FACTORY: Inside The FBI's Manufactured War On Terrorism
  Link to Article
  Source: Uploads by MOXNEWSd0tC0M
  Sun, 03 Mar 2013 13:46
ANONYMOUS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING:
  Link to Article
  Sun, 03 Mar 2013 13:36
  AN AMERICAN ANON IN EXILE
  A while back I decided to interview @AnonyOps. We chat regularly. As a result, we quickly generated a huge stack of material.
  We worked together in a consultative process to trim back the content. The result is true to the nature of the conversation we've held over a number of months.
  This interview is the first time anyone has interviewed @AnonyOps about his decision to become Anonymous, his fear of persecution, the talent brain-drain and his decision to leave the U.S.
  @AnonyOps: I don't want talk about what country I'm in. Just that I've left. We can start the interview now if you want'...
  Asher Wolf: Can you tell me about your background, so people can imagine you behind the mask?
  @AnonyOps: I sit in my mother's basement and I write code all day. Well, all of that's true '-- except the part about my mother's basement.
  I'm not going to hand over identifying information.
  In my free time? I sit and stew about state powers and mass surveillance of innocent people, attempts at censorship and general tyranny. These things put gas in my tank.
  Asher Wolf: Tell me about becoming Anonymous?
  @AnonyOps: I had a set of common beliefs in line with others in Anonymous '' which, looking back is a bit funny to think about, mostly because we're not unanimous.
  Asher Wolf: Did you know what you were getting into when you took up with the Guy Fawkes mask of Anonymous?
  @AnonyOps: I was certainly filled with idealism and yes, I was naive.
  But, yeah, remembering back to December 2010 '' when I saw what happened to WikiLeaks (with the Mastercard, Visa and PayPal financial blockade) I was completely outraged. I wasn't very optimistic at the start. I had a vision of what I wanted to do, but I didn't know if I would have any impact at all. I thought '' I would probably just be seen as yet another idiot on Twitter.
  Asher Wolf: You thought you were powerless?
  @AnonyOps: Yes. But I was naive. A day or two after I joined Twitter, I live-tweeted a forum, the Personal Democracy Forum 2010.
  When I started watching it being streamed online, and seeing what topics they covered '' I knew I wanted to participate. So I tweeted, and after about a minute of tweeting at them, they mentioned me in their video feed
  That was an interesting moment for me. It's when I realized that this thing '' this mask of Anonymous '' could have power.
  Asher Wolf: How did the public respond?
  @AnonyOps There was lots of retweeting going on immediately. It felt as if a light switch had been flicked on. I felt I had a platform with which to speak, possibly for the first time in my life. I broke my first 100 followers on Twitter that day.
  [Note: @AnonyOps now has more than 200k followers]
  It was amazing. Such a dinky number of Twitter followers in retrospect, but to have it happen so quickly was interesting.
  Live-tweeting something being streamed live online is still my favorite Twitter experience. It's a rush. It was a bigger rush than some of the hacking I did as a teenager.
  And yes '' I see it as hacking '' hacking public dialog. Taking on the Anonymous character and costume was like hacking my way onto a panel discussion where I'd never have been invited to participate otherwise.
  When they announced to the entire room and online conference forum: ''Hey everyone! Anonymous is here!'' and they were talking about me.
  I thought ''Now what? I have their attention! Shit, better think of something smart to say next.''
  It drove home I really needed to have a message, a vision for what I wanted to do and say. I needed to hone and develop my purpose.
  Within just over a year of becoming an Anon, I was invited to speak at Transmediale (a huge a Berlin-based festival exploring art, culture and technology) as a panelist via Skype '' representing to some degree a face of Anonymous.
  Asher Wolf: Did you worry about ''not fitting in'' with the rest of Anonymous, when you jumped in and became part of the ''hive''?
  @AnonyOps: Yes, I worried at first. I wasn't sure I'd mesh well with the hive. I don't consider myself a typical Anon. After time, I stopped caring about giving a shit about being ''different'', and counted it a good trait.
  Asher Wolf: Does it ever feel like you're playing at being a superhero?
  @AnonyOps: That's exactly what it felt like '' and it still does occassionally. I think Anonymous caught people's eye. But I'm just a regular joe. Anyone can be an Anon. But doing it well'... takes work.
  Asher Wolf: Did you feel a sense of obligation, knowing the impact you can potentially have ?
  @AnonyOps: Do I feel a sense of obligation: of course. But I'm not particularly involved as an activist in ''meatspace.'' I just care. I do pay attention to politics and I'm careful about what information I put out online, as I know it influences other activists. Giving a shit is half the battle, if not more.
  Asher Wolf: Some political pundits have criticized Anonymous as anti-American at times?
  @AnonyOps: I'm sure there are some anti-American elements. But sometimes it seems difficult to discern between those who are anti-American '' and those who love America, but hate how the country is being run.
  Asher Wolf: Do you still have hope for the U.S.?
  @AnonyOps: Not necessarily hope for America as a concept, but hope '' and perhaps faith '' in the people. I don't really consider myself nationalistic, but I care about my country, its constitution. I don't hold the concept of country as more important than people or life itself. American exceptionalism is a curse upon the U.S.
  Asher Wolf: How do you react to claims by media and government representatives hyping the potential of cyber terrorism, cyber war and Anonymous.
  @AnonyOps: Cyber terrorism'... it's one of the things that made me think that perhaps the U.S. wasn't the place for me anymore. The US government is hungry for enemies, looking for any excuse to find that next danger to the public '' ''think of the children!!'' I don't want to be that enemy the U.S. administration is looking for. For fuck's sake '' I was trying to fix America, not become public enemy Number One.
  Asher Wolf: Did you fear the American government would prosecute you? That you would be jailed for hacking something or tweeting something?
  @AnonyOps: Coupled with all the evidence about the FBI knowing about plots to kill leaders of Occupy and the violence inflicted by militarized police against peaceful war veterans protesting as part of the Occupy Movement? I didn't think I'd be jailed for hacking anything, but for tweeting something, sure. I've seen it happen to friends. They were hit with amazingly flimsy ''conspiracy'' charges, or something they said triggered them to be raided '' free speech, my ass.
  Asher Wolf: Like Barrett Brown?
  @AnonyOps: Yes, like Barrett. Granted, some of the things he said in video were pretty stupid, but I don't believe he was planning on killing anyone. He's looking at potentially landing in prison for 100 years for saying dumb things.
  Asher Wolf: Anonymous has previously been described by a Fox News affiliate (as well as other commentators) as ''domestic terrorists.'' Did you ever, for a second, see yourself as a terrorist? And how did it feel to have media describe Anonymous, the movement you became one of many representatives by proxy, described as terrorists?
  @AnonyOps: To be personally considered a terrorist was, for me, is the height of idiocy.
  To love one's country and to want to see it live up to the things it says it holds dear '' just to be called a terrorist'....it's disheartening, eye-opening and really frustrating.
  Sometimes I wonder if news organizations are following in the steps of ''shock-jocks'' '' in that, I mean they're simply stating things to get a rise out of people. Or that they're just trolling us. Can they really be that stupid? It's hard to tell sometimes'...
  Asher Wolf: How did you react to knowing you were being portrayed that way?
  @AnonyOps: I just had to continue to fight on, knowing this sentiment isn't in the majority. Or at least hope it isn't. We have to fight harder against this stuff. Silence gives consent. You have to yell loudly at that kind of stupidity and not let journalists get away with it. Name and shame.
  Asher Wolf: Did you feel a need to take special action to keep yourself and your family out of harm's way since you began to publicly identify as Anonymous?
  @AnonyOps: You hide, hope your online anonymity efforts have worked or you get the hell out of the country '' which is what I did. I got the hell out.
  I've known for quite some time that this is where things would end up. Anonymous has left the building, as it were. The idea of leaving occupied my life for about a year.
  And being a refugee of sorts, it's not all roses. I gave up so much; my home, family and friends.
  But I've seen what my government does to outspoken people, to people who are ''too effective'' in their criticism.
  Just look at Julian Assange, Bradley Manning, Thomas Drake, John Kiriakou, Andrew Alan Escher Auernheimer, Jeremy Hammond, Barrett Brown'... people *are* being persecuted for trying to speak out against the regime.
  I had to leave.
  Asher Wolf: Did concern that you'd be charged with a crime relating to your involvement with Anonymous play into your decision to leave the U.S.?
  @AnonyOps: Yes '' mostly I feared they'd fake my involvement in something or try to entrap me, or hit me with some bullshit conspiracy charge.
  I left for some of the same reasons Aaron Swartz ''left.'' I'm sick to death of where the U.S. is going, about the impact it has on people's lives. But exile was my choice of escape instead. I don't have suicide in me and I didn't want to end up in a jail cell.
  But I'm so sick of dealing with the bullshit american ''justice'' system. Sick of seeing prosecutors throw the kitchen sink at people, hoping they'll plead out so as to avoid, you know, actually going to trial and proving someone guilty. That's not justice, it's railroading. Kitchen sink justice is why I left.
  I mean'... they could still trap me, I'm sure, if they were so inclined, and I'm sure they would if i ever got *so good* at liberating information from their death grips. Perhaps then they might see fit to draw a box and put me in it. So I chose exile, instead
  Asher Wolf: So this is essentially a form of political exile of sorts?
  @AnonyOps: Political exile is better than being a political prisoner. I see how that's worked out for others. Years in detention like Bradley Manning, Jeremy Hammond or holed up somewhere in Canada like Commander X.
  Asher Wolf: Where did you decide to go ?
  @AnonyOps: Just'... away. Probably better not to name where I went. Just, somewhere safer. I think the idea was planted when I saw others leaving. Glen Greenwald left, and other talent has quietly slipped away from the U.S. for quite some time now.
  There's a brain drain, of political dissidents '' America's punishment for screwing with civil liberties.
  With the NSA building massive domestic spying programs, I can't blame anyone for wanting to leave: America '' land of the surveilled, home of the logged.
  Asher Wolf: What do you miss most since you left the U.S. ?
  @AnonyOps: I miss'... being able to hang out with friends and family. And I miss the really expensive health care! (Just kidding!)
  Asher Wolf: Do you think you'll ever return to the U.S.?
  @AnonyOps: Yes, I'm sure I'll be coming back to the States. I just won't be coming back with any electronic equipment.
  But yeah, I've no illusions that I'm ''in hiding'' or out of view of the US government. However now if they want me, they have to expend quite a bit more resources to come get me, and have to deal with another government to do so.
  Asher Wolf: Did you feel regret over leaving?
  @AnonyOps: My only regret is leaving has become the choice that seems sanest right now. I regret'... I regret that leaving seems like the best option right now. But it seems safer in some ways.
  Of course'... if the US government deems me an ''enemy'' or ''enemy combatant'', they can easily drone-kill me now. I guess that's a new danger that didn't exist before. That's harder for them to do in the states, but they've done it abroad
  Asher Wolf: But you're still an American citizen'...?
  @AnonyOps: The US government doesn't seem to care about that pesky requirement. 16 year old Abdulrahman al-Awlaki was also a U.S. citizen when he was killed by U.S. drone bomb in Yemen.
  We need to stop thinking that there is one rule of law for some and another for us. Extrajudicial killing '' the US government is literally murdering people. There is no ''due process.''
  The U.S. has lost the concept of due process. In the U.S. intellectuals, technologists and activists are targeted for harassment at borders: their property is taken, they're put in ''holding'' for a long time. There are countless examples of Occupy protesters being singled out because of their involvement in the movement.
  But there are countries that have shown that bankers can, in fact, be put in jail and that presidents aren't immune to the scrutiny of the people, and will be held accountable. I want to live in places where justice isn't just lip-service.
  Asher Wolf: Do you worry about the message your decision to leave gives to other activists in the U.S.
  @AnonyOps: No, not at all. I mean'.... it may give them the message to leave as well '' but that doesn't bother me. Maybe it's a message activists need to hear and consider carefully at this point in U.S. history: from my perspective, it's time to either leave or hide.
Huawei Enterprise - Case Studies
  Link to Article
  Sun, 03 Mar 2013 13:30
  China-Kazakhstan Gas Pipeline Project
  OverviewThe China-Kazakhstan gas pipeline is the longest in the world. Starting from Turkmenistan, it runs across Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and reaches Khorgos in China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region. The entire pipeline is more than 2000 kilometers and stretches across vast deserts, plains, and mountains. The pipeline has substantially eased the energy shortage in the Central Asia countries it passes through, facilitating cooperation between the national economies of the countries involved, and plays an important strategic role in economic development of these countries. To build the world's longest and most advanced gas pipeline, the China-Kazakhstan gas pipeline project team had to overcome tremendous difficulties, such as the different complex terrains, harsh environments, poor infrastructure, and high security requirements. All of these posed big challenges to the construction. The customer required reliable communications network coverage alongside the pipeline and multiple access models to ensure access to the production network at any time or in any location. Only by achieving this, could prompt communications, efficient analysis, and immediate production data processing be realized. What made the construction more challenging were the high-level risks during pipeline transportation. The project team had especially high requirements for the security solution that must be able to detect and respond to any hazard immediately. This made an intelligent comprehensive security system an extremely necessary and important priority.
  SolutionHuawei provided an end-to-end IT-based solution that was specially developed for the China-Kazakhstan gas pipeline project. The solution integrated a number of systems, including optical transmission, telephone, video surveillance, wireless cluster communications, videoconferencing, shortwave wireless, and data network systems. It provided full communications coverage alongside the pipeline, ensured smooth communications for production activities, and achieved comprehensive security.
  Secure and reliable network infrastructure: A network infrastructure solution with an "optical network + microwave + satellite" architecture was provided. Backbone optical cables were routed alongside the pipeline to build an optical transmission network. Microwave transmission systems were deployed as a supplement to the optical transmission system at stations where optical cables could hardly be routed. A satellite communications system was also deployed as a backup link between key stations, such as the control center, metering stations, and compressor stations. In case the optical transmission is interrupted, important services like the SCADA and emergency phone services can be switched over to ensure continuous operations.Unified and converged communications for production activities: Integrated solutions like VoIP, radio trunking system, and high-definition videoconferencing solutions were provided. Routine office work is supported by the IP PBX voice system, videoconferencing system, and office collaboration software. A trunking communications system was provided to schedule production activities with lower latency, faster speed, and higher-quality voice calls.Comprehensive security: IVS systems and SCADA systems were deployed alongside the pipeline to learn about production data and any event happening alongside the pipeline in real time. Intrusion detection and access control systems were deployed at key stations to ensure alarm linkage with the IVS system and pipeline transportation security.
  Customer BenefitsHuawei helped deliver the China-Kazakhstan gas pipeline project, enabling the customer to control the pipeline operations end-to-end. A combination of multiple transmission methods ensures continuous communications network coverage and access to the network at any time and in any location.
  Zhong Fan, chief representative of the general manager of Asian Gas Pipeline (AGP) said, "In general, Huawei and its project team devoted great efforts to this project and made great contributions to its success."
Adding a startup script to be run at bootup | Ubuntu Blog
  Link to Article
  Sun, 03 Mar 2013 08:10
  Posted by Carthik in ubuntu.trackbackSo you have a script of your own that you want to run at bootup, each time you boot up. This will tell you how to do that.
  Write a script. put it in the /etc/init.d/ directory.Lets say you called it FOO. You then run
  % update-rc.d FOO defaults
  You also have to make the file you created, FOO, executable, using$chmod +x FOO
  You can check out% man update-rc.d for more information. It is a Debian utility to install scripts. The option ''defaults'' puts a link to start FOO in run levels 2, 3, 4 and 5. (and puts a link to stop FOO into 0, 1 and 6.)
  Also, to know which runlevel you are in, use the runlevel command.
  Like this:LikeLoading...
58 percent of adults blame games for teen violent tendencies by VR-Zone.com
  Link to Article
  Sun, 03 Mar 2013 06:17
  The debate, whether violent video games cause real world violence or not, is not new. There are strong voices on both sides of the table and many studies and statistical analyses to support both cases. For the public opinion, though, it seems the game industry is guilty. Or the public is very confused about the whole game/violence debate. At least, that's what this new poll indicates.
  The survey interviewed 2278 adult Americans and three in five of them blamed video games. On the other hand, 38 percent of the adults surveyed had no idea how to read the ESRB ratings and another 47 percent confessed they wouldn't trust the ESRB ratings to keep mature-rated games away from children. Which is understandable, since one third of the Americans interviewed paid no attention to what their kids play.
  The survey didn't aspire to prove or disprove the correlation between games and violence. What it did was to show the confusion and ignorance of the public about the whole matter. As Mike de Vere, president of Harris Poll, said: ''The findings underscore the lack of awareness Americans have about the video game rating system, as well as the confusion in the market. They also factor into a larger discussion playing out across our country and on a political stage around how violent games impact our youth'...''
  source: Venturebeat
Von der Dunk: 'Terwijl de wereld wankelt, maken wij gezellig een Nationaal Plakboek'
  Link to Article
  Source: VK: Home
  Sun, 03 Mar 2013 06:13
  Door: Thomas von der Dunk '' 03/03/13, 07:00
  (C) anp. 'Brei je eigen Maxima'
  columnTerwijl Europa dankzij Beppe en Berlusconi weer wankelt, de Amerikaanse overheid binnenkort op slot gaat, Noord-Korea de wereld tart en Syri uiteenspat, gaan wij in Nederland gezellig samen dingen doen. Thomas von der Dunk begrijpt dat het gewezen Haagse PVV-gemeenteraadslid zich van schrik bekeerde tot de islam. 'Salafisten houden tenminste niet van zingen.'
  Van de aandrang om voor een Nationaal Plakboek je eigen Maxima te breien, hebben ze in Talibankringen ook geen last
  En, weet U al wat U in elkaar gaat knutselen voor het Nationaal Plakboek? De NRC kwam vrijdag op de achterpagina met een eigen suggestie: brei je eigen Maxima. Initiatiefneemster Fiona Goble: 'Het breien van de koninklijke familie is leuk om te doen. Het gaat erom dat U plezier hebt om de poppen een persoonlijk karakter te geven.'
  De Oranjes en persoonlijk karakter - dat wordt nog een hele opgave: welke gebreide voorstelling moeten we ons daarbij maken van prinses Margriet? De bijeengebreide voorbeelden waarmee het NRC-stukje was ge¯llustreerd, lieten vooral een uiterst schaapachtig ogende koning zien. Maar met de aanstaande Queen Mum moet het lukken. Een Nationaal Lied maken om met z'n allen als afscheid aan Beatrix luidkeels mee te zingen is in elk geval niet meer nodig. Daar wordt al voor gezorgd, en daar is straks dankzij de allomtegenwoordige beeldschermen - Big Mother is watching you - geen ontkomen meer aan. De bijdrage van het Amsterdamse D66-deelraadslid Rick ten Have is ook al binnen: doop de Singel om in Koningsgracht. Mocht hij argumenten voor de overbodigheid van deelraden willen leveren, dan moet hij vooral zo doorgaan.
  Ik weet niet hoe het U verging, maar toen Hans Wijers - ooit het no-nonsense-uithangbord van een partij die zich erop laat voorstaan altijd de objectief juiste, rationele oplossing voor elk politiek probleem op zak te hebben - op tv stralend verkondigde wat zijn Nationaal Comit(C) Inhuldiging allemaal voor moois verzonnen had, dacht ik even dat hij kinds geworden was: 'We gaan dingen samen doen in dit land rondom deze festiviteiten!'
  Terwijl Europa dankzij Beppe en Berlusconi weer wankelt, de Amerikaanse overheid binnenkort op slot gaat, Noordkorea de wereld tart en Syri uiteenspat, gaan wij in Nederland gezellig samen dingen doen.
  Het resultaat daarvan zal straks aan WA en Maxima worden aangeboden, die daarbij dan hun meest uitgestreken feestelijke gezicht mogen trekken. Omdat er 30 april op de Dam geen rododendrons zijn om dan het Nationaal Plakboek achter te mieteren, wordt het allerliefste gefr¶bel straks miljoenenvoudig onder al onze landgenoten verspreid. BekerenIk kan mij dan ook heel goed voorstellen dat Wilders overweegt naar Australi te emigreren en het gewezen Haagse PVV-gemeenteraadslid Arnoud van Doorn zich van schrik bekeerd heeft tot de islam. Van dat samen dingen doen wil je immers zo ver mogelijk wegblijven, en de grootstmogelijke distantie tot de algehele nationale verkleutering bereik je momenteel door een hoogstpersoonlijke transformatie tot salafist. Die houden niet zo van zingen, en van de aandrang om voor een Nationaal Plakboek je eigen Maxima te breien hebben ze in Talibankringen ook geen last. Samen dingen doen: dat kunnen ze ginds natuurlijk ook best aardig. Alleen zijn dat heel andere dingen. Het kabinet is intussen in Den Haag hard met zijn eigen Nationaal Plakboek bezig. Beter laat dan nooit. Veel van wat Blok recent met de nieuwe Staphorster variant op Paars voor de huizenmarkt verzonnen heeft, gaat mij weliswaar rekenkundig boven de pet, maar anders dan de coalitie kon ik wel op 12 september al direct tot 75 tellen.
  Of Ruttes beroep op vaderlandsliefde nog helpt, is echter de vraag. Twee partijen willen in elk geval niet mee helpen plakken. De PVV-fractie heeft het buitenparlementaire protestbord op het Binnenhof ontdekt, en de SP gokt erop volgende keer eindelijk w¨l bij de stembus de PvdA te verslaan, waar het geloof in de Wederopstanding na De Hond onverwoestbaar is.
  Samson zal zich echter moeten afvragen, hoe vaak de Lazarustruc om over links de verkiezingen te winnen en dan over rechts te regeren herhaalbaar is, terwijl Roemer beter vast kan oefenen op de nare vragen die hij dan als premierskandidaat opnieuw voor zijn kiezen krijgt. Kleine suggestie: laat nooit je opmars naar de glorieuze overwinning filmen, dat gaat namelijk - zie de Woutertapes en de flop van het Nationaal Museum - altijd mis.
  Het regeeraccoordpapier blijkt inmiddels heel geduldig, dus dat zou zelfs de SP kansen kunnen bieden. De VVD doet inmiddels beloften van Griekse soliditeit: 2013 lukt ook niet meer, maar volgend jaar gaan we (C)cht, ja (C)cht, helemaal aan de Brusselse drieprocentsnorm voldoen.
  MuppetshowDe vaste gerontocraten op het balkon uit onze eigen nationale Muppetshow, Hans Wiegel en Bram Peper, doen inmiddels de oproep CDA en D66 in het kabinet op te nemen - welke zittende minister plaats zou moeten maken, vertelden ze er net niet bij - maar het CDA lijkt vooral vastbesloten om onverzoenbaar in de oppositie te herbronnen. Niets 'bestuurderspartij'. Haar reactie op alle verbazing daarover: 'Ze zijn kennelijk vergeten dat wij wel gewoon een politieke partij zijn.' Dat klopt. Maar dat ze dat vergeten waren, kwam omdat het CDA dat zelf ""k heel lang vergeten was. Alle coalitiehoop is daarom nu gevestigd op Pechtold, en dat ziet deze vast graag. Voorlopig reageert die echter tamelijk ijzig op alle jojopolitiek. Laat de coalitie er eerst voor zorgen dat het consumentenvertrouwen stijgt, dan doen wij misschien mee. Punt is, dat de hervormingen die D66 op de arbeidsmarkt voorstaat, dat vertrouwen juist zullen ondermijnen: wie morgen nog makkelijker zijn baan kan verliezen, zal vandaag nog meer sparen voor nog slechtere tijden. Dat hebben FNV en CNV goed gezien.
  Ook sprak Pechtold misprijzend van het uitdelen van cadeautjes aan de coalitie-achterban: dat moest maar eens afgelopen zijn. D66 mee laten doen, vergt echter evengoed cadeautjes, in de vorm van veel bestuurlijke onzin, waar niemand anders op zit te wachten. Omdat volgens de nieuwste Haagse efficintiecriteria Luxemburg niet levensvat¬baar kan zijn, doet het kabinet met Plasterks nieuwe plofprovincie overigens zelf al zijn best.
  Thomas von der Dunk is cultuurhistoricus en columnist voor Volkskrant.nl.