Israel is expected to address the issue of possible Russian plans to sell advanced air defense systems to Damascus. Moscow stated on Friday that there were no such plans, however, S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems could still be shipped to Syria under an existing contract. For its part, the Kremlin has voiced concerns over plans to extend a no-fly zone into Syrian airspace following airstrikes allegedly carried out by Israeli war planes inside Syria last week.“Unfortunately, such destructive ideas resurface periodically, but no one thinks about the consequences,” said Genardy Gatilov, Deputy Russian Foreign Minister. He also stressed decisions regarding Syria could only be taken by the UN Security Council and that any other actions were a breach of international law. The Israeli PM’s visit comes off the back of US Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent visit to Moscow, during which he emphasized the US commitment to the Geneva communiqué which calls all sides of the conflict to the negotiating table. The UK Prime Minister also held talks in Russia agreeing to work in tandem with Russia to bring the two-year conflict raging in Syria to an end. Last year’s Geneva accord saw the international community come to an agreement on a plan for power transition in Syria. Following the meeting, however, differing interpretations of the plan led to yet more disagreements among the international community. In the latest attempt to encourage a diplomatic solution to the conflict Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and John Kerry agreed last week to organize talks that would bring together the Syrian opposition and government. The Syrian government said on Tuesday that it needed more information on the proposed conference before it could decide on its participation. The French government also voiced its reservations over the new plan, doubting that the meeting will be held anytime soon. They said at the very earliest the conference would happen at the end of May. Previous attempts to coerce the opposition into talks with the government have been fruitless. Rebels have called for the immediate step-down of President Assad, while the government condemns opposition forces as terrorists.‘Israel shooting itself in the foot?’ Israel’s strikes on Syrian territory allegedly targeting weapons convoys headed for Hezbollah in Lebanon drew sharp condemnation from Damascus, which branded them as an act of war. Furthermore, President Assad invited Palestinian fighters over the border into Syria to fight against Israel.“Israel gives itself permission to attack other countries but does not accept any other country doing the same to it. This strike cannot be legitimate and Israel should be judged in international courts,” said Jaber Bassal from Israeli political party Hadash to RT correspondent Paula Slier. Despite international condemnation there is widespread support in Israel for the strikes inside Syria. Hamad Awidat, a local journalist in Israel told RT that the violence would not stop at Syria and will lead to a spillover of the violence.“After they are finished killing the Syrian people they go ahead to Haifa, to Nazareth, to Tel Aviv and to Jerusalem,” Awidat said. Israeli officials have not yet confirmed or denied to have been behind the airstrikes in spite of widespread international condemnation that the attacks where a breach of international law. … Read More
Police want ‘kill switch’ for smartphones
In San Francisco, California, half of the robberies reported in the last year involved the loss of a cell phone. George Gascon is the city’s district attorney and says things don’t have to stay that way.”Unlike other types of crimes, this is a crime that could be easily fixed with a technological solution,” Gascon told the New York Times recently.Apple’s iPhone and other smartphone models retail new in stores for hundreds of dollars apiece, and they are far from worthless on the black market. According to the Times, smartphones sold on the street in San Francisco can fetch upwards of $500, substantially less than a brand new iPhone 5 will set a customer back. But would that be any different if, say, stolen cell phones couldn’t be used again? Gascon and others think so and are calling on cell phone companies like Apple and others to implement a new technology that could remotely turn off a stolen phone for good.”We know that the technology can be developed to prevent this. This is more about social responsibility than economic gain,” he added to the Associated Press.But that economic gain is indeed something that cell phone makers don’t want to miss out on. Last year almost 174 million new cellphones were sold in the United States, totaling roughly $69 billion in sales. In cities such as San Francisco or Washington, DC — where 40 percent of last year’s robberies involved cell phones — victims of mobile phone threat are stuck spending hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars a year on replacement phones. If swiped smartphones couldn’t be used, Gascon said the number of incidents would likely go down.”What I’m talking about is creating a kill switch so that when the phone gets reported stolen, it can be rendered inoperable in any configuration or carrier,” Gascon he told the newspaper.Chuck Wexler is the executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, and explained to the Times that the cell phone industry could have started taking these steps years ago.“If you look at auto theft, it has really plummeted in this country because technology has advanced so much and the manufacturers recognize the importance of it,” he said. “The cellphone industry has for the most part been in denial. For whatever reasons, it has been slow to move.”It will likely take a whole lot more than asking politely to have Apple, Google and others change the way their phones work, though. Gascon met with Apple’s government liaison officer Michael Foulkes last year to discuss the ‘kill switch’ option and described the encounter to the Times as “disappointing.””For me, a technical solution is probably better than just a criminal solution,” Gascon said. “We can always create more laws, but look at how long it already takes to prosecute somebody at the expense of the taxpayers?”Washington, DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier emailed the Associated Press to say she advocates new federal laws that will require wireless service providers to participate in a national stolen phone database that, while in place today, doesn’t mandate that carrier subscribe to the system.”This is a voluntary agreement and the decision makers, heads of these (wireless) companies may transition over time and may not be in the same position five years from now.” she said. “Something needs to be put in place to protect consumers.” … Read More
‘Astronomical costs’: Gitmo consumes $900,000 per prisoner annually
Follow RT’s day-by-day timeline of the Gitmo hunger strike.The prison camp situated at the US naval base in Cuba costs over $900,000 annually per prisoner, placing it far above the country’s maximum security prisons, which in comparison, cost $60,000 to $70,000 per prisoner. With 166 detainees, Gitmo devours over $150 million each year.“That … may be what finally get us to actually close the prison. I mean the costs are astronomical, when you compare them to what it would cost to detain somebody in the United States,” Ken Gude, chief of staff and vice president at the liberal Center for American Progress think tank told Reuters.The expense of maintaining the camp has led Obama to reiterate the necessity to close the prison, instated during the Republican presidency of George W. Bush, after having failed to fulfill his initial election promise to close the prison within a year of taking office as he had promised.The cost of the camp is so astronomical because the offshore location of the detention center and weak international ties between Cuba and America, mean that food, construction materials and other goods have to be shipped in from outside. Debate over the prison’s expenses has peaked during the course of budget battles between Obama and the Republican-dominated House of Representatives. Broad-scale spending cuts and the ‘sequestration’ of $109 billion have been set in place.The $900,000 annual cost per prisoner equates to the pay that was allocated to nearly seven states to help serve home delivered meals to the elderly, reports Reuters. Some $129,497 per state has been cut through sequestration.“No one has any particular affection for Guantanamo Bay, but no one has come up with a practical solution that’s better,” a Republican aide with the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee observed.Out of 166 detainees, as many as 130 are now currently taking part in a mass hunger-strike, their lawyers say. Official reports state that one hundred have joined the action.The strike began around February 6 and was instigated by widespread searches of detainees’ Korans – perceived as religious desecration – as well as searches and confiscation of other personal items, according to the strikers’ lawyers. Later, it grew into a protest against indefinite detention.The weakened state of the inmates has led to the authorities force-feeding them through nasal tubes – a practice which was condemned by the UN’s human rights office as a form of torture earlier this week.“If it’s perceived as torture or inhuman treatment – and it’s the case, it’s painful – then it is prohibited by international law,” Rupert Coville, spokesman for the UN high commissioner for human rights told AFP on Wednesday.American officials themselves have spoken out against the way in which the prison is administered.“Our taskforce was unanimous – we just do not believe that it fits into the laws and the ethics and the values of America to have indefinite detention, and to not allow a court of law – an adjudication of the charges against a person – to go through an orderly process,” Ambassador James Jones told RT late on Friday.He later pointed out that officials in charge have no reason to be holding more than half of the detainees.“We have actually prosecuted similar cases against other countries who have not followed what we say we ought to do, and we’re not following and practicing what we are preaching,” he said. … Read More
Syria’s friends ‘will not let it fall in the hands’ of US, Israel – Hezbollah chief
“Syria has real friends in the region and the world that will not let Syria fall in the hands of America, Israel or Takfiri groups, they will not let this happen,” Nasrallah said as quoted by the local news website Daily Star.The Hezbollah chief stressed that considering the facts on ground, the rebels lacked the capabilities for a military takeover.“You cannot topple the regime militarily and the facts on the ground prove that you can’t, although you are fighting the Syrian army and the pro-regime popular forces. Until the moment no Iranian forces have entered Syria.”On the subject of Syrian border towns and Hezbollah’s involvement, Nasrallah said the Lebanese state has failed to protect all of its citizens.“I have already talked about the issue of Qusayr’s countryside and said that 30,000 Lebanese Muslims and Christians were targeted, torched and prevented from going to work.”He added that Hezbollah “will not let the Lebanese in rural Qusayr be subjected to attacks from armed groups and whoever wants help to stay in their village then we will not hesitate to offer this help,” as quoted by the Daily Star.However, Nasrallah added that only a political solution would resolve the conflict.“I tell the Arab and Muslim peoples and all Syrians that whoever wants to rescue Syria … that they must seek political dialogue and a political settlement” he said according to the Lebanese news agency Naharnet.The Lebanese-based Hezbollah group and Iran are close allies of the Assad government. Syria’s opposition has previously accused Hezbollah of aiding Syrian government troops trying to crush the uprising that recently entered its third year. … Read More
High Unemployment Due to Lack of Demand, Not Lack of Skills or Education
Jesse Rothstein: Low wages and lack of purchasing power the real structural problem, skills training and more education is not the critical solution … Read More
Swedes ditch downloads for illegal streaming
Swedes are turning away from file-sharing sites like The Pirate Bay in favour of “safer” illegal streaming sites for new movies and TV shows, with experts claiming that Swedes would pay for content if a better solution was available. … Read More
Obama "Red Line" on Syria Avoids Dealing with Massive Humanitarian Crisis
Rana Khoury: All the outside intervention is ruining the country; a political solution and humanitarian assistance is the only way to stop the killing … Read More
