Spy games: Inventor of World Wide Web accuses West of hypocrisy

June 28, 2013 By administrator

Sir Tim Berners-Lee has lashed out at Western governments,

calling them hypocritical for spying on the internet while reproaching other oppressive nations for doing the same; adding that the revelations may change the way people use computers.

The British computer scientist, who invented the Web in 1989, accused the West of “insidious” online spying after whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked details of the US National Security Agency’s (NSA) dragnet telephone and internet surveillance programs, implicating US and UK in a wave of international criticism.

“In the Middle East, people have been given access to the internet, but they have been snooped on and then they have been jailed,” Berners-Lee told The Times newspaper in an interview.

“It can be easy for people in the West to say ‘Oh, those nasty governments should not be allowed access to spy.’ But it’s clear that developed nations are seriously spying on the internet,” he added.

Berners-Lee believes that the new revelations about Western government spying could change the way people, especially teenagers, use the internet and their computers.

“Teenagers who are unsure about their sexuality, who need to contact others, or people being abused trying to find helplines… There are things that happen on the net that are very intimate, which people are going to be loath to do if they feel there is somebody looking over their shoulder.”

Another concern that Berners-Lee raises is around the safety of the already collected information.

The web’s inventor spoke out before accepting a US$1.5 million joint engineering prize awarded by Queen Elizabeth to five men, who are considered to be the fathers of the internet, including Robert Kahn, Vint Cerf, Louis Pouzin and Marc Andreessen.

Berners-Lee argues that internet freedom must be safeguarded against companies or governments trying to take over control.

“When you make something universal … it can be used for good things or nasty things … we just have to make sure it’s not undercut by any large companies or governments trying to use it and get total control,” he said at the award ceremony.

One of the award recipients, Google Vice-President Vint Cerf, suggested companies should come up with ways to go around the surveillance, such as developing encrypted web communication.

Snowden blew the whistle on an NSA program called PRISM that collects correspondence and video conversations of foreigners using internet services like Google, Skype, Yahoo and Facebook.

He also provided documents showing the intelligence agency collects data on phone calls handled by the major US telephone companies.

On top of that the whistleblower exposed British spy agency GCHQ’s access to the global network of communications, storing calls, Facebook posts and internet histories, and revealed that it shares this data with the NSA.

Snowden was charged with espionage by US federal prosecutors on Friday and currently remains in an airport limbo in Russia’s transit zone after he flew to Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport from Hong Kong.

Snowden’s stopover in the transit zone could be prolonged indefinitely, as his passport, which was annulled by the US on Saturday, leaves him without the necessary documentation with which to travel, a source reportedly connected with Snowden told Interfax.

Boston Marathon bombing Turkish Chechnyan bomber suspect charged with multiple murders, WMD use

June 28, 2013 By administrator

Boston Bombing suspect Dzokhar Tsarnaev has been officially charged with killing four people and using weapons of mass destruction, federal prosecutors announced Thursday. Tsarnaev, 19, faces a potential death sentence over the alleged crimes.

According to the United States Attorneys’ Office, 17 of the 30 charges levied against the teenager carry a penalty of life in prison or execution.

“The defendant’s alleged conduct forever changed lives,” prosecutors said in a statement.

Officials believe the former UMass Dartmouth student and his older brother Tamerlan planted homemade explosives near the finish line ahead of the April 15 race. The double explosion that went off as runners crossed the line en masse caused three deaths and 264 injuries.

The indictment says the Tsarnaev brothers used pressure cookers stuffed with low-explosive powder, ball bearings, nails, adhesive, electronic components, and other substances to manufacture their devices.

Jahar Tsarni, as prosecutors referred to him, is also charged with carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury. While fleeing the police, the brothers stopped a vehicle and ordered the driver to turn over the car and $800, according to officers.

“I thought it was just a robbery…He took out his gun, pointed it to me,” the carjacking victim told CBS. “He told that, ‘You know I am serious. Don’t be stupid.’”

Four days later, the Tsarnaev brothers allegedly killed a police officer during a firefight. Tamerlan also died in the incident.

A wounded Dzokhar later hid inside a boat in the backyard of a Watertown, Massachusetts residence. He was arrested after a massive manhunt and placed in a medical prison facility where he has stayed ever since.

Prosecutors say Tsarnaev scribbled an anti-government message as he bled from a throat and leg wound, waiting for the police to find him.

“The US Government is killing our innocent civilians. I can’t stand to see such evil go unpunished. We Muslims are one body, you hurt one you hurt us all,” it read, the indictment claims. “Stop killing our innocent people, we will stop.”

One of the passages, the FBI claimed, quoted Anwar al-Awlaki, the American propagandist killed in a 2011 drone strike in Yemen. Previous reports indicated that Tamerlan Tsarnaev watched Awlaki’s speeches on YouTube.

“Today’s indictment is the result of the dedicated and collective efforts of law enforcement and intelligence partners, working with a sense of urgency and purpose to find those responsible for those deadly attacks,” said FBI Director Robert S. Mueller. “These continuing efforts reflect the pursuit of justice for those who lost their lives and the scores of individuals who were injured.”

While the indictment did not speculate on any larger conspiracy behind the attacks, prosecutors did say they found an issue of Inspire magazine – an English language Al-Qaeda publication – downloaded by Dzokhar. The literature, which was dated summer of 2010, contained “detailed instructions for constructing IEDs using pressure cookers, explosive powder from fireworks, shrapnel, adhesive and other materials,” the indictment read.

“IEDs constructed in this manner are designed to shred flesh, shatter bone, and cause extreme pain and suffering, as well as death.”

Dzokhar was initially unable to talk, but said in a phone call released by his mother earlier this month that he is well-fed and recovering physically.

The Tsarnaev brothers are ethnic Chechens and have roots in Russia’s North Caucasus – a region that has witnessed a massive Islamist insurgency in the past and partly remains a hotbed of extremism.

Opponents of current President of Azerbaijan ready to get rid of Aliyev’s dynastic rule

June 28, 2013 By administrator

The business news agency Zawya reports.

As the two-term Azeri president Ilham Aliyev prepares to run in the October presidential elections, his opponents are looking to field a credible candidate to rid the country of the Aliyevs’ dynastic rule, the business news agency Zawya reports.

The article reads that Aliyev’s family has had an uncomfortable relationship with democracy. His father Hyder, who was once a senior KGB officer, launched a successful coup against Azerbaijan’s only democratically elected leader Abulfaz Elchibey in 1993 to become president.

It is said that after ruling for 10 years, he stepped aside and nominated his son as his party’s sole candidate in 2003. Ilham Aliyev secured majority votes but opposition groups claimed the process was deeply flawed. Aliyev won a second term in 2008 after the opposition boycotted the elections in Azerbaijan.

The author notes, that there are some concerns among the Azeri political elite whether the president should run a third term.

The material also says that the president is looking to change the status quo because for the first time he may be up against a credible opposing candidate: 74-year-old writer Rustom Ibrahimbeyov, who could be acceptable to a number of opposition groups after they came together under the National Council coalition.

The article reads that, Azerbaijan may have prospered, it has received dismal marks from virtually every human rights institution and NGO in the world. Thus, Human Rights Watch says that since March 2012, the Azeri authorities have arrested or convicted at least 22 political activists, journalists, social media bloggers, human-rights defenders, and others who criticized the government.

However as the author of the article says it is unclear whether Azeris are ready for a major change.

As the article reads, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says that Azerbaijan has been one of the world’s fastest growing economies in the past decade, yet the country is at a critical juncture given the foreseeable decline in oil production and gas reserves.

Most analysts are predicting oil production to decline within two decades and while natural gas revenues are on the rise, they may not be enough to offset falling oil receipts. The age-old recommendation to diversify away from the hydrocarbon economy has been falling on deaf ears.

The article also says that the focus on natural gas is crucial to maintaining the Azeri economy’s growth trajectory, especially as Aliyev needs a healthy flow of revenues to keep his citizenry content and opposition parties at bay. But the country could face a number of challenges as commodity prices are falling, which is inconvenient for a president fighting for re-election, the author of the material writes.

As the IMF reports, the government’s planned spending program, including in the 2013 budget, is exacerbating oil dependence and increasing risks to a potential fall in global oil prices.

Source: Panorama.am

Germany’s Merkel warns against arming Syria rebels

June 27, 2013 By administrator

June 27, 2013 – 20:14 AMT

German chancellor Angela Merkel has warned against shipping weapons to Syrian rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar Assad, Belfast Telegraph said.

The German leader told parliament she understands why Britain, France and the United States are considering arms deliveries to some rebel groups in Syria, who are facing strong resistance from Syrian government forces and its Hezbollah allies.

But Ms Merkel said that, in her view, “the risks would be incalculable”.

She did not explain why but critics fear Western arms would only prolong the conflict without tipping the scales decisively.

And Western weapons, including anti-aircraft missiles, could fall into the hands of Islamic extremists who might eventually use them against Western interests.

Let’s Go to Greece: Places in Greece You Would Like to Visit This Summer!

June 27, 2013 By administrator

New York.- By Vicki James Yiannias

“Does anyone really need a reason to visit Greece? The land, the people, the history, the food… you’ll find all these reasons, and more, in travel brochures and posters. But why you really should visit Greece is to feel alive,” Diane Shugart, editor of Odyssey magazine in Athens, Greece, told the GN, expressing what so many feel to be a fundamental truth about that beautiful country.

Addressing the topic of visiting Greece in view of the economic situation, she said, “Greece is still Greece. And people may be going through a very difficult time, but they haven’t lost their humanity or their zest for life.”

The Peloponnese and Crete hold special fascination for Ms. Shugart.

“I have so many favorite places in Greece, it’s impossible to name one. But time and time again, I find myself returning to the Peloponnese and Crete. I’m enchanted with how they shrink the world, bring it closer, but also open it up, thanks to a varied topography that puts 2.5km peaks just minutes away from the sea.” If she were restricted to just a couple of days in Athens, said Shugart,

“I’d spend the first day visiting the Acropolis and Acropolis Museum before wandering around Plaka and Thisseio, and take in the sunset at Sounio. I’d spend the second day on a day-cruise to the Saronic islands or independently visit Aegina or Poros. Maybe I’m biased, but there is a reason I’ve chosen to live on Poros, says Shugart, who is in the enviable position of being able to step out of her house and walk along the sea, “Or maybe combine a trip to Poros with a tour of the Argolid.”

It’s a cliché by now, but undeniable nonetheless, that the clear, ecstatically blue seas of Greece heal the body and calm the soul. According to the many who say that they can’t do without the health benefits derived from swimming in Greece’s therapeutic sea every year, it’s not just a divine experience but also a necessary one. It makes sense. 93 out of 100 Greek beaches are rated “excellent” by the European Environmental Agency, and a recent CNN report names 4 Greek beaches, two on Crete, and one each on the islands of Zakynthos and Lefkada, among the top 100 best beaches in the world. The only thing you need to know about the famous Zakynthos beach “Ναυάγιο” the report says, is that it’s “exquisite”. You’ll see “dramatic sunsets, and electric blue water” at Lefkada’s “Εγκρεμνοί” beach, and the “pastel colors of the marvelous” Μπάλος beach in Chania, Crete, make it “postcard perfect”, while the “biggest beach party” takes place on the Φαλάσαρνα beach, also in Chania.

Following Gianna Daskalakis-Angelopoulos’s suggestions to support Greece’s agrotourism by visiting small producers of wine and olive oil, while you are Chania take the opportunity to find out how forward-thinking Greece is in its support of organic and sustainable agriculture by visiting the Astrikas Estate, where Biolea olive oil originates. One of the most serious quality olive oil exporters to the US, Astrikas Estate is only 30 kilometers away from Chania. Walking though the primordial olive groves you can breathe in the past, then view the future by learning about the importance of sustainability.

For more agrotourism entwined with a culinary experience, you can just make it for a June 24-27 cookbook vacation on renown cookbook author Aglaia Kremezi’s island paradise on Kea, where you have a festival in general, learning to cook with the splendid produce—even some indigenous varieties of greens that you may never have seen before–that she and her husband Costas cultivate, taste wines and olive oils and feast on your own perfected efforts in the best of Greece’s rural settings. A second program, a special olive picking and pressing program, here you pick olives and press them in Aglaia and Costa’s own olive press is coming up on September 22-26.)

In the village of Tsangarada on the eastern slopes of Mt. Pelion, one of the most beautiful places in Greece, you can embrace nature in a special kind of foraging agrotourism (a contemporary rage) by staying in the AMANITA Guesthouse, situated between the mountain and the sea, and taking the guesthouse’s gastronomic tour of the mountain, the walking tours among the Forest of the Centaurs’ centuries old trees to collect fruits, nuts, and herbs and gather mushrooms, treks along the mountain’s stone pathways, and the beaches and tiny hidden coves bordering emerald green waters.

These suggestions are just drop in the vast sea of Greece’s summer holiday potential. This small country holds a universe of things to discover, to invent, and to luxuriate in. You can pursue whatever pleases you in its sophisticated cosmopolitan centers and gorgeous land and seascapes.

Diane Shugart offers a last, invaluable thought: “As for what else to do when you visit Greece, there’s a lot and there’s nothing–which is something we’ve forgotten how to do. I’ll go on vacation with a list of books to read or a project I want to work on in peace, but instead I’ll spend those hours just sitting, staring out at the sea or the land. Greece helps you find balance,” she said, “The thing about coming to Greece is that once isn’t enough. You always have to come back. You always want to come back. Again. And again.

Your tourist dollars will help get Greece’s economy moving more than any other assistance. Let’s go to Greece this summer!

Turkey: 105 years in prison for nine KCK detainees

June 27, 2013 By administrator

June 27, 2013

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey’s Kurdish region,— Diyarbakir 6th High Criminal Court sentenced nine defendants in the KCK (Kurdish Communities Union) Eruh trial to a total of 105 years and 8 months in prison, as well as 74,880 TL pecuniary penalty. The trial of nine defendants has been going on since 2010.

The court sentenced each of the nine defendants to six years and three months in prison for allegedly “committing a crime on behalf of an illegal organization that they are not members to”, three years for “possessing hazardous material”, two years and six months for “damaging public property”. Each of the defendants was also imposed a pecuniary penalty of 8,320 TL.

On the other hand, of 23 people who have been tried in the scope of the KCK Batman trial, eight were released following the first hearing at Diyarbakir 8th High Criminal Court on Tuesday.

The KCK is a clandestine group suspected of being the political wing of the armed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Turkish authorities accuse the KCK of wanting to promote insurrection in Turkey’s Kurdish region (Northern Kurdistan).

Among the defendants, of whom 19 have been remanded in custody, are also students and members of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). Defendants were able to give their testimonies in Kurdish as the court provided Kurdish interpreters.

The next hearing has been set for 10 September.

The KCK-trial began on October 18, 2010 when a Turkish court began the trial of 152 high profile Kurdish politicians and rights defenders, accused of being the urban wing of the outlawed separatist Kurdish PKK rebels.

Over 7748 people were taken into custody and over 3895 persons were arrested in the scope of KCK operations during the past nine months,www.ekurd.net the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party announced. Dozens of BDP executives and employees are still in prison.

Source Ekurd.net

294 children detained during Gezi protests in Turkey

June 27, 2013 By administrator

ANKARA

Almost 300 children were taken into custody and one child was wounded by a bullet over the course of the Gezi Park demonstrations, according to a report.

The report by the Gündem Çocuk (“Children on the Agenda”) Association covered violations of children’s rights between May 28 and June 25.

According to the report, a minimum of 294 children were taken into custody during the protests. The number of children detained was 78 in Ankara, 35 in Istanbul, 130 in Adana, 34 in İzmir, two in Kayseri and 15 in Mersin. The report also consisted of cases where children were exposed to tear gas, pressurized water and noise bombs, and some in which they were beaten with batons. Some were taken into unregistered custody and were subject to handcuffing and profiling.

The report stated that some children in custody were held within the scope of the fight against terrorism.

Remarkably, the report suggested there was also a case in which a child was wounded by a bullet. It said a 17-year-old high school student was wounded by a bullet in the back in Istanbul’s Taksim Square on June 1. In a police proceeding recorded upon the event, it was noted that the bullet was sent to the related unit for ballistic inquiry. Soon after, the family pressed charges against the public prosecutor’s office as the bullet was found to have come from the police.

Suicide bombing in Damascus Christian area kills 4: TV

June 27, 2013 By administrator

DAMASCUS – Agence France-Presse

A file photo shows civilians and security at the scene of a bombing in the Mazzeh 86 area of the Syrian capital Damascus. AFP Photo A suicide bomb attack in a Christian area in the heart of the Syrian capital on Thursday killed at least four people, state television said.

“A terrorist suicide bombing… in Damascus has left four people dead and several others wounded,” the broadcaster said.

11 more arrested in İzmir for provoking Gezi protests

June 27, 2013 By administrator

27 June 2013 /TODAYSZAMAN.COM, İSTANBUL

Eleven out of 13 people who had been detained in the western province of İzmir on charges of creating tension in society by provoking people during the Gezi Park protests were arrested on Thursday.

The suspects were sent to jail pending trial by an İzmir court after they were interrogated at the İzmir Police Department’s counter-terrorism unit. They are accused of provoking protests, damaging public and private property, membership in a terrorist organization and attacking police officers.

Tens of thousands of people joined nationwide protests following a police crackdown on participants in a peaceful sit-in in İstanbul’s Gezi Park near Taksim Square on May 31. The protesters are dissatisfied with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s 10-year rule and his government’s plans to build a replica of the Ottoman Topçu Barracks over the park as part of the Taksim rejuvenation project. Five people, including a policeman, have died and more than 5,000 have been injured in the clashes, according to a Turkish rights group.

Merkel tells Turkey democratic values ‘non-negotiable’ for EU

June 27, 2013 By administrator

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday she welcomed an agreement to re-open talks with Turkey about joining the European Union but warned in the light of the crackdown on Turkish protesters that democratic values were “non-negotiable.”

Her remarks came soon after the 27-nation-bloc agreed to keep accession talks with Turkey on track but it did so by approving a compromise formula which underlined the EU’s discontent with the way Ankara handled recent anti-government protests.

Merkel told the German parliament on Thursday that the EU’s conditional agreement to stick with Turkey’s application for membership meant the European bloc was “not acting as if nothing had happened.”

EU General Affairs Council (GAC) meeting, bringing together ministers from member states, agreed on Tuesday to open accession talks with Turkey on one of the 35 negotiating chapters but delayed an inter-governmental conference that marks the actual start of the talks by at least four months. The conference will now take place at a date that will be set after the EU Commission releases an annual progress report on Turkey’s membership efforts in mid-October.

“This outcome makes it clear that Turkey is an important partner but that our European values of the freedom to protest, freedom of opinion, the rule of law and religious freedom, are always valid and are not negotiable,” Reuters quoted Merkel as saying.

Similar to Merkel, other EU and the US officials have slammed the Turkish government for its handling of the protests, which drew harsh responses from Turkish officials, upsetting ties between the West and Turkey.

Amid mounting reaction to the Turkish government, Merkel’s conservatives, who oppose Turkish EU membership, strengthened their stance in their election manifesto on Monday, arguing that Turkey has not fulfilled the conditions for EU accession.

During last week’s EU meeting on Turkey’s accession bid, Germany and the Netherlands also opposed the opening of a new chapter, but later had a change of heart.

Comments on EU move

On Thursday, some EU officials responded to the opening of a new chapter with Turkey in the EU membership process.

Member of the European Parliament Baroness Sarah Ludford welcomed the EU move on Turkey’s accession talks, hoping that momentum will resume. “It would not serve the interests of those protesting for freedom and pluralism in Turkey to cut Turkey off from its European Union destination,” she said in remarks to Today’s Zaman.

“Turkey’s EU membership bid fundamentally depends on the government in Ankara improving its record on democracy and human rights. Like any country seeking EU membership, Turkey must conform to the liberal values that the European Union seeks to uphold. Unfortunately, concerns on this score repeatedly expressed by all the EU institutions have been exacerbated by Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan’s hostile response in recent weeks to the overwhelmingly peaceful protests.”

She said that EU continues to press Turkey for greater reforms, while adding that this attitude by the European bloc must not push Turkey away or to renege on promises.

Another comment on the EU move came from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) which said in a statement that “movement in the accession process is the best way to support Turkish reform.”

Contrary to some observers who expressed their reservations about supporting the opening of accession talks while protests were ongoing in Turkey, the FCO said: “The areas covered by Chapter 22 (Regional Policy) are not related to the current events in Turkey.”

US house committee holds session on Gezi Park protests

Meanwhile, the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Wednesday discussed the Gezi Park events during a session titled “Turkey at a Crossroads: What do the Gezi Park Protests Mean for Democracy in the Region?”

US lawmakers as well as Turkish and American experts attended the session to express their opinions about the recent protests and their effect on democracy.

Delivering an opening speech at the meeting, US Representative William R. Keating welcomed the diversity of protestors on Turkish streets expressing discontent about the governance of Prime Minister Erdoğan, criticized the Turkish prime minister for the “seeming sanctioning of brute force by the police against peaceful protesters.”

“The energy of these demonstrations could well become the basis for a re-invigorated, dynamic democracy. That is not a development Mr. Erdoğan should fear but rather one he should welcome,” Keating said.

Claiming that the electoral dominance of the Justice and Development (AK Party) led to the seemingly one-party system in the country, Keating said this situation left many others feeling “frustrated and powerless.” He further noted that Erdoğan’s majoritarian philosophy caused an exacerbation of frustration felt by many.

The US representative also had things to say about the harsh rhetoric used by Turkish officials, claiming that the defiant tone used by the authorities further inflamed the Gezi Park events.

James F. Jeffrey, former US ambassador to Turkey, also expressed his concerns about the government’s reaction to the protests.

“Turkey is increasingly split into two quite different political groupings, and that the government might be contributing to further polarization of the society. This is the situation of greatest concern to those of us who have worked with and follow Turkey closely,” said Jeffrey.

However, he admitted that any government has the right to restore order, and at least some of the demonstrators came from violent, radical backgrounds. The blocking of a major traffic center in one of the world’s biggest cities for weeks is not something that any government will allow to go on indefinitely, Jeffrey added.

For his part, Dr. Hillel Fradkin, Director of the Center on Islam, Democracy and the Future of the Muslim World at the Hudson Institute, described the implications of protests for the whole region as “not promising.”

He said that what the countries of the region need is some model of consensual democratic politics with some due accommodation of religious sensibilities. “For a while it seemed and was hoped that Turkey could provide that. But that is hardly the case today,” Fradkin said, adding that excessive use of police force has weakened Erdoğan’s moral authority in the region.