Lots of ground to cover, and we’ll start with the biggest story, the latest violent blowback for American violence, the little war we waged on a false pretext to satisfy deeper geopolitical motivations.
First, we turn to the Los Angeles Times for the latest in imperial hubris:
Obama sets ambitious goals for Iraq intervention
President Obama said Saturday that U.S. forces will seek to deny a safe haven to “barbaric terrorists” in Iraq and will help create a humanitarian corridor to rescue thousands of religious refugees trapped on a mountaintop, broadening his goals for the latest U.S. intervention in Iraq.
Speaking on the White House South Lawn, the president also suggested that the airstrikes by U.S. Navy fighter jets and Predator drones against Islamist militants that began Friday near the major city of Irbil won’t be a short-term operation.
The U.S. is prepared, he said, to continue bombing the fighters of Islamic State, an Al Qaeda breakaway group, as long as thousands of Americans living and working in Irbil are threatened. “We’re going to maintain vigilance and ensure that our people our safe,” the president said, before departing for Martha’s Vineyard on a family vacation.
More from Deutsche Welle:
Obama declines to put timeframe on Iraq operation
US President Barack Obama has declined to say how long the current American military operations in Iraq will likely continue. He also said the crisis could only be resolved after a unified Iraqi government is in place
Speaking to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House on Saturday, President Barack Obama said airstrikes, which US forces began carrying out on Friday, had “successfully destroyed arms and equipment “ used by a group of militants who call themselves the “Islamic State” (IS). Obama said that the US had “stepped up” military assistance to Kurdish forces fighting the Sunni extremists near the northern Iraq city of Irbil.
The US president said an operation to provide humanitarian aid through airdrops to members of Iraq’s Yazidi religious minority trapped on Sinjar mountain would continue. The Yazidis were left without food or water after taking refuge on the mountain to escape IS militants advancing into the city of Sinjar one week ago.
Obama also said he had secured the support in that humanitarian operation of British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande.
And the predictably belligerent response from the London Daily Mail:
‘A message from ISIS to the US’: Islamist militants tweet gruesome images of dead American soldiers and vow to blow up embassies as terrorist convoy is wiped out in SECOND round of airstrikes
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT: Militants who support the terror group ISIS tweeted threats to America on Friday after Barack Obama began airstrikes in Iraq
Some warn of car bombs at embassies while others taunt US military personnel with death threats
A handful of biting retorts have mocked the ham-fisted attempt to use social media as a tool of war
Tweets coincided with first U.S. airstrikes authorized by Obama to protect American staff and relief efforts
Food and water supplies have been airdropped to 50,000 refugees trapped on mountain
ISIS have been accused of taking hundreds of women hostage
Supporters of the ISIS terror group tweeted thousands of messages on Friday bearing the hashtag #AmessagefromISIStoUS featuring gruesome photos and threats to U.S. soldiers and citizens after American airstrikes took out terrorist targets in Iraq for the first time.
Some tweeted photos depict dead U.S. Army soldiers, U.S. marines hung from bridges in Fallujah, decapitated men, human heads on spikes, and the twin towers in flames on September 11, 2001.
‘This is a message for every American citizen,’ read one message sent with the hashtag. ‘You are the target of every Muslim in the world wherever you are.’
From the McClatchy Washington Bureau, a question:
New Iraq mission’s tough question: What does U.S. do if Islamic State survives?
“The words ‘limited’ and ‘deterrence’ don’t belong in the same sentence. There has to be the threat of a disproportionate size,” said Christopher Harmer, a senior naval analyst for the Washington-based Institute for the Study for War. “ISIS is not going to respond to limited strikes. They understand the West is reluctant to get involved.”
Senior military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to a reporter, conceded as much, with one explaining: “There is probably some gray area” in the latest U.S. effort in Iraq.
Part of the concern is based on the most recent “limited” mission the Obama administration undertook on behalf of a besieged group: Libya. In 2011, as residents of Benghazi, Libya, faced an imminent attack from forces loyal to the country’s leader, Moammar Gadhafi, the U.S. announced it would intervene as part of a NATO mission to protect civilians from harm. The effort was billed as humanitarian, but it ended up toppling Gadhafi and leading to his death and empowering Islamist militias that now control much of the country. Libya is convulsed in a civil war between those Islamists and secular forces, the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans were killed in an attack in Benghazi in 2012, and last month the United States evacuated its embassy in Tripoli, the country’s capital.
And from the McClatchy Washington Bureau again, another question:
When is it genocide? U.S. interests help decide
Obama’s use of the word genocide _ which was echoed on Thursday by Secretary of State John Kerry _ is extremely unusual, said Jonas Claes, a conflict analyst for the United States Institute of Peace.
Claes couldn’t recall any other time during Obama’s presidency when he had used the term to describe current events.
Usually presidents dance around the word because it implies a legal responsibility to act, Claes said.
Meanwhile, the tragic legacy of using vaccination programs as covers for spooky operations continues to unfold, reports the Express Tribune in Karachi, Pakistan:
Unavailability of security cover forces polio drive in Quetta to be postponed
Despite the first reported case of polio in over a year in Balochistan surfacing last month, the government has been forced to postpone its immunisation drive in parts of the crisis hit province since it cannot provide security.
A three day anti-polio drive scheduled for Quetta and Pishin from August 11 to August 13 has been postponed.
With the security focus on Independence’s day celebrations, the government apparently can’t spare enough forces to safely oversee the immunization drive.
From the London Daily Mail, fuel poised for a toss into the flames:
‘The Spark that ignites quite a fire:’ Imminent release of CIA ‘torture’ report could put Americans and embassies in harm’s way, warn intelligence officials
National Intelligence Council pressures White House against the release of information on CIA interrogation techniques
Officials say the report could inflame anti-US passions in the Middle East
Sen. Dianne Feinstein remains locked in battle with the Obama administration over redactions that ‘obscure key facts’ in the report
The report shows CIA techniques were ‘far more brutal than previously understood’
American citizens and embassies could be at risk of attacks if the US Senate releases a lengthy intelligence report on CIA interrogation techniques.
The warning comes from the National Intelligence Council, which is pressuring the White House to keep the report under wraps to avoid inflaming anti-US passions abroad, lest more violence breaks out throughout the Middle East, reported Yahoo News.
‘It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out if you release a report like this at a time when terrorism is surging all over the Mideast you are handing the other side a recruitment tool,’ ex-CIA Director John McLaughlin told the news outlet. ‘It’s blindingly obvious.’
On to the desperation of the outfit once dubbed No Such Agency, via Reuters:
NSA, struggling to recruit top talent, turns to Silicon Valley
The U.S. National Security Agency is turning to Silicon Valley for topflight talent, but first it has to rebuild trust.
Anne Neuberger, special assistant to NSA Director Michael Rogers, said this week she feared the agency would no longer be able to recruit top technologists, since former contractor Edward Snowden blew the lid off the extent of its spying activities.
At a seminar organized by the non-profit LongNow Foundation in San Francisco, she extended a plea to an audience replete with tech workers to consider a career in government, or at least apply for a fellowship.
And some NSA blowback from TheLocal.de:
Berlin seeks names of secret service agents
Berlin has asked all foreign diplomatic missions to provide names of secret service agents working in Germany, according to a media report on Friday, amid a rift with Washington over allegations of US spying.
Contacted by AFP, the German foreign ministry did not refute the report, originally published in Der Spiegel, which said that a note has been sent to embassies asking them for “lists of names of all active agents”.
The move came about a month after Germany ordered the Berlin CIA station chief to leave the country in an unprecedented show of anger after uncovering two cases of suspected US spying, hot on the heels of mass surveillance by the National Security Agency (NSA).
The Spiegel report said the circular to embassies was sparked by Berlin’s frustration over Washington’s repeated denials that its agents were operating in Germany.
For a change, some increased security from El País:
Ministry to cut bodyguard protection to minimum levels as ETA threat recedes
Protection will gradually be withdrawn from more than 1,500 public figures, saving millions of euros
The Spanish Interior Ministry says that it is to begin withdrawing armed protection for senior members of the former Socialist Party administration, along with that given to other public figures and journalists. The announcement reflects confidence that Basque terrorist organization ETA no longer represents a threat, and will see some 200 police bodyguards and around 30 vehicles return to normal duties.
When Popular Party Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy took office in late 2011, more than 1,600 officials were under police protection. In most other European countries, that figure is usually around 30, and applies only to senior members of government and other institutional posts.
In March 2012, the secretary of state for security said that “given the ostensible reduction in the threat from ETA,” it would be cutting back on the number of bodyguards, a process that has gradually been underway since.
The Latin American Herald Tribune covers security sought:
Busy Mexican Highway Blocked by Protesters
The expressway linking the Mexican capital with the Pacific resort city of Acapulco was re-opened early Friday after being blocked for more than 10 hours by peasants demanding that authorities do more to fight crime, the Guerrero state government said.
Members of the Union of Towns and Organizations of Guerrero blocked the expressway outside Chilpancingo, the state capital, at some 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of Mexico City.
Authorities agreed to install a round-table to review the peasants’ demands, as a result of which the blockade was removed after about 10 hours, the Guerrero Public Safety Office said.
And from the Mainichi, digital stalking:
Stalkers use GPS devices to track down victims
In recent years, there have been multiple instances of stalkers using global positioning system (GPS) devices to track down victims and police are urging people who feel they are being stalked to quickly contact authorities.
According to Akiko Kobayakawa, head of the anti-stalking NPO Humanity, even when victims take all the steps available for them to flee, such as putting restrictions on the viewing of their resident’s card, there have been many instances recently where stalkers have located them. “There has been an increase in cases where GPS trackers are used,” says Kobayakawa.
Many GPS devices can be found for sale in Tokyo’s Akihabara district. Their original purpose is to, for example, keep track of the locations of people like children or the elderly. A store employee introduced one such product, saying, “The battery lasts four days. As long as this device is above ground, you will know where it is.”
From TechWeekEurope, and will the outcome be real or ornamental?:
Yahoo And Google To Work Together On Encrypted Email
Yahoo promises to implement end-to-end PGP encryption by 2015
Yahoo is planning to introduce end-to-end encryption and advanced privacy features into its email service by 2015, helping customers avoid both cyber criminals and government surveillance. The company will collaborate with Google, which detailed its efforts in June after contributing its encryption implementation to the open source community.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Yahoo’s email encryption will rely on the Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) standard developed by Phil Zimmerman, currently the president of secure communications provider Silent Circle. This means even Yahoo itself won’t be able to access the contents of the messages.
The sudden popularity of encrypted messaging services is seen as a response to the mass surveillance practices employed by government agencies such as US National Security Agency (NSA) and UK’s GCHQ, revealed by Edward Snowden last year.
On a related note, this from Ars Technica:
Father of PGP encryption: Telcos need to get out of bed with governments
Zimmermann’s Silent Circle working with Dutch telco to deliver encrypted calls
Phil Zimmermann, the creator of Pretty Good Privacy public-key encryption, has some experience when it comes to the politics of crypto. During the “crypto wars” of the 1990s, Zimmermann fought to convince the US government to stop classifying PGP as a “munition” and shut down the Clipper Chip program—an effort to create a government-mandated encryption processor that would have given the NSA a back door into all encrypted electronic communication. Now Zimmermann and the company he co-founded are working to convince telecommunications companies—mostly overseas—that it’s time to end their nearly century-long cozy relationship with governments.
Zimmermann compared telephone companies’ thinking with the long-held belief that tomatoes were toxic until it was demonstrated they weren’t. “For a long time, for a hundred years, phone companies around the world have created a culture around themselves that is very cooperative with governments in invading people’s privacy. And these phone companies tend to think that there’s no other way—that they can’t break from this culture, that the tomatoes are poisonous,” he said.
The Verge covers corporate resistance:
Google, Microsoft, others backing Facebook in fight over user privacy in New York
Tech companies and civil liberties unions are trying to fend off warrants
Facebook’s getting some company in its fight with the New York district attorney’s office over the protection of user data from government investigations, something that has quickly become a battle over constitutional rights. Today, a number of major tech companies including Dropbox, Foursquare, Google, Kickstarter, LinkedIn, Meetup, Microsoft, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, and Yelp, along with the New York Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU, filed amicus briefs in support of Facebook.
In a trio of filings today, the groups collectively argue that bulk warrants like the one that required Facebook to hand over user data for 381 users over to the NYDA are problematic, especially when attached to so-called “gag orders” that keep companies from alerting users that they are under investigation.
“Unless Facebook is able to assert its subscribers’ constitutional rights — and any of its own rights — the legality of the government’s actions with respect to those subscribers will escape review altogether. And had the government chosen to indict no one, no one would have been the wiser,” reads the opener of a filing from Google, Pinterest, Microsoft, Twitter, and Yelp.
From Channel NewsAsia Singapore, a major unLike:
Malaysia to study whether Facebook should be blocked
The Malaysian government will study whether it is necessary to block Facebook following a case of abuse involving the social website, said Communication and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek.
He said his ministry was conducting studies to gather public views on the matter. “If the people are of the opinion that Facebook should be closed, we are prepared to look into the matter but it is a radical approach,” he told reporters after closing the Cheras Wanita Umno Delegates Meeting on Saturday (Aug 9).
Also present were Cheras Umno head Datuk Seri Syed Ali Alhabshee and Cheras Wanita Umno chief Datuk Hajah Zurainah Musa.
From TheLocal.ch, old school spookery? Journalism? Curiosity?:
Swiss man arrested in Tunisia for ‘spying’
A Swiss man is under arrest in Tunisia for suspected spying activities in Kasserine, a city in the North African country.
Tunisian police arrested the tourist on Thursday afternoon, according to media reports from Tunisia picked up by media in Switzerland.
He was apprehended after being caught attempting to take pictures of the house of Tunisia’s interior minister, Lotfi Ben Jeddou, and military posts in Lasserine, local radio station FM Express reported.
In the man’s camera police discovered hundreds of images of police stations, government buildings and other structures with strategic objectives, the radio station said.
From Ars Technica, less than reassuring:
Hacking is simple, says author claiming role in breach of spyware firm
DIY guide provides instructions for carrying out similar muckraking exploits
An anonymous author who claims to be the hacker who penetrated controversial UK-based Gamma Group International and aired 40 gigabytes of its dirty laundry has published a how-to guide for other hacktivists.
“I’m not writing this to brag about what an 31337 h4x0r I am and what m4d sk1llz it took to 0wn Gamma,” wrote the author, who rightly cautions that the unauthorized access of other people’s networks is illegal. “I’m writing this to demystify hacking, to show how simple it is, and to hopefully inform and inspire you to go out and hack shit. If you have no experience with programming or hacking, some of the text below might look like a foreign language. Check the resources section at the end to help you get started.”
The do-it-yourself guide explains how hackers can map entryways into a target’s network, scan for vulnerable services and exploit any that are found. It also lists some of the most common methods hackers use to keep their IP addresses and other digital fingerprints off their attacks. Among other things, the how-to suggests installing Whonix inside a hidden encrypted volume created by TrueCrypt and carrying out all operations from there. It also counsels against using Tor and instead using hacked servers. Again, this is illegal.
From the Associated Press, maple leaf imperialism sure to inflate an Arctic Game of Zones, one abetted by icecaps shrinking because of dependence on the same resources being sought in the Far North:
Canada sends icebreakers to Arctic to gather data
Canada is sending two icebreakers to the High Arctic to gather scientific data in support of its plan to bid for control of the sea floor under and beyond the North Pole.
The coast guard vessels have set out on a six-week journey that will take them to the eastern side of the Lomonosov Ridge.
The undersea ridge starts near Ellesmere Island and runs northward over the pole. Some say the ridge could give Canada a claim on a vast section of Arctic sea floor.
From the Associated Press, allegations with a certain resonance in those Ivy Bells of yesteryear:
Russia: Apparent US sub driven from Barents Sea
Russian state news agencies say the country’s navy claims to have driven away a submarine believed to be American that entered Russia’s northern waters.
The reports Saturday cited an unnamed representative of the navy’s general staff as saying the incident occurred Thursday in the Barents Sea. The Barents Sea lies off northwest Russia and the Russian navy’s Northern Fleet is based on its shores.
The reports said the fleet sent several vessels and an anti-submarine Il-38 aircraft to drive the submarine away.
After the jump, the Asian Game of Zones intensifies with hacks, web crackdowns, rhetorical and military hardware escalations, espionage arrests, deep political plays, and a sudden German love of the good old-fashioned sound of a typewriter key hitting platen-encircling paper. . .
We begin our Asian coverage with a headline from South China Morning Post:
Global hacking attack hits four Hong Kong telecoms firms
Four of the city’s biggest internet service providers fell victim to an international cyberattack that also affected 10,000 patients’ health records held by Chinese University.
Servers at PCCW, Netvigator, Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN) and Hutchison Global Communications were among more than half a million targeted globally. The hackers succeeded in the taking hostage a couple of hundred of servers, including 14 in Hong Kong.
The telecoms firms affected hosted devices, or servers, on networks compromised by hackers called Synolocker, according to data provided by internet monitoring company Shodan.
Shanghai Daily signals an online crackdown:
Arrests, warnings as China targets rumormongering
Chinese police have arrested four people on suspicion of fabricating and spreading rumors on the Internet as authorities tighten regulation of instant messaging services.
The four people may face defamation charges, which under Chinese law are levelled against those whose posts are deemed to be rumors and are viewed by more than 5,000 users or retweeted more than 500 times.
Defamation charges can lead to up to three years in prison or loss of political rights.
From Global Times, a Chinese MacDown:
National security comes first in IT considerations
Chinese authorities in charge of government procurement responded to Apple iPads and MacBook laptops being “removed” from its July procurement list on Thursday.
According to the official source, these products failed to be listed because Apple Inc hadn’t offered related documents to the authorities before the deadline. It is not a government ban that crossed these products off the list.
Whatever the exact reason, security looms larger than ever when it comes to government procurement.http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/874979.shtml
In 2013, the leaks from former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden sounded an alarm bell about the US security threat faced by countries all over the world, including China.
Al Jazeera America covers courtroom chill:
China sentences British expatriate linked to GlaxoSmithKline
Husband and wife team sentenced to prison for illegally obtaining and selling private records of Chinese citizens
China sentenced a British corporate investigator to two-and-a-half years in prison on Friday for illegally obtaining private records of Chinese citizens and selling the information to clients including drug maker GlaxoSmithKline.
Peter Humphrey and his American wife, Yu Yingzeng, who ran risk consultancy ChinaWhys, were tried in a Shanghai court. Already having spent 13 months in a Shanghai prison, the couple said they were unaware such acts were criminal.
In its verdict, the court said it found Humphrey and Yu guilty and handed Yu a slightly more lenient sentence of two years in jail. Humphrey was fined 200,000 yuan, about $32,500, while Yu was fined 150,000 yuan, about $24,000 dollars.
The Economic Times attributes:
‘China aggressively expanding to catch up with West’
The “aggressive expansion” of China in markets across the world is because of their strong aspiration to have power, wealth, and to catch up with the West in the race to dominate the world, according to renowned Chinese historian and visual artist Dr Tong Lam.
“The people of China always see themselves as a victim of Western imperialism. This particular feeling has evoked a psychological urge in the Chinese to have power and wealth to move ahead of the West,” he said.
Asked if he thought China was now following an imperialistic policy by expanding its operations in Africa and South East Asian countries, Dr Lam said the current activities of China could not be related to the kind of imperialism practised by the European countries in the 17th century.
“China needs huge amounts of energy to fuel the country’s infrastructure development. So they are on the lookout for energy, mainly through mining in Africa,” he added.
And from the Associated Press, Washington plays a hand:
Kerry aims to calm South China Sea tensions
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Myanmar seeking to calm tensions in the South China Sea between China and its smaller neighbors.
Amid concerns about recent provocative steps taken by China and others regarding several disputed territories in the sea, Kerry arrived in Myanmar’s capital of Naypyitaw early Saturday for a Southeast Asian regional security forum at which the conflicting claims are expected to be high on the agenda.
U.S. officials with Kerry say he will be urging the Chinese and others to take voluntary steps to ease the mounting discord, which many fear could lead to conflict and hamper international shipping. The U.S. says it is neutral in the disputes, but China has reacted negatively to such calls on the past and is unlikely to respond favorably.
Channel NewsAsia Singapore adds context:
Maritime dispute overshadows China, Southeast Asia, US talks
China on Saturday (Aug 9) vowed “clear and firm reactions” to defend its interests in the South China Sea but rejected suggestions of aggression, as America’s top diplomat urged restraint from all claimants to the bitterly contested waters.
A series of incidents between Beijing and several other nations with territorial claims to the sea has sent tensions soaring across Southeast Asia and spurred Washington to call for a halt to any activities that could worsen regional maritime relations.
Animosity over the South China Sea, a crucial maritime route that is also believed to hold huge oil and gas deposits, is dominating Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) talks in Myanmar, which began on Friday and are broadening to include key world powers ahead of security discussions on Sunday. “The position of China to safeguard its own sovereignty, maritime rights and interests is firm and unshakeable,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters following a meeting with ASEAN counterparts in the Myanmar capital Nay Pyi Taw.
Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire sea including waters, islands, reefs, shoals and rocky outcrops nearer to other countries. The reach of its claims has stirred years of diplomatic protest from ASEAN states Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, which also claim parts of the sea, while Taiwan is a sixth claimant.
South China Morning Post admonishes:
Beijing warns all outside Asean against involvement in South China Sea disputes
Asean states’ interests and those of China, not those of US or other outsiders, called paramount
China warned yesterday that only Asean’s declaration of conduct was relevant to how nations interacted in the South China Sea and any competing proposal would harm the interests of Beijing and the regional bloc.
The message was delivered by Foreign Minister Wang Yi after a US proposal to suspend provocative acts in the disputed waters received a cool response from participants at the Asean Regional Forum (ARF).
The Philippines has also called for a suspension as part of a plan to ease tension.
Kyodo News covers a countermove:
Japan, S. Korea agree to continue talks to improve ties
Japan and South Korea agreed Saturday to continue dialogue at various levels, including the foreign ministerial level, as part of efforts to improve relations strained by a territorial dispute and differing perceptions of wartime history.
Speaking to reporters after talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung Se in the Myanmar capital Naypyitaw, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said he hopes communication will lead to a summit between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun Hye.
“We exchanged views in a forward-looking manner toward advancement of Japan-South Korea relations,” Kishida said. “We would like to lead (this meeting) to a high political level.”
While Japan Today dampens the ardor:
South Korea slams Japan’s ‘ludicrous’ island claim
South Korea on Tuesday slammed Japan’s “ludicrous” reassertion of its claim to a set of disputed islets in a new defence white paper, warning it would further strain relations.
The white paper released in Tokyo briefly alluded to a set of territorial disputes, including one with South Korea over a group of islands in the East Sea (Sea of Japan).
The South Korea-controlled chain of rocky islets-called Dokdo by Seoul and Takeshima by Tokyo-have been the cause of tensions between the two neighbours for decades.
“The Japanese government repeated the ludicrous claim that Dokdo is its own territory… in its 2014 White Paper,” Seoul’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
China Daily heads to the front:
Fishermen on the frontline of dispute
Rising tension in the South China Sea is having repercussions back on land, Peng Yining reports from Tanmen, Hainan province.
The fishermen of Tanmen had returned to their home port, leaving their wooden boats riding at anchor in a colorful cluster, floating side by side on the busy waterfront in Hainan province.
Every boat flew the same red triangular flag bearing four Chinese characters in yellow: Yi Fan Feng Shun, or “May smooth sailing accompany your journey”. The flags are a tradition among Chinese fishermen, a plea for safe passage during their long, dangerous voyages.
However, the picturesque scene masked a growing sense of unease in this small maritime community of 30,000 residents, spread along an 18-kilometer coastline. Unlike their peers whose boats ply other sections of the Chinese coast, Tanmen’s fishermen face not only the perils of the open sea, but also the danger of an encounter with a foreign patrol boat.
SINA English declares:
Lighthouse construction on Xisha, Nansha “irreproachable”: FM
Building lighthouses on Xisha and Nansha islands is an irreproachable act of China which observes its obligation to ensure navigational safety within its territory, a spokeswoman said Friday.
Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China has long been building and maintaining lighthouses and other navigational aid facilities on Nansha and Xisha islands, China’s inherent territory, in line with international regulations.
“They are necessary measures to guarantee navigational safety in the area” and are “irreproachable,” Hua said in response to questions about the preparation for lighthouse construction on five atolls in the South China Sea.
And from JapanToday, weapons? Intelligence-gatherers? Both?:
Japan, U.S. to develop ‘fuel-cell submarine’
Japan and the United States will jointly develop a fuel-cell powered submarine that can run for a month under the sea on a single charge, a report said on Friday.
The top-selling Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the unmanned, 10-metre (33-feet) long sub would be able to chart a pre-programmed course before returning to base.
The story, citing unnamed Japanese defence ministry officials, comes as Tokyo and Washington look to beef up their security alliance as they warily eye an increasingly assertive China.
From the Mainichi, Tokyo ups the ante:
Defense ministry mulls introducing ground-based SM-3 interceptor missiles
The Defense Ministry is considering introducing a new ground-based type of interceptor missile that the United States is developing, in an effort to bolster Japan’s ballistic missile defense system, ministry sources said.
The ministry intends to introduce new ground-based SM-3 missiles, in addition to the sea-based SM-3s that the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) already possesses, to enhance Tokyo’s readiness to intercept ballistic missiles heading toward Japan. The ministry is expected to allocate tens of millions of yen from the fiscal 2015 state budget for research on the missile.
Since a ground-based SM-3 can defend an area within a radius of about 500 kilometers, three missile posts could cover the whole of Japan. Launch pads for the SM-3 can be disassembled in five to 10 days and can easily be built in other locations.
Internal dissent from JapanToday:
Nagasaki mayor criticizes Abe’s defense policy
The mayor of Nagasaki on Saturday criticized Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s push toward Japan’s more assertive defense policy, as the city marked the 69th anniversary of the atomic bombing.
In his “peace declaration” speech at the ceremony in Nagasaki’s Peace Park, Mayor Tomihisa Taue urged Abe’s government to listen to growing public concerns over Japan’s commitment to its pacifist pledge.
Thousands of attendants, including U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and a record number of representatives from 51 countries, offered a minute of silence and prayed for the victims at 11:02 a.m., the moment the bomb was dropped over Nagasaki on Aug 9, 1945, as bells rang. They also laid wreaths of white and yellow chrysanthemums at the Statue of Peace.
And for our final item, a blast from the past revives, via TheLocal.de:
Typewriter manufacturers see boom in sales
German typewriter manufacturers are enjoying a boom in sales following the NSA spying scandal. A German defence manufacturer switched to typewriters last year, while last week a leading politician called for the government to use the old technology.
The head of the parliamentary inquiry into spying by the US National Security Service (NSA) in Germany made headlines last [month] when he said his committee was considering using typewriters. But he is not alone.
With a turnover of €5 million, the German typewriter market is growing. Manufactures Olympia and Bandermann are seeing a revival in what was until recently a dying technology.
