Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the World Wide Web in 1990, is disturbed at the revelations of the degree of surveillance pursued by governments of ordinary people and warns that it could harm the functioning of his baby. He warned yesterday that “a growing tide of surveillance and censorship” . His Web index ranks countries for […]
Archives for November 2013
Another Reason to Divest: Global outrage at dirty Coal threatens Investors’ Profits
The divestment movement on US college campuses against Big Carbon (coal, oil and gas) signals more than just the arrival of a new, determined and idealistic generation of students. It is a harbinger of danger for investors. In addition to the keen competition thermal coal is facing as a source for electricity generation from fracked […]
Does Syria Stalemate Benefit Baath Regime?
Although it is hard to know what is going on in Syria on the ground, it does seem clear that the momentum is with the regime now, and no longer with the rebels. The Syrian army has made important gains since last March. Regional non-state actors have emerged as important to Syria, whether Hizbullah on […]
CIA drone strikes Militant Seminary in Pakistan Proper, Killing 6 (Ross)
Alice K. Ross writes at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism A CIA drone strike hit a religious school in Hangu, Pakistan [on Thursday], killing at least six and injuring several more. It is believed to be the first time a strike has taken place in the ‘settled’ areas beyond Pakistan’s tribal regions. The Bureau has […]
How We the People can Stop Climate Change through Disinvestment (Gitlin)
Todd Gitlin writes at Tomdispatch.com: Apocalyptic climate change is upon us. For shorthand, let’s call it a slow-motion apocalypse to distinguish it from an intergalactic attack out of the blue or a suddenly surging Genesis-style flood. Slow-motion, however, is not no-motion. In fits and starts, speeding up and slowing down, turning risks into clumps of […]
Tony Blair let the American NSA Spy on Millions of Britons and Store their Private Data
The Guardian and Channel 4 News report that Tony Blair allowed the US National Security Agency to spy on millions of Britons, and to record and store their browser history and email. In 2005, the US had gone ahead and initiated the spying without British permission. Subsequent Prime Ministers, including the current one, David Cameron, […]
US seeks Broad Powers, Immunity for post-2014 Troops in Afghanistan (Lazare)
Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Wednesday that a text had been agreed on between the US and the government of President Hamid Karzai concerning a post-2014 role for US troops in the country. It still has to be approved by a Loya Jirga, a gathering of 2000 notables and clan leaders. The details […]
Syrian Civil War Spreads to Lebanon: Beirut Shaken by Iran Embassy Blast, kills 23, wounds 150
Al-Hayat [Life] reports on the targeting by two suicide bombers of the Iranian embassy in south Beirut on Tuesday, which killed 23, including the Iranian cultural attache and embassy guards, and wounded 150. It was the first attack on the Iranian embassy in Beirut since the outbreak of the civil war in neighboring Syria. Since […]
Egypt: Youth Remember Martyrs, Reject both Army and Muslim Brotherhood
A couple of thousand demonstrators came into Tahrir Square on Monday evening to commemorate the massacre of protestors at Muhammad Mahmoud St. off Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo on November 19, 2011. The commemoration continued Tuesday morning. One of their signs said “Revolutionaries only: No entry for Muslim Brothers, the Military, or remnants of the […]
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