No Agenda Episode 590 - "Jelly Side Up"

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No Agenda Episode 590 - "Jelly Side Up"
  No Agenda Episode 590 - "Jelly Side Up"
    Jelly Side Up
    Direct [link] to the mp3 file
    ShowNotes Archive of links and Assets (clips etc) 590.noagendanotes.com
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  Cover Art
    Art By:Sir Nussbaum
    See All The Art in the Generator
  Credits
    Jelly Side Up
    Special Executive Producer: Sir John Harrison
    Executive Producers:Sir John Harrison, James Von Achen, Sir Andrew Harms
    Associate Executive Producers: Jim Lavin, Sir Chris Wolf, Thomas Claassen, Dominic Adamson
    Become a member of the 591 Club, support the show here
    Knighthoods: Sir Andrew Harms --> Baronette
    Art By:Sir Nussbaum
    ShowNotes Archive of links and Assets (clips etc) 590.noagendanotes.com
    Sign Up for the newsletter
    New: Directory Archive of Shownotes (includes all audio and video assets used) nashownotes.com
    The No Agenda News Network- noagendanewsnetwork.com
    RSS Podcast Feed
    Get the No Agenda News App for your iPhone and iPad
    Get the NoAgendaDroid app for your Android Phone
    Torrents of each episode via BitLove
    New! BitTorrent Sync the No Agenda Show
  Shownotes
    Search
      Ace of Spades
        Chinese Year of the Horse
        Horse=Heroin!
    PR
      Stay at home mom Trad Robinson forwards
        f-russia.com
        currydvorakconsultinggroup.com
        waroncrazy.com
      slavestrong.com
        Baroness Tanya of Manhattan
      sendkaletoafrica.com
        www.sendkaletoafrica.com
        www.sendkaletoafrica.net
        Here's a couple of great websites I've registered.
        Itm
        sirDrSharkey
    TODAY
      I have now lost the Olympic Fever
    Dinner with the Obots
      Started with email thread about Richard Engel bogus story
        Maddow marriage!
      Like too long without exposure to us resulted in their Obot batteries being rechared
      Climate Change = Global Warming
        Science is in!
        Fact!
        Yes its cooler, depending on where you live!
      Childless by choice
        Imagine cleaning your child diorreaha!
        Anger
      Whitepaper
        Hadn't read it (of course)
        Impossible to think this
        Putin is a power hungry dictator
      Koch Brothers! Adelson! Buying elections!
      Hate waiting at the post office with alll of darwinism
      Islam is no crazier than fundemental christians
      Tom Perkins letter
        Laughed in my face. That could never happen in America!
    F-Russia
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      NBC edits IOC presidents speech
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sun, 09 Feb 2014 14:48
        Highlights from coverage of the Sochi Winter Olympics:NBC's EDITING: In a sign of how closely NBC is being watched, the website Deadspin compared a speech by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach with the edited version NBC aired and headlined a story, "NBC Edits Out IOC Anti-Discrimination Statement From Opening Ceremony." True. NBC also left in another anti-discrimination statement by Bach. He made a point about the value of tolerance more than once in his speech. You could argue that the stronger statement was edited out, but not that NBC altered his message. Rich Ferraro, spokesman for the gay rights advocacy group GLAAD, said Saturday he had no comment on the editing. He said NBC's networks don't appear to by shying away from the issue of how gays and lesbians are treated in Russia, and they should keep it up.RATINGS: An estimated 31.7 million people watched the opening ceremony Friday night, the Nielsen company said. That's down 1 million from the audience for the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Vancouver, which was televised live. NBC prefers a comparison to the last Winter Olympics opener shown via tape delay, from Turin in 2006, which was seen by 22.2 million viewers. The individual market with the best ratings was Minneapolis.SLOPES: NBC's team tried gamely to keep up, but a new event like the slopestyle deserves a primer. Who are the people that judge a sport like this, and what are their qualifications? What goes in to their scoring decisions? NBC's Todd Richards praised Canada's Mark McMorris for his bronze medal-winning run, but we're still trying to figure out the difference between it and the gold medal-earning performance of American Sage Kotsenburg. Maybe it's one of those Olympic mysteries.SKATE AWAY: Splendid slow-motion camera pictures of Russia's Yulia Lipnitskaya, the ice shavings flying from the blades of her skates. Then there was that impossible stretch of her leg straight over her head. "I get cramps every time I see that," NBC's Scott Hamilton said.MOGULS: In contrast to Kotsenburg's victory, American Hannah Kearney's bronze medal finish in moguls skiing was a heartbreaking, rather than heartwarming, moment. Her tears, and self-assessment that she's over the hill athletically, were hard to watch. Still, this competition deserved more airtime.TRAINING: NBC is experimenting by airing live figure skating during daytime on its NBC Sports Network and showing tape-delayed coverage of the same events on the broadcast network in prime time. The plan also gives on-the-job training to what may be its next generation of marquee analysts, the team of Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski. Lipinski is the more experienced broadcaster, and it shows. So far Weir is concentrating on hitting his marks and not worrying about adding flair.RERUN: The NBC Sports Network aired Mary Carillo's feature about touring Sochi with Maria Sharapova less than 24 hours after it was initially shown on NBC. Really? Everything that's poured into this event and there's a rerun on the day after the opening ceremony?MY BOYFRIEND: NBC sports reporter Tanith Belbin, a former ice dancer, was asked by Dan Patrick whether she can be impartial in reporting about her boyfriend, American ice dancer Charlie White, and his teammate, Meryl Davis. "I do have an objective eye," she said. "To a certain degree, of course. I'm also nervous watching them skate. I want them to succeed."EYE ON COSTAS: Bob Costas' eye infection doesn't appear to be getting better, and he continues to be self-conscious. "I'm still stuck with Clark Kent glasses," Costas said Saturday night.TWEET OF THE DAY: "I know we're all supposed to hate NBC's prime-time Olympics coverage, but it really is an effective way to veg out on a Saturday night."UPCOMING: Bode Miller finds out Sunday if his strong practice runs on the downhill skiing course can carry over to the gold medal final.---David Bauder can be reached at dbauder(at)ap.org or on Twitter(at)dbauder. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/david-bauder .
      Security Expert: NBC Deceptively Edited Story To Make Sochi Hacking Threat More Sensational | Weasel Zippers
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 22:53
        NBC News has a motto: ''If the truth doesn't match our agenda, we'll make sh*t up!''
        A cyber security expert featured on the February 4 NBC Nightly News is alleging that producers edited the story in such a way as to sensationalize the threat that tourists at the Olympic Games in Sochi face from hackers.
        Hadas Gold of Politico has the story in a piece at the paper's On Media blog:
        The cybersecurity expert who appeared in a popular NBC segment on Russian hacking says that the network overstated visitors' vulnerability to hackers.
        ''Incorrect impressions may have been formed'' due to the editing process, Kyle Wilhoit, the cybersecurity expert who appears in the segment with NBC's Richard Engel, wrote in a blog post on Friday.
        In the segment, which aired Tuesday, Engel and Wilhoit set up new computers and phones with fake accounts made to look like Engel's legitimate equipment in Moscow. After setting up their computers at a hotel, they go to a cafe where within minutes, the smartphone was hacked as they were browsing information about the Sochi Olympics.
        ''Almost immediately we were hacked,'' Engel said. ''Malicious software hijacked our phone before we even finished our coffee. Stealing my information, and giving hackers the option to tap and record my phone calls.''
        The introduction to the piece makes it seem even more dire: ''As tourists and families of athletes arrive in Sochi, if they haven't been warned and if they fire up their phones at baggage claim, it's probably too late to save the integrity of their electronics and everything inside them. Visitors to Russia can expect to be hacked,'' NBC's Brian Williams said in the introduction to the piece.
        But the piece left out some crucial elements, making it seem much worse than was the case, Wilhoit explained in his blog post:
        First, all the attacks required some kind of user interaction. Whether to execute ''applications'' or to open a Microsoft Word document, all the attacks shown required user interaction in order to compromise the device.
        Second, these attacks could happen anywhere. They would not just happen in Moscow, nor did it require us to be in Moscow. Whether those attacks occur while you are sitting in a coffee shop in Berlin, or your home in Tokyo, these types of attacks can and do occur, on a worldwide scale.
        Wilhoit also said that if basic security measures had been taken '-- like updating operating systems, installing anti-virus software and not opening or downloading sketchy emails and websites, ''most of the hacking could have been avoided. NBC News did a follow up online video explaining some of this, but it was not included in the broadcast segment.
        It's right for NBC '-- which is broadcasting the Olympic Games '-- to cover the very real threat of computer and cell-phone hacking for tourists abroad, particularly those enjoying the Winter Games in Sochi. But to needlessly sensationalize and simplify a story for the sake of the television audience is insulting the the viewer and unbecoming of a professional media enterprise.
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      There's a stray dog inside the Opening Ceremony | For The Win
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 16:35
        (USA TODAY Sports)
        Really, the Opening Ceremony wouldn't have been complete without a stray dog in the fray. A few reporters spotted the canine making his way to his seat. It appears no one checked to see if he had a ticket.
        Dogs, Opening Ceremony, Sochi Olympics, Olympics
      Sochi dog ceremony
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Fri, 07 Feb 2014 16:51
        HomeMailNewsSportsFinanceWeatherGamesGroupsAnswersScreenFlickrMobileMoreCelebrityShineMoviesMusicTVHealthShoppingTravelAutosHomesYahoo SportsSearch SportsSearch WebSign InMailHelpAccount InfoHelpSuggestionsYahooScore Strip
        SnowboardingMen's SBS SemifinalsSat12:30amESTMen's SBS SemifinalsMen's SBS Semifinal Run 1Sat12:30amESTMen's SBS Semifinal Run 1Men's SBS Semifinal Run 2Sat1:24amESTMen's SBS Semifinal Run 2Men's SBS FinalsSat3:45amESTMedal Event Men's SBS FinalsMen's SBS Final Run 1Sat3:45amESTMen's SBS Final Run 1Men's SBS Final Run 2Sat4:19amESTMedal Event Men's SBS Final Run 2Freestyle SkiingLadies' Moguls Qualification 2Sat9:00amESTLadies' Moguls Qualification 2Figure SkatingTeam Ice Dance Short DanceSat9:30amESTTeam Ice Dance Short DanceTeam Ladies' Short ProgramSat11:10amESTTeam Ladies' Short ProgramFreestyle SkiingLadies' Moguls Final 1Sat1:00pmESTLadies' Moguls Final 1Figure SkatingTeam Pairs Free SkatingSat1:05pmESTTeam Pairs Free SkatingFreestyle SkiingLadies' Moguls Final 2Sat1:35pmESTLadies' Moguls Final 2Ladies' Moguls Final 3Sat2:10pmESTMedal Event Ladies' Moguls Final 3SnowboardingLadies' SBS SemifinalsSun1:30amESTLadies' SBS SemifinalsLadies' SBS Semifinal Run 1Sun1:30amESTLadies' SBS Semifinal Run 1Ladies' SBS Semifinal Run 2Sun2:10amESTLadies' SBS Semifinal Run 2Ladies' SBS FinalsSun4:15amESTMedal Event Ladies' SBS FinalsLadies' SBS Final Run 1Sun4:15amESTLadies' SBS Final Run 1Ladies' SBS Final Run 2Sun4:49amESTMedal Event Ladies' SBS Final Run 2Figure SkatingTeam Men Free SkatingSun10:00amESTTeam Men Free SkatingTeam Ladies' Free SkatingSun11:05amESTTeam Ladies' Free SkatingTeam Ice Dance Free DanceSun12:10pmESTMedal Event Team Ice Dance Free DanceFreestyle SkiingMen's Moguls Qualification 1Mon9:00amESTMen's Moguls Qualification 1Men's Moguls Qualification 2Mon9:50amESTMen's Moguls Qualification 2Men's Moguls Final 1Mon1:00pmESTMen's Moguls Final 1
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      Man Responsible For Olympic Ring Mishap Found Dead In Sochi - The Daily Currant
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 19:42
        The man responsible for operating the Olympic Rings during last night's Winter Olympic Opening Ceremonies in Russia was found dead today.
        According to local reports the body of T. Borris Avdeyev was found his hotel room early this morning with multiple stab wounds.
        Avdeyev was a technical specialist responsible for the Olympic Ring spectacle, which embarrassingly malfunctioned last night. Five animatronic snowflakes were supposed to transform into Olympic Rings. The first four functioned properly but the fifth snowflake failed to change shape.
        Although his body was badly mangled and the wounds were consistent with a struggle, so far officials say they don't suspect foul play.
        ''Sure there were stab wounds and bruises all over the body,'' admits the lead investigator on the case, ''But who knows what caused them. Maybe he tripped and fell on a set of knives. Right now we're ruling this an accidental death.
        ''It's terrible when accidents like this happen. But then again, maybe Mr. Avdeyev should have thought twice before he screwed up the Olympics. Accidents tend to happen to people who betray Russia.''
        Despite the government's story, fellow hotel guests reported hearing a struggle in Avdeyev's room around 3am local time.
        ''There was a very loud noise last night,'' Canadian bobsled member Guy Lafleur, who was staying two hotel rooms down, ''I called the front desk but the phone didn't work so I went to the room where the sound was coming from and saw three big men leave the room.
        I asked if there was a problem and they told me to go back to my room. Then this morning I find out the guy inside was dead. Very scary I told the police what I saw but they told me to forget what I saw. They were very intimidating.''
        Putin, The Man You Can TrustIt was reported that Vladimir Putin was visibly upset with the botched ending of the ceremony and he may have been out for blood. He stormed out of the stadium and took off in a helicopter before the media could ask him any questions.
        The embarrassment of his nation could have been too much for him to handle.
        ''Putin loves Russia to death,'' said Alexander Zhukov, the Russian Olympic Committee President. ''He also loves accountability.''
        While there has not been accountability from the contractors responsible for building the Olympic Village, the Ceremony was a world wide event for everyone to see. Putin may hold that to a higher level.
        ''If he feels the Ceremony reflects him, who knows what he'll do to seek justice,'' said Zhukov before part of a hotel ceiling crashed to the floor beside him. ''All I know is Borris Avdeyev failed Russia and got what he deserved.'' More of the hotel began to crumble and the interview had to be cut short.
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      Security Researcher Punches Holes In NBC's 'Everyone Going To Sochi Will Be Hacked" Story; NBC Doubles Down In Response | Techdirt
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 19:05
        Earlier this week, NBC "reported" that journalists and visitors to Sochi are being immediately hacked virtually as soon as they acquire a connection. [AUTOPLAY WARNING.] NBC presented this as something completely inescapable in its report, which purportedly showed NBC journalist Richard Engel's cellphone and laptop being compromised "before he even finished his coffee."
        All very scary but all completely false.
        Errata Security points out that the entire situation was fabricated.
        The story shows Richard Engel "getting hacked" while in a cafe in Russia. It is wrong in every salient detail.
        They aren't in Sochi, but in Moscow, 1007 miles away.
        The "hack" happens because of the websites they visit (Olympic themed websites), not their physical location. The results would've been the same in America.
        The phone didn't "get" hacked; Richard Engel initiated the download of a hostile Android app onto his phone.
        ...and in order to download the Android app, Engel had to disable a lock that prevents such downloads -- something few users do [update].
        While your average person might be lured to sketchy sites supposedly related to the Olympics, most of these people wouldn't have disabled the default locks on their phone, as Robert Graham at Errata Security points out.The truth makes for a much less interesting story, however, and as Graham points out, Engel's use of the passive voice ("the phone was hacked" rather than "I downloaded a virus") deliberately obscures what's actually happening on the video. It's not Sochi's wireless connections that are "infected," it's the sites themselves. No one's getting hacked instantly unless they're going out of their way to act carelessly in a potentially hostile environment. Following normal internet safety procedures should keep journalists and Olympic fans protected -- preventative measures that NBC could have chosen to deliver with its report, except that they would undercut the narrative it was crafting. There is no doubt that the influx of out-of-town visitors presents an enticing target for aspiring hackers, but there's no reason to believe any device will be insta-compromised the moment it connects to the internet.
        NBC, for its part, seems to think the only way to wipe this egg of its face is to apply more egg, as c|net reports:
        "The claims made on the blog are completely without merit," according to a representative from NBC News.
        The NBC rep also noted that the report made it clear from the beginning that the taping was done in Moscow. The report was intended to demonstrate that a person was more likely to be targeted by hackers while conducting searches in Russia, the representative added, acknowledging that these attacks can happen anywhere in the world. In addition, the story was designed to show how less technically savvy people can fall victim to such a cyberattack.
        But NBC's story carried this headline:Hacked Within Minutes: Sochi Visitors Face Internet Minefield
        Even with the appended disclaimers, the report was obviously intended to present Sochi as a hackers' paradise where anyone -- even those not stupid enough to visit rogue websites or purposefully sideload sketchy apps -- can be compromised before their coffee cools. And the phrasing used by the reporters is equally as misleading. The following quotes are taken from the transcript (which, to NBC's credit, opens up with "Welcome to Moscow").>> reporter: good evening, brian. the state department warns the travelers should have no expectation of privacy. even in their hotel rooms. you are immediately exposed as soon as you try to communicate with anything. one of the first thing visitors to russia will do is log on. hackers here will count on it. we decided to find out how dangerous that could be.
        >> reporter: with our new computers loaded with attractive data, we headed for a restaurant, where we used a new smart phone to browse for information about the sochi olympics. almost immediately we were hacked.
        >> did you see where it said downloading?
        >> i did.
        >> it's actually downloading a piece of malware.
        >> malicious software hijacked our phone before i even started my coffee.
        This would be the malware consciously downloaded by the reporter. Note that it's stated that the phone is downloading the malware on its own, rather than with any assistance by the journalists.>> back at the hotel will hoyt was using specialized software to monitor my two computers. and sure enough, they had also been hacked.
        No mention of visiting unknown sites. The assumption is that hackers accessed the computers on their own, rather than having a door propped open by Engel's visit to malicious sites, most likely sites that any decent browser/search engine would have warned might be an unsafe place to visit.>> it had taken hackers less than one minute to pounce. within 24 hours they had broken into both computers and started helping themselves to my data.
        "Pounce?" On what, the Welcome mat the journalists laid out? God helps those who help themselves to data, but the devil's editor visits compromised sites in search of a good story.>> reporter: american athletes and fans now coming to russia by the thousands are entering a minefield. the instant they log on to the internet.
        >> the best way to protect yourself is quite simple, if you don't really need a device, don't bring it. try to avoid the public wifi. and if there's anything particularly and uniquely important on your computer or phone, banking information or photographs, remove it before coming to russia.
        "The instant they log on'..." Obviously false. Pre-priming your devices for failure will "allow" you to be hacked before your coffee cools, but following some very basic security measures will keep devices safer. Sure, there's likely a higher concentration of hacking activity in Sochi with so many potential targets in the area, but that's no excuse to promote fear over facts and for journalists to intentionally sabotage their own equipment just to ensure the eyeball-grabbing headline actually fits the content. It's not just bad journalism, it's also irresponsible. NBC could have used this time to outline the same basic safety precautions Graham does in its blog post, but was obviously more interested in reinforcing its viewers' perception that Russia is the Internet Wild West, where even the safest surfer will be hacked to unrecognizability by malicious electro-bandits at the faintest whiff of a wi-fi signal.
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      John Kerry Tries To Reassure People On Security At The Olympics . . . By Pointing Out The Boston Marathon'...
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: Weasel Zippers
        Sun, 09 Feb 2014 09:32
        He does know there was a horrific terror attack on the Boston Marathon, right?
        Via Weekly Standard:
        Secretary of State John Kerry was asked about security at the Olympics. He said he wasn't too concerned, but then brought up the Boston Marathon.
        ''Well, obviously, people have heard about the events that took place in Russia previously. And there's been a lot of chatter about security and it's a concern, but it's not something '' I mean, if somebody said to me, 'I'm thinking of going to the Olympics,' I'd say, 'Go and have a terrific time,''' Kerry told Al Koken of Comcast SportsNet in an interview.
        ''And there's huge security, there's been an enormous amount of preparation, and I can't tell people that '' I think everybody has to take precautions as we do anywhere now. Look at the Boston Marathon for instance. Any sporting event, any global event, you want to take precautions. But I believe huge efforts have been made, the security is strong, and I would say to anybody who asked me, 'Should I go?' I'd say, 'Yeah, and have a great time.'''
        Keep reading'...
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      No talk of gay rights, please, we're Olympians - Yahoo News
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        Archived Version
        Sun, 09 Feb 2014 08:22
        HomeMailNewsSportsFinanceWeatherGamesGroupsAnswersScreenFlickrMobileMoreCelebrityShineMoviesMusicTVHealthShoppingTravelAutosHomesYahoo NewsSearch NewsSearch WebSign InMailHelpAccount InfoHelpSuggestionsYahoo
      'You will be jailed for gay propaganda': Russian hackers shut down Grindr-style app and threaten homosexual men in Sochi | Mail Online
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sun, 09 Feb 2014 07:24
        72,000 Hunters profiles were deleted and users were sent stern messagesMembers of the smartphone app in Sochi were locked out for 38 days'Hook-up' app is similar to the U.S.-based gay dating phenomenon GrindrBlondie reveal they rejected Winter Olympics gig on human rights groundsBy Dan Bloom
        PUBLISHED: 19:26 EST, 8 February 2014 | UPDATED: 21:00 EST, 8 February 2014
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        Anti-gay hackers have reportedly shut down more than 70,000 accounts on a Russian gay dating app and threatened its users with arrest.
        The founder of Hunters - which resembles the global hook-up app Grindr - claimed vigilantes brought the service to its knees just days before Olympic dignitaries arrived in Sochi.
        He said 72,000 profiles were deleted and users received a message saying: 'Warning: You will be arrested and jailed for gay propaganda in Sochi according to Russian Federal Law 135 Sektion 6.'
        Hunters become hunted: Users of the Russian equivalent of Grindr received these threatening messages
        Russia has faced global pressure over its law banning gay 'propaganda', which makes it illegal to tell children homosexuality is acceptable, and a surge of vigilante attacks that have accompanied it.
        Groups with names like Occupy Paedophilia hunt down gay men, abduct them, film themselves torturing them and post the footage on YouTube, with campaigners saying police are unwilling to act.
        The founder of the app - whose advertising claims its users have sex every seven seconds - sent veteran gay culture journalist Andy Towle evidence of the mass attack.
        The threatening message was sent at 11.52pm on February 1, he said - then the next morning, users trying to open the app in Sochi and the nearby district of Adler found themselves locked out.
        They were faced with a message saying they had entered the wrong password and would be blocked for 55,260 minutes - or 38 days.
        Account locked: More apparent screenshots from the app, provided to MailOnline by its anonymous founder
        The app's founder, who asked his full name to be kept anonymous, told MailOnline: 'The app came under an attack by hackers, resulting in users from Sochi receiving threats of arrest and their profiles being blocked. Several hours later some 72,000 user profiles were deleted in Russia.
        'I'm sure that this provocation against the gay community was initiated by the Russian authorities and was an attempt to eliminate any gay interaction during the Olympic Games in Sochi, including any between athletes, tourists and locals.
        'The hackers didn't leave any traces, but it is clear from an obvious spelling mistake that they were not native English speakers. I'm sure that the attackers were acting in the interest of Russian authorities.
        'I urge the entire gay community and all of those who consider the Internet to be a free zone to boycott not only Russian vodka but also everything that is linked to the Olympics and not to buy any Olympic souvenirs.'
        The app claims to have more than a million users worldwide, 100,000 of whom are in Russia.
        Popular: The Hunters website claims one of its users has sex every 20 seconds - but more than 70,000 profiles were shut down and users were sent threatening messages. The servers are being moved out of Russia
        Hook-ups: The app bears close similarities to the U.S.-based gay hook-up app Grindr (file photos)
        Engineers managed to restore about a quarter of the deleted profiles, but the rest were lost permanently, he claimed.
        The firm reacted by immediately moving its servers from Russia to elsewhere in Europe.
        The app, similarly to Grindr, gives users a 'grid' of other members who are nearby, listing them in the order of their proximity.
        Grindr chiefs have insisted the service is not just for sex, preferring to describe it as a 'location-based social networking application'.
        Friday's Winter Olympics opening ceremony featured a performance by 'faux-lesbian' singers tATu, who sang a song about love between two teenage girls - despite gay rights protesters being arrested hours later.
        Russian authorities said the duo were chosen because they were one of the few Russian pop acts known worldwide.
        Gay rights have been top of the agenda in Sochi, with Barack Obama not attending the ceremony and sending a delegation which included openly gay athletes instead.
        Strange choice: Faux-lesbian act tATu performed at the opening ceremony despite a crackdown on gay rights
        Anger: A gay rights activist is detained in Moscow's Red Square hours after the end of the opening ceremony
        Swamped: Andrey Tanichev (centre), who owns Sochi's only gay club Mayak, has given 200 interviews
        Such is the attention that Sochi's only gay club has been beset by journalists trying to get a taste of the underbelly of Russian gay culture.
        According to New Republic, the catchphrase among those posted to cover the Olympics is 'Have you been to Mayak yet?'.
        Club owner Andrey Tanichev said he has given more than 200 interviews to reporters from almost every country in the world - 'except the Spanish, God bless them'.
        'PASS - HUMAN RIGHTS': HOW POP LEGENDS BLONDIE REJECTED SOCHI GIGRejected: Music festival organisers were left hanging on the telephone for Eighties legends Blondie
        Eighties pop-rock icons Blondie refused the offer of a gig at the Sochi Olympics because of Russia's record on gay rights.
        Singer Debbie Harry posted a photo of the original offer on Twitter (right) with the words 'PASS, HUMAN RIGHTS' scrawled across it in black ink.
        The band, famous for their hits Atomic, Heart of Glass, One Way or Another and Rapture, were invited to play the Red Rocks music festival in Sochi on February 13 for a five-figure fee.
        The free gig would have had an audience of up to 25,000 people on the Olympic main stage, preceded by a medal ceremony.
        It would have been sponsored by SberBank Russia, the largest in Eastern Europe and the third-largest in Europe.
        But the outspoken singer flatly rejected the offer, joining the likes of Lady Gaga and Madonna in attacking Russia's 'gay propaganda' law.
        She wrote: 'Share if you agree... #pass4humanrights #sochi2014'.
        Outspoken: Blondie singer Debbie Harry, pictured, told Twitter users to spread the Russian boycott
        Share or comment on this article
      Lady Who Just Lit Olympic Flame Tweeted A Racist Picture Of The Obamas
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sun, 09 Feb 2014 00:32
        The Olympic opening ceremony just wrapped up, and former Russian figure skater Irina Rodnina was the given the honor of lighting the Olympic flame. Rodnina is one of Russia's most successful figure skaters, and is currently a member of Russia's public chamber. She is also, it seems, pretty racist!
        In September 2013, she tweeted out the picture you see above, just one of the many anti-Obama pictures floating around the internet that your racist uncle is so fond of emailing you all the time.
        The tweet was quickly deleted, but Rodnina has remained defiant and has yet to apologize for posting the image. From The Guardian:
        Rodnina insisted that there was nothing wrong with the photograph, and said she had been sent it by friends in America. "Freedom of speech is freedom of speech, and you should answer for your own hang-ups," she wrote.
        [...]
        Rodnina, who lived in the US for many years, deleted the photograph but has not apologised and remains unfazed by accusations of racism. Instead, she suggested that the wave of criticism she prompted from liberal journalists and other Russians was a conspiracy.
        What a neat lady!
        h/t Julia Ioffe
      International Olympic Committee Will Not Object To Arrests And Beatings Of Russian LGBT Activists
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 23:07
        The International Olympic Committee has said Russia was acting in accordance with its laws when police detained 14 protesters in Moscow and St Petersburg on the day of the Olympic opening ceremonies. Some of those held in Moscow report being beaten while in police custody.
        ''We understand that the protesters were quickly released,'' Emmanuelle Moreau, the IOC's head of media relations, said in an email to BuzzFeed. ''As in many countries in the world, in Russia, you need permission before staging a protest. We understand this was the reason that they were temporarily detained.''
        Four LGBT activists were arrested Friday afternoon in St. Petersburg while taking a picture holding a banner that read, ''Discrimination is incompatible with the Olympic Movement.'' It was not even a real protest, said Anastasia Smirnova, one of those arrested, but rather intended as a private commemoration of the start of the games.
        As the opening ceremonies began at 8 p.m. that evening, police descended on 10 LGBT activists in Moscow's Red Square as they sang the national anthem while holding rainbow flags. Two Swedish nationals in the group were quickly released, but the rest were held for several hours during which some were reportedly kicked, choked, and threatened with sexual violence.
        The speed of the police response in both cases made organizers believe police may have been tapping their phones to monitor their movements.
        Russian police arrested at least 61 protestors nationwide on Friday '-- some protesting for causes other than LGBT rights '-- according to a count by the New York Times.
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      Look Beyond the F-Bomb: An Ominous Harbinger of Things to Come in Ukraine. Streetwise Professor
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        Archived Version
        Fri, 07 Feb 2014 04:19
        For weeks the Russian and Ukrainian governments have been pushing the narrative that the opposition movement in Ukraine is nothing but a creature of the United States. That the movement is nothing more than a US backed coup.
        Today that narrative took a far more sinister turn. Kremlin advisor Sergei Glazyev announced that the US involvement justified a direct Russian intervention in Ukraine:
        Protesters expressed their fears as a senior U.S. diplomat arrived in Kiev to try to help find a resolution to the country's political crisis, and an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened Ukraine with attack.
        Sergei Glazyev accused the United States on Thursday of funding the Ukrainian ''rebels'' by as much as $20 million a day for weapons and other supplies. He urged the Ukrainian government to put down the ''attempted coup,'' or Russia may have to intervene under the terms of a 1994 agreement between the United States and Russia, according to the Ukraine edition of the Russian daily Kommersant.
        Glazyev was alluding to the Budapest Memorandum, a treaty in which Ukraine agreed to turn over a nuclear arsenal on its soil left over after the fall of the Soviet Union, of which Ukraine was a part until it dissolved in 1991.
        In return, the United States, United Kingdom and Russia, nuclear powers all, guaranteed to respect the independence and the borders of Ukraine and reaffirmed their commitment to seek immediate United Nations Security Council action should Ukraine become a victim of an act of aggression.
        The memorandum, which is not binding, refers only to ''nuclear aggression'' and it requires the signatories to consult each other if other unspecified aggression arises.
        Glazyev said the agreement binds Russia and the United States ''to intervene when conflicts of this kind arise. And what the Americans are doing now, unilaterally and crudely interfering in the internal affairs of Ukraine, is a clear breach of that treaty.''
        Many in the west hastened to say that Glazyev does not speak for Putin. That sounds like whistling past the graveyard to me.
        It is especially dangerous to discount his statement given that it occurred almost simultaneously with the release of a recording of a conversation between Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and US Ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt. Nuland and Pyatt discussed US conversations with opposition figures, strategies regarding the opposition, and frank assessments of the opposition and its leadership. More than enough to be twisted to fit the Kremlin narrative, and to provide a justification for direct Russian intervention along the lines of what Glazyev advocated.
        There are no coincidences, comrades. The Glazyev message and the leak of the Nuland tape complement each other perfectly.
        Notably, the Russians were not shy about making plain that they were the ones that recorded the conversation. The first news about the tape was tweeted by the Russian government: it's as if they were saying, ''yeah, we taped you and we're releasing the tape. Whatcha gonna do about it?''
        Astoundingly, the State Department-and eventually the White House-laid blame for the recording on the Russians. Will miracles never cease? Yes, it's more than I would have expected, but more is needed. (And I have to say. What the hell were Nuland and Pyatt doing communicating in this fashion on an insecure line that they had to have known the Russians were monitoring? Sometimes our stupidity-or is it na¯vet(C)?-drive me around the bend.)
        Maddeningly, virtually all the headlines and story ledes about the Nuland tape focused on her frustration at the EUnuchs' fecklessness in Ukraine: ''Fuck the EU,'' she said. Unfortunately, she apologized later. Unfortunately, because the EU deserves to be heaped with scorn. Maidan-which consciously refers to itself as EuroMaidan-is looking to the EU for help. In return, they get tepid rhetoric. EC Council President de Rompuy said that ''time is on our side'' with respect to Ukraine. Herman: The opposition does not have the luxury of time. They are being brutalized by nightriders and daily face the prospect of a crackdown.
        But by focusing on the ''Fuck the EU'' quote, and overlooking the symbiosis between the Glazyev broadside and the leak of the tape, too many journalists and editors are playing right into Putin's hands. They are sowing further dissension between the US and its allies. Relations are already frayed due to Snowden, and this just exacerbates that.
        I don't believe that the primary reason for the Russians to release the tape was to drive deeper the wedge between Europe and the US. That's a bonus. They could no doubt release a tape a day that would have some American official venting at the EUnuchs. Surely, the Russians are hardly upset that the ''Fuck the EU'' quote is dominating coverage, but that wasn't the main reason they released the recording, IMO.
        Instead, Russia is laying the predicate for direct intervention in Ukraine. That is the main reason to release this tape, with little effort to conceal the source. The ''Fuck the EU'' fallout is just gravy to the Kremlin. And journalists clueless about Russian active measures-including now the use of social media-are playing right into that. Journalists who focus on this aspect of the story are like the carriers of a contagious disease. Unwitting vectors of harm. Obscuring the true message of the leak, and advancing Russian agitprop that sows dissension among the US and its allies.
        A little historical perspective is in order.
        If you recall the lead-up to the Russian invasion of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the day that the 2008 Olympics began on 8/8/8, you will remember a crescendo of propaganda, including repeated accusations that Saakashvili was an American puppet. In the lead up to war, the Russians assiduously constructed a narrative about Georgian misdeeds in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. They raised the rhetorical and physical pressure, and when Saakashvili buckled in response they leapt in with both feet. Indeed, as I wrote at the time, I am still convinced that the Russians were on the move before the Georgians fired a single artillery piece at the Russian ''peacekeepers.'' Once the invasion occurred, the Russians used the narrative that they had constructed so carefully in the weeks and months before to justify their actions.
        And sadly, it worked.
        The same thing is happening now in Ukraine. A hypothesis: Glazyev mentions the US spending $20 million per week in Ukraine, including money spent on arms. What are the odds that if the protests persist, a cache or caches of American weapons is ''found'' in Ukraine, and Yanukovych appeals to the Russians for ''brotherly assistance'' to resist an impending US-backed coup?
        The only question is: during Sochi, or after? But I would lay pretty high odds that this will eventually come to pass. And looking back, the events of February 6 will be viewed as the ominous harbinger.
        And the basis for that was laid today, and the Russians will continue to weave that narrative tomorrow and the day after tomorrow and the day after that.
        Would that western journalists look beyond the f-bomb dropped by Victoria Nuland, and see what is really happening here.
      US Diplomat Apologizes For Cursing Ally - ABC News
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        Archived Version
        Thu, 06 Feb 2014 22:30
        Feb 6, 2014 4:08pm
        Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the situation in the Ukraine, during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, Jan. 15, 2014. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images.
        The State Department's top official for Europe apologized today after being caught making a crude and dismissive remark about the European Union, one of America's top allies.
        The spokeswoman hinted that Russia had taped and leaked the phone call, calling it ''a new low in Russian tradecraft.''
        A leaked phone call posted on YouTube caught Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland saying ''f'--k the EU'' while speaking with U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt. Nuland used the expletive while complaining that the European Union hasn't done enough to get Ukraine to break an agreement with Russia and instead sign on to a trade agreement with Europe.
        Dmitry Loskutov, an aid to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, was among the first on Twitter to link to the video, which surfaced Tuesday. Rogozin also tweeted, ''Sort of controversial judgment from Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland speaking about the EU.''
        State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said today that Nuland has apologized for the remark and Psaki criticized the Russians for being quick to tweet a link to the recording.
        ''This is something [the Russian government] has been actively promoting, posting on, tweeting about and certainly that we feel represents a new low,'' Psaki said during the State Department daily briefing, though she would not explicitly blame the Russians for recording or leaking the call.
        Psaki would not say to whom Nuland apologized.
        The four-minute conversation was about a Jan. 25 offer by Ukranian President Viktor Yanukovich to two opposition leaders, who want him to sign the EU deal, to become prime minister and deputy prime minister.
        Nuland said she wanted one of the two leaders to join the government, but that another was too inexperienced and should stay outside officialdom.
        Psaki said it's common for diplomats to express private opinions that may not reflect what ultimately becomes the government's official view. ''What do you think happens behind closed doors when people are discussing issues internally through the interagency [process]?'' she asked.
        Asked if Nuland's expletives reflected a wider frustration within the State Department towards the EU, Psaki said Nuland's background of working on a Soviet fishing trawler in her early 20s meant she had a certain comfort level with expletives: ''[S]he learned how to perfect, perhaps, certain words in a couple of languages. So perhaps it speaks to that more than a pervasive viewpoint.''
      Robert H. Serry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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        Thu, 06 Feb 2014 22:28
        Robert H. Serry (born c. 1950 in Calcutta), is a Dutchdiplomat who currently serves as the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and the UN Secretary-General's Personal Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority.
        A career diplomat, Serry has served in a variety of diplomatic positions for his country's foreign service. He was the Dutch ambassador to Ireland and has served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary-General for Crisis Management and Operations at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). He has been posted to Moscow and New York (United Nations), and was the first Dutch ambassador to Kiev, Ukraine.
        While in the Netherlands, he led the Middle East Division of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He participated in the events leading to the Madrid Middle East Peace Conference of 1991.
        He obtained his degree in political science from the University of Amsterdam.
        Serry is married and has three children.
        Following his Ukrainian posting Serry wrote a book about his experiences as an ambassador there, titled Standplaats Kiev,[1] available in the Dutch and Ukrainian languages.
        Robert Serry on BBC HardTalk: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/8055568.stm SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS ROBERT H. SERRY OF NETHERLANDS UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL COORDINATOR FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS: http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sga1111.doc.htm Secretary-General names Robert Serry of the Netherlands as Middle East envoy: UN.org http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=24847&Cr=middle&Cr1=east
        ^Serry, Robert. Standplaats Kiev. Nederlands eerste ambassadeur in Oekraine. Podium. 1997, 1e druk.PersondataNameSerry, Robert HAlternative namesShort descriptionDutch diplomatDate of birth1950Place of birthDate of deathPlace of death
      A quick guide to the people in the U.S. diplomats' call on Ukraine - The Washington Post
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        Thu, 06 Feb 2014 22:27
        Audio of a phone call between Victoria Nuland, a U.S. assistant secretary of state, and Geoffrey Pyatt, U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, was posted on YouTube. It's unclear who posted the diplomats' discussion of the situation in Ukraine, where demonstrators have been pushing for the president to step down and harsh laws on freedom of speech and assembly to be repealed. Here's who's who in the phone call:
        '—Geoffrey Pyatt, U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. Pyatt has been in Kiev since August; the 24-year State Department veteran's previous posts include Austria, India, Hong Kong and Pakistan. He's on Twitter here.
        '—Victoria Nuland, U.S. assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. Nuland has held this post since September; previously, she was the spokesman for the department. She has previous experience with the region, serving in a post focused on U.S. policy toward Russia and the Caucuses countries and working at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.
        They appear to be talking about:
        '—Viktor Yanukovych, Ukrainian president. Protests began when he backed away from a trade deal with Europe and made a move toward Russia. Demonstrators want him to step down.
        '—Arseniy Yatseniuk, leader of the opposition Fatherland party. This is who the speakers appear to be referring to when they say ''Yats.'' Pyatt says the United States wants to ''keep the moderate democrats together''; Yatseniuk is in this category. He was offered the post of prime minister Jan. 25 and declined. On the call, Nuland says she thinks he's the one with the economic and governing experience.
        '—Vitali Klitschko, head of the opposition UDAR party. The former professional boxer is another of the ''moderate democrats'' referred to in the call. He was offered the post of deputy prime minister and declined. Nuland says she doesn't think he should go into the government, and the male speaker says he's been the ''top dog.''
        '—Oleh Tiahnybok, leader of nationalist Svoboda Party. He is one of the three principal opposition leaders, with Yatseniuk and Klitschko. ''The problem is going to be Tiahnybok and his guys,'' Pyatt says.
        '—Robert Serry, United Nations official. The Dutch diplomat is the special envoy of the secretary-general to Ukraine. Nuland says Serry will ''come in Monday or Tuesday'; Serry met with Yanukovich on Jan. 29. Ban Ki-moon, U.N. secretary-general, is also named in the call.
      EUobserver / EU ministers look to salvage Georgia and Moldova pacts
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        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 23:04
        BRUSSELS - The EU is considering hiring lobbyists to counter Russian ''disinformation'' and giving more money to Georgia and Moldova in reaction to the Ukraine crisis.
        The ideas are put forward in two internal papers - seen by EUobserver - to be discussed by EU foreign ministers at a lunch in Brussels on Monday (10 February).
        They come after after Ukraine, under Russian pressure, refused to sign an EU association and free trade pact in Lithuania last year, putting in doubt the viability of the EU policy for the region, the so-called Eastern Partnership (EaP).
        One paper, entitled ''20 points on the Eastern Partnership post-Vilnius,'' was drafted by Sweden and signed by 12 other EU countries, including Germany, Poland and the UK.
        It calls for Georgia and Moldova to sign EU pacts by August, but has lower ambitions for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Ukraine itself.
        Following Russia's trade blockade on Ukraine, it warns the EU should: ''Raise preparedness in expectation of further external and internal threats or actions against front-runners, such as trade embargoes, restrictions against migrant workers, increased tension in protracted conflicts.''
        It lays out plans for a PR campaign which will ''respond to disinformation '... including through engagement of public diplomacy experts.''
        It says there should be ''a constant flow of EU high-level visits,'' to Georgia and Moldova, with ''specific activities '... aimed at national minorities and remote regions.''
        It adds that pro-EU countries should be rewarded by ''prioritising additional EU funding.''
        On Ukraine, it rules out sanctions for now, but keeps the option open if things get worse, saying the Union should: ''Continue engagement with Ukraine on a broad political spectrum and adjust the EU policy in light of developments.''
        It does not give up even on Belarus.
        Mixing sport and politics, it notes the EU should, via ''informal contacts'' with Minsk, look to ''using'' its Ice Hockey World Championship this year to encourage ''positive steps on political prisoners.''
        The second paper, drafted by Poland, goes into detail on EU funding.
        Looking at the 2014 to 2020 EU budget, it also says funds for Georgia and Moldova should be ''relatively higher.''
        It notes the extra EU aid should go on agriculture and rural development.
        But it says EU money in repressive states should target civil society, students and minority groups.
        Poland echoes Sweden's concern the EU is not visible enough. It calls for ''an effective communication strategy to explain widely what the EU is doing and why'' and ''concrete projects under the EU flag.''
        On Ukraine, it says there is little prospect of good news before presidential elections in 2015.
        But it notes: ''there exists a great pro-European potential in Ukrainian society '... mainly visible among the younger generation and non-governmental circles, amongst representatives of SMEs, some regional authorities.''
        It adds: ''Those groups should get concrete actions and support from the European Union.''
        Neither of the ideas papers mentions an EU enlargement perspective.
        The omission comes despite EU neighbourhood commissioner Stefan Fuele's recent remarks that only a promise of future accession can change the region.
        The two papers aside, the EU foreign service has declined to put a debate on Ukraine sanctions on Monday's official agenda.
        But an EU diplomat told this website ministers are likely to discuss enlargement and sanctions informally.
        The contact added that some ministers will ring the alarm on worst case scenarios.
        ''There is a fear of escalation in Ukraine. This raises questions on migration - people who might want to come and take shelter in the EU. As responsible neighbours, we have to prepare for such a possibility,'' the source said.
      pretty impressive tradecraft-Leaked call on Ukraine made on unencrypted cellphones: U.S. officials | Reuters
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        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 18:18
        By Mark Hosenball
        Fri Feb 7, 2014 3:04pm EST
        (Reuters) - A senior U.S. State Department officer and the ambassador to Ukraine apparently used unencrypted cellphones for a call about political developments in Ukraine that was leaked and touched off an international furor, U.S. officials said in Washington on Friday.
        In the call, Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland used an expletive in apparently disparaging the idea of relying on help from the European Union in negotiating a political solution in Ukraine.
        The U.S. officials said the conversation between Nuland and ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt was likely intercepted at the Ukraine end and that they believe both Ambassador Pyatt and Nuland were speaking on cellphones.
        An official familiar with the matter said State Department employees, including officials at a senior level, are not issued cellphones that use encryption.
        State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki confirmed this at a regular briefing. "All Department of State government-owned BlackBerry devices have data encryption. However, they don't have voice encryption," she said.
        The U.S. officials said Pyatt was in Ukraine at the time of the call, although it was not clear where Nuland was.
        They did not give the date of the call, although they said it was recent. The issues that Nuland and Pyatt discussed occurred in the last few days of January.
        The audio clip was first posted on Twitter by Dmitry Loskutov, an aide to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, a diplomatic source said. A second intercepted audio conversation, between senior European Union diplomats, was posted on YouTube around the same time.
        The Obama Administration has not formally acknowledged the authenticity of the audio clip or accused any specific party of recording it.
        "IMPRESSIVE TRADECRAFT"
        Nuland, who met President Viktor Yanukovich in Kiev on Thursday, described the bugging and leaks as "pretty impressive tradecraft" but said it would not hurt her ties with the Ukrainian opposition.
        In the call, apparently made at a time when opposition leaders were considering an offer from President Viktor Yanukovich to join his cabinet, she suggested that one of three leading figures might accept a post but two others should stay out. In the end, all three rejected the offer.
        The leak coincided with accusations from Moscow of U.S. interference in Ukraine. Washington and European countries back those opposing Yanukovich, a close Kremlin ally.
        On Friday one senior U.S. official in Washington said: "The quality of the recording would certainly indicate that this was not the work of simple hackers, but rather an intelligence service with an interest in distracting from the efforts of the people of Ukraine to recover their own government."
        The posting of the conversation surfaced as the U.S. faces international uproar over its own electronic eavesdropping disclosed by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden last year.
        One document leaked by Snowden appeared to indicate that the U.S. had tapped the cellphone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, prompting President Barack Obama to announce that spying on foreign leaders was being curtailed.
        Mark Weatherford, a former deputy under secretary for cybersecurity with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said that some senior government officials were issued mobile handsets that are capable of encrypting conversations but typically do not use them.
        "It is expensive. They are different phones. They are cumbersome," said Weatherford, now a principal with the Chertoff Group, a Washington-based consulting firm led by former senior U.S. security and intelligence officials.
        He said that the conversation that was intercepted would have remained private had the two officials used encrypted devices.
        Chris Morales, research director with the cybersecurity firm NSS Labs, said hacking into an unencrypted mobile phone line does not require a lot of training and can typically be done using equipment and software that is widely available.
        (Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed and Jim Finkle; editing by David Storey and David Gregorio)
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      Another Non-Terrorist Non-Muslim Plane Hijacker: The Sochi Plot
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        Archived Version
        Source: Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 22:52
        Another Non-Terrorist Non-Muslim Plane Hijacker: The Sochi PlotPosted on Feb 8, 2014By Juan Cole
        This post originally ran on Juan Cole's Web page.
        The Associated Press article on the Ukrainian hijacker who tried to divert a plane to Sochi on Friday is interesting for the words it does not use. (I'm not picking on AP'' all the other articles on this subject are like this one in this regard.)
        This Ukrainian man had political discontents about his own country of Ukraine, which appears to be one of his motivations in trying to grab the limelight in Sochi. He told the crew that he had placed a bomb on the plane.
        The crew of the airplane cleverly diverted to Istanbul and told the hijacker it was Sochi. Negotiators then got him to let the passengers go. Security men mingled among the departing passengers and then grabbed the hijacker. They found no sign of a bomb on the plane.
        Note that this Ukrainian, presumably an Eastern Orthodox Christian, threatened to blow up an airplane full of innocents.He was foiled by Turkish Muslims.
        The articles on the Ukrainian hijacker do not refer to him as a ''terrorist,'' even though threatening to blow up a plane in order to make a political point is clearly terrorism by most definitions of the word.
        If the hijacker had been a Muslim, the press would certainly have declared him a terrorist and the fact that he threatened to bomb the plane would not have been taken lightly.
        Now it is being said that he was very drunk. Next we will begin hearing that the Ukrainian hijacker is mentally unbalanced. But Muslims who act in this crazy way are never viewed as troubled loners even when it seems pretty obvious that that is what they are.
        That Muslim Turks are among the heroes of this story won't be mentioned explicitly by any of the Islamophobic web sites who constantly stalk innocent Muslims.
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      Ukrainian Democracy Will Be Built By Deeds, Not Pronouncements
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        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 22:40
        The public relations and lobbying campaign conducted in recent months by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych looks pretty impressive on paper. Some big PR guns have been hired in Brussels to complement the long-established U.S. political consultants who have worked with Yanukovych's team since 2005.But this promotional effort comes unstuck with a message that the EU-Ukraine summit beginning today in Brussels should note.
        Take a November 15 op-ed in the ''EU Observer'' by Adrian Severin, a Romanian member of the European Parliament and vice president of its Socialist political group. A month earlier, the Socialist group signed a cooperation agreement with the Party of Regions that Yanukovych led from 2003-10.
        The Party of Regions has never described itself as a social democratic party and includes billionaire tycoons. Many of its voters once backed the Communist Party. In the 1990s, a similar tycoon-owned political party, the Social Democratic United Party of Ukraine (SDPUo), was turned away by the Socialist group and the Socialist International.
        But times have changed. Since the 1990s, the EU has enlarged to Eastern Europe and this has changed the membership and views of the Socialist group. The SDPUo should take advantage of the new opportunity and reapply.
        In his op-ed, Severin seeks to convince the EU and European governments that the Yanukovych administration is committed to improving Ukraine's democracy. He wants to hoodwink Europeans into believing that with time -- and the ''fraternal assistance'' of the European Parliament's Socialist group -- the current authorities in Ukraine will become true democrats worthy of integration into Europe.
        This argument ignores three factors.Orwellian Newspeak
        First, the current authorities should actually have little to learn, since the 2004 Orange Revolution and the presidency of former President Viktor Yushchenko already established genuine democracy in Ukraine. The 2004 events were provoked by massive election fraud in favor of then Prime Minister Yanukovych, and the ensuing democratic breakthrough gave the country free elections and free media. Those two achievements are now very much under threat.
        Speaking two months ago in New York to the U.S. Atlantic Council, Yanukovych claimed that he had always supported the values of the Orange Revolution. ''I recognize and respect the democratic achievements of the Orange Revolution and believe that these achievements should be continued,'' he said. But his administration's antidemocratic actions prove that this was merely diplomatic Orwellian newspeak designed to dupe Western audiences.
        Over the last seven years, Ukraine has held four elections judged to be free by the international community. Indeed, the Party of Regions won two of them, and Yanukovych came to power in the last election held in February of this year.
        The October 31 local elections conducted by the Yanukovych administration were a step backward, as they were condemned as failing to meet democratic standards by the same international organizations. The United States has only criticized election fraud in Ukraine twice -- in 2004 and last month.
        To recap '' Ukraine held two elections in 2010: the February presidential election under Yushchenko and the October local elections under Yanukovych. The first was deemed free by international observers, while the second was not. One wonders what practical advice the Socialist group plans to give.
        Problem? What Problem?
        Second, specialists who treat addictive behavior universally agree that the first step is for the patient to admit he or she has an addiction. Yanukovych has never recognized that there was election fraud in November 2004, during a vote that was widely condemned abroad and overturned by Ukraine's Supreme Court. Likewise, Yanukovych has denied that there was any fraud last month, despite the findings of international monitors.
        The Socialist group cannot improve Ukraine's democracy if the authorities refuse to recognize there is a problem. Yanukovych must act on his promise to prosecute those guilty of election fraud.
        Third, the Socialist group in the European Parliament is indirectly cooperating with Vladimir Putin's United Russia party, the party of power in Russia's authoritarian regime. United Russia was also the only party that the Party of Regions has worked with -- until it signed the cooperation agreement with Europe's Socialists.
        Just this month, United Russia and the Party of Regions laid out plans for medium- and long-term cooperation that will include working out joint positions on foreign policy issues vis-a-vis Brussels, Strasbourg, and Washington. ''Our interparty relations have not just been born, as the first contacts between our parties were established as early as in 2003. I can confidently assert that today these are developed relations filled with concrete content,'' Kostantin Kosachyov, deputy head of United Russia's secretariat, confidently asserted on November 17.
        Progressively Worsened
        The Orange Revolution and the ''chaos'' that is often referred to in describing the Yushchenko presidency brought freedom to Ukraine, including free elections and free media. They transformed Ukraine into the only democracy in the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Deep Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and the EU that is under negotiation was made possible by Ukraine's accession to the WTO in 2008, when Yulia Tymoshenko was prime minister.
        On the other hand, the ''stability'' that was initially welcomed by the EU and European governments and that Severin and others now applaud has nothing to do with democratic progress. Ukraine's media and election environment has progressively worsened in Yanukovych's first year in office, leading to concern among many Europeans about the future of Ukraine's democracy.
        I, therefore, have no compunction in choosing Orange democratic ''chaos'' over Eurasian authoritarian stability. Europe's Socialists should rethink their relationship with a party that has a close working relationship with Putin's United Russia.Taras Kuzio is a visiting fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the School for Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C. The views expressed in this commentary are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL.
      Washington's Dirty Game : Indybay
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 22:36
        Washington's Dirty Gameby Stephen Lendman
        Washington can't hide its dark side. It's too ugly to conceal. Its been exposed numerous times.
        Here we go again. Assistant Secretary of State for European and European Affairs Victoria Nuland was caught red-handed. More on this below.
        She's hardcore neocon. She's a career foreign service officer. She's worked with Democrat and Republican administrations.
        Early in her career, she covered Russian internal politics at Washington's Moscow embassy.
        She served on the Soviet Desk in Washington. She worked in the State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. She served in Guangzhou, China.
        She was Deputy to the Ambassador-at-Large for the Newly Independent States of the former Soviet Union. She directed a task force on Russia, its neighbors and an expanding NATO.
        She was Clinton's Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott's chief of staff. She was Deputy Permanent Representative to NATO.
        She was Dick Cheney's Principal Deputy National Security Advisor. She was Permanent US Representative to NATO.
        She was a National War College faculty member. She was Obama's Special Envoy for Conventional Armed Forces in Europe.
        On September 18, 2013, she was appointed Assistant Secretary of State for European and European Affairs.
        Her husband is Project for the New American Century (PNAC) co-founder Robert Kagan. He's a neocon foreign policy theorist/hardliner.
        He advised John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. He served on Hillary Clinton's Foreign Affairs Policy Board.
        The Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI) is PNAC's current incarnation. He's a board of directors member. He represents the worst of America's dark side. So does Nuland.
        She supports regime change. She backs neo-fascist governance replacing Ukrainian democracy.
        She's involved in manipulating street thug violence. She's part of a US-instigated insurrection.
        She wants legitimate Ukrainian governance toppled. She wants pro-Western stooge governance replacing it. She lied saying: "We stand with the people of Ukraine..."
        She demands Ukrainian President Viktor Yanokovych engage "with Europe and the IMF."
        She was caught red-handed urging regime change on tape. Her conversation with US Ukraine ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt was recorded.
        It's circulating on You Tube. It's more evidence of America's dark side. It bears repeating. It's too ugly to hide.
        The leaked video is damning. It's four minutes long. It's titled "Maidan puppets." It refers to Kiev's Independence Square.
        The Kiev Post (KP) broke the story. On February 6, it headlined " 'F..k the EU,' frustrated Nuland says to Pyatt, in alleged leaked phone call."
        On February 4, the Nuland/Pyatt conversation was posted on You Tube. It's unclear by whom.
        Both US officials expressed frustration over EU "inaction and indecision," said KP. Nuland was heard saying "f..k the EU."
        Pyatt called opposition figure Vitali Klitschko the "top dog." He heads the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform party (UDAR). Pyatt and Nuland agreed he's "too inexperienced to hold a top government post."
        A US Kiev embassy spokeswoman had no comment. State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki downplayed what happened.
        "I'm not going to confirm or outline details," she said. "I understand there are a lot of reports out there and there's a recording out there, but I'm not going to confirm private diplomatic conversations."
        When pressed about the You Tube's authenticity, she said she "didn't say it was inauthentic. I think we can leave it at that."
        She was pressed again about the conversation revealing US intentions opposite of public comments about Ukrainians deciding their own future.
        She lied saying they aren't "inconsistent in the least bit." Her convoluted explanation doesn't wash.
        She claimed Washington is working with Ukraine's government, opposition elements, as well as "business and civil society leaders to support their efforts..."
        Obama wants regime change. He wants Ukraine's democratically elected government toppled. Not according to Psaki.
        She lied claiming it's "up to the Ukrainian people themselves to decide their future. (It's) up to them to determine their path forward, and that's a consistent message that we're conveying publicly and privately."
        Psaki was hard-pressed explaining why Nuland felt the need to apologize. Doing so shows You Tube dialogue was authentic.
        White House and State Department officials barely stopped short of accusing Russia of surreptitiously recording Nuland's conversation.
        Psaki called the incident a "new low in Russian tradecraft in terms of publicizing and posting this."
        "I don't have any other independent details about the origin of the You Tube video," she added.
        Snowden exposed NSA's systematic global spying. Foreign leaders are targeted. Their phone calls are monitored. Their emails are read. Psaki left that issue unaddressed.
        White House press secretary Jay Carney said "since the video was first noted and tweeted out by the Russian government, I think it says something about Russia's role."
        He wouldn't comment on what Nuland and Pyatt said.
        Hours before the You Tube surfaced, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin's aide, Dmitry Loskutov, was among the first to tweet information about it, saying:
        "Sort of controversial judgment from Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland speaking about the EU."
        According to the Kiev Post, "(t)he leaked phone call appears to have been made following (Ukrainian) President Viktor Yanukovych's Jan. 25 offer to opposition leader Arseniy Yatseniuk to be prime minister and Klitschko to be deputy prime minister..."
        In 2005 and 2006, Yatseniuk was Ukraine's economy minister. In 2007, he was foreign minister.
        In 2007 and 2008, he chaired Ukraine's parliament (the Verkhovna Rada). It's a unicameral body.
        The All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" is Ukraine's second largest party. Yatsenyuk heads its parliamentary faction.
        He and Klitschko refused Yanukovych's offer to join his government. On January 28, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov resigned. Yanukovych accepted his resignation. He signed a decree. He dismissed other cabinet officials.
        He promised more concessions. He appointed a committee to propose constitutional revisions.
        It didn't help. At the time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov condemned street violence by "fascistic youths."
        He warned against external interference. Russia "stands for a political settlement within the framework of Ukrainian law," he said.
        Washington's dirty hands bear full responsibility for street violence. Regime change politics is longstanding US policy. It involves every dirty trick imaginable.
        Syria is in the eye of the storm. So is Ukraine. Conditions remain volatile. Nuland/Pyatt intentions reveal what Ukrainians have to fear.
        In December 1994, Washington, Russia, Britain and Northern Ireland welcomed Ukraine's accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, saying:
        They "reaffirm(ed) their commitment to Ukraine, in accordance with the principles of the CSCE (Helsinki) Final Act, to respect the Independence and Sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine."
        They "reaffirm(ed) their obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine...in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations."
        They "reaffirm(ed) their commitment'...to refrain from economic coercion designed to subordinate to their own interest the exercise by Ukraine of the rights inherent in its sovereignty..."
        Washington is duplicitous. It can't be trusted. It's word isn't its bond. It's history is treacherous.
        It systematically ignores international law. It violates treaty obligations repeatedly. It wants all independent governments toppled. It goes all out to remove them.
        It targets Ukraine for regime change. Nuland told Pyatt a UN official she spoke to said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon agreed to send someone to Ukraine to "help glue this thing and have the UN glue it."
        She was told Ban will appoint former Dutch Ukrainian ambassador, Robert Serry, as his representative.
        "That would be great I think to help glue this thing and have the UN glue it," said Nuland. At that point, she said "And you know, f..k the EU."
        "Exactly," Pyatt replied. "And I think we got to do something to make it stick together because you can be sure that if it does start to gain altitude the Russians will be working behind the scenes to torpedo it."
        "Let me work on Klitschko," he added. "I think we should get a Western personality to come out here and midwife this thing."
        Klitschko "is obviously the complicated electron here," said Pyatt.
        "And you've seen some of my notes on the troubles in the marriage (among opposition leaders) right now."
        "So we're trying to get a read really fast on where he is with this stuff."
        "But I think your argument to him, which I think you'll need to make...is exactly the one you made to Yats (Yatseniuk), and I'm glad you kind of put him on the spot in where he fits in in this scenario."
        Nuland favors Yatseniuk for a leadership role. He's "the guy who's got the economic experience, the governing experience," she said.
        "What he needs is Klitsch (Klitschko) and (Svoboda party fascist leader) Tiahnybok on the outside. He needs to be talking to them four times a week, you know."
        "I think Klitsch going in, he's going to be at that level, working for Yatseniuk. It's just not going to work," she added.
        "Yeah, I think that's right," said Pyatt. He urged Nuland to reach out directly to him and "help with the personality management among the three," he added.
        The conversation ended with Nuland saying she can get Vice President Joe Biden to call Yanukovych "for an attaboy and to get the deeds to stick."
        In December, Nuland spent days in Ukraine. She met publicly with opposition leaders. She joined their street protests. She handed out cookies.
        Imagine if Russian, Chinese or other foreign officials acted the same way in Washington. Imagine the public rage. Imagine the threatening response.
        On Monday, EU foreign ministers will meet in Brussels. They'll discuss imposing sanctions on Ukraine. Washington threatens its own.
        On Thursday evening, Nuland met with opposition leaders Yatseniuk, Klitschko and Tiahnybok. They plotted strategy.
        Hours earlier the European Parliament approved an anti-Ukrainian resolution. It called for imposing sanctions. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry responded saying:
        "We're disappointed at prejudice with which the European Parliament assessed the Ukrainian government's actions and at the fact that it ignored the vast majority of constructive efforts made by the Ukrainian leadership in relation to the implementation of plans for building trust and engaging into a peaceful and inclusive dialogue with both the opposition and the civilian population."
        "An unbalanced nature of the resolution and calls for introducing EU restrictions don't contribute to nationwide reconciliation and trust in Ukraine and undermine the process of settling the conflict."
        Washington manipulated Ukraine's 2004 Orange Revolution. Yanukovych's earlier government was ousted.
        In 2010, he was reelected president. He's targeted again. Orange Revolution 2.0 continues. At stake is Ukrainian sovereign independence.
        What's ongoing involves weakening and isolating Russia. Washington's dirty game is transparent. Imperial ruthlessness is longstanding US policy.
        All independent states are targeted. So are major rivals. America wants unchallenged global dominance. It wants world resources plundered for profit.
        It wants ordinary people made serfs. It wants them impoverished. It wants vassal states beholden to US interests. It wants them trapped in debt bondage.
        It wants ruthless control replacing democracy. It wants subservient stooges replacing legitimately elected officials.
        Empire building is dirty. Tactics include bullying, intimidation, sanctions, assassinations, coups and lawless aggression.
        Ukraine's future is at stake. Whether Yanukovych can save its democracy remains to be seen. The fate of 46 million Ukrainians hangs in the balance.
        Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen [at] sbcglobal.net.
        His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."
        http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html
        Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
        Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.
        It airs Fridays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.
        http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour
      Jake Sullivan is Biden's new national security advisor
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 22:30
        Former Hillary Clinton aide Jake Sullivan will be the new national security advisor for Vice President Joe Biden, the White House announced today.
        Sullivan's move over to the Office of the Vice President had been rumored for some time, but was not finalized until this week. Sullivan, who served as then Secretary of State Clinton's deputy chief of staff and then also simultaneously as her director of policy planning, was also considering a return to his native Minnesota to begin a political career and potentially a run for Congress, multiple sources told The Cable.
        In the end, Sullivan decided to take the job, offered by Biden, to replace Tony Blinken, who succeeded Denis McDonough as principal deputy national security advisor to President Barack Obama. McDonough succeeded Jack Lew, who is moving next door to head the Treasury Department, as White House chief of staff.
        "Jake is the ideal person to serve as my National Security Advisor," Biden said in statement. "He is respected across the Administration for his intellect, his dedication to our country, and the perspective he brings to even the most complex issues. He has been part of some of the biggest foreign policy challenges our nation has faced, and he's always handled himself with incredible skill. I'm glad to welcome Jake to my team, and I look forward to working with him."
        Here's Sullivan's bio as released today by the White House:
        Mr. Sullivan joined the State Department in January 2009 as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. He also served as Deputy Policy Director on then-Senator Clinton's presidential campaign, and was previously Chief Counsel to Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, his home state. Trained as a lawyer, he worked as an associate at the Minneapolis law firm of Faegre & Benson and as an adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas Law School. Mr. Sullivan served as a clerk for Judge Guido Calabresi of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and for Justice Stephen Breyer of the U.S. Supreme Court.
        Mr. Sullivan graduated from Yale College with a degree in Political Science and International Studies. He earned an M.Phil. in International Relations from Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship, where he served as managing editor of the Oxford International Review. He earned a J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was an Articles Editor of the Yale Law Journal.
        Mr. Sullivan's formal title will be Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President.
      Vitali Klitschko - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 22:27
        Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (//; Ukrainian: Ð'Ñ–Ñ‚Ð°ÌÐ>>Ñ–Ð¹ Ð'Ð¾Ð>>Ð¾Ð´Ð¸ÌÐ¼Ð¸ÑÐ¾Ð²Ð¸Ñ‡ ÐšÐ>>Ð¸Ñ‡ÐºÐ¾Ì, [Ê‹iËtÉ‘ÊŽiÉªÌ¯ klÉªtÊƒËkÉ--]; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer. He is the leader of the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform and a Member of the Ukrainian Parliament.[1][2][3][4][5] He is the former WBC, WBO and Ring Magazine heavyweight champion and has been conferred as Champion Emeritus by the WBC. Klitschko became actively involved in Ukrainian politics in 2005 and combined this with his professional boxing career till his departure from boxing mid-December 2013.[1][6] He has stated that he is not officially retired, and will not rule out a return in the future.[7] Klitschko was the first professional boxing world champion to hold a PhD degree.
        Klitschko was known for his powerful punches and durable chin. With an 87.23% knockout percentage rate, he holds the second best knockout-to-fight ratio of any champion in heavyweight boxing history, after Rocky Marciano's 87.76% and is the 8th longest reigning heavyweight champion of all time. He has never been knocked down in any professional boxing bout. His two losses have come via a shoulder injury during a fight and a deep cut above his eye, which were recorded as TKO losses. In both fights, however, he was leading on the scorecards. His power and his possession of a doctorate have led to his nickname, Dr. Ironfist.
        He was awarded Germany's highest civilian award, the Federal Cross of Merit, for his varied accomplishments.[8] On 27 February 2012, Ring Magazine rated Vitali as the number nine pound-for-pound boxer in the world.
        Klitschko's younger brother, Wladimir Klitschko, is the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO and The Ring world heavyweight champion.
        Kickboxing[edit]Originally Klitschko was an amateur kickboxer with a record of 195-15 with 80 knockouts .
        1995 Super Heavyweight Silver Medalist at the World Championships in Berlin, Germany. Results:
        1995 Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist at the Military World Championships in Ariccia, Italy. Results:
        In 1996 he turned professional and compiled a record of 34''1 with 22 knockouts. He was a world champion six times (professional and amateur).[10]
        Boxing career[edit]Klitschko won the Super Heavyweight Championship at the first World Military Games in Italy in 1995. Vitali won the silver medal at the 1995 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Berlin, Germany, where he was defeated by Russia's Alexei Lezin in the final. In his autobiography, published in Germany in 2004, the boxer revealed that he tested positive for a banned steroid in 1996. He attributed the presence of the drug to treatment of a leg injury but was dismissed from the Ukrainian boxing team and missed the Atlanta Olympics.[12] His brother Wladimir moved up from heavyweight to super heavyweight to take his place in the squad and won the Olympic gold medal. His amateur record was 195''15 with 80 knockouts.
        Klitschko vs. Hide: First Heavyweight title[edit]Klitschko began his professional boxing career in 1996, winning his first twenty-four fights by either early knockout or technical knockout (TKO). He and Wladimir signed with the German athlete-promotion company Universum. With both brothers holding PhDs and being multilingual, their refined and articulate personalities made for mainstream marketability when they moved to Germany and Universum. In time, they became national celebrities in their adopted home country. In his 25th pro fight, on 26 June 1999, Klitschko won the WBOHeavyweight title from Herbie Hide of the United Kingdom by a second round knockout.
        He successfully defended the title twice. He defeated Ed Mahone by knockout in the third round and beat Obed Sullivan, who retired after the ninth round.
        Klitschko vs. Byrd[edit]By April 2000 Vitali Klitschko was unbeaten and one of the top stars in the heavyweight division and a prime candidate to be the next Undisputed Champion.[citation needed] He had won all 27 of his contests by knockout. On 1 April, Klitschko had a third title defense against the American Chris Byrd, who was a late replacement. Byrd made himself a difficult target and tried to thwart Klitschko's offense by being elusive. Klitschko won most of the rounds and was heading towards a comprehensive points victory when he suffered a serious shoulder injury. After the ninth round, Klitschko notified his corner that he had a shoulder pain and threw in the towel, thus handing Klitschko his first defeat and awarding Byrd the win by technical knockout. At the time of the stoppage, Klitschko had a lead on all three judges' scorecards (89''82, and 88''83 twice). Klitschko, who was later diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff, received much criticism for quitting the fight.
        Klitschko rebounded from his loss to Byrd by reeling off five victories in a row, earning himself a shot at WBC Heavyweight Champion Lennox Lewis.
        Klitschko vs. Lennox Lewis[edit]The fight between Lewis and Klitschko was to take place in December 2003, and Klitschko signed for a tune-up fight on June 21, 2003 as part of the undercard of Lewis' fight with Kirk Johnson for the IBO title as the WBC would not sanction the fight for their title. Johnson, however, pulled out of the fight due to injury and Klitschko, due to his being in training for a fight on the same day as Lewis, took the fight on short notice. Immediately after he accepted, the WBC elected to sanction the fight as a title match and Lewis' The Ring title was also up for grabs in addition to his lineal title.
        Klitschko, a 4''1 underdog, dominated the early going with many harder punches. He stunned Lewis in the second round with two hard rights, leaving a cut under on Lennox's left eye.[13] In the third, Lewis landed a big right hand that opened a deep cut above Klitschko's left eye.[13] Lewis began to specifically target Vitali's cut. In the fourth round at 1:23, Lennox threw some body shots in a clinch. The referee told them to separate several times before actually separating them himself. This happened again at :33, with Jim Lampley saying, "Lewis taking advantage of the clinch to pound Vitali Klitschko to the belly." After the fourth round, Emanuel Steward, Lewis' trainer, could be heard telling Lewis, "One thing, you're pushing him all the time now. Keep pushing your weight on him, all while you're inside clinching." Klitschko was able to rally and Lewis, who had weighed in at his career heaviest for the fight, was breathing heavily after a few rounds. Perhaps the most controversial part came in round 5 at 2:12. Lampley commented throughout, "And good professional work by Lewis against the ribcage. As Vitali takes it, takes it, takes it, takes it! And referee Lou Moret just looks on!" George Foreman replied, "I don't know how the referee can let that holding and hitting go on." Larry Merchant told Foreman, "One punch, one hand is open. And you're allowed to do that, George-" "You can not hold and hit! If one guy's holding you, you have to break it!" Foreman told Merchant. Both men traded big shots, and in the sixth Lewis got through with a hard uppercut. As the sixth round was ending, Lewis punched Klitschko's injured eye twice in another clinch. Before the seventh round, the ringside doctor inspected the wound and deemed it severe enough to threaten eye damage if struck again, stopping the fight despite Klitschko's pleas to continue. Klitschko was ahead on all three judges' scorecards 58''56 (4 rounds to 2) at the time of the stoppage, but because the wound was a result of punches from Lewis, Lewis won by technical knockout.[13]
        Lampley referred to the crowd's reaction, "You heard the response to the stoppage: Almost universal booing in the house." Klitschko, despite the loss, gained international respect for fighting so well against the Heavyweight Champion for 6 rounds. Negotiations for a 6 December rematch began.[14] After negotiations collapsed, Vitali defeated Kirk Johnson in a WBC Eliminator bout on 6 December date,[15] setting up a mandatory rematch with Lewis. In January 2004, the WBC announced that it would strip Lewis of the belt if he let pass a 15 March deadline to sign for a rematch with Vitali.[16] Shortly thereafter, Lewis announced his retirement and vacated the title. For years after this fight, Klitschko would still occasionally call out Lewis, despite the fact that Lewis has been retired since early 2004, for a rematch.[17]
        Around this time, the Klitschko brothers moved from Hamburg, Germany to Los Angeles.
        In January 2004, they notified Universum that they would not re-sign when their contracts expired in April. Universum sued the brothers, arguing that their recent injuries had triggered a clause binding them beyond April. The suit was ultimately resolved in favor of the Klitschkos in November 2009.[18]
        Klitschko vs. Sanders: Second Heavyweight Title[edit]Klitschko faced South African Corrie Sanders on 24 April 2004, for the World Boxing Council heavyweight championship and the The Ring belts that had been vacated by Lewis. Sanders had stopped younger brother Wladimir in the second round (TKO) on 8 March 2003. Klitschko was rocked in round one by Sanders, but by using upper-body movement and accurate punching he broke down Sanders, forcing referee Jon Schorle to stop the bout. Vitali landed 60% of his power punches.
        Klitschko vs. Williams[edit]Vitali Klitschko's first WBC title defense was against British boxer Danny Williams. Williams had become suddenly marketable from a KO over Mike Tyson in round 4. Klitschko scored a technical knockout against Williams in 8 rounds on 11 December 2004, while wearing an orange cloth to show support for the Ukrainian presidential opposition movement. Klitschko knocked Williams down in the 1st, 3rd, 7th, and 8th rounds before the fight was stopped. Immediately afterward, Klitschko dedicated his victory to democracy in his native Ukraine and also to the Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, whom he supported in the 26 December 2004, election revote.[19]
        2005''2007 retirement[edit]On 9 November 2005, Vitali Klitschko announced his retirement from professional boxing and vacated his title. He had been training to fight Hasim Rahman, but unfortunately, just 9 days before the fight, he had entangled his leg with his sparring partner, causing them to fall heavily. He snapped his anterior cruciate ligament, a very serious injury, which would take up to a year to heal, with surgery, and possibly would be career ending. To avoid keeping the title out of use, he retired. The WBC was grateful for his consideration. On other occasions he cited regrets about his suddenly mounting injuries, a desire to leave the sport while still on top and political aspirations in his home country of Ukraine.[20] Following his retirement, the WBC conferred "champion emeritus" status on Klitschko, and assured him he would become the mandatory challenger if and when he decided to return.[21]
        He announced his comeback in the 24 January 2007 edition of the German newspaper Bild-Zeitung, and requested that he be allowed to fight again.
        Klitschko vs. Peter: Third Heavyweight Title[edit]On 3 August 2008, the WBC awarded Klitschko a chance to regain his WBC Heavyweight title. After Vitali's retirement, his younger brother had established dominance in the division, winning two of the four world titles available. The reigning WBC Champion was Samuel Peter (who had lost a decision to Wladimir in a thrilling fight in 2005). At the time there was interest in a potential Peter vs Wladimir unification match. Instead Vitali took advantage of his champion emeritus status and secured a title challenge against Peter. The fight was arranged on 11 October 2008 at O2 World, Berlin. It would be one of the most anticipated heavyweight fights in the past few years. Both men had a rightful claim to being the champion and the stakes for the future of the heavyweight division were high. Despite some questioning Vitali's decision to return after four years, he managed to regain his title in dominating fashion. Klitschko had Peter intimidated from the first round and stunned him with accurate hard punches. Klitschko kept the hard punching Nigerian off with an effective left jab and took control in the center of the ring. Over eight rounds Klitschko completely dismantled and outfought the younger champion. After the eighth round, Peter slumped on his stool, shook his head and asked that the bout be stopped. With the Samuel Peter victory, Klitschko technically became one of the few men to ever hold a version of the World Heavyweight Championship three times '' WBO (1999''2000), WBC (2004''2005) WBC (2008 '' present), albeit the WBO belt was not considered a major belt when Vitali won it, and has almost always been in all weight classes contested by men not considered the best in their respective divisions, thus making any claim to Vitali being a 'three time champion' contentious.
        Klitschko vs. Gomez, Arreola & Johnson[edit]On 21 March 2009, Klitschko defeated Juan Carlos Gomez by TKO in the ninth round. Gomez tried to use his movement to thwart Vitali but seemed unable to cope with the power and physical strength of his opponent. As the rounds progressed, Klitschko began imposing himself on Gomez more and more. Gomez soon became wary of Klitschko's power and also began to tire physically. By the sixth round Vitali was in total control. The end came when the referee stopped the fight in the ninth round as Gomez appeared unable to withstand any more hits.
        On 26 September, Klitschko earned a one-sided TKO victory over Chris Arreola at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California when Arreola's trainer, Henry Ramirez, asked the referee to stop the fight.[22] Arreola was considered at the time one of the division's hardest punchers; however, Klitschko kept Arreola at bay with his left jab and hit him almost at will with his right. Arreola had been influenced by Samuel Peter's defeat to Klitschko in 2008, in which Peter had tried to box from the outside. He therefore employed a game-plan which involved applying constant pressure to Vitali in order to force him into a high tempo fight. Despite his best efforts, the bout became one sided very quickly. Klitschko consistently proved himself faster, sharper and much fitter than Arreola.
        On 12 December Vitali defeated Kevin Johnson by unanimous decision, winning almost every round. Johnson, a skillful fighter, tried to negate Klitschko's strength with angles and head movement, though he proved hard to hit he failed to launch any sustained attack of his own. After the Johnson bout, Klitschko's camp began negotiations for a potential fight with former WBA Champion Nikolai Valuev, but the match failed to materialize due to economic disagreements.[23][24][25][26][27]
        Klitschko vs. Sosnowski, Briggs & Solis[edit]On 29 May 2010 Vitali Klitschko defeated Polish heavyweight contender Albert Sosnowski by KO at 2:30 in round 10 of 12.Sosnowski was knocked down by a right hand in the 10th round, prompting referee Jay Nady to immediately wave off the fight. The fight took place at Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.
        Vitali Klitschko weighed in at 112 kg (247 lbs), while Sosnowski weighed in at 110 kg (242.5 lbs). This voluntary defence was Vitali's 4th defence of the WBC Heavyweight title. Sosnowski was the #11 ranked heavyweight according to the WBC prior to this bout. [28]
        On 17 August 2010, it was announced that Klitschko would defend his WBC title against Shannon Briggs on 16 October of that year. Klitschko completely dismantled his challenger with superior hand speed. Briggs struggled to land any meaningful punches, as Klitschko won every round decisively. After a few rounds, Briggs was receiving a vicious and sustained beating which caused him serious facial injuries. Considering the beating he was receiving, there was some suggestion that the referee should have stopped the bout during the last few rounds. Klitschko had retained his belt with official scores of 120''107, 120''105, and 120''107.[29][30]
        During the post-fight interview, the American boxer said: ''I've fought George Foreman, I've fought Lennox Lewis, and Vitali's the best.'' While Klitschko did not knock down Briggs, the latter collapsed after the fight and was hospitalized with facial fractures and a torn biceps.
        Klitschko's next fight was against mandatory challenger Odlanier Solis. The bout was tentatively scheduled for March 2011.[31] On 11 January, it was officially confirmed that the fight between Klitschko and Solis was going to take place in Cologne, Germany on 19 March 2011. The fight lasted less than one whole round, as a right hand to Solis's temple wobbled Solis, who then twisted his knee. Klitschko won by KO.[32][33]
        Klitschko vs. Adamek, Chisora & Charr[edit]Now aged 40, Klitschko retained his WBC heavyweight title against Tomasz Adamek on 10 September 2011 in Poland, winning by TKO in the 10th round. The referee stopped the bout after Adamek received punishing blows and was ruled out, as he was no longer able to defend himself.
        After turning 41 on 19 July 2012, Vitali became one of the oldest Heavyweight Champions in history. Despite having a four-year hiatus from the sport, Vitali has proven to be a remarkably effective and dominant Heavyweight Champion once again. Alongside his brother Wladimir, he also fights on for their shared ambition of holding all four Heavyweight Championship belts together, an ambition that was realised on 2 July 2011 when brother Wladimir defeated David Haye to win the WBA Heavyweight Championship. In January 2012, he was awarded WBC Fighter of the Year for 2011.[34] Klitschko was in negotiations for a possible bout with former WBA Heavyweight title holder David Haye on 3 March 2012.[35][36][37]
        After Vitali's brother, Wladimir, had to cancel his fight with Jean-Marc Mormeck, it was thought that Vitali was likely to fight on 25 February 2012.[38] Sources in Germany reported that he was likely to fight British contender Dereck Chisora on 18 February 2012 in Olympiahalle, Munich, Bayern.[39][40][41]
        It was confirmed on 12 December 2011 that Dereck Chisora would be Vitali Klitschko's next opponent.[42][43] Vitali Klitschko retained his WBC Championship belt unanimously in a dominant display in Munich. The fight was fought against a backdrop of antagonism displayed by the contender Dereck Chisora at the weigh in. Dereck slapped Vitali across the face causing a red mark to be left.[44] The next day, Chisora spat water over the face of Vitali's brother Wladimir.[45]
        Vitali won the majority of the rounds boxing a disciplined fight with changing angles and superior footwork. Chisora, constantly coming forward delivering punishing body shots, failed to wear down the older man. The scores were: 118''110, 118''110, 119''111.[46] The next day, Vitali visited a hospital to check his shoulder, claiming he injured it in the fight. A doctor confirmed a ligament tear was suffered in Vitali's left shoulder. Klitschko said he "suddenly lost strength in the left hand" and was forced to only use his right. The injury was believed to have happened in the second or third round. Klitschko's trainer, Fritz Zdunek, believes this is the same kind of injury Vitali suffered in his fight with Byrd.[47]
        At the post fight press conference a brawl ensued between David Haye and Dereck Chisora. After the altercation Dereck Chisora challenged David Haye to a fight in the ring and said, "I am going to shoot David Haye." Dereck Chisora was later arrested at a German airport along with his coach, Don Charles. His comments and actions were later condemned by Frank Warren, his promoter, and Wladimir Klitschko. [48][49][50][51]
        On 2 July 2012, it was announced that Vitali Klitschko will defend his WBCHeavyweight title on 8 September at the Olympic Indoor Arena in Moscow, Russia.[52] His opponent for the fight was the then undefeated Manuel Charr 21''0 (11 KO).[53] Klitschko won the fight via technical knockout when Charr had to be stopped due to a cut received from Vitali's punches.[54]
        Klitschko was expected to face Bermane Stiverne in a mandatory title defense, but was forced to pull out due to injury.[55]
        Stepping back from boxing[edit]On December 15, 2013, Vitali Klitschko stepped back from boxing. He was announced champion emeritus, which means that if he wants to return to boxing, he can fight the WBC Heavyweight Champion without having any fights beforehand.[1] But (right after his retirement from boxing) Klitschko stated "That is something I currently cannot imagine".[1] The WBC title will now be vacant.[56] Commenting on his decision he stated "My focus is on politics in Ukraine and I feel the people there need me".[1] He also added "I thank the WBC and its president Jose Sulaiman for the support in our battle for democracy and freedom in Ukraine".[1]
        Political career[edit]During the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election and the following Orange Revolution the Klitschko brothers openly supported the candidacy of Viktor Yushchenko.[6] In 2005 (Vitali) Klitschko was appointed an adviser to President Yushchenko.[6] In October 2006 he was promoted to full-time adviser.[6]
        Klitschko began campaigning for Mayor of Kiev shortly after his retirement in 2005. He lost the 2006 mayoral election to Leonid Chernovetskyi but placed second with 26% of the vote, ahead of the incumbent Oleksandr Omelchenko[57] Klitschko campaigned on an anti-corruption platform[57] and lead the bloc "Civic party" PORA-ROP (the parties PORA and Reforms and Order Party) in the simultaneously held local elections for the Kiev City Council.[58] Analysts stated his relatively late entry into the campaign might have cost him votes. Still, Klitschko was elected as a people's deputy to the Kiev City Council since "Civic party" PORA-ROP won 14 seats in the 2006 election.[58][59]
        In the May 2008 Kiev local election, he ran again and won 18% of the vote. Klitschko simultaneously led the Vitaliy Klychko Bloc that won 10.61% of the votes and 15 seats and again he was elected into the Kiev City Council.[60] His campaign hired Rudy Giuliani as a consultant for the campaign.[57] In 2008 he was also appointed to the Ukrainian delegation of the Congress of the Council of Europe.
        Klitschko became the leader of the political party UDAR of Vitaliy Klitschko in April 2010.[61] During the 2010 Ukrainian local elections, the party won representatives in (Ukrainian) municipalities and Oblast Councils (regional parliaments).[62][63][64]
        In October 2011, Klitschko announced that he would compete in the 2012 Kiev mayoral election.[65]
        During the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election Klitschko was elected (he was top candidate on UDAR's party list) into the Ukrainian parliament; when his party won 40 seats.[3][4][5] Klitschko leads the party's faction in the Ukrainian Parliament.[66]
        Klitschko announced on 24 October 2013 he intended to take part in the 2015 Ukrainian presidential election.[67][nb 1] Experts and lawyers have argued that it is unclear if Klitschko can take part in these elections.[67] Under Ukrainian law a presidential candidate must have had his residence in Ukraine for the past ten years prior to election day; and Klitschko has lived for many years in Ukraine and Germany, where, according to media reports, he has a residence permit.[67] Opinion polls since early 2011 show that the predicted percentage of votes that Klitschko would gain in the first round of the 2015 Ukrainian presidential election enlarged from 4.8% in December 2011 to 15.1% in February 2013 and an October 2013 Razumkov Centre poll predicted 19.3%.[69][70][nb 2]
        Klitschko was one of the dominant figures of the Euromaidan-protests.[1] During these protests he retired from boxing.[1]
        Political positions[edit]Klitschko is in favor of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union.[72][73] He sees the European Union as Ukraine's "model for our future political and economic development."[74] He believes current PresidentViktor Yanukovych and his Government are "deliberately destroying the integration (into Europe) prospects of Ukraine"[75] and that Ukrainian politicians have no right to let them "rule after 2015".[72] Klitschko is also in favour of NATO-Ukraine cooperation.[76]
        Klitschko's main concern is social standards and the economy of Ukraine.[77] He believes "the issue of language is not the top priority".[77] Klitschko wants less corruption and more transparency in Ukrainian politics.[74][78] He also advocates lower taxes to stimulate the economy of Ukraine.[74][77] Klitschko did accuse in October 2011 President Yanukovych and the Azarov Government of "doing everything to manipulate the rules to stay in power longer";[78] furthermore (in December 2011) he assert(ed) "every statement of the government" as "a continuation of lies and disinformation."[75] He has also taken part in rallies for former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko release.[72][79][nb 3]
        In December 2011 Klitschko described the judicial system of Ukraine as "complete degradation" and accused it of violating human rights and humiliating its prisoners.[81] According to him Ukraine lacks independent and unbiased judges because "The Ukrainian judiciary is currently a closed clan; lifelong judges and appointments through administrative leverage".[77] He wants to ensure the independence of judges by switching from a system of appointed judges to a system of elected judges.[77]
        In July 2012 party-leader Klitschko stated his party UDAR will not cooperate with the Party of Regions in the Ukrainian Parliament.[82]
        In early April 2013 Klitschko called for early presidential and parliamentary elections in Ukraine.[83]
        Personal life[edit]Klitschko's father, Vladimir Rodionovich Klitschko (1947''2011), was a Soviet Air Forcemajor general and a Soviet military attach(C) in East Germany. The elder Klitschko was also one of the commanders in charge of cleaning up the effects of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster in 1986 and was afterward diagnosed with cancer.[84] His mother is Nadezhda Ulyanovna.[85]
        Klitschko has been accused of working as a debt collector in the 1990s for mafia bossViktor Rybalko.[86][87][88][nb 4] Klitschko has vehemently denied links to Rybalko.[86][87][88]
        Vitali Klitschko is married to Natalia Egorova, a former athlete and model.[6] They met in Kiev and got married on 26 April 1996. He has three children, Yegor-Daniel, Elizabeth-Victoria and Max (named after the former World Heavyweight Champion Max Schmeling).[89][90]
        In 1996, Klitschko graduated from the Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky Pedagogical Institute (Ukraine)[6] and was accepted into the postgraduate study program at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. On 29 February 2000, he presented his doctoral thesis on "talent and sponsorship in sports"[91] at the "Kyiv University of Physical Science and Sports" and his PhD in Sports Science was conferred.
        Klitschko has lived for years (in addition to residing in Kiev) in Germany.[88] According to Klitschko "Germany adopted me, I really love Germany, but I'm not German".[88]
        Both Vitali and his brother are avid chess players. Vitali is a friend of former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik; and the two have played, with Kramnik always winning. Vitali has commented that "chess is similar to boxing. You need to develop a strategy, and you need to think two or three steps ahead about what your opponent is doing. You have to be smart. But what's the difference between chess and boxing? In chess, nobody is an expert, but everybody plays. In boxing everybody is an expert, but nobody fights."[92]
        Vitali and his brother also have been involved in charitable activities dedicated to support the needs of schools, churches and children. In 2002, the Klitschko brothers announced that they had agreed to work for UNESCO.
        Professional boxing record[edit]45 Wins (41 knockouts, 4 decisions), 2 Losses, 0 Draws[93]Res.RecordOpponentTypeRd., TimeDateLocationNotesWin45''2Manuel CharrTKO4 (12), 2:042012-09-08Olympic Indoor Arena, Moscow, Central Federal DistrictRetained WBCHeavyweight title.Win44''2Dereck ChisoraUD122012-02-18Olympiahalle, Munich, BayernRetained WBCHeavyweight title.Win43''2Tomasz AdamekTKO10 (12), 2:202011-09-10Municipal Stadium, WrocÅ‚aw, Lower SilesianRetained WBCHeavyweight title.Win42''2Odlanier SolisKO1 (12), 3:002011-03-19Lanxess Arena, Cologne, Nordrhein-WestfalenRetained WBCHeavyweight title.Win41''2Shannon BriggsUD122010-10-16O2 World Arena, Altona, HamburgRetained WBCHeavyweight title.Win40''2Albert SosnowskiKO10 (12), 2:302010-05-29Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Nordrhein-WestfalenRetained WBCHeavyweight title.Win39''2Kevin JohnsonUD122009-12-12PostFinance Arena, Bern, Canton of BernRetained WBCHeavyweight title.Win38''2Chris ArreolaRTD10 (12), 3:002009-09-26Staples Center, Los Angeles, CaliforniaRetained WBCHeavyweight title.Win37''2Juan Carlos G"mezTKO9 (12), 1:492009-03-21Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle, Stuttgart, Baden-W¼rttembergRetained WBCHeavyweight title.Win36''2Samuel PeterRTD8 (12), 3:002008-10-11O2 World, Friedrichshain, BerlinWon WBCHeavyweight title.Win35''2Danny WilliamsTKO8 (12), 1:262004-12-11Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, NevadaRetained WBC & The RingHeavyweight titles.Win34''2Corrie SandersTKO8 (12), 2:462004-04-24Staples Center, Los Angeles, CaliforniaWon vacant WBC & The RingHeavyweight titles.Win33''2Kirk JohnsonTKO2 (12), 2:542003-12-06Madison Square Garden, New York City, New YorkWBCHeavyweight Title Eliminator.Loss32''2Lennox LewisTKO6 (12), 3:002003-06-21Staples Center, Los Angeles, CaliforniaFor WBC, IBO, Lineal & The RingHeavyweight titles.Win32''1Larry DonaldTKO10 (12), 2:352002-11-23Arena Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Nordrhein-WestfalenRetained WBA Inter-ContinentalHeavyweight title.WBAHeavyweight Title Eliminator.Win31''1Vaughn BeanTKO11 (12), 1:402002-02-08Volkswagen Halle, Braunschweig, NiedersachsenRetained WBA Inter-ContinentalHeavyweight title.Win30''1Ross PurittyTKO11 (12), 1:162001-12-08K¶nig Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Nordrhein-WestfalenRetained WBA Inter-ContinentalHeavyweight title.Win29''1Orlin NorrisKO1 (12), 1:092001-01-27Rudi Sedlmayer Halle, Munich, BayernWon vacant WBA Inter-ContinentalHeavyweight title.Win28''1Timo HoffmannUD122000-11-25Preussag Arena, Hannover, NiedersachsenWon vacant EBU Heavyweight title.Loss27''1Chris ByrdRTD9 (12), 3:002000-04-01 Estrel Convention Center, Neuk¶lln, BerlinLost WBOHeavyweight title.Win27''0Obed SullivanRTD9 (12), 3:001999-12-11Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Alsterdorf, HamburgRetained WBOHeavyweight title.Win26''0 Ed MahoneTKO3 (12), 1:451999-10-09K¶nig Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Nordrhein-WestfalenRetained WBOHeavyweight title.Win25''0Herbie HideKO2 (12), 1:141999-06-26 New London Arena, Millwall, Greater LondonWon WBOHeavyweight title.Win24''0 Ismael YoulaTKO2 (12), 1:301999-02-20Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Alsterdorf, HamburgRetained EBU Heavyweight title.Win23''0 Francesco SpinelliTKO1 (12), 1:491998-12-05Sport Palace, Kiev, Kiev OblastRetained EBU Heavyweight title.Win22''0 Mario SchiesserTKO2 (12), 2:001998-10-24Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Alsterdorf, HamburgWon vacant EBU Heavyweight title.Win21''0 Ricardo KennedyTKO1 (8), 1:311998-08-11 Miccosukee Indian Gaming Resort, Miami, FloridaWin20''0 Jose RibaltaTKO2 (8), 2:131998-06-05 Sporthalle, Wandsbek, HamburgWin19''0 Dicky RyanTKO5 (12)1998-05-02 Hansehalle, L¼beck, Schleswig-HolsteinWon vacant WBO Inter-ContinentalHeavyweight title.Win18''0Julius FrancisTKO2 (12)1998-04-18 Eurogress, Aachen, Nordrhein-WestfalenWin17''0 Levi BillupsKO2 (10)1998-03-20Ballsporthalle, Frankfurt, HessenWin16''0Louis MonacoKO3 (10)1998-03-07 Sartory Saale, Cologne, Nordrhein-WestfalenWin15''0 Alben BelinskiKO2 (8)1998-01-30 Berdux Filmstudios, Munich, BayernWin14''0 Marcus RhodeTKO2 (10)1998-01-17 Sport und Erholungszentrum, Friedrichshain, BerlinWin13''0 Anthony WillisKO5 (8)1997-12-20 Oberrheinhalle, Offenburg, Baden-W¼rttembergWin12''0 Herman DelgadoTKO3 (8)1997-11-29 Rheinstrandhalle, Karlsruhe, Baden-W¼rttembergWin11''0 Gilberto WilliamsonKO6 (8), 2:501997-11-08Ballsporthalle, Frankfurt, HessenWin10''0 Will HintonKO2 (6)1997-10-04 Stadionsporthalle, Hannover, NiedersachsenWin9''0 Jimmy HaynesKO2 (6)1997-06-14 Saaltheater Geulen, Aachen, Nordrhein-WestfalenWin8''0 Cleveland WoodsKO2 (6), 2:161997-05-10Ballsporthalle, Frankfurt, HessenWin7''0 Derrick RoddyTKO2 (6), 2:141997-04-12 Eurogress, Aachen, Nordrhein-WestfalenWin6''0 Calvin JonesKO1 (6), 2:581997-03-08 Sartory Saale, Cologne, Nordrhein-WestfalenWin5''0 Troy RobertsTKO2 (6), 1:141997-02-22 Sporthalle, Wandsbek, HamburgWin4''0 Mike AcklieKO1 (6), 0:321997-01-25 Maritim Hotel, Stuttgart, Baden-W¼rttembergWin3''0 Brian SargentTKO2 (6), 1:081996-12-21Zoo-Gesellschaftshaus, Frankfurt, HessenWin2''0 Frantisek SuminaTKO1 (4), 1:121996-11-30Arena Nova, Wiener Neustadt, Nieder¶sterreichWin1''0 Tony BradhamKO2 (4), 1:141996-11-16 Sporthalle, Wandsbek, HamburgProfessional debut.Controversy[edit]Klitschko has admitted in his autobiography to having used steroids earlier in his career. He revealed using steroids after aggravating a leg injury that he had previously sustained during a kickboxing bout.[94]
        While Klitschko was still fighting as an amateur for the Ukrainian boxing team in 1996, he tested positive for a banned substance and was immediately thrown off the team. At the time, he was training for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Since then, he has tested clean for steroids during his entire professional career.[94]
        See also[edit]References[edit]^ abcdefghVitali Klitschko: Heavyweight champion swaps boxing for politics, BBC Sport (67 December 2013)^You Scratch My Back, and I'll Scratch Yours, The Ukrainian Week (26 September 2012)^ abQ&A:Ukrainian parliamentary election, BBC News (23 October 2012)^ abUkraine election:President Yanukovych party claims win, BBC News (29 October 2012)^ abParties spend over Hr 600 million on elections, according to report, Kyiv Post (16 November 2012)^ abcdef(Russian)Short bio, LIGA^http://www.boxingscene.com/vitali-klitschko-rule-out-another-ring-return--73073^Bsanna News '' Bsanna News. Bsanna-news.ukrinform.ua (4 June 2010). Retrieved on 2011-04-19.^http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9n7zExsuCRU^"Interview: Head 2 Head with Vitali Klitschko". Eastsideboxing.com. Retrieved 2011-11-27. ^Boxing | BoxRec. boxrec.com. Retrieved on 2011-05-10.^Mee, Bob (2 November 2004). "Klitschko admits steroid abuse". Telegraph Sport (London). Retrieved 2010-04-08. ^ abcFreeman, Mike (22 June 2003). "Lewis Cuts the Deepest and Retains His Title". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-06-22. ^Daley, Kieran (31 July 2003). "Boxing: Lewis set to retire after re-match with Klitschko". The Independent (London). Retrieved 27 May 2010. ^Vitali Klitschko vs. Kirk Johnson '' Boxrec Boxing Encyclopaedia. Boxrec.com. Retrieved on 2011-04-19.^Rafael, Dan (27 January 2004). "WBC to Lewis: Fight or else". USA Today. ^"Vitali Klitschko Only Interested in Lennox Lewis, Valuev '' Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. Retrieved 2009-11-01. ^"Klitschko Bros KO Universum". Eastsideboxing.com. Retrieved 2009-11-11. ^"Klitschko Remains a Champion In a Dominating Show of Force". New York Times. 12 December 2004. Retrieved 2009-11-01. ^"Rahman: If not Vitali, bring on Wlad". ESPN. 10 November 2005. Retrieved 2009-11-01. ^Davies, Gareth A (12 October 2008). "David Haye confident he can take down both Klitschko brothers". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 2009-11-01. ^"Dominant Klitschko beats Arreola". BBC Sport. 27 September 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-28. ^Krikunov, Andrey (28 December 2009). "Vitali Klitschko-Nikolai Valuev Possible For April/May?". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 9 May 2010. ^Reeno, Rick (8 February 2010). "Vitali Klitschko, Nikolai Valuev Talks Have Cooled Down". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 9 May 2010. ^Krikunov, Andrey (2 March 2010). "Vitali Klitschko, Nikolai Valuev Hoping To Reach Terms". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 9 May 2010. ^Vester, Mark (10 March 2010). "Vitali Klitschko Says: "Nikolai Valuev is a Chicken"". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 9 May 2010. ^Christ, Scott. (19 February 2010) Vitali Klitschko will retire at the end of 2010. Bad Left Hook. Retrieved on 2011-04-19.^"Vitali Klitschko vs. Albert Sosnowski '' Boxrec Boxing Encyclopaedia". Boxrec.com. Retrieved 2011-11-27. ^Sukachev, Alexey (16 October 2010). "Vitali Klitschko Gives Briggs a Brutal Beating in Hamburg". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 5 December 2010. ^"Vitali Klitschko Keeps His Title". The New York Times. 17 October 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2011. ^Reeno, Rick (7 January 2011). "Klitschko-Solis Close, March 19 Eyed, Purse Bid Delayed". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 8 January 2011. ^Home '' Klitschko.com '' English. Klitschko.com. Retrieved on 2011-04-19.^Home '' Klitschko.com '' German. Klitschko.com. Retrieved on 2011-04-19.^"Klitschko Named WBC Fighter of 2011". RIA Novosti. 18 January 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2012. ^"Haye confirms Kiltschko fight talks". BBC News. 28 November 2011. ^Sheehan, Pat. "David Haye could fight Vitali Klitschko in March". The Sun (London). ^Davies, Gareth A (30 November 2011). "David Haye has a deal on the table to go ahead and fight WBC world heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko next year". The Daily Telegraph (London). ^Vitali Klitschko vs Chisora, Dimitrenko or Haye on 2/25? '' Boxing News. Boxingscene.com (8 December 2011). Retrieved on 2012-02-22.^Klitschko vs Chisora on February 18, Then Haye in June '' Boxing News. Boxingscene.com (13 December 2011). Retrieved on 2012-02-22.^Vitali Klitschko to defend WBC title against Dereck Chisora '' ESPN. Espn.go.com (12 December 2011). Retrieved on 2012-02-22.^"Haye's comeback clash against Klitschko on hold as Vitali agrees Chisora date". Daily Mail (London). 12 December 2011. ^Prikbordfoto's. Facebook. Retrieved on 2012-02-22.^Chisora droht Klitschko: "Bin die schlimmste Pest". RTL.de (15 December 2011). Retrieved on 2012-02-22.^Dereck Chisora slaps Vitali Klitschko at weigh-in for world title fight metro.co.uk (17 February 2012)^Klitschko vs Chisora: Dereck Chisora Spits in the Face of Wladimir Klitschko (Video) badlefthook.com (18 February 2012)^Vitali Klitschko taken the distance by Dereck Chisora in Munich www.bbc.co.uk (19 February 2012).^Vitali Gets Medical Check, Left Shoulder Injury Confirmed '' Boxing News. Boxingscene.com. Retrieved on 2012-02-22.^Dereck Chisora spits water on Wladimir Klitschko on YouTube. Retrieved on 2012-02-22.^Haye vs Chisora Fight Video from Munich Presser '' Full video on YouTube (18 February 2012). Retrieved on 2012-02-22.^Dereck Chisora slaps Vitali Klitschko at Weigh In on YouTube. Retrieved on 2012-02-22.^Dereck Chisora makes Vitali Klitschko fight to retain crown | Sport | The Observer. Guardian (19 February 2012). Retrieved on 2012-02-22.^"Vitali Klitschko lines up September title defence". The Times Of India. Retrieved 2 July 2012. ^http://www.klitschko.com/en/home/news/article//moscow-to-st/^http://www.boxingscene.com/vitali-klitschko-stops-bloody-manuel-charr-four--56869^http://www1.skysports.com/boxing/news/12183/8870089/vitali-klitschko-pulls-out-of-mandatory-wbc-title-defence-against-bermane-stiverne^http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/vitali-klitschko-becomes-wbc-champion-emeritus-233529^ abcChan, Sewell (7 May 2008). "Giuliani Weighs In on Race for Mayor (in Ukraine) '' City Room Blog". Cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2009-11-01. ^ ab(Ukrainian)ÐšÐ°ÑÑŒÐºÑ–Ð² Ð²Ð¸ÑÑ–ÑÐ¸Ð², Ñ‰Ð¾ ÐšÐ>>Ð¸Ñ‡ÐºÐ¾ Ð¾Ð´Ð½Ð¾ÑÐ°Ð·Ð¾Ð²Ð¸Ð¹ by Ukrayinska Pravda (17 April 2006)^"Kyiv gets first new mayor in decade". Kyiv Post. 29 March 2006. Retrieved 2009-11-01. ^"Biography Vitaliy Klitchko, official party website". Klichko.org. Retrieved 2009-11-01. ^"WBC World Champion Vitaly Klitschko leads new party". Kyiv Post. 24 April 2010. Retrieved 2009-11-01. ^(Ukrainian)Results of the elections, preliminary data, on interactive maps by Ukrayinska Pravda (8 November 2010)^(Ukrainian)ÐÐµÑÐ"Ñ–Ð¹ ÐžÐ´Ð°ÑÐ¸Ñ‡ ÑÐ¾ÑÐ¼ÑƒÐ²Ð°Ñ‚Ð¸Ð¼Ðµ Ð±Ñ–Ð>>ÑŒÑÑ–ÑÑ‚ÑŒ Ñƒ Ð¼Ñ–ÑÑŒÐºÑÐ°Ð´Ñ– Ð§ÐµÑÐºÐ°Ñ, Cherkasy city council website (8 November 2010)^(Ukrainian)Ð'ÐµÑÐ¾Ð¼ Ð›ÑŒÐ²Ð¾Ð²Ð° Ð¾Ð±ÑÐ°Ð½Ð¾ ÐÐ½Ð´ÑÑ–Ñ ÐÐ°Ð´Ð¾Ð²Ð¾Ð"Ð¾, Ð›ÑŒÐ²Ñ–Ð²NEWS (November, 2010)^(Ukrainian)ÐšÐ>>Ð¸Ñ‡ÐºÐ¾ Ð·Ð±Ð¸ÑÐ°Ñ--Ñ‚ÑŒÑÑ Ð² Ð¼ÐµÑÐ¸ Ñ– Ð² ÐÐ°ÑÐ>>Ð°Ð¼ÐµÐ½Ñ‚, Ukrayinska Pravda (22 October 2011)^UDAR elects faction's leadership in parliament, Kyiv Post (12 December 2012)^ abcVitali Klitschko says intends to run for president in Ukraine, Interfax-Ukraine (24 October 2013)Parliament passes law that could prevent Klitschko from running for president, Interfax-Ukraine (24 October 2013)^http://interfax.com.ua/news/political/183714.html^ ab(Ukrainian)Ð•Ð›Ð•ÐšÐÐžÐ ÐÐ›Ð¬Ð'Ð† Ð'ÐÐ'Ð†Ð Ð Ð'ÐÐ‘ÐžÐ Ð...Ð†Ð' Ð£ÐšÐ ÐÐ‡Ð'Ð Ð'ÐÐŸÐ ÐÐšÐ†Ð'Ð...Ð† ÐÐ ÐÐ'Ð'Ð¯, KIIS (May 30, 2013)(Ukrainian)Ð­Ð>>ÐµÐºÑ‚Ð¾ÑÐ°Ð>>ÑŒÐ½Ñ‹Ðµ ÐÑÐµÐ´ÐÐ¾Ñ‡Ñ‚ÐµÐ½Ð¸Ñ ÑƒÐºÑÐ°Ð¸Ð½Ñ†ÐµÐ² Ð² Ð½Ð°Ñ‡Ð°Ð>>Ðµ Ð½Ð¾Ð²Ð¾Ð"Ð¾ ÐÐ¾Ð>>Ð¸Ñ‚Ð¸Ñ‡ÐµÑÐºÐ¾Ð"Ð¾ ÑÐµÐ·Ð¾Ð½Ð°, R&B Group (September 25, 2013)(Ukrainian)Ð•Ð>>ÐµÐºÑ‚Ð¾ÑÐ°Ð>>ÑŒÐ½Ñ– Ð¾ÑÑ–Ñ--Ð½Ñ‚Ð°Ñ†Ñ–Ñ— Ð"ÑÐ¾Ð¼Ð°Ð´ÑÐ½ Ð£ÐºÑÐ°Ñ—Ð½Ð¸ Ñ‚Ð° ÑÑ‚Ð°Ð²Ð>>ÐµÐ½Ð½Ñ Ð´Ð¾ ÐÑÐ¾Ð²Ñ–Ð´Ð½Ð¸Ñ… ÐÐ¾Ð>>Ñ–Ñ‚Ð¸ÐºÑ–Ð², Razumkov Centre (14 October 2013)^Every fourth Ukrainian ready to vote for Yanukovych in presidential election '' poll, Interfax-Ukraine (6 March 2013)Survey: Yanukovych and Tymoshenko would compete for presidency in early presidential elections, Interfax-Ukraine (28 December 2012)Poll: Yanukovych leads Tymoshenko in presidential rankings by small margin, Interfax-Ukraine (5 December 2011)Tymoshenko leads presidential rating '' poll, Interfax-Ukraine (27 December 2011)Poll: Yanukovych has highest 'presidential' rating, Interfax-Ukraine (25 February 2011)^Ratings of politicians in presidential elections: February 2013, Sociological group "RATING" (6 March 2013)^ abcKlitschko says he responsibly considers possibility of running for president, Interfax-Ukraine (21 August 2013)^Klitschko, Merkel discuss prospects for signing EU-Ukraine association agreement, Kyiv Post (5 December 2012)^ abcMy new fight is for a country more like Europe (Vitali Klitschko for The Times), UDAR of Vitaliy Klychko (22 November 2011)^ ab(Ukrainian)ÐšÐ>>Ð¸Ñ‡ÐºÐ¾ Ð·ÑÐ¾Ð·ÑƒÐ¼Ñ–Ð², Ñ‰Ð¾ Ð¯Ð½ÑƒÐºÐ¾Ð²Ð¸Ñ‡ Ð·Ð½ÐµÐ²Ð°Ð¶Ð°Ñ-- Ñ–ÑÑ‚Ð¾ÑÑ–ÑŽ, UNIAN (30 December 2011)^(Ukrainian)ÐšÐ>>Ð¸Ñ‡ÐºÐ¾ Ð·Ð°ÐºÐ>>Ð¸ÐºÐ°Ñ-- Ð°ÐºÑ‚Ð¸Ð²Ð½Ñ–ÑÐµ Ð"Ð¾Ð²Ð¾ÑÐ¸Ñ‚Ð¸ ÐÑÐ¾ Ð'ÐÐÐž, Ukrayinska Pravda (26 November 2011)^ abcdeIn Pursuit of the Presidency, The Ukrainian Week (8 July 2013)^ abKlitschko meets with McCain to discuss deterioration of democracy in Ukraine, Kyiv Post (12 October 2011)^ abThousands rally for Ukraine ex-PM's release, Oman Daily Observer (23 January 2012)^Tymoshenko, Lutsenko should participate in 2012 parliamentary elections, says Klychko, Interfax Ukraine (23 January 2012)^Klitschko: Holding court on Tymoshenko in cell shows degradation of judicial system in Ukraine, Kyiv Post (8 December 2011)^(Ukrainian)ÐšÐ>>Ð¸Ñ‡ÐºÐ¾ ÐºÐ°Ð¶Ðµ, Ñ‰Ð¾ Ð½Ðµ ÑÐÑ–Ð²ÐÑÐ°Ñ†ÑŽÐ²Ð°Ñ‚Ð¸Ð¼Ðµ Ð² ÐÐ°ÑÐ>>Ð°Ð¼ÐµÐ½Ñ‚Ñ– Ð· ÐŸÐ°ÑÑ‚Ñ–Ñ--ÑŽ ÑÐµÐ"Ñ–Ð¾Ð½Ñ–Ð² Klitschko says he does not cooperate in Parliament with the Party of Regions, The Ukrainian Week (18 July 2012)^Klitschko calls for early presidential, parliamentary elections in Ukraine, Interfax-Ukraine (8 April 2013)^http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/6769684/vladimir-rodionovich-klitschko-dies-father-wladimir-vitali-klitschko^Ð£ Ð±ÑÐ°Ñ‚ÑŒÐµÐ² ÐšÐ>>Ð¸Ñ‡ÐºÐ¾ ÑƒÐ¼ÐµÑ Ð¾Ñ‚ÐµÑ†. Komsomolskaya Pravda (in Russian) 13 July 2011^ abcPolice implicate, link Klitschko brothers, other opposition members to Chornovol beating suspects (UPDATE), Kyiv Post (27 December 2013)^ abUkraine's point of no return, openDemocracy.net (December 29, 2013)^ abcdA Fight without Rules: Boxer Vitali Klitschko Enters Ukraine's Political Arena, Spiegel Online (29 June 2012)^ÐšÐ>>Ð¸Ñ‡ÐºÐ¾ ÑƒÐ>>ÐµÑ‚ÐµÐ>> Ð¾Ñ‚ Ð¶ÐµÐ½Ñ‹, ÐºÐ°Ðº 14 Ð>>ÐµÑ‚ Ð½Ð°Ð·Ð°Ð´. Segondnya (in Russian). 26 April 2010^Ð'Ð¸Ñ‚Ð°Ð>>Ð¸Ð¹ ÐšÐ>>Ð¸Ñ‡ÐºÐ¾. men.org.ua^CyberBoxingZone News, 29-02-2000 "Calling Dr. Klitschko". Retrieved 7 November 2008.^HBO (27 September 2009). "Boxing: Fighters: Bio: VITALI KLITSCHKO". HBO. Retrieved 2009-11-01. ^Vitali Klitschko '' Boxer. Boxrec.com. Retrieved on 2011-04-19.^ ab"Boxing: Klitschko admits steroid abuse". The Daily Telegraph. 2 November 2004. External links[edit]PersondataNameKlitschko, VitaliAlternative namesShort descriptionUkrainian boxerDate of birth19 July 1971Place of birthBelovodsk, Kirghiz SSRDate of deathPlace of death
      Oleh Tyahnybok - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 22:25
        Oleh Yaroslavovych Tyahnybok (Ukrainian: ÐžÐ>>ÐµÌÐ" Ð¯ÑÐ¾ÑÐ>>Ð°ÌÐ²Ð¾Ð²Ð¸Ñ‡ ÐÑÐ"Ð½Ð¸Ð±Ð¾ÌÐº, born November 7, 1968, Lviv) is a Ukrainian politician and a member of the Verkhovna Rada; the leader of the All-Ukrainian Union "Svoboda".[2][3] Previously he was elected a councilman of the Lviv Oblast Council for several convocations.[4]
        Biography[edit]Tyahnybok was born in the city of Lviv to a family of doctors, he is also a former doctor himself.[5][6] His father, Yaroslav Tyahnybok, a Merited Doctor of Ukraine, was a distinguished sports doctor, chief physician of the Soviet national boxing team, and a former boxer himself who achieved the title of the Master of Sports of the USSR.[7] Oleh's great-grandfather was a brother of Lonhyn Tsehelsky, a politician in the West Ukrainian People's Republic.[5] Tyahnybok claims he remembers from when he was younger the searches that were conducted by the agents of the KGB in the apartment of his family.
        After school Tyahnybok enrolled into the Lviv Medical Institute and received part-time medical jobs as a corpsman and nurse, but after the second year was drafted to the army. After the return to the Institute he initiated the creation of the Med Institute Student Brotherhood - the first step in his life of a civil activist. Tyahnybok graduated from the institute in 1993 as a qualified surgeon (as he sometimes mentions, majoring in urology). In 1994 25-year-old Tyahnybok was elected to the Lviv Oblast Council and in 1998 he was elected to the Verkhovna Rada.
        Political career[edit]In October 1991 Tyahnybok became a member of the Social-National Party of Ukraine.[8] He is characterised as representative of Ukraine's far right. From 1994 till 1998, Tyahnybok served as a member of the Lviv Regional Council.[9] In 1998, Tyahnybok was first elected to the Ukrainian Parliament as a member of Social-National Party of Ukraine,[8] in the parliament he became a member of the People's Movement of Ukraine fraction.[8] In 2002, Tyahnybok was reelected to the Ukrainian parliament as a member of Victor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine bloc.[8] In parliament he submitted 36 motions for debate, but the parliament adopted only four of them.[10] In the majority of his motions he opposed the introduction of the Russian language as the second official state language, proposed recognition of the fighting role of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and Ukrainian Insurgent Army during World War II, called for the lustration of former communist officials, security service officers and undercover agents, and demanded the prohibition of communist ideology.[10] None of these motions where adopted.[10]
        On July 20, 2004, Tyahnybok was expelled from the Our Ukraine parliamentary faction[8][11] after he made a speech in the Carpathian Mountains at the gravesite of a commander of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.[11] In the speech, which was aired on television in the summer of 2004, he made comments like:[12]
        "[You are the ones] that the Moscow-Jewishmafia ruling Ukraine fears most"[11]
        and
        "They were not afraid and we should not be afraid. They took their automatic guns on their necks and went into the woods, and fought against the Moskali, Germans, Kikes and other scum who wanted to take away our Ukrainian state."[10]
        In his defence Tyahnybok said he had not offended Russians by calling them an occupying force as this was based on historical fact. He also denied that he was anti-Semitic, saying he was rather pro-Ukrainian.[13][14] The head of the State Committee of National Migration (Derzhkomnatsmihratsia) Hennadiy Moskal published an open letter with insulting content towards the head of the AU Freedom. The Prosecutor's office filed criminal charges of inciting ethnic hatred, but later closed the case for lack of offense. Since that time Mr. Tyahnybok has won nine court cases in that regard. By the decisions of courts it was recognized that the criminal case was raised unlawfully, and the actions of TV-channel "Inter" that showed the footage of the Tyanybok's speech as well as the Head of the Derzhkomnatsmihratsia H. Moskal were recognized as ones that insult the honor and dignity Oleh Tyahnybok and caused him a moral damage. The actions around that issue led to creation of the "Program in defense of Ukrainians". Tyahnybok stated in 2012 "this speech is relevant even today" and "All I said then, I can also repeat now".[4]
        Since February 2004 Tyahnybok has headed the All-Ukrainian Union "Freedom".[9]
        In April 2005, Tyahnybok co-signed an open letter to President Yushchenko calling for a parliamentary investigation into the "criminal activities of organized Jewry in Ukraine."[4][15]
        Tyahnybok stood as a candidate for the post of Mayor of Kiev during the Kiev local election in 2008.[10] In the elections Leonid Chernovetskyi was reelected with 37.7% of the vote, while Tyahnybok received 1.37% of the vote.[10][16]
        Tyahnybok was a candidate for President of Ukraine in the 2010 presidential election for the All-Ukrainian Union "Freedom". He received 352,282 votes, or 1.43% of the total.[17] Most of his votes he received in the historic Halychyna oblasts - Lviv oblast, Ternopil oblast and Ivano-Frankivsk oblast accounted to 5% of the vote.[18] In the second round, Tyahnybok did not endorse a candidate. He did presente a list of some 20 demands second round candidate Yulia Tymoshenko had to fulfil first before gaining his endorsement - which included publicizing alleged secret deals Tymoshenko had with Vladimir Putin and ridding herself of what he called Ukraine-haters in her close circles.[19]
        During the 2010 Ukrainian local elections his party won between twenty and thirty percent of the votes in Eastern Galicia where it became one of the main forces in local government.[5][20]
        During the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election Tyahnybok was (re-)elected (he was top candidate on his party list) into the Ukrainian parliament; when his party won 38 seats.[21][22][23] Tyahnybok was elected leader of the party's parliamentary faction.[24]
        In December 2012 Tyahnybok was voted Person of the Year by readers of Ukraine's leading news magazine, Korrespondent.[4]
        Political positions[edit]Unlike both imperialism and globalism, modern nationalism seeks a healthy balance between domestic development and productive international relations. Nationalists will always find a common language with patriots in other countries because true nationalism means both love of your own nation and respect for others. Only he who respects himself has the power to respect others.
        Tyahnybok in a January 2010 interview with Business Ukraine
        Tyahnybok regards Russia as Ukraine's biggest threat.[12] He has accused the Medvedev presidency of "waging virtual war on Ukraine along many fronts '' in the information sphere and the diplomatic sector, within the energy trade and throughout the world of international PR spin.".[5] He is pro-NATO and critical of the European Union, but supports a Europe of free nations. According to polls both stances put him at odds with the majority of Ukrainians.[12] Tyahnybok also wants to deprive Crimea of its autonomous status and Sevastopol of its special status.[25][26]
        Tyahnybok wants to introduce a ''nationality'' section into Ukrainian passport, a visa regime with Russia, and for Ukrainians to pass a Ukrainian language test to work in the civil service.[27]
        Tyahnybok wants to re-establish Ukraine as a nuclear power.[27] He believes this would stop the "Russian virtual war on Ukraine" (mentioned above).[5]
        Cultural and political image[edit]During a visit of Tyahnybok to Sevastopol on January 6, 2010 some 1,500 activists of parties and public movements picketed the Business and Culture Center where Tyahnybok had a meeting with voters.[28]
        Tyahnybok was voted Person of the Year for 2012 by readers of the country's leading news magazine, Korrespondent.[4] Tyahnybok was ranked #43 in the 2012 list of "Top 100 Most influential Ukrainians" by Korrespondent.[29]
        In an opinion poll conducted on December 7-17 2013, respondents showed that in a hypothetical presidential election between Viktor Yanukovych and Tyahnybok, results found that Tyahnybok would win with 28.8% of the popular vote, versus Yanukovych's 27.1%.[30] Another poll taken on January 42''February 2, 2014 across all regions of Ukraine showed that in a presidential race between Tyahnybok and incumbent Yanukovych, 54.% of the population would vote for Tyahnybok.[31]
        See also[edit]References[edit]^You Scratch My Back, and I'll Scratch Yours, The Ukrainian Week (26 September 2012)^Tiahnybok reelected Svoboda party head, Kyiv Post (8 December 2012)^[1], a former candidate for President of Ukraine Kyiv Post. November 22, 2012. ''Svoboda tames radicals to get into parliament'' Article written by Katya Gorchinskaya^ abcdeSvoboda: The rise of Ukraine's ultra-nationalists, BBC News (26 December 2012)^ abcdeUkrainian nationalist leader thriving in hard times, Business Ukraine (January 20, 2011)^Gorchinskaya, Katya. "Svoboda tames radicals to get into parliament". Kyiv Post. Retrieved 22 November 2012. ^"1984: ÑÐ°Ð´ÑÐ½ÑÑŒÐºÐ¸Ð¹ ÑÑ–Ð>>ÑŒÐ¼ ÐÑÐ¾ Ð±Ð°Ñ‚ÑŒÐºÐ° ÐÑÐ"Ð½Ð¸Ð±Ð¾ÐºÐ°". Ukrayinska Pravda. December 13, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2013. (Ukrainian)^ abcde(Ukrainian)ÐžÐ>>ÐµÐ" ÐÑÐ"Ð½Ð¸Ð±Ð¾Ðº, Ukrinform^ abPolitical Pulse: Presidential field takes shape, Kyiv Post (November 11, 2009)^ abcdefShekhovtsov, Anton (2011)."The Creeping Resurgence of the Ukrainian Radical Right? The Case of the Freedom Party".Europe-Asia Studies Volume 63, Issue 2. pp. 203-228. doi:10.1080/09668136.2011.547696 (source also available here)^ abcYushchenko Finally Gets Tough On Nationalists, The Jamestown Foundation (August 3, 2004)^ abcTyahnybok: Nationalist, fearful of Russia, favors NATO, Kyiv Post (29 October 2008)^Interview published in the Ukrainian newspaper Silski Visti on 13 August 2004, source: Ukrainian MP denies inciting racial hatred., accessmylibrary.com (17 August 2004)^Ukrainian party picks xenophobic candidate, Jewish Telegraphic Agency (May 25, 2009)^http://www.ncsj.org/AuxPages/042005Ukr_letter.shtml Ukraine Notables Sign Anti-Semitic Letter, Anti-Semitism in Ukraine, NCSJ, 04.20.2005^Liang, Yan (May 29, 2008). "Ukraine's Kiev mayor wins re-election". www.chinaview.cn (Xinhua). Retrieved 2008-06-16. ^(Ukrainian)Ð...Ð'Ðš Ð¾ÐÑÐ¸Ð>>ÑŽÐ´Ð½Ð¸Ð>>Ð° Ð¾ÑÑ–Ñ†Ñ–Ð¹Ð½Ñ– ÑÐµÐ·ÑƒÐ>>ÑŒÑ‚Ð°Ñ‚Ð¸ 1-Ð"Ð¾ Ñ‚ÑƒÑÑƒ Ð²Ð¸Ð±Ð¾ÑÑ–Ð², Gazeta.ua (January 25, 2010)^(Ukrainian)Election results and map by region, Ukrainska Pravda (4 February 2010)^Tymoshenko's Looming Defeat: How Did She Make It Inevitable?, Serhiy Kudelia (January 29, 2010)^Local government elections in Ukraine: last stage in the Party of Regions' takeover of power, Centre for Eastern Studies (October 4, 2010)^Q&A:Ukrainian parliamentary election, BBC News (23 October 2012)^Ukraine election:President Yanukovych party claims win, BBC News (29 October 2012)^Parties spend over Hr 600 million on elections, according to report, Kyiv Post (16 November 2012)^Five factions, including Communist Party, registered in parliament, Kyiv Post (12 December 2012)^Tyahnybok: Crimean autonomy should be cancelled, Inter~Media (August 12, 2008)^Nationalist presidential candidate in Ukraine calls for downgrading Crimea status, Kyiv Post (January 7, 2010)^ abTiahnybok's virulent brand of nationalism shows no strength, Kyiv Post (January 14, 2010)^1,500 activists of over 10 parties protest arrival of nationalist leader in Sevastopol, Kyiv Post (January 6, 2010)^"43 Ð¼ÐµÑÑ‚Ð¾ ÐžÐ>>ÐµÐ" ÐÑÐ"Ð½Ð¸Ð±Ð¾Ðº". Korrespondent. Retrieved May 20, 2013. (Russian)^Interfax-Ukraine (Dec. 25, 2013). "Poll: Yanukovych to lose to opposition candidates in second round of presidential elections". Kyiv Post. ^http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/02/7/7013110/External links[edit]Media[edit]PersondataNameTyahnybok, OlehAlternative namesShort descriptionUkrainian politicianDate of birthNovember 7, 1968Place of birthLviv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet UnionDate of deathPlace of death
      Arseniy Yatsenyuk - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 22:24
        Arseniy Petrovych Yatsenyuk (Ukrainian: ÐÑÑÐµÐ½Ñ–Ð¹ ÐŸÐµÑ‚ÑÐ¾Ð²Ð¸Ñ‡ Ð¯Ñ†ÐµÐ½ÑŽÐº, Arseniy Yatseniuk; born May 22, 1974) is a Ukrainian politician, economist and lawyer. Yatsenyuk served in the government of Ukraine as Minister of Economy from 2005 to 2006; subsequently he was Foreign Minister of Ukraine in 2007 and Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) from 2007 to 2008. Currently he is one of the leaders of Ukraine's second biggest party[1]All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" and leader of the parliamentary faction of "Fatherland".[2][3][4]
        Early life[edit]Arseniy Petrovych Yatsenyuk was born on May 22, 1974 in Chernivtsi, Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union). He was born in a family of professors of the Chernivtsi University. After Yatsenyuk began studying at the Chernivtsi University in 1992, Yatsenyuk set up a student law firm.[5] He graduated from the university in 1996, and later attended the Chernivtsi Trade-Economics Institute of the "Kyiv National Trade-Economics Institute" in 2001.[6]
        From December 1992 to September 1997 he was the president of "Yurek Ltd." law firm, based in Chernivtsi.[6] From January 1998 until September 2001, Yatsenyuk worked in the Aval bank, based in Kiev.[6]
        Political career[edit]From September until November 2001, Arseniy served as an "acting" Minister of Economy of Crimea, and from November of the same year until January 2003, served as the official Minister of Economy of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.[6]
        From November 2003 to February 2005, Yatsenyuk served as the first vice-president of the head of the National Bank of Ukraine under Serhiy Tyhypko.[5] After Tyhypko left the National Bank, Arseniy Yatsenyuk was put in charge of the National Bank.[5]
        After Vasyl Tsushko was appointed as the new Governor of Odessa Oblast, Tsushko asked Yatsenyuk to serve as his vice-governor, which he served from March 9 to September 2005.[5][6] From September 27, 2005 to August 4, 2006, he served as the Minister of Economy of Ukraine in the Yekhanurov Government.[5][7] Arseniy Yatsenyuk then headed talks about Ukrainian membership in the World Trade Organization. Yatsenyuk also heads the Ukraine-European Union commission.
        From September 20, 2006, he served as the first vice-president of the Head of Government of the President of Ukraine, and the representative of the president in the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.[8]
        Arseniy Yatsenyuk was proposed for the post of Foreign Minister by the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko. Yatsenyuk was chosen for the post by the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) on March 21, 2007[9] with 426 votes (from 450 maximum),[10] but only after the Ukrainian parliament twice denied the post to Volodymyr Ohryzko.
        Speaker of the Parliament[edit]In the early parliamentary elections held on September 30, 2007, Yatsenyuk was elected to the parliament from Our Ukraine''People's Self-Defense Bloc (number 3 in the bloc's member list). On December 3, 2007, he was nominated for the position of the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada from the democratic coalition formed from the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and Our Ukraine''People's Self-Defense Bloc.[11] On December 4, 2007, Yatsenyuk was elected the Chairman of the Parliament.[12] His candidacy was the only in the ballot, and he obtained 227 votes in favor (from the democratic coalition; opposition abstained from the voting).[13]
        During the Ukrainian political crises of September 2008 Yatsenyuk offered his resignation on September 17, 2008. A vote on his dismissal on November 11, 2008, was declared invalid by the counting commission of the Parliament[14][15] (the vote was proposed by opposition party Party of Regions).[16]
        On November 12, a total of 233 of 226 required deputies satisfied the resignation statement of Yatsenyuk and thus dismissed him from his post of Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada.[17][18] The voting was carried out through the parliaments voting system and not by means of secret ballots, as stipulated by the parliamentary regulations.[19] After his dismissal Yatsenyuk told journalists that he will form a new political force "for change in the country."[20][21]
        On November 21, 2008 Arseniy Yatsenyuk was also dismissed by PresidentViktor Yushchenko from the National Security and Defense Council.[22]
        On January 25, 2014, Arseniy Yatsenyuk was offered a Prime Minister government post by President Viktor Yanukovych but he refused due to the unmet demands. Yatsenyuk said that the people should be making a decision for the future of Ukraine not the present government officials.[23]
        2010 presidential election[edit]On December 16, 2008, Yatsenyuk announced plans to create a political party on basis of the Front of Changes public initiative.[24][25] In an interview with Den of February 4, 2009 he claimed to have no allies among the current politicians.[26] He has often been referred to as a political clone lacking differentiating policies of Ukraine's President, Viktor Yushchenko.[27] According to polls held in the last months of 2008 suggested a political party led by Yatsenyuk would pass the 3 percent election threshold in a Ukrainian parliamentary election.[28][29][30]
        On April 5, 2009, Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced his candidacy for President of Ukraine in the next presidential election.[31] During the election campaign fellow candidate Serhiy Ratushniak repeatedly insulted Yatsenyuk because of his alleged Jewish roots, among others Ratushniak called Yatsenyuk an "impudent little Jew" who was "successfully serving the thieves who are in power in Ukraine and is using criminal money to plough ahead towards Ukraine's presidency".[32]
        Yatsenyuk's presidential campaign was estimated to cost about $60''$70 million.[33] When Yatsenyuk billboards first appeared around Ukraine at the end of June 2009, Yatseniuk was depicted as a military-style leader, while his previous image was that of a "young liberal". Some analysts think that this did not help the campaign.[33] On January 13, 2010 Yatseniuk stated that his election campaign had cost 80 million Hryvnia and that "The number of my advertising posters is ten times less than that of all of my political opponents"; Yatseniuk claimed that funds from his election budget were mainly spent on his appearances on television.[34]
        After the elections Yatsenyuk wanted to dissolve the Verkhovna Rada because in his view the parliament would prevent him from working. He also stated in November 2009 that Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko and Party of Regions were "almost a single whole".[35][36]
        In late November 2009, he stated he was not interested in "using his votes as bargaining material" for a high political post.[37]
        On February 21, 2010 President Yanukovych offered three candidates for Prime Minister of Ukraine: Sergey Tigipko, Yatsenyuk and Party of Regions lawmaker Mykola Azarov.[38] But Yatsenyuk declined this proposal to hold a high post in the new cabinet after the Ukrainian parliament adopted an amendment on March 9, 2010 which enabled independent lawmakers to take part in forming a majority coalition, instead of only parliamentary factions; Yatsenyuk disapproved of this amendment.[39] Instead he called for early parliamentary elections: "Unconstitutional attempts by parliamentarians to form a coalition and a government would deepen the political crisis and the crisis of statehood as such".[40] To be premier in a coalition with communists was unacceptable for Yatsenyuk.[41] Yatsenyuk formed an oppositional government in March 2010, next to another oppositional government headed by Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko, opposing the Azarov Government.[42] In April 2010 Yatsenyuk was officially chosen as party leader of Front for Change; by that time the public initiative had become a political party also.[43]
        2012 parliamentary election[edit]During the October 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election Yatsenyuk competed on a party list based on the party All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland".[44][45] Yatseniuk stressed in April 2012 "Front of Changes existed and will exist" but also hinted the same month the alliance could lay basis for one single party.[44][46] The party competed on one single party under "umbrella" party "Fatherland", together with several other parties, during the October 2012 parliamentary elections[47][48][49][50][51][52] During the election this list won 62 seats (25.55% of the votes) under the proportional party-list system and another 39 by winning 39 simple-majority constituencies; a total of 101 seats in Parliament.[53] Yatsenyuk headed this election list; because "Fatherland"-leader Yulia Tymoshenko was imprisoned.[54][55] Yatsenyuk was elected leader of the parliamentary faction of "Fatherland" on 12 December 2012.[3]
        On 15 June 2013 his Front for Change (party) merged into "Fatherland".[4]
        Currently, Arseny Yatsenyuk's father Petro Yatsenyuk works as a deputy dean of the Historical Faculty at the Chernivtsi National University, and his mother, Mariya Yatsenyuk, is a French teacher at one of the Chernivtsi high schools (according to other sources '' also at the Chernivtsi University[56]).
        Yatsenyuk also has a sister Alina Petrivna Jones (according to other sources '' Steel,[56] born 1967), residing in the city of Santa Barbara, California United States.[56]
        Yatsenyuk's wife is Tereza Viktorivna (b. 1970), they also have two daughters named Khrystyna and Sofiya.[5][57] Tereza Yatsenyuk was born into a family of philosophers. Her father, Viktor Illarionovych Gur, works as a professor of philosophy at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, her mother Svitlana Mykytivna '' PhD, now retired.[56] Yatsenyuk's family lives near Kiev (the village of Novi Petrivtsi, Vyshhorod Raion) since 2003, where he owns a two-storeyed house with an outdoor swimming pool, near the country house belonging to Viktor Yanukovych.[58]
        In 2010, Yatsenyuk was victim of a smear campaign from Serhiy Ratushniak, an fellow candidate in the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election.[59] The campaign alleged that Yatsenyuk as a ''brazen Jew'' serving ''the interests of thieves who dominate Ukraine'' and using money obtained from criminal activities to capture the presidency.[60] According to Chief Rabbi of UkraineYaakov Bleich Yatsenyuk is not Jewish[61]
        Political positions[edit]''Ukraine is still not a democracy''
        Yatseniuk does not want Russian to become the second state language in Ukraine.[63]
        Yatseniuk wants European Union membership for Ukraine.[64] and he sees this "because this means standards and values '' a [high] level of education, medical treatment, pensions, employment, freedoms, new technologies, and progress".[64] Yatseniuk stated late 2009 that in its relations with the European Union, Ukraine should have a visa-free regime with EU countries.[65] Yatseniuk stated on 20 April 2012 it was clear to him that the European Union will not sign the association agreement "until fully fledged democracy is resumed in Ukraine, free and fair elections are held, and the political persecution of opponents is stopped in Ukraine".[66] Yatseniuk is against Ukraine joining the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia; according to him "Ukraine's joining the Customs Union means the restoration of the Soviet Union in a slightly different form and with a different name. But this means that the country will become a part of the Russian empire. We know history. We have been there and we don't want to return there".[64] On 21 August 2013 Yatseniuk stated "Russia has decided for some reason that it can be the architect of a new Berlin wall. And, according to Russia's design, this wall should appear at the border between Ukraine and the European Union".[67]
        Yatseniuk is against privatization of state property[68] and wants to simplify the civil service.[69] Yatseniuk has stated in November 2009 that the question of the Russian Black Sea Fleet's withdrawal (then lease was originally supposed to end in 2017)[70] from Ukraine is not currently on the agenda, and the question should be discussed in 2016.[71] Yatseniuk was against the April 21, 2010 agreement in which the Russian lease on naval facilities in Crimea would be extended beyond 2017 by 25 years with an additional five-year renewal option (to 2042''47) in exchange for a multiyear discounted contract to provide Ukraine with Russian natural gas.[72][73][74] Yatseniuk favours the creation of a special "vice prime minister for Crimean issues"-post.[75]
        In November 2009 Yatsenyuk stated that Ukraine's shadow economy "is a part of the current political system in Ukraine and that's why taking business out of the shadows will only be possible via a change in this system". In November 2009 he saw as his most difficult task if elected President "to break the political clan system that has been built up over the last 18 years".[76] Yatsenyuk wants to create a common energy company with European Union countries and Russia.[40]
        According to Yatsenyuk it will be impossible to fight corruption without changing the country's system of government, "The system of government in Ukraine has in fact remained the same as it was under the Soviet Union".[77]
        Late July 2010 Yatsenyuk wrote a draft law which proposed to fine officials for violating the law "On Appeals by Citizens", thus holding officials personally accountable for ignoring the complaints of citizens.[78]
        In November 2009 he proposed that a referendum be held on if Ukraine should have an open list voting system.[35] Yatseniuk is in favour of holding referenda, he calls this "nationalization of state power".[79] The amendment of the terms and conditions of the Russian Black Sea Fleet's presence in Ukraine and a decision on Ukraine's membership of NATO and other military alliances are according to Yatsenyuk only possible through a referendum.[40]
        Yatseniuk has stated the convicted politicians Yulia Tymoshenko and Yuriy Lutsenko should be released and has proposed/written laws to make this happen.[80][nb 1] He also believes their convictions are a "difficult obstacle on Ukraine's path to the European Union."[64] Early December 2012 he stated to dialogue with the authorities only after Tymoshenko and Lutsenko were released.[64]
        Yatseniuk opposes participation of Ukrainian troops in peacekeeping operations abroad.[82]
        Yatseniuk opposes same-sex marriage, which is at odds with his personal beliefs.[83]
        See also[edit]References[edit]^After the parliamentary elections in Ukraine: a tough victory for the Party of Regions, Centre for Eastern Studies (7 November 2012)^Ukraine's united opposition discussing formation of single party, Kyiv Post (7 December 2012)^ abFive factions, including Communist Party, registered in parliament, Kyiv Post (12 December 2012)^ abSobolev: Front for Change and Reform and Order Party to join Batkivschyna, Interfax-Ukraine (11 June 2013)Front for Change, Reforms and Order to dissolve for merger with Batkivshchyna - Sobolev, Ukrinform (11 June 2013))^ abcdef"Biography from Radio Svoboda" (in Ukrainian). Radio Svoboda. 2007-03-21. ^ abcde(Russian)"Ð¯Ñ†ÐµÐ½ÑŽÐº ÐÑÑÐµÐ½Ð¸Ð¹ ÐŸÐµÑ‚ÑÐ¾Ð²Ð¸Ñ‡". ÐÐ½ÑÐ¾ÑÐ¼Ð°Ñ†Ð¸Ð¾Ð½Ð½Ð¾-Ð°Ð½Ð°Ð>>Ð¸Ñ‚Ð¸Ñ‡ÐµÑÐºÐ¸Ð¹ Ñ†ÐµÐ½Ñ‚Ñ "Ð›Ð†Ð'Ð". ^Laws of Ukraine. Presidential decree No. 1372/2005: On the appointment of A. Yatsenyuk as the Minister of Economics of Ukraine. Passed on 2005-09-27. (Ukrainian)^Laws of Ukraine. Presidential decree No. 765/2006: On the appointment of A. Yatsenyuk as the First Vice-president of the Head of Administration of the President of Ukraine '' Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Passed on 2006-09-20. (Ukrainian)^Laws of Ukraine. Order of Verkhovna Rada No. 792-V: On appointment of Arseniy Yatsenyuk as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Passed on 2007-03-21. (Ukrainian)^"Result of voting on appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs" (in Ukrainian). 2007-03-21. ^"Ukraine minister gets "orange" OK for speaker job". Reuters. 2007-12-03. ^Laws of Ukraine. Order of Verkhovna Rada No. 5-VI: On the Head of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Passed on 2007-12-04. (Ukrainian)^"Yatsenyuk '' Speaker" (in Ukrainian). Ukrayinska Pravda. 2007-12-04. ^"Rada Vote Counting Commission Finds Vote To Dismiss Yatseniuk Invalid". Ukrainian News Agency. November 11, 2008. ^"Yatseniuk Might Withdraw His Request Of Resignation If Rada Refuses To Satisfy It". Ukrainian News Agency. November 11, 2008. ^"BYT Against Dismissal Of Yatseniuk". Ukrainian News Agency. November 11, 2008. ^"Rada Dismisses Yatseniuk". Ukrainian News Agency. November 12, 2008. ^"President Yuschenko: Dismissal Of Yatseniuk Aimed Against Stabilization Of Situation In Country". Ukrainian News Agency. November 12, 2008. ^"Verkhovna Rada ousts Yatseniuk as Speaker". UNIAN. November 12, 2008. ^"Speaker resigns, Rada accepts". Kyiv Post. November 12, 2008. ^"Yatseniuk's party to differ from Blend-a-med". UNIAN. 2008-10-15. ^"Yuschenko Withdraws Yatseniuk From NSDC". Ukrainian News Agency. November 21, 2008. ^DTSearch (January 27, 2014). "Ukraine Parliamentary Leader Yatsenyuk Refuses PM Post". Daily Trending Search. Retrieved January 27, 2014. ^"Yatseniuk to create political party". UNIAN. 2008-12-16. ^"Election list of the party (bloc)". Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Retrieved 2007-12-04. ^Yatseniuk says he has no allies among Ukrainian politicians, UNIAN (February 4, 2009)^"Yatsenyuk, a Yushchenko clone, will bring stagnation". Taras Kuzio. Kyiv Post. April 4, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-04. [dead link]^BYT, Regions Party, Communist Party, Bloc Of Lytvyn, And Bloc Of Yatseniuk Might Override 3% Election Threshold, According To FOM-Ukraine Poll, Ukrainian News Agency (November 26, 2008)^Razumkov Centre^Angus Reid Global Monitor January 18, 2009^"Yatsenyuk will be on the ballot for the office of President of Ukraine". Korrespondent.net. April 5, 2009. Archived from the original on April 7, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-07. ^Anti-Semitic Ukraine mayor to run for president, Jerusalem Post (November 17, 2009)^ abPaid advisers descend on candidates, nation, Kyiv Post (November 19, 2009)^Yatseniuk spends Hr 80 million on his election campaign, Kyiv Post (January 13, 2010)^ abYatseniuk proposes referendum on switch to open-list elections to parliament, Interfax-Ukraine (November 23, 2009)^Yatseniuk says Tymoshenko, Yanukovych will unite if parliament not dissolved, Kyiv Post (December 7, 2009)^Yatseniuk not interested in becoming prime minister, Kyiv Post (November 29, 2009)^Yanukovych has yet to secure ruling majority in parliament, Kyiv Post (February 25, 2010)^Key Ukrainian politician Arseniy Yatsenyuk declines premiership, RIA Novosti (March 9, 2010)^ abcYatseniuk proposes early parliamentary elections, Kyiv Post (March 8, 2010)^Yatseniuk: I don't want to be premier in coalition without clear ideological principles, Kyiv Post (March 10, 2010)^Yatseniuk to introduce his oppositional government by end March, Kyiv Post (March 18, 2010)^Justice Ministry: Yatseniuk registered as Front for Change party leader, Kyiv Post (April 12, 2009)^ ab(Ukrainian)"Ð¤Ð ÐžÐ'Ð Ð—Ð'Ð†Ð'" Ð†Ð--Ð• Ð' Ð ÐÐ--Ð£ Ð— "Ð‘ÐÐÐ¬ÐšÐ†Ð'Ð(C)ÐÐ'ÐžÐ®", Ukrayinska Pravda (7 April 2012)Yatseniuk wants to meet with Tymoshenko to discuss reunion of opposition, Kyiv Post (7 April 2012)^Process of unification of opposition finished, says Yatseniuk, Kyiv Post (4 July 2012)^Unification of opposition could lay basis for single party, says Yatseniuk, Kyiv Post (23 April 2012)^(Ukrainian)ÐÐ¾Ñ†Ñ–Ð°Ð>>ÑŒÐ½Ð¾-Ñ…ÑÐ¸ÑÑ‚Ð¸ÑÐ½ÑÑŒÐºÐ° ÐÐ°ÑÑ‚Ñ–Ñ Ð²Ð¸ÑÑ–ÑÐ¸Ð>>Ð° ÐÑÐ¸Ñ--Ð´Ð½Ð°Ñ‚Ð¸ÑÑ Ð´Ð¾ Ð¾Ð±'Ñ--Ð´Ð½Ð°Ð½Ð¾Ñ— Ð¾ÐÐ¾Ð·Ð¸Ñ†Ñ–Ñ—, Den (newspaper) (24 April 2012)^Oppositon to form single list to participate in parliamentary elections, Kyiv Post (2 March 2012)(Ukrainian)"Ð¤Ð ÐžÐ'Ð Ð—Ð'Ð†Ð'" Ð†Ð--Ð• Ð' Ð ÐÐ--Ð£ Ð— "Ð‘ÐÐÐ¬ÐšÐ†Ð'Ð(C)ÐÐ'ÐžÐ®", Ukrayinska Pravda (7 April 2012)Yatseniuk wants to meet with Tymoshenko to discuss reunion of opposition, Kyiv Post (7 April 2012)^(Ukrainian)Tymoshenko and Yatsenyuk united ("ÐÐ¸Ð¼Ð¾ÑÐµÐ½ÐºÐ¾ Ñ‚Ð° Ð¯Ñ†ÐµÐ½ÑŽÐº Ð¾Ð±'Ñ--Ð´Ð½Ð°Ð>>Ð¸ÑÑ"), Ukrayinska Pravda (23 April 2012)^Civil Position party joins Ukraine's united opposition, Kyiv Post (20 June 2012)^Ukrainian opposition parties agree to form single list for 2012 elections, Kyiv Post (23 January 2012)^Oppositon to form single list to participate in parliamentary elections, Kyiv Post (2 March 2012)^(Ukrainian)Proportional votes & Constituency seats, Central Electoral Commission of Ukraine% of total seats, Ukrayinska Pravda^They Call Themselves the Opposition, The Ukrainian Week (31 August 2012)^(Ukrainian)ÐÐÐ¸ÑÐ¾Ðº Ð´ÐµÐÑƒÑ‚Ð°Ñ‚Ñ–Ð² Ð½Ð¾Ð²Ð¾Ñ— Ð'ÐµÑÑ…Ð¾Ð²Ð½Ð¾Ñ— Ð Ð°Ð´Ð¸, Ukrayinska Pravda (11 November 2012)^ abcdÐ¯Ñ†ÐµÐ½ÑŽÐº Ð½Ð°ÑÐµÐ>> Ð¶ÐµÐ½Ñƒ Ð² Ð±Ð°Ð½ÐºÐµ, Ð° Ñ ÐÐµÑÐ²Ð¾Ð¹ ÐºÑÐ°ÑÐ°Ð²Ð¸Ñ†ÐµÐ¹ Ð£ÐºÑÐ°Ð¸Ð½Ñ‹ ÑƒÑ‡Ð¸Ð>>ÑÑ Ð² Ð¾Ð´Ð½Ð¾Ð¹ ÑÐºÐ¾Ð>>Ðµ^"Arseniy Yatsenyuk. New millioner in Yanukovich's Cabmin" (in Russian). Ukrayinska Pravda. 2007-03-21. ^Ð'Ð½ÑƒÑ‚ÑÐ¸ ÑÐµÐ·Ð¸Ð´ÐµÐ½Ñ†Ð¸Ð¸ Ð'Ð¸ÐºÑ‚Ð¾ÑÐ° Ð¯Ð½ÑƒÐºÐ¾Ð²Ð¸Ñ‡Ð° '' Ð±Ð°ÑÑÐµÐ¹Ð½ Ð¸ ÐºÐµÐ½Ð"ÑƒÑÑƒ^Political Pulse: Presidential field takes shape, Kyiv Post (November 11, 2009)^With election, change for Ukraine, but likely not for Jews, Jewish Telegraphic Agency (February 22, 2010 )^Ukrainian Jews want mayor charged for slurs, Jewish Telegraphic Agency (August 10, 2009)^Yatseniuk: Ukraine is still not a democracy, Kyiv Post (September 17, 2011)^Yatseniuk: Ukrainian must be only state language in Ukraine, Kyiv Post (November 28, 2009)^ abcdeYatseniuk:Prosecution of Tymoshenko, Lutsenko hinders Ukraine-EU integration, Kyiv Post (4 December 2012)^Yatseniuk: meaningless foreign policy has been conducted over whole period of Ukraine's independence, Kyiv Post (December 8, 2009)^Yatseniuk: No EU association agreement without fully fledged democracy in Ukraine, Kyiv Post (20 April 2012)^Yatseniuk: Russia plays its last card by banning Ukrainian exports, Interfax-Ukraine (21 August 2013)^Yatseniuk again pushes for moratorium on privatization, Kyiv Post (September 29, 2009)^Yatseniuk says state management system should be simplified, Kyiv Post (October 12, 2009)^No Russian fleet in Ukraine beyond 2017 -Ukrainian PM, UNIAN (24-09-2008)^Yatseniuk says question of Russian fleet's presence in Ukraine should be postponed until 2016, Kyiv Post (November 9, 2009)^Deal Struck on Gas, Black Sea Fleet, The Moscow Times (April 21, 2010)^Yatseniuk calls on president not to submit Russian naval base deal to parliament for ratification, Kyiv Post (April 22, 2010)^Agreement on Black Sea Fleet may be denounced, says Yatseniuk, Kyiv Post (April 27, 2010)^Yatseniuk: Crimea should become 'Ukrainian Hong Kong', Kyiv Post (November 11, 2009)^Yatseniuk: Business will come out of shadows only via change of political system, Kyiv Post (November 19, 2009)^Yatseniuk sees no prospects for reforming Ukraine without fight against corruption, Kyiv Post (April 19, 2010)^Yatseniuk: Officials should be held personally accountable for ignoring the complaints of citizens, Kyiv Post (July 30, 2010)^If elected president, Yatseniuk promises to transfer power to the people, Kyiv Post (December 4, 2009)^Yatseniuk proposes amnesty for Tymoshenko and Lutsenko this year, Kyiv Post (14 March 2012)^Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych pardons Yulia Tymoshenko allies, BBC News (8 April 2013)Ukrainian leader Yanukovych pardons Tymoshenko ally, BBC News (7 April 2013)Ukrainian president pardons Lutsenko and Filipchuk '' decree, Interfax-Ukraine (7 April 2013)^Yatseniuk against participation of Ukrainian troops in peacekeeping operations abroad, Kyiv Post (January 11, 2010)^Leading Ukraine Opposition figure surprises supporters by denouncing gay marriage, LGBT Weekly (March 20, 2013)^Ð£ÐºÐ°Ð· ÐŸÑÐµÐ·Ð¸Ð´ÐµÐ½Ñ‚Ð° Ð£ÐºÑÐ°Ñ—Ð½Ð¸ '– 108/2008 Ð²Ñ–Ð´ 7 Ð>>ÑŽÑ‚Ð¾Ð"Ð¾ 2008 ÑÐ¾ÐºÑƒ ÐŸÑÐ¾ Ð²Ñ–Ð´Ð·Ð½Ð°Ñ‡ÐµÐ½Ð½Ñ Ð´ÐµÑÐ¶Ð°Ð²Ð½Ð¸Ð¼Ð¸ Ð½Ð°Ð"Ð¾ÑÐ¾Ð´Ð°Ð¼Ð¸ Ð£ÐºÑÐ°Ñ—Ð½Ð¸>>^ÐÑÑÐµÐ½Ñ–Ð¹ Ð¯Ñ†ÐµÐ½ÑŽÐº Ð½Ð°Ð"Ð¾ÑÐ¾Ð´Ð¶ÐµÐ½Ð¸Ð¹ Ð¼ÐµÐ´Ð°Ð>>Ð>>ÑŽ Ð'Ð° ÑÐ>>Ð°Ð²Ñƒ Ð§ÐµÑÐ½Ñ–Ð²Ñ†Ñ–Ð²>> // Ð§ÐµÑÐ½Ñ–Ð²ÐµÑ†ÑŒÐºÐ¸Ð¹ Ñ–Ð½ÑÐ¾ÑÐ¼Ð°Ñ†Ñ–Ð¹Ð½Ð¾-ÑÐ¾Ð·Ð²Ð°Ð¶Ð°Ð>>ÑŒÐ½Ð¸Ð¹ ÐÐ¾ÑÑ‚Ð°Ð>> CITI.cv.ua, 04 Ð¶Ð¾Ð²Ñ‚Ð½Ñ 2008External links[edit]PersondataNameYatsenyuk, ArseniyAlternative namesShort descriptionPolitician, economist, and lawyerDate of birthMay 22, 1974Place of birthChernivtsi, UkraineDate of deathPlace of death
      Tanya Cooper | Human Rights Watch
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 20:39
        Tanya Cooper is Russia researcher with the Europe and Central Asia division at Human Rights Watch. She works on issues related to freedom of assembly, association, and expression, LGBT rights and discrimination. Cooper previously worked for Human Rights Watch's office in Moscow. Before joining Human Rights Watch, she worked as a casework coordinator for Amnesty International USA, as a human rights monitor with an OHCHR mission in the aftermath of the interethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan, and as Central Asia analyst for the International Crisis Group. Cooper is a graduate of the Institute d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), American University and Northern Kazakhstan State University. She speaks Russian and French.
      Na VS-minister nu EU-diplomate op YouTube - Buitenland | Het laatste buitenlandse nieuws leest u op Telegraaf.nl [buitenland]
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 19:56
        BERLIJN - Een afgeluisterd gesprek van een Duitse diplomate met dit keer ferme taal richting de Verenigde Staten is vrijdag uitgegroeid tot een zaak in Duitse media. In het gesprek ergert Helga Schmid, werkzaam voor EU-buitenlandchef Catherine Ashton, zich er aan dat als het gaat om sancties tegen Oekra¯ne 'žde Amerikanen bezig zijn de EU aan de schandpaal te nagelen omdat we te soft zijn.''
        Schmid zei dat in een telefoongesprek met de EU-ambassadeur in Kiev, Jan Tombinski. Het stukje conversatie dateert waarschijnlijk van 31 januari en is op 4 februari op YouTube gezet, voorzien van ondertiteling in het Russisch.
        Eerder lekten uitspraken uit via YouTube van de Amerikaanse onderminister van Buitenlandse Zaken, Victoria Nuland. Die deed de uitspraak 'žfuck the EU'' in een gesprek met de Amerikaanse ambassadeur in Kiev. Nuland heeft inmiddels haar excuses aangeboden. De VS denken dat Rusland er verantwoordelijk voor is dat deze uitlatingen op YouTube belandden.
        Dat de VS de EU als te week omschrijft, heeft Smid uit de pers en dat zit haar dwars. Ze vraagt de EU-ambassadeur in Kiev de Amerikaanse ambassadeur in Oekra¯ne ervan te overtuigen dat de EU niet zwak is. 'žWe willen niet in een wedren raken maar het is echt oneerlijk als ze dat zo verspreiden. Wij gaan ook in de richting van sancties maar hangen dat niet aan de grote klok omdat dat veel effectiever is''.
        Gezien de Russische ondertiteling zou het Kremlin de hand kunnen hebben gehad in Schmids YouTube-optreden. Rusland heeft zowel de VS als de EU beschuldigd van inmenging in Oekra¯ne.
      Equality campaigner brilliantly deconstructs Russia gay law - Ryan Curle
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 20:10
        Brian Heiss has worked as a consultant, journalist and writer focused on diversity issues and last week published perhaps one of the most thorough deconstructions and analysis, certainly the only analysis of this kind ofthe topic, (in the form of a white paper) of Russia's supposed 'anti-gay law' that had worldwide coverage and exposure despite many not even appearing to have read the law.
        As well as explaining and publishing the full text of the law in English, obtained from a professional translator, which was not available anywhere else online (despite the wide scale media coverage) for the public to see for themselves, Heiss goes into incredible detail of the US media coverage of the law, including how it was presented as 'breaking news' despite being up to 24 days after it had been passed on 29 June 2013.
        Heiss researched and began to write the report in an attempt to prove Adam Curry and John C Dvorak of the No Agenda show wrong in their analysis of the law, which went against the narrative created by the US and UK mainstream media which claimed Russia was banning homosexuality and that LGBT groups could now legally persecuted and attacked. On the show Adam Curry claimed the law was nothing of the sort and was about banning the 'propaganda' of 'non-traditional sexual relationships' to children and nothing more - not legalising the arrest and imprisonment of homosexuals.
        This report is a must read for anyone interested in civil rights and equality, as well as anyone who has seen the news media's portrayal of Russia as supposedly being incredibly anti-gay and discriminatory, especially as Heiss makes many well-cited comparisons between the rights LGBT individuals have in the US compared to in Russia. For example, unlike in Russia you can be fired from your job in the US simply for being LGBT (see chapter 4 in the report).
        One must also question why the news media went down this route of villifying Russia and Putin despite not even reading what was in the law. Perhaps John C Dvorak's commentary is somewhat close to the truth:
        The entire anti-gay and anti-Putin propaganda stemming solely from the US government may relate to the embarrassing fact that Ed Snowden is using Russia as a sanctuary from the American government. This is a tremendous humiliation to the US State Department. Creating this false narrative about anti-gay Russian sentiment is part of a seemingly never-ending attack on Russia and its Olympics. The Russians must be punished for disobedience. Putin needs to be humiliated.
        This is not to say any legislation about banning the encouragement of 'alternative lifestyles' is acceptable in any way, but the fact that the words 'gay', 'homosexual', 'sexual orientation', 'same sex' or any other LGBT identifier does not even appear anywhere in the legislation is extremely interesting. The fact that the news media, in all its hours of coverage and hundreds of news articles on the law did not even mention this is worrying and suggests that none of these reporters even read the report or a translated version and simply jumped on the bandwagon and joined in with the condemnation without even reading the original source.
        The 129-page report, complete with citations for further reading and fact checking, can be found here. This is true journalism.
      Russian Official Denies Role in US Envoy Conversation Leak
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        Archived Version
        Source: RIA Novosti
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 15:55
        MOSCOW, February 8 (RIA Novosti) '' A Russian ministerial aide who kick-started a scandal over a leaked conversation about Ukraine between US diplomats has denied he was responsible for the leak.
        ''I was just monitoring 'the Internets' while my boss was off to a meeting with the Chinese leader,'' Dmitry Loskutov wrote in English on his Twitter account on Friday.
        Loskutov, an aide to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, on Thursday tweeted a link to a recording posted on YouTube purporting to be a telephone exchange between US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and the US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt.
        The recording has re-ignited claims of US meddling in Ukraine's unfolding political crisis and aroused irritation in European capitals over Nuland's apparent use of a four-letter expletive while dismissively referring to the EU.
        While refraining from definitively confirming the veracity of the recording, Nuland has issued an apology over her use of language.
        Washington has angrily lashed out over the leak, arguing that only a few countries would have had the technical capability to intercept the call. A US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki strongly implied Russia was behind the leak and condmened Loskutov's role in drawing public attention to the recording as a ''new low in Russian tradecraft.''
        The original uploader, who used the name of the title hero from Fyodor Dostoyevsky novel ''The Idiot,'' has not been identified.Loskutov said on Twitter that he found the recording on a newsfeed of an unidentified friend.
        He said he had no information about the Russian government's involvement in the leak and told the Associated Press that Ukrainian thugs-for-hire were a more likely suspect.
        Ukraine has been plunged into a deep political crisis since late November, when the government decided in a surprise move to cancel a planned deal to deepen economic and political ties with the EU.
        Large anti-government protests in the capital, Kiev, have been largely peaceful, although there have also been sporadic outbreaks of violence between radical demonstrators and police.
        A number of European and US politicians and officials have visited Ukraine over the past few weeks to meet with government representatives, as well to engage with, and sometimes voice support for, the opposition. That has drawn heated accusations from Moscow of Western interference in the former Soviet nation's domestic affairs.
      Details Behind the NBC Honeypots: Part 2 - Trend Micro Simply Security
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 15:34
        Recently, I was asked by NBC to participate in an experiment to deploy honeypots in Moscow, Russia, to see how fast they would be compromised. Taking a few steps from my previous blog, this post is intended to clarify some items; in addition an accompanying white paper will discuss the technical details behind the incidents that occurred. Click here to read ''Experiment Shows Russia is Still a Hotbed of Nefarious Digital Activity: Part 1.''
        First, all the attacks required some kind of user interaction. Whether to execute ''applications'' or to open a Microsoft Word document, all the attacks shown required user interaction in order to compromise the device.
        Second, these attacks could happen anywhere. They would not just happen in Moscow, nor did it require us to be in Moscow. Whether those attacks occur while you are sitting in a coffee shop in Berlin, or your home in Tokyo, these types of attacks can and do occur, on a worldwide scale.
        Third, the infections occurred on newly unboxed hardware. Had basic security precautions such as updating the operating system or not opening emails from unrecognized sources been done, these attacks could have been prevented. A more detailed NBC video explaining these precautions can be seen here.
        Finally, to reiterate, while all three devices looked like they had been compromised with no user interactions that was just not the case. Incorrect impressions may have been formed due to the editing process; no zero-days were used and all infections required plenty of risky behavior to succeed.
        This blog post and the accompanying white paper both recommend various security best practices that most experts follow, and have been part of our advice to the general public for many years.
      NBC Edits Out IOC Anti-Discrimination Statement From Opening Ceremony
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 15:13
        Russia's anti-gay laws have been a major focus in the lead-up to the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, and during his address at today's opening ceremony IOC president Thomas Bach made a strong statement against "any form of discrimination" and in favor of tolerance. Viewers worldwide heard the statement; NBC viewers in the U.S. did not, because the network edited it out.
        The video above is how it aired on NBC tonight. You'll notice a very awkward edit. Below is how it appeared everywhere else on Earth to viewers watching live:
        Here's a transcript of Bach's speech from British TV. NBC edited out the bolded portion.
        Good evening, dear Athletes. Mr president of the Russian Federation, Mr Secretary General of the United Nations, Good evening Olympic friends and fans around the world! Welcome to the 22nd Olympic Winter Games! Tonight, we are writing a new page in Olympic history. What has been achieved in seven years is a remarkable achievement. I would like it thank, in again, the president of the Russian Federation and his Government. The Sochi organising committee. The Russian Olympic committee. And the IOC members in Russia. Thank you to all the workers for your great contribution under sometimes difficult circumstances. Thank you to all the people of Sochi and the Krasnodar region. Thank you for your patience, thank you for your understanding during these years of transformation.
        Now you are living in an Olympic Region. I am sure you will enjoy the benefits for many, many years to come. Thousands of volunteers have welcomed us with the well-known warm Russian hospitality. Many thanks to all the wonderful volunteers. Bolshoi spasiba, valantyoram! Thank you very much to everyone. Russia and the Russians have set the stage for you, the best winter athletes on our planet. From this moment on you are not only the best athletes, you are Olympic Athletes. You will inspire us with your outstanding sports performances. You have come here for sports. You have come here with your Olympic dream. The International Olympic Committee wants your Olympic Dream to come true. This is why we are investing almost all of our revenues in the development of sports. The universal Olympic rules apply to each and every athlete- no matter where you come from or what your background is. You are living together in the Olympic Village. You will celebrate victory with dignity and accept defeat with dignity. You are bringing the Olympic Values to life. In this way, the Olympic Games, wherever they take place, set an example for a peaceful society. Olympic Sport unites people. This is the Olympic Message the athletes spread to the host country and to the whole world. Yes, it is possible to strive even for the greatest victory with respect for the dignity of your competitors. Yes, Yes, it is possible - even as competitors - to live together under one roof in harmony, with tolerance and without any form of discrimination for whatever reason. Yes, it is possible - even as competitors - to listen, to understand and to give an example for a peaceful society.
        Olympic Games are always about building bridges to bring people together. Olympic Games are never about erecting walls to keep people apart. Olympic Games are a sports festival embracing human diversity in great unity. Therefore, I say to the political leaders of the world - thank you for supporting your athletes. They are the best ambassadors of your country. Please respect their Olympic Message of goodwill, of tolerance, of excellence and of peace. Have the courage to address your disagreements in a peaceful, direct political dialogue and not on the backs of the athletes. APPLAUSE To all sports officials and sports fans I say - join and support our fight for fair play, the athletes deserve it. To you - my fellow Olympic Athletes - I say, respect the rules, play fair, be clean, respect your fellow athletes in and out of competition. We all wish you joy in your Olympic effort and a wonderful Olympic experience. APPLAUSE To all of you - Athletes, Officials, Fans and Spectators around our globe - I say, enjoy the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games! And now I have the honour of inviting the president of the Russian Federation, Mister Vladimir Putin, to declare open the 22nd Olympic Winter Games.
        This is the second time in two years that NBC has made at least one ill-advised edit from its tape-delayed Olympic opening ceremony broadcast.
        [NBC, CBC]
      US Sees Russian Hand in Envoy's Bugged Call
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        Archived Version
        Source: Military Top Stories Center
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 06:43
        WASHINGTON -- Two senior American diplomats, thinking their conversation about the Ukraine was secure and private, were caught disparaging the European Union in a phone call that was apparently bugged, and U.S. officials say they strongly suspect Russia of leaking the conversation.
        The suspicions were aired Thursday after audio of the call was posted to the Internet and amid continuing criticism of the United States in Europe and elsewhere over NSA spying on foreign leaders and U.S. They also came as the Russia-hosted Winter Olympics opened under tight security to prevent possible terrorist attacks and highlighted distrust between Washington and Moscow that has thrived despite the Obama administration's attempt to "reset" relations with the Kremlin.
        The White House and State Department stopped just short of directly accusing Russia of surreptitiously recording the call between the top US diplomat for Europe, Victoria Nuland, and the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt. But both took pains to point out that a Russian government official was the first or among the first to call attention to the audio of the conversation that was posted on YouTube. The State Department said the incident marked a "new low in Russian tradecraft."
        White House spokesman Jay Carney pointed to the Russian official's tweet and Russia's clear interest in what has become a struggle between pro-Moscow and pro-Western camps in the former Soviet Republic.
        "I would say that since the video was first noted and tweeted out by the Russian government, I think it says something about Russia's role," Carney told reporters. He would not comment on the substance of the conversation, in which the Nuland and Pyatt voices also discuss their opinion of various Ukrainian opposition figures.In the audio, voices resembling those of Nuland and Pyatt discuss international efforts to resolve Ukraine's ongoing political crisis. At one point, the Nuland voice colorfully suggests that the EU's position should be ignored. "F--- the EU," the female voice said.
        An aide to Russian deputy prime minister, Dmitry Rogozin, was among the first to tweet about the YouTube video, which shows photos of Nuland and Pyatt and is subtitled in Russian.
        In the tweet, posted some seven hours before existence of the video became widely known on Thursday, the Rogozin aide, Dmitry Loskutov, opined: "Sort of controversial judgment from Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland speaking about the EU."
        State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki did not dispute the authenticity of the recording and said that Nuland had apologized to European Union officials for her remarks.
        Psaki said, however, that Moscow's apparent role in publicizing the video was "a new low in Russian tradecraft."
        The YouTube video was posted on Feb. 4 and is titled the "Marionettes of Maidan" in Russian. Maidan is the name of the main square in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, which has become the center of opposition protests.
        In the audio, Nuland and Pyatt discuss their views of various opposition figures and whether or not they should take positions in the government.
        The U.S. has repeatedly denied allegations, many of them from Russian officials, that it is taking sides in the Ukraine crisis and Psaki repeated that stance on Thursday.
        "It is no secret that Ambassador Pyatt and Assistant Secretary Nuland have been working with the government of Ukraine, with the opposition, with business and civil society leaders to support their efforts," Psaki said. "It shouldn't be a surprise that at any points there have been discussions about recent events and offers and what is happening on the ground."
        "Of course these things are being discussed," she said. "It doesn't change the fact that it's up to the people on the ground. It is up to the people of Ukraine to determine what the path forward it."
        The practice of eavesdropping on the phone calls of other governments -- even between allies -- was the first diplomatic fallout from the publication of documents taken by former National Security Agency analyst Edward Snowden. The documents he took and that were published in such newspapers as The Washington Post, the New York Times and The Guardian showed that the United States listened in to the phone calls of allies such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel was outraged, and part of the U.S. response was that such practice is common on both sides around the world.
        (C) Copyright 2014 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
      'Fabricated!' NBC Sochi 'hack hysteria' exposed
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: RT - News
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 03:49
        Published time: February 07, 2014 12:53Edited time: February 07, 2014 15:30printscreen from www.nbcnews.com
        'The story was fabricated.' Cyber security experts are calling out an NBC Sochi-hacker hit-job as a fabrication that, at best, made liberal use of assistance given to them by experts.
        NBC news Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel and security expert Kyle Wilhoit claimed to prove how fresh computers were hacked within 24 hours of operation in Russia. A theatrically staged set-up featuring Moscow landmarks wrongly claimed to prove the point Engel wanted to make '' Your data is not safe in Sochi.
        Engel provided few technical details on how exactly those cyber-attacks happened, but suggested he had not initiated any act before his phone was hacked.
        But he had. He downloaded a hostile Android app.
        Engel then tried to convince viewers that uninitiated hacks are rampant in Russia. ''American athletes and fans are entering a minefield the moment they log in to the internet'' he warned. Untrue. In fact, almost impossible!
        Security expert Robert Graham of errata looked at the package aired on MSNBC and slammed it as "100 percent fraudulent" and ''wrong in every salient detail''.
        Graham added a salient point to anyone deciphering the subtle anti-Sochi spin saturating MSM as the Olympics open.
        Wilhoit, the expert central to the NBC report, is currently is writing a whitepaper on the technology featured, but has clarified how his work was 'edited' to give a false impression.
        NBC haven't made any statement despite repeated requests to @RicahrdEngel and @NBCNews to clarify just how hackers are set to prey on every American visitor to Sochi.
        Graham offers advice to anyone, regardless of where they might be: ''If you're a stupid user, don't patch your shit, and click on Olympic themed sites and randomly click 'yes', ur good.''
        The Sochi spinfest continues'...
      Is a proxy war being waged in Ukraine?
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 06:43
        In Ukraine, pro-democracy campaigners are battling an authoritarian government - at least that is the way much of the media paints it.
        But does that picture bear any resemblance to reality?
        As Russia slams foreign politicians for interfering in Ukrainian affairs and protestors are accused of being right-wing extremists, we ask is the media narrative too simplistic?
        What's really going on in Ukraine?
        Presenter: Adrian Finigan
        Guests: Valentin Yakushik , a member of the Public Humanities Council
        Viacheslav Matuzov, a former Russian diplomat
        Michael Binyon, a foreign affairs specialist at The Times.
        92
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      How the Olympic medals showcase Russian culture | Fourth-Place Medal - Yahoo Sports
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Fri, 07 Feb 2014 22:38
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      Dozens of gay rights activists arrested in Idaho
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Fri, 07 Feb 2014 22:08
        AP2:45 p.m. EST February 3, 2014
        Former Idaho state senator Nicole LeFavour was among demonstrators at the state capitol demanding legal protection for gay and transgender people Monday.(Photo: Troy Maben, AP)
        Story HighlightsDemonstrators blocked entrances to state Senate chambersThey want lawmakers to pass protections for gay and transgender peopleSenate leader says protest was irresponsibleSHARE2851CONNECTEMAILMOREBOISE, Idaho (AP) '-- Police have arrested dozens of gay rights activists, saying their protest blocked entrances to the Idaho Senate chambers for more than two hours.
        Idaho State Police say they took 43 people into custody Monday after the demonstrators stood shoulder to shoulder and prevented lawmakers from getting past.
        Former state senator Nicole LeFavour, the Idaho Legislature's first openly gay lawmaker and an organizer of the protest, had said the group would block the entrances until lawmakers agreed to take up a bill adding protections for gay and transgender people to the Idaho Human Rights Act.
        If lawmakers "get a bill through committee, we would let them in to do their work," LeFavour, a Democrat, said before she and the others were arrested.
        The arrests began after Senate President Pro Tem Brent Hill tried to enter the chamber about 11 a.m. but was blocked, police said.
        "We respect your right to protest, but we also have the right to do the job people elected us to do," he told them, adding that it was "irresponsible" of demonstrators to block the hearing room. "Those are the chambers, and they belong to all the people, not just this group."
        The demonstrators wore "Add the Words Idaho" T-shirts and covered their mouths with their hands, a symbolic gesture intended to call attention to a bill adding workplace and housing protections for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender individuals to state law.
        Hill and other Idaho Republicans have blocked passage of such a proposal for eight years, and they have declined to give the plan a hearing this year.
        The last formal hearing was in 2012.
        Hill said he sought to avoid a confrontation by telling his members to remain outside the chambers until the protesters had vacated the entrances.
        Protesters, who ranged from high school age to their 60s, said they wanted to make a point.
        "I'm a parent of three beautiful girls," said Ty Carson, 41, a Boise resident. "I have been verbally attacked in bathrooms, locker rooms and in local restaurants. That sort of discrimination should not happen to any of Idaho's citizens. Until the Legislature says it's wrong, the message they're sending is that it's OK."
        Carson had a crumpled-up citation for misdemeanor trespassing and the likelihood of a court date. Carson and other protesters were escorted to the front door by a state police trooper and told they could re-enter provided they didn't cause a repeat disturbance.
        Amid growing tension over whether the "Add the Words" bill will get a hearing, Idaho's Capitol has been the scene of several low-key protests. On Friday, a small group with guitars sang songs in the Capitol, urging lawmakers to take up the issue.
        Contributing: Katie Terhune
        SHARE2851CONNECTEMAILMORECopyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
      --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Yogurt Spat Throws Off Routines Of US Olympians
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Fri, 07 Feb 2014 21:47
        SOCHI, Russia (AP) '-- U.S. Olympians will have to make do without the team's official yogurt '-- denying them a source of protein and potentially disturbing their daily routines as they prepare for the biggest competition of their lives.
        Some 5,000 cups of Greek yogurt from Team USA sponsor Chobani isn't getting to Sochi because of a customs dispute with Russia.
        U.S. halfpipe skier Aaron Blunck said Friday that to traveling athletes, getting food from home is part of feeling fit and healthy. "And having the yogurt there, that helps you, gives you protein, gives you nutrition," he said.
        But teammate Lyman Currier said part of being an elite athlete is dealing with the unexpected.
        "We all have different routines before competing but I think that part of the sport is adapting," he said. "So whether we have our yogurt or not, we'll be able to adapt."
        The U.S. Ski Team is not staying in the athletes' village in Krasnaya Polyana in the mountains above Sochi. The Americans have their own place, with their own food and private chefs.
        U.S. Alpine skiers Steven Nyman and Marco Sullivan said they were fine without yogurt.
        "Our setup's pretty good. I can get my Greek yogurt when I get back home," Nyman said.
        Sullivan noted that oatmeal was also missing from the breakfast menu; there was rice pudding instead. "I don't really care about it, but I noticed it," he said.
        Russian authorities say the U.S. Department of Agriculture has refused to provide a certificate that is required for dairy products under its customs rules.
        "American officials know what the requirements are, and I do not understand why they stood to the side and waited until the situation reached this point," said Alexei Alexeyenko, an official at the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance. "This question can be resolved very quickly."
        U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer this week implored the Russians to let the shipment through and said export trade rules should have nothing to do with it, since the yogurt isn't for sale and is to be eaten only by U.S. citizens in Sochi.
        U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul said Friday the trade dispute goes back four years and that he's been working on it ever since he arrived as ambassador in 2012.
        "Unfortunately, with this particular shipment, it came to an impasse," he said. "We are still working it, we would like our athletes to be able to have the American yogurt."
        ____
        Associated Press writers Graham Dunbar in Sochi, Howard Fendrich in Krasnaya Polyana, Laura Mills in Moscow and Mary Esch in Albany, N.Y., contributed to this report.
        Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
      Errata Security: That NBC story 100% fraudulent
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Fri, 07 Feb 2014 20:39
        Yesterday (Feb 5 2014) On February 4th, NBC News ran a story claiming that if you bring your mobile phone or laptop to the Sochi Olympics, it'll immediately be hacked the moment you turn it on. The story was fabricated. The technical details relate to going to the Olympics in cyberspace (visiting websites), not going to there in person and using their local WiFi.The story shows Richard Engel "getting hacked" while in a cafe in Russia. It is wrong in every salient detail.They aren't in Sochi, but in Moscow, 1007 miles away.The "hack" happens because of the websites they visit (Olympic themed websites), not their physical location. The results would've been the same in America.The phone didn't "get" hacked; Richard Engel initiated the download of a hostile Android app onto his phone....and in order to download the Android app, Engel had to disable a lock that prevents such downloads -- something few users do [update].I had expected the story to be about the situation with WiFi in Sochi, such as man-in-the-middle attacks inserting the Blackhole toolkit into web pages exploiting the latest Flash 0day. But the story was nothing of the sort.Instead, the hacking in the story was due to the hostility of Olympic themed websites. The only increased danger from being in Russia is geolocation. Google uses your IP address to increase the of rank local sites, so you'll see more dodgy Russian sites in the results. You can disable this feature in your Google account settings.Absolutely 0% of the story was about turning on a computer and connecting to a Sochi network. 100% of the story was about visiting websites remotely. Thus, the claim of the story that you'll get hacked immediately upon turning on your computers is fraudulent. The only thing that can be confirmed by the story is "don't let Richard Engel borrow your phone".That leaves us with the same advice that we always give people:don't click on stuffpatch your stuff (browser, Flash, PDF)get rid of the really bad stuff (Oracle's Java)don't click on stuffoh, and if you really are in Sochi, use VPN over the public WiFiI gleaned these details from Kyle Wilhoit, the expert quoted in the story, and his Twitter feed. He's working on a blog with the full technical details. I'm sure it'll be great, with lots of details about what hackers can find with Maltego, the dangers of hostile websites, and so on -- the sort of great information totally lost in the nonsense that is the NBC story.By the way, the easy way to figure out where journalists commit fraud is by watching for "passive voice". Journalists normally avoid passive voice, preferring stronger language. But, when they need to hide things, they passive voice to cover up details. Saying "was hacked" covers up the fact that Richard Engel hacked himself by knowingly downloading a hostile Android app. In other word, active voice wouldn't have worked, because it would have required identifying who put the virus on the phone. He couldn't report that a "hacker put the virus on the phone" because the hacker didn't, Richard Engel did. He couldn't very well have reported, in the active voice, "I downloaded the virus". Thus, the passive voice, "the phone was hacked", avoiding this inconvenient detail of who did what.
      BBC News - Google doodle backs gay rights in Russia
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Fri, 07 Feb 2014 20:36
        7 February 2014Last updated at 05:34 ET Google has joined the chorus of US companies speaking out against Russia's law restricting gay rights activities.
        Its so-called 'Google doodle' homepage icon has been updated to show illustrations of athletes against a rainbow-coloured backdrop - a symbol of the gay rights movement.
        The Winter Olympic Games are due to open on Friday.
        Last year, Russia banned the promotion of "non-traditional" sexuality.
        The law makes providing information on homosexuality to under-18s a crime, punishable by a fine.
        Critics say its loose interpretation effectively stops gay rights protests in Russia.
        Google declined to comment on the new image, saying it wanted the illustration to speak for itself.
        Although Google is not an Olympics sponsor, its action came a day after three sponsors of the US Olympic Committee - AT&T, DeVry University and yogurt maker Chobani - issued statements explicitly speaking out against the Russian law.
        In a corporate blog post, AT&T condemned Russia's stance, saying it stood "against Russia's anti-LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] law".
        The telecommunications giant is not an IOC sponsor but it does sponsor the US Olympic Committee.
        Last month, President Vladimir Putin said homosexuals would be welcome in Sochi for the Olympics but added: "Just leave the children in peace."
        "We don't have a ban on non-traditional sexual relations," he said. "We have a ban on the propaganda of homosexuality and paedophilia."
      'Kaper wilde vliegtuig Oekra¯ne naar Sotsji dwingen' | Algemeen | NU.nl - Voor het laatste nieuws
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Fri, 07 Feb 2014 20:33
        Aan boord van een passagiersvliegtuig dat onderweg was van Oekra¯ne naar Turkije, is vrijdag met een bom gedreigd. Een mogelijk dronken passagier eiste dat het toestel koers zou zetten naar Sotsji, waar de Olympische Spelen worden gehouden.
        Turkse elitetroepen overmeesterden de dreiger na de landing in Turkije.
        De Boeing 737-800 van de Turkse maatschappij Pegasus Airlines is geland op de internationale luchthaven Sabiha Gokcen in Istanbul. Daar werd het naar een veilige plek gedirigeerd.
        Turkse media melden dat een Oekra¯ense passagier zou hebben geist dat het toestel koers zou zetten naar Sotsji. Vermoedelijk was de man onder invloed van alcohol, meldde het Turkse persbureau Dogan.
        Een Turkse F-16 steeg op om het vliegtuig met 110 passagiers te begeleiden. Het toestel was onderweg van Charkov in Oekra¯ne naar Istanbul.
        Volgens Turkse mediaberichten had het toestel een kapingssignaal afgegeven. Een Turkse functionaris van het ministerie van Transport bevestigde in ieder geval dat er was gedreigd met een bom.
        Door: ANP
      Google shows support for LGBT Olympians | Hacker News
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Fri, 07 Feb 2014 04:32
        Didn't Utah get the winter Olympics a few years ago ? :)reply
        Utah, while prohibiting gay marriage, nevertheless still let gay people meet (gatherings), distribute information, and speak publicly about the topic.reply
        This is absolutely false. From Wikipedia (with many, many, detailed citations and sources):"Under the statute it is effectively illegal to hold any gay pride events, speak in defense of gay rights, or say that gay relationships are equal to heterosexual relationships."
        You cannot hold a pride parade (a minor might see it); you cannot distribute brochures (a minor might read it); you cannot have a website (a minor might see it). The freedoms we take for granted in the West, limited though they may be, simply do not exist in Russia. Every single item that mentioned as something you can do in Utah is something you cannot do in Russia, by law. And that's not even touching on the more restrictive laws in many regions and cities, nor on the surge in hate crimes and other unofficial repression.
        Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Russia#Bans_on_g... (Although really, just google it; there's tons of info.)
        reply
        I realize the difference with Russia is that it is practically illegal for LGBT to exist but let's talk about the USA for a moment where 33 states refuse to consider legalizing gay marriage and a few are even testing of the idea of emergency suspending ALL marriages just so people who are gay cannot marry if they cannot be excluded separately.There are still plenty of places in the USA where you could be killed for being gay, the difference is not by the state but by individuals.
        So we are not exactly a shining beacon ourselves.
        reply
        the difference is not by the state but by individuals.And therein lies the distinction. We still have a long way to go, but our laws are structured and being structured in a way that protects those rights. Even though some states might be trying to push back the tide of tolerance, the momentum is seriously in the direction of equal rights. Every country has idiots and bigots, but when a state sponsors such bigotry, then the light should be shined on those wrongs. Our ignoble idiots exonerate actions of legislators and leaders in Russia.reply
        Did you know that in Russia you can't get fired for being gay? At the same time it is perfectly legal to do so in United States. When did it become legal in United States for gays to have sex? Kinda like in 2003...except 13 states have not repealed sodomy laws. By the way, sodomy is perfectly legal in Russia since 1993.reply
        That's not exactly a relevant comparison. We're not talking about a Prop 8 or DOMA supporter lecturing Russia. We're talking about a Google using their enormous soapboax to do so in a fresh, defiant, and powerful way.Google has been quite active in fighting for gay marriage within US, submitting amici briefs to the court cases, spending money on campaigns, and so forth...
        reply
        From the white paper linked below-"Since 1993 gay sex was made legal in Russia, in 12 US States gay sex is a crime."
        reply
        Check out the Supremacy Clause http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supremacy_Clause"The supremacy of federal law over state law only applies if Congress is acting in pursuance of its constitutionally authorized powers."
        Congress does not have an authority to govern sexual conduct. Just because enforcement of sodomy laws has been unpopular long before 2003, doesn't mean they don't exist.
        reply
        ...wow. You really don't understand how the US legal system works, do you?Hint: The Supremacy Clause limits federal law; the product of the legislative branch. Lawrence v. Texas is court decision; the product of the judicial branch. That's like saying the second amendment requires the legalisation of marijuana because pot is a type of rifle. > That Russia has a reasonable political platform regarding its LGBT citizens?Are you saying that this position can simply be disregarded out of hand? That strikes me as disrespectful and self-important. If nothing else it is non-conducive to any actual discussion on the matter - unless all you want is an echo chamber to reaffirm your preexisting positions on the matter.
        > The topic was the Google Doodle showing support for LGBT people
        Specifically in relation to the LGBT issues surrounding the Olympics, i.e., Russia's "anti-gay" laws. The Russian laws are very much a part of this topic. You're being disingenuous.
        reply
        Absolutely I am. I don't need to share the evidence with you because, as a thinking and contributing member to these forums, I am sure you have accessed it yourself. Is there any reason I wouldn't discard an argument in favor of institutionalized racism? Or, more mildly, that institutionalized racism is a topic that is capable of being overblown?The commenter called it "The LGBT Russia thing" and if that does not aptly sum up how trivial s/he perceives the topic to be, I don't know what does. "That human rights violation thing". Sorry, it doesn't fly with me.
        I am not saying Russian laws are not a part of the topic. What I am saying is that characterizing the topic as being "overblown" by citing that paper is absolutely ludicrous.
        EDIT: Wanted to add in this: How do you have 'rational discourse' when one side of the discussion is demonstrably pursuing nothing less than a human rights violation? It is like saying the Catholic church's sex scandal was 'overblown', or slavery, or any other human rights topic you can imagine. Where is the rational discourse there? How can "human rights violations" ever be an "overblown" topic?
        reply
        I read the executive summary. It's great that Russia is making legal progress, and I mean that, but that doesn't change the situation on the ground where people are being beaten and arrested.reply
        The paper also talks about statistics on how often gay people are beaten in Russia. United States is far worse in this respect. Further United States has a greater incarceration rate for gays than Russia.reply
        I expected to get voted down. Not because what I posted didn't add value, but because this is the sort of topic I avoid in day to day conversation because it causes fights. There is too much emotion involved.I am not saying there are not problems. I am saying that the media coverage of it is overblown, and because of that any rational thought or discussion about it is impossible. I provided a link to a document which as I pointed out elsewhere is well written, researched, provides citations and has some reasonable conclusions.
        I understand it is hard to remove emotion from this sort of topics, in much the same way that discussions on climate change rapidly spiral out of control.
        I had hoped that HN was beyond being a vote brigade and that posting it would produce some reasonable discussion on the topic.
        reply
        No, it's not emotion in this case. The paper you linked begins with 100 repetitions of "did you know that the law actually is about children?". To which I have to answer: yes. And more importantly: yes, of course. That (hiding anti-gay legislation behind supposedly anti-pedophilia legislation) is a known strategy. It's actually one of the most disgusting things about this kind of legislation because it sends a message of "the state approves of using gay and pedophile interchangeably". Also the article seems to suggest that everyones afraid of all gay people getting arrested in Russia now. That's not at all the issue. What people (afaik) are afraid of is citizen-on-citizen violence against gay people getting an official stamp of approval. Because hunting pedophiles is protecting children. Please read the following section a couple of times:> Public actions designed to promote pedophilia, sexual relations with minors,pederasty, lesbianism and bisexuality shall be prohibited.
        You see what is missing? Gay. Lesbian? Bisexual? In there. Gay not. Why? The subtext is: it's implied by either pedophilia or pederasty. Yes, those are techniques you find also among American conservatives fighting gay rights. But you know what? Those images and stereotypes can be found all over the world, for centuries at least. But making laws that turn those stereotypes official? Yeah, that's a problem. Not the people being convicted by those laws. The precedence such laws create.
        reply
        Sorry I disagree. This topic is highly emotional. That's why this thread was identified as a flame war by HN and why there is so much heated discussion.I agree that there is lots of legislation which uses anti-pedophilia as a way of passing though "Won't somebody please think of the children!" works, and that's why it is used. I disagree with it of course, but yes I am aware of it.
        Wait you are saying that by deliberately excluding "gay" then its implied? Sorry but that's a bit of a stretch which I disagree with.
        Look, as far as I can tell this law can be boiled down to "We don't want people to force non-traditional marriage beliefs on minors". The specifics of it have issues. I can see how advocating for equality can be listed as a crime based on what's listed there though. Its interesting that the word "propaganda" is used which leaves a fair amount of room for interpretation. Point 3 is the sore point it seems, although I can see why its in there as you would not want to equate child-adult relationships which this would prevent. It all hangs on the word "nontraditional" and "propaganda".
        reply
        I agree with you and I want to add that in my view, the idea of something which is so clearly a front-and-center human rights issue, cannot easily be "overblown". Violence against people, discrimination, hate-based crimes - these are all things which rate fairly high on the "worth covering" scale of news media.reply
        I have to ask, what did I write that was not reasonable? I can only assume "blown out of proportion" but I have yet to see evidence to the contrary that the media has not done this.reply
        I'm sorry, this paper is bizarre and somewhat incoherent. magicalist goes into some of the problems with it, but the even larger problem that I see is that it seems to completely ignore the larger climate of intimidation and erasure by public officials, and look at "are specific people being harmed by this specific law", and I'm disinclined to trust its analysis even on that.It's written by somebody who claims to be a journalist and managing editor yet has basically zero online presence in bylines or anything that I can find. Nor does he provide any contact information (apart from being from Chicago, which, good for him, I guess?). That makes very little sense.
        In the US at large, LGBT rights and support for them has been growing, imperfectly and inconsistently, but growing. In Russia, it seems that there's been a backlash, and Putin and company are stirring up public sentiment against LGBT people. I'll take the word of Russians that things are actively getting worse:
        http://www.gq.com/news-politics/big-issues/201402/being-gay-...
        reply
        As I wrote elsewhere, ignore the conclusions. The facts presented are what I am interested in.reply
        Yes, for every single argument there are two equally valid sides.Right.
        Give me a goddamned break.
        reply
        Letting the media tell you what to think is also valid.Right.
        Give me a break.
        Seriously, without getting snarky, how about you actually read the whitepaper. The person who wrote it is a lawyer and member of the LGBT community.
        reply
        Thank you for linking to this. Finally someone taking the time to actually discuss the law and its consequences rather than rehashing the same breathless bs that is printed and repeated in the media.reply
        Probably not many people are going to read a 72 page document about a topic when the media has already told us what to think. Sad but true.reply
        Hey, people don't like to change opinion things that they already made up their minds on. Even on HN.but thanks for linking that, seems to do a better job of providing better context of the LGBT situation in Russia.
        reply
        I couldn't care less about anyone's sexual preference. But I find it wholly unfair that someone could change from a man to a woman and then compete against other women. That is something altogether different and should not be accepted in the Olympics in my opinion.reply
        Just LG I think many people would say, actually.I've come to the point where I think the acronym is silly. I think right now we are up to "LGBTQIAPK". I may be a little out of date on that.
        The fact is, some of the issues between the groups in the acronym are shared and some aren't. At one point in time, banding together for them was probably useful if not necessary. Today I think each group would be better going it alone, as they all have very unique concerns.
        reply
        Thank you for pointing this out. Saved me a lot of citations. You are, by the way, absolutely correct.reply
        Sad that advocating that we treat people with respect and dignity is a political statement.reply
        It doesn't affect your ability to search in any capacity, it's a picture of Google's logo in rainbow colors man.reply
        Google has always shown doodles for most of it's history, and it has often had a 1 or 2 line subtitle for certain special events, emergencies, or holidays. Egads man! It's taking up approximately the same physical space it always had, comparing this to Yahoo's portal is ridiculous.Also, if you use the Omnibox or other search boxes in the browser, you don't even see it. You only see this if you visit www.google.com
        reply
        Google has been doing doodles for 15 years, since at least burning man in 1998. I would have thought most people would be over it by now.reply
        It's a shame you can't bypass the google home page to get search results...reply
        If your nickname refers to the Oliver Cromwell, I find it curiously at odds with your comment.reply
        It refers to my real name combined with my wife's last name, but it's also a wink-and-nod to Oliver Cromwell and also 'Orwellian'.reply
        Disturbing. I'll be keeping a close eye on you for signs of megalomania from now on. :-)reply
        I'm trying to reclaim the name for positive associations. Many people don't even know how Oliver Cromwell was, I've even encountered British people who didn't know the history.Anyway, there's actor James Cromwell. We need to band together and overcome the negative association with the good ole' Lord Protector.
        (My grandfather used to tell me that he traced our ancestry and supposedly we are closely/directly descended, but I don't buy it. On the other hand, 23andme localized my ancestral DNA pretty strongly to the UK)
        reply
        He was held responsible for a massacre 5 miles from where I was born. I did a school project on it and stood in a stone tower room where local women and children had gone for refuge but were discovered and slaughtered. Even closer to home was a spot where as Cromwell's army passed a man stood looking at them. His behaviour was viewed as impudent and he was summarily hanged. As a small kid he was the devil incarnate to me. Since then my view has become a lot less black and white but it's hard to shake off childhood associations entirely.reply
        Why didn't you switch back when google dedicated an entire page to SOPA opposition? Is it only a problem when you don't favor the politics?reply
        Fighting for LGBT rights shouldn't be considered a "political statement" - it should be considered a human rights issue.reply
        FWIW, I'm glad Google sometimes makes political statementsreply
        Everything is a political statement to someonereply
        It is discussed by people on 'political' tv != it is political.You can politicize anything you want. But there is nothing inherently political about showing support for an LGBT human being. 'What neoconservatives want to make political issues of' is an entirely different matter.
        reply
        This is a ludicrous rationale.The moment something is merely mentioned in a law, it is henceforth to be considered under the header of "political topic"? Why? Because some political strategist (or worse, lobbyist) told you it was worth legislating for or against?
        Your position can be summed up as "It is okay for Google to make Google Doodles about person X until whatever person X worked on became politicized".
        Why was it okay for them to make a doodle about Simone de Beauvoir but not about your fellow LGBT human beings? This is the straw that broke the camel's back for you? Really?
        reply
        I think you are. And what's the problem with political statements?reply
        It is unfortunate that you are so willing to consume as 'politics' whatever topic political strategists have decided to include in their party's talking points.It is fortunate that said political strategists chose LGBT rights and not, say, the legality of JavaScript. Because then your Google search would have been a moot point entirely, JS having been made "political".
        reply
        Companies have social responsibilities. Supporting human rights is a positive thing.reply
        Why is that a problem? If they want to send a message to a lot of people, their front page would be the best place, wouldn't it? God forbid you get a little bit of human rights activism with your search results...reply
        There's a big difference between sending messages to text editor users and a logo on a website. Note that the logo is always there; it's just a little different this time.reply
        Every google doodle is telling you google's stance on something. Google's doodle of MLK the other week told you their stance on black rights. How is this any different, except for the fact that gay rights make you uncomfortable?reply
        What difference does it make? They're not changing your search results due to their stance.reply
        I find it horrific that you consider your rights to be personally violated by your making use of a free, non-government-controlled, non-required public service.I find it also horrific that you make a false parallel to text editors which also have demonstrable 'political' (as you've employed the term) positions.
        reply
        I missed the deleted comment but I'm assuming it was something to do with Notepad++'s position on the Beijing Olympics?reply
        Well the olympics already discriminates against mens in women competitions and vice versa. But anyway LGBT support or condamnations is pure bullshit and should not be in the Olympics.To much sex talking. Just because there's so much sexual media doesn't mean that the LGBT should get their part of the attention on the news. We should go the other way and talk less about sex in the media.
        reply
        LGBT rights is not a topic inherently related to sex or sexual media. Just want to make that distinction.reply
        I guess it's not really your fault that you connect LGBT ot sex. Your society really did fail you.reply
        So, in parallel, Christianity, since it advocates the religious ceremony of marriage between a man and a woman, must also be inherently sexual in nature.I hope it is not too arrogant of me to assume that you are straight because I cannot fathom a gay person arriving at the conclusions you have arrived at.
        Working under this assumption, would you say then, that any relationship you had with a member of the opposite sex was inherently sexual in nature?
        Again, give me a break.
        You can love someone and want to be with them for the rest of your life and not want to have sex with them. It really isn't a stretch of the imagination.
        reply
        Sex is often the end result of emotional and physical attraction, but it's not the most important aspect.reply
        Too bad encrypted.google.com doesn't have doodles.reply
        What do you mean? It showed up for me on encrypted.google.com.reply
        It's not a doodle, it's a footer.And for those who for whatever reason cannot see it on Google, it reads: "The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play." ''Olympic Charter
        reply
      --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Stephen Colbert Interviews 'Pussy Riot'
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: EconomicPolicyJournal.com
        Fri, 07 Feb 2014 06:23
        Two members of the likely CIA-controlled Pussy Riot, Nadya Tolokonnikova and Masha Alyokhina, who were recently released from Russian prison, are touring the US, talking trash about Russian president Vladimir Putin.Stephen Colbert interviewed them. Tolokonnikova, the one on the right, is very sharp.
      Pussy Riot Breaks With Liberated Duo
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines
        Fri, 07 Feb 2014 06:16
        Pussy Riot Breaks With Liberated DuoPosted on Feb 6, 2014
        Alyokhina, left, and Tolokonnikova make an appearance on CNN in this screenshot from YouTube.
        This may be a case of overstatement, but six members of the Russian punk group Pussy Riot have let it be known that Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, the two band members recently released from Russian prison, are no longer part of their collective.
        Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova have made public appearances in New York this week, visiting ''The Colbert Report'' on Tuesday and joining Madonna on stage at Wednesday night's Amnesty International concert in Brooklyn. But as the BBC reported Thursday, the other six see the newly freed pair departing from the group's mission, so they should formally separate from Pussy Riot as well:
        The six members of the collective who signed the letter - Garadja, Fara, Shaiba, Cat, Seraphima and Schumacher - say they wish to remain anonymous.
        They said that their group belonged to a ''leftist anti-capitalist ideology'' but that the pair had become ''institutionalised advocates of prisoners' rights''.
        The letter read: ''Unfortunately for us, they are being so carried away with the problems in Russian prisons, that they completely forgot about the aspirations and ideals of our group - feminism, separatist resistance, fight against authoritarianism and personality cult, all of which, as a matter of fact, was the cause for their unjust punishment.''
        The remaining members also explained that the pair in question had participated in a legal performance, which runs contrary to their ethos. That said, the separation may already be mutual, as the letter pointedly stated that Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova ''refuse to have any contact with us.''
        '--Posted by Kasia Anderson
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      Pussy riot's breakup; Russia's Pussy Riot disowns freed pair.
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: bertb news feed
        Fri, 07 Feb 2014 06:07
        6 February 2014Last updated at 12:44 ET Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
        The two Pussy Riot members performed alongside Madonna at a concert in New York on Wednesday
        Six members of Russian punk rock collective Pussy Riot have signed an open letter insisting Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova not be billed as members.
        It said the two had forgotten about the "aspirations and ideals of our group".
        The pair performed alongside Madonna at a concert in New York on Wednesday.
        They were jailed for two years after singing a protest song in a Moscow cathedral in 2012 but were freed in December.
        Known as "Masha" and "Nadia", Ms Alyokhina and Ms Tolokonnikova spent 16 months in prison.
        The six members of the collective who signed the letter - Garadja, Fara, Shaiba, Cat, Seraphima and Schumacher - say they wish to remain anonymous.
        They said that their group belonged to a "leftist anti-capitalist ideology" but that the pair had become "institutionalised advocates of prisoners' rights".
        The letter read: "Unfortunately for us, they are being so carried away with the problems in Russian prisons, that they completely forgot about the aspirations and ideals of our group - feminism, separatist resistance, fight against authoritarianism and personality cult, all of which, as a matter of fact, was the cause for their unjust punishment."
        'Illegal' performancesThe remaining members of the group criticised the pair for appearing at the Amnesty International concert in New York.
        "Our performances are always 'illegal', staged only in unpredictable locations and public places not designed for traditional entertainment," the group said.
        It said that although the pair had repeatedly stressed they were no longer members, the public announcement before their speech spoke of "the first legal performance of Pussy Riot".
        The letter did praise the former members for their new cause.
        "Yes, we lost two friends, two ideological fellow member (sic), but the world has acquired two brave, interesting, controversial human rights defenders - fighters for the rights of the Russian prisoners."
        However, it added: "Unfortunately, we cannot congratulate them with this in person, because they refuse to have any contact with us."
      --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Obama: Putin Has A Bored, Tough Guy ''Schtick'''...
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: Weasel Zippers
        Fri, 07 Feb 2014 06:20
        Putin is a thug, but he has without a doubt been eating Obama's lunch on the world stage.
        Via Politico:
        President Barack Obama chose not to attend the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, in part because he didn't want to distract from the competition, he said in an interview airing Thursday.
        ''The folks that people are actually interested in seeing are our incredible athletes,'' Obama said in an interview with NBC's Bob Costas, according to a tweet from Jim Bell, NBC's executive producer for the Olympics.
        Obama also commented on Vladimir Putin in the conversation, suggesting in the words of a now-deleted tweet from an NBC researcher, that the Russian president's ''bored, tough guy 'schtick' [is] aimed at internal audience.''
    SnowJob
      ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Media sometimes try, fail to keep NSA's secrets
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories
        Sun, 09 Feb 2014 09:40
        Media sometimes try, fail to keep NSA's secrets13 hours ago by Raphael SatterPrivacy expert Christopher Parsons is pictured outside his Toronto office on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's nightly news program, "The National," revealed the names of three NSA employees when its cameras panned across NSA documents during voiceovers. "They were scrolling through it and I thought: 'Hold on, that's an unredacted, classified document," said Parsons, who noticed the mistake. News organizations publishing leaked National Security Agency documents have inadvertently disclosed the names of at least six intelligence workers and other government secrets they never intended to give away, an Associated Press review has found. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)
        News organizations publishing leaked National Security Agency documents have inadvertently disclosed the names of at least six intelligence workers and other government secrets they never intended to give away, an Associated Press review has found.
        The accidental disclosures illustrate the risks of even well-intentioned, public-interest reporting on highly secret U.S. programs.
        In some cases, prominent newspapers including The New York Times quickly pulled down government records they published online and recensored them to hide information they accidentally exposed. On one occasion, the Guardian newspaper published an NSA document that appeared to identify an American intelligence target living abroad. Before the newspaper could fix its mistake, a curious software engineer, Ron Garret of Emerald Hills, Calif., tried to contact the man at his office.
        "I figured someone ought to give him the heads up," Garret told The Associated Press.
        The inadvertent disclosures, which include technical details and other information, are another complication in the ethically and technically challenging coverage of the NSA's surveillance programs. Journalists who have seen the unfiltered secrets leaked by former intelligence worker Edward Snowden agree that some things are off-limits for publication. But media organizations sometimes have struggled to keep them that way.
        Glenn Greenwald, the reporter and columnist who has played a key role in publishing so many of Snowden's revelations, has said he wouldn't publish the names of U.S. intelligence workers unless they were top-ranking public officials. Greenwald told the AP that the mistaken disclosures of at least six names and other material were minor errors made by technical staff and quickly corrected.
        "We reported on these documents with the largest and most well-respected media organizations in the world, but like all human institutions, none is perfect," Greenwald said.
        It was not immediately clear what damage, if any, has come from the disclosures of the names of the six NSA employees and other secrets. The NSA would not discuss its employees. None appeared to be working undercover.
        The AP was able to locate several of their home addresses and other personal details about them. The NSA said in a statement that it asks news outlets "to redact and withhold the names of employees, given the sensitive nature of the information and concerns for the safety of employees and their families."
        The AP is not republishing the names of the NSA employees. It generally uses full names of government employees unless there is a specific threat or security concern. In this instance, the AP concluded the names were not vital to readers' understanding of the issues and provided no additional credibility or transparency into the issues.
        The accidental disclosures'--the AP counted at least eight of them'--involve carelessness by some television broadcasters, sloppy digital redactions applied to copies of documents and, in the Guardian's case, an incomplete understanding of what information might be revealing.
        The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's nightly news program, "The National," revealed the names of three NSA employees when its cameras panned across NSA documents during voice-overs.
        "They were scrolling through it and I thought, 'Hold on, that's an unredacted, classified document,'" said Christopher Parsons, who noticed the mistake. "It was kind of nuts. I couldn't believe that they were so cavalierly showing it on national television."
        Parsons, a privacy expert at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs, was able to read the employees' names by pausing, rewinding and replaying the video.
        CBC's director of news content, David Walmsley, said the network regretted the error, pulled the video off its website and purged the material from its servers.
        "It was a mistake that occurred because we had pixelated the documents and we thought we'd done it well enough. Clearly we didn't," he said. Walmsley said the CBC took responsibility for the mistake. He said Greenwald had asked that NSA employee names not be broadcast.
        The same thing happened at the Brazilian television station Globo, which briefly exposed the names of two NSA employees during its weekly news program "Fantastico" last year.
        "We were not aware that those names belong to NSA's employees," said Ali Kamel, the network's general news director. "The image (of the two names) lasts less than a second. If there is a mistake, it appears to be a very small one, but we are going to investigate why it happened." Kamel said the network removed the footage from the Internet after the AP contacted it and was prepared to apologize if the mistake were confirmed. He, too, said Greenwald was not at fault.
        The Times published an NSA presentation last month with the name of an NSA employee marked out. But a quirk of electronic documents is that information can linger even when it's invisible to the naked eye. Within minutes of the Times' report, the employee's name was circulating and someone created a parody Twitter account.
        The document also revealed that a Muslim terrorist group once had a preference for a specific smartphone, potentially dropping an important hint as to how its communications had been monitored.
        A spokeswoman for the newspaper blamed a production error and said the document was removed, recensored and republished.
        The Washington Post tried but failed to censor some details of the NSA's internal set up. The Post did not respond to an email from the AP about the incident.
        In an email response to questions about the misredaction that may have exposed an NSA target, the Guardian said it had checked the document with U.S. officials before publishing and had not been advised against it. Spokesman Gennady Kolker said the paper later decided to redact the slide on its own, but Kolker declined to elaborate.
        Improper redactions are common, and even governments officials make basic mistakes.
        In 2011, British officials failed to properly redact a document that discussed critical weaknesses in the nation's fleet of nuclear submarines. A couple years earlier, the U.S. Transportation Safety Administration accidentally exposed technical details of airport screening procedures.
        "It's a very easy mistake to make," said Daniel Lopresti, a document analysis expert and a professor of computer science at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania.
        A small but focused community of intelligence-watchers has been keeping careful track of those mistakes.
        Paul Dietrich of Eugene, Ore., contributes material to the radical transparency site Cryptome and repeatedly has gleaned secret information from poorly redacted documents. He recalled, for instance, being able to correctly guess the number of communications intercepted by the NSA in Italy by counting the height of a redacted NSA bar graph, pixel by pixel.
        Dietrich, who flagged nearly all the errors to AP, was able to decode the names of cities hosting NSA collection sites, based on poorly redacted slides published by Germany's Der Spiegel magazine, Italy's L'Espresso newspaper, and Holland's NRC newspaper.
        Spiegel Online editor-in-chief Ruediger Ditz said the material was removed within minutes. Stefania Maurizi of L'Espresso acknowledged "a very minor issue" but said the slide dated back more than a decade. An editor at NRC did not immediately respond to AP's questions.
        Dietrich supports the disclosures about the NSA surveillance programs and praised Greenwald.
        "He is releasing information that the public has a right to know," Dietrich said. "But his editors have often been sloppy."
        Dietrich said he was bothered by the thought that names of U.S. intelligence agency employees were now in enemy hands.
        "If any foreign intelligence service hasn't done what I've done," he said, "then they're not much of a foreign intelligence service."
        Explore further:Clapper calls on Snowden to return NSA documents
        (C) 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
        More from Physics Forums - General Physics
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        User comments : 2Adjust slider to filter visible comments by rank
        Display comments: newest first
        EWH5 / 5 (1)6 hours ago
        This story seems to be pushing the idea that the NSA and its employees are entitled to privacy, when their very purpose is criminal invasion of privacy. Any government employees who have kept government crimes secret are themselves criminals, co-conspirators, accessories, and guilty of misprison of felonies.It seems the Associated Press has gone into full propaganda mode on behalf of the government's crimes. There was a time when they a least pretended to be more than stenographers to power.
        Also, what is this story doing on phys.org? This has nothing to do with science or technology.
        kochevniknot rated yet5 hours ago
        Poor NSA net getting enough cooperation from controlled media in quest to build evil empire
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        Javascript is currently disabled in your web browser. For full site functionality, it is necessary to enable Javascript. In order to enable it, please see these instructions.(C) Phys.org' 2003-2013, Science X network
        Media sometimes try, fail to keep NSA's secrets13 hours ago by Raphael SatterPrivacy expert Christopher Parsons is pictured outside his Toronto office on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's nightly news program, "The National," revealed the names of three NSA employees when its cameras panned across NSA documents during voiceovers. "They were scrolling through it and I thought: 'Hold on, that's an unredacted, classified document," said Parsons, who noticed the mistake. News organizations publishing leaked National Security Agency documents have inadvertently disclosed the names of at least six intelligence workers and other government secrets they never intended to give away, an Associated Press review has found. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)
        News organizations publishing leaked National Security Agency documents have inadvertently disclosed the names of at least six intelligence workers and other government secrets they never intended to give away, an Associated Press review has found.
        The accidental disclosures illustrate the risks of even well-intentioned, public-interest reporting on highly secret U.S. programs.
        In some cases, prominent newspapers including The New York Times quickly pulled down government records they published online and recensored them to hide information they accidentally exposed. On one occasion, the Guardian newspaper published an NSA document that appeared to identify an American intelligence target living abroad. Before the newspaper could fix its mistake, a curious software engineer, Ron Garret of Emerald Hills, Calif., tried to contact the man at his office.
        "I figured someone ought to give him the heads up," Garret told The Associated Press.
        The inadvertent disclosures, which include technical details and other information, are another complication in the ethically and technically challenging coverage of the NSA's surveillance programs. Journalists who have seen the unfiltered secrets leaked by former intelligence worker Edward Snowden agree that some things are off-limits for publication. But media organizations sometimes have struggled to keep them that way.
        Glenn Greenwald, the reporter and columnist who has played a key role in publishing so many of Snowden's revelations, has said he wouldn't publish the names of U.S. intelligence workers unless they were top-ranking public officials. Greenwald told the AP that the mistaken disclosures of at least six names and other material were minor errors made by technical staff and quickly corrected.
        "We reported on these documents with the largest and most well-respected media organizations in the world, but like all human institutions, none is perfect," Greenwald said.
        It was not immediately clear what damage, if any, has come from the disclosures of the names of the six NSA employees and other secrets. The NSA would not discuss its employees. None appeared to be working undercover.
        The AP was able to locate several of their home addresses and other personal details about them. The NSA said in a statement that it asks news outlets "to redact and withhold the names of employees, given the sensitive nature of the information and concerns for the safety of employees and their families."
        The AP is not republishing the names of the NSA employees. It generally uses full names of government employees unless there is a specific threat or security concern. In this instance, the AP concluded the names were not vital to readers' understanding of the issues and provided no additional credibility or transparency into the issues.
        The accidental disclosures'--the AP counted at least eight of them'--involve carelessness by some television broadcasters, sloppy digital redactions applied to copies of documents and, in the Guardian's case, an incomplete understanding of what information might be revealing.
        The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's nightly news program, "The National," revealed the names of three NSA employees when its cameras panned across NSA documents during voice-overs.
        "They were scrolling through it and I thought, 'Hold on, that's an unredacted, classified document,'" said Christopher Parsons, who noticed the mistake. "It was kind of nuts. I couldn't believe that they were so cavalierly showing it on national television."
        Parsons, a privacy expert at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs, was able to read the employees' names by pausing, rewinding and replaying the video.
        CBC's director of news content, David Walmsley, said the network regretted the error, pulled the video off its website and purged the material from its servers.
        "It was a mistake that occurred because we had pixelated the documents and we thought we'd done it well enough. Clearly we didn't," he said. Walmsley said the CBC took responsibility for the mistake. He said Greenwald had asked that NSA employee names not be broadcast.
        The same thing happened at the Brazilian television station Globo, which briefly exposed the names of two NSA employees during its weekly news program "Fantastico" last year.
        "We were not aware that those names belong to NSA's employees," said Ali Kamel, the network's general news director. "The image (of the two names) lasts less than a second. If there is a mistake, it appears to be a very small one, but we are going to investigate why it happened." Kamel said the network removed the footage from the Internet after the AP contacted it and was prepared to apologize if the mistake were confirmed. He, too, said Greenwald was not at fault.
        The Times published an NSA presentation last month with the name of an NSA employee marked out. But a quirk of electronic documents is that information can linger even when it's invisible to the naked eye. Within minutes of the Times' report, the employee's name was circulating and someone created a parody Twitter account.
        The document also revealed that a Muslim terrorist group once had a preference for a specific smartphone, potentially dropping an important hint as to how its communications had been monitored.
        A spokeswoman for the newspaper blamed a production error and said the document was removed, recensored and republished.
        The Washington Post tried but failed to censor some details of the NSA's internal set up. The Post did not respond to an email from the AP about the incident.
        In an email response to questions about the misredaction that may have exposed an NSA target, the Guardian said it had checked the document with U.S. officials before publishing and had not been advised against it. Spokesman Gennady Kolker said the paper later decided to redact the slide on its own, but Kolker declined to elaborate.
        Improper redactions are common, and even governments officials make basic mistakes.
        In 2011, British officials failed to properly redact a document that discussed critical weaknesses in the nation's fleet of nuclear submarines. A couple years earlier, the U.S. Transportation Safety Administration accidentally exposed technical details of airport screening procedures.
        "It's a very easy mistake to make," said Daniel Lopresti, a document analysis expert and a professor of computer science at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania.
        A small but focused community of intelligence-watchers has been keeping careful track of those mistakes.
        Paul Dietrich of Eugene, Ore., contributes material to the radical transparency site Cryptome and repeatedly has gleaned secret information from poorly redacted documents. He recalled, for instance, being able to correctly guess the number of communications intercepted by the NSA in Italy by counting the height of a redacted NSA bar graph, pixel by pixel.
        Dietrich, who flagged nearly all the errors to AP, was able to decode the names of cities hosting NSA collection sites, based on poorly redacted slides published by Germany's Der Spiegel magazine, Italy's L'Espresso newspaper, and Holland's NRC newspaper.
        Spiegel Online editor-in-chief Ruediger Ditz said the material was removed within minutes. Stefania Maurizi of L'Espresso acknowledged "a very minor issue" but said the slide dated back more than a decade. An editor at NRC did not immediately respond to AP's questions.
        Dietrich supports the disclosures about the NSA surveillance programs and praised Greenwald.
        "He is releasing information that the public has a right to know," Dietrich said. "But his editors have often been sloppy."
        Dietrich said he was bothered by the thought that names of U.S. intelligence agency employees were now in enemy hands.
        "If any foreign intelligence service hasn't done what I've done," he said, "then they're not much of a foreign intelligence service."
        Explore further:Clapper calls on Snowden to return NSA documents
        (C) 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
        More from Physics Forums - General Physics
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        User comments : 2Adjust slider to filter visible comments by rank
        Display comments: newest first
        EWH5 / 5 (1)6 hours ago
        This story seems to be pushing the idea that the NSA and its employees are entitled to privacy, when their very purpose is criminal invasion of privacy. Any government employees who have kept government crimes secret are themselves criminals, co-conspirators, accessories, and guilty of misprison of felonies.
        It seems the Associated Press has gone into full propaganda mode on behalf of the government's crimes. There was a time when they a least pretended to be more than stenographers to power.
        Also, what is this story doing on phys.org? This has nothing to do with science or technology.
        kochevniknot rated yet5 hours ago
        Poor NSA net getting enough cooperation from controlled media in quest to build evil empire
        More news stories
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        Google's trial ferry service in SF Bay endsGoogle has ended a trial run of transporting workers to the company's Silicon Valley campus by water, and it's unclear whether the tech giant will continue the ferry service.
        Winning idea: Robot museum tour of Tate after dark(Phys.org) '--A design trio called The Workers have won the IK Prize for their idea on how to apply digital innovation to enhance people's enjoyment of art. They have thought up a project to allow remotely ...
        Car-to-car talk: Hey, look out for that collision! (Update 3)A car might see a deadly crash coming even if its driver doesn't, the U.S. government says, indicating it will require automakers to equip new vehicles with technology that lets cars warn each other if they're ...
        NASA bets on private companies to exploit moon's resourcesNASA'--building on successful partnerships with private companies to resupply the International Space Station'--is now looking to private entrepreneurs to help exploit resources on the moon.
        Experts increasingly contemplate end of smokingU.S. health officials have begun to predict the end of cigarette smoking in America.
        Online petitions to save young giraffe scheduled to dieThousands of people have signed on to online petitions to try to save a young giraffe that is to be killed Sunday by its keepers at Copenhagen Zoo because it resulted from in-breeding.
        Britain's Charles and William urge end to illegal wildlife tradeBritain's Prince Charles and Prince William made a father-and-son appeal on Sunday for an end to the illegal wildlife trade, ahead of a major international conference in London.
        Jordanian dies of MERS virusA man has died in Jordan after being infected with the MERS virus, the kingdom's first fatality from the respiratory disease in more than a year, news reports said Saturday.
        Javascript is currently disabled in your web browser. For full site functionality, it is necessary to enable Javascript. In order to enable it, please see these instructions.(C) Phys.org' 2003-2013, Science X network
      ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      New surveillance technology can track everyone in an area for several hours at a time - The Washington Post
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sun, 09 Feb 2014 01:08
        DAYTON, Ohio '-- Shooter and victim were just a pair of pixels, dark specks on a gray streetscape. Hair color, bullet wounds, even the weapon were not visible in the series of pictures taken from an airplane flying two miles above.
        But what the images revealed '-- to a degree impossible just a few years ago '-- was location, mapped over time. Second by second, they showed a gang assembling, blocking off access points, sending the shooter to meet his target and taking flight after the body hit the pavement. When the report reached police, it included a picture of the blue stucco building into which the killer ultimately retreated, at last beyond the view of the powerful camera overhead.
        ''I've witnessed 34 of these,'' said Ross McNutt, the genial president of Persistent Surveillance Systems, which collected the images of the killing in Ciudad Jurez, Mexico, from a specially outfitted Cessna. ''It's like opening up a murder mystery in the middle, and you need to figure out what happened before and after.''
        As Americans have grown increasingly comfortable with traditional surveillance cameras, a new, far more powerful generation is being quietly deployed that can track every vehicle and person across an area the size of a small city, for several hours at a time. Although these cameras can't read license plates or see faces, they provide such a wealth of data that police, businesses and even private individuals can use them to help identify people and track their movements.
        Already, the cameras have been flown above major public events such as the Ohio political rally where Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) named Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008, McNutt said. They've been flown above Baltimore; Philadelphia; Compton, Calif.; and Dayton in demonstrations for police. They've also been used for traffic impact studies, for security at NASCAR races and at the request of a Mexican politician, who commissioned the flights over Ciudad Jurez.
        Video: A time machine for police, letting them watch criminals '-- and everyone else.
        Defense contractors are developing similar technology for the military, but its potential for civilian use is raising novel civil liberties concerns. In Dayton, where Persistent Surveillance Systems is based, city officials balked last year when police considered paying for 200 hours of flights, in part because of privacy complaints.
        ''There are an infinite number of surveillance technologies that would help solve crimes .'‰.'‰. but there are reasons that we don't do those things, or shouldn't be doing those things,'' said Joel Pruce, a University of Dayton postdoctoral fellow in human rights who opposed the plan. ''You know where there's a lot less crime? There's a lot less crime in China.''
        The Supreme Court generally has given wide latitude to police using aerial surveillance as long as the photography captures images visible to the naked eye.
        McNutt, a retired Air Force officer who once helped design a similar system for the skies above Fallujah, a battleground city in Iraq, hopes to win over officials in Dayton and elsewhere by convincing them that cameras mounted on fixed-wing aircraft can provide far more useful intelligence than police helicopters do, for less money.
        A single camera mounted atop the Washington Monument, McNutt boasts, could deter crime all around the Mall. He said regular flights over the most dangerous parts of Washington '-- combined with publicity about how much police could see '-- would make a significant dent in the number of burglaries, robberies and murders. His 192-megapixel cameras would spot as many as 50 crimes per six-hour flight, he estimated, providing police with a continuous stream of images covering more than a third of the city.
        ''We watch 25 square miles, so you see lots of crimes,'' he said. ''And by the way, after people commit crimes, they drive like idiots.''
        What McNutt is trying to sell is not merely the latest techno-wizardry for police. He envisions such steep drops in crime that they will bring substantial side effects, including rising property values, better schools, increased development and, eventually, lower incarceration rates as the reality of long-term overhead surveillance deters those tempted to commit crimes.
        Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl, a supporter of McNutt's efforts, has proposed inviting the public to visit the operations center to get a glimpse of the technology in action.
        ''I want them to be worried that we're watching,'' Biehl said. ''I want them to be worried that they never know when we're overhead.''
        Technology in action
        McNutt, a suburban father of four with a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is not deaf to concerns about his company's ambitions. Unlike many of the giant defense contractors that are eagerly repurposing wartime surveillance technology for domestic use, he sought advice from the American Civil Liberties Union in writing a privacy policy.
        It has rules on how long data can be kept, when images can be accessed and by whom. Police are supposed to begin looking at the pictures only after a crime has been reported. Fishing expeditions are prohibited.
        The technology has inherent limitations as well. From the airborne cameras, each person appears as a single pixel indistinguishable from any other person. What people are doing '-- even whether they are clothed or not '-- is impossible to see. As technology improves the cameras, McNutt said he intends to increase their range, not the precision of the imagery, so that larger areas can be monitored.
        The notion that McNutt and his roughly 40 employees are peeping Toms clearly rankles. The company made a PowerPoint presentation for the ACLU that includes pictures taken to assist the response to Hurricane Sandy and the severe Iowa floods last summer. The section is titled: ''Good People Doing Good Things.''
        ''We get a little frustrated when people get so worried about us seeing them in their backyard,'' McNutt said in his operation center, where the walls are adorned with 120-inch monitors, each showing a different grainy urban scene collected from above. ''We can't even see what they are doing in their backyard. And, by the way, we don't care.''
        Yet in a world of increasingly pervasive surveillance, location and identity are becoming all but inextricable. One quickly leads to the other for those with the right tools.
        During one of the company's demonstration flights over Dayton in 2012, police got reports of an attempted robbery at a bookstore and shots fired at a Subway sandwich shop. The cameras revealed a single car moving between the two locations.
        By reviewing the images frame by frame, analysts were able to help police piece together a larger story: A man had left a residential neighborhood at midday and attempted to rob the bookstore, but fled when somebody hit an alarm. Then he drove to Subway, where the owner pulled a gun and chased him off. His next stop was a Family Dollar Store, where the man paused for several minutes. He soon returned home, after a short stop at a gas station where a video camera captured an image of his face.
        A few hours later, after the surveillance flight ended, the Family Dollar Store was robbed. Police used the detailed map of the man's movements, along with other evidence from the crime scenes, to arrest him for all three crimes.
        On another occasion, Dayton police got a report of a burglary in progress. The aerial cameras spotted a white truck driving away from the scene. Police stopped the driver before he got home and found the stolen goods in the back of the truck. A witness identified him soon afterward.
        Privacy concerns
        In addition to normal cameras, the planes can carry infrared sensors that permit analysts to track people, vehicles or wildlife at night '-- even through foliage and into some structures, such as tents.
        Courts have put stricter limits on technology that can see things not visible to the naked eye, ruling that they can amount to unconstitutional searches when conducted without a warrant. But the lines remain fuzzy as courts struggle to apply old precedents '-- from a single overflight carrying an officer equipped with nothing stronger than a telephoto lens, for example '-- to the rapidly advancing technology.
        ''If you turn your country into a totalitarian surveillance state, there's always some wrongdoing you can prevent,'' said Jay Stanley, a privacy expert with the American Civil Liberties Union. ''The balance struck in our Constitution tilts toward liberty, and I think we should keep that value.''
        Police and private businesses have invested heavily in video surveillance since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Although academics debate whether these cameras create significantly lower crime rates, an overwhelming majority of Americans support them. A Washington Post poll in November found that only 14 percent of those surveyed wanted fewer cameras in public spaces.
        But the latest camera systems raise new issues because of their ability to watch vast areas for long periods of time '-- something even military-grade aerial cameras have struggled to do well.
        The military's most advanced experimental research lab is developing a system that uses hundreds of cellphone cameras to watch 36-square-mile areas. McNutt offers his system '-- which uses 12 commercially available Canon cameras mounted in an array '-- as an effective alternative that's cheap enough for local police departments to afford. He typically charges between $1,500 and $2,000 per hour for his services, including flight time, operation of the command center and the time that analysts spend assisting investigations.
        Dayton police were enticed by McNutt's offer to fly 200 hours over the city for a home-town discount price of $120,000. The city, with about 140,000 people, saw its police force dwindle from more than 400 officers to about 350 in recent years, and there is little hope of reinforcements.
        ''We're not going to get those officers back,'' Biehl, the police chief, said. ''We have had to use technology as force multipliers.''
        Still, the proposed contract, coming during Dayton's campaign season and amid a wave of revelations about National Security Agency surveillance, sparked resistance. Biehl is looking for a chance to revive the matter. But the new mayor, Nan Whaley, has reservations, both because of the cost and the potential loss of privacy.
        ''Since 2001, we haven't had really healthy conversations about personal liberty. It's starting to bloom about a decade too late,'' Whaley said. ''I think the conversation needs to continue.''
        To that end, the mayor has another idea: She's encouraging the businesses that own Dayton's tallest buildings to mount rooftop surveillance cameras capable of continuously monitoring the downtown and nearby neighborhoods. Whaley hopes the businesses would provide the video feeds to the police.
        McNutt, it turns out, has cameras for those situations, too, capable of spotting individual people from seven miles away.
      ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Exclusive: Despite escalating government intimidation, Greenwald will ''force the issue'' and visit U.S. - Salon.com
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sun, 09 Feb 2014 00:55
        When big-name public figures and Edward Snowden critics first started suggesting Glenn Greenwald and other writers who'd published his surveillance disclosures might be in legal jeopardy, Greenwald assumed that both the clamor and the actual risk to journalists would quickly subside, and eventually disappear.
        That was about six months ago. Today, Greenwald believes he miscalculated. In an exclusive interview Wednesday he said that the ominous rhetoric directed at him has actually escalated. It's discouraged him from visiting the United States, where he still has strong family and professional ties. And though he intends to reenter the country sooner rather than later, he'll do so despite the fact that he believes he faces a much greater risk of detention than most of the other journalists who have access to some or all of Snowden's files.
        ''As the story kind of went on I thought the prospect of something happening to the journalists would dissipate to zero. I actually think that the risk is higher than it's ever been,'' Greenwald told me. ''My parents are getting older, my nieces [live there] '-- none of that is something I'm going to go home for now '... I had a foundation that wanted to sponsor and pay for and market aggressively a six-city speaking tour to talk about the NSA story and the revelations. I would have completely loved to have done it '... on the assurance that nothing would happen. And because we couldn't get it from the U.S. government, I had to cancel.''
        When we last spoke in August, Greenwald was cognizant of the risks he'd face if he visited the United States, but he was also pointedly defiant. ''I take more seriously the Constitution's guarantee of a free press in the First Amendment,'' he said at the time. ''So I have every intention of entering the U.S. as soon as my schedule permits and there's a reason to do so.''
        Today he remains defiant '-- ''I'm going to go back to the U.S. for many reasons, but just the fucking principle is enough '... On principle I'm going to force the issue'' '-- but recent comments by Mike Rogers, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee; James Clapper, the director of national intelligence; and others have intensified his doubts.
        Rogers compared Greenwald to a thief selling stolen material. Clapper appeared to suggest that Greenwald and other NSA reporters are ''accomplices'' to Snowden's crimes. In each case the innuendo sidesteps the unseemly appearance of targeting journalists by attempting to distinguish the work of the journalist from journalism.
        Questioning whether Greenwald aided and abetted Snowden has gone mainstream. And though a number of other journalists have access to classified documents Snowden downloaded and left the country with '-- including others who, like Greenwald, have used them as the basis for freelance writing '-- Greenwald believes he and his reporting partner Laura Poitras face unique threats for four reasons.
        1) Greenwald and Poitras went to Hong Kong to meet with Snowden and discuss the documents, ''for almost two weeks '-- six days before the first story came out and every day after that until he went into hiding.''
        2) They were in contact with Snowden, and perhaps under surveillance themselves, at the time that he went into hiding and have remained in very regular contact with him since then.
        3) Greenwald has paired his reporting with forceful advocacy: ''vehemently condemning the U.S. government, defending Snowden.''
        4) Unlike U.S.-based reporters, he and Poitras have been freelancing stories at publications all around the world.
        ''Everybody I've talked to, including experienced lawyers '-- nobody has said 'this is crazy,''' Greenwald added, stipulating that he doubts he'd actually be charged with anything '-- less than 50 percent chance of that in his mind. Nevertheless, ''Everybody recognizes that there's some risk.''
        A Justice Department spokesman referred me to these inconclusive November comments by Attorney General Eric Holder. ''[O]n the basis of what I know now, I'm not sure there is a basis for prosecution of Greenwald.''
        On Tuesday, BuzzFeed reported that Greenwald and other leading NSA reporters are expected to win a Polk Award this year. Greenwald, who used to write for Salon, wouldn't confirm the accuracy of that report, but he did say he would likely return to the United States to accept a prestigious journalism award, should he win one.
        The Polk Awards will be conferred in April.
      ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      RFI '' Telephony Metadata Collection ProgramFebruary 7, 2014In...
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: IC ON THE RECORD
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 06:53
        RFI '' Telephony Metadata Collection Program
        February 7, 2014
        In his remarks on January 17, 2014, President Obama announced a number of actions with regards to certain intelligence activities, including the bulk collection of telephony metadata under Section 215. As part of this effort, the President directed the development of ''options for a new approach that can match the capabilities and fill the gaps that the Section 215 program was designed to address without the government holding this metadata''.
        Consistent with this direction, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is seeking information about whether existing commercially available capabilities can provide for a new approach to the government's telephony metadata bulk collection program under Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act, without the government holding the metadata.
        Solicitation Number: ODNI-RFI-14-01 Agency: Office of the Director of National IntelligenceOffice: ADNI Acquisition Technology & FacilitiesLocation: AT&F Buying Office
        This RFI is intended to obtain information on U.S. industry's existing commercially available capabilities that could provide viable alternative approaches to the current Section 215 program without the government holding the metadata, while maintaining the current capabilities of that system and the existing protections for U.S. persons.
        Responses to this RFI will be reviewed and may help to shape the framework for the future telephony metadata program to include the potential for non-government maintenance of that data.
        The Request for Information was posted to FedBizOpps.gov on February 5, 2014.
      FISC Approves Government's Request to Modify Telephony Metadata...
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: IC ON THE RECORD
        Fri, 07 Feb 2014 05:24
        FISC Approves Government's Request to Modify Telephony Metadata Program
        February 6, 2014
        During his speech on Jan. 17, 2014, President Obama ordered a transition that will end the Section 215 bulk telephony metadata program as it currently exists, and establish a mechanism that preserves the capabilities we need without the government holding this bulk data. As a first step in that transition, the President directed the Attorney General to work with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to ensure that, absent a true emergency, the telephony metadata can only be queried after a judicial finding that there is a reasonable, articulable suspicion that the selection term is associated with an approved international terrorist organization. The President also directed that the query results must be limited to metadata within two hops of the selection term instead of three.
        To put these two changes into effect, the Department of Justice filed a motion with the FISC to amend its most recent Jan. 3, 2014, primary order approving the production of telephony metadata collection under Section 215. Yesterday, the FISC granted the government's motion. In addition, the FISC ordered the government to do a classification review by Feb. 17, 2014, of the Jan. 3 primary order, the government's motion to amend that order, and the order granting the motion. Following completion of the review, the motion and two orders will be published as appropriate on the FISC's website, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence will post them to its website and icontherecord.tumblr.com.
        James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence
      ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Media Shield
      Guilty plea in Fox News leak case shows why Espionage Act prosecutions are unfair to reporters' sources - Boing Boing
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Fri, 07 Feb 2014 23:59
        Stephen Jin-Woo Kim. Image: Stephen Kim Legal Defense Trust.
        Former State Department official Stephen Kim announced today he will plead guilty to leaking classified information to Fox News journalist James Rosen and will serve 13 months in jail.
        The case sparked controversy last year when it was revealed the Justice Department named Rosen a ''co-conspirator'' in court documents for essentially doing his job as a journalist. But a largely ignored ruling in Kim's case may have far broader impact on how sources interact with journalists in the future.
        In Espionage Act cases involving sources or whistleblowers, defendants naturally want to explain to a judge or jury that the information they may have given to journalists (and the American public) didn't harm US national security. The bar for this was already too low; in the past, the government didn't have to show actual harm, but at least they had to show the information could potentially harm national security. The judge in Kim's case ruled the government didn't even need to do that.
        As secrecy expert Steven Aftergood reported at the time:
        Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled that the prosecution in the pending case of former State Department contractor Stephen Kim need not show that the information he allegedly leaked could damage U.S. national security or benefit a foreign power,even potentially. Her opinion was a departure from a 30-year-old ruling in the case of U.S. v. Morison, which held that the government must show that the leak was potentially damaging to the U.S. or beneficial to an adversary. (emphasis ours)
        This means that it doesn't matter if the information leaked by Kim was properly classified, or if it should have been classified at all. Kim could not argue the information he gave to Rosen may have been innocuous. The ruling also gives the government carte blanche power to classify whatever it wants'--including waste, abuse, and crimes'--and keep it secret under the threat of prosecution of anyone who could potentially reveal it. As the defense argued at the time, this ruling turns the Espionage Act into an Official Secrets Act, which Congress has continually refused to enact over the last century.
        Because of this ruling, and other rulings in Espionage Act cases that bar defendants from explaining their intent to inform the American public to a jury, Kim likely had no choice to plead guilty. This is also why if Edward Snowden came back to the US he quite literally cannot receive a fair trial: he would be legally barred from making his case in court.
        The Kim case yet another example of the broken nature of how the government deals with leaks, in which the Justice Department has complete discretion to ignore the leaks they like, and prosecute the leaks they don't like. Kim's lawyer Abbe Lowell made this point eloquently in his statement today:
        Stephen's case demonstrates that our system for prosecuting leaks in this country is broken and terribly unfair. Lower-level employees like Mr. Kim are prosecuted because they are easier targets or often lack the resources or political connections to fight back. High-level employees leak classified information to forward their agenda or to make an administration look good with impunity. In fact, in this case, news reports from the same day demonstrate that Stephen was not the only government employee discussing the topic at issue. Stephen may have told the reporter what the reporter already knew from others, but Stephen was the only one charged.
        ''Leak'' cases are prosecuted under the Espionage Act, a 100-year-old law with crushing penalties that was never intended to apply to conversations between a government employee and a news reporter. The Act and its penalties are designed to punish traitors and spies '' not State Department analysts answering questions from the media about their area of expertise. Stephen faced more than a decade in jail for the type of public discussion of foreign policy issues that ought to be encouraged. This Administration and Congress should address these problems, as they undermine the basic fairness of our criminal justice system.
        It's clear the Espionage Act is inherently unfair to sources and whistleblowers. As Congress debates NSA reform, they should also be considering repealing the Espionage Act once and for all.
    Heroin
      ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Vicodin!
        Great show today. What you are doing is very important. The clip you played that identifies the problem is
        spot on. The solution is a bit different.
        Most people that I know that are addicted had their first exposure to opiates at the dentist. Vicodin is the
        number 1 prescribed drug in the country (generic hydrocodone). They get you hooked and if you want to get
        clean you have to get addicted to another drug like suboxone or methadone.
        Doctors are a business like any other and he best way to get a customer to come back is to get them addicted
        to your product. With all of he advances we've had in technology, can you honestly say that they still can't
        create aomething that relieves pain without getting you high?
        Also, the most popular brand of Vicodin is norco. It is made by Watson pharmaceuticals. They also make the
        generics. Again, go to pharmer.org.
      Narcan Producer
        ITM John and Adam. In my previous life I used to work QA/QC for a small
        pharmaceutical company in Puerto Rico. We used to be a third party
        manufacturer for Endo Pharmaceuticals. Who are these guys? Well the owners
        of Percocet and its generic Endocet (same exact shit both based on the
        opiate oxycodone), Numorphan (another opiate called oxymorphone) and wait
        for it...Narcan (ring the bell please). It's a win-win. John would say the
        perfect scam. This people will sell you the disease and the cure. They'll
        make money either way. BTW did you know their products are Schedule II
        while Heroin is Schedule I? I think somebody got paid.
        PS I've always believed that Narcan means NARCotic ANtagonist, but that's
        just a theory.
      ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Social Media Fires up Brain's Pleasure Center Through Self Disclosure, Harvard Study Found
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 20:18
        New research suggesting that sharing information about ourselves fires up the pleasure centers of our brains may shed light on the roots of social media addiction.
        The research was conducted at Harvard University and published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study, led by Diana Tamir, explains a series of five experiments the team conducted to test their hypothesis, which was that people derive intrinsic value from communicating information about themselves to other people.
        "Self-disclosure was strongly associated with increased activation in brain regions that form the mesolimbic dopamine system, including the nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area," the Harvard-based study states. "Moreover, individuals were willing to forgo money to disclose about the self. "
        Let's Talk About Me, Me, MePrevious studies have found that 30 percent to 40 percent of daily conversations communicate information to other people about our own experiences, the study said. Previous research has found an even greater percentage of what we post on social media (up to 80 percent) is about ourselves. The Harvard researchers set out to see if that may be because we get some emotional or psychic rewards for doing so.
        In their experiments, the researchers hooked up MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machines to scan people's brains while they were given the choice of talking about themselves and listening to other people to judge their thoughts.
        Essentially, they found that people prefer to share information about themselves so much that they were willing to forego money to do so.
        More significantly, perhaps, they also found that the act of self-disclosure lights up areas of the brain which are also activated by known pleasurable activities such as eating and sex. When people listening to or judging other people, their brains didn't light up the same way. Curiously, the researchers also found the activation of pleasure centers was even greater when people were told they had an audience.
        Lots of researchers have previously theorized that using social media might release pleasure-inducing chemicals in the brain such as dopamine, the same chemical released in the brains of alcoholics when they drink and nicotine addicts when they smoke.
        But this is one of the first studies to try to document the effects of self-disclosure on brain chemistry, especially when one has an audience for the sharing.
        Fine-tuning Our Social InstinctsIn their conclusion, the authors say this drive to broadcast ourselves to others may give us various adaptive advantages and enhance our performance in "behaviors that underlie the extreme sociality of our species."
        For example, using social media could reward us by doing something simple such as helping forge "social bonds and social alliances between people" or "eliciting feedback from others to attain self knowledge."
        If this study is correct, the pleasure we derive from sharing tidbits of our lives on social networks may help explain the phenomenon of Facebook addiction," which basically is just spending so much time on Facebook that it interferes with the rest of our lives. The symptoms of Facebook addiction are similar to the signs of overuse of other forms of social media, such as Twitter, Tumblr and the like.
      How do people become addicted to online games and social networking sites? | MIT School of Engineering
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 20:18
        ''Online games and social networking sites use psychological principles to keep you hooked,'' says Natasha Sch¼ll, a cultural anthropologist and associate professor in MIT's Program in Science, Technology, and Society. Designers don't intentionally build their sites to create dependency, but they use the same principles that keep people turning back just one more time to hit the button on the slot machine. ''Games and social media sites are solitary, continuous, and rapid,'' explains Sch¼ll. ''It's just you and the machine. No one else is there to interrupt your experience. And you set the pace and go as fast as you wish.''
        The sites rely on what Sch¼ll calls a formula for ''persistence of behavior through schedules of reinforcement'''--in other words, users love their rewards. The unpredictability of what that reward will be and when they'll receive it keeps them logged in. They repeatedly check Facebook for another post, another photograph, another invitation to download a related app. The behavior of eBay bidders is reinforced not only when they win an auction, but when they receive periodic messages that they're still the high bidder.
        Recent breakthroughs in neuroscience indicate that online dependency is not so different from physical addiction. ''MRI scans of patients playing a slot machine and those using cocaine look exactly the same,'' says Sch¼ll. ''What happens in the brain is independent of the introduction of outside substances. The brain's reward centers light up because the person's behavior changes their internal chemistry.'' Most addictions begin as a harmless satisfaction of needs and desires; playing a few hands of poker stimulates those pleasure centers in the brain, and stopping at the pub is an acceptable way to unwind after a long day at the office. So is competing with online friends to position sparkling gems in a grid. But humans are social creatures, and when we forego personal interaction in real time and space to spend hours tapping the keyboard in virtual worlds, we're not unlike the lab rat repeatedly pressing the lever to release food pellets while his food dish sits untouched in another corner of the cage.
        Therapists who treat gambling and other behavioral addictions have expanded their scope to include chronic gamers and those who just can't tear themselves away from the smartphone and laptop. ''Online activity is a problem when it impacts physical and mental health, family life, and finances,'' says Sch¼ll. ''If your online activities are affecting other aspects of your life, it's time to think about changing your behaviors.'' '--Sarah Jensen
        Thanks to Puneet of Ludhiana, India, for this question.
      FB Gateway
        “persistence of behavior through schedules of reinforcement”
        “MRI scans of patients playing a slot machine and those using cocaine look exactly the same,”
        "Self-disclosure was strongly associated with increased activation in brain regions that form the mesolimbic dopamine system, including the nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area," the Harvard-based study states. "Moreover, individuals were willing to forgo money to disclose about the self.
      Teenagers who consume energy drinks 'are twice as likely to use alcohol and drugs' | Mail Online
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 19:49
        This could be because 'risk orientated' teens are the most likely to use energy drinks and this trait also makes them interested in drugs and alcoholBoys are more likely to drink energy drinks than girlsTeens who live with just one parent are also more likely to drink themBy Emma Innes
        PUBLISHED: 11:31 EST, 6 February 2014 | UPDATED: 12:10 EST, 6 February 2014
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        Risk: Chloe Leach, 21, died after drinking four cans of the energy drink Red Bull and 'a couple' of vodka-based alcopops
        Most parents would rather their teenager drank energy drinks than something stronger.
        But new research suggests that parents should be wary - as teenagers who drink energy drinks are much more likely to also drink alcohol and use drugs.
        They are also more likely to start smoking.
        University of Michigan researchers say this could be because teenagers who are 'sensation-seekers' or 'risk orientated' are more likely to drink energy drinks.
        In turn, having these character traits means they are also more likely to experiment with other substances.
        In 2009, student Chloe Leach died after drinking about four cans of the energy drink Red Bull and 'a couple' of vodka-based alcopops.
        Miss Leach was believed to have been suffering from an undetected rare heart condition, and medical evidence suggested her heartbeat may have speeded up as a result of the amount of caffeine in her body.
        In the new study, the researchers studied data on nearly 22,000 secondary school students in the U.S.
        These teenagers were participating in the University of Michigan's 'Monitoring the Future' study.
        The figures revealed that about 30 per cent of teenagers drink caffeinated energy drinks while 40 per cent drink non-caffeinated soft drinks every day.
        The researchers noted that boys were more likely to drink energy drinks than girls.
        They also found that their use was more common among those without two parents at home and those with less well educated parents.
        Surprisingly, the data also revealed that younger teenagers were more likely to drink them than older teenagers were.
        The figures showed that teenagers who used energy drinks were two or three times more likely to also abuse other substances.
        Teens who drink energy drinks are also more likely to smoke - this could be because they are 'risk orientated'
        People who drank non-caffeinated soft drinks were also more likely to be involved in substance abuse, than those who drank no fizzy drinks, but the link between these drinks and drugs and alcohol was much weaker.
        'The current study indicates that adolescent consumption of energy drinks/shots is widespread and that energy drink users also report heightened risk for substance use,' Yvonne Terry-McElrath and her colleagues wrote.
        They emphasised that their study provides no cause-and-effect data showing that energy drinks lead to substance abuse in teens.
        A BAD WEEK FOR ENERGY DRINKS AS THEY ARE LINKED TO MORE DEATHSJoshua Marrick, who died in his sleep, had been had been boosting his workouts using a high caffeine energy drink
        A teenage rugby player who died in his sleep had been boosting his workouts using a high caffeine energy drink called Animal Rage, an inquest heard.
        Joshua Merrick, 19, from Manchester, had just completed an intensive fitness medical to join the Royal Navy and was on a work trip to Glasgow with his father when he was found dead in bed in a hotel room.
        Tests after his death revealed he had an enlarged heart, which could have been caused by excessive exercise, a doctor told the hearing.
        He had also been drinking the energy drink Animal Rage ahead of his workout.
        Josh's death is the latest in a number of incidents that have been linked to energy drinks, fuelling concerns over these largely unregulated products.
        Particularly worrying is their popularity among children and teenagers.
        With some cans containing 13 teaspoons of sugar and the equivalent in caffeine of two cups of coffee, there is growing alarm over what these drinks are doing to the young body and brain.
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      The little-told story of how the U.S. government poisoned alcohol during Prohibition.
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        Fri, 07 Feb 2014 22:39
        It was Christmas Eve 1926, the streets aglitter with snow and lights, when the man afraid of Santa Claus stumbled into the emergency room at New York City's Bellevue Hospital. He was flushed, gasping with fear: Santa Claus, he kept telling the nurses, was just behind him, wielding a baseball bat.
        Before hospital staff realized how sick he was'--the alcohol-induced hallucination was just a symptom'--the man died. So did another holiday partygoer. And another. As dusk fell on Christmas, the hospital staff tallied up more than 60 people made desperately ill by alcohol and eight dead from it. Within the next two days, yet another 23 people died in the city from celebrating the season.
        Doctors were accustomed to alcohol poisoning by then, the routine of life in the Prohibition era. The bootlegged whiskies and so-called gins often made people sick. The liquor produced in hidden stills frequently came tainted with metals and other impurities. But this outbreak was bizarrely different. The deaths, as investigators would shortly realize, came courtesy of the U.S. government.
        Frustrated that people continued to consume so much alcohol even after it was banned, federal officials had decided to try a different kind of enforcement. They ordered the poisoning of industrial alcohols manufactured in the United States, products regularly stolen by bootleggers and resold as drinkable spirits. The idea was to scare people into giving up illicit drinking. Instead, by the time Prohibition ended in 1933, the federal poisoning program, by some estimates, had killed at least 10,000 people.
        Although mostly forgotten today, the "chemist's war of Prohibition" remains one of the strangest and most deadly decisions in American law-enforcement history. As one of its most outspoken opponents, Charles Norris, the chief medical examiner of New York City during the 1920s, liked to say, it was "our national experiment in extermination." Poisonous alcohol still kills'--16 people died just this month after drinking lethal booze in Indonesia, where bootleggers make their own brews to avoid steep taxes'--but that's due to unscrupulous businessmen rather than government order.
        I learned of the federal poisoning program while researching my new book, The Poisoner's Handbook, which is set in jazz-age New York. My first reaction was that I must have gotten it wrong. "I never heard that the government poisoned people during Prohibition, did you?" I kept saying to friends, family members, colleagues.
        I did, however, remember the U.S. government's controversial decision in the 1970s to spray Mexican marijuana fields with Paraquat, an herbicide. Its use was primarily intended to destroy crops, but government officials also insisted that awareness of the toxin would deter marijuana smokers. They echoed the official position of the 1920s'--if some citizens ended up poisoned, well, they'd brought it upon themselves. Although Paraquat wasn't really all that toxic, the outcry forced the government to drop the plan. Still, the incident created an unsurprising lack of trust in government motives, which reveals itself in the occasional rumors circulating today that federal agencies, such as the CIA, mix poison into the illegal drug supply.
        During Prohibition, however, an official sense of higher purpose kept the poisoning program in place. As the Chicago Tribune editorialized in 1927: "Normally, no American government would engage in such business. '... It is only in the curious fanaticism of Prohibition that any means, however barbarous, are considered justified." Others, however, accused lawmakers opposed to the poisoning plan of being in cahoots with criminals and argued that bootleggers and their law-breaking alcoholic customers deserved no sympathy. "Must Uncle Sam guarantee safety first for souses?" asked Nebraska's Omaha Bee.
        The saga began with ratification of the 18th Amendment, which banned the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcoholic beverages in the United States. * High-minded crusaders and anti-alcohol organizations had helped push the amendment through in 1919, playing on fears of moral decay in a country just emerging from war. The Volstead Act, spelling out the rules for enforcement, passed shortly later, and Prohibition itself went into effect on Jan. 1, 1920.
        But people continued to drink'--and in large quantities. Alcoholism rates soared during the 1920s; insurance companies charted the increase at more than 300 more percent. Speakeasies promptly opened for business. By the decade's end, some 30,000 existed in New York City alone. Street gangs grew into bootlegging empires built on smuggling, stealing, and manufacturing illegal alcohol. The country's defiant response to the new laws shocked those who sincerely (and naively) believed that the amendment would usher in a new era of upright behavior.
        Rigorous enforcement had managed to slow the smuggling of alcohol from Canada and other countries. But crime syndicates responded by stealing massive quantities of industrial alcohol'--used in paints and solvents, fuels and medical supplies'--and redistilling it to make it potable.
        Well, sort of. Industrial alcohol is basically grain alcohol with some unpleasant chemicals mixed in to render it undrinkable. The U.S. government started requiring this "denaturing" process in 1906 for manufacturers who wanted to avoid the taxes levied on potable spirits. The U.S. Treasury Department, charged with overseeing alcohol enforcement, estimated that by the mid-1920s, some 60 million gallons of industrial alcohol were stolen annually to supply the country's drinkers. In response, in 1926, President Calvin Coolidge's government decided to turn to chemistry as an enforcement tool. Some 70 denaturing formulas existed by the 1920s. Most simply added poisonous methyl alcohol into the mix. Others used bitter-tasting compounds that were less lethal, designed to make the alcohol taste so awful that it became undrinkable.
        To sell the stolen industrial alcohol, the liquor syndicates employed chemists to "renature" the products, returning them to a drinkable state. The bootleggers paid their chemists a lot more than the government did, and they excelled at their job. Stolen and redistilled alcohol became the primary source of liquor in the country. So federal officials ordered manufacturers to make their products far more deadly.
        By mid-1927, the new denaturing formulas included some notable poisons'--kerosene and brucine (a plant alkaloid closely related to strychnine), gasoline, benzene, cadmium, iodine, zinc, mercury salts, nicotine, ether, formaldehyde, chloroform, camphor, carbolic acid, quinine, and acetone. The Treasury Department also demanded more methyl alcohol be added'--up to 10 percent of total product. It was the last that proved most deadly.
        The results were immediate, starting with that horrific holiday body count in the closing days of 1926. Public health officials responded with shock. "The government knows it is not stopping drinking by putting poison in alcohol," New York City medical examiner Charles Norris said at a hastily organized press conference. "[Y]et it continues its poisoning processes, heedless of the fact that people determined to drink are daily absorbing that poison. Knowing this to be true, the United States government must be charged with the moral responsibility for the deaths that poisoned liquor causes, although it cannot be held legally responsible."
        His department issued warnings to citizens, detailing the dangers in whiskey circulating in the city: "[P]ractically all the liquor that is sold in New York today is toxic," read one 1928 alert. He publicized every death by alcohol poisoning. He assigned his toxicologist, Alexander Gettler, to analyze confiscated whiskey for poisons'--that long list of toxic materials I cited came in part from studies done by the New York City medical examiner's office.
        Norris also condemned the federal program for its disproportionate effect on the country's poorest residents. Wealthy people, he pointed out, could afford the best whiskey available. Most of those sickened and dying were those "who cannot afford expensive protection and deal in low grade stuff."
        And the numbers were not trivial. In 1926, in New York City, 1,200 were sickened by poisonous alcohol; 400 died. The following year, deaths climbed to 700. These numbers were repeated in cities around the country as public-health officials nationwide joined in the angry clamor. Furious anti-Prohibition legislators pushed for a halt in the use of lethal chemistry. "Only one possessing the instincts of a wild beast would desire to kill or make blind the man who takes a drink of liquor, even if he purchased it from one violating the Prohibition statutes," proclaimed Sen. James Reed of Missouri.
        Officially, the special denaturing program ended only once the 18th Amendment was repealed in December 1933. But the chemist's war itself faded away before then. Slowly, government officials quit talking about it. And when Prohibition ended and good grain whiskey reappeared, it was almost as if the craziness of Prohibition'--and the poisonous measures taken to enforce it'--had never quite happened.
        Correction, Feb. 22, 2010: The article originally and incorrectly said that the 18th Amendment banned the sale and consumption of alcohol. It banned the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcohol, not consumption. (Return to the corrected sentence.)
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      Ayahuasca - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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        Sun, 09 Feb 2014 07:28
        Ayahuasca (usually pronounced // or //), also commonly called yag(C) (//), is a psychedelic brew of various plant infusions prepared with the Banisteriopsis caapi vine. It is either mixed with the leaves of dimethyltryptamine (DMT)-containing species of shrubs from the genus Psychotria or with the leaves of the Justicia pectoralis plant which does not contain DMT. The brew, first described academically in the early 1950s by Harvard ethnobotanist Richard Evans Schultes, who found it employed for divinatory and healing purposes by the native peoples of AmazonianPeru, is known by a number of different names (see below).[1]
        It has been reported that some effects can be felt from consuming the caapi vine alone, but that DMT-containing plants (such as Psychotria) remain inactive when drunk as a brew without a source of monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) such as B. caapi. How indigenous peoples discovered the synergistic properties of the plants used in the ayahuasca brew remains unclear. Many indigenous Amazonian people say they received the instructions directly from plants and plant spirits.
        Effects[edit]People who have consumed ayahuasca report having spiritual revelations regarding their purpose on earth, the true nature of the universe as well as deep insight into how to be the best person they possibly can.[2] This is viewed by many as a spiritual awakening and what is often described as a rebirth.[3] In addition it is often reported that individuals can gain access to higher spiritual dimensions and make contact with various spiritual or extra dimensional beings who can act as guides or healers.[4]
        It is nearly always said that people experience profound positive changes in their life subsequent to consuming ayahuasca[5] and it is often viewed as one of the most effective tools of enlightenment.[6] Vomiting can follow ayahuasca ingestion; this purging is considered by many shamans and experienced users of ayahuasca to be an essential part of the experience as it represents the release of negative energy and emotions built up over the course of one's life.[7] Other such reports of this purging has come in the form of nausea, diarrhea, and hot/cold flashes.
        Further, the ingestion of ayahuasca can cause significant, but temporary emotional and psychological distress. There are many reports of miraculous physical as well as emotional and spiritual healing resulting from the use of ayahuasca.[8] Long-term negative effects are not known.[9]
        Warnings[edit]For various reasons some shamans and experienced users of ayahuasca advise against consuming ayahuasca when not in the presence of one or several well-trained shamans. [10] It is believed that one of the core functions of a shaman is to provide a kind of spiritual protection that keeps negative entities away. This includes not only spirits but other shamans referred to as brujos who practice a form of shamanic witchcraft and can enter the space and attempt to harm people having consumed ayahuasca. [11]
        Additionally, these brujos often masquerade as real shamans enticing tourists to drink ayahuasca in their presence. Real shamans believe one of the purposes for this is to steal ones energy and or power, which they believe every person has a stockpile of. [12] It is believed to be very important for individuals seeking an ayahuasca experience to find a reputable shaman before hastily drinking with anyone who claims to be a shaman or offers one ayahuasca.[13]
        Finally, there are a number of substances that when taken in conjunction with ayahuasca can cause symptoms that range from intense sickness to even death, in very rare cases, due to the MAOI that is present in the Banisteriopsis caapi vine. Certain pharmaceutical drugs, particularly SSRIs, can cause dangerous reactions when consumed with ayahuasca. Any anti-anxiety or antidepressant medication should strictly be avoided for at least one week before and after an ayahuasca ceremony. It is recommended that if you are taking any medications that you consult your doctor well in advance.
        Nomenclature[edit]Ayahuasca is known by many names throughout Northern South America and Brazil.
        Ayahuasca is the Hispanicized spelling of a word in the Quechua languages, which are spoken in the Andean states of Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia. Speakers of Quechua languages or of the Aymara language may prefer the spelling ayawaska. This word refers both to the liana Banisteriopsis caapi, and to the healing brew prepared from it. In the Quechua languages, aya means "spirit", and waska means "liana". The word ayahuasca has been variously translated as "liana of the soul", "liana of the dead", and "spirit liana".[14]
        In Brazil, the brew and the liana are informally called either caapi or cip"; the latter is the Portuguese word for liana (or woody climbing vine). In the Uni£o do Vegetal of Brazil, an organised spiritual tradition in which people drink ayahuasca, the brew is prepared exclusively from B. caapi and P. viridis. Adherents of Uni£o do Vegetal call this brew hoasca or vegetal.[citation needed]
        In the Tucanoan languages it is called yag(C) or yaj(C) (both pronounced [jaËhe]).[15] The Achuar people[16] and Shuar people[17] of Ecuador and Peru call it natem, whereas the Sharanahua peoples of Peru call it shori.[18]
        Chemistry[edit]Harmala alkaloids are MAO-inhibiting beta-carbolines. The three most studied harmala alkaloids in the B. caapi vine are harmine, harmaline and tetrahydroharmine. Harmine and harmaline are selective and reversible inhibitors of monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A), while tetrahydroharmine is a weak serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI).[19]
        This inhibition of MAO-A allows DMT to diffuse unmetabolized past the membranes in the stomach and small intestine, and eventually cross the blood''brain barrier (which, by itself, requires no MAO-A inhibition) to activate receptor sites in the brain. Without RIMAs or the MAOI of MAO-A, DMT would be oxidised (and thus rendered biologically inactive) by monoamine oxidase enzymes in the digestive tract.[20]
        Individual polymorphisms in the cytochrome P450-2D6 enzyme affect the ability of individuals to metabolize harmine.[21] Some natural tolerance to habitual use of ayahuasca (roughly once weekly) may develop through upregulation of the serotonergic system.[19][22] A phase 1 pharmacokinetic study on ayahuasca (as Hoasca) with 15 volunteers was conducted in 1993, during the Hoasca Project.[19] A review of the Hoasca Project has been published.[23]
        Preparation[edit]Sections of Banisteriopsis caapi vine are macerated and boiled alone or with leaves from any of a number of other plants, including Psychotria viridis (chacruna) or Diplopterys cabrerana (also known as chaliponga). The resulting brew contains the powerful psychedelic drugDMT and MAO inhibitingharmala alkaloids, which are necessary to make the DMT orally active.
        Brews can also be made with no DMT-containing plants; Psychotria viridis being substituted by plants such as Justicia pectoralis, Brugmansia, or sacred tobacco, also known as Mapacho (Nicotiana rustica), or sometimes left out with no replacement. The potency of this brew varies radically from one batch to the next, both in potency and psychoactive effect, based mainly on the skill of the shaman or brewer, as well as other admixtures sometimes added and the intent of the ceremony. Natural variations in plant alkaloid content and profiles also affect the final concentration of alkaloids in the brew, and the physical act of cooking may also serve to modify the alkaloid profile of harmala alkaloids.[24][25]
        Traditional brew[edit]Traditional ayahuasca brews are often made with Banisteriopsis caapi as an MAOI, although Dimethyltryptamine sources and other admixtures vary from region to region. There are several varieties of caapi, often known as different "colors", with varying effects, potencies, and uses.
        DMT admixtures:
        Other common admixtures:
        Common admixtures with their associated ceremonial values and spirits:
        Ayahuma[26] bark: Dead Head Tree. Provides protection and is used in healing susto (soul loss from spiritual fright or trauma). Head spirit is a headless giant.Capirona[26] bark: Provides cleansing and protection. It is noted for its smooth bark, white flowers, and hard wood. Head spirits look Caucasian.Chullachaki Caspi[26] bark (Brysonima christianeae): Provides cleansing to the physical body. Used to transcend physical body ailments. Head spirits look Caucasian.Lopuna Blanca bark: Provides protection. Head spirits take the form of giants.Punga Amarilla bark: Yellow Punga. Provides protection. Used to pull or draw out negative spirits or energies. Head spirit is the yellow anaconda.Remo Caspi[26] bark: Oar Tree. Used to move dense or dark energies. Head spirit is a native warrior.Wyra (huaira) Caspi[26] bark (Cedrelinga catanaeformis): Air Tree. Used to create purging, transcend gastro/intestinal ailments, calm the mind, and bring tranquility. Head spirit looks African.Shiwawaku bark: Brings purple medicine to the ceremony. Provides healing and protection.Camu camu Gigante: Head spirit comes in the form of a large dark skinned giant. He provides medicine and protection in the form of warding off dark and demonic spirits.Tamamuri: Head spirit looks like an old Asian warrior with a long white wispy beard. He carries a staff and manages thousands of spirits to protect the ceremony and send away energies that are purged from the participants.Uchu Sanango: Head of the sanango plants. Provides power, strength, and protection. Head doctor spirit is a grandfather with a long, gray-white beard.Huacapurana: Giant tree of the Amazon with very hard bark. Its head spirits come in the form of Amazonian giants and provide a strong grounding presence in the ceremony.Ayahuasca is used largely as a religious sacrament. Users of ayahuasca in non-traditional contexts often align themselves with the philosophies and cosmologies associated with ayahuasca shamanism, as practiced among indigenous peoples like the Urarina of PeruvianAmazonia.[27] While non-native users know of the spiritual applications of ayahuasca, a less well-known traditional usage focuses on the medicinal properties of ayahuasca. When used for its medicinal purposes ayahuasca affects the human consciousness for less than six hours, beginning half an hour after consumption, and peaking after two hours. Ayahuasca also has cardiovascular effects, moderately increasing both heart rate and diastolic blood pressure. In some cases, individuals experience significant psychological stress during the experience. It is for this reason that extreme caution should be taken with those who may be at risk of heart disease.[28]
        The psychedelic effects of ayahuasca include visual and auditory stimulation, the mixing of sensory modalities, and psychological introspection that may lead to great elation, fear, or illumination. Its purgative properties are important (known as la purga or "the purge"). The intense vomiting and occasional diarrhea it induces can clear the body of worms and other tropical parasites,[29] and harmala alkaloids themselves have been shown to be anthelmintic[30] Thus, this action is twofold; a direct action on the parasites by these harmala alkaloids (particularly harmine in ayahuasca) works to kill the parasites, and parasites are expelled through the increased intestinal motility that is caused by these alkaloids.
        Dietary taboos are often associated with the use of ayahuasca.[31] In the rainforest, these tend towards the purification of one's self '' abstaining from spicy and heavily-seasoned foods, excess fat, salt, caffeine, acidic foods (such as citrus) and sex before, after, or during a ceremony. A diet low in foods containing tyramine has been recommended, as the speculative interaction of tyramine and MAOIs could lead to a hypertensive crisis. However, evidence indicates that harmala alkaloids act only on MAO-A, in a reversible way similar to moclobemide (an antidepressant that does not require dietary restrictions). Dietary restrictions are not used by the highly urban Brazilian ayahuasca church Uni£o do Vegetal, suggesting the risk is much lower than perceived, and probably non-existent.[31]
        In some areas[specify], it is even said that the chakruna or chaliponga admixtures are added only to make the brew taste sweeter.[citation needed] This is a strong indicator of the often wildly divergent intentions and cultural differences between the native ayahuasca-using cultures and psychedelics enthusiasts in other countries.
        A visitor who wishes to become a "dietero" or "dietera", that is, a male or female apprentice-shaman learning the way of the teacher plants, undergoes a rigorous initiation. This can involve spending up to a year or more in the jungle. This initiation challenges and trains the initiate through extreme circumstances involving a special diet and numerous different plant medicines to complement the ayahuasca, the lack of western food and conveniences, the harsh environmental conditions of heavy rains, storms, intense heat, insects, and venomous animals. The initiate is also tested for their unwavering commitment to ayahuasca and the shaman who oversees the training.[citation needed]
        Non-traditional usage[edit]In the late 20th century, the practice of ayahuasca drinking began spreading to Europe, North America and elsewhere.[32] The first ayahuasca 'Churches', affiliated with the BrazilianSanto Daime, were established in the Netherlands. A legal case was filed against two of the Church's leaders, Hans Bogers (one of the original founders of the Dutch Santo Daime community) and Geraldine Fijneman (the head of the Amsterdam Santo Daime community). Bogers and Fijneman were charged with distributing a controlled substance (DMT); however, the prosecution was unable to prove that the use of ayahuasca by members of the Santo Daime constituted a sufficient threat to public health and order that it warranted denying their rights to religious freedom under ECHR Article 9. The 2001 verdict of the Amsterdam district court is an important precedent. Since then groups that are not affiliated to the Santo Daime have used ayahuasca, and a number of different 'styles' have been developed, such as the non-religious approach developed by Daniel Waterman in 2001,[33] popularly termed Ayahuasca Open Style (AOS).[34]
        In modern Europe and North America, ayahuasca analogues are often prepared using non-traditional plants which contain the same alkaloids. For example, seeds of the Syrian rue plant can be used as a substitute for the ayahuasca vine, and the DMT-rich Mimosa hostilis is used in place of chakruna. Australia has several indigenous plants which are popular among modern ayahuasqueros there, such as various DMT-rich species of Acacia.
        The name 'ayahuasca' specifically refers to a botanical decoction that contains Banisteriopsis caapi. A synthetic version, known as pharmahuasca is a combination of an appropriate MAOI and typically DMT. In this usage, the DMT is generally considered the main psychoactive active ingredient, while the MAOI merely preserves the psychoactivity of orally ingested DMT, which would otherwise be destroyed in the gut before it could be absorbed in the body. Thus, ayahuasqueros and most others working with the brew maintain that the B. caapi vine is the defining ingredient, and that this beverage is not ayahuasca unless B. caapi is in the brew. The vine is considered to be the "spirit" of ayahuasca, the gatekeeper and guide to the otherworldly realms.[citation needed]
        Ayahuasca may be prepared using several plants not traditionally used in South America:
        DMT admixtures:
        Acacia maidenii (Maiden's Wattle) *not all plants are 'active strains'; meaning some plants will have very little DMT and others larger amounts, Acacia phlebophylla, and other Acacias, most commonly employed in Australia '' barkAcacia obtusifolia Has a similar range to Acacia Maidenii '' barkAnadenanthera peregrina, A. colubrina, A. excelsa, A. macrocarpaMimosa hostilis (Jurema) '' root bark '' not traditionally employed with ayahuasca by any existing cultures, though likely it was in the past. Popular in Europe and North America.MAOI:
        History[edit]In the 16th century, Christian missionaries from Spain and Portugal first encountered indigenous peoples using ayahuasca in South America; their earliest reports described it as the work of the devil.[35] In the 20th century, the active chemical constituent of B. caapi was named telepathine, but it was found to be identical to a chemical already isolated from Peganum harmala and was given the name harmaline. Beat writer William Burroughs read a paper by Richard Evans Schultes on the subject and sought out yag(C) in the early 1950s while traveling through South America in the hopes that it could relieve or cure opiateaddiction (see The Yage Letters). Ayahuasca became more widely known when the McKenna brothers published their experience in the Amazon in True Hallucinations. Dennis McKenna later studied the pharmacology, botany, and chemistry of ayahuasca and oo-koo-he, which became the subject of his master's thesis.
        In Brazil, a number of modern religious movements based on the use of ayahuasca have emerged, the most famous of them being Santo Daime and the Uni£o do Vegetal (or UDV), usually in an animistic context that may be shamanistic or, more often (as with Santo Daime and the UDV), integrated with Christianity. Both Santo Daime and Uni£o do Vegetal now have members and churches throughout the world. Similarly, the US and Europe have started to see new religious groups develop in relation to increased ayahuasca use.[36] Some Westerners have teamed up with shamans in the Amazon rainforest regions, forming ayahuasca healing retreats that claim to be able to cure mental and physical illness and allow communication with the spirit world. Some reports and scientific studies affirm that ritualized use of ayahuasca may improve mental and physical health.[37]
        In recent years, the tea has been popularized by Wade Davis (The Serpent and The Rainbow), English novelist Martin Goodman in I Was Carlos Castaneda[dead link], Chilean novelist Isabel Allende,[38] writer Kira Salak,[39][40] author Jeremy Narby (The Cosmic Serpent), author Jay Griffiths ("Wild: An Elemental Journey"), and radio personality Robin Quivers.[41]
        In 2008, psychologyprofessorBenny Shanon published a controversial hypothesis that a brew analogous to Ayahuasca was heavily connected to early Judaism, and that the effects of this brew were responsible for some of the most significant events of Moses' life, including his vision of the burning bush.[42]
        Research[edit]Charles Grob directed the first major study of the effects of ayahuasca on humans with the Hoasca Project in 1993."The Hoasca Project", maps.org The project studied members of the Uni£o do Vegetal (UDV) church in Brazil who use hoasca as a sacrament.
        The Institute of Medical Psychology at the University Hospital in Heidelberg, Germany has set up a Research Department Ayahuasca / Santo Daime,[43] which in May 2008 held a 3-day conference under the title The globalization of Ayahuasca '' An Amazonian psychoactive and its users.[44] There are also the investigations of the human pharmacology of ayahuasca done by Jordi Riba[20][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53] and the work of Rafael G. dos Santos.[54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61]
        In 2011, researchers in Canada conducted an observational study of ayahuasca-assisted treatment for addiction in a Coast SalishFirst Nations community, with ceremonies led by a Peruvian Shipibo ayahuasquero and group talk therapy led by Canadian physician and author Dr. Gabor Mat(C) . Although preliminary and limited by the observational study design, the results showed significant improvements in some psychological measures and reductions problematic substance use.[62]
        Legal status[edit]Internationally, DMT is a Schedule I drug under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances. The Commentary on the Convention on Psychotropic Substances notes, however, that the plants containing it are not subject to international control:[63]
        The cultivation of plants from which psychotropic substances are obtained is not controlled by the Vienna Convention. . . . Neither the crown (fruit, mescal button) of the Peyote cactus nor the roots of the plant Mimosa hostilis nor Psilocybe mushrooms themselves are included in Schedule 1, but only their respective principles, mescaline, DMT and psilocin.
        A fax from the Secretary of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) to the Netherlands Ministry of Public Health sent in 2001 goes on to state that "Consequently, preparations (e.g. decoctions) made of these plants, including ayahuasca, are not under international control and, therefore, not subject to any of the articles of the 1971 Convention."[64]
        Despite the INCB's 2001 affirmation that ayahuasca is not subject to drug control by international convention, in its 2010 Annual Report the Board recommended that governments consider controlling (i.e. criminalizing) ayahuasca at the national level. This recommendation by the INCB has been criticized as an attempt by the Board to overstep its legitimate mandate and as establishing a reason for governments to violate the human rights (i.e., religious freedom) of ceremonial ayahuasca drinkers.[65]
        The legal status in the United States of DMT-containing plants is somewhat questionable. Ayahuasca plants and preparations are legal, as they contain no scheduled chemicals. However, brews made using DMT containing plants are illegal since DMT is a Schedule I drug. That said, some people are challenging this, using arguments similar to those used by peyotist religious sects, such as the Native American Church. A court case allowing the Uni£o do Vegetal to import and use the tea for religious purposes in the United States, Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal, was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on November 1, 2005; the decision, released February 21, 2006, allows the UDV to use the tea in its ceremonies pursuant to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. In a similar case an Ashland, Oregon based Santo Daime church sued for their right to import and consume ayahuasca tea. In March 2009, U.S. District Court Judge Panner ruled in favor of the Santo Daime, acknowledging its protection from prosecution under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.[66]
        Religious use in Brazil was legalized after two official inquiries into the tea in the mid-1980s, which concluded that ayahuasca is not a recreational drug and has valid spiritual uses.[67]
        In France, Santo Daime won a court case allowing them to use the tea in early 2005; however, they were not allowed an exception for religious purposes, but rather for the simple reason that they did not perform chemical extractions to end up with pure DMT and harmala and the plants used were not scheduled.[68] Four months after the court victory, the common ingredients of ayahuasca as well as harmala were declared stup(C)fiants, or narcotic schedule I substances, making the tea and its ingredients illegal to use or possess.[69]
        Other legal issues[edit]Ayahuasca has also stirred debate regarding intellectual property protection of traditional knowledge.[70] In 1986 the US Patent and Trademarks Office allowed the granting of a patent on the ayahuasca vine B. Caapi. It allowed this patent based on the assumption that ayahuasca's properties had not been previously described in writing. Several public interest groups, including the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) and the Coalition for Amazonian Peoples and Their Environment (Amazon Coalition) objected. In 1999 they brought a legal challenge to this patent which had granted a private US citizen "ownership" of the knowledge of a plant that is well-known and sacred to many indigenous peoples of the Amazon, and used by them in religious and healing ceremonies.[71]
        Later that year the PTO issued a decision rejecting the patent, on the basis that the petitioners' arguments that the plant was not "distinctive or novel" were valid. However, the decision did not acknowledge the argument that the plant's religious or cultural values prohibited a patent. In 2001, after an appeal by the patent holder, the US Patent Office reinstated the patent. The law at the time did not allow a third party such as COICA to participate in that part of the reexamination process. The patent, held by US entrepreneur Loren Miller, expired in 2003.[72]
        See also[edit]^"Overviews Shamanism '' On The Origin of Ayahuasca". Ayahuasca.com. 2008. Retrieved 2013-04-27. ^Gorman, Peter (2010). Ayahuasca in My Blood: 25 Years of Medicine Dreaming. ISBN 1452882908. ^Campos, Don Jose (2011). The Shaman & Ayahuasca: Journeys to Sacred Realms. pp. 67''70. ^Metzer, Ralph (1999). Ayahuasca: Human Consciousness and the Spirits of Nature. pp. 46''55. ^Campos, Don Jose (2011). The Shaman & Ayahuasca: Journeys to Sacred Realms. pp. 25''28. ^Metzer, Ralph (1999). Ayahuasca: Human Consciousness and the Spirits of Nature. pp. 22''23. ^Campos, Don Jose (2011). The Shaman & Ayahuasca: Journeys to Sacred Realms. pp. 81''85. ^Campos, Don Jose (2011). The Shaman & Ayahuasca: Journeys to Sacred Realms. ^Schultz, Mitch (2010). DMT: The Spirit Molecule. ^Campos, Don Jose (2011). The Shaman & Ayahuasca: Journeys to Sacred Realms. ^Campos, Don Jose (2011). The Shaman & Ayahuasca: Journeys to Sacred Realms. ^Campos, Don Jose (2011). The Shaman & Ayahuasca: Journeys to Sacred Realms. ^Campos, Don Jose (2011). The Shaman & Ayahuasca: Journeys to Sacred Realms. ^Ayahuasca : une synth¨se interdisciplinaire. Por Fr(C)d(C)rick Bois-Mariage. Psychotropes 1/2002 (Vol. 8), p. 79-113. DOI : 10.3917/psyt.081.0079.^This term was popularized in English in the 1960s by the beat generation writers William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg in The Yage Letters. The letters were originally written in the 1950s.^Descola, Philippe (1996). In the Society of Nature: A Native Ecology in Amazonia. Cambridge University Press. pp. 99''100, 163. ISBN 978-0-521-57467-9. ^Incayawar, Mario; Lise Bouchard, Ronald Wintrob, Goffredo Bartocci (2009). Psychiatrists and Traditional Healers: Unwitting Partners in Global Mental Health. Wiley. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-470-51683-6. ^Siskind, Janet (1973). To Hunt in the Morning. Oxford University Press. p. 130. ISBN 0-19-501891-5. ^ abcCallaway JC, McKenna DJ, Grob CS, Brito GS, Raymon LP, Poland RE, Andrade EN, Andrade EO (1999). "Pharmacokinetics of Hoasca alkaloids in healthy humans". Journal of Ethnopharmacology65 (3): 243''256. doi:10.1016/S0378-8741(98)00168-8. PMID 10404423. ^ abRIBA, J. Human Pharmacology of Ayahuasca. Doctoral Thesis: Universitat Aut²noma de Barcelona, 2003.^Callaway, J. C. (June 2005). "Fast and Slow Metabolizers of Hoasca". Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (San Francisco: Haight-Ashbury Pub. in assoc. w. Haight-Ashbury Free Medical Clinic) 37 (2): 157''61. doi:10.1080/02791072.2005.10399797. ISSN 0279-1072. OCLC 7565359. PMID 16149329. ^Callaway JC, Airaksinen MM, McKenna DJ, Brito GS, Grob CS (November 1994). "Platelet serotonin uptake sites increased in drinkers of ayahuasca". Psychopharmacology (Berl.)116 (3): 385''7. doi:10.1007/BF02245347. PMID 7892432. ^McKenna DJ, Callaway JC, Grob CS (1998). "The scientific investigation of ayahuasca: A review of past and current research". The Heffter Review of Psychedelic Research1: 65''77. ^Callaway, J. C. (June 2005). "Various Alkaloid Profiles in Decoctions of Banisteriopsis Caapi". Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (San Francisco: Haight-Ashbury Pub. in assoc. w. Haight-Ashbury Free Medical Clinic) 37 (2): 151''5. doi:10.1080/02791072.2005.10399796. ISSN 0279-1072. OCLC 7565359. PMID 16149328. ^Callaway, J. C.; Brito, Glacus S.; Neves, Edison S. (June 2005). "Phytochemical Analyses of Banisteriopsis Caapi and Psychotria Viridis". Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (San Francisco: Haight-Ashbury Pub. in assoc. w. Haight-Ashbury Free Medical Clinic) 37 (2): 145''50. doi:10.1080/02791072.2005.10399795. ISSN 0279-1072. OCLC 7565359. PMID 16149327. ^ abcdefghijkRatsch 2005, pp. 704''708^Dean, Bartholomew (2009). Urarina Society, Cosmology, and History in Peruvian Amazonia. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-3378-5. ^Tafur, Joseph. "Ayahuasca". ^Andritzky, Walter (January''March 1989). "Sociopsychotherapeutic Functions of Ayahuasca Healing in Amazonia". Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (San Francisco: Haight-Ashbury Pub. in assoc. w. Haight-Ashbury Free Medical Clinic) 21 (1): 77''89. doi:10.1080/02791072.1989.10472145. ISSN 0279-1072. OCLC 7565359. PMID 2656954. ^Hassan, I. (1967). "Some folk uses of Peganum harmala in India and Pakistan". Economic Botany21 (3): 384. doi:10.1007/BF02860378. ^ abOtt, J. (1994). Ayahuasca Analogues: Pangaean Entheogens. Kennewick, WA: Natural Books. ISBN 978-0-9614234-4-5. ^Tupper, Kenneth (August 2008). "The Globalization of Ayahuasca: Harm Reduction or Benefit Maximization?". International Journal of Drug Policy19 (4): 297''303. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2006.11.001. ^Who We Are at a-keys.nl^Introduction to Ayahuasca at a-keys.nl^Reichel-Dolmatoff 1975, p. 48 as cited in Soibelman 1995, p. 14.^Labate, B.C.; Rose, I.S. & Santos, R.G. (2009). Ayahuasca Religions: a comprehensive bibliography and critical essays. Santa Cruz: Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies '' MAPS. ISBN 978-0-9798622-1-2. ^See research by Doctor John Halpern in New Scientist^Elsworth, Catherine (2008-03-21). "Isabel Allende: kith and tell". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 2010-04-26. ^Salak, Kira. "Hell And Back". Retrieved 29 December 2010. ^Salak, Kira. "Ayahuasca Healing in Peru". Retrieved 27 December 2010. ^stern show blog, podcast and videos, wcqj.com, retrieved 2012-01-14 ^Shanon, Benny (March 2008). "Biblical Entheogens: a Speculative Hypothesis". Time and Mind (Berg) 1 (1): 51''74. doi:10.2752/175169608783489116. ISSN 1751-6978. Retrieved 28 February 2012. ^'Research Department Ayahuasca / Santo Daime' at the University Hospital in Heidelberg, Germany, Klinikum.uni-heidelberg.de, retrieved 2012-01-14 ^Conference schedule "The globalization of Ayahuasca", Heidelberg, Germany: Ritualdynamik.de, 2008, May, retrieved 2012-01-14 ^Riba, Jordi; Barbanoj, Manel J. (June 2005). "Bringing Ayahuasca to the Clinical Research Laboratory". Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (San Francisco: Haight-Ashbury Pub. in assoc. w. Haight-Ashbury Free Medical Clinic) 37 (2): 219''30. doi:10.1080/02791072.2005.10399804. ISSN 0279-1072. OCLC 7565359. PMID 16149336. ^Riba, J. & Barbanoj, M.J. Ayahuasca (2006). Peris, J.C., Zurin, J.C., Mart­nez, G.C. & Valladolid, G.R., ed. Tratado SET de Transtornos Adictivos. Madrid: Ed. M(C)dica Panamericana. pp. 321''324. ISBN 978-84-7903-164-0. ^Riba J, Rodr­guez-Fornells A, Strassman RJ, Barbanoj MJ (May 2001). "Psychometric assessment of the Hallucinogen Rating Scale". Drug Alcohol Depend62 (3): 215''23. doi:10.1016/S0376-8716(00)00175-7. PMID 11295326. ^Riba J, Rodr­guez-Fornells A, Urbano G, et al. (February 2001). "Subjective effects and tolerability of the South American psychoactive beverage Ayahuasca in healthy volunteers". Psychopharmacology (Berl.)154 (1): 85''95. doi:10.1007/s002130000606. PMID 11292011. ^Riba J, Anderer P, Morte A, et al. (June 2002). "Topographic pharmaco-EEG mapping of the effects of the South American psychoactive beverage ayahuasca in healthy volunteers". Br J Clin Pharmacol53 (6): 613''28. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2125.2002.01609.x. PMC 1874340. PMID 12047486. ^Riba, J., Rodriguez''Fornells, A., & Barbanoj, M.j. (2002). "Effects of ayahuasca sensory and sensorimotor gating in humans as measured by P50 suppression and prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex, respectively.". Psychopharmacology (Berl)165 (1): 18''28. doi:10.1007/s00213-002-1237-5. ^Riba J, Valle M, Urbano G, Yritia M, Morte A, Barbanoj MJ (July 2003). "Human pharmacology of ayahuasca: subjective and cardiovascular effects, monoamine metabolite excretion, and pharmacokinetics". J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther.306 (1): 73''83. doi:10.1124/jpet.103.049882. PMID 12660312. ^Riba J, Anderer P, Jan(C) F, Saletu B, Barbanoj MJ (2004). "Effects of the South American psychoactive beverage ayahuasca on regional brain electrical activity in humans: a functional neuroimaging study using low-resolution electromagnetic tomography". Neuropsychobiology50 (1): 89''101. doi:10.1159/000077946. PMID 15179026. ^Riba J, Romero S, Grasa E, Mena E, Carri" I, Barbanoj MJ (May 2006). "Increased frontal and paralimbic activation following ayahuasca, the pan-Amazonian inebriant". Psychopharmacology (Berl.)186 (1): 93''8. doi:10.1007/s00213-006-0358-7. PMID 16575552. ^Santos, R.G., Moraes, C.C. & Holanda, A. (2006). "Ayahuasca e redu§£o do uso abusivo de psicoativos: eficcia terapªutica?". Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa22 (3): 363''370. doi:10.1590/S0102-37722006000300014. ^Santos, R.G. (2007). "AYAHUASCA: Neuroqu­mica e Farmacologia.". SMAD '' Revista Eletr´nica Saºde Mental lcool e Drogas3 (1). [dead link]^Santos RG, Landeira-Fernandez J, Strassman RJ, Motta V, Cruz AP (July 2007). "Effects of ayahuasca on psychometric measures of anxiety, panic-like and hopelessness in Santo Daime members" (PDF). J Ethnopharmacol112 (3): 507''13. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2007.04.012. PMID 17532158. ^Santos, R.G. & Strassman, R.J. (3 December 2008). "Ayahuasca and Psychosis (eLetter)". British Journal of Psychiatry. ^Santos, R.G. (2010). "The pharmacology of ayahuasca: a review" (PDF). Bras­lia M(C)dica47 (2): 188''195. ^Santos, R.G. (2010). "Toxicity of chronic ayahuasca administration to the pregnant rat: how relevant it is regarding the human, ritual use of ayahuasca?" (PDF). Birth Defects Research Part B: Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology89 (6): 533''35. doi:10.1002/bdrb.20272. ^Santos, R.G. (2011). The Ethnopharmacology of Ayahuasca. Transworld Research Network. ISBN 978-81-7895-526-1. ^Santos RG, Valle M, Bouso JC, Nomded(C)u JF, Rodriguez-Espinosa J, McIlhenny EH, Barker SA, Barbanoj MJ, Riba J (December 2011). "Autonomic, neuroendocrine and immunological effects of Ayahuasca. A comparative study with d-amphetamine" (PDF). J Clin Psychopharmacol31 (6): 217''26. doi:10.1097/JCP.0b013e31823607f6. PMID 22005052. [dead link]^Thomas, Gerald; Lucas, Philippe; Capler, Rielle N.; Tupper, Kenneth W. & Martin, Gina (2013). "Ayahuasca-Assisted Therapy for Addiction: Results from a Preliminary Observational Study in Canada". Current Drug Abuse Reviews6 (1): 30''42. doi:10.2174/15733998113099990003. Retrieved Dec 26, 2013. ^DMT '' UN report, MAPS, 1971-02-21, retrieved 2012-01-14 ^Ayahuasca Vault : Law : UNDCP's Ayahuasca Fax, Erowid.org, 2001-01-17, retrieved 2012-01-14 ^Tupper, Kenneth W.; Labate, Beatriz C. (2012). "Plants, Psychoactive Substances and the International Narcotics Control Board: The Control of Nature and the Nature of Control". Human Rights & Drugs2 (1): 17''28. Retrieved 2012-12-12. ^Ruling by District Court Judge Panner in Santo Daime case in Oregon (PDF), retrieved 2012-01-14 ^More on the legal status of ayahuasca can be found in the Erowid vault on the legality of ayahuasca.^Cour d'appel de Paris, 10¨me chambre, section B, dossier n° 04/01888. Arrªt du 13 janvier 2005 [Court of Appeal of Paris, 10th Chamber, Section B, File No. 04/01888. Judgement of 13 January 2005]. PDF of this document may be obtained from Ayahuasca '' Santo Daime Library[dead link].^JO, 2005-05-03. Arrªt(C) du 20 avril 2005 modifiant l'arrªt(C) du 22 f(C)vrier 1990 fixant la liste des substances class(C)es comme stup(C)fiants (PDF) [Decree of 20 April 2005 amending the decree of 22 February 1990 establishing the list of substances scheduled as narcotics].^Tupper, Kenneth (January 2009). "Ayahuasca Healing Beyond the Amazon: The Globalization of a Traditional Indigenous Entheogenic Practice". Global Networks: A Journal of Transnational Affairs9 (1): 117''136. doi:10.1111/j.1471-0374.2009.00245.x. ^CIEL Biodiversity Program Accomplishments, Ciel.org, retrieved 2012-01-14 ^"The Ayahuasca Patent Case". Our Programs: Biodiversity. The Centre for International Environmental Law. Retrieved 18 December 2011. References[edit]Burroughs, William S. and Allen Ginsberg. The Yage Letters. San Francisco: City Lights, 1963. ISBN 0-87286-004-3Lamb, Bruce F. Rio Tigre and Beyond: The Amazon Jungle Medicine of Manuel C"rdova. Berkeley: North Atlantic, 1985. ISBN 0-938190-59-8Langdon, E. Jean Matteson & Gerhard Baer, eds. Portals of Power: Shamanism in South America. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1992. ISBN 0-8263-1345-0Luna, Luis Eduardo. Vegetalismo: Shamanism among the Mestizo Population of the Peruvian Amazon. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International, 1986. ISBN 91-22-00819-5Luna, Luis Eduardo & Pablo Amaringo. Ayahuasca Visions: The Religious Iconography of A Peruvian Shaman. Berkeley: North Atlantic, 1999. ISBN 1-55643-311-5Luna, Luis Eduardo & Stephen F. White, eds. Ayahuasca Reader: Encounters with the Amazon's Sacred Vine. Santa Fe, NM: Synergetic, 2000. ISBN 0-907791-32-8McKenna, Terence. Food of the Gods: A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution.Metzner, Ralph, ed. Ayahuasca: Hallucinogens, Consciousness, and the Spirit of Nature. New York: Thunder's Mouth, 1999. ISBN 1-56025-160-3Metzner, Ralph (Editor). Sacred Vine of Spirits: Ayahuasca, (2nd ed.) Rochester, Vt.: Park Street, 2006. ISBN 1-59477-053-0, ISBN 978-1-59477-053-1Ott, J. Pharmacotheon: Entheogenic Drugs, Their Plant Sources and History, (2nd ed.)(Paperback). Kennewick, Wash.: Natural Products, 1993. ISBN 0-9614234-9-8. ISBN 978-0-9614234-9-0Ott, Jonathan (April''June 1999). "Pharmahuasca: Human Pharmacology of Oral DMT Plus Harmine". Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (San Francisco: Haight-Ashbury Pub. in assoc. w. Haight-Ashbury Free Medical Clinic) 31 (2): 171''7. doi:10.1080/02791072.1999.10471741. ISSN 0279-1072. OCLC 7565359. PMID 10438001. Polari de Alverga, Alex. Forest of Visions: Ayahuasca, Amazonian Spirituality, and the Santo Daime Tradition. Rochester, Vt.: Park Street, 1999. ISBN 0-89281-716-XShannon, Benny. The Antipodes of the Mind: Charting the Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-19-925293-9Strassman, Rick. DMT: The Spirit Molecule: A Doctor's Revolutionary Research into the Biology of Near-Death and Mystical Experiences. Rochester, Vt.: Park Street, 2001. ISBN 0-89281-927-8Taussig, Michael. Shamanism, Colonialism, and the Wild Man: A Study in Terror and Healing. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986. ISBN 0-226-79012-6Tupper, Kenneth (August 2008). "The Globalization of Ayahuasca: Harm Reduction or Benefit Maximization?". International Journal of Drug Policy19 (4): 297''303. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2006.11.001. Tupper, Kenneth (January 2009). "Ayahuasca Healing Beyond the Amazon: The Globalization of a Traditional Indigenous Entheogenic Practice". Global Networks: A Journal of Transnational Affairs9 (1): 117''136. doi:10.1111/j.1471-0374.2009.00245.x. Tupper, Kenneth W.; Labate, Beatriz C. (2012). "Plants, Psychoactive Substances and the International Narcotics Control Board: The Control of Nature and the Nature of Control". Human Rights & Drugs2 (1): 17''28. Psychedelics5-HT2ARagonists1-Methyl-5-methoxy-diisopropyltryptamine2,N,N-TMT4,5-DHP-AMT4,5-DHP-DMT4-Acetoxy-DALT4-Acetoxy-DET4-Acetoxy-DiPT4-Acetoxy-DMT4-Acetoxy-DPT4-Acetoxy-MiPT4-HO-5-MeO-DMT4-HO-DBT4-HO-DPT4-HO-MET4-HO-MPMI4-HO-MPT4,N,N-TMT4-Propionyloxy-DMT5,6-diBr-DMT5-AcO-DMT5-Bromo-DMT5-Me-MIPT5-MeO-2,N,N-TMT5-MeO-4,N,N-TMT5-MeO-Î±,N,N-TMT5-MeO-Î±-ET5-MeO-Î±-MT5-MeO-DALT5-MeO-DET5-MeO-DiPT5-MeO-DMT5-MeO-DPT5-MeO-EiPT5-MeO-MET5-MeO-MiPT5-MeO-MPMI5-N,N-TMT7,N,N-TMTÎ±-ETÎ±-MTÎ±,N,N-TMTAeruginascinBaeocystinBufoteninDALTDBTDCPTDETDIPTDMTDPTEiPTEthocinEthocybinIprocinMETMiprocinMiPTNorbaeocystinPiPTPsilocinPsilocybinOthers
        DissociativesNMDARantagonistsDeliriantsmAChRantagonistsMiscellaneous
      Ayahuasca Can Change Your Life -- As Long as You're Willing to Puke Your Guts Out | Features | Los Angeles | Los Angeles News and Events | LA Weekly
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        Archived Version
        Sun, 09 Feb 2014 07:28
        Just before dusk, 18 strangers enter a yurt on a Midwestern homestead. Peruvian tapestries decorate the walls of the large, round structure, and rattles stand poised for a ceremony.
        The participants '-- professional men and women, ages 35 to 65 '-- put on comfortable clothing and set up sleeping bags, pillows and blankets. Everyone gets a plastic bucket, cheerfully colored in green, red or blue.
        "It looks like a big pajama party," jokes the host, Kim.
        The shaman, a North American who trained in South America for more than a dozen years, takes a seat at the front and leads the group through a conversation about what to expect.
        Stay with your breath, he advises. There's no talking, no touching. Purging in any direction is a distinct possibility. The bucket is your friend.
        See also: 10 Celebrity Ayahuasca Users
        He dims the lights and, after intoning a prayer, pours a foul-smelling brown liquid into a series of cups. One by one, all 18 visitors bring a cup to their lips and drink.
        For 40 minutes, the yurt is silent. Then the shaman begins to sing.
        Around the same time, the drink takes effect. Some people cry; others belch. Several flee for the outhouse. Many reach for their buckets and vomit.
        For the next four to five hours, those in the room do what many call "the work." Some take trips into their childhood memories. Others have visions: of nature, of healers, of fireworks. Afterward, they say the tea offered an opportunity to look at their problems in a new light.
        "It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life," says Fred, a kind-eyed, gray-bearded man in his 50s.
        Kim and her husband, Josh, have organized about 50 of these gatherings since the summer of 2010. In that time, they've seen hundreds of people go through an experience like Fred's.
        All three asked that their real names not be used for fear of prosecution. Though no one in the United States' underground network has yet been prosecuted, the liquid is on the list of Schedule I controlled substances.
        The risks scare her, but the way Kim sees it, she doesn't have a choice.
        "My life is not my own anymore," Kim says. "If that were to mean standing up in the face of legal action, I'd do it. ... After seeing how much this helps people '-- truly heals people '-- I'd do anything."
        The psychoactive brew goes by many names. William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg called it yage. In Brazil, it's known as hoasca. Other aliases include the Spirit Vine, the Vine of the Soul and the Vine of the Dead.
        Its most common name is ayahuasca. For centuries, the indigenous cultures of the Amazon have brewed the plant concoction, and its naturally occurring dose of the hallucinogen DMT.
        In recent years, the West has caught on. The tea cropped up in the Jennifer Aniston/Paul Rudd flick Wanderlust and the Showtime series Weeds; proponents include everyone from Sting to The Howard Stern Show's Robin Quivers.
        One ayahuasca expert estimates that, on any given night, 50 to 100 ayahuasca groups are in session in New York City alone. And thanks in part to L.A.'s yen for spiritual enlightenment, and in part to its willingness to experiment with drugs, ayahuasca is incredibly popular here '-- with at least three subcommunities flourishing in the area. (See one local woman's account of what it's like to try ayahausca.)
        Some of the same doctors and researchers who have, in recent years, gotten approval from the Food & Drug Administration for breakthrough studies involving MDMA and psilocybin mushrooms now are turning their attention to ayahuasca. Preliminary work suggests the brew could help treat depression, chronic addiction and fear of mortality.
        People with less-defined diagnoses but a hunger for something missing say that ayahuasca offers something ineffable: compassion, connectedness, spirituality.
        "Ayahuasca is penetrating American society, and its highly successful people, way more than any other psychedelic," says Rick Doblin, founder and president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), a nonprofit research association based in Santa Cruz. "The number of people who have had incredible experiences with ayahuasca, if they could all surface in the public sphere at the same time, it would be absolutely astonishing."
        In a greenhouse at the University of Minnesota, Dennis McKenna walks past the cacao (chocolate) and the Punica (pomegranate), and strides straight to the back corner, where the vines of the plant Banisteriopsis have twisted around each other '-- and nearby electrical cords '-- to reach the room's rafters.
        McKenna, a white-bearded professor wearing wire glasses and a denim shirt tucked into his jeans, points at one of the younger vines, a supple, green stem the width of a pencil.
        "This is nothing," he says, explaining that mature plants can reach 1,500 feet and weigh several tons. "Usually, the part you use is the thickness of a finger."
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      UK: Rain-lashed penguins at Scarborough sanctuary given antidepressants
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        Source: WT Newsfeed
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 23:07
        Humboldt penguins are used to extremes of weather, but not weeks of almost daily downpours. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
        Penguins in a British sanctuary are so fed up with the miserable winter weather they are being given antidepressants.
        Wild Humboldt penguins are used to withstanding inhospitable weather in the coastal areas of South America, but those living in captivity in Scarborough are struggling with the constant wind and rain lashing the country.
        Staff at the Sea Life Centre there have become so concerned they have started to administer the medication as a pick-me-up.
        The centre's display curator Lyndsey Crawford told the Guzelian news agency: "Humboldts in the wild on the coast of Peru and Chile can be subjected to some pretty wild extremes of weather. What they don't get though is weeks of almost daily downpours and high winds.
        "After the first week out birds were just a bit subdued, but after over a month now, they are thoroughly fed-up and miserable, much like the rest of us."
        Three years ago the animals became similarly stressed and anxious when they were chased by a trespasser who broke into their enclosure. The experience left the animals, which are particularly vulnerable to any change in routine, frightened and it took some time for them to produce eggs again.
        According to staff, misery can lower the penguins' natural defences even more easily than in humans. That has lead them to prescribe "uppers" to try and head off any more serious symptoms.
        "They're doing the trick so far, but we are all praying for the weather to change and at least a few successive days of sunshine to give the penguins the tonic they really need," said Crawford.
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      Hunger Games to use CGI technology to replace Philip Seymour Hoffman's final scenes | Mail Online
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        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 20:14
        Initially feared that death ofPhilip Seymour Hoffman meant huge chunks of final two Hunger Games movies would need to be re-shot with new actorHowever, producers Lionsgate have said that he will only miss one important scene and that CGI will be used to replicate his likenessHas been used before - notably following the death of Oliver Reed during the filming of Gladiator in 2000By James Nye
        PUBLISHED: 17:05 EST, 5 February 2014 | UPDATED: 17:39 EST, 5 February 2014
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        Philip Seymour Hoffman's pivotal role in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 will be re-shot using CGI to replicate the Oscar winning actor's final scenes.
        It had originally been thought that the death of Hoffman on Sunday from an apparent drugs overdose on Sunday had left a week's worth of shooting unfinished.
        However, Filmmakers, Lionsgate have said that despite Hoffman's character, Plutarch Heavensbee holding a major role in the film franchise, his death will have 'no impact' on production and the final two movies will be released on time.
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        No need to worry: Fans of the Hunger Games worried that because Philip Seymour Hoffman (pictured with Woody Harrelson) had died - his scenes in the hit movie would have been left incomplete
        The Hollywood Reporter has claimed that Lionsgate are now going to use CGI effects to create a likeness of Hoffman that will not necessarily be viewed face-on to camera.
        'These days the technology of using someone's likeness is a whole lot easier to do,' Rob Legato, an effects supervisor on major films including The Wolf of Wall Street, told The Hollywood Reporter.
        'I won't say you could generate a Philip Seymour Hoffman with all the acting ability, but you could certainly replicate him for a shot or two.'
        Another Lionsgate executive said that Hoffman's death will not affect the much anticipated movies and that the actor provided his usual sterling performances during filming.
        Important: Philip Seymour Hoffman's character, Plutarch Heavensbee holds a major role in the film franchise
        'His performances in both remaining movies will be up to the best of his craft,' the executive stated. 'We feel it will be a good tribute to him.'
        Replacing actors with digital replicants because the performer had died is not new.
        Oliver Reed's final role in Gladitor was fleshed out with CGI after the British star died in a drinking competition on the island of Malta during filming in 2000.
        The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 is due to be released on November 21, 2014, while Part 2 is scheduled for a November 20, 2015 release.
        Watch Video Here:
        Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Hunger Games: Catching Fire
        Star: 'The Hunger Games' Jennifer Lawrence filming the third movie installment 'Mockingjay' in the Georgia Woods - it was thought that the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman would have meant huge re-shoots - although that has proved not to be the case
        On Monday, Jennifer Lawrence and the rest of the cast of the film issued a joint statement of condolences following the tragic death of Phillip Seymour Hoffman on Sunday.
        'Words cannot convey the devastating loss we are all feeling right now,' read the tribute.
        Philip was a wonderful person and an exceptional talent, and our hearts are breaking. Our deepest condolences go out to his family.'
        Following the news of the Oscar winner's sudden death, Lionsgate issued a statement of condolences on Sunday.
        Red carpet: Actors Liam Hemsworth, Jennifer Lawrence, Donald Sutherland, Josh Hutcherson, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Stanley Tucci attend premiere of Lionsgate's "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" - Red Carpet at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on November 18, 2013 in Los Angeles, California
        'Philip Seymour Hoffman was a singular talent and one of the most gifted actors of our generation. We're very fortunate that he graced our Hunger Games family.'
        It was revealed after his death that Hoffman - who spent 10 days in rehab last year after relapsing into heroin use following 23 years of being clean and sober - had separated from his longtime girlfriend Mimi O'Donnell in the months leading up to his death.
        After the split from his partner of 14 years, the mother of his three children, son Cooper, 10 and daughters Tallulah, aged seven, and Willa, aged five, the actor began renting a $10,000-a-month apartment in Bethune Street in Manhattan's Greenwich Village.
        His body was found on Sunday at the rented home by close friend and playwright David Bar Katz, who had been asked to check up on him by O'Donnell.
        CGI: Oliver Reed famously died during the filming of Gladiator in 2000 and some of scenes with Russell Crowe were re-shot using computer generated imagery
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      Can Antibiotics User Fees Force Down Drug Mis-Use and Overuse? - Wired Science
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        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 18:35
        image: NeilT (CC), Flickr
        Happy new year, constant readers. Here's the most urgent thing I have to say today: Stop reading and go set your DVRs for 8pm ET tonight. The fantastic The Poisoner's Handbook, written by Wired colleague and dear friend Deborah Blum, has been adapted by PBS and airs tonight on The American Experience. It's going to be superb.
        Back? OK, on to business. Just before the holidays, the Food and Drug Administration finalized its long-aborning plan to ask the meat-production industry to reduce its use of routinely administered antibiotics. (My posts on the move here and here.) The FDA's guidance to industry, as it is called, is not a regulation but rather a request for voluntary action on the part of veterinary-drug companies. It has met with skepticism and concerns that manufacturers will redefine the uses of their drugs in such a way that nothing will change.
        The FDA action is aimed at the routine use of antibiotics for what is called growth promotion '-- causing animals to gain muscle faster than they would without the drugs being used '-- and is modeled on a ban on growth promoters enacted by the European Union in 2005. The goal, as in the EU, is to reduce the drugs' use, and therefore the antibiotic-resistant bacteria that use stimulates.
        In a recent New England Journal of Medicine, University of Calgary economist Aidan Hollis suggests though that a ban may not be the most useful or practical approach to the problem of drug overuse. In its place, he suggests the pocketbook persuasion of having to pay a fee.
        Here are the criticisms.
        Bans are labor-intensive; to keep anyone from cheating, everyone has to be monitored.Ban are inefficient; they reduce all uses rather than the most problematic ones.Bans are costly: they raise the expense of meat production and also the price of retail meat '-- which regressively would fall hardest on farmers and consumers with the least resources.And here are their (Hollis's co-author is Ziana Ahmed of the University of Toronto) arguments on behalf of fees:
        Every use of antibiotics increases selective pressure, thus undermining the value for other users. In effect, each antibiotic can have only a limited amount of use, so it is appropriate to charge a fee, just as logging companies pay ''stumpage'' fees and oil companies pay royalties. (A perfect fee would be calibrated to the extent of antibiotic resistance caused by each use; a practical fee, which is what we propose, would be based on the volume of antibiotics used.)
        Estimated Annual Antibiotic Use in the United States. (shown as approximate numbers of kilograms of antibiotics used per year) via NEJM
        Breaking that down:
        Fees are easy to administer (''at the manufacturing or importing stage'');Fees encourage producers to judge whether their actions, literally, justify their cost (''allow the farmer or veterinarian to decide whether the antibiotic confers enough benefits to make it worth the higher price'');Fees could be paid forward to drug-development or antibiotic-stewardship efforts (''help to restock and maintain the antibiotic cupboard'');And finally, fees could be coordinated between nations. ('''...an even better approach would be an international treaty to recognize the fragility of our common antibiotic resources and to impose user fees to be collected by national governments'... Such a treaty would also have a chance of attaining international compliance, since governments would be motivated to collect the revenues.'')This isn't the first time a user fee for antibiotics has been put forward; longtime readers may remember that the issue surfaced in spring 2011 during the observances for World Health Day. That proposal came from the Infectious Diseases Society of America '-- not an economists' group, but a physicians' association that has pressed for new incentives for drug development. At the time, one of their spokespeople compared a drug use-charge to the cost of the admission ticket for entering a national park '-- a fee paid to offset personal consumption of a jointly owned, over-used resource.
        It's common in journalism to look back, at the end of the year, and assess what were biggest or most persistent stories of the previous 12 months. While I didn't perform that exercise, it's clear to me that concern for antibiotic resistance, and especially the role played by agriculture in fomenting resistance, broke in 2013 from a niche concern among geeks like us into the mainstream.
        With that as backdrop, I would expect the conversation in 2014 to move toward the practical realities of curbing antibiotic overuse while stimulating the production of badly needed new drugs. Exploration of incentives '-- and disincentives '-- will be an important part of that discussion, and this paper can serve as a much-needed start.
        Cite: Holis A, Ahmed Z. Preserving Antibiotics, Rationally. N Engl J Med 2013; 369:2474-2476. December 26, 2013. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1311479
      The rise of drug overdoses in the US
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        Source: BBC News - Home
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 16:05
        7 February 2014Last updated at 20:14 ET By Ben CarterBBC NewsPhilip Seymour Hoffman has become the latest celebrity to die from a drugs overdose, which is a growing problem in the US.
        Between 2000 and 2010 the number of people that died from drug overdoses more than doubled from 17,000 to 38,000, according to the most recent figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
        In 2009, for the first time in US history, more people died from drugs overdoses than from traffic accidents or firearms, although that is partly because the numbers of gun deaths and road deaths are both decreasing. So what is causing this epidemic?
        The data suggests the number of people overdosing from pharmaceutical - or prescription - drugs has trebled over that decade, just as the quantity of prescription painkillers sold to pharmacies, hospitals, and doctors' offices has quadrupled over the same period.
        As a result in 2010, prescription drugs killed more than 22,100 people in the US, more than twice as many as cocaine and heroin combined.
        Explaining the rise, Dr Len Paulozzi of the CDC says: "The use of opioid pain relievers has been increasing since the early 1990s and that increase has been driven by a change in the attitude of health care providers about the effectiveness of those kind of painkillers.
        "Initially painkillers were reserved for people with terminal conditions such as cancer and what has changed is an increasing willingness on the part of the prescribers to use pain relievers for a variety of common but chronic conditions such as lower back pain or arthritis. There has been a parallel increase in overdoses involving that class of drugs."
        There is also a huge black market for these drugs and in 2012, an estimated 12.5 million people reported using prescription painkillers without supervision from a doctor.
        Continue reading the main storyMore or Less: Behind the statsListen to More or Less on BBC Radio 4 and the World Service, or download the free podcast
        Interestingly, there is no correlation between the states that sell the most prescription drugs with the states that have the most deaths. For example, New Mexico has the highest number of overdoses but is ranked 32nd in terms of drugs sold. Oregon is ranked 4th in drugs sold but only 31st on death rate.
        New York has tighter rules on the dispensing of prescription drugs than most other states and has a lower death rate.
        "New York City in particular has become much more aggressive in terms of things like asking their providers to check the states prescription monitoring programme before they prescribe the drugs," says Dr Paulozzi. "They're mapping that data to establish where there are unusual patterns or excessive amounts of drugs being prescribed."
        Looking at overdoses from illegal drugs, there is no geographic pattern. Virginia has one of the lowest death rates in the country but its neighbour West Virginia has the highest rate of all.
        Continue reading the main storyOpioids Medications that relieve pain Reduce intensity of pain signals reaching the brain and affect those brain areas controlling emotion Includes morphine, methadone and fentanyl "Opiods are very similar to heroin in terms of their pharmacological effects on the brain - they bind to the same receptors," says Dr Paulozzi. They address pain but have a euphoric effect and in high doses can stop people breathing, he adds The data does show that some of the more rural, less populated states like Nebraska and the Dakotas have the lowest rates of drug overdose deaths - which experts attribute to accessibility and supply.
        Hoffman had talked openly in the past about his misuse of prescription drugs, although it is thought that he died from a heroin overdose, just as the Glee star, Cory Monteith, did last year.
        The number of heroin users in the US has doubled in the last five years and one reason is thought to be the rise in prescription drugs, because heavy users of pain relievers are more likely to start using heroin. And attempts to clamp down on the distribution of prescription drugs may have had an foreseen consequence.
        "The DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration] has reported a dramatic increase in the amount of heroin being imported into the US across the Mexican border," says Dr Paulozzi. "It may be for some people who began using prescription pain relievers and became dependent on them that heroin is more available, more potent and cheaper than prescription pills on the black market."
        This trend is in contrast to what's happening in Europe where heroin use is on the decrease in many of the 30 EU countries. Data also shows that the number of drug overdose deaths dropped by 20% between 2007 and 2012.
        "The European trend is very much driven by what we see in the UK, Germany and Spain. They have seen a decrease in heroin use and overdoses," says Isabelle Giraudon, a scientific analyst at the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.
        "Smaller countries in Northern and Eastern Europe like Romania, Slovakia and Latvia have observed increases, however their weight in the EU total is very small."
        Listen to More or Less on BBC Radio 4 and the World Service, or download the free podcast
        Follow @BBCNewsMagazine on Twitter and on Facebook
      Stars turn out for Philip Seymour Hoffman funeral
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        Archived Version
        Source: euronews
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 16:02
        Laying to rest a Hollywood legend. The Stars were out in New York to pay their respects to actor Philip Seymour Hoffmann, who died of an apparent heroin overdose on Sunday.
        The 46-year-old leaves behind his long-term partner Mimi O'Donnell and three children.
        A larger memorial service is expected later this month.
      ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Man says he stole car to trade for heroin, authorities say - Sun Sentinel
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 05:41
        A man stole a car in Oakland Park and crashed into two vehicles as he fled from deputies Thursday, authorities said. He says he stole the car to trade it for heroin because he was "dope sick," a Broward sheriff's report said.
        Fred Vanpatten, 25, of Port St. Lucie, was charged with multiple counts of theft and burglary, resisting officers without violence, fleeing at high speed, leaving the scene of an accident and other traffic-related charges.
        The events began Thursday when he stole a woman's bicycle from a Pompano Beach home in the Palm Aire community and pedaled to a park-and-ride lot at 100 E. Cypress Creek Road in Oakland Park, the sheriff's report said.
        While Dorrett Delreta Young was parked there near a Goodwill donation trailer, Vanpatten pulled up on the bike and asked her and the Goodwill employee if he could use their cellphones. Both said they did not have phones.
        After that exchange, Vanpatten noticed Young's running car and darted into the Toyota Corolla, the report said. Young reported the theft of the vehicle, which was equipped with a tracking device that became activated after Vanpatten drove off.
        As Vanpatten traveled along Interstate 95, between Cypress Creek Road and Commercial Boulevard, he discarded Young's belongings, including a cellphone and documents, the report said.
        Deputies tracked the eastbound vehicle on Commercial Boulevard near North Dixie Highway. When authorities tried to stop Vanpatten, he ignored deputies in their marked units with emergency lights and sirens, it said.
        He wove in and out of traffic, drove into oncoming traffic, blew past red traffic lights and crashed into two vehicles along Northeast 62nd Street, the Sheriff's Office said.
        After the second accident, he got out of the stolen car in the 5900 block of Northeast 18th Avenue in Fort Lauderdale. He ran off.
        According to the report, Vanpatten tried to hide near a shed in a backyard, where he was found and arrested.
        epesantes@tribune.com or 954-356-4543 or Twitter @epesantes
      ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Squirrel!
      Silicon Valley Power Station Sniper Attack - Business Insider
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 05:49
        This is scary.The Wall Street Journal's Rebecca Smith reports that a former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chairman is acknowledging for the first time that a group of snipers shot up a Silicon Valley substation for 19 minutes last year, knocking out 17 transformers before slipping away into the night.
        The attack was "the most significant incident of domestic terrorism involving the grid that has ever occurred" in the U.S., Jon Wellinghoff, who was chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission at the time, told Smith.
        A blackout was avoided thanks to quick-thinking utility workers, who rerouted power around the site and asked power plants in Silicon Valley to produce more electricity. But the substation was knocked out for a month.
        The FBI says it doesn't believe a terrorist organization caused the attack but that it continues to investigate the incident.
        Smith and colleague Tom McGinty assembled a detailed chronology of the attack that includes some amazing details, including more than 100 fingerprint-free shell casings similar to ones used by AK-47s that were found at the site and small piles of rocks that appeared to have been left by an advance scout to tell the attackers where to get the best shots.
        A U.S. Navy investigation ordered by Wellinghoff determined "it was a targeting package just like they would put together for an attack," he said.
        Other utility officials disagree with Wellinghoff's assessment, and say the electric grid remains highly resilient.
        Click here to read the full story at WSJ.com >>
      Latest 'Domestic Terror' Sniper Attack in California is Likely a Government False Flag
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        Sun, 09 Feb 2014 08:35
        21st Century Wire says'...It's phenomenal story on paper, but when you read between the lines, it's almost 100% certain that this latest 'domestic terror' event in the Silicon Valley, Northern California was a government-sanctioned operation.
        This attack happened a few months ago, but was only publicly acknowledged by authorities this week.
        The Wall Street Journal reports that a former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chairman Jon Wellinghoff has finally admitted that a group of snipers shot up PG&E Corp.'s Metcalf transmission substation, located inside Santa Clara County, last year in 2013.The attack was incredibly quick and executed with total precision '' an attack which lasted only 19 minutes. In that short space of time the shooters were able to knock out 17 transformers causing a power-down and a closure of that power station.
        According to Wellinghoff, the attack was ''the most significant incident of domestic terrorism involving the grid that has ever occurred (in the U.S.)''.Some of the evidence found at the scene included more than 100 fingerprint-free shell casings, as well as a small piles of rocks, ''that appeared to have been left by an advance scout to tell the attackers where to get the best shots.''
        The talking points surrounding this story are predictable '' led by calls for ''a tighter security envelope around our nation's infrastructure'', followed by, ''why isn't the federal government doing more to protect us?''
        Another security breach, right?
        If you consider the obvious probability that a team of snipers that well organised and effective would be a highly trained group of shooters (most likely trained military assets), then this naturally points right back to the US government as the prime suspect for this attack.
        The mainstream media and some alternative media outlets are reporting this as a ''real terror attack on US soil'', but have yet to reason what the motive would be in this conspiracy to take out a power station '' we say conspiracy because authorities clearly admit that this was an organised team effort '' and definitely the work of trained professionals.
        This event can only be described then, as a false flag attack on American soil.
        What is the motive? Authorities would to have the public believe that the motive is that a few civilian men wanted to combine target practice with fomenting general chaos.
        Who would be the beneficiaries of an incident like this? Top of the list would be the Department of Homeland Security who is desperate to retain its incredible tranche of funding at a time when a number of federal budgets are being slashed. Next would be those involved in the corporate protection rackets like those major insurance companies who sell premiums to municipalities and large retail energy suppliers.
        Rounding out the list of potential beneficiaries, you cannot forget about President Obama's Department of Justice, currently run by an Attorney General Eric Holder, who has professed his own agenda for eliminating private ownership of fire arms '' especially high-powered rifles, in America. Incidents like this only embolden men like AG Holder who believe the public must be 'brainwashed' to accept the agenda. We refer back to his speech on gun control here:
        Those who still believe that this was the work of a home-grown terror cell, read between their own lines: according to the U.S. Navy investigation ordered at the request of FERC chairman Wellinghoff, ''it was a targeting package just like they would put together for an attack''.
        'Just like they would put together for a real attack', he says?
        Exactly, because this wasn't a real terror attack.
        READ MORE WAR ON TERROR NEWS AT:21st Century Wire War on Terror Files
        -
      Snipers Attacked A Silicon Valley Power Station Last Year And Nobody Told Us: SFist
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        Archived Version
        Thu, 06 Feb 2014 13:45
        Around 1 a.m. on April 16th last year, a team of attackers cut phone likes and took out 17 power transformers at a PG&E substation south of San Jose, nearly causing a blackout throughout Silicon Valley. According to the former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, it was the "most significant incident of domestic terrorism" involving the nation's power grid. No one has been charged or arrested in the attack.
        The Wall Street Journal, broke news of the attack today, pieced together a timeline of events that unfolded in the middle of the night, just yards from Highway 101:
        The attack began just before 1 a.m. on April 16 last year, when someone slipped into an underground vault not far from a busy freeway and cut telephone cables.
        Within half an hour, snipers opened fire on a nearby electrical substation. Shooting for 19 minutes, they surgically knocked out 17 giant transformers that funnel power to Silicon Valley. A minute before a police car arrived, the shooters disappeared into the night.
        The team of gunmen knew what they were doing in the caper too: they targeted oil-filled cooling systems that bled out until the transformers overheated and crashed rather than shooting up the explosion-prone transformers themselves. The crash triggered an alarm at a PG&E control center 90 miles away, but police on the scene around 1:51 a.m. couldn't get past a locked fence and assumed everything was fine.Electric-grid officials, meanwhile, scrambled to avoid a blackout by re-routing power from other plants in Silicon Valley. It still took utility workers nearly a month to bring the Metcalf Transmission station back online.
        Nearly a year later and FBI officials in San Francisco tell the WSJ, the Bureau doesn't think a terrorist organization was behind the attack, but they are "continuing to sift through the evidence." PG&E's official statement claimed it was the work of vandals, but made no mention of the nearly 100 fingerprint-free shell casings that were found at the scene. Former FERC chairmain Jon Wellinghoff, meanwhile, saw fit to go public with the details after military experts confirmed the scene looks like a professional job.
        At a recent security conference, one former PG&E vice president of transmission put it bluntly: "This wasn't an incident where Billy-Bob and Joe decided, after a few brewskis, to come in and shoot up a substation," Mark Johnson said in a presentation. "This was an event that was well thought out, well planned and they targeted certain components." PG&E won't discuss any further details, fearing potential copycat bands of Billy-Bobs and/or unnamed terrorist organizations.
        Transmission stations like Metcalf are crucial links in the power grid, which has utility officials scared that anyone could come along and cause a blackout like the one that crippled the North East in 2003. Although Wellinghoff is sounding the alarm here, more level heads from the not-for-profit North American Electric Reliability Corp. claimed in a very customer support-sounding response that even if several substations crashed, most people would get their power back in a few hours. Which will be helpful when you want to read about it online a year later.
        [WSJ]
      Snipers Coordinated an Attack on the Power Grid, but Why? - Atlantic Mobile
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        Archived Version
        Thu, 06 Feb 2014 13:43
        Next ArticleThe location of PG&E's Metcalf Transmission Substation is marked with "A" (Google)Last April, unknown attackers shot up 17 transformers at a California substation in what the then-chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Jon Wellinghoff called "the most significant incident of domestic terrorism involving the grid that has ever occurred" in this country.
        Though news reports about the incident at the Metcalf transmission facility came out in April, The Wall Street Journal just pieced together the larger story of the attack together from regulatory filings and outside reporting.
        Various power-grid facilities are vandalized or damaged regularly, but the details of this particular attack are startling.
        Before the attackers opened fire on the transformers, fiber optic lines running nearby were cut.
        Whoever executed the maneuver knew where to shoot the transformers. They aimed at the oil-cooling systems, causing them to leak oil and eventually overheat. By the time that happened, the attackers were long gone.
        Wellinghoff toured the site with Navy Seals, according to the Journal, and they were convinced that it was a professional job. Several people in the Journal story join Wellinghoff in talking up the physical (not cyber) threats to the grid's stability.
        Despite the great reporting in the WSJ story, the central question remains unresolved: Why did this attack occur? What did they want?
        There are something like 1,500 substations just in the regional utility PG&E's network. Why this one? What makes Metcalf special? It's not especially remote. In fact, there is a housing development less than 500 feet away. (And how did those people not hear 100 rounds being fired?)
        The Metcalf facility sends power into San Jose/Silicon Valley. But it sounds as though the grid operators were able to route power around the damage in the grid fairly easily.
        Without being too Pynchonian about the whole thing, I find myself asking: What would an attack like this allow someone to do somewhere else? What else was going on in the wee hours of April 16, 2013?
        Next Article
      Feinstein NWLF - Google Search
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 21:51
        About 2,100 results
        Killing by the Dock of the Bay | FrontPage Magazinewww.frontpagemag.com/2012/lloyd.../killing-by-the-dock-of-the-bay/- CachedDec 21, 2012 ... The NWLF were right about the ''rich'' part. Feinstein spent lavishly on her politicalcampaigns and claimed a net loss of more than $100,000 ...Profile of a Centrist Democrat | Politics | Jewish Journalwww.jewishjournal.com/.../profile_of_a_centrist_democrat_20000929- CachedSep 28, 2000 ... The NWLF placed Feinstein's name on a death warrant as "a dog to be put todeath." Two of Feinstein's colleagues received candy boxes filled ...Feinstein on video: I packed heat - WorldNetDailywww.wnd.com/2013/01/feinstein-on-video-i-packed-heat/- Cached - SimilarJan 2, 2013 ... Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who has promised to introduce probably the ...NWLF,the group accused of attempting to bomb Feinstein's home.Incident Summary for GTDID: 197612140004 - START.umd.eduwww.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid...- Cached - SimilarDec 14, 1976 ...NWLF claimed responsibility for the attack, but it is uncertain whether ... Name ofEntity, Dianne Feinstein, acting mayor and member of San ...* Feinstein told, "An unconstitutional law, is not a law" VIDEOforum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=242834.10;wap2- CachedMar 2, 2013 ... Dianne Feinstein needs to be told that unConstitutional legislation is not ... thehistory of Feinstein: notice carefully the history of the NWLF:Feinstein Goes For Broke With New Gun-Ban Bill ( NRA article)forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=239951.15;wap2- CachedDec 31, 2012 ... Traitorous Rothschild Zionist Senator Feinstein Seeking to .... Then the NWLFshot out a window at Feinstein's vacation home on Monterey Bay.Diane Feinstein: An Unanswered Mystery of the World - Jim Byrdwww.jimbyrd.com/diane-feinstein-an-unanswered-mystery-of-the-world- Cached - SimilarApr 30, 2009 ... And the most imponderable of all: Why is Diane Feinstein not incarcerated?Diane Feinstein is front and center for advocating the persecution, ...DTN DIRECTORY GROUPS ISSUES FUNDERS INDIVIDUALS ...www.discoverthenetworks.org/.../ Ellison's%20support%20for%20terrorist%20not%20a%20concern.h...- CachedJan 25, 2007 ... Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has generated a string of "no comments" from ... aseries of bombs in the Bay Area under the banner of the NWLF.Dianne Feinstein Talks Guns, Opens Up About Her Own Firearm ...www.huffingtonpost.com/.../dianne-feinstein-guns_n_3010058.html- Cached - SimilarApr 3, 2013 ... SAN FRANCISCO -- Dianne Feinstein has long been one of the Senate'sstrongest advocates for gun control. But few people may know that the ...Cowboy Logic - COWBOY LOGIC: Senator Diane Feinstein...https://www.facebook.com/.../posts/369071556555426- CachedThe NWLF first appeared in the wake of the SLA drama, with a bombing inSeptember, 1974, directed against a San Francisco stock brokerage firm. Fromthe ...
      New World Liberation Front (NWLF) '' 1977 article | radicalarchives
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 21:49
        RADICAL ARCHIVES note:Some readers will be particularly interested in the NWLF's explicitly antisemitic ''anti-Zionist'' theories, as mentioned in the middle of the article.
        NWLF: good hit, no pitchCeline Hagbard
        The New World Liberation Front, a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist organization which has carried out an uninterrupted urban guerilla offensive around the Bay Area and Northern California for almost three years, may well be the most tactically advanced guerilla group in the United States. As a result of recent theoretical pronouncements on anarchism, feminism, homosexuality and Zionism, however, they have made themselves the most controversial guerillas within the revolutionary left as well.
        The NWLF first appeared in the wake of the SLA drama, with a bombing in September, 1974, directed against a San Francisco stock brokerage firm. From the beginning, the NWLF has distinguished itself from most other guerilla organizations in the U.S. by two characteristics. First, although the bomb has remained its primary weapon, the NWLF's attacks have been focused mainly on local, concrete political issues rather than abstract symbolic protest; and, second, the group has made extensive use of a demand strategy, that is, revolutionary extortion.
        As far as its paramilitary activities are concerned, the NWLF has a record of success which verges on the astonishing. The organization has carried out almost fifty successful bombings, including power stations, banks, office buildings and motor vehicles, without causing a single injury to anyone. Even more amazing is the fact that in the process of all these actions, not one underground member of the organization has ever been identified or apprehended.
        The structure of the organization is somewhat unusual, and its size is unknown. A number of clandestine ''combat units'' apparently function with some degree of autonomy under the overall control of the ''Central Command''. Individual cells such as the Lucio Cabanas Unit, the Nat Turner/John Brown Unit, the Sam Melville/Jonathan Jackson Unit, as well as the Central Command, have each claimed credit for numerous actions. Many have been carried out in conjunction with ongoing campaigns declared by the Central Command against targets such as Pacific Gas and Electric, slumlords (scumlords) in the Bay Area, and the recent campaign against the County Board of Supervisors for improved jail health facilities. Other attacks have been one-shot deals, such as the bombing of the South African consulate, or the spectacular bombing at the San Simeon mansion during the Patty Hearst trial.
        Underground Network
        In addition to the underground combat cells, a public support structure has evolved, featuring an aboveground unit with an office, printing press, and press credentials called People's Information Relay No. 1 (PIR-1) and several ''intelligence units.'' PIR-1 has been active in distributing communiques form the NWLF to the press and to targets of NWLF campaigns, as well as in publishing the group's magazine The Urban Guerilla (TUG).
        These activities have resulted in federal prosecutions against PIR-1 members Andy Logher and Jacques Rogier for threatening public officials, extortion, destroying evidence and conspiracy. Despite numerous house searches, grand jury subpoenas and other harassment of PIR-1, Lougher has been acquitted. Rogiers has not yet been convicted, and PIR-1 continues to function.
        The intelligence units are apparently responsible for the rather extensive research into the names, addresses, and power relationships of public and corporate officials in the Bay Area which appear frequently in the NWLF communiques and their publication. This intelligence serves the dual purpose of publicizing corporate and government collusion, while inviting the public to join in attacks on targeted officials.
        Despite the considerable successes of the NWLF in organizing and sustaining their armed attacks, the NWLF has managed to make itself highly unpopular within much of the left. In several instances, suspicions and distrust of the group have arisen around the unclear role played by the NWLF in relation to other left groups.
        Even more controversial, however, have been several abstract theoretical pronouncements issued by the Central Command. The most recent such statement, entitled ''Notes on Anarchy'' published in TUG No. 4, appears to be an attempt by the NWLF to counter the rapidly-increasing anarchist and anti-authoritarian tendencies appearing among militants engaged in revolutionary armed struggle in the U.S., and their supporters. The criticism, which contains traditional Maoist condemnations of ''ultra-democracy'' and ''petit-bourgeois'' unwillingness to accept orders from ''leadership'', mistakenly equates anarchy with lack of organization and leadership with proletarian dictatorship.
        While the authoritarian, hierarchical politics of the NWLF have tended to isolate them from many who would otherwise support their tactics, ''Notes on Anarchy'' does represent a significant and comradely attempt to engage in dialogue with anarchists and anti-authoritarian communist militants. The statement says, for example, that ''The concept of Anarchy covers a broad spectrum of political thought, and it is important to remember that the contradictions between those who call themselves anarchists and the New World Liberation Front are not antagonistic.'' In the final paragraph, the organization also seems to recognize the possibility of ''leadership'' based on experience, talent, and example, rather than on position in an organizational hierarchy.
        Feminism & Homosexuality
        The NWLF particularly outraged large segments of sympathizers, though, with a series of statements in mid-1976 on the role of feminism and homosexuality in the revolutionary movement. These edicts, passed down from the Central Command, relegated feminism and the struggle against sexism to a position subordinate to the economic struggles of poor and working people. The gay movement was essentially denounced as being entirely reactionary, the outgrowth of a petit-bourgeois sexual perversion. This ''more oppressed than thou'' position met with almost total condemnation from other revolutionary people and organizations. A number of written criticisms, including those from the Left Bank Collective of Seattle, Emily Harris, George Jackson Brigade member Ed Mead, and a collective of working women, have been published in Dragon, the discontinued periodical of the Bay Area Research Collective.
        The NWLF got itself into trouble again with a communique in August, 1976, on the ''Zionist-American ruling class'' which postulated a mythical Jewish conspiracy of bankers and capitalists reminiscent of Hitler's anti-Jewish propaganda. The statement was accompanied by a cartoon depicting a board meeting of Jewish bankers, complete with yarmulkes and caricatured hooked noses. An excellent statement detailing the anti-Jewish racism in the communique, which also discusses the importance of distinguishing between anti-imperialist opposition to Zionism, and racism against Jews within the left, can be obtained from O.K.A., Box 4344, Sather Gate Station, Berkeley California 94704.
        The NWLF is clearly one of the most significant and important urban guerilla organizations which has yet been developed in the United States, and its successes can not be ignored. Its recent campaign to improve health care in San Francisco County Jails, for example, is costing the city $147,000 per month in security precautions for members of the Board of Supervisors, who live now under constant armed guard. Even ''respectable'' liberal columnists like the San Francisco Chronicle's Herb Caen have pointed out the injustice of a government which would rather surround itself with expensive police protection than provide decent medical care to prisoners. And last year, the Bay View Savings and Loan Association, one of the ten ''scumlords'' on an NWLF target list, put the organization on the front pages of the nation's newspapers when it capitulated to NWLF demands to upgrade its slum housing.
        No other North American guerilla group has attained the technical proficiency or the tactical genius of the NWLF, and the organization's commitment to direct action, respect for human life, and uncompromising militance have earned it the deserved respect of revolutionaries and its corporate enemies alike. But until the NWLF recognizes that ''total liberation'' to which it so frequently refers means just that '' freedom for all of us, not the dictatorship of the ''most oppressed'' over the rest '' it will no doubt continue to receive only limited, critical support from others within the revolutionary left who endorse its tactics and smile with the news of each new NWLF victory against corporate power and the State.
        ___________________________________________________________________
        BULLETIN
        As the Open Road goes to press, word has just been received that PIR-1 has broken from the clandestine NWLF. However PIR-1 has said it is still willing to handle NWLF communiques, if requested.
        Sources indicate that the split results from PIR-1's dissatisfaction with the NWLF's authoritarianism.
        ___________________________________________________________________
        = = =
        Open Road #3, Summer 1977. Page 8.
        radicalarchivesbonus: We found a PDF of the Bay Area Research Collective's Dragon #10 on a Right-wing website. We figured we'd re-direct interested parties to view it here.
    2TTH
      Under investigation, American Title CEO dead in grisly suicide - The Denver Post
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 18:19
        The founder and CEO of American Title Services in Centennial was found dead in his home this week, the result of self-inflicted wounds from a nail gun, according to the Arapahoe County coroner.
        Richard Talley, 57, and the company he founded in 2001 were under investigation by state insurance regulators at the time of his death late Tuesday, an agency spokesman confirmed Thursday.
        It was unclear how long the investigation had been ongoing or its primary focus.
        A coroner's spokeswoman Thursday said Talley was found in his garage by a family member who called authorities. They said Talley died from seven or eight self-inflicted wounds from a nail gun fired into his torso and head.
        Also unclear is whether Talley's suicide was related to the investigation by the Colorado Division of Insurance, which regulates title companies.
        The division is a part of the Department of Regulatory Agencies.
        DORA spokesman Vince Plymell confirmed that the investigation was focused on Talley and the company but would not provide additional details.
        Before coming to Colorado, Talley was a former regional financial officer at Drexel Burnham Lambert in Chicago, where he met his wife, Cheryl, a vice president at the company. The two married in 1989.
        Talley had formed a number of companies, some now defunct, according to the Colorado secretary of state's office. Among them: American Escrow, Clear Title, Clear Creek Financial Holdings, Swift Basin, Sumar, American Real Estate Services, and the American Alliance of Real Estate Professionals.
        In addition to its headquarters in the Peakview Tower near Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre in the Denver Tech Center, American Title has offices in Pueblo, Brighton, Boulder, Westminster, Lakewood, Wheat Ridge and Fort Collins, according to its website.
        Talley's 1989 wedding announcement in the Chicago Tribune noted he was a graduate of the University of Miami and had a graduate degree from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
        It also said he was "a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic swimming team." A spokeswoman for USA Swimming on Thursday said Talley was not on the team.
        A funeral mass is to be held at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Centennial.
        David Migoya: 303-954-1506, dmigoya@denverpost.com or twitter.com/davidmigoya
    Bank$ters
      ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Dutch Bankers Swear to God as Trust in Lenders Slumps - Bloomberg
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sun, 09 Feb 2014 01:03
        ''I swear that I will do my utmost to preserve and enhance confidence in the financial-services industry. So help me God.''
        The oath, the first of its kind in Europe, became binding on board members of Dutch banks last month as the government sought to rein in an industry with assets more than four times the size of the country's economy. All 90,000 Dutch bank employees must take the pledge, or a non-religious affirmation, starting the second half of this year. They'll be punished should they break new ethical rules, Banking Association Chairman Chris Buijink said in an interview in Amsterdam.
        Dutch bankers who fail to abide by the new rules may be blacklisted, face fines or suspensions, Buijink, 59, said. The revised code will be completed within months and disciplinary sanctions will be applied at the start of next year, he said.
        Bankers across the globe are struggling to convince the public that they are stamping out unethical behavior that contributed to a 2008 financial crisis, costing taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars in bailouts. The Netherlands is demanding bankers enforce stricter codes of conduct after spending more than 95 billion euros ($128 billion) in capital and guarantees over the past six years to bail banks out.
        Rate-RiggingBert Bruggink, chief financial officer at Rabobank Groep, the Dutch bank fined 774 million euros in October for its part in a global interest rate-rigging scandal, took the oath last year in a ceremony with Lense Koopmans, the supervisory board chairman who has since left the company. He said the words were a confirmation of the ethics he already sticks to.
        ''It's a good signal to your employees and brings back awareness of the importance of these values,'' said Bruggink, 50, who's been CFO of the biggest Dutch mortgage lender since 2004. ''It fits in with these times, where banks have to work hard to restore trust.''
        Many aspects of the new disciplinary system remain unclear. Dutch banks have almost a year to set it up. There would be a disciplinary commission or tribunal similar to those policing the country's brokers, investment advisers and medical profession. The system would apply to all bank employees taking the oath.
        Trust LowPublic confidence in banks slumped globally as taxpayer money was used to rescue them and fines were levied for alleged wrongdoing such as manipulating interest rates and misselling financial products. U.S. and European lenders have incurred more than $200 billion in legal and liability expenses, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
        The Netherlands nationalized Fortis in 2008 and SNS Reaal NV, the nation's fourth-biggest bank, last year. It also injected capital into ING Groep NV (INGA), the biggest financial-services company, and insurer Aegon NV. (AGN)
        ING supports the Dutch Banking Association's plan to extend the oath and is considering how to implement this meaningfully for about 17,000 people it employs in the Netherlands, Carolien van der Giessen, a spokeswoman based in Amsterdam, said in an e-mailed response to questions.
        'The Banker'While Dutch bankers need to take the new ethical rules seriously, implementation may present challenges, Jonathan Soeharno, a lawyer at De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek in Amsterdam, said by telephone.
        ''Other professions, such as lawyers and doctors, have a long-standing tradition of ethics,'' he said. ''With bankers, however, we don't really know what the professional standards entail. More so, we don't really know what ''the banker'' is. There is a large variation of roles within the industry.''
        The cost of bank rescues in the Netherlands contributed to an increase in national debt to an estimated 75 percent of gross domestic product in 2013 from 46 percent in 2007. The budget deficit grew to as much as 5.6 percent of GDP since the crisis, the widest since 1995.
        The Netherlands has reduced national debt by 1.1 percentage points of GDP by selling $11.5 billion of ING's U.S. mortgage-backed securities for $8.9 billion, Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said today.
        Least TrustedThe financial services industry is the least trusted of all industries globally, according to a survey of 31,000 people in 26 countries published by public-relations firm Edelman two weeks ago. Thirteen percent of Dutch citizens see banks' performance as good or excellent compared with an average of 33 percent globally, the survey showed.
        Thirty-four percent of Dutch citizens expressed trust in the finance industry last year compared with 90 percent in 2008, according to research published in December byRonald Pont and Rene Tissen. Pont, a consultant, and Tissen, a professor at Nyenrode Business University in Breukelen, the Netherlands, have studied data and reports from companies, regulators and consultants annually since 2008.
        The U.K.'s biggest banks, including Barclays Plc (BARC), HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc named Richard Lambert to run a group to oversee industry standards of competence and behavior last year. Lambert, former head of the Confederation of British Industry, will publish recommendations by the end of March. In Australia, bankers developed an oath that individuals can adopt voluntarily as a personal commitment.
        Stringent RegulationDeutsche Bank AG, Europe's biggest investment bank by revenue, published a set of values for employees on its website in July, after saying it was introducing measures to enforce cultural change in 2012. In December, the company was among six banks fined a total of 1.7 billion euros by the European Union for rigging interest rates linked to Libor. It has spent 5.3 billion euros on regulatory fines and legal settlements since 2008.
        ''An oath can be effective only if it is part of a broad reform program,'' John Boatright, a professor of business ethics at Loyola University Chicago, said in an e-mailed response to questions. ''It could be highly effective when combined with more stringent regulation and a more detailed code of conduct.''
        Dijsselbloem, who also leads the euro area's group of finance ministers, has said he may step in and enforce disciplinary sanctions should the industry fail to do so. For now, Dijsselbloem will amend existing legislation on supervision to ensure disciplinary rules developed by the banks become binding on all employees.
        The Netherlands also plans to limit bankers' bonuses to 20 percent of pay, a level that goes beyond European Union plans of one times salary, Dijsselbloem said in November. Rabobank and ING have expressed concern, saying it will be more difficult to attract and retain staff.
        To contact the reporter on this story: Maud van Gaal in Amsterdam at mvangaal@bloomberg.net
        To contact the editor responsible for this story: Frank Connelly at fconnelly@bloomberg.net
      Regeling van de Minister van Financin van 17 december 2012, kenmerk: FM/2012/1923 M, houdende regels met betrekking tot de door personen als bedoeld in de artikelen 3:8, eerste lid, en 4:9, eerste lid, van de Wet op het financieel toezicht (Regeling eed
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sun, 09 Feb 2014 01:03
        BIJLAGE 1. FORMULIER EED/BELOFTE TEN BEHOEVE VAN EEN BELEIDSBEPALER(bijlage als bedoeld in artikel 2, eerste lid)
        Ik zweer/beloof dat ik mijn functie integer en zorgvuldig zal uitoefenen.
        Ik zweer/beloof dat ik een zorgvuldige afweging zal maken tussen alle belangen die bij de onderneming betrokken zijn, te weten die van de klanten, de aandeelhouders, de werknemers en de samenleving waarin de onderneming opereert.
        Ik zweer/beloof dat ik in die afweging het belang van de klant centraal zal stellen en de klant zo goed mogelijk zal inlichten.
        Ik zweer/beloof dat ik mij zal gedragen naar de wetten, de reglementen en de gedragscodes die op mij van toepassing zijn.
        Ik zweer/beloof dat ik geheim zal houden wat mij is toevertrouwd.
        Ik zweer/beloof dat ik geen misbruik zal maken van mijn kennis.
        Ik zweer/beloof dat ik mij open en toetsbaar zal opstellen en ik ken mijn verantwoordelijkheid voor de samenleving.
        Ik zweer/beloof dat ik mij zal inspannen om het vertrouwen in de financile sector te behouden en te bevorderen.
        Zo waarlijk helpe mij God Almachtig!/Dat verklaar en beloof ik!
        Op [datum], werd te [plaats]
        ten overstaan van1 [naam persoon ten overstaan van wie de eed of belofte is afgelegd], en
        in tegenwoordigheid van2 [naam andere vertegenwoordiger van de onderneming of branche- of beroepsorganisatie]
        de eed/belofte volgens bovenvermeld formulier afgelegd.
        Betrokkene [handtekening betrokkene]
        BIJLAGE 2. FORMULIER EED/BELOFTE TEN BEHOEVE VAN EEN LID VAN HET ORGAAN DAT BELAST IS MET HET TOEZICHT OP HET BELEID EN DE ALGEMENE GANG VAN ZAKEN VAN DE ONDERNEMING(bijlage als bedoeld in artikel 2, tweede lid)
        Ik zweer/beloof dat ik mijn functie integer en zorgvuldig zal uitoefenen.
        Ik zweer/beloof dat ik een zorgvuldige afweging zal maken tussen alle belangen die bij de onderneming betrokken zijn, te weten die van de klanten, de aandeelhouders, de werknemers en de samenleving waarin de onderneming opereert.
        Ik zweer/beloof dat ik in die afweging het belang van de klant centraal zal stellen.
        Ik zweer/beloof dat ik mij zal gedragen naar de wetten, de reglementen en de gedragscodes die op mij van toepassing zijn.
        Ik zweer/beloof dat ik geheim zal houden wat mij is toevertrouwd.
        Ik zweer/beloof dat ik geen misbruik zal maken van mijn kennis.
        Ik zweer/beloof dat ik mij open en toetsbaar zal opstellen en ik ken mijn verantwoordelijkheid voor de samenleving.
        Ik zweer/beloof dat ik mij zal inspannen om het vertrouwen in de financile sector te behouden en te bevorderen.
        Zo waarlijk helpe mij God Almachtig!/Dat verklaar en beloof ik!
        Op [datum], werd te [plaats]
        ten overstaan van1 [naam persoon ten overstaan van wie de eed of belofte is afgelegd], en
        in tegenwoordigheid van2 [naam andere vertegenwoordiger van de onderneming of branche- of beroepsorganisatie]
        de eed/belofte volgens bovenvermeld formulier afgelegd.
        Betrokkene [handtekening betrokkene]
        TOELICHTINGAlgemeen§ 1. InleidingMet deze regeling wordt uitvoering gegeven aan de motie Huizing/Blanksma.1 Deze motie verzoekt de regering om de moreel-ethische verklaring die beleidsbepalers in het kader van de Code Banken2 afleggen wettelijk te verankeren in de betrouwbaarheids- en geschiktheidstoets3 van bestuurders.
        In de Wet op het financieel toezicht (Wft) is in de artikelen 3:8, tweede lid, en 4:9, zesde lid, bepaald dat bij ministerile regeling regels kunnen worden gesteld met betrekking tot een door personen waarvoor de geschiktheidstoets geldt.
        Gekozen is voor de vorm van een eed of belofte om het belang van de waarden waar deze voor staat te onderstrepen, en om de bewustwording daarvan bij de persoon die hem aflegt te versterken.
        In deze regeling is opgenomen op welke wijze de eed of belofte moet worden afgelegd. Zo is de tekst van de eed of belofte voorgeschreven, alsmede welke personen bij het afleggen aanwezig moeten zijn. Daarnaast is de procedure rond het afleggen van de eed of belofte, het ondertekenen van het formulier, en de wijze van bewaring van het ondertekende formulier beschreven.
        De inhoud van deze regeling is voorgelegd aan de toezichthouders. Met hun opmerkingen is rekening gehouden in deze regeling.
        § 2. ConsultatieDe regeling is samen met het Wijzigingsbesluit Financile Markten 2013 geconsulteerd in de periode van 14 april 2012 tot en met 11 mei 2012 op de website http://internetconsultatie.nl/wijzigingsbesluitfm2013/. Er zijn meer dan 100 reacties ontvangen, waarvan 40 reacties (mede) betrekking hadden op de voorstellen over de eed of belofte. Naar aanleiding van de reacties is de toelichting op een aantal punten aangepast.
        De reikwijdte van de geconsulteerde conceptregeling zag op elke persoon werkzaam bij elke financile onderneming. De reikwijdte van deze regeling is, gelet op het regeerakkoord dat op 29 oktober 2012 is gepubliceerd, vastgesteld op personen werkzaam bij een financile onderneming, en waarvoor de geschiktheidstoets geldt.4 Hieronder wordt ingegaan op reacties die relevant zijn ten aanzien van de huidige regeling. De overige consultatiereacties zullen worden betrokken bij toekomstige voorstellen voor een bredere eed of belofte dan in deze regeling is bepaald.
        De meerderheid van de respondenten heeft twijfels geuit over het nut van een eed of belofte, en vraagt zich af of deze voorstellen geen symboolwetgeving zijn. De voorstellen ten aanzien van de eed of belofte worden door de respondenten veelal beschouwd in het geheel van alle (voorgestelde) maatregelen op de financile markten, waarbij meerdere malen de vraag naar voren komt of de overheid in dit geval niet te vergaand ingrijpt, en of de lasten in verhouding tot het effect van de maatregel niet te hoog zijn. Tevens wijzen verschillende respondenten op bestaande normen en interne gedragscodes waar medewerkers, inclusief de top van de onderneming, nu al aan moeten voldoen. In dat licht zien zij geen aanvullend effect van een eed of belofte uitgaan.
        De in de financile sector gewenste cultuuromslag vergt niet enkel wet- en regelgeving, maar heeft ook een sterke morele dimensie. Deze morele dimensie keert terug in het afleggen van de moreel-ethische verklaring in de vorm van een eed of belofte. Het gaat daarbij niet enkel om het ondertekenen van het formulier, maar ook om het uitspreken. Hier is voor gekozen om te benadrukken dat de waarden die de eed of belofte vertegenwoordigd zeer belangrijk zijn. Om deze redenen is de eed of belofte geen symboolwetgeving, maar juist een zeer nuttige en gerechtvaardigde maatregel die een bijdrage zal leveren aan het herstellen van het vertrouwen in de financile sector.
        Tijdens de consultatie is door meerdere respondenten aandacht gevraagd voor de samenloop met het arbeidsrecht bij de uitvoering van de eed of belofte binnen de onderneming. Het ging daarbij om de situatie waarin iemand weigert de eed of belofte af te leggen.
        De introductie van een nieuwe eis waaraan beleidsbepalers en commissarissen de top van de onderneming, moeten voldoen is geen onbekende situatie voor ondernemingen of beleidsbepalers en commissarissen. Gedacht kan worden aan de introductie van gedragscodes waaraan medewerkers, inclusief de top van de onderneming, moeten voldoen, zowel op basis van een wettelijke verplichting of anderszins. Een voorbeeld is de introductie van gedragscodes over internetgebruik op het werk. Bij veel bedrijven zijn deze in de afgelopen jaren ge¯ntroduceerd, waarbij ook een beleidsbepaler of commissaris verplicht is deze te onderschrijven. Een dergelijk verzoek van de werkgever, ook in het geval van deze eed of belofte, is een redelijk verzoek. De eed of belofte bevat kernwaarden waaraan ook nu al moet worden voldaan. Mocht een beleidsbepaler of commissaris weigeren de eed of belofte af te leggen dan rust op de onderneming de verplichting de beleidsbepaler of commissaris als nog hiertoe te bewegen. Dit kan in uiterste gevallen leiden tot een situatie waarin de onderneming arbeidsrechtelijke sancties treft jegens de beleidsbepaler of commissaris.
        § 3. Bedrijfseffectena. administratieve lastenAdministratieve lasten zijn de kosten voor het bedrijfsleven en/of burgers om te voldoen aan informatieverplichtingen aan de overheid voortvloeiend uit wet- en regelgeving van de overheid. Hiervan is hier geen sprake.
        b. nalevingskostenInhoudelijke nalevingskosten zijn de directe kosten die samenhangen met de naleving van inhoudelijke verplichtingen. De initile nalevingskosten hebben betrekking op het aanpassen van de interne systemen en het afleggen van de eed of belofte door personen die al werkzaam zijn bij de onderneming. De totale initile nalevingskosten bedragen '‚¬ 125.069 voor alle financile ondernemingen gezamenlijk. De totale structurele nalevingskosten bedragen jaarlijks '‚¬ 3.752 voor alle financile ondernemingen gezamenlijk. Hieronder worden de nalevingskosten nader toegelicht.
        Initile nalevingskostenBeleidsbepalers en leden van het orgaan dat belast is met het toezicht op het beleid en de algemene gang van zaken van de onderneming die op het moment van inwerkingtreding van deze regeling reeds werkzaam zijn bij de onderneming moeten een eed of belofte afleggen. Op 1 januari 2013 gaat dit naar schatting om 17.000 personen in hoge functies binnen de organisatie (standaard uurtarief '‚¬ 71). Het afleggen kan groepsgewijs (in het geval van een grotere onderneming bijvoorbeeld de raad van bestuur en de raad van commissarissen gezamenlijk) plaatsvinden ten overstaan van een persoon in een hogere functie of het bestuurslid (standaard uurtarief '‚¬ 71) en in het bijzijn van een hoogopgeleide kenniswerker (standaard uurtarief '‚¬ 45). Het afleggen kost 5 minuten per persoon. De nalevingskosten komen hiermee op (18.700 * '‚¬ 5.92 = '‚¬ 110.704) + (1.700 * '‚¬ 3.75= '‚¬ 6.375) = '‚¬ 117.079.
        Het opslaan van de ondertekende eed of belofte zal (C)(C)n minuut in beslag nemen en plaatsvinden door een administratieve medewerker (standaard uurtarief '‚¬ 28). De nalevingskosten van deze handeling bedragen 17.000 * '‚¬ 0.47 = '‚¬ 7.990.
        Structurele nalevingskostenHet gemiddelde verloop bij de personen die onder dit artikel vallen is jaarlijks 3%. 510 personen moeten jaarlijks de eed of belofte aflegen. Het afleggen, ondertekenen en opslaan van de eed of belofte bedraagt in het totaal 5 minuten per persoon. De nalevingskosten bedragen daarmee jaarlijks (561 * '‚¬ 5.92 = '‚¬ 3.321) + (51 * '‚¬ 3.75= '‚¬ 191) = '‚¬ 3.512.
        Het opslaan van de ondertekende eed of belofte zal (C)(C)n minuut in beslag nemen en gebeuren door een administratieve medewerker (standaard uurtarief '‚¬ 28). De nalevingskosten van deze handeling bedragen 510 * '‚¬ 0.47 = '‚¬ 240.
        ArtikelsgewijsArtikel 1Dit artikel is gebaseerd op de artikelen 3:8, tweede lid, en 4:9, zesde lid, van de wet.
        De eed of belofte dient te worden afgelegd door dezelfde personen die worden getoetst op hun geschiktheid; de beleidsbepalers en leden van het toezichthoudend orgaan. Bij de geschiktheidstoets wordt door de toezichthouder voorafgaand aan de benoeming van een dergelijk persoon onder andere aandacht besteed aan de bereidheid van de persoon om integer en professioneel te handelen. Een intentieverklaring dat de persoon de eed of belofte zal afleggen zal onderdeel zijn van deze geschiktheidstoets. De geschiktheidseis is een doorlopende eis zodat, indien na aantreden van de persoon blijkt dat hij de eed of belofte niet aflegt of niet naleeft, de toezichthouder de geschiktheid opnieuw kan beoordelen. Er zal dan door de toezichthouder onder andere opnieuw worden bezien of de betrokkene voldoet aan het geschiktheidselement 'professioneel gedrag' zoals opgenomen in de Beleidsregel geschiktheid 2012 van de AFM en DNB. Dit kan de consequentie hebben dat de betrokkene door de toezichthouder niet langer geschikt wordt bevonden en dus zijn functie niet langer kan uitoefenen.
        Het afleggen van de eed gebeurt ten overstaan van een persoon in een hogere functie en andere vertegenwoordiger van de onderneming, bijvoorbeeld een compliance officer of HR-medewerker. Deze andere vertegenwoordiger heeft de rol van getuige bij het afleggen.
        De woorden 'indien mogelijk' zien op de situatie waarin sprake is van een onderneming waar in het totaal minder dan drie personen werkzaam zijn. In het geval dat twee personen werkzaam zijn vervult (C)(C)n van de twee personen de rol van persoon in hogere functie, dit kan ook een persoon in een lagere of gelijke functie zijn (zie de toelichting in de volgende alinea). In het geval van een zelfstandige zonder enig personeel kan logischerwijs worden volstaan met ondertekening van het formulier van de eed of belofte.
        In het tweede lid is nader uitgewerkt welke functies zijn aangemerkt als persoon in een hogere functie. In onderdeel e is een restcategorie opgenomen voor het geval de onderneming de functies beschreven in de onderdelen a tot en met d niet kent. In dat geval is het mogelijk om de eed of belofte af te leggen ten overstaan van een persoon in een lagere of gelijke functie. Deze situatie zou zich voor kunnen doen bij een kleine onderneming met een beperkt aantal werknemers.
        Een groot deel van de personen en ondernemingen actief in de financile sector is aangesloten een bij branche- of beroepsorganisaties. Het derde lid voorziet in de situatie waarbij de eed of belofte wordt afgelegd binnen een dergelijke organisatie. In dat geval dient de eed of belofte afgelegd te worden ten overstaan van een bestuurslid van de branche- of beroepsorganisatie, en in het bijzijn van een vertegenwoordiger van de branche- of beroepsorganisatie of een vertegenwoordiger van de onderneming van de persoon die de eed of belofte aflegt.
        Artikel 2Het eerste en tweede lid van artikel 2 verwijzen naar bijlagen 1 en 2. De inhoud van bijlage 1 is gelijk aan de inhoud van de moreel-ethische verklaring uit de Code Banken en Governance Principes Verzekeraars en benoemt elementen die voor zichzelf spreken en aansluiten bij bestaande normen. Het gaat om onder meer integer handelen en het centraal stellen van de klant bij de afweging van alle bij de onderneming betrokken belangen. Dit laatste is opgenomen om het bijzondere en kwetsbare belang van de klant te benadrukken, en betekent niet dat het belang van de klant ook automatisch voorrang heeft boven andere bij de onderneming betrokken belangen.
        In bijlage 2 is, met het oog op de specifieke taken van het orgaan dat belast is met het toezicht op het beleid en de algemene gang van zaken van de onderneming, de passage 'en de klant zo goed mogelijk zal inlichten' niet opgenomen.
        Een onderneming kan er voor kiezen de eed of belofte onderdeel uit te laten maken van een ander document. Veel ondernemingen maken bijvoorbeeld gebruik van interne gedragscodes die reeds moeten worden getekend door het personeel. Een onderneming kan de eed of belofte onderdeel uit laten maken van een dergelijke gedragscode.
        Artikel 3Dit artikel is qua formulering gebaseerd op artikel 5 van de Regeling afleggen eed en belofte rijksambtenaar.5 De persoon die de eed of belofte aflegt hoeft niet de hele eed of belofte uit te spreken, uitsluitend de slotzin zoals opgenomen in het formulier in bijlage 1 en 2 ('Zo waarlijk helpe mij God Almachtig'/'Dat verklaar en beloof ik'). Het voorlezen van de tekst van de eed of belofte vindt plaats door de persoon ten overstaan van wie de eed of belofte wordt afgelegd (de persoon in een hogere functie dan wel een bestuurslid van de branche- of beroepsorganisatie). Dit biedt ondernemingen de mogelijkheid om de tekst (C)(C)n maal uit te laten spreken tegenover meerdere personen, waarna deze personen (bijvoorbeeld leden van de raad van bestuur) de eed of belofte afleggen.
        Artikel 4Na het afleggen van de eed of belofte wordt het formulier ondertekend door de betrokkene, de persoon ten overstaan van wie de eed of belofte is afgelegd (1) en de andere vertegenwoordiger van de onderneming, of branche- of beroepsorganisatie (2).
        De onderneming dient op basis van het tweede lid het ondertekende formulier te bewaren op een zodanige wijze dat deze eenvoudig toegankelijk is voor de toezichthouders. Hierbij kan bijvoorbeeld worden gedacht aan het toevoegen van het formulier aan het personeelsdossier van de persoon die eed of belofte heeft afgelegd.
        Artikel 5In artikel 5 is overgangsrecht opgenomen ten aanzien van personen die op het moment van inwerkingtreding van deze regeling reeds werkzaamheden voor de onderneming verrichten. Deze personen moeten uiterlijk binnen een jaar na inwerkingtreding van deze regeling de eed of belofte hebben afgelegd en ondertekend. Er is gekozen voor een ruime overgangstermijn, aangezien het gaat om een grote groep personen.
        Artikel 6De regeling treedt in werking op 1 januari 2013. Mocht onverhoopt de regeling niet voor het einde van 2012 in de Staatscourant worden gepubliceerd, dan treedt de regeling in werking op de dag na publicatie in de Staatscourant.
        De Minister van Financin,J.R.V.A.Dijsselbloem
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      Federal Reserve Issues Warning, Bank Drills, Possible False Flag - :
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 20:04
        (Allison Martinez) Either the new Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen is a prepper, or there is something afoot in the world of banking. If she is a prepper, I missed any indication of that in her background. Bankers typically talk in terms of contingency plans and liquidation programs, not prepping for disasters.
        In January of this year, Supervisory Regulation (SR) 14-01 was issued in regarding the need for bank preparedness particularly for the eight bank holding companies (BHCs) in the United States. According to the memo, there are eight Bank Holding Companies that appear to be at risk and that risk threatens the financial stability of the United States. These eight companies are Bank of America Corporation, Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, PLC, Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley, State Street Corporation, and Wells Fargo & Company.
        The memo, dated January 24, was the first one of the year. It was sent from Michael Gibson to the top banks to stress increased supervisory expectations. Gibson stated,
        '''... the Federal Reserve is issuing this letter to clarify the heightened supervisory expectations for recovery and resolution preparedness for the eight domestic bank holding companies that may pose elevated risk to U.S. financial stability. ''
        Shortly after the ''increased supervision'' of the big eight, customers at other ''not eight'' banks started getting notices of bank drills where services will be limited. One example is the Bank of Albuquerque, as shown below.
        While this screen shot is from their website, a similar email advisory went out to all of their customers. The Bank of Arizona, Bank of Oklahoma, and the Bank of Texas have all been mentioned as having this drill. All of these banks are owned by BOK Financial. They also own Bank of Arkansas, Bank of Kansas City, Colorado State Bank and Trust, BOSC, Inc., Cavanal Hill, TransFund, HomeDirect Mortgage so it may be that these institutions will announce they are also involved in this drill. This may be a corporate activity, or something greater in scope.
        What makes this all the more curious is that FDIC has lawsuits going on in the Southwest region against banks. It doesn't appear to be connected to any of these banks or the drill, but the memo from the Fed requiring more supervision of the ''Big 8,'' the drills in the south that include the S.W.I.F.T. system, and the lawsuit taken together does give one a moment of pause. The whole matter does seem a bit auspicious to the causal observer. Banks temporarily shut down, calls for increased bank supervision back east, the looming debt ceiling and discussions of default once more coming from the administration casts the drill in a surreal perspective. The backdrop of 4 banker suicides last week, including Mike Dueker at Russel Investments, lingers in the mind as well, and all of them worked in the area of forecasting and data analysis. Late last month HBC started restricting cash withdrawals by customers. One can't help take notice of these coincidental events and ponder if there isn't something more afoot.
        These events have not escaped the notice of the Youtube community either. Below is from one customer who received a notice. Notice that it appears that a bank in New Zealand will also conduct a drill at the same time. It is unknown if it is connected to this drill or a coincidence.
        The Adobe Flash Player is required for video playback.Get the latest Flash Player or Watch this video on YouTube.
        Dave Acton also put out video on the matter with supplemental commentary that may be of interest to readers. It include additional commentary from Acton on cybersecurity and additional commentary on potential changes in currency policy.The Adobe Flash Player is required for video playback.Get the latest Flash Player or Watch this video on YouTube.
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      9 die in fire destroying Argentine bank archives - The Washington Post
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Thu, 06 Feb 2014 14:06
        By Associated Press, Published: FEBRUARY 05, 2:17 PM ET Aa BUENOS AIRES, Argentina '-- Nine first-responders were killed and seven others injured as they battled a fire of unknown origin that destroyed an archive of corporate and banking industry documents in Argentina's capital on Wednesday.
        The fire at the Iron Mountain warehouse took hours to control and at least half of the sprawling building was ruined despite the efforts of at least 10 squads of firefighters.
        The nine firefighters and civil defense workers were crushed when a brick wall collapsed on top of a large group of first-responders on the sidewalk and street outside. Tearful rescuers removed rubble by hand to reach their comrades.
        ''It took them completely by surprise,'' said Argentina's Security Secretary Sergio Berni said. ''Some of the injured are fighting for their lives.''
        Berni said Iron Mountain also had employees inside the building when the fire started early Wednesday, but all the employees and firefighters were accounted for by early afternoon.
        The destroyed archives included documents stored for Argentine corporations and banks, said Buenos Aires security minister Guillermo Montenegro.
        The cause wasn't immediately clear. Berni said the company's on-site firefighters shared some details with authorities, and Iron Mountain said it too will investigate.
        ''All of this will end up in court,'' Berni said, declining to make any details public.
        If the cause is found to be arson, it wouldn't be the first time for Boston-based Iron Mountain Inc., which manages, stores and protects information for more than 156,000 companies and organizations in 36 countries. Fire investigators blamed arson for blazes that destroyed its warehouses in New Jersey in 1997 and London in 2006, prompting rounds of legal claims over lost records.
        Iron Mountain issued a statement saying ''we are deeply saddened by the deaths of the brave first responders who rushed to save our facility. Our thoughts are also with those who have been hospitalized, and we wish them a quick and complete recovery.''
        ''We will investigate the cause of the fire and work closely with local investigators, police and fire authorities to understand what happened. The building was equipped with both fire-detection as well as a sprinkler system,'' the company said, adding that it is contacting its customers whose documents were lost.
        Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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    Ministry of Truth
      James Carville Joins Fox News
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sun, 09 Feb 2014 00:58
        James Carville has signed a contract to join Fox News Channel as a regular commentator:
        James Carville, the ''ragin' cajun'' Democratic strategist, has signed on with Fox News, the network announced Thursday.
        ''James' successful and storied career in politics over several decades is an enormous asset to Fox News,'' Bill Shine, Fox News's executive vice president of programming, said in a statement. ''We are privileged to have him lend his breadth of experience, wit and dynamic perspective on the network.''
        Carville led Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign and spent the last decade as a political commentator for CNN. He and his wife, Mary Matalin, a Republican strategist, ended their relationship with the network last year after Jeff Zucker took over as president.
        Since leaving Fox, Carville has appeared on a variety of other networks, including MSNBC and ABC News. While this may seem like an unusual fit for both parties, one has to admit that Carville has never been one to shrink away from a good partisan fight, or a camera for that matter, and he's likely to bring some good fireworks to several of Fox's programs. Heck, I may even tune in to watch him tear apart a pinhead like O''Reilly or Hannity just for the sheer entertainment value.
      David Cameron's attempts to 'stage manage' Prime Minister's Questions - Telegraph
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Thu, 06 Feb 2014 14:04
        The disclosure follows warnings by John Bercow, the Speaker of the Commons, that ''soundbites'' and ''planted questions'' have helped to damage the reputation of Parliament in the eyes of the public.
        It has long been understood that MPs are often primed by party whips to ask particular questions during the weekly sessions.
        However, this is thought to be the first time that efforts '' apparently unsuccessful '' by No 10 to ''stage manage'' the exchanges have been laid bare.
        The Telegraph has seen a series of emails sent by Mr Williamson to Tory MPs in the last two months. Each is timed at around 11am on a Wednesday '' an hour before PMQs begins at midday in the Commons.
        The vast majority of questions appear not to have been asked by MPs during the period '' a disclosure likely to be seen as a further sign of poor relations between Downing Street and Conservative backbenchers.
        The party's leadership has faced a series of rebellions over the European Union and human rights laws in recent months.
        One question '' a dig at Labour's call for cheaper gym membership '' has been put forward repeatedly by Mr Williamson in the last three weeks having originally been distributed on Jan 15 without success.
        It was most recently sent out to Tory MPs on Wednesday Jan 29 in an email timed at 10.51am.
        The email, titled ''PMQS- Free Hits'' and addressed to ''colleagues'', said: ''Please find below some questions, should you want to take the opportunity of a free hit today. Good news on the economy features heavily '' any mentions would be greatly appreciated.''
        Other questions include whether Mr Cameron agrees that a ''growing economy means more economic security for our country and a more financially secure future for hardworking people''.
        Mr Williamson also suggests asking the Prime Minister whether he agrees that the Government's economic plans were ''delivering a sustainable recovery''.
        Not all MPs appear to decline the opportunity to ask Mr Williamson's questions.
        A question asked on Dec 11 by Stephen Metcalfe, who joined the Commons as MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock at the last election, bears a close resemblance to one sent out by Mr Williamson an hour earlier.
        Mr Williamson's list of ''free hits'' included: ''Does the Prime Minister agree with me that the only way to raise my constituents' living standards is to stick to the Government's long-term plan to fix our economy, rather than abandoning the plan through more borrowing and more taxes as the party opposite propose?''
        Mr Metcalfe went on to ask the Prime Minister: ''Does my right hon. Friend agree that the best way to raise the living standards of my constituents is for the Government to stick to their long-term plan to rebuild this economy and not abandon it in favour of more borrowing and more taxes, as proposed by the Labour party?''
        Mr Cameron responded by saying Mr Metcalfe was ''entirely right'', going on to explain the importance of reducing the financial deficit and continuing with the Government's ''difficult spending decisions''.
        Sir Alistair Graham, the former chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, described the emails as ''depressing''.
        ''If it continues like that it just helps people's disengagement from politics because they don't think it's a serious engagement, it's a manufactured bear garden,'' he said.
        A spokesman for Mr Bercow warned that PMQs is the ''shop window to the House of Commons'' for members of the public, adding that backbenchers had a responsibility to use the sessions ''wisely''.
        Although MPs are selected in advance to speak during PMQs, in practice they generally do not have to submit specific questions before the session, making them free to ask what they like.
        In 2012 The Telegraph disclosed that Desmond Swayne, one of Mr Williamson's predecessors as Mr Cameron's PPS was sending out emails to Conservative MPs urging them to shout down Ed Miliband every time he rose to his feet to question the Prime Minister.
        ''If Ed even grudgingly acknowledges anything positive in to-day's unemployment figures then instantaneously bring down the roof 'yereyereyere'...''', one of Mr Swayne's emails said.
        A Downing Street spokesman said: "We don't comment on leaked emails."
    Trains Good, Planes Bad (Whoo Hoo!)
      Oman's $3 Billion Railroad Plan to Blunt Iran Oil Risk: Freight - Bloomberg`
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sun, 09 Feb 2014 00:20
        Oman, which faces Iran across the Strait of Hormuz, said it's poised to start raising cash for a $3 billion rail line offering an alternative route for oil and freight shipments that funnel through the 21 mile-wide channel.
        The nation of 3.3 million people, located on the southern side of the strait, is considering issuing bonds by the end of 2014 to kick-start funding for the track across some of the Arabian peninsula's harshest terrain, Abdulrahman Al Hatmi, a director at Oman National Railway Co., said in an interview.
        Iranian threats to close the Hormuz waterway have been a recurrent theme in Western relations with the Islamic republic since the 1979 revolution. While tensions have begun to ease after an interim deal aimed at halting Iran's nuclear program, Al Hatmi said the ''very expensive'' rail line is more than justified by the new trade opportunities bypassing the strait would offer Oman's southern port of Salalah.
        ''We are moving fast now,'' he said at a rail conference in Dubai. ''One of the key changes we've made is to connect to Salalah, which is the mouth of the whole region and will play a major role in transforming the whole logistics map.''
        Oman wants to push on with its leg of the so-called Gulf Cooperation Council Railway due to stretch 1,350 miles from the borders of Iraq to the shores of the Indian Ocean by 2018 just as nations including Kuwait -- which have less to gain from the project -- say they'll struggle to meet agreed deadlines.
        Obstacle CourseOman yesterday signed a 13.6 million rial ($35 million) deal for design work with Italferr SpA, the engineering arm of Italy's state railway. Awards to construction companies will take place by the end of this year, with work commencing by the first quarter of 2015, Al Hatmi said.
        Rather than hugging the coast to reach Oman, the line will take the shortest route east from Abu Dhabi on the Persian Gulf, crossing the border from the United Arab Emirates near the city of Al Ain before plowing for 100 miles through the Hajar Mountains, which rise to 10,000 feet, and reaching the ocean near Suhar, 150 miles north of Omani capital, Muscat.
        The terrain makes the leg the most challenging of the GCC line and the bill may be higher than the current estimate, according to Al Hatmi, who said studies are under way to pin down the final cost. From Muscat, Oman wants the line to continue south across its arid interior to the ports of Duqum and Salalah, ending at the border with Yemen, he said.
        ChokepointBy circumventing the Strait of Hormuz the railway would dilute the impact of further closure threats to a waterway through which some 20 percent of crude supplies pass to reach global markets, equal to 35 percent of seaborne traded oil, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
        About 17 million barrels of oil passed through the channel each day in 2011, almost five times the total for the Suez Canal, the next busiest chokepoint, the EIA estimates.
        The line's scope for serving as an alternative route for crude exports will be determined by its proximity to oil fields and loading terminals and a need for thousands of tanker cars, according to Robin Mills, head of consulting at Manaar Energy Consulting & Project Management in Dubai, who said the link may come into its own in an emergency lasting at least six months.
        Other means of bypassing the Strait of Hormuz include a 263-mile pipeline stretching from Abu Dhabi to the emirate of Fujairah on the Indian Ocean, built at a cost of $4.2 billion. A second pipe carries Saudi oil from the Gulf across Arabia to the Red Sea, though the two routes could carry only a fraction of ship-borne crude capacity.
        Foreign InvestorsOman will consider both conventional bonds and sukuk, the version compliant with Islamic law, as funding options for the line, and could structure some contracts as public-private partnerships under which successful bidders would assume a high degree of financial and operating risk, Al Hatmi said. International investors are also offering to buy trains and lease them back to the government, he said.
        The GCC Railway has a projected cost of $20 billion and aims to provide a route spanning six Gulf countries by 2018. Work is most advanced in the U.A.E, where the seven sheikdoms that form the nation are backing the railway to boost integration and ease pressure on congested roads.
        Saudi Arabia has built 125 miles of track, a rail symposium in Riyadh was told last month. The Arab world's largest economy will award a design contract for other sections of the line running from Kuwait to the U.A.E. border in two months, with five companies bidding, Mohammad Al Suwaiket, president of the Saudi Railway Organization, said in Dubai.
        Slow ProgressProgress in Kuwait has been far slower, with no consultant chosen to design 320 miles of track, said Mansour Al Bader, chairman of the country's advisory committee on the project. A construction tender will be issued in about 18 months with the aim of finishing work three years after the contract has been awarded. That's likely be the end of 2019, a year late, he said.
        Qatar and the island state of Bahrain will be linked via a loop from the main line, requiring further major engineering projects. Talks are under way on building a causeway between the countries, and the GCC is evaluating a $4.2 billion bridge that would carry the track to Bahrain from Saudi Arabia.
        GCC ambitions stretch beyond a rail system simply reducing the bloc's reliance on the Strait of Hormuz. The U.A.E. public works minister, Abdullah Al Nuaimi, suggested in Dubai that a study be carried out into a link to Arab countries in the north creating a long-distance line to the borders of Europe.
        The extension to southern Oman could also stretch a further 100 miles to the borders of Yemen, bolstering links with a would-be GCC member and aiding a clampdown on truck-based smuggling operations in a territory that's become a haven for terror group al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
        To contact the reporter on this story: Deena Kamel Yousef in Dubai at dhussein1@bloomberg.net
        To contact the editor responsible for this story: Benedikt Kammel at bkammel@bloomberg.net
    Boston
      Boston Bombings: Tamerlan Tsarnaev Claimed He Was Victim of "Majestic Mind Control" - The Vigilant Citizen
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 20:22
        Every time I ponder on the Boston Bombings, the events surrounding it, the history of the alleged terrorists and the way things went down, things do not compute. Everything is shrouded in mystery. The Tsarnaev brothers appeared to be too ''Americanized'' to hate America; The way both brothers went down is still unclear; Everyone who knew the brothers do not believe the official story; The Martial Law imposed on Boston was excessive. The random house searches by the US Military was disturbing.
        A recent article in the Boston Globe now adds another strange piece to the puzzle: The eldest brother, Tarmelan Tsarnaev, was convinced that he was a victim of mind control. The article states:
        ''He believed in majestic mind control, which is a way of breaking down a person and creating an alternative personality with which they must coexist,'' explained Larking. ''You can give a signal, a phrase or a gesture, and bring out the alternate personality and make them do things. Tamerlan thought someone might have done that to him.''
        The person inside him, as Tamerlan described it to Larking, ''was someone who wanted to control him to make him do something.''
        While news sources point to schizophrenia, the symptoms described in the news articles could be applied to a victim of Mind Control with a trigger-able alter persona.
        Tamerlan Tsarnaev first heard the voice when he was a young man.
        It came to him at unexpected times, an internal rambling that he alone could hear. Alarmed, he confided to his mother that the voice ''felt like two people inside of me.''
        As he got older, the voice became more authoritative, its bidding more insistent. Tamerlan confided in a close friend that the voice had begun to issue orders and to require him to perform certain acts, though he never told his friend specifically what those acts were.
        ''He was torn between those two people,'' said Donald Larking, 67, who attended the mosque with Tamerlan for nearly two years. ''He said that several times. And he did not like it.''
        The truth about Tamerlan will probably never be known as he was shot to death by police. The sequence of events leading to the shooting is still clouded in confusion and key elements of the official story contradict accounts from eye witnesses.
        Another extremely troubling fact related to the Boston Bombings is the fate of Ibragim Todashev, a 27 old man who got shot dead by FBI agents while being questioned about the bombings. The events leading to the shooting are still unclear. For this reason, on December 31st 2013, Ibragim's father wrote an open letter to Obama in order to finally get some answers.
        Abdulbaki Todashev says in his letter that son Ibragim Todashev, 27, knew dead marathon suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev through boxing but had no connection to the bombing or any other crime. He says his son voluntarily went to an FBI office in Orlando to speak with FBI agents four times before they showed up at his apartment May 22.
        Attorney Barry Cohen said Monday the elder Todashev fears a cover-up and is writing to Obama one father to another to make sure that doesn't happen. He is asking Obama to ensure authorities do not interfere with the investigation. ('...)
        He said his son was a loving son who came to America in 2008 to practice English and met Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev at the gym when he lived in Massachusetts.
        Todashev tells the magazine the FBI ''deliberately'' killed his son so ''he can never speak and never take part in court hearings'' and claims the FBI pressured his son's friends also to prevent them speaking the truth.
        Ibragim Todashev died in May after FBI agents questioning him about his friendship with Tsarnaev allege he lunged at an agent with a knife.- news.com.au, Ibragim Todashev's father writes open letter to President Obama
        Why was this man, who willfully cooperated with the FBI and who lived hundreds of miles from the bombings, killed? While authorities claim that he attacked an agent with a knife while being questioned, this could easily be a fabricated story to justify a killing.
        Like many other ''elite-sponsored'' events, everything surrounding the Boston Bombings is vague, unclear and confusing. And that's the best way to identify a cover-up.
    Syria
      The Syrian Opposition Is Disappearing From Facebook - Michael Pizzi - The Atlantic
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 23:42
        Social media was one of the first refuges for Syria's non-violent activists. Now they're getting kicked off.
        Free Syrian Army soldiers watch a video on their laptop. (Hamid Khatib/Reuters)Hunched over a coffee at a Midtown Manhattan Starbucks, Ammar Hamidou describes how Syria's revolution spiraled out of control before his eyes. Hamidou, who fled the country last year and now works in New York as a computer developer, was one of the first to take to the streets in his hometown of Kafranbel, in the northwest, in early 2011. But with regime aircraft pummeling his town and al-Qaeda-linked fighters periodically overrunning Kafranbel to kidnap civil-society activists like himself, the 29-year-old finagled a visa to the U.S. and escaped.
        His family and girlfriend remain in Syria, but he says there is no role for him there anymore.
        ''The revolution started with the peaceful activists, we had no intention to hold a gun and fight anybody. What we wanted was freedom'--how did we get here?'' he asks. ''Activists are vanishing, my revolution is being stolen, and those martyrs, this blood, all for nothing. It's gonna be worthless, in vain.''
        Nowadays, his activism takes place on his computer, as it did before the revolution broke out. Like many towns in Syria, Kafranbel has a Local Coordination Committee (LCC) and media center page on Facebook, both of which are used to spread news of the revolution, document the dead, and distribute safety information to residents. In a country where foreign and independent Syrian journalists are barred, and the regime's expansive network of citizen-spies makes public discussion of the revolution dangerous to this day, Facebook was one of the first refuges for Syria's dissidents'--and now it has become one of their last.
        While al-Ahmed acknowledges the group's content is often ''difficult,'' so is Syria's war.Which is why the social network's recent decisions to shut down dozens of opposition pages, including the Kafranbel Media Center that Hamidou administered in exile, have dealt a significant blow to peaceful activists who have grown reliant on Facebook for communication and uncensored'--if bloody and graphic'--reporting on the war's atrocities. It's only the latest chapter in Syria's well-documented Facebook wars, but it threatens to be the final one for the non-violent voices who sparked the revolution to upend 40 years of oppressive Assad family rule.
        The SecDev Foundation, a Canadian NGO that runs several digital-security initiatives in Syria'-- distributing censorship-circumvention tools like VPNs and proxies, and warning about pro-regime hacking schemes'--has compiled a list of dozens of pages belonging to opposition citizen-journalism outfits or non-aligned NGOs that have reportedly been shuttered since last fall for posting what Facebook deemed to be graphic imagery or calls to violence. These pages often resurface under different URLs with a fraction of the followers they had before, and sometimes continue operating as they had previously.
        Screenshots taken by SecDev or sent to the group by page administrators capture what appear to be some baffling decisions by Facebook. Take the case of the Daraa al-Mahata LCC. Its page, which documents the violence in Syria's southernmost city of Daraa, had over 42,000 ''likes'' when it was removed in October for posting a picture of a man allegedly killed by the Syrian Army. In the picture, Fadi Badr al-Miqdad sits comfortably'--very much alive'--in a beige armchair. A young child, also alive, is perched on his lap. The Arabic-language caption reads: ''He was killed by shabiha gangs in [the town of] Busra al-Sham.'' Shabiha, loosely translated as ''thugs,'' is a pejorative term used by both sides in the conflict to describe their enemies'--and the only potentially offensive word in the post.
        The page's administrators, who unsuccessfully appealed to have the page restored, do not understand. Why this picture? And, after nearly three years of posting images of dead bodies (among other things), why now?
        The image that allegedly prompted Facebook to shut down the Daraa al-Mahata LCC page. (Screenshot/SecDev)Activists point to Facebook's open-ended community standards and reporting system in explaining these closures. Any user who believes a post or photograph violates the social network's standards may lodge the complaint with the company's user-operations team, whose Arabic-language unit, operating out of Dublin, can then choose to remove the content, warn the page's administrators, or even close the page, sometimes without notice. Activists believe groups supportive of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are gaming the system and reporting on their rivals. Facebook does not disclose information about who reported whom, making it impossible to confirm these theories. But the pro-Assad Syrian Electronic Army (SEA)'--best known for its hacks of major news sites, including an infamous White House bomb hoax that sank the Dow 140 points'--has publicly gloated about this tactic.
        ''We continue our reporting attacks,'' read a typical post from December 9 on the SEA's Facebook page. ''Our next target is the Local Coordination Committee of Barzeh [a neighborhood in Damascus], the page that is a partner in shedding Syrian blood and provoking sectarian division.'' It then provided two links to photos on the Barzeh page that could get the page taken down. Soon afterwards, the SEA removed its post as if it had never existed.
        Though SEA campaigns aren't always successful'--Facebook says the ''quality'' of reports will always trump the ''quantity'''--activists believe the pro-Assad hackers have claimed some high-profile scalps in recent months. Among them is the London-based Syrian Network for Human Rights, an NGO that documents casualties and rights abuses in the civil war. The SNHR has been regularly sharing graphic images'--from blood-spattered streets to mutilated bodies'--since 2011, but in October, Facebook reportedly pulled the plug on its page. With the UN announcing in January that it will no longer keep track of Syria's rising death count, citing an inability to verify information inside Syria, the world will depend on NGOs like SNHR for updates. Without an operating Facebook page, its reach will be thwarted.
        Human rights groups are preparing files so that war criminals can be brought to justice. When a page is shut down, those files are gone.LCC and media-center pages are ripe for the picking because they have long prided themselves on depicting the war in all its gory detail. Graphic content, like that posted by SNHR, would indeed upset many of Facebook's more than 1 billion users, all of whom can access public groups. But the owners of these pages insist their content is not meant to offend.
        ''This is all '... part of telling people what is happening in Syria,'' said Bassam al-Ahmad, the Istanbul-based spokesman for the Violations Documentation Center. His organization and others that track human-rights violations are preparing files so that war criminals can be brought to justice in a theoretical post-Assad Syria. When a page is shut down, those files are gone. And while al-Ahmed acknowledged the group's content is often ''difficult,'' so is Syria's war.
        ''I blame Facebook 100 percent for the closures,'' said Dlshad Othman, a Syrian digital-security expert and cyberactivist, in a phone interview from his home in Washington, D.C. ''They opened the door from the beginning, letting all the people use Facebook above all other networks and then they shut down their pages. Facebook was a trap for us.''
        Richard Allan, Facebook's director of public policy for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, acknowledged Facebook's community-policed reporting apparatus isn't perfect and that human error can creep into decisions on page violations. He also noted that his team is dealing with an unprecedented conflict.
        ''With Syria, there are situations where it's very hard for us to get the rules just right,'' Allan said.
        ''The funny thing,'' Othman mused, ''is that Facebook used to be proud that it was part of the Arab Spring.''
        In a letter to potential investors when Facebook filed its IPO last February, founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg touted his social network's role in undermining tyrannical governments like Syria's: ''By giving people the power to share, we are starting to see people make their voices heard on a different scale from what has historically been possible. These voices will increase in number and volume. They cannot be ignored.''
        Unless, of course, they are deleted by Facebook itself. While Allan declined to comment on individual cases, the company said nothing has changed in its policy with regard to the Syrian conflict. Allan instead suggested that years of content breach may have finally caught up to pages that have been around since early 2011. In other words, it was only a matter of time.
        ''There comes a point at which a page has breached the rules so many times that the only choice we have left is to close it,'' said Allan in a phone interview from London. ''We don't like to take that sanction, it's not our first option '... but if a page repeatedly breaches then it's going to hit that threshold.'' He added, however, that Facebook's decisions are ''based on the quality of the content, not the quantity of reporting. One report about bad content, it will come down. A thousand reports about good content, it won't come down.''
        This isn't a satisfying answer for activists like Razan Zaitouneh, one of the founders of the LCC system as well as the Violations Documentation Center. In early December, according to SecDev, the famed human-rights lawyer drafted a letter to Facebook imploring policy officials to consider that human-rights groups like her own have nowhere else to go. An exception should be made for those merely seeking to document conflict, she said.
        ''Facebook pages are the only outlet that allows Syrians and media activists to convey the events and atrocities in Syria to the world,'' she wrote in the letter, which was shared by SecDev. "We strongly appeal to you not to make it easier for the Syrian regime to terminate calls for freedom and dignity.''
        Zaitouneh never got a response to her letter. On December 9, five men stormed her organization's office in the Damascus suburb of Douma and kidnapped her, along with her husband and two colleagues, VDC spokesman al-Ahmad said. Their whereabouts and kidnappers are unknown, but the abduction is widely believed to be the work of an Islamist rebel group, the Army of Islam, which is active in an area that was ''liberated'' from Assad's grips months ago. Al-Ahmad said Zaitouneh had received threatening letters from an Islamist group shortly before the kidnapping, but he refused to name the group without proper evidence.
        Zaitouneh's kidnapping'--and specifically the fact that it appears to have been perpetrated by 'anti-Assad' rebel fighters, underlines the bleak reality facing Syria's non-violent holdouts, who bravely took to the streets in protest three years and 130,000 lives ago. With Assad showing no signs of wavering and al-Qaeda-linked extremists streaming across Syria's porous borders, the peaceful protesters say they no longer recognize the uprising they used to lead.
        ''It's no secret that the role of activists in Syria is dwindling,'' said Laila Safadi, the editor of the online opposition news magazine Tala'na al-Hurriya (''Take Us to Freedom'') from her home in the Golan Heights in Syria. That means Facebook is more important than ever, Safadi said. She feels that Facebook does not provide enough warning to page administrators to clean up their content before shutting down pages. The Internet in Syria is slow and unreliable, and pages that have been operating for years have amassed huge quantities of data that are not easy to comb through in time to respond to concerns.
        Plus, administrators allege that Facebook does not always follow through on its pledge to warn them before shutting down their pages. The activists behind the LCC page in Tartous, for instance, say that they didn't receive warning before their page was deleted overnight. Others, like Hamidou, say they've experienced the same issue.
        The analysts at SecDev sympathize with Allan and his policy team. ''It's terra incognita,'' said Joshua Gillmore, who works on Syria. ''You have, for the first time, a conflict entirely documented over social media. Facebook is basically policing a large country and trying to do so without access to what's really happening. Even for us, we deal with the conflict on an ongoing basis, there are a lot of actors who are popping up, changing, and it can be difficult to make a judgment call on what's going on.''
        Facebook's community standards are designed to deter cyberbullying and hate speech. But in a civil war where such ''bullying'' impacts the fight on the ground and the future of a country, the social network is entering uncharted territory.
        A Facebook official acknowledged that al-Qaeda's emergence in Syria has prompted greater vigilance from the website.''You have community standards which are supposed to be applied across the board, but they were created in a situation that is not at all what is unfolding in Syria now, where Facebook has become a primary information resource within the war,'' added Deirdre Collings, SecDev's executive director. ''There are all sorts of different dynamic abuses that Facebook couldn't possibly have anticipated when they were developing the standards.''
        Yet Allan acknowledged that one recent development has prompted greater vigilance on Facebook's part: the emergence and strengthening of al-Qaeda-linked rebel factions. Though the activist pages in question'--along with many Syrian rebels'--want nothing to do with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the very presence of extremist fighters alongside moderate rebel factions in the struggle to unseat Assad has been a public-relations disaster for the opposition.
        ''It does mean it is more likely that there may be more support for designated terror organizations, al-Qaeda being the classic example,'' on Facebook, said Allan. ''Symbols, images that are clearly encouraging support for that organization will be a breach. We're always on the lookout for those kinds of things when they're reported to us.''
        ''Objective reporting'' on the Syrian conflict on an LCC page, Allan explained, is acceptable. ''At the other end of the spectrum, an exultation to violence associated with a known terrorist organization would not be. In Syria's case, there's a lot of stuff in between.''
        But that gray area isn't spelled out in Facebook's community standards. All this may seem like minutiae to the uninitiated, but to Syrians it is very much a revolutionary matter.
        ''As the Syrian people say, the sound is just of guns and killing, there is no space for peaceful voices in Syria now,'' said al-Ahmad. Already drowned out by bullets and bombs, non-violent dissidents like al-Ahmad and Hamidou'--even from their refuges in Istanbul and Manhattan'--are in danger of extinction.
      Moderate ''Shami'' Islam vs Wahhabism: Shiekh Mohamad Saeed Ramadan Al Bouti finally pays for his anti-salafism stances
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 18:42
        The suicide explosion that took the life of Sheikh Mohamad Saeed Ramadan Al Bouti among 42 others in Damascus yesterday is not a Syrian crisis incident. This event commemorates a struggle that has been going for the past 35 years for Al Bouti in person and the past one and a half millennia for Islam itself.
        A research long overdue, much like the explosion itself
        Before I start this short journey in Islamic ancient and recent history, I would like to emphasize that I am a secular researcher. I spent 7 years in Sudan under the rule of the Islamic Front (now called the National Congress of Sudan). The Sudanese Islamic Front is one of the different faces of political Islam that conquered the Arab World during the second half of the 20th Century. The mother of all these political Islam movements is the one and only Muslim Brotherhood, who rule Egypt explicitly now, and a few other countries under different names.
        This research is long overdue; specially form a person who considers himself an expert in Islamic movements in the Middle East and North Africa. The bloody events in Damascus yesterday pushed me to write this article, but this is just a step one in a series of articles on this important issue.
        As for the explosion in Damascus yesterday, it is also long overdue. Al Bouti has been the sworn enemy of Salafism and Muslim Brotherhood militia since the early 80s of the past century. Read on to know why.
        Historical roots
        The term Salafism appeared for the first time in the 13th century in the teachings of Islamic controversial scholar Ibn Taymiyyah. Ibn Taymiyyah called for Muslims to go back to the way their great ancestors (in Arabic: Al Salaf Al Saleh, hence the term Salafism) used to understand Islam. What he wanted was to rid Islam of what he called foreign influence on Islam, which was the natural order of history, given the interaction between Muslims and the wide variety of cultures in areas conquered by the Islamic state. Ibn Taymiyyah is the God Father of the concept of Islamic Sharia rule, and the most prominent scholar whose teachings influenced political Islam movements.
        In the 18th century, Mohamad bin Abd Al Wahhab, the creator of modern Salafism, Wahhabism (after him), restructured Salafism in light of modern life, and established what will later be the ruling doctrine for all political Islam movements. The turning point in Wahhabism was the alliance with Ibn Saud, the founder of the Saudi dynasty still ruling the Kingdom of Saudi Arbia until today.
        Meanwhile in Damascus
        Damascus has always been a melting pot where various cultures and doctrines mixed to form a unique damascene form of Islam. It is worth mentioning that Ibn Taymiyyah was jailed several times in Damascus. Damascus Islamic scholars at that time did not agree with his extreme views, and they kept confronting him till he died in jail.
        The damascene version of Islam was closely linked to Sufism, a mystical method that focuses on the spiritual aspects of the religion rather than the political ones. Damascus still has the tomb of Mohey El Din Ibn Arabi, one of the most prominent Sufi scholars in history, and the founder of the Akbari Sufi method. Unlike Ibn Taymiyyah and Abdul Wahhab, Ibn Arabi was a philosopher and researcher, not a salafi follower.
        Damascus is also linked to the Ashaari method, a follower of which is Ibn Rushd, one of the most prominent philosophers in history of human kind.
        So damascene or ''Sahmi'' Islam is historically different of that of Salafism and Wahhabism. This could help the western reader understand the conflict between Al Bouti and Salafi scholars. Al Bouti was not happy about the Muslim Brotherhood influence on the International Union of Muslim Sholars, headed by Aljazeera's spokesperson, Sheikh Yusuf Al Qaradawi, so he established the Union of Sham Land Scholars.
        Al Bouti vs the Muslim Brotherhood
        In the late 70s and early 80s of the past century, the Muslim Brotherhood attempted toppling the Baath regime and late President Hafiz Al Assad. As confessed by their leader Riyad Al Shakfeh on the BBC, they used terrorism in their attempt. They were also backed by regional and international powers, from Saddam Hussein to the BBC itself back then. They used the media to portrait the events as a peaceful uprising (much like 2011), and a recently released CIA document revealed that the numbers of causalities in those events was extremely exaggerated.
        Mohamad Saeed Ramadan Al Bouti, back then a young Muslim scholar, took the other side. The Brotherhood accuses Al Bouti of taking the side of the regime for beneficial purposes, but he explained several times that the disagreement with the Brotherhood is on the doctrine itself, not on politics.
        Since then. Al Bouti became the icon of Shami Islam. He was given all the support by the Syrian regime to spread his version of moderate and fraternal Islam, to the extent that he used to appear on the national TV confronting secular researchers, like the televised debate with Dr. Tayeb Tizini in 1990. He also engaged in several debates with Syrian secular researcher Nabeel Fayyad. Those debates took the form of a book for a book, where Fayyad would write a book criticizing Islam, give it to Al Bouti in person, then Al Bouti would write a book in answer to that book*.
        Therefore, Al Bouti was an example of a moderate scholar, who accepted criticism, and answered discussion with more discussion. He is known for never calling anyone infidel, and never claiming the right to judge people's rights of life and freedom. This does not go well with the Salafi doctrine that calls for purification of the Muslim society by taking rid of all infidels. Infidels here referring not only to non-Muslims, but also to everybody who disagrees with Salafism.
        The Syrian ''Revolution'': A movement supported by Salafi scholars
        Since the events started in Syria, Salafi scholars played an important role in calling for people to revolt. They played on the sectarian string, and incited people to support the ''revolution'' with money and weapons. The most important Salafi roles came from Al Qaradawi, who has a carte blanche on Aljazeera, and a Syrian Shiekh named Adnan Al Arour. Both A Qaradawi and Al Arour attacked Al Bouti several times (See this montage where both Al Qaradawi and Al Arour say that Al Bouti should be killed, AlQaradawi indirectly and AL Arour directly). AL Bouti never reciprocated, but he directed his speech to Al Qaradawi inviting him to a debate to figure out what is real reformation.
        On March 21st, coinciding with Nowruz day, a national Kurdish holiday, Sheikh Mohamad Saeed Ramadan Al Bouti (of Kurdish origin) was assassinated in his mosque, with 42 of his students. His death was celebrated by many revolutionary pages (see here, here, and here for example, or see the picture in the frame which shows him ''wanted''. This picture was published by a revolutionary page). Moreover, They are now threatening Al Bouti's son, Tawfeek.
        To us in Syria Tribune, this is not an incident related to the Syrian crisis only. This commemorates a long struggle between Al Bouti and the Wahhabi scholars, and between the damascene version of moderate Islam an extremism.
        * Fayyad wrote his book ''Hiwarat'' (Dialogues) in answer to Al Bouti's book ''Hazihi Moshkilatohom'' (These are Their Problems). On his Facebook page, Fayyad testified that he took the book to Al Bouti before publishing it, but Al Bouti refused to read it before it is published, so it does not look like censorship.
        Written by Syria Tribune
    Moderate Muslims
      Email#1
        1- I am a practicing muslim (sunni), raised and lived in Damascus- Syria
        for 25 years. Currently in London.
        2- There are many factions in islam, the most violent of them are the
        jihadi salafi version http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salafist_jihadism which
        is very close to Wahabism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wahhabi_movement .
        Wahabism have all the money and most of the islamic schools
        internationally. Wahhabi version was used against Soviet Union in
        Afghanistan (roots of Al Qaeda and the rise of Ben laden to stardom).The
        other politically charged group the muslim brotherhood (represented today
        by Qatar-based Qardhawi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusuf_al-Qaradawi ).
        The latter is considered a "moderate", however the real traditional schools
        of Islam (currently still the predominant thinking among muslim scholars in
        Syria, Al-Azhar in Egypt, Morocco ... etc) don't agree with their political
        agenda.
        3- PR shit during the start "syria revolution" attacked the traditional
        sunni muslims and brainwashed the uneducated and the young. It was a weird
        combination between ultra-democrat youngsters trained via civil society
        programs, and the two radical politically-charged sunnis (wahabism and
        bother hood) to destroy a real bacon of religious harmony in the middle
        east http://www.reorientfilms.org/SYRIA.html . They managed last year to
        assassinate one of the most respected scholar in Islam (Bouti, the photo
        attached is from Victoria Station in London 21/march/2013). His wikipedia
        page is filled with propaganda against him like his "support to regime" and
        conspiracy regarding his assassination. Here is may be a better summary.
        http://www.syria-tribune.com/e/index.php/by-syria-tribune/64-bouti
        Hope you are still reading :)
        Thank you again for all your efforts, from a practicing sunni muslim who
        think democracy is an essential element of Islam!
    EARon
      Iranian Fleet in waters near US
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 23:04
        TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iranian warships dispatched to the Atlantic Ocean will travel close to U.S. maritime borders for the first time, a senior Iranian naval commander said Saturday.The commander of Iran's Northern Navy Fleet, Admiral Afshin Rezayee Haddad, said the vessels have already entered the Atlantic Ocean via waters near South Africa, the official IRNA news agency reported.The fleet, consisting of a destroyer and a helicopter-carrying supply ship, began its voyage last month from the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. The ships, carrying some 30 navy academy cadets for training along with their regular crews, are on a three-month mission.The voyage comes amid an ongoing push by Iran to demonstrate its ability to project power across the Middle East and beyond.IRNA quoted Haddad as saying the fleet is approaching U.S. maritime borders for the first time. The Islamic Republic considers the move as a response to U.S. naval deployments near its own coastlines. The U.S. Navy's 5th fleet is based in Bahrain, just across the Persian Gulf.
    Out There
      No Coincidence Roswell
        The year was 1947. Some of you will recall that
        on July 8, 1947, a little more than 66 years ago,
        numerous witnesses claim that an Unidentified
        Flying Object, (UFO), with five aliens aboard,
        crashed onto a sheep and mule ranch just
        outside Roswell, New Mexico.
        This is a well-known incident that many say has
        long been covered-up by the U.S. Air Force, as well
        as other Federal Agencies and Organizations.
        However, what you may NOT know is that in the
        month of April, year 1948, nine months after the
        historic day, the following people were born:
        Barrack Obama Sr.
        Albert A. Gore, Jr.
        Hillary Rodham
        William J. Clinton
        John F. Kerry
        Howard Dean
        Nancy Pelosi
        Dianne Feinstein
        Charles E. Schumer
        Barbara Boxer
        Joe Biden
        This is the obvious consequence of aliens
        breeding with sheep and jack-asses.
    Turkey
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      Turkey Deports Journalist for Criticizing Government on Twitter
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      Istanbul clashes over Turkey's new internet laws.
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: bertb news feed
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 22:16
        8 February 2014Last updated at 13:57 ET Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
        The BBC's James Reynolds watched as events unfolded in Taksim Square
        Turkish riot police have fired water cannon and tear gas at hundreds of demonstrators marching in Istanbul in protest at new laws tightening government control of the internet.
        Demonstrators threw fireworks and stones at police cordoning off Taksim Square, the city's main square.
        The president is under pressure not to ratify the legislation.
        It includes powers allowing authorities to block websites for privacy violations without a court decision.
        The opposition says it is part of a government attempt to stifle a corruption scandal.
        Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has denied accusations of censorship, saying the legislation would make the internet "more safe and free".
        The Turkish parliament approved the bill last week.
        As well as allowing Turkey's telecommunications authority to block websites without first seeking a court ruling, it will also force internet providers to store data on web users' activities for two years and make it available to the authorities.
        'Scourge' of TwitterInternet access in Turkey is already restricted and thousands of websites blocked.
        Mr Erdogan has been openly critical of the internet, describing Twitter as a "scourge" and condemning social media as "the worst menace to society".
        Both Twitter and Facebook were widely used by anti-government protesters to spread information during demonstrations last year.
        The corruption scandal broke in December with the arrest of businessmen close to the prime minister and three ministers' sons.
        Since then, Mr Erdogan's government has sacked hundreds of police officers and executives from banking and telecoms regulators and state television.
        Mr Erdogan says the scandal is an attempt by a US-based cleric with influence in the police and judiciary to unseat him. The cleric, Fethullah Gulen, denies this.
        Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you canupload here.
        Read the terms and conditions
      AFP: Alarm over Turkey's 'Big Brother' Internet curbs
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: Turkish Digest
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 15:53
        Alarm over Turkey's 'Big Brother' Internet curbsBy Simon Sturdee (AFP) '' 1 day ago
        Istanbul '-- Turkey drew fire Thursday over new Internet curbs portrayed as protecting privacy and the young but which critics say will stifle free speech and accelerate a slide towards authoritarianism.
        More:AFP: Alarm over Turkey's 'Big Brother' Internet curbs
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      Turkey hijack threat -passengers speak
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: euronews
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 16:01
        Passengers on the flight which was forced to land in Istanbul because of a bomb threat are beginning to speak about their ordeal.
        The suspect, believed to be a Ukrainian national, attempted to hijack the plane with 110 passengers en route from Kharkov in Ukraine to Turkey, and divert it to Sochi, where the Winter Olympics were underway.
        However, the plane landed safely at Sabiha Gokcen airport, much to the relief to those on board.
        Gokhan Yildirim, one of the freed passengers recounted the incident:
        ''He said that he had bomb on him, and a friend of his would explode it remotely if he was harmed.''
        Another passenger, Mehmet Tutan, spoke of the moment they realised they weren't in Russia.
        ''We thought we had landed in Sochi. We thought so for a long time. When we found out that there was a network (connection) on our mobile phones and we were able to call out, there was no roaming, we understood that we were not in Sochi.''
        The incident comes at a time of high alert during the Sochi Olympics. Earlier this week US officials warned of the potential for 'toothpaste' bombs on flights.
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      Erdogan and Putin meet in Sochi, Russia
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: Turkish Digest
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 15:53
        Erdogan and Putin meet in Sochi, RussiaSOCHI, Russia - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin met Friday in Sochi, Russia, prior to the official opening of the 2014 Winter Olympics.
        More:Erdogan and Putin meet in Sochi, Russia
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      Erdogan Moves to Shut Prep Schools in Blow to Gulen Followers - Businessweek
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: Turkish Digest
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 15:52
        Erdogan Moves to Shut Prep Schools in Blow to Gulen FollowersBy Selcan Hacaoglu February 07, 2014Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government submitted a bill to parliament to shut down about 4,000 prep schools, about a quarter of them linked to U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.
        Erdogan's allies described a December investigation into corruption as an attack orchestrated by Gulen because of government plans to shut down prep schools. In his year-end address to the nation, Erdogan said that the ''December 17 plot was an assassination attempt hidden in a corruption package.'' Gulen denies the allegations.
        More:Erdogan Moves to Shut Prep Schools in Blow to Gulen Followers - Businessweek
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      S&P cuts outlook on Turkey ratings citing erosion in governance
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: Turkish Digest
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 15:52
        S&P cuts outlook on Turkey ratings citing erosion in governanceReuters, 07/02 20:34 CET
        By Dasha Afanasieva
        ISTANBUL (Reuters) '' Standard & Poor's cut its outlook on Turkey's ratings to negative from stable on Friday, saying that it saw risks of a hard economic landing and that the country's policy environment was becoming less predictable.
        More:Business Newswires : euronews : the latest international news as video on demand
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      Schiphol airport loses out to Istanbul
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: Turkish Digest
        Fri, 07 Feb 2014 05:39
        Schiphol airport loses out to IstanbulThursday 06 February 2014
        Amsterdam's Schiphol airport lost its number four position in the European ranking to Istanbul in December.
        The fast-growing Turkish airport passed Schiphol in passenger traffic with 3.9 million passengers against 3.7 million.
        More:DutchNews.nl - Schiphol airport loses out to Istanbul
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    Hollywood Whackers
      IRS Slams Michael Jackson Estate With $702 Million Tax Bill
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: Radar Online Radar Online
        Sun, 09 Feb 2014 09:41
        The Estate of Michael Jackson has just gotten the tax bill to end all tax bills.
        The IRS says the estate owes $702 million '-- $505 million in taxes and another $197 million in penalties '-- according to documents filed with the U.S. Tax Court.
        The discrepancy comes from just how much Michael Jackson was worth at the time of his death in 2009. The estate placed it at just $7 million, stating that the value of Jackson's likeness was just $2,105 and his interest in the trust that controlled his music as well as The Beatles catalogue at zero.
        PHOTOS: Paris Jackson Posts Snaps To Social Media From Inside Her Therapeutic Boarding School
        No way, says the tax men.
        They claim Jackson's return was so inaccurate, that it qualified for a gross valuation misstatement penalty, which would allow the government to double the usual 20% penalty for underpayment, the Los Angeles Times is reporting.
        The IRS puts the value of Jackson's likeness at $434 million and the King of Pop's percentage interest in the music catalogues at $469 million.
        PHOTOS: Michael Jackson Through The Years
        The IRS is even haggling over the value of automobiles the singer owned when he died.
        The estate said his three Rolls-Royces and a Bentley were worth $91,600. The IRS put a value of $250,000 on the luxury cars.
        PHOTOS: Shocking Evidence Found In Michael Jackson's Bedroom
        So far there's no indication the Jackson executors are ready to compromise. The estate has already hired one of the country's top tax litigation law firms to represent them.
    AFRIKA
      ICC to open war crimes probe in CAR - Africa - Al Jazeera English
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 22:15
        The International Criminal Court is to open a preliminary examination into violence in the Central African Republic to determine whether atrocities committed there constitute possible war crimes, the court's prosecutor has said.
        Fatou Bensouda said on Friday that her office had reviewed many reports of "extreme brutality" and that allegations of crimes committed "possibly fall within the ambit of the jurisdiction of the ICC".
        "The allegations include hundreds of killings, acts of rape and sexual slavery, destruction of property, pillaging, torture, forced displacement and recruitment and use of children in hostilities," Bensouda said in a statement.
        "In many incidents, victims appear to have been deliberately targeted on religious grounds."
        The Central African Republic has been engulfed in violence since Muslim Seleka (alliance) rebels seized power in March 2013, driving the then President Francois Bozize out of power and launching a campaign of terror against civilians.
        Religious undertones
        The atrocities have transformed the conflict into one with religious undertones, pitting Seleka against the mainly Christian groups known as anti-balaka (machete), the weapon of choice for the Seleka rebels.
        Bensouda said she had warned the groups responsible for the conflict to cease violence, warning them that those alleged to be committing heinous crimes could be held individually accountable.
        She said her office's efforts would be coordinated with those of the African Union and the United Nations in CAR.
        "In conformity with the complementarity principle, my Office will also be engaging with the CAR authorities with a view to discussing ways and means to bring perpetrators to account, including at the national level," Bensouda said.
        The African Union and France have sent troops to the CAR to try to restore order, but violence continues and on Wednesday soldiers publicly lynched a suspected ex-Seleka rebel after a military ceremony presided over by Catherine Samba Panza, the new interim president.
        CAR is a signatory to the Rome Statute, which led to the formation of ICC, and the court has jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed on the territory or by nationals of CAR since 1 July 2002, Bensouda said.
        352
      fertility management-Gore: Reduce African Women's Fertility to Limit Global Warming | Heartlander Magazine
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 18:56
        Global warming activist Al Gore told the World Economic Forum ''making fertility management ubiquitously available'' is key to the future of civilization and efforts to limit global warming. Gore said such efforts to manage African women's fertility were important in his desire to reduce the growth of human population.
        Gore complained there will be more Africans than either Chinese or Indians by mid-century and more Africans than Chinese and Indians combined by the end of the century.
        A common refrain among environmental activists is that increasing human population is harmful and there should be less people on the planet. In furtherance of this goal, some environmental activists have praised China's ''one child'' policy even as it encourages infanticide, especially against female babies.
        Gore freely acknowledges in his 2006 movie, ''An Inconvenient Truth,'' that he no longer believes in democracy because democratic decisions have not comported with his global warming alarmism.
        ''I used to believe in democracy,'' said Gore near the end of his movie, after complaining about the forces he believes have united to block global warming activism.
      In pictures: Bokassa's ruined palace in CAR
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: BBC News - Home
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 16:06
        This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.
    GAS/LNG
      LPG Shipping Surge Seen Extended Amid Signs of Panama Delay - Bloomberg
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 22:11
        Delays to the $5.25 billion expansion of the Panama Canal may extend a surge in rates for vessels hauling liquefied petroleum gas to Asia from the U.S., a shipping company and industry analysts said.
        ''We have been basing our plans on using Panama, so if there are delays then that's going to tighten the supply of ships,'' Christian Andersen, president of Avance Gas Holding Ltd said by phone today. The company is the fifth largest vessel owner specializing in LPG, according to data from Clarkson Plc, the world's biggest shipbroker.
        The expansion works were suspended yesterday after negotiations broke down between the Panama Canal Authority and a group of construction firms undertaking the enlargement, according to the head of the authority. A spokeswoman for Sacyr SA (SCYR), which is leading the works, said they were slowed rather than halted.
        The enlarged waterway will curb demand for LPG carriers to transport the fuel because the link shaves about 17,000 miles off round-voyages between Tokyo and Houston, requiring fewer tankers for the same amount of cargo. The U.S., which is producing the most crude in 25 years, is accelerating shipments of LPGs including propane and butane because they are byproducts from extracting crude and gas.
        Demand for the largest ships hauling LPG, used for cooking and heating, is surging as the U.S. boosts exports. The country has among the world's cheapest supplies of the fuel, which is also a feedstock for the petrochemicals industry.
        The widening of the Panama Canal will reduce the number of ships required to haul 1 million tons a year of LPG to Asia from Houston to four vessels from six, according to Andersen. The the delayed start will prolong a rally in freight costs.
        ''As long as the Panama Canal remains unfit for taking VLGCs, that's going to have a positive impact on the freight market,'' Erik Nikolai Stavseth, a shipping analyst at Arctic Securities ASA, said by phone today. ''Assuming exports continue as normal, volumes will continue to be shipped.''
        Rates for VLGCs, the industry's biggest ships, will rise to $45,000 a day in 2015 from $30,400 in 2012 and then drop to $37,500 after the completion of the Panama Canal expansion cuts voyage durations, Arctic estimates show.
        Avance Gas, which is owned by Stolt-Nielsen Gas, Sungas Holdings Ltd and Transpetrol Shipping Ltd, has six VLGCs on the water and another eight under order. The total fleet of such vessels is about 160 vessels.
        ''The volumes will continue to move, it's just that they will move longer-haul, rather than through Panama,'' said Nicola Williams, an analyst at Clarkson Plc, the world's biggest shipbroker. ''We see a continuation of longer-haul movements for a longer time than we'd originally anticipated.''
        To contact the reporter on this story: Natasha Doff in London at ndoff@bloomberg.net
        To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alaric Nightingale at anightingal1@bloomberg.net
    Agenda 21
      Chicago Tribune - ComEd customers refusing smart meter will be charged $21.53 a month
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 20:06
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      The New York Times: "19 cities that have hosted the Winter Olympics, as few as 10 might be cold enough by midcentury to host them again. By 2100, that number shrinks to 6."
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: UN Agenda 21
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 15:54
        Exposing the comprehensive UN plan to bring about an authoritarian world government via international regulations and treaties under the guise of environmentalism and social equity.
        Remember, a lot of this is heavy doublespeak. I.E. "Commuter Friendly" = Commuter hell, at the mercy of public transportation, unfriendly-to-cars, no leaving the area etc., "Walkable" = car unfriendly, literally poverty infrastructure
        New UrbanismTriple Bottom LineSustainability/Sustainable DevelopmentSocial EquityEconomic EmpowermentSocial Responsibility"Smart" i.e. Smart GrowthEconomic/Environmental JusticeCorporate Social Responsibility(CSR)Liveable/WalkableNew NormalComplete StreetsMixed-Use (property)"Green"Commuter Friendly"Well-Being"Community ActionResilience/Resilient CommunitiesTransition TownNext/New EconomySECTION I. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS: Chapter 2.1.
        In order to meet the challenges of environment and development, States have decided to establish a new global partnership. This partnership commits all States to engage in a continuous and constructive dialogue, inspired by the need to achieve a more efficient and equitable world economy, keeping in view the increasing interdependence of the community of nations and that sustainable development should become a priority item on the agenda of the international community. It is recognized that, for the success of this new partnership, it is important to overcome confrontation and to foster a climate of genuine cooperation and solidarity. It is equally important to strengthen national and international policies and multinational cooperation to adapt to the new realities.
        No Racism
        No Abusive/threatening language.
        Any posts that attack the sub, the users or the mods can be removed. Breaking this rule more than once can earn a ban.
        We are all different here, and you may find that have different beliefs, but please be respectful of each other.
      European Energy Infrastructure: A Grid Lesson from Germany
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: European Public AffairsEuropean Public Affairs
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 06:39
        Last year, Germany extended its key power supply lines by exactly 0 (yes, zero) kilometers. Yet, in 2009, the government committed itself by law to accelerating its grid expansion. Reasons for this stagnancy are diverse: low public acceptance, project modifications and inefficient cooperation between public authorities. What must the EU and its member states learn from this?
        In October 2013, the European Commission finally adopted a list of 248 key energy infrastructure projects. These so called ''projects of common interest'' (PCI) are meant to contribute to market integration and competition, as well as to enhance security of supply and reduce CO2 emissions. Via the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), a '‚¬ 5.85 billion budget is allocated to these projects until 2020. Aside from the financial support, the projects are meant to benefit fast and efficient permitting procedures and an advanced regulatory framework. The map of projects looks quite ambitious, but also promising. Once completed, these projects have a high potential to fulfill their purposes.(To learn more about the PCI list, please read Olesia Ogryzko's article on the European internal energy market here and her debate with Juan Antonio Pavon Losada here).
        So far, so good '' in theory, the projects 'just' need to be implemented, or in fact, to be built. But the current development in Germany can serve as a good example and warning for the inherent complexities of larger infrastructure projects.
        Already back in 2009, the German parliament passed the Energy Line Expansion Act (EnLAG) and thereby set the floor for a national predecessor of the above mentioned PCI list. Very concisely, the act identifies 23 energy line projects that enjoy 'absolute priority' and play a central role for the future energy system of the country. The overarching goal of this political initiative was to accelerate the extension of the power grid. Since then, several additional laws have been adopted to further improve the processes involved in the planning and implementation of the projects.
        Given the considerable political effort, the progress made in Germany in the last 5 years is absolutely disappointing. A few weeks ago, the President of the Federal Network Agency, Jochen Homann, had to admit in an interview that not a single kilometer of these 23 urgently needed power lines had been built in the year 2013. In absolute numbers, only 268 of the overall required 1855 kilometers have been put into operation since 2009, which is less than 15 percent. Originally, the agency had expected a large part of the projects to be in operation by 2015. The latest estimates from official monitoring now expect only 50 percent of the power lines to be finished by 2016. In defiance of the high political ambitions to extend the infrastructure, the reality tells a different story.
        Apart from the alleged incapacity of German authorities to realize larger infrastructure projects (Berlin airport, Stuttgart main station) and the involved (inter-)national embarrassment, the deferral of the transmission system development also has direct consequences for the German and the European energy market; Renewable energy is lost when it cannot be transported to consumers, producers face negative prices at the stock markets, power plant operators have to provide reserve capacities and neighboring countries are affected by unwanted electricity spillovers that block their own power lines (read more here).
        But what are the reasons for this considerable delay? The German network agency itself has identified three main problems:
        First and foremost, low public acceptance remains the central issue for transmission system operators. Even after legislator and regulator have introduced a number of measures to counter the concerns of the population, people remain sceptical. A very recent example was the initiative of system operator Tennet, who had invited affected citizens in Schleswig-Holstein to invest small sums into a so-called 'citizens line' and to personally benefit from the profits made from the new power line. Due to a very complicated financial construction of the bond and a rather not transparent communication of the inherent risks, the project was an absolute failure, with only 142 investing citizens.
        Secondly, on-going project modifications lead to endless planning and authorisation cycles. Partly due to the permanently changing requirements of the grid as a result of the German energy turnaround, partly due to the integration of citizen's preferences, the authorities and system operators constantly have to change the concrete embodiment and routes of the power lines. Even slight changes in the projects sometimes require a reassessment of already finalised authorisation documents. Cynics are already saying that, due to a further decentralization of the German energy production, some of the power lines will have become obsolete by the time they are in operation.
        Thirdly, inefficient cooperation between different public authorities is adding its part to an already complex setting. Due to the federal structure of Germany, a number of different L¤nder authorities have been responsible for the planning and authorisation of the projects. Inevitably, power lines have to cross the internal 'borders', which is why different authorities were involved in the same power line and system operators had to be prepared for different authorisation processes for the same project '' a tremendous bureaucratic effort for every actor involved. To this end, the German parliament has reacted and transferred major responsibilities to a central authority, the Federal Network Agency. As the progress in 2013 shows, the success of this move has still to be proven.
        In the end, the projects identified in the European PCI list will be confronted with comparable, if not identical problems. The EU and the other member states can and must learn from the German experiences to avoid similar delays that will in the end prevent the internal energy market from completion. Key lessons from the German dilemma must be integrated in the process at the European level:
        - Public participation for all infrastructure projects must be possible; however the scope must be limited in form, content and time. Citizens must have the possibility to make their point, but authorities also must have the chance to make a final decision. It should be ensured that minor changes in the planning of projects do not lead to the repetition and reassessment of major parts of the authorisation processes.
        - Good cooperation and coordination between the authorities of different countries is a central necessity for the success of the PCI implementation. That is especially true because one of the central requirements for projects to be listed was that 'at least two countries' would benefit from it. Having in mind the quite opposing energy political strategies of many neighboring member states (Germany vs. Poland is just one example), this issue becomes even more important. The diverse interests of the different countries should by no means affect the completion of the European energy infrastructure, and the EU should find ways to push that forward with a certain insistence.
        - Money is not always the issue '' and not always the answer. The EU can underline its ambitions to complete the internal energy market with a budget of a '‚¬ 5.85 billion, but allocating money to projects does not necessarily reduce their complexity when it comes to authorisation and participation issues. A major question is: for what will the money from the budget be used? Behind closed doors, system operators in the past have mentioned that delays were not a result of financial problems '' ''We have the money, but we are not allowed to start.'' The same applies to citizens. It is legitimate to offer financial participation or compensation to communities or people, but these instruments must be well-developed and should not give the impression of companies trying to buy acceptance for their projects. In certain situations, it might be better to invest the money to reduce cross-border bureaucratic complexities and to increase the exchange between the authorities.
        As Roy H. Williams said, 'A smart man makes a mistake, learns from it, and never makes that mistake again. But a wise man finds a smart man and learns from him how to avoid the mistake altogether.'
        Daniel KlingeBorn in a town of not even 400 people in central Germany, I quickly developed a curiosity for everything that happened ''out there''. After finishing my bilingual Abitur, I spent 4 months in the Big Apple doing social work with children from the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. After having come back to Germany to start a Bachelor in Political Science, it did not take long until my "Fernweh" made me leave for an Erasmus semester in the beautiful and calm town of Jyv¤skyl¤ in central Finland. After several internships in Berlin, and a Bachelor thesis on EU-Turkey relations in Mannheim, I decided to specialize in Public Affairs and graduated from Maastricht University with my Masters in the subject.Working for the well-known consultancy Ketchum Pleon in Berlin, I am contributing to this blog in the field of European and Member states' energy policies.
        I am ready to engage in hot debates on energy issues '' if you are ready as well, contact me at danielklinge@europeanpublicaffairs.eu
      Britain deploys Royal Marines to help with floods
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: The Daily Star >> Live News
        Fri, 07 Feb 2014 06:09
        LONDON: Britain deployed Royal Marines on Thursday to help with devastating floods after what officials said was likely the worst spell of winter rainfall for 250 years.
        Around 40 marines were helping reinforce flood defences near Taunton in Somerset in southwest England, parts of which have been under water for a month.
        Local police said the marines would put out nearly 1,000 sandbags along a 1-2 kilometre stretch of wall near the River Tone, which has been swelled by heavy rain -- more of which was expected overnight.
        Prime Minister David Cameron's government has faced criticism for its handling of a crisis that has left swathes of the country under water, with a key railway line washed away.
        Several people had to be rescued from deluged homes on Thursday. More storms are expected this weekend.
        Across the English Channel, France's western tip jutting out into the Atlantic was placed on alert for flooding as high tides wreaked havoc.
        Britain's Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said the government would make an extra £30 million ($48 million, 36 million euros) available for emergency repairs, on top of £100 million announced by Cameron on Wednesday.
        Pickles said the winter was the wettest since King George III was on the throne, from 1760-1820, and the flood victims had "literally been through hell and high water".
        The Meterological Office confirmed in a statement that for southern England, "regional statistics suggest that this is one of, if not the most, exceptional periods of winter rainfall in at least 248 years".
        Parts of the region received five months of rainfall between December 12 and January 31.
        The rainy winter has set records tumbling, being the wettest combined period of December and January across the United Kingdom since 1910, the Met Office said.
        It was also the windiest December since 1969, based on the occurrence of winds over 111 kimometres per hour (69 miles per hour).
        For England alone it was the wettest December to January since 1876-1877 and the second wettest since rainfall records began in 1766.
        "Nothing happened for so long" Firefighters in Somerset and the neighbouring county of Devon rescued 14 people from homes and stranded vehicles late Wednesday and early Thursday.
        Rescuers in inflatable boats rescued four adults and three children from one house after a river burst its banks in Stoke St Gregory, a village that Prince Charles visited on Tuesday, a fire brigade spokesman said.
        The heir to the throne said on his trip that the "tragedy is that nothing happened for so long".
        Cameron personally took charge of the government's response on Wednesday after facing a growing tide of criticism for being too slow to aid stricken communities.
        But the damage has kept coming, with the main train service connecting Devon and the county of Cornwall with the rest of Britain being suspended after part of the sea wall under the coastal railway line collapsed.
        Meanwhile in France, Finestere, a department of coastal Brittany, was placed on red flooding alert and braced for two of its rivers, the Morlaix and the Laita, to burst their banks as a result of heavy rain forecast for Thursday.
        The highest-level warning was issued by Meteo-France shortly after the agency placed 29 departments from Brittany to the Paris region on a second-tier orange alert.
        Recent days have seen huge waves, gale-force winds and torrential rains combine to batter sea defences from the Basque country on France's border with Spain.
        The storms sent a Spanish cargo ship crashing into a sea wall at the French port of Bayonne on Wednesday, splitting it clean in two.
    BTC
      auroracoin
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 19:02
        auroracoinThe Airdrop will start to take place on March 25th 2014 and will target as many Icelanders as possible. There are various means of authenticating Icelanders on the Internet, that will be utilized to execute the Airdrop. About 330,000 Icelanders will be made able to claim f 31.8 each over the following year from the initiation of the Airdrop.
        The Airdrop will provide Icelanders with a great opportunity to get to know Auroracoin and use it in their daily lives. It will as well provide a way for them to reach outside the confines of the currency controls.
        The Airdrop will be a gift to each and every recipient, for him or her to spend or save.
        Further detail on the Airdrop will be posted once it is under way.
        Back to top
        auroracoin@auroracoin.org
      Mt. Gox Bitcoin Bank Run Intensifies, 1 Million Customers at Risk
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: BlackListedNews.com
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 16:03
        >>Exchange is refusing to give customers their money, CEO is at large, and company faces "significant losses"
        Early Friday morning Tokyo, Japan-based Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox froze customers accounts, refusing to give customers their money back. Customers were still allowed to trade the Bitcoins in their accounts for other currencies, Mt. Gox's primary function. But this problem has been snowballing for nearly a year now. And it's amazing that no one has recognized this for what it is -- a digital age bank run. ...
        The exchange, once the biggest converter of Bitcoins to USD and vice versa, blamed it all on a glitch in a press release. It's previously tried to claim that its backing bank in Japan was limiting it to 10 wire exchanges a day, hence why it was taking weeks or even months to give customers their money. But it hasn't mentioned that claim in while. It appears Mt. Gox is trying to use whatever excuses it can think up to disguise the serious problem -- it may not be able to pay back customers unless its current owner and CEO taps into his own fortune.Read More...
      Bitcoin Fanboy Shoots His iPhone with a Rifle
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: EconomicPolicyJournal.com
        Fri, 07 Feb 2014 06:25
        WSJ reports:A bitcoiner named Ryan [...], of Ryan's Range Report, took his iPhone 4S out to what looks like a private range '-- and shot it. Several times. He was prompted by a reader on reddit, who promised to send a Nexus 5 to the first five people to smash their iPhones.
      Bitcoin Fanboys Smash Their iPhones
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: EconomicPolicyJournal.com
        Fri, 07 Feb 2014 06:24
        Following new that Apple has deleted the Bitcoin wallet from the App Store, member of Reddit's Bitcoin community issued a proposition: ''For every 100 upvotes this post receives, I will gift someone a Nexus 5 for a video of them smashing their iPhone,'' reports Digital Trends.The redditor who proposed the tradeoff, ''round-peg,'' included the following stipulations: Only the first five people to submit videos would receive a Nexus 5; the smashed iPhone had to be of the iPhone 5 or 5S variety, running iOS 7; and the video needed to include the person's face, name, and reason for deciding to destroy his or her iPhone.
        ''Your reason should include the fact that Apple is anti-Bitcoin, not just because you want a free trade for a new phone,'' wrote round-peg.
        About two hours after round-peg's post went live, redditor ''netpastor'' became the first person to take round-peg at his word by posting a video of him smashing his 32GB iPhone 5 with a piece of metal tubing.
        Here's the video:
    Obama Nation
      Weekly Address: Expanding Opportunity for the American People
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: White House.gov Video Feed
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 16:00
        February 08, 2014 | 3:22 | Public Domain
        In this week's address, President Obama says he will do everything he can to make a difference for the middle class and those working to get into the middle class, so that we can expand opportunity for all and build an economy that works for the American people.
        Download mp4 (122MB) | mp3 (7MB)
    Haiti
      Remarks by President Obama and President Martelly of Haiti before Bilateral Meeting
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
        Fri, 07 Feb 2014 05:37
        The White House
        Office of the Press Secretary
        For Immediate Release
        February 06, 2014
        Oval Office
        2:22 P.M. EST
        PRESIDENT OBAMA: It's a great pleasure to welcome President Martelly of Haiti to the Oval Office. Our two countries really brought about the trend towards independence in the Western Hemisphere, and we have had a longstanding relationship of many years. The bonds between our two peoples are extraordinarily strong, including the contributions made by Haitian Americans, who in all walks of life make enormous contributions to our own country.
        Obviously, over the last several years, our relationship has been shaped in part by our desire to help Haiti rebuild after the devastating earthquake that took place. We're now at the four-year anniversary of that tragic event that devastated such a large portion of not only Haiti but also devastated the Haitian economy. The good news is that because of not just the mobilization of international support, which the U.S. helped to lead, but also because of strong leadership from the Haitian people themselves and President Martelly, we've begun to see progress. The economy is growing; security is improving; infrastructure is getting rebuilt rubble has been removed; health facilities are beginning to open up; schools are starting to get back into place, and businesses are starting to return to Haiti.
        It's been a very slow and difficult process, and I think we are all recognizing that we have a lot more work to do. But my main message today to the President and to the people of Haiti is that the American people are committed to standing with you in this process. We want to make sure that all the children of Haiti can look forward to lives of opportunity and prosperity and security. And I'm very encouraged by the fact that Haiti has now made progress on an election law that could ensure elections this year and help to resolve some of the political roadblocks that stalled some progress in the country, and I appreciate the President's efforts on that front.
        I'm looking forward to hearing where we can help in other reforms that I know he cares about -- such areas as human rights, prison reform, the judiciary, dealing with issues of corruption that are inhibitors to progress in any country, including ours. And we will continue to stand by Haitian democracy, Haitian leadership, and the Haitian people in this slow and steady progress that needs to take place.
        So, Mr. President, welcome. We're very proud of our relationship with Haiti and we look forward to deepening it in the years to come.
        PRESIDENT MARTELLY: Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like to first thank the people of the United States, the government, and you, Mr. President, for always standing by the Haitian people. I would also like to acknowledge the presence of the First Lady, Michelle Obama, in Haiti after the earthquake. I'd like to thank her for her support also.
        Through this meeting, Mr. President, I hope we have a chance to discuss matters pertaining to security -- security in Haiti, security in the region, our ability to fight together narcotraffic, and, of course, talk also about my engagement in building a strong democratic state.
        So thank you for hosting me. It's an honor to be here.
        PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you very much, everybody. Appreciate it.
        END 2:27 P.M. EST
    Hillary 2016
      Biden may run in 2016, doesn't care if Hillary does, too
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: TheBlaze.com - Blog
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 06:54
        ');jQuery.ajax({ url: "/_k2/collectXML.asp", type: "POST", dataType: "xml", contentType: 'text/xml', data: xmlPayload, success: onK2Success, error: onK2Error, complete: removeLoadSpinner });};});jQuery('#cf-finder').on('submit', function() {_gat._getTrackerByName()._trackEvent('Channel Finder', 'Submit', 'ZipCode');var cfid = jQuery('#cf-provider').val()if(window.xmlResponse.children('provider').eq(cfid).length === 1) {window.provider = window.xmlResponse.children('provider').eq(cfid);if(window.provider.children('STATUS').text() === '1') {jQuery('#cf-screen-1').hide(0);jQuery('#cf-screen-2').show(0);} else {jQuery('#cf-screen-1').hide(0);jQuery('#cf-screen-3').show(0);}}jQuery('.cf-channel-text').each( function() { jQuery(this).text(decodeURIComponent(window.provider.children('NAME').text())); });jQuery('.cf-number-text').each( function() { jQuery(this).text(window.provider.children('CHANNEL').text()); });if(window.provider.children('PHONE').text() !== '') {jQuery('.cf-email-option').hide(0);jQuery('.cf-phone-option').show(0);jQuery('.cf-phone-text').each( function() { jQuery(this).text(window.provider.children('PHONE').text()); });} else {}return false;});jQuery('#cf-continue').on('click', function() {_gat._getTrackerByName()._trackEvent('Channel Finder', 'Continue', 'Provider');jQuery('#cf-screen-3').hide(0);jQuery('#cf-screen-4').show(0);return false;});jQuery('#cf-email-skip').on('click', function() {_gat._getTrackerByName()._trackEvent('Channel Finder', 'Skip', 'Provider');jQuery('#cf-screen-4').hide(0);jQuery('#cf-screen-5').show(0);return false;});jQuery('#cf-email-submit').on('click', function() {_gat._getTrackerByName()._trackEvent('Channel Finder', 'Email', 'Provider');fname = jQuery('#cf-fname').val();lname = jQuery('#cf-lname').val();email = jQuery('#cf-email').val();providertext = window.provider.children('NAME').text()if(jQuery('#cf-optin').is(':checked')) {optin = 'YES';} else {optin = 'NO';}xmlEmailPayload = xmlEmailPayload.replace('[[[ZIP]]]', window.zipcode).replace('[[[FNAME]]]', fname).replace('[[[LNAME]]]', lname).replace('[[[EMAIL]]]', email).replace('[[[OPTIN]]]', optin).replace('[[[PROVIDER]]]', providertext).replace('[[[K2USERID]]]', window.xmlResponse.children('K2USERID').text());jQuery.ajax({ url: "/_k2/UserXML.asp", type: "POST", dataType: "xml", contentType: 'text/xml', data: xmlEmailPayload });jQuery('#cf-screen-4').hide(0);jQuery('#cf-screen-5').show(0); return false;});});Channel FinderFind TheBlaze on your TV This zipcode is invalid, please try again
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    VIDEO
      VIDEO-"An Olympic Snowden": U.S. Athlete on Being Turned Into a "Spokesperson for Verizon" at 2006 Games | Democracy Now!
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 23:49
        This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
        NERMEENSHAIKH: The opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, is just two days away, and the games are already steeped in controversy. Russia has spent more than $50 billion on Sochi, making it the most expensive Olympics in history. The costs have soared in part due to the extraordinary security measures being taken to protect the city. The U.S. State Department has taken the unusual step of warning American fans attending the games to take the batteries out of their cellphones, which could become locating beacons or bugging devices in the hands of the Russian authorities.
        AMYGOODMAN: Russia's human rights record is also in the spotlight. Several Russian activists have been barred from watching the games live. One prominent Russian environmentalist was arrested Tuesday near Sochi. He was reportedly charged with "petty hooliganism," allegedly for swearing previously at a bus stop. Some LGBT groups have called for a boycott of the games after Russia passed a law in June banning the spread of so-called "gay propaganda" to children. On Saturday, human rights advocates held a protest in Paris to highlight concerns about Russia's restriction of freedom of expression and assembly. This is Stephan Oberreit, director general of Amnesty International France.
        STEPHANOBERREIT: First of all, get the wider public to understand what's happening in Russia. People have an image of Russia, of it getting'--things getting better. No, there are problems in Russia, and we have to remember that we're not just buying gas or selling weapons or technology to the Russians, having cultural exchanges. There's human rights violation, and the wider public has to acknowledge this.
        AMYGOODMAN: We'll spend the hour today looking at some of the controversy surrounding the Olympic Games. We begin with a former Olympic athlete. Samantha Retrosi competed in the luge in the 2006 Winter Games in Italy. She recently wrote an article for The Nation titled "Why the Olympics are a Lot Like 'The Hunger Games.'" Samantha, why?
        SAMANTHARETROSI: Well, in the initial part of the'--the first part of the article, I talk about the Olympics as a place of exploitation. I make the comparison of the Olympic opening ceremonies to that of the Hunger Games opening ceremonies, in terms of the pageantry, the clearly divided'--you have the district-level divisions. I see those'--that kind of division really as reflective of national division. I think there are a lot of parallels that can be drawn between the nature of the Olympics themselves, the cruelty and exploitation embedded within them, and the same cruelty and exploitation that we see in the movie The Hunger Games.
        NERMEENSHAIKH: Samantha, can you talk about'--you became an athlete, or started to train to become a luge athlete, at the age of 11. Explain how you got into it and what happened subsequently.
        SAMANTHARETROSI: Well, the'--actually, because luge is a sport that's very specific to a geographic location, you have a track in Lake Placid, as well as one in Salt Lake City.
        NERMEENSHAIKH: Actually, could you explain what luge is, for our viewers who don't know?
        SAMANTHARETROSI: So, a lot of people are familiar with bobsled, because of the movie Cool Runnings, basically. Luge is a one-person version of bobsled, kind of. It's a very different sport, actually. The athlete is laying on their back, feet first. Actually, the sport has a long history that kind of parallels that of bobsled, but it is profoundly different. The sled is very different. It's a very technical sport. Of all the sledding sports, it's the fastest and most technical. And, yeah, so luge is'--luge is, of course, an amateur Winter Olympic sport.
        AMYGOODMAN: And how did you come to actually start at the age of 11?
        SAMANTHARETROSI: So, because of the very geographically specific nature of the sport, the Luge Association has to actually go out and do their recruitment program. So, I was recruited through what was called the Verizon-USA Luge Slider Search. So, every summer, the organization went out. They basically saw a large pool of athletes from all over the country. The athletes are selected for the U.S. development team from that pool, and they're sent through a screening process at Lake Placid, in the Olympic Training Center and the track in Lake Placid. And you're basically selected for your athletic ability and for some of the psychological characteristics that are found in the best luge athletes.
        NERMEENSHAIKH: So talk about'--in the article, you also speak about the role that Verizon played as the corporate sponsor of the U.S. luge team. Could you elaborate on that? What role did they play, and how significant is corporate sponsorship for specific U.S. teams competing in the Olympics?
        SAMANTHARETROSI: Well, in the United States, corporate sponsorship is of paramount necessity. There's no government support for luge or any other Olympic sport. Essentially, the system is entirely privatized. You have the budget of the U.S. Luge Association and many other national governing bodies being entirely subsidized by corporate sponsors. When that's their only lifeline to even operate, their entire operational budget is based upon corporate sponsorship, you have a very interesting situation where that relationship of dependency really'--there's a lot of vulnerability that the organization has to face, which shapes its activity and the way it treats athletes, and athletes themselves are entirely dependent upon the corporate sponsorship, as well. So, essentially, you become a spokesperson for a corporation as an athlete in the current context.
        AMYGOODMAN: In what way? Explain what were the rules when you went to compete in Italy in the Winter Olympics around what you could say and what you couldn't.
        SAMANTHARETROSI: Well, as a U.S. national team athlete, I signed a contract every year with the U.S. Luge Association, and that contract stipulated what I could and couldn't say, how I should use my media time. Essentially, I was being trained to be a spokesperson for Verizon.
        AMYGOODMAN: What would you say about Verizon? They give great phone service?
        SAMANTHARETROSI: No, I would say, "Thanks, Verizon, for making all my Olympic dreams come true. The realization of my American Olympic dream is enabled by Verizon." So, that's kind of the line, kind of defines how an athlete talks about their relationship to Verizon. Of course, it's not always that specific line. But during the Olympics, of course, you take on a whole 'nother range of sponsors, you know, the sponsors of the U.S. team, in general, USOC sponsors. And'--
        AMYGOODMAN: The Olympic Committee sponsors.
        SAMANTHARETROSI: Yeah, U.S. Olympic Committee sponsors. And so, then you become a spokesperson for those sponsors, as well. So, you know, the sponsorship relationship and, like, the sponsors themselves are contingent upon the actual event. World Cup settings, Verizon was the main sponsor. The Olympics, you had the full range of U.S. corporate'--U.S. team corporate sponsorship.
        NERMEENSHAIKH: And yet, despite the fact that corporate sponsorship plays such a big role, you also point out that individual athletes, in fact, often have to take on other jobs just in order to support themselves, because they see very little of that sponsorship money.
        SAMANTHARETROSI: You know, that's one of the repercussions of a privatized sporting hierarchy. The athletes are'--a lot of them are fully subsidized by their corporate sponsor when it comes to the basic level of subsistence. So, Verizon paid for my travel expenses. They paid for my'--anything that I needed to live. Outside of that, I had no other lifeline to any other support. There's no government support. My contract mandated that the sponsorship I could pursue individually was limited based upon that allegiance to Verizon exclusively. So, really, if I wanted to have any economic flexibility, I had to go out and get a job. Right now, Verizon is no longer sponsoring USA luge, for example. A lot of those athletes have had to take on additional work hours, in'--and that's in addition to the full-time job of being a competitive national team athlete. And some of them have actually joined the'--
        NERMEENSHAIKH: What does that involve, being a competitive national team athlete? If you could just give a sense of what kind of training you were a part of.
        SAMANTHARETROSI: Sure. Well, I started as a child. Age 11, I was selected. At that point, I was, you know, in a lot of ways, separated from my family, my social community outside of sport. It's a full-time job. You train all summer. You basically have a month off. Now, the training changes. I mean, in the summer you're doing off-season training that, you know, develops your core explosivity, a lot of the physical aspects of a successful luge athlete. And in the winter, you're doing that in addition to the actual'--the act of sliding, you know, training for the technical aspect of the sport, and competing. So, it's an entirely'--
        AMYGOODMAN: You were going to school when you were 11?
        SAMANTHARETROSI: Yes, of course. We did have a tutor traveling with the team. But really, what happens is, you have kids who are kind of self-educating themselves, faxing their homework back and forth between schools. Some schools don't allow the kids to stay there, because they don't have attendance policies that will accommodate an athletic schedule. In that case'--in my case, I went to a sports academy to get the help that I needed as a student, as well. So, yeah, you're disconnected from school. You're disconnected from your family. You're really absorbed in the winter sports world.
        AMYGOODMAN: And talk about the physical duress of this. How did you endure?
        SAMANTHARETROSI: You know, especially in a lot of Winter Olympic sports, there is an element of danger. It's part of what makes them so exciting and marketable during the Olympics. Physically, of course, it's very challenging. Believe it or not, to be a luge athlete or any other athlete, you need to be at tip-top physical condition. Not only are technical skills important, but of course physical, physical skill, is equally important. Now, when it comes to the element of danger, as we saw, for example, with the Georgian luge athlete in 2010, who died during the luge event, technical error results in physical duress. So you have'--you know, in my case, I retired with four concussions on my plate, after a 10-year career. You know, of course, you have the'--
        AMYGOODMAN: How many times were you stitched up?
        SAMANTHARETROSI: I had the equivalent of well over a hundred stitches, but, you know, that took place over four major crashes that resulted in significant'--a significant level of injury.
        AMYGOODMAN: What was your worst crash?
        SAMANTHARETROSI: It was the Olympics. It was in Torino.
        AMYGOODMAN: Explain what happened in Italy.
        SAMANTHARETROSI: It's'--I mean, it's actually an interestingly political situation. One-fifth of the women's luge field crashed in Torino. There are'--obviously, one-fifth of any sport, that's an anomaly. That's not normal. These are the world's best athletes. The Olympic development process comes into play quite significantly during the Olympics. The tracks are freshly constructed during a World Cup event or World Championship event. You've had years training on those tracks. Everyone knows what the technical requirements are. The coaches are able to convey the technical requirements to athletes.
        During the Olympics, you know, you're starting from scratch, and nobody knows how to drive a track, a new Olympic track. They're also being constructed to be technically demanding as possible. They're being constructed to be the fastest tracks in the world. There's this aspect of sensationalism that is pursued during the Olympic Games. And on top of that, you know, in my case, those who regulated the track access, so athlete access to the track, in advance of the games really limited athlete training. And this was, you know, partially a product of the attempt to give home-track athletes an advantage. So you have a number of'--
        AMYGOODMAN: Wait, you mean the athletes from the particular country an advantage?
        SAMANTHARETROSI: Yes. Yeah, so those athletes had unlimited access to the track, whereas all the other athletes had extremely limited access.
        AMYGOODMAN: Were you worried, going into this, when you saw how limited the access was?
        SAMANTHARETROSI: I had not'--going into my Olympic moment, I had not had a single clean run on that track. I had not had a single run that I looked at as "this is what I want to have in the Olympics." So, the moment that I pulled off of the handles, I knew: OK, this is about damage control; this is not about, you know, pursuing an Olympic gold medal; this is about preserving my own physical safety.
        AMYGOODMAN: And what happened?
        SAMANTHARETROSI: I wasn't able to preserve my own physical safety. I crashed and had a grade five concussion, multiple stitches. Actually, my'--the competition had to be suspended for 20 minutes because I had bled onto the track, and the blood had left a massive hole, which was a safety hazard for the other athletes who would follow me. But I'--I mean, retrospectively, I was lucky, because I could have ended up like the Georgian luger who actually lost his life because of these circumstances.
        AMYGOODMAN: We're going to go to break, and then we're going to come back to continue and widen this discussion. We are speaking with a former Olympic athlete, Samantha Retrosi. She is a luger. She competed in Italy in 2006. When we return from break, we'll be joined by Jules Boykoff, a former member of the U.S. Olympic soccer team, who has just written the book Celebration Capitalism and the Real Cost of the Olympics. We're also going to be joined by political sportswriter Dave Zirin and Canadian professor Helen Lenskyj, who has just finished a book, Sexual Diversity and the Sochi 2014 Olympics. We'll be back in a minute.
        [break]
        AMYGOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh, as we continue our conversation. Before we widen the discussion to be joined by a number of guests, we want to stay with Samantha Retrosi for just one minute, because one of the things we didn't get to talk about before the break is what happens when a corporation, when you're a single corporate'--have a single corporate sponsor, pulls out. You're all dependent. In your case, it was on Verizon. What happens when they pull out? What are the options you have as athletes for support?
        SAMANTHARETROSI: Essentially, you increase outside work hours. A lot of the U.S. luge athletes have actually joined what's called the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program. And, of course, this helps them deal with some of the outside cost-of-living expenses. But they've also actually had to enter that program in order to make up for some of the funding that Verizon had formerly'--had formerly provided. Some of the luge athletes actually were having to pay for their own track time.
        AMYGOODMAN: You join the Army in order to continue?
        SAMANTHARETROSI: It's a specific program, but yes, essentially, you are joining the Army. You're enlisting. And it doesn't necessarily'--just being a member of that program does not mean that you will not be'--you will not be shipped off, deported to'--or sent out to fight in, you know, one of the multiple theaters.
        AMYGOODMAN: You mean you can be?
        SAMANTHARETROSI: You can be, yes, yes.
        AMYGOODMAN: Do you have to go through regular boot camp training and all that before you go back to your sport?
        SAMANTHARETROSI: Yes, the'--usually, the one break'--in terms of athletes integrating into this program, the one break you have, during the spring, from training'--it's about a month, to recover'--is then spent, you know, integrating into that program and going through the process of attendance in boot camp.
        AMYGOODMAN: So this is what it means to be'--what is it'--an amateur, so that you can compete in the Olympics. You can't be a professional athlete.
        SAMANTHARETROSI: Yeah, apparently it's not enough to represent your country as an Olympic athlete. Apparently, you also have to join the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program if your sponsor decides to pull out.
        AMYGOODMAN: Well, let's introduce all of our guests right now. We are joined by Dave Zirin, sports columnist for The Nation magazine and host of Edge of Sports Radio on Sirius XM. Dave is the author of a number of books on sports, including, most recently, Game Over: How Politics Has Turned the Sports World Upside Down. His forthcoming book about Brazil and the upcoming World Cup and 2016 Olympics is called Brazil's Dance with the Devil.
        And we're joined by Jules Boykoff. In the '80s and '90s, he represented the U.S. Olympic soccer team in international competition. He's the author of Activism and the Olympics: Dissent at the Games in Vancouver and London and his latest book, Celebration Capitalism and the Olympic Games.
        And joining us from Toronto, Canada, we are with Helen Lenskyj. Her latest book is Sexual Diversity and the Sochi 2014 Olympics, which is being published this month, also wrote Gender Politics in the Olympic Industry: No More Rainbows.
        And again, we are also with Samantha Retrosi, who competed in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. Her latest piece in The Nation is called "Why the Olympics are a Lot Like 'The Hunger Games.'"
        And joining me, Nermeen Shaikh, in hosting today's show. Nermeen?
        NERMEENSHAIKH: So, Dave Zirin, let me begin with you by asking your comments on the fact that for the first time the U.S. delegation to the Olympics doesn't include anyone from either the president or the vice president's family. Could you talk about the significance of that and why you think that decision was taken?
        DAVEZIRIN: Absolutely, but before I do, first of all, I just want to thank Samantha Retrosi for her words. I mean, this is like an Olympic Snowden. I mean, not that she faces jail time, but this is a legitimate whistleblowing moment. People who are part of the Olympic program don't say what Samantha just said, and it's very brave that she's doing that.
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        1:47 p.m. EST
        MS. PSAKI: Hi, everyone. It's a full house today. Josh Rogin, Michael Gordon, uh-oh.
        I have a couple of items for all of you at the top. As you all probably saw, we just had an important bilateral meeting with the Japanese, with Foreign Minister Kishida. Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Kishida gave extensive comments after the meeting to read out the meeting, but they did discuss a full range, of course, of bilateral, regional, and global issues, reflecting the strength and breadth of our alliance with Japan. And you saw the Secretary say at the end of the '' his comments that he looks forward to more discussions in the weeks and months and years ahead.
        On a lighter note, the Opening Ceremonies, as you all know, of the 2014 Winter Olympics occurred at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time this morning and will be broadcast in the United States tonight. We are, of course, very proud of Team USA, a team that represents the diversity, openness, and inclusion of the United States, and we just wanted to show you a little video while we're here in honor of the kickoff.
        (Video shown.)
        MS. PSAKI: Sports diplomacy, I'm sure we can chat about that as well. In honor of the Winter Olympics and in support of Team USA, we'd like to spotlight an athlete a day at the daily press briefing throughout the Games, so today's athlete is Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson, who, obviously, the Secretary saw last evening.
        A native of Massachusetts, Carlson was raised in New Jersey and has been with the Capitals organization since he was drafted in 2008. Over the past few seasons, he has established himself as a top defensive player in the NHL, and on January 1st, he was named to the U.S. Olympics Team. He has been a spokesman for the Inova Blood Drive and is a frequent volunteer for Caps Care, the branch of the organization that manages community involvement. And of course, he represented the Caps last night when the Secretary dropped the puck.
        Team USA enters the Olympic hockey tournament as one of the top contenders, but home team Russia, defending world champs Sweden, and defending gold medalist Canada all present significant challenges. That's the extent of my hockey knowledge, so hopefully that's not a topic.
        Last piece: Of course we have a full house here, so I want to welcome the members of the D.C. National Guard Public Affairs team, representing the D.C. National Guard and D.C. Air National Guard. We also have Ben Cormier, a Transatlantic Fellow who is with us today, and my youngest sister is here who is the '' by far the coolest and most interesting member of the family '' hopefully my other sister doesn't take that offensively.
        So with that, let's turn to you, Matt.
        QUESTION: Well, I don't know how you expect your other sister not to take that personally. (Laughter.)
        MS. PSAKI: She agrees. She agrees. We all agree. Go ahead.
        QUESTION: I think she should speak for herself. (Laughter.)
        QUESTION: And we won't hold the '' Mr. Carlson's team affiliation against him as we cheer for Team USA. However --
        MS. PSAKI: Okay. And Matt is very patriotic today, so I wanted to point that out as well.
        QUESTION: Well, and '' I had to convert. This is a Bills scarf today.
        MS. PSAKI: Good.
        QUESTION: The same colors, so --
        MS. PSAKI: Multiple uses.
        QUESTION: -- I converted it to Team USA. Listen, before we get back to Japan, which I'm sure that a lot of people here are to ask questions about, I just want to wrap up something hopefully very quickly --
        MS. PSAKI: Sure.
        QUESTION: -- from yesterday and Toria's phone call. You've seen the comments from Chancellor Merkel's spokesperson --
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: -- saying that this is unacceptable. Do you have any thoughts on that? Do you agree?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, I think if you were to '' if Toria were standing back here again, she would convey to you that she apologized, obviously, because that's not '' doesn't reflect how she feels about our relationship with the EU. It's also important to note that she's been in close touch with EU officials since then '' not about this, but about work we're doing together on Ukraine. So we have a long and enduring relationship with Germany. The Secretary was just there last week, as you know, and discussed a range of bilateral issues we work on, and we expect we'll be back to business as usual with them as well.
        QUESTION: Right, but she '' in the phone call, she didn't say, ''F Germany.'' She said, ''F the EU.'' So --
        MS. PSAKI: I am familiar with what she said.
        QUESTION: Right, so '' but '' so it's a broader thing here. I mean, what is your response? I mean, do you think that Merkel is '' that the Germans are taking this '' blowing this out of proportion? I mean, what's '' do you '' is your '' what would your response be to her? Is it the diplomatic equivalent of, like, ''Lighten up, Angela,'' or something? What is it?
        MS. PSAKI: (Laughter.) I think I would '' I think we're just conveying that obviously, we've moved forward in our relationship with the EU and --
        QUESTION: Okay.
        MS. PSAKI: -- Assistant Secretary Nuland has done that, and we're focused on our work together on Ukraine. So we're hopeful everybody can.
        QUESTION: All right. So '' and then you said that it doesn't reflect '' the comment doesn't reflect the U.S. attitude toward the EU. Well, if it doesn't, why did she say it?
        MS. PSAKI: Again --
        QUESTION: Was it just a momentary lapse, or what?
        MS. PSAKI: As I said yesterday, Matt, there are moments of small frustration in every relationship. What you do is you move beyond them, you discuss the tough issues, you discuss them through diplomatic channels. And evidence of that is the ongoing work we're doing with Ukraine '' or with EU on Ukraine.
        QUESTION: I just want to '' could I just follow up? Can I just follow up?
        QUESTION: Stay with this, please?
        MS. PSAKI: Sure. Let's just go one at a time. We have plenty of time. Go ahead.
        QUESTION: On the issue of how you discuss things, do State Department officials routinely use encrypted phones, mobile phones, for their conversations so that comments like that one do not become public?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, Arshad, for obvious reasons, I can't outline for you everything that we do. I can tell you that data encryption is available for all Department of State employee-issued, government-owned BlackBerry devices, regardless of rank. All Department of State government-owned BlackBerry devices have data encryption. However, they don't have voice encryption.
        And of course, as you know '' I know you didn't ask this, but just to add one more additional point '' classified processing and classified conversation on a personal digital assisted device is prohibited in accordance with Department policy, which, of course, is not what this was, but just to add a point.
        QUESTION: Okay. So they don't have voice encryption. So nobody at the State Department has a phone where their voice '' a mobile phone where their voice can be encrypted?
        MS. PSAKI: I'm not going to outline it further for obvious reasons. I think we don't need to convey every step we take and every precaution we take. That's the information I can provide to all of you.
        QUESTION: Does the Secretary '' I mean, I think it's perfectly reasonable to ask if the Secretary of State has a mobile phone or access to a mobile phone near him or her with voice encryption.
        MS. PSAKI: I think it's perfectly reasonable to ask, but I think it's perfectly reasonable not to answer, either.
        QUESTION: So, I mean, here's the problem, though. If you're not answering that about the Secretary of State, it leaves open the possibility that he or she does not, in fact, have access to an encrypted cell phone, which would suggest that all kinds of secret, top secret, classified, private comments that he or she might make could be accessed by the intelligence services of other countries. I --
        MS. PSAKI: Well, I just said that classified processing and classified conversation on a personal digital assisted device is prohibited. Beyond that, I'm '' all I'm conveying is that we're not going to outline every step and precaution we've taken, what we have access to, whether that's the Secretary or anyone else in the Administration.
        QUESTION: So '' but here's '' I mean, I don't '' several things I don't understand. When you say personal, do you mean privately owned?
        MS. PSAKI: Any device that is '' that you're having conversations on that is --
        QUESTION: Okay. So you're not allowed to discuss classified material on a device. Correct?
        MS. PSAKI: On an unclass '' right. Exactly.
        QUESTION: Okay. So then the next question is: Was Assistant Secretary Nuland discussing classified matters on this phone?
        MS. PSAKI: I don't think anyone would take that as a description of what happened.
        QUESTION: Okay. Well, then the next question is, though: Why would you not be able to at least tell us that the Secretary has the capability '' indeed, routinely uses an encrypted cell phone?
        MS. PSAKI: We have a range of capabilities, obviously, that many people have access to. I'm not going to outline them from the podium because I don't '' we don't think there's an advantage in that.
        QUESTION: But here's the thing. I mean, I can understand why you wouldn't want to say everybody up to the rank of --
        MS. PSAKI: Sure.
        QUESTION: -- PDAS doesn't have one, but everyone above does, because then, presumably people would start bugging the lower ranks. But if you can't even say that the Secretary does, it leaves open the question of whether his or her conversations can actually be private.
        MS. PSAKI: Well, it's '' I would convey, Arshad, that it '' we're not going to convey every capability we have, every capacity we have in any public forum, and certainly not from the podium. So I'll leave it at that.
        QUESTION: And is there '' other than the restriction on using '' or on discussing classified information on a PDA, is there any other restriction on the kinds of things you should or should not discuss on a PDA? Or is that the only one, just classified material?
        MS. PSAKI: I'm happy to check if there's more of a '' anything more that we can publicly share with all of you that we could send out to you after the briefing.
        QUESTION: Jen, could I ask --
        MS. PSAKI: Go ahead.
        QUESTION: -- so that you're aware that there's a second tape that seems to have come out, this time a conversation between two senior EU officials.
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: So my first question is: Given this is the second tape in two days, and yesterday you seemed to suggest that you believed that there was some Russian hand in this, do you see this as a part of a deeper campaign by Moscow to try and derail the ongoing talks between the EU and the Ukraine?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, I don't have anything new to add from yesterday, and I certainly don't have anything new to add about a separate report of another taped call. I will say, though, that this is an '' and I would point you all '' I think many of you have seen that Assistant Secretary Nuland did a press conference this morning, so I'd certainly point you to that first. But the Russians were the first to tweet about this particular call. Only a few countries have the level of capabilities needed. I'll let you use your own judgment. I don't have any new information beyond yesterday.
        Our focus, of course, is on '' and the mission of the United States, I should say, continues to be to encourage a conversation between the government, the opposition, civil society. We're working with the EU on that. And we have continued to make the case that it's up to the people of Ukraine and the voices of the people of Ukraine to determine the path forward. The question here is: What do the Russians want? Why this campaign of distraction? And that's the larger question I think we should all be focused on.
        QUESTION: So do you believe there's a campaign of distraction going on to try and derail the talks then?
        MS. PSAKI: I think it's distracting from the issue at hand, which is '' and I wouldn't go so far as derail the talks as much of '' as distract from the issue at hand, which is the voices of the people of Ukraine and what they want to see in their future.
        QUESTION: Okay, and I wanted to just '' sorry.
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: On this same call, the '' one of the senior officials, Helga Schmid, is heard to be saying that, in fact, the EU is on board with the United States --
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: -- and then if this tape is correct, what she says, allegedly, is what you should know is that it really bothers us that the Americans are going around naming and shaming us, which goes back to the questions we had yesterday --
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: -- about the frustrations in your relationship. And I don't '' you say that you've moved beyond this --
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: -- but obviously, if these comments are correct, the Europeans are equally unhappy as Assistant Secretary Nuland seemed to be.
        MS. PSAKI: Well, I don't think any of us have any details of when that call took place, what it was a reflection of, what the context was. What I'm conveying to you is that Assistant Secretary Nuland, since this reported call was '' tape was released, has been in close touch with the EU, has been working closely with them on moving the path forward in Ukraine, and that's a reflection of our relationship.
        QUESTION: So you do not believe that there's a rift between the EU and the United States on what to do about the crisis in Ukraine?
        MS. PSAKI: We do not. We're working closely with them. Do you agree on every component of every step at every moment? Of course not. It's too complex of an issue. But that's why we're engaged in the discussion and why we're working so closely on it.
        QUESTION: Jen, just go back to the --
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-mm.
        QUESTION: -- kind of Arshad's question --
        MS. PSAKI: Sure.
        QUESTION: -- but also your answer to Jo just now.
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: You said only a few countries have the level of capability needed, but one, one wonders if that's actually correct since, I mean, I seem to recall British newspapers being able to hack into people's cell phones pretty easily, and they're certainly not countries, intelligence services. Are you saying that you don't think that the Ukrainian domestic intelligence service is able to intercept and record phone calls?
        MS. PSAKI: I wasn't trying to make a specific point.
        QUESTION: And trying to really --
        MS. PSAKI: I was trying to make a broad point, Matt.
        QUESTION: And are you really trying to destroy Blackberry that much '' (laughter) '' by naming them as the sole provider?
        MS. PSAKI: I'm a Blackberry user.
        QUESTION: Arshad is always interested in market-moving things.
        MS. PSAKI: I know.
        QUESTION: It just seems to be unusual. Are you '' can you get voice encryption on a Blackberry device? Do you know?
        MS. PSAKI: I don't have that level of technical detail, but I'm happy, when I follow up with Arshad's question, to see if there's more specifics.
        Go ahead.
        QUESTION: Are you '' whatever your policies --
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: -- now are, which you're not willing to divulge, including whether or not the Secretary of State can use it and --
        MS. PSAKI: That's correct.
        QUESTION: -- as voice encryption --
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: -- are you re-thinking your policies in the light of this incident?
        MS. PSAKI: We're always taking a look at that '' always. We're always evaluating. I'm not aware of a new look, but we're evaluating every single day, Arshad.
        QUESTION: Why wouldn't you take another look at it now?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, we evaluate based on a range of events, not just events that are related to a publicly released conversation. So I'll just say we take in a lot of data and consider a lot of factors, and we're constantly evaluating the best way to keep our conversations private.
        QUESTION: So Jen, are you then confident in the security of your diplomatic communications and all diplomatic channels at this point?
        MS. PSAKI: Certainly, we are. But I think it's important to remind all of you that even as we communicate with American citizens about '' whether it's travel to certain countries or what to be cognizant of, and this is all information available on our website, we do indicate and make clear when there are concerns about when information can be tapped. So we're cognizant of this, we're aware of this, and we are constantly taking precautions and updating our approach.
        QUESTION: So when '' on tapped --
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: -- so you believe that Assistant Secretary Nuland was being bugged?
        MS. PSAKI: I don't have any other further analysis for you than what I provided yesterday.
        QUESTION: And in terms of your answers to all of these questions so far, specifically the technical '' kind of technical questions --
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: -- you are '' you believe or you know that at least one part of '' one person involved in this conversation was using a Blackberry or some kind of a cell phone, correct?
        MS. PSAKI: I don't know for a fact the details of what phone lines individuals were on.
        QUESTION: All right. But is it '' do you have any concerns because of this incident that the embassy in '' either the Embassy in Kyiv itself or the EUR Bureau here at this building more generally is '' that the security of it has been compromised somehow? Is there any concern about that?
        MS. PSAKI: Not that I'm aware of, Matt.
        QUESTION: Would you be aware of if '' if this were a concern?
        MS. PSAKI: Again, obviously, we're closely looking at this '' or not at this, but we're closely looking at these cases every single day. I don't have any new information for you.
        QUESTION: Jen, you said that you are confident '' in response to my colleague's question, you said that you are confident in the security of your diplomatic communications. Given, one, WikiLeaks, and two, this, why are you confident?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, I think, Arshad, we've always been clear and been clear-eyed, I should say, that we need to be vigilant as it relates to conversations, as it relates to information. But I'm not '' what I'm conveying to you is we're not taking one released call as an indication that our systems are not working.
        QUESTION: No, no, I get that. And I ask the question only because I'm not so sure I would be so confident. I know that there were a whole series of reforms that were undertaken post WikiLeaks --
        MS. PSAKI: Sure, sure.
        QUESTION: -- to try to restrict the access --
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: -- there. But it's not clear to me '' particularly since you haven't made clear whether or not you are actually rethinking your communications equipment or policies in the light of this, it's not clear to me why I would be confident in the security of communications. So I don't understand why you are so confident.
        MS. PSAKI: Okay. Do you have a question or '' (laughter).
        QUESTION: Yeah. Why are you confident that your communications are secure when you have an example within, apparently, the last two weeks of a communication being, apparently, tapped and broadcast?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, what I'm conveying, Arshad, is that we're constantly evaluating and reviewing how we communicate, whether that's internally or externally. I'm not going to share all of that from the podium because it wouldn't be appropriate to do that. But it hasn't changed our official evaluation of the ability and the capacity of our diplomats to communicate.
        QUESTION: Can we move on to Syria?
        MS. PSAKI: Do we have any more on this?
        QUESTION: Just to follow up --
        MS. PSAKI: Okay, go ahead.
        QUESTION: Just to be clear, there's no specific investigation into this breach; is that what you're saying?
        MS. PSAKI: Not that I'm aware of, Josh.
        QUESTION: Okay. And have you demarched the Ukrainians or the Russians over this?
        MS. PSAKI: I'd have to check on that.
        QUESTION: Can you take that question?
        MS. PSAKI: I'm happy to.
        QUESTION: Thank you.
        MS. PSAKI: Sure.
        QUESTION: Can you take both questions?
        MS. PSAKI: Which one?
        QUESTION: Whether you demarched both of them and whether '' you said you were not aware of any specific investigation --
        MS. PSAKI: And I'm not aware of any demarching, but I want to just, of course, check on that and make sure.
        QUESTION: Can you check both of them, whether there is a specific investigation into this incident, as well?
        MS. PSAKI: Certainly. I mean, just '' not to put too fine a point on this, but obviously, Ukrainians were a part of the conversation as well that was released. I understand it's representative of the opposition, but '' do we have any more on this specific topic?
        QUESTION: Yes, Jen.
        MS. PSAKI: Oh, go ahead, Catherine.
        QUESTION: Aside from the profanity that's been focused on and the phone call that's been tapped, there's a lot of details about U.S. thinking that has been released in this phone call. How do you see that influencing U.S. influence on the ground and what's happening there in Ukraine?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, I think it's important to note that these messages of what the United States view is, how we view the situation on the ground, is part of the diplomatic conversation that happens with the opposition, that happens with representatives of the government, and that's happened on the ground over the last couple of days, as Assistant Secretary Nuland has been there. The Secretary also met with both the opposition and briefly stopped by a meeting with the foreign minister last weekend.
        So I said this a little bit yesterday, but as a part of the process of diplomacy you often do have a conversation of what the circumstances are, what your view is. It's, of course, up to the people of Ukraine, whether that's representatives of the opposition or others, on what the path forward will be. But that's part of the conversation you have through diplomacy.
        QUESTION: Sorry. You just said something that made me '' you said that you ''
        MS. PSAKI: Yeah.
        QUESTION: -- apart from the '' that Ukrainians were involved in the conversation as well?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, I said --
        QUESTION: Are we only hearing part of '' is what has been out there --
        MS. PSAKI: Oh, you're right. I'm sorry, I'm not sure why I said that. That was wrong. Thank you. Let's note that in the transcript.
        QUESTION: Okay. So --
        MS. PSAKI: They were discussed.
        QUESTION: As far as you know, there were only two people involved in this conversation --
        MS. PSAKI: Correct. There were two people.
        QUESTION: There wasn't anyone else?
        MS. PSAKI: Thank you. It's a Friday. I apologize.
        Do we have a new topic? Syria?
        QUESTION: Situation in the Ukraine.
        MS. PSAKI: Okay.
        QUESTION: How do you evaluate the visit of Victoria Nuland?
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: Is it successful or not, in general?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, I don't think our expectation was that her visit would resolve the situation on the ground. While she was there, she not only had a press conference, as I mentioned, but she also met with representatives of the government and representatives of the opposition. And our message continues to be that they '' all sides need to move forward toward the creation of a new government, that we need to encourage a reduction in violence, a peaceful approach to the path forward, and that people need to listen to '' people in the government need to listen to the voices of the people of Ukraine.
        QUESTION: Thank you.
        MS. PSAKI: Sure.
        QUESTION: Can I just ask --
        MS. PSAKI: Sure.
        QUESTION: You said that the release of these tapes is distracting, and I just wondered whether it had distracted any of the conversations between Assistant Secretary Nuland and particularly the Ukrainian president.
        MS. PSAKI: Honestly, Jo, the focus of their conversation was on the path forward. It was not about the release of the tapes and the reports. It's distracting --
        QUESTION: No, I understand that.
        MS. PSAKI: -- in the public domain, certainly.
        QUESTION: But it didn't compromise or have any effect on her actual talks on the ground? Because they're not easy talks that she's in.
        MS. PSAKI: Sure. It's '' of course. It's a challenging situation. But no, she was able to have substantive conversations with both the government and the opposition.
        QUESTION: And do you know if she's had to '' or has indeed apologized to any of the Ukrainian opposition leaders who she was characterizing in the telephone call?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, I know she spoke to this this morning that she's been in touch with them, of course, and she has a great working relationship with them, as do other officials from the United States Government and officials from the EU. And she fully expects and we fully expect that that will continue.
        Any more on Ukraine, just to finish that? Okay, Syria.
        QUESTION: Okay. On Syria. Do you comment '' do you have any comment on some reports that say that you and your allies in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries are arming feverishly and readying certain militant elements to attack Damascus on the eve of the talks on the 10th that they want '' so they can gain some sort of leverage?
        MS. PSAKI: I'm not even, honestly, Said, aware of what specific report you're referring to.
        QUESTION: Okay. Well --
        MS. PSAKI: Would you know where it was published?
        QUESTION: Yes. It was published all over the Arab media.
        MS. PSAKI: Okay.
        QUESTION: Sorry, I mean, I use the Arab media. So they're saying that '' especially in the Gulf, the Gulf media, they're saying that the armed opposition is getting arms and it's getting training and it's getting professional advice on how to attack Damascus over the next, say, 72 hours '' whatever it is '' so they can gain some sort of leverage in the talks that will begin on Monday.
        MS. PSAKI: I don't have anything on that report for you.
        Michael.
        QUESTION: Okay, now do you --
        MS. PSAKI: Oh.
        QUESTION: For the talks on Monday, what do you expect? What is your role? What will your role be?
        MS. PSAKI: What is our role? The United States role?
        QUESTION: Yeah, what is your role? Yes.
        MS. PSAKI: Well, as it was just a couple of weeks ago, our role is to be there as an outside advisor to work with the opposition. Ambassador Ford will be on the ground and he'll be leading a team. We engage with the opposition as well as UN Joint Special Representative Brahimi, the Russians, the representatives of the London 11, and we're all striving, of course, to do what we can to help Brahimi's efforts succeed. So I expect we'll continue to play a similar role to the one we played in the first round of negotiations.
        QUESTION: And will that be in light of '' during the conversation with CNN, the interview with CNN, the Secretary said yesterday that, yeah, there has been some sort of negative aspects to the policy thus far. Will any change or any change will be reflected in these talks as far as U.S. position in terms of aiding the opposition, sort of, more robustly?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, I think what we learned from the last round of talks, or what we're encouraging moving forward is certainly for the regime to '' encouraging the regime and pushing those who are influential with the regime to encourage them to engage more constructively in the next round, which means discussing the implementation of the Geneva communique, including the establishment of a transitional governing body. And I think we all can acknowledge that there's a lot of work ahead, and we expect the negotiations to be about the implementation of the Geneva communique. You can discuss others issues, of course, but that's what we believe the focus should be.
        QUESTION: And finally, how do you expect the current ceasefire for three days or whatever it is to impact these talks?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, let me be very clear on that. I think a more apt description is that this is a pause in hostilities to allow humanitarian access. Our understanding is that the deal includes humanitarian pauses for ten hours on each of the three days to allow the operations to complete. But again, we've received '' we've actually even received reports, as many of you may have seen, that the regime shelled Homs overnight. So I don't think ceasefire is an accurate description of what's happening on the ground.
        Michael.
        QUESTION: All right. I wanted to follow up on that.
        MS. PSAKI: Okay.
        QUESTION: Can you '' do you have any information '' I know it's primarily coming from the United Nations, but do you have any information on how many people have been able to leave Old Homs, what assistance has been delivered, if any? And also, some of the reports had indicated that not only had the shelling occurred, but it had been more substantial than '' it had been increased really over previous days. Is that the case, to your knowledge?
        MS. PSAKI: I unfortunately '' we've seen the reports. I would, as you noted, point you to the UN on this. But it's important to note, since you gave me the opportunity here, that we do have '' and Elise asked this question yesterday, and I talked to our team to follow up. And given the '' while the UN is controlling and monitoring and running this entire process, given the regime's past actions and its utter disregard for human life, we do not expect any goodwill will come from the regime. So we are taking every statement that is made with a grain of salt.
        We have seen the reports overnight, and it's a very real possibility that once the evacuations and humanitarian assistance deliveries are complete, the regime could bombard the Old City of Homs, as there has been a trend in the past. We don't know that's going to happen. We hope that's not going to happen, but we have those concerns.
        In terms of the numbers and specific '' numbers of people who have been moved out, the UN really has those specific statistics.
        QUESTION: Apart from stating these concerns publicly, have you conveyed them through Brahimi, through Russian officials? How have you '' have you conveyed any sort of message to the Assad government that '' to try to dissuade them from carrying out this action, and how have you done that?
        MS. PSAKI: We have in the past. Let me check and see if there's any '' been any specific message conveyed over the last couple of days as it relates to this particular evacuation.
        QUESTION: Okay. Is that something you can get back to us on today with?
        MS. PSAKI: Yeah, absolutely. I'm happy to.
        QUESTION: Okay.
        MS. PSAKI: Are you '' Syria?
        QUESTION: No.
        MS. PSAKI: Any '' let's just finish Syria and then we'll go to the next.
        Go ahead.
        QUESTION: Yesterday, there was a statement issued by the U.S. Treasury. And in that, it was arguing that Iran and several people, operatives, in Iran with the knowledge of the Iranian authorities have been helping al-Qaida operatives in Syria for some time. It's rather appalling statement while everybody thinks that Iran supports Assad regime against al-Qaida. How do you explain that?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, I think you're referring to the Treasury designations yesterday, right --
        QUESTION: Yes.
        MS. PSAKI: -- and the way that it was phrased or the '' what it indicated. I'm not sure '' well, can you repeat your question a little bit? I'm trying to understand what you're asking.
        QUESTION: Sure. According to statement, there are several people '' one of them is Yasin al-Suri. These guys have been sending, transferring fighters into Syria via Turkey and they've been doing this for a long time. And my question is: How do you explain while everybody thinks Iran is supporting Assad regime against al-Qaida elements in Syria?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, I think it was a reference to financial support for '' or some financial supporters of --
        QUESTION: Also elements.
        MS. PSAKI: -- right, who were designated as part of this. I would point you to the Treasury Department for more specifics on it. I mean, our view and policy hasn't changed on it, but that's referring to a designation they announced yesterday.
        QUESTION: Another way of asking: What is your take on Iranian role in terms of supporting al-Qaida elements in Syria, which this statement clearly indicates Iran with the knowledge of the Iranian authorities have been helping al-Qaida within Syria?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, I don't want you to go too far down the road on what the Treasury designation meant or didn't mean. Obviously, we speak for our foreign policy here and what our approach to these issues is from the State Department. I don't really have any new analysis for you to offer.
        Any more on Syria?
        Go ahead. Jonathan Karl, what do we owe this pleasure?
        QUESTION: Hi. It's great to be back in the building.
        MS. PSAKI: Okay.
        QUESTION: I just have a few questions on the President's nominees to be ambassadors around the world.
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: What, in a nutshell, are the central qualifications to be named U.S. ambassador?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, fortunately the United States has diplomatic relationships with many, many countries around the world, as you know. And we have ambassadors who are from political backgrounds, who are from financial backgrounds, who have run companies large and small, but our process has continued to be '' or our approach has continued to be approximately a 70/30 balance of career employees, so people who have been working through the Foreign Service and serving around the world, building that level of experience, and then about 30 percent from outside the private sector.
        Over the course of history, there have been many, many ambassadors who have come from outside of the career path who have been very successful. And just to point you to a few '' Sargent Shriver, former Vice President Mondale, Pamela Harriman '' there are many who have been very successful serving in these roles in countries around the world, and that's a part of the reason why this will continue.
        QUESTION: So as you know, there's been some criticism that '' of the specific qualifications of some of the recent nominees. I mean, George Tsunis didn't seem to even know what type of government Norway has, called one of the members of the ruling coalition a fringe element. So I'm wondering: Does an ambassador have to have at least some basic knowledge of the country that he is going to?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, I think ambassadors go to countries. Obviously, that's the goal. But the ambassadors go to countries to represent the United States, to be a resource to people on the ground. We've seen those reports, we've all read them. But I would encourage people to give those who have had tougher hearings a chance to go to their countries and see what their tenure will entail. And the judgment can't be made about how effective they'll be or how appreciated they'll be by the government until we have that happen.
        QUESTION: So right now, you have '' the percentage is 37 percent, which is considerably more political appointees than George Bush had, considerably more than Bill Clinton had. And I'm going through the list. I mean, most of these gave hundreds of thousands of dollars or raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Obama campaign. How much does it cost to become an ambassador, to be named ambassador, in the Obama Administration?
        MS. PSAKI: Jonathan Karl, always a TV question. We don't determine --
        QUESTION: Well, it's a serious question.
        MS. PSAKI: We '' I am not '' I'm not. It is a serious question. We don't name ambassadors from the State Department. The White House names ambassadors, so I would certainly point you to my old colleagues across the street for that. What I was conveying is that from the State Department point of view, there have been many, many political ambassadors, people who have come from a range of histories and backgrounds who've been very successful and worked very effectively in these roles.
        QUESTION: But President '' if I can just '' two more on this.
        MS. PSAKI: Sure.
        QUESTION: But President Obama, when he came into office, he said that wherever possible he would name civil servants, people from the Civil Service. So was it really impossible to find a civil servant who could serve as ambassador, say, to Argentina?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, again, Jonathan, there are civil servants who are effectively and proudly serving around the world as ambassadors. More than 60 percent are serving. Obviously, every ambassadorship hasn't been named yet, and I know that the Secretary and the President and others will continue to strive for that high percentage.
        QUESTION: Do you know if '' we learned that Noah Mamet, the nominee to be ambassador to Argentina, has never even set foot in the country of Argentina. Do you know if he speaks Spanish?
        MS. PSAKI: I don't have his personal biography in front of me, but what I will convey is that I think, as I said before, judging somebody's effectiveness or what role they'll play or how strong of an ambassador they'll be you can't do until they've spent some time working in the job in the country.
        QUESTION: And just this very last question on this.
        MS. PSAKI: Sure.
        QUESTION: Can you just explain to me why, despite President Obama's promise that he would wherever possible name civil servants, why is it that President Obama is naming more political appointees than his predecessor?
        MS. PSAKI: I would point you to my good buddy, Jay Carney, for that question. But let me just be clear and just reiterate that there are ambassadors who come from all different backgrounds, whether that is '' and political is not even the right definition, because these are business leaders, these are people who have worked in the private sector in incredibly impressive roles who are going to represent '' serve as public servants overseas. And so many of them are not just qualified, but they're very effective in their roles. And again, there are more ambassadors to be named, so we'll see what happens.
        QUESTION: Thank you, Jen.
        QUESTION: On the --
        QUESTION: (Off-mike.)
        MS. PSAKI: One moment, Said. One moment. We'll get back to you. Go ahead.
        QUESTION: On the broad point, since you were with the campaign and also at the White House for part of the first term '' did the President actually say '' use the word ''civil servants,'' that he would promote civil servants into ambassadorships? Do you recall?
        MS. PSAKI: I'm certain he did not, given that Foreign Service office '' Foreign --
        QUESTION: You would like to draw --
        QUESTION: No, the quote said ''civil servants.''
        QUESTION: You would like to draw a distinction between civil servants and foreign servants?
        MS. PSAKI: Career. Career employees.
        QUESTION: Foreign Service. There's a distinction, is there not?
        MS. PSAKI: There certainly is. But they all work together. We all work together in one happy family here, Matt.
        QUESTION: Right. But '' I'm not suggesting that they don't.
        MS. PSAKI: I know. I know you're clarifying for the record.
        QUESTION: I just want to make sure '' did '' well, no, because I don't remember him saying that. But if he did, in fact, say civil servants '' I mean, did he say civil servants? Or '' and if he did say --
        QUESTION: (Off-mike.)
        QUESTION: If he did, did he '' since you were with him at the time, did he mean to say foreign servants, or did he mean both?
        MS. PSAKI: I suspect he meant career employees.
        QUESTION: Because the concern that's been expressed from these questions but also from AFSA and others is that AFSA, in particular, is not '' is more concerned about Foreign Service, Foreign Service officers rather than Civil Service officers. So I just '' I want to know. I don't object to the questions; I just want to know --
        MS. PSAKI: Certainly.
        QUESTION: -- if the President meant, literally, civil servants.
        MS. PSAKI: Well, I unfortunately do not have a photographic memory of everything he's ever stated.
        QUESTION: All right.
        MS. PSAKI: But I'm happy to look into these questions, and if there's more to convey, we can convey that.
        QUESTION: Now more to the point on the --
        MS. PSAKI: One moment. We'll get to you, I promise.
        QUESTION: -- on the Argentina question --
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: -- the testimony, or at least some comments by several '' by two senators during that nominee's confirmation hearing have provoked some anger in Argentina.
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: I'm assuming that you stand by what the ambassadorial nominee said regarding Argentina being a mature democracy and that you do not agree with the comments of Senator Rubio '' and I can't remember who the other senator was, but who questioned whether Argentina was a '' stable and not about to hit another epic financial crisis.
        MS. PSAKI: Yes, that's correct.
        QUESTION: That is.
        QUESTION: Jen, I just wanted to ask while we're on ambassadors --
        MS. PSAKI: On ambassadors? Okay.
        QUESTION: Ambassadors. Yes, absolutely. In the event that Ambassador Ford leaves at the end of the month --
        MS. PSAKI: Oh, that was quite a pivot, Said.
        QUESTION: Yeah. (Laughter.) Given that he leaves, how would you replace him? Because on the one hand, you don't have an embassy in Syria; but on the other hand, he's very involved with the opposition and so on. So explain to us how '' in this case, how would you appoint an ambassador to Syria?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, I understand and appreciate your question, but Ambassador Ford is headed on Monday to --
        QUESTION: Right.
        MS. PSAKI: -- Geneva to '' as a part of his very important portfolio of working on these tough issues. So I'm not going to entertain how we would replace somebody who has not announced that they're departing.
        Do we have any more? Let's finish on --
        QUESTION: On Argentina?
        MS. PSAKI: Okay.
        QUESTION: I got one on Argentina.
        MS. PSAKI: Two on Argentina. Ladies first, and then we'll go to you next. Okay, go ahead.
        QUESTION: Thank you. Given that Senator Rubio called Argentina more insolent than North Korea, is there any concern that they're '' and Argentina reacted angrily this morning '' is there any concern of potential impact in U.S.-Argentinean relations?
        MS. PSAKI: I would not say that there is. I think we speak from here on U.S. Government policy. And obviously, there are a range of comments on a range of issues that are made every day from not just members of Congress but officials around the country. So I would just point them to our view here.
        QUESTION: Just a quick follow-up --
        MS. PSAKI: Sure.
        QUESTION: -- on your point that sometimes political appointees can make good ambassadors. There is a track record here, according to the State Department IG's office '' Obama's appointee to ambassador to Luxembourg ran that embassy into the ground; the ambassador to the Bahamas took 270 personal days in a year and a half; the ambassador to Belgium was reportedly investigated by your own IG's office for procuring prostitutes in the park in front of his house. So I'm wondering if --
        QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
        QUESTION: -- do you draw a distinction between people like Walter Mondale, who are like lifelong public servants, and political donors and bundlers who have no professional or international experience whatsoever?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, Josh, I would say, obviously, I'm not going to speak to a range of reports. And there are people of all sorts of backgrounds that make poor choices, but '' in some of these roles. But what I was conveying is that there are people who have broad backgrounds, backgrounds in '' as leading companies, backgrounds working in important roles in the private sector who take the step to '' to be public servants. And that's an important thing I think we should all applaud, and that's part of what we're seeing. So --
        QUESTION: Jennifer?
        MS. PSAKI: Yes.
        QUESTION: Let's go to Argentina.
        MS. PSAKI: Sorry. We did '' okay, go ahead. Argentina.
        QUESTION: It seems that in this meeting yesterday in the Committee of Foreign Relations, there was a huge disagreement between the presentation of this candidate and what the Senators were saying. A lot of things were mentioned there, like a program for drugs, systems that have to be with economy that is failing '' some '' one Senator compared Argentina to North Korea. Also they talked about the freedom of the press. My question is: This candidate was prepared by the State Department? You know that he was appointed in July last year. He had one year. He didn't visit Argentina in one year. Something that we can say, okay, if you are appointed to a country, maybe you have one year to go and see how is Buenos Aires or something like that, have an idea what is Argentina. Okay, he said that he never visited Argentina.
        And then I want to know if the State Department prepared him '' they gave him information, because the difference with what he was talking and the Senators were talking yesterday, it seems that were a world apart. So I want '' this is a real situation that was surprising, right? Between policies of the State Department, if he was prepared, and what in the Senator had mentioned about what they think about Argentina, right?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, did you have a question in there? That was very passionate, though.
        QUESTION: (Inaudible) by mistake (inaudible).
        QUESTION: If he was trained '' if this candidate was in some way helped or he received information from the State Department to make his presentation, or he absolutely was not prepared at all and he went there and he saw really harsh comments about Argentina that maybe he can never hear about?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, I can assure you we work closely with ambassadors. We work closely with them leading up, and we will continue to do that.
        QUESTION: (Inaudible).
        MS. PSAKI: Sure. Well, let me see. What is the question? (Laughter.) Go ahead.
        QUESTION: I have you on record.
        MS. PSAKI: Okay.
        QUESTION: Is it typically the practice for people who have been nominated to be ambassador to a country to go visit that country during the period when they are preparing for their nomination hearings? I don't think it is.
        MS. PSAKI: I think that's a --
        QUESTION: And I'd love to know the answer to that.
        MS. PSAKI: Sure. No, that's a very good question. I don't think it is either, especially given how sensitive it is. But let me check on that specific question.
        QUESTION: Well, in fact, isn't it frowned on?
        QUESTION: Yes.
        QUESTION: Because the Senate has taken '' takes quite objection '' it objects quite fiercely to any implication that they are --
        MS. PSAKI: Already working with the government.
        QUESTION: Well '' well, no, that these nominees are bypassing the confirmation process --
        MS. PSAKI: Sure.
        QUESTION: -- and assuming that '' just assuming that they're going to be in.
        QUESTION: Well, I think it would be quite rare, if ever, and the only cases I can remember are people who are already dealing with those countries in their current job, so a DAS or a PDAS who is responsible for five countries and then is named '' nominated to be ambassador to one can go to that one because --
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm, sure.
        QUESTION: -- that's part of their job, but otherwise, I don't think it happens.
        MS. PSAKI: Yes, and I think that is correct as far as I understand it, but let me just get around to all of you --
        QUESTION: And put it out, thank you.
        MS. PSAKI: -- an official explanation of that particular policy.
        QUESTION: To the Middle East, to '' okay. The --
        MS. PSAKI: No, go ahead. Get in there.
        QUESTION: Thanks. The Secretary has repeatedly made remarks on the Arab Peace Initiative and how it ''holds out the possibility of normalizing relations with Israel.'' He's said this numerous times, but in December at the Saban Forum, he said, ''Israel would enjoy a normal peaceful relationship the minute this agreement'' '' as in agreement with the Palestinians '' ''is signed with 22 Arab nations and 35 Muslim nations, 57 countries in all.''
        Now, I was with someone with '' at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy the other day who made the note that the Arab Peace Initiative has a very distinct qualification to that, which is that Israel ''completely withdraw from the occupied Arab territories, including the Golan Heights.''
        So is the Secretary working on having the Arab League amend the API, or is the hope that the Arab League put aside the API and endorse some future Kerry plan, or '' one of those two things has to happen. Otherwise, his statement isn't entirely accurate. Is that right?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, as you know, we're working with both parties on a framework for negotiations. We don't have a final framework that's even being discussed at this point, so in terms of what will or won't be in a framework, never mind a final agreement, that's not something I could speak to or we have the information to speak to.
        He is in constant touch with the Arab League and the Arab Peace Initiative Follow-On Committee and briefs them regularly every couple of months about the status of the discussions, the status of the negotiations, and where things stand. And they have indicated very publicly their support for those efforts. In terms of what the outcome will be and what will be needed or required, I'm not going to make a prediction of that because we have several steps to take before then.
        QUESTION: Well, but we know that the framework is not going to address the Golan Heights. That much we absolutely know unless there's some big surprise in there and Assad's, like, at this (inaudible).
        MS. PSAKI: Well, it's a framework which will be the basis for negotiations for a final agreement.
        QUESTION: Which won't address the Golan Heights, though, because that has nothing to do with Palestinian --
        MS. PSAKI: I would --
        QUESTION: The Syrians aren't '' the Syrians don't have anything to do with this.
        QUESTION: Right, so the reason I'm sticking on this point is he says the minute this agreement is signed, 22 Arab nations and 35 Muslim nations will recognize or hold out the hope --
        MS. PSAKI: Well, Michael, that's a figure of speech. It doesn't mean the minute he steps off the stage of an announcement that anything will be implemented. But --
        QUESTION: Well, but --
        MS. PSAKI: -- beyond that, what I'm trying to get at is that obviously, there are discussions and negotiations. If we come to a final status agreement, which has never happened before, on these issues and he's continuing to brief the Arab League and the follow-on committee, we'll see what needs to happen on one side or the other. But I'm not going to make a prediction of where things stand in terms of what they're willing to agree to.
        QUESTION: Jen, maybe you could answer '' because it's actually a very good point.
        MS. PSAKI: Sure.
        QUESTION: Is there any discussion with the Arabs '' with the Arab League Follow-Up '' the Follow-On Committee --
        MS. PSAKI: Of amending?
        QUESTION: -- about '' well, about changing it at least slightly so that '' and recognizing the situation in Syria is a mess and there isn't going to be any way to '' you don't even know what '' I mean, if there's a transitional government, if it's still Assad, whatever, there aren't any negotiations going on there.
        MS. PSAKI: Sure.
        QUESTION: Is there any talk or thought to having the Arabs change their initiative to remove or to move the Golan issue out of the immediate and into something further down the road?
        MS. PSAKI: There is not a discussion of amending the API. Obviously, there's lots of steps that need to happen before even discussing how that piece would be implemented. So that's the point I'm getting at.
        QUESTION: Okay. But unless and until it is changed, it can't '' it doesn't '' it's hard to see how the Secretary can make the promise or the '' make the statement that as soon as a deal is done between the Israelis and the Palestinians, then the Arab League Peace Initiative comes into force, right?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, I would point you to them and see what they say about what they're willing to commit to.
        QUESTION: Jen, on this very point, I was at the same event, and it was very specific that they should take out any language that refers to anything other than a deal between the Palestinians and the Israelis.
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: One, you don't recognize the Arab Peace Initiative, do you? Do you accept it? You say that it's encouraging. The Israelis have never accepted it as a deal that they can work with and recognize. Isn't that the case?
        MS. PSAKI: How do you mean, ''accept it?''
        QUESTION: Do you recognize that this is a deal as submitted by the Arabs in 2002 and amended and accepted at the Arab League Conference in Beirut, then amended last April to include land swaps and so on, that this is a deal that you do accept which requires Israel to withdraw from all occupied territories?
        MS. PSAKI: It is not the '' it is an important signal from the Arab League.
        QUESTION: Right.
        MS. PSAKI: It's an important document. But it is not the document that's being negotiated between the parties, no.
        QUESTION: But as '' you are not aware that Israel at any time has acknowledged this as a peace initiative that it is willing to sign to, do you?
        MS. PSAKI: That's not what's being discussed between the parties, Said.
        QUESTION: Right. But you are not aware that Israel has agreed --
        MS. PSAKI: I think I answered your question.
        QUESTION: -- to this peace initiative.
        MS. PSAKI: Arshad.
        QUESTION: This is a slightly technical thing --
        MS. PSAKI: Okay.
        QUESTION: -- and I don't know if it's been drawn to your --
        MS. PSAKI: Sure.
        QUESTION: -- attention. The Treasury Department sanctioned an individual whom '' yesterday whom it says is part of a network of al-Qaida operating in Iran that has used Iran as a transit point --
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: -- to funnel fighters into Syria to fight with al-Qaida-linked groups --
        MS. PSAKI: I think we just talked '' we just answered this.
        QUESTION: Yeah. No, but I didn't quite understand the answer, because I guess fundamentally, the question is: Do you believe that Iran is arming or aiding or assisting both sides in the conflict in Syria?
        MS. PSAKI: I don't have any more information on the specific designation, so let me just check and see if there's more to convey.
        QUESTION: Okay. The fundamental question, though, is that one.
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: Does the U.S. Government believe Iran is playing both sides of the coin and aiding fighters on both sides in the Syrian conflict?
        MS. PSAKI: And we're talking about an individual here who was assisting, so that's an important point.
        QUESTION: Okay.
        MS. PSAKI: But I will check and see if there's more to add.
        QUESTION: On Iran?
        QUESTION: It is within the knowledge of the Iranian authorities and it has been going for a while, so it is more than individual.
        MS. PSAKI: I understand your question. But it's about financial support for, so --
        QUESTION: Also fighters.
        MS. PSAKI: I will check and see if there's more we can convey. And of course, I'd point you to the Treasury Department, who's the experts on this.
        Go ahead.
        QUESTION: Turkey?
        QUESTION: On Iran, just one more here. On Iran, there was a scheduled meeting tomorrow with the IAEA and some Iranian officials to talk about what the Iranians described as ambiguities in the technical agreement for the nuclear deal with the West. What is the process here in terms of information and briefing at the State Department following that consultation in Tehran?
        MS. PSAKI: Obviously, we're in close touch. But as you know, the discussions are beginning two weeks from now on the comprehensive talks. The IAEA has, for the most part, been a separate process. That was started before there was an agreement on a first-step agreement. So in terms of specifically what would be read out, obviously, we receive briefings and updates on a regular basis, but I'm not aware of anything unique in this case.
        QUESTION: So you don't think the February 8th technical discussions about these so-called ambiguities are going to impact the February 18th start under the EU?
        MS. PSAKI: That's not our expectation, no.
        QUESTION: And is that Wendy Sherman then who's leading that? Does the Secretary --
        MS. PSAKI: February 18th?
        QUESTION: I'm '' well, sure, on the 18th.
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: But the briefing following the technical conversations --
        MS. PSAKI: It really depends. I would caution you against over-cranking what a briefing is. I mean, it is '' it is regular consultations and updates on what's happening on one side or the other. Under Secretary Sherman will, of course, be the lead who will be headed for the talks in Vienna coming up in two weeks. But in terms of who will receive any update, I don't have a specific name for you.
        QUESTION: Foreign Minister Zarif made some comments on Ms. Sherman that were pretty harsh, saying that she should stick to reality when she's testifying on the negotiations in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, saying that her comments were hindering the process. Do you have a response to that?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, we all know that everybody has their own political constituencies, and sometimes statements are made as a result of that.
        QUESTION: Right. But --
        QUESTION: So you're referring to Zarif, not Wendy? (Laughter.)
        MS. PSAKI: Correct. Wendy does not have a political constituency.
        Yes.
        QUESTION: Senator Menendez, who has been a strong '' in fact, the author of the bill that you and the Administration has --
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: -- opposed, came out with a pretty significant speech yesterday on the floor of the Senate, conditionalizing his bill and saying that it may not be the appropriate time.
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: AIPAC then came out with a statement saying we agree with the chairman that stopping the Iranian nuclear program should rest on bipartisan support and that there should not be a vote at this time --
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: -- on the measure. Do you commend AIPAC for this statement?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, we welcome them to the support for the diplomatic path forward.
        QUESTION: Jen, on the Israel issue, two things. One, do you have anything to say about your delegation in Tunisia walking out of the speech by Mr. Larijani? And I have a second one.
        MS. PSAKI: Actually, I think I've seen that, Matt, but I don't know that I have anything on it for you. So let me get something for you post briefing.
        QUESTION: All right.
        QUESTION: Turkey?
        QUESTION: And second --
        MS. PSAKI: Sorry, go ahead.
        QUESTION: And then second, do you have any response, favorable or unfavorable '' I suspect it won't be anything unfavorable '' to Foreign Minister Lieberman's speech this morning in which he gave somewhat of a strong defense of the Secretary and his efforts?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, we certainly welcomed his remarks and his sentiment and the importance of the peace process, and it's a reflection of, of course, the belief of many people in Israel that a two-state solution is the right outcome at the end of this process.
        QUESTION: Do you believe that these words coming from Foreign Minister Lieberman, someone who just several years ago was not exactly the most '' was not looked upon by the Administration as a particular friend --
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: -- or a friend of the peace process, do you think that this marks a turning point in the somewhat caustic back and forth that's been going on since the Secretary's comments in Munich?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, it certainly is a powerful statement and a powerful message given his history and his background on these issues and where his view was. We'll see moving forward. It doesn't mean there's an end to opponents for a two-state solution, an end to opponents of a peace process, but certainly, we're hopeful that we can get back to the focus on the difficult issues at hand.
        QUESTION: Can you --
        QUESTION: Jen --
        MS. PSAKI: Let's just do '' Said, Said, one at a time. Just give everybody a chance.
        QUESTION: Thank you.
        MS. PSAKI: Go ahead.
        QUESTION: Does the Secretary believe in the goal of a nuclear weapons free Middle East?
        MS. PSAKI: I think '' I think, Josh, that '' I think we've talked about this before. I'm having sort of a flashback. (Laughter.)
        QUESTION: I don't remember. Refresh me.
        MS. PSAKI: Look, Josh, I know we can '' we encourage anybody '' any country to sign on to the NPT. You're familiar with the conversations we have with a range of countries on these issues. Beyond that --
        QUESTION: So that's it? You're not '' so you won't say whether he is for the goal of a nuclear weapons free Middle East?
        MS. PSAKI: I think you're familiar with our actions, which speak to what our efforts are.
        QUESTION: Well, let me put a fine --
        QUESTION: (Off-mike.)
        QUESTION: I got this. (Laughter.) Let me put a finer point on it. Has the Secretary been communicating to Arab and Gulf leaders that he intends to, following an Iranian nuclear deal, pursue a weapons free '' a nuclear weapons free Middle East?
        MS. PSAKI: I don't think that's been part of his talking points. Obviously, we're focused on our efforts as it relates to the P5+1 negotiations and a comprehensive deal. Our efforts of '' and our engagement with a range of countries where we have concerns about their programs, that wasn't --
        QUESTION: That's not in his talking points, but has he been saying that to those leaders in those meetings?
        MS. PSAKI: Not that I'm aware of, Josh.
        QUESTION: Does the Secretary agree with the President's stated goal of having a nuclear weapons free world?
        MS. PSAKI: Of course.
        QUESTION: He does. And is the Middle East part of what we would call the world?
        MS. PSAKI: It is part of the world.
        QUESTION: So should we therefore assume --
        QUESTION: All right. Bringing it back to the level of reality '' okay, so --
        QUESTION: That is reality.
        QUESTION: Yeah. But not aspirationally. I'm talking on a policy level and his communications --
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: -- with leaders in the region in the context of the Iran P5+1 negotiations --
        MS. PSAKI: Sure.
        QUESTION: -- and the discussions surrounding those negotiations. My information is that the Secretary has raised the issue of a nuclear weapons free Middle East as part of his overall vision.
        MS. PSAKI: Well, certainly, as Matt said, as the President has said, we have concerns about efforts toward creating and using nuclear weapons anywhere in the world, and he's expressed that, of course, as it has been necessary in certain meetings. But I'm not sure where you're getting at here, Josh. Do you have another question?
        QUESTION: No.
        MS. PSAKI: Okay.
        QUESTION: Let me ask --
        QUESTION: Jen?
        QUESTION: Can we stick around to the Palestinian-Israeli issue?
        MS. PSAKI: Sure.
        QUESTION: Because I think we went back and forth on this thing.
        MS. PSAKI: Okay.
        QUESTION: Can you update us on any kind of talks that may be going? Is Envoy Indyk doing anything this week or next week?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, I believe he may still be on the ground and he's been meeting with both parties as we work to close the gap, narrow the gap on the '' on a framework for negotiations, Said.
        QUESTION: Okay. So '' and there are no plans for you guys to go and meet with both sides over there?
        MS. PSAKI: I don't have any announcements to make about a trip to the region.
        QUESTION: I'd like to --
        QUESTION: Just a quick '' one more follow-up --
        MS. PSAKI: Sure.
        QUESTION: -- on the Iran bill. Is the Administration at this point confident that there won't be a vote in the Senate? And I know we visited this multiple times, but should a vote come to pass, is that, as the Iranians have said, a violation of the Joint Plan of Action, or is the full implementation of the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2013 a violation of the Joint Plan of Action?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, I think the important point here, which I've made in the past, but I realize circumstances have changed a little bit '' in favor of a no-vote, I should say '' but it's not just about what specific technical piece would violate. It's about what message we're sending during fragile negotiations with partners around the world who have also committed not to move forward with new sanctions legislation while we are about to approach comprehensive talks. So that's why the Secretary, the President, and others have continued to make the case that we should not take action as it relates to putting new sanctions in place.
        QUESTION: I understand it's a messaging question --
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: -- but is it also a technical question?
        MS. PSAKI: It's not just a messaging question. It's a strategic question as it relates to the negotiations.
        QUESTION: And the 42 senators in the Republican caucus who say that this is becoming a partisan issue, this issue that has consistently been a unifying --
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: -- force in the Senate, is that a concern to the Administration?
        MS. PSAKI: It is '' our view is it is not a partisan issue. It is about what is the best path forward, and that that's the diplomatic path forward as it relates to Iran and our concerns about Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon. That's why we think legislation, whomever supports it, whether it's Democrats or Republicans, is not the right step.
        QUESTION: Jen --
        QUESTION: Turkey?
        QUESTION: Jen, I have a question, probably on Turkey --
        MS. PSAKI: Uh-huh.
        QUESTION: -- about the breaking news as we were coming in about the plane that has been diverted from the Ukraine to Turkey.
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: From the State Department's conversations with your Turkish and Ukrainian allies, what can you tell us about the situation? Do you believe this is an isolated incident? And how serious do you assess this threat to be?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, Catherine, as you noted, this just happened before '' or the reports of this just happened before I came out here. I'd, of course, refer you to the Turkish Government. We're in close touch. Our team on the ground is in close touch with Turkish authorities. But I don't have any analysis for you at this point on what it means or what it's an indication of.
        QUESTION: When was Secretary Kerry made aware of the flight diversion?
        MS. PSAKI: He was in a bilateral meeting with the Japanese while these events took place, so I would assume after it, but I haven't seen him since the bilateral meeting.
        QUESTION: Do you think this will change the State Department's Travel Warning that's out there for U.S. citizens or change any security plans on the ground in Sochi?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, Catherine, obviously, we take in a range of information as we make those evaluations. But again, because this just happened and Turkish authorities are looking into it and what it means, I don't want to go too far on what it will mean in terms of what we implement.
        QUESTION: Jen, just a question on --
        QUESTION: Can I go --
        MS. PSAKI: Let's '' I'm not going anywhere. Let's just do one at a time here. In the blue blazer there.
        QUESTION: Thank you. Just --
        MS. PSAKI: I know. Sorry. Matt has weekend plans. Go ahead.
        QUESTION: Quick question on the rules changes for asylum seekers that were published this week in the Federal Register. As you may know, some folks on the Hill have said that the Administration doesn't have the power to reinterpret the law in this way. How do you respond to that? What legal authority would State cite? I understand it's both State and DHS.
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm. I really don't have information on this, so let me talk to DHS and talk to our team who works on these issues and we can follow up with you following the briefing.
        QUESTION: Okay. And one other issue.
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: Do you have '' apparently, the majority staff of the House Foreign Affairs Committee came out with a report on Benghazi today and was critical of the ARB for not reviewing or commenting on senior officials, including Secretary Clinton, Ambassador Kennedy. Do you have any response to that report?
        MS. PSAKI: Do you have a specific question about the report or --
        QUESTION: Just '' I mean, would you agree that there were significant issues, questions left unanswered by the ARB's failure to comment on or review the conduct of senior officials?
        MS. PSAKI: We would disagree with that, as I'm sure will come as no surprise. There was a thorough investigation, including interviews with more than 100 people, the review of thousands of documents and hours of video that were included. And the ARB found no credible evidence that relevant decisions on security in Benghazi rose above the assistant secretary level. I think that's what was addressed specifically in the report, or that contradicts what the ARB says.
        This is an issue we've talked about a bit in here and has been heavily litigated over the course of time, but I think the facts are contrary to some of the findings in that report. And what we're focused on is continuing to implement the ARB recommendations, continuing to secure embassies around the world, and moving forward.
        QUESTION: On North Korea, please. North Korea?
        MS. PSAKI: Let's just do a couple more here, because it's been a marathon adventure here. Go ahead.
        QUESTION: Can you confirm a media report that human rights envoy King will visit Pyongyang next Monday?
        MS. PSAKI: I don't have a '' talked about this a little bit yesterday, and our '' my information has not changed, or what I can provide to all of you has not changed, which is that we have long offered to send Ambassador King to North Korea. That hasn't changed. Our focus here is on securing the release of Kenneth Bae. Because of that, we're not going to outline every element of communication, every effort that's underway, because that's what our focus is on.
        QUESTION: Does North Korea invite that '' King, Ambassador King?
        MS. PSAKI: I don't have anything new to tell you about it.
        QUESTION: So you are saying no decision has been made yet?
        MS. PSAKI: I just don't have any new information to provide to you.
        QUESTION: I have one more about --
        QUESTION: You said, ''My information has not changed,'' and you said, ''The information that I have to provide you has not changed.'' So you have information about this that you can't provide us?
        MS. PSAKI: I was just conveying that at any point in this process, Arshad, we're not going to provide every specific effort that's underway.
        QUESTION: Okay.
        QUESTION: Jen, Deputy Secretary Burns met with the Ambassador of South Korea Ahn Ho-young this morning. Do you have anything readout of that?
        MS. PSAKI: I think I do. Let me make sure. And if I don't for some reason, I know it's available so I can get that to all of you. Let us get that to you right after the briefing, okay?
        QUESTION: All right. Thank you.
        MS. PSAKI: Sure.
        QUESTION: Can we stay on Korea?
        MS. PSAKI: Sure. Let's just do a couple more here. Go ahead.
        QUESTION: So yesterday the Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill on the East Sea/Sea of Japan issue, and given that both the governments of South Korea and Japan have gotten involved in this, is the State Department planning to communicate any kind of position to Governor McAuliffe on whether or not he should sign the legislation?
        MS. PSAKI: This isn't an issue we're working on at the State Department, and I don't expect that will change.
        QUESTION: Turkey?
        MS. PSAKI: Sure.
        QUESTION: You were asked about this new law yesterday '' internet censorship law '' and it passed the parliament.
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: Now it's at the desk of the President Gul. Do you have any comment on that apart from yesterday?
        MS. PSAKI: Nothing new to add to yesterday.
        Let's do the last two here. Go ahead.
        QUESTION: A short question about press freedom in Turkey: Azerbaijani journalist Mahir Zeynalov, who was working for Turkish daily Today's Zaman, deported this morning from Turkey because of his critical tweets to the Turkish Government.
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: Would you like to make any comment on this?
        MS. PSAKI: We are looking into these unsettling reports. As we have said, we have been and continue to be strong advocates for freedom of expression around the world, and we believe that democracies are strengthened by the diverse voices of their people. We look to Turkey as a democracy and ally to uphold the fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly, and association. We believe that an independent pluralistic media is critical to a healthy and strong democracy, but I don't have any specific confirmation of any of the details that have been reported.
        Scott. Why don't we finish off with you?
        QUESTION: Do you have anything about the arrest of the Russian environmentalist Igor Kharchenko?
        MS. PSAKI: Sure.
        QUESTION: And actually can I add onto that? There were reports of LGBT activists being arrested just as the Opening Ceremony was going on. Could you '' and others, as well, being arrested '' do you have any thoughts about?
        QUESTION: Another footnote on that one?
        MS. PSAKI: Sure. I need a pen.
        QUESTION: You opened by showing the video and by talking about how the U.S. Olympic Team highlights the diversity, openness, and '' I think it says inclusion '' of the United States. Was that deliberately meant to evoke or sort of be a counterpoint to the Russian laws that '' the laws that are widely regarded as antigay?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, Arshad, I think our view of those laws, as we've no '' made no secret of that, and we remain concerned by a disturbing trend in the Russian Federation of legislation, prosecutions, and government actions aimed at suppressing dissent in groups that advocate for human rights. As you know, we think gay rights are human rights, and this '' these LGBT laws and propaganda are part of that effort.
        You're familiar with who is representing the United States in the delegation. It's important to note and represent what our views are, and certainly all of that reflects the views of the United States on this particular issue and how it contrasts.
        Sorry. Go ahead, Scott. Now I forget your question.
        QUESTION: It's okay.
        MS. PSAKI: It was about the environmentalist?
        QUESTION: Yeah. Igor Kharchenko.
        MS. PSAKI: The environmentalist, yes, I think I have something on that in here. One moment.
        We are '' and this loops in all of your questions, I believe '' the United States is troubled by the arrests of and government pressure on peaceful civil society activists around the Sochi region of Russia in the days leading up to the Olympics. These arrests call into question the Russian Government's commitment to allowing individuals to exercise their basic freedoms. The United States continues to support the rights of all Russians to exercise these fundamental freedoms of expression and assembly. These rights are enshrined in the Russian constitution, as well as in international agreements, to which Russia is a party.
        Thank you.
        QUESTION: Okay. I --
        MS. PSAKI: Oh. Did you have another one? Sorry.
        QUESTION: Yeah, unfortunately. Sorry.
        MS. PSAKI: Okay.
        QUESTION: You said '' there was one on that. They call into question the commitment, so are you entirely satisfied with the Opening Ceremony and the '' what's happened around it? Not in terms of the actual ceremony itself, obviously, but in terms of the Russian Government's steps, measures that they've taken, that they think they need to have '' that they think they need to take to secure the place?
        MS. PSAKI: Well, certainly we're '' oh, security wise. Okay.
        QUESTION: Well, no, but I mean to '' I mean, I think the --
        MS. PSAKI: Pardon me. (Sneezes.)
        QUESTION: The arrests are being --
        QUESTION: Bless you.
        QUESTION: Bless you.
        MS. PSAKI: Thank you very much.
        QUESTION: The arrests are being made, I believe, under that whole '' this larger idea of keeping the Games peaceful and safe.
        MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
        QUESTION: That's what I mean. I don't mean like a terrorist threat or anything like that.
        MS. PSAKI: Well, look, I think I '' I don't think I have analysis of every single arrest and the meaning and the history on it, but it's clear there's a trend with people who are peacefully protesting or peacefully expressing their viewpoint, whether it's environmental activists or some LGBT activists being arrested, and I think it would be hard to argue they're posing a threat.
        QUESTION: And then my last one is '' and I'm pretty sure you won't have a comment on it '' but a former official of this Department has pleaded guilty today to passing classified information to one of our colleagues. I'm wondering if you have any comment about that.
        MS. PSAKI: I do not, given it's an ongoing process with the Department of Justice.
        QUESTION: Well, it's not going anymore once he's pleaded guilty.
        MS. PSAKI: I don't have anything for you on it.
        Thanks, everyone.
        (The briefing was concluded at 2:58 p.m.)
        DPB # 25
      VIDEO- "SYRIA IS THE AFGHANISTAN OF 2014!" TOP Terror WAR PROFITEER - YouTube
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      VIDEO-BBC News - Bosnia-Hercegovina protests break out in violence
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        7 February 2014Last updated at 16:47 ET Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
        Journalist Sead Numanovic says "poverty and injustice" are fuelling the protests
        Demonstrators in Bosnia-Hercegovina have set fire to government buildings, in the worst unrest since the end of the 1992-95 war.
        Hundreds of people have been injured in three days of protests over high unemployment and perceived inability of politicians to improve the situation.
        Police used rubber bullets and tear gas to quell unrest in the capital Sarajevo and the northern town of Tuzla.
        Black smoke could be seen coming from the presidency building in Sarajevo.
        Continue reading the main story''Start QuoteIn Bosnia the legacies of the war mean that few even hope for change anymore. For this reason, anger has been simmering for years, but now it has boiled over''
        End QuoteTim JudahBalkan affairs analystSarajevo-based newspaper Dnevni Avaz says police used water to disperse the protesters who were throwing stones at the building. There were also reports of an attempted storming of the office.
        On Thursday, clashes between police and demonstrators in Tuzla injured more than 130 people, mostly police officers.
        "People protest because they are hungry, because they don't have jobs. We demand the government resign," Nihad Karac, a construction worker, told the AFP.
        About 40% of Bosnians are unemployed.
        The unrest began in Tuzla earlier in the week, with protests over the closure and sale of factories which had employed most of the local population.
        Demonstrators in other towns, including Mostar, Zenica and Bihac, supported the Tuzla workers and criticised the government for failing to tackle the rampant unemployment.
        Continue reading the main storyAnalysisThis appears to be a case of simmering frustration boiling over.
        Two decades on from the siege of Sarajevo, Bosnia has fallen off the international radar - and its people feel they have been forgotten. And not just by the wider world, but their own government.
        The administration is split along ethnic lines - and seems incapable of agreeing on anything but its own above-average pay packets.
        This has left the rest of Bosnia's citizens struggling to move forward.
        Even practical matters like national identity cards, get mired in ethnic politics. At one point last year, desperate mothers formed a human chain around the main government building, begging for identity cards for their babies.
        The economic situation is desperate. Four in ten are unemployed - in large part due to a series of botched privatisations.
        That is what sparked the initial protests in Tuzla - but empathy with their cause brought demonstrators out in towns across Bosnia.
        Hundreds of people also gathered in support in the Bosnian Serb capital, Banja Luka.
        Local media are reporting that the premiers of two of Bosnia's cantons - Sead Causevic of Tuzla canton and Munib Husejnagic of Zenica-Doboj canton - are to resign.
        'Exasperation'
        The BBC's Balkans correspondent Guy De Launey says exasperation at years of inertia and incompetence in Bosnia is at the root of the protests.
        Bosnia-Hercegovina is made up of two separate entities: a Bosniak-Croat Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina, and the Bosnian Serb Republic, or Republika Srpska, each with its own president, government, parliament, police and other bodies.
        The complex administrative framework and deep divisions have led to political stagnation and vulnerability to corruption.
        The current chairman of the Bosnian presidency, Zeljko Komsic, said that politicians were to blame for the protests.
        The problem "has been accumulating for several years, but the situation now escalated," he told FTV.
        He was also quoted as saying he would be calling an urgent meeting of the top leadership.
        Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you canupload here.
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      VIDEO-Joe Biden Says LaGuardia Airport Like a "Third World Country" | NBC New York
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        Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday said LaGuardia Airport is like a "third world country" while speaking about infrastructure in Pennsylvania.
        Biden: LaGuardia Like a "Third...
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        Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday said LaGuardia Airport is like a "third world country" while speaking about infrastructure in Pennsylvania.
        Biden said if someone were blindfolded and taken to the airport in Hong Kong at 2 a.m. and asked "where do you think you are," the person would say "'This must be America, it's a modern airport.'"
        He went on: "If I took you and blindfolded you and took you to LaGuardia Airport in New York you must think, 'I must be in some third world country.'"
        "No, I'm not joking!" he added. "Why did we lead the world economically for so long? We had the most modern infrastructure in the world."
        The vice president was unveiling Amtrak's newest engine at an event in Philadelphia and touting the need for more investment in U.S. infrastructure.
        LaGuardia was turned into a private flying field in 1929 after it was transformed from an amusement park. It became New York Municipal Airport-LaGuardia Field in 1937, and was leased to the Port Authority 10 years later.
        It has four terminals, the newest of which was built in 1992.
        It's among the busiest airports in the world, with more than 25 million travelers passing through in 2012.
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      VIDEO: Does Russia have #SochiProblems?
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        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 16:06
        With the Winter Olympics underway, foreign journalists are now busy reporting on the games.
        Before the event had begun there was a lot of negative press surrounding the facilities in Sochi - most of which was documented on social media using the hashtag #SochiProblems.
        #BBCtrending has been finding out what Russians themselves think of how Sochi has been portrayed.
        Produced by Neil Meads
        All our stories are at BBC.com/trending. Follow @BBCtrending on Twitter and tweet using #BBCtrending
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        Source: BBC News - Home
        Sat, 08 Feb 2014 16:05
        Spain's Princess Cristina has arrived in court to be questioned in connection with a corruption scandal involving her husband's business dealings.
        It is the first time in history that a member of Spain's royal family has appeared in court as the subject of a criminal investigation.
        Her husband Inaki Urdangarin is alleged to have defrauded regional governments of millions of Euros of public money.
        Rebecca Jones spoke with BBC correspondent Tom Burridge, who reports live from outside the courthouse in Mallorca.
      VIDEO-U.S. Counternarcotics Operations in Afghanistan
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        Fri, 07 Feb 2014 05:19
        William R. BrownfieldAssistant Secretary, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
        Prepared Statement Before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Sub-Committee on tbe Middle East and North Africa
        Chairman Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Member Deutch, and other distinguished Representatives, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan. The State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), which I have the honor to lead, works alongside our Afghan partners to help them develop and sustain programs to minimize all stages of the drug trade, including cultivation, production, trafficking, and use; to better protect vulnerable populations from the scourge of drugs; and to bring to justice major traffickers. These programs are works in progress. There is no silver bullet to eliminate drug cultivation or production in Afghanistan or address the epidemic of substance abuse disorders that plagues too many Afghans. But we are successfully building Afghan capacity to implement and lead counternarcotics efforts.Afghanistan today produces well over 80 percent of the world's illicit opium, undermining good governance and public health, subverting the legal economy, fueling corruption and insecurity, and putting money in the hands of the Taliban. The narcotics trade has been a windfall for the insurgency. The United Nations (UN) estimates that the Afghan Taliban receives at least $155 million annually from narcotics-related activities including taxation, protection, and extortion.
        According to the UN World Drug Report, Afghan opium fuels a global trade in heroin that generates over $60 billion total in profits for corrupt officials, drug traffickers, organized criminal groups, and insurgents. And while the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) estimates that only a small portion of the heroin in the United States currently originates in Afghanistan, there is clear potential for transnational criminal networks to adapt and for this amount to increase in the years ahead.
        Afghan poppy cultivation increased significantly in 2013. While cultivation is only one indicator of counternarcotics progress, it was disappointing news, as was the reported decline in poppy eradication by provincial authorities. With the vast majority of opium poppy cultivated in the least secure areas, poppy farming is inextricably linked to security. Illicit actors, including insurgents, profit from narcotic sales. And in 2014, preparations for the critical spring elections will create competing demands on Afghan security forces who assumed the security lead from international forces only six months ago and continue to build their capacities.
        Equally worrisome is the impact of the narcotics trade on Afghanistan's democratic institutions and human development, which the United States has supported through heavy investment. At every level of the illicit narcotics market '' from cultivation to production to trafficking and consumption '' the narcotics trade undermines good governance and saps the capacity of the Afghan people. It is noteworthy that Afghanistan now has one of the highest opiate usage rates in the world.
        Despite these tough realities, we have seen encouraging progress in the Afghan government's counternarcotics capacity. In particular, there have been positive developments in areas such as prosecutions, interdiction, alternative livelihoods for Afghan farmers, and treatment services for substance use disorders. We have also seen that in communities where the government has established a strong foothold and where basic development facilities, such as medical clinics and schools, are available, farmers are less likely to grow poppy.
        The Counter Narcotics Justice Center (CNJC), a fully Afghan facility with jurisdiction for the investigation, detention, prosecution, and trial of major narcotics cases is another source of optimism. INL, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice and the United Kingdom, provides advisory and facility operations assistance to the CNJC. During the most recent Afghan calendar year (from March 2012 to March 2013), the CNJC's Primary and Appellate Courts each heard the cases of over 700 accused. The CNJC Investigation and Laboratory Department processed cases involving more than 233 metric tons of illegal drugs '' a 26 percent increase over the previous year. The CNJC is often cited as one of the premier judicial institutions in Afghanistan and is where U.S.-designated drug kingpin Haji Lal Jan was tried last year and ultimately received a 15-year prison sentence. While in Afghanistan last week, Director Kohistani of the General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Centers and I cut the ribbon on a new INL-funded detention center at the CNJC, enabling a much-needed five-fold expansion in its capacity.
        Together with the United Kingdom we have helped the Afghan government stand up skilled Afghan interdiction units with specialized intelligence capabilities. Over the past several years, we have seen a steady increase in the amount of illicit narcotics seized by the Counter Narcotics Police of Afghanistan (CNPA) and its specialized units, which have been trained through U.S. programs. The growing and self-sustaining capacity of these vetted units is the direct result of U.S. mentoring, training, and assistance, which INL implements with our partners at DEA and the Department of Defense. INL successfully transitioned the Kunduz Regional Law Enforcement Center to the Afghan Ministry of the Interior (MOI) in September of 2013. The MOI now manages this center and it continues to be used by CNPA vetted units for sensitive interdiction missions.
        Supporting economic alternatives to poppy cultivation is also critical. While alternative development programs are best addressed by my colleagues at the U.S. Agency for International Development, last week Afghan Minister of Counter Narcotics Rashedi and I committed to redesign our signature Good Performers Initiative (GPI) program to further improve its efficacy and ensure that we encourage and reward counternarcotics efforts on all fronts, not just reductions in cultivation. GPI provides development assistance to Afghan provinces that demonstrate significant counternarcotics achievements. Since 2007, this effort has been led by the Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics, which plans, implements, and monitors the program, with support and oversight from the United States.
        Drug treatment is another area where the Afghan government and civil society are making significant progress. The U.S. and other donors have provided substantial support to enable the Afghans to establish a network of over 100 facilities across the country offering evidence-based treatment services. We are now in the process of transitioning responsibility for all drug treatment services to the Government of Afghanistan. As a first step, the Ministry of Public Health has committed to hiring the clinical staff at all drug treatment centers as government employees, which is critical to ensuring that these programs will be sustained under Afghan ownership in the years ahead.
        Our work with the Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics (MCN) cuts across all of these efforts. In recent years, the leadership and staff of the MCN have demonstrated increased effectiveness in designing counternarcotics policies across the relevant Afghan ministries and in implementing counternarcotics programs nationwide.
        Each of these positive developments has matured in spite of a difficult security environment, entrenched corruption, and criminal groups that have worked to undermine progress. But while the challenges are many, let us also keep them in perspective. Today, poppy is grown on less than three percent of Afghanistan's farmable land '' roughly the same amount of land devoted to rice and one tenth as much as is devoted to wheat production. The estimated value of opium to the Afghan economy has remained relatively stable over the last decade. Yet Afghanistan's legal economy has grown steadily. As a result, the potential net export value of opiates now make up a much smaller fraction of Afghanistan's economy. In short, Afghanistan's drug challenge may be formidable, but it is not insurmountable.
        As our government's policy makers define the scope and shape of our engagement in Afghanistan post-2014, we will be ready to tailor our security assistance programs accordingly. We are reviewing our INL counternarcotics programs to assess how to enhance their impact and to ensure we can maintain robust oversight even with anticipated reductions in staff mobility. Several principles will guide our efforts:
        It will be essential that we help our Afghan partners preserve the capacities they have developed with our support. The Afghan government that emerges from this year's elections will need to possess the capabilities '' and the political will '' to make further counternarcotics progress in the post-2014 period.
        Counternarcotics efforts within Afghanistan are fundamentally the responsibility of the Afghan government and people. This is why, across the board, we will focus even more intensively on building the Afghan government's capacity to successfully and sustainably take responsibility for future efforts.
        The Afghan opiate trade extends, however, far beyond Afghanistan. For this reason, we also stress and encourage bilateral and multilateral assistance from the international community, as agreed to in the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework, to support counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan. A number of our partners, including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan, already provide significant assistance to build the Afghan government's capacity. We are re-doubling our efforts to bring additional countries to the table, particularly those which are most affected by Afghan opiates. For example, , we recently joined key regional countries '' including Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and China '' to address precursor chemicals by identifying best practices, tools for tracking chemicals, and next steps to combat illicit trafficking of precursors.
        Our counternarcotics efforts do not take place in a vacuum '' they are an integral part of the broader U.S. strategy for Afghanistan. As the U.S. footprint shrinks, we are regularly reviewing our multilayered oversight approach, which includes U.S. direct hires having eyes-on wherever possible, supplemented by locally employed staff, independent third party audits, and reporting from implementing program partners and intergovernmental organizations. Regardless of the shape or scope of our future counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan, rigorous monitoring, evaluation, and oversight are necessary to ensure that our assistance has a positive and significant impact and that our programs are safeguarded from waste and abuse.
        Our experience elsewhere in the world demonstrates that counternarcotics is a long-term effort, hand in glove with the equally long-term challenges of good governance and sustainable economic growth. As we look to the end of 2014, Afghan capacity to weaken narcotics production and trafficking will only become more important. To be successful, Afghan political will is critically important, but we must also sustain assistance with programmatic support and advice. Success generally requires sustained, long term efforts, so that our partners can develop the necessary capabilities to deliver real results. A diverse, well-coordinated set of programs to support Afghan counternarcotics capacity, with support from across the interagency and our partners here on the Hill, will be necessary.
        Thank you Chairman Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Member Deutch, and members of the Sub-committee, for your time. I will do my best to address your questions.
      VIDEO-C-SPAN | State Department Briefing
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        Thu, 06 Feb 2014 22:32
        February 6, 2014Jen Psaki briefed reporters and responded to questions on a variety of international issues.
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        People in this videoHosting OrganizationRelated VideoFebruary 5, 2014State Department Daily BriefingSpokesperson Jen Psaki responded to questions from reporters on a variety of international issues.'‚Topics included Pakistan, Iraq, North Korea,'...
        February 4, 2014State Department Daily Briefing with Jen PsakiFebruary 3, 2014State Department Daily BriefingState Department Spokesperson, Jen Psaki, briefed reporters and responds to questions on policy issues, including U.S. opposition to any'...
        January 30, 2014State Department Daily BriefingJen Psaki briefed reporters and responded to questions on policy issues.
      VIDEO-C-SPAN | White House Daily Briefing
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        Thu, 06 Feb 2014 22:24
        February 6, 2014Jay Carney briefed reporters and answers questions at the daily White House briefing.
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        People in this videoHosting OrganizationRelated VideoFebruary 5, 2014White House Daily BriefingAppearing at the White House briefing, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a new plan to target climate change.'‚Secretary Vilsack'...
        February 4, 2014White House Daily BriefingSpokesperson Jay Carney briefed reporters and answered questions at the daily White House briefing on topics such as President Obama's meeting'...
        February 3, 2014White House Daily BriefingPress Secretary Jay Carney briefed reporters and answered questions at the daily White House briefing, including U.S. policy toward Syria, the'...
        January 31, 2014White House Daily BriefingPress Secretary Jay Carney briefed reporters and answered questions at the daily White House briefing.'‚Topics included immigration,'...
      VIDEO-full length nuland
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        Thu, 06 Feb 2014 22:05
      VIDEO-Carney suggests Moscow behind leaked Ukraine call | TheHill
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        Thu, 06 Feb 2014 22:03
        The White House is suggesting that Moscow is behind a leaked phone call in which a top U.S. official can be heard saying "f--k the EU.''
        In the call, which was anonymously posted on YouTube, Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and U.S. Ambassador to the Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt lay out their desired outcome for the crisis in Ukraine and accuse the European Union of not doing enough. White House spokesman Jay Carney said Thursday that the Russians tweeted out a link to the leaked recording, suggesting they were involved.
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        "The video was first noted and tweeted out by the Russian government," Carney said. "I think it says something about Russia's role."He stopped short of directly saying Russia was responsible for intercepting the call, however.
        And State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki accused Russia of reaching "a new low."
        ''Certainly we think this is a new low in Russian trade-craft in terms of publicizing, posting," she said. "I don't have any other independent details about the origin of the YouTube video. You're right. This clearly happened overnight and is relatively new. But this is something they've been actively promoting, posting on, tweeting about. And certainly we feel that represents a new low."
        Carney wouldn't comment on the salty language used by Nuland, who is the top official in charge of European affairs at the State Department. He said relations with the EU are ''stronger than ever.''
        ''I think that Assistant Secretary Nuland has been in contact with her EU counterparts, and relations with the EU are stronger than ever,'' Carney said. ''And there's no question that we are working, Assistant Secretary Nuland, who has a lot of experience in this area, and our ambassador in Ukraine, with the opposition and with the government, to try to help de-escalate the crisis.''
        Carney denied the U.S. was trying to dictate the political outcome in Ukraine. Protesters are demanding the resignation of President Viktor Yanukovych after he turned down an association agreement with the EU in favor of closer ties with Russia, and Nuland and Pyatt can be heard debating how to get their preferred opposition leaders in power.
        ''It's certainly no secret that our ambassador and assistant secretary have been working with the government of Ukraine, with the opposition, with business and civil society leaders to support their efforts to find a peaceful solution through dialogue and political and economic reform,'' Carney said. ''Ultimately, it's up to the Ukrainian people to decide their future.''
        Please send tips and comments to Julian Pecquet: jpecquet@thehill.com
        Follow us on Twitter: @TheHillGlobal and @JPecquetTheHill
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