There seems to be a lot of confusion about what the NSA is actually doing. Are they reading our emails? Are they listening to our telephone calls? Do they target American citizens or is it only foreigners that they are targeting? The following are 21 facts about NSA snooping that every American should know… … Read More
US claims of Assad’s chemical weapons are lies – Pushkov
“The data about Assad’s use of chemical weapons is fabricated by the same facility that made up the lies about Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction. Obama is walking George W. Bush’s path,” the head of the Duma’s Foreign Affairs Committee Aleksey Pushkov tweeted. The Russian MP was referring to the 2003 invasion in Iraq prompted by the US and UK claims that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction that threatened neighboring nations. The UN probe into the matter was underway as the invasion started and no traces of WMD have been discovered on Iraqi territory since the war ended, prompting accusations that the US administration and special services fabricated the data to get an excuse to start the conflict. In comments to Russian news agencies Pushkov noted that the supplies of arms from the US to the Syrian rebels would hardly lead to the overthrow of President Bashar Assad’s regime. He added that the government in Syria is supported by “a significant, if not the larger, part of the population” and the Syrian military “show a high degree of resistance.” Pushkov also forecast that the United States would now attempt to further escalate the situation. “Now they are arming the rebels but then they will come to some form of direct military involvement. We cannot exclude the possibility of cruise missile strikes and if this measure brings no result – of direct military intervention,” he said. The statement was made shortly after US authorities publicly announced that they had proof that pro-government forces used chemical weapons, like the nerve agent sarin in the Syrian conflict, killing at least 150 people. At the same time, the US side claimed that there was no proof about similar actions from the rebels’ side. US Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes has told the press that President Barack Obama has decided to boost the US support to the Syrian opposition forces and that this would now include military support. The detailed orders will be issued within the nearest weeks after Obama consults with the Congress, the official added. Earlier last week UK and France said that their probes into the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria showed that the pro-government forces did it at least once causing casualties among rebels and called the international community for immediate action. Many officials, including top Russian politicians, noted that the impartiality of British and French researchers is under question and urged an independent probe. The UN is currently preparing its own independent investigation, but it might take a long time. Syrian government has said it was ready to accept the UN delegation and help with the investigation. In late March one of the conflicting parties in Syria allegedly used a sarin-charged missile near the city of Aleppo. The government and rebels now accuse each other of the attack that killed at least 25 people. While the UK, France and now the United states accuse pro-Assad forces, Turkish media said in early June that the country’s security forces had found sarin gas in the homes of members of the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front – one of the main groups opposing the Syrian government. Russian officials have repeatedly condemned the use of chemical weapons and urged an all-sided and unbiased research into all incidents connected with the issue. … Read More
Snowden Leak "Tip of the Iceberg" of NSA Surveillance Program
http://www.youtube.com/v/5nvXn2w_FvY?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata See original article: Snowden Leak "Tip of the Iceberg" of NSA Surveillance Program
Russia’s ‘Global Mind’ banking on $50 bln 2020 Expo glory
The Russian Expo Theme “the Global Mind” implies three major objectives: to create an opportunity for comprehensive discussion of modern realities so as to “synchronize our clocks with the global time”; to develop an efficient platform for promotion of innovations; to highlight the significance of multiculturalism and the importance of its preservation. In order to achieve these objectives the Theme is broken down in five sub-themes: Innovation, Economics, Society, Quality of Life, Culture. Russia has created a special Programme for Assistance to Developing Countries providing for a fully covered participation in the Expo of about 80 nations. The Bid Committee presented a draft of the complex, which will be built if the city wins the bid to host the exhibition. Implementation of the project will require urban infrastructure investments to the tune of $50 billion, half of which will be raised from private investors, including foreign companies. Today, Russia’s steady economic, technological and industrial development has allowed it to maintain a prominent position in the World Expo arena, and demonstrate the newest projects and achievements in all strategically important and innovative areas. In spite of Russia’s long tradition and experience in participating in World Expositions, it has not yet had the honor of hosting one. Home to approximately 1.4 million people and located 1,667 kilometers east of Moscow, Ekaterinburg is the administrative centre of the Sverdlovsk region and the main city of the Ural Federal District of the Russian Federation. As the fourth largest city in Russia, Ekaterinburg has served as a significant stopping point on what is known as the Siberian Route – the 8,000 kilometre passage from Moscow to China. Today, Ekaterinburg is a major transport hub for people and goods, serving as a junction along the Trans-Siberian railway, home to an ultra-modern international airport and an intersecting point of six federal highways. Today, Ekaterinburg is the beneficiary of a robust and diverse economy, consistently rated as an attractive place to do business. It has hosted major international conferences and conventions, and is home to representatives of more than 400 multinational companies. Ekaterinburg creating a strategic infrastructure for innovation-driving business, including investments of billions of dollars in technoparks, industrial parks, innovative technology centres and modern transportation and communications infrastructures. Manufacturing is the city’s leading economic sector with an annual turnover exceeding €3.7 billion. Goods manufactured in Ekaterinburg are exported to more than 100 countries around the world. An average of 20 foreign businesses are launched from Ekaterinburg each year and a total of 320 foreign businesses were registered in 2010 which only reinforces its position as a growing hub for international business and investment. Ekaterinburg is also notable for its role as a major centre for science, education and technology. Additionally, with its 20 academic research institutes, the city is a centre of research for science and technology, namely for advanced nanotechnologies. Home to 31 higher-education institutions and 45 regional affiliates of higher education institutions from cities such as Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, and more than 220,000 students, the city has emerged as an education hub. Indicative of its business-friendly environment, for the past four years Ekaterinburg has been included in the Top 10 list of Forbes Magazine as one of the best and most convenient cities for business in Russia. Largely renovated in 2009, Ekaterinburg’s international airport, Koltsovo, is served by more than 30 domestic and international airlines and connects to 80 cities around the world. It currently welcomes 3.5 million passengers per year and will be able to serve 8 million per year by 2020. In 2012, the Koltsovo Airport was named the best airport in the CIS countries by the World Routes Awards. To further strengthen its bid for the World Expo 2020, the city is building Ekaterinburg Expo into the area’s largest exhibition complex and the most advanced facility of its kind in Russia. In order to win Russia will need to convince more than 80 countries who have a voice in determining the host city of the Expo. We sincerely expect to receive the necessary support and strongly believe that World Expo 2020 in Ekaterinburg will be a huge success. … Read More
NSA director says programs prevented dozens of attacks; public opinion on surveillance, Snowden mixed
The recovery effort for the PRISM leak carries on as various members of the U.S. Government and National Security Agency continue attempts at justifying the program to Congress and the public. NSA director Keith Alexander told a senate committee on Wednesday that government surveillance programs have facilitated the prevention of… … Read More
NGOs find loopholes in Foreign Agents’ Law, officials urge corrections
One possible option is to register an ordinary commercial company that would receive funds from abroad and employ NGO staff as workers to pay their salaries, Kommersant daily wrote quoting the head of a Russian NGO who spoke on the condition of total anonymity. The source noted that about 15 Russian groups had already switched to this method. Another possible way, suggested by the daily itself, is to set up an endowment that would properly register as a foreign agent and receive foreign funding which would then be transferred to one or several Russian groups, allowing them to skip the registration as they are formally sponsored by a Russian company. The third way has been outlined in a recent report by the Civil Initiatives Committee, an influential expert group chaired by former finance minister Aleksey Kudrin, which said that under growing pressure Russian NGOs could re-register in neighboring states. Some Russian officials already called for changes in the recently approved law, saying that the flaws of the original bill are being exposed as it is applied. Mikhail Fedotov, chairman of the Presidential Council on Human Rights, said that the practice was only showing one thing – that the law had been poorly written and that it was in need of corrections. Fedotov added that the council had already prepared several suggestions on corrections, but he did not go into detail. Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich has said that the law needs changes and called for activists to draft their amendments. But Dvorkovich added that the law is in force and must be observed by all members of the community until it is altered in the desired way. Russia introduced the so-called Foreign Agents Law in November last year. It requires all NGOs engaged in political activities and receiving funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents”. Failure to do so is punishable by a fine and may bring about an extensive inspection by prosecutors and the Justice Ministry. These two departments launched a major nationwide program in March this year in order to check how the fresh law is being applied. The inspections caused protests from NGOs, rights activists and the international community, which claimed they were a form of government pressure on independent critics. Russian officials, including the president, have repeatedly stated that the law is not banning any NGOs and simply requires disclosure of the sources of their income. Such transparency would give Russian citizens and voters some clues about possible motives of the groups’ political actions, the officials added. Currently no organization is registered as a foreign agent in Russia. … Read More
UK MPs want Google’s taxes investigated
Public Accounts Committee wants accounts made public … Read More
