With Iraq inflame and political and military posturing ramping up in Asia, American spookery in the spotlight, hacks, drones, and all the rest, there’s lots of ground to cover.
First up, via CBC News, the Iraqi meltdown continues:
Iraq conflict: Political crisis deepens as PM deploys militia
Canada increases humanitarian aid amid U.S. airstrikes and reports of civilians buried alive
Shia militia forces loyal to Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki stepped up patrols around Baghdad on Sunday night after he delivered a tough televised speech indicating he would not cave in to pressure to drop a bid for a third term.
Political deadlock has prevented Iraqi politicians from uniting against Islamic State militants whose advance in the north has rattled the Baghdad government and its Western allies.
A senior U.S. official for Iraq said on Sunday he fully supported Iraqi President Fouad Masoum after al-Maliki, who the United States has blamed for stoking Iraq’s security crisis, accused Masoum of violating the constitution.
U.S. jet fighters and drones conducted four more airstrikes on ISIS militants in Iraq over the weekend, taking out armoured carriers and a truck that were firing on civilians, as Iraq’s human rights minister said ISIS militants killed at least 500 members of the Yazidi ethnic minority.
The Observer delivers a warning:
Obama warns of long campaign as Iraq strikes continue against Isis
US president admits there is no quick fix as minorities flee Islamist onslaught and British planes join relief effort
Barack Obama has committed the US to long-term involvement in Iraq, warning that the rapidly evolving crisis in the north would not be solved quickly.
US aircraft have targeted armoured vehicles and militant positions in a second day of strikes against Islamic State forces. A mix of US fighters and drones attacked and destroyed armoured personnel carriers after Yazidi civilians near Sinjar came under attack from the vehicles, US central command said.
US forces “successfully [conducted] four air strikes to defend Yazidi civilians being indiscriminately attacked” near Sinjar, said a statement from the United States Central Command (Centcom), which covers the Middle East.
The Independent covers an inciting incident:
Iraq crisis: Islamic militants ‘buried alive Yazidi women and children in attack that killed 500′
Militants in north-western Iraq have buried women and children alive during their offensive against the Yazidi ethnic minority, according to Iraq’s minister for human rights.
The bodies were reportedly found in a mass grave in the wake of Isis’s push towards the Sinjar mountain range, where tens of thousands of Kurdish-speaking refugees have been trapped to the point of starvation.
Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said his government had evidence that 500 Yazidi civilians had been killed so far, and that some of the victims had been buried alive. A further 300 Yazidi women have been kidnapped as slaves, he added.
From the McClatchy Foreign Staff, more context:
In backing Kurds, Obama ‘confident’ in protecting refugees
Obama was elected largely on the promise that he would extricate the United States from its two long and costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a promise he then took to a further extreme by refusing to get militarily involved to any significant degree in the Syrian civil war despite tremendous outside pressure.
But the rapid advance by Islamic State militants in northern Iraq against Kurdish positions in the wake of June’s collapse of the Iraqi Army and most of central and northern Iraq to the radicals suddenly changed the equation.
West of the Islamic State-controlled city of Mosul, the takeover of Sinjar, a city heavily populated by the ancient Persian Yazidi sect considered heretics by the Islamic State, sent tens of thousands of civilians fleeing last week into a barren mountain range, where harsh heat and a lack of food and water have pushed the situation into a humanitarian catastrophe shadowed by the threat of an even larger massacre by the Islamic State.
At the same time, another offensive by the Islamic State against forces protecting the Kurdish capital of Irbil captured not only Iraq’s largest dam and hydro electric plant, but also took over four of Iraq’s largest Christian villages. That drove a wave of refugees into a Kurdish region already hosting tens of thousands of refugees from the June collapse of the Arab sections of Iraq. And as Islamic State forces closed to within 25 miles of Irbil, the United States said it was forced to act with both air strikes to protect the capital and a humanitarian airlift to help alleviate the Yazidi suffering.
While The Hill amps up, rhetorically:
McCain: Iraq airstrikes ‘clearly ineffective’
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Sunday blasted President Obama’s strategy for limited airstrikes in Iraq, calling it “very, very ineffective.”
“Launching three strikes around a place where horrible humanitarian crisis is taking place, meanwhile [the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)] continues to make gains everywhere, yes is clearly very, very ineffective, to say the least,” McCain said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
ISIS is making gains in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, McCain said.
McCain said the president’s decision to approve targeted airstrikes and drop humanitarian aid to refugees under siege in northern Iraq was “far from sufficient to meet the growing threat that ISIS poses.”
And the Jakarta Globe covers metastasis:
Police Arrest Suspected Terrorist Involved With ISIS in Bekasi
The National Police on Saturday arrested a member of hard-line Islamic group Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid, or JAT, for his alleged involvement in funding a paramilitary training camp in Aceh, which is suspected to be a training ground for Al Qaeda-linked extremists, in 2010.
“We have taken action against Afif Abdul Majid … in Jatiasih, Bekasi [West Java] at 10:45 p.m. on Saturday,” National Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. Ronny F. Sompie said on Sunday.
Ronny said that the arrest was a cooperation between the Jakarta Police and anti-terrorism agency Detachment 88 (Densus 88).
And from The Wire, bringing it home:
Republican Leaders Warn Obama ISIL is Coming to U.S.
Republican leaders took to the Sunday talk show circuit to criticize what they see as a weak response by the Obama administration to the crisis in Iraq, making the case that the emboldened militant group ISIL is also a threat to the United States.
On “Fox News Sunday,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) accused Obama of having no game plan for handling ISIL and simply attempting to avoid “a bad news story.”
“So Mr. President, you have never once spoken directly to the American people about the threat we face from being attacked from Syria, now Iraq,” said Graham. “What is your strategy to stop these people from attacking the homeland? They have expressed a desire to do so.”
On to the latest from the world of spooks, first with The Hill:
Left to Obama: Check spy agencies
Activists on the left are demanding President Obama flex his muscle over the country’s spy agencies.
The CIA’s admission that a handful of officials spied on Senate staffers is proof that the White House has lost control of the intelligence agencies, critics say. They are also discomforted by the continued support Obama has offered for agency Director John Brennan.
“This is not an isolated incident,” said Becky Bond, political director with the progressive group Credo.
“The fact that these intelligence officials are able to keep their job when major breaches or major assaults on the Constitution are made public — let alone all the things that are happening that we don’t know about — it sets a very dangerous precedent,” she added.
New Scientist covers consequences of loose reins:
US is wasting money on too many spy satellites
THE US government is wasting billions of dollars on spy satellites. According to a report released by Congress last week, the US National Reconnaissance Office, which maintains the nation’s eyes in the sky, is buying new satellites at a faster rate than necessary.
The NRO says that regular purchases are the only way to maintain the nation’s satellite-building expertise. The Congress report questions this assumption, arguing that any saving in efficiency through increased expertise is outstripped by the cost of launching extra satellites.
We already know the NRO has excess satellites, thanks to its surprise donation in 2012. The spy agency gave NASA parts for two Hubble-quality telescopes that it had lying around. NASA is still deciding how to use the scopes, but to avoid any suspicion of spying will not point them at Earth.
And from the Washington Post, spooky chutzpah:
The CIA isn’t reporting any data to federal transparency site
Among the revelations in a new Government Accountability Office report on the completeness, or lack thereof, of the federal transparency site USASpending.gov is that the CIA not only doesn’t disclose contracting data on its classified programs, which isn’t so surprising. But the agency also doesn’t share data with the site on its unclassified programs, despite the fact that, as GAO notes, “[the White House Office of Management and Budget] does not have guidance that clearly exempts agencies from doing that.”
The CIA argues that because its unclassified programs are in support of its classified work, reporting on the former inexorably leads to insights about the latter. As the GAO reports in its assessment of the transparency site’s 2012 data, a CIA “official added that the agency also does not report unclassified contract information because of the risk that an individual could use it, along with other publicly available information to develop a picture of Central Intelligence Agency requirements.”
That’s exactly right, says CIA spokesperson Preston Golson. The policy wasn’t merely in effect in 2012, the time scale of the report, he confirms — it’s in effect now, too. Of course, the CIA’s budget, as well as the budget of the intelligence community writ large, has been the subject of debate, with the Obama administration opting to release a top-line number on total intelligence spending, only. What we know about the CIA budget comes in the form of leaked documents first reported by The Washington Post. In 2013, the CIA’s budget, we’re now aware as a result, was a requested $14.7 billion.
From The Hill, don’t hold your breath:
Feinstein squares off with Obama
Sen. Dianne Feinstein is squaring off with President Obama again, this time over a long-awaited Senate report on the Central Intelligence Agency’s harsh interrogation practices.
Feinstein, the senior senator from California and chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has repeatedly battled the administration on a string of different issues.
An institutionalist who has repeatedly sought to defend congressional power, Feinstein takes her oversight role seriously. And while she is from a left-leaning state, the five-term senator frequently pushes Obama from a centrist point of view.
VICE News covers another report, other secrets:
Campaign Mounts to Declassify 9/11 Report’s References to Alleged Saudi Involvement
Nearly 13 years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the extent of Saudi involvement in the deaths of almost 3,000 people remains unclear — but according to members of Congress and the families of victims, information about this has been suppressed ever since the publication of a 2002 congressional investigation into the plot.
Prior to the release of the final report of the Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001, the Bush administration classified a 28-page section in the name of national security.
Though speculations, accusations, and denials have swirled around these pages over the past decade, the call for their declassification has steadily grown since December 2013, when House Representatives Walter Jones (R-NC) and Stephen Lynch (D-MA) introduced Resolution 428, a two-page document urging President Obama to release them to the public. Nine other representatives from both parties have co-sponsored the resolution.
And from News Corporation Australia, hints of spooky things to come:
Satellite photos reveal new hangars being built at Area 51, the United States top-secret testing facility
WHAT’S going on in Area 51? The mysterious US government air base in the middle of nowhere is undergoing an expansion. But nobody knows why.
Dreamland. Watertown. The Ranch. Whatever its name, the facility has entered common culture as Area 51 through a string of novels, movies, and far-fetched alien conspiracy theories.
Which may be why many people eagerly watch for every clue as to what may be going on in the dried-up lake bed.
Now, new satellite photos reveal ongoing construction work.
From RFI, hacker or spook?:
Franco-Israeli hacker poses as police officer to harass journalist
French hacker Grégory Chelli, who lives in the Israeli city of Ashdod, is under investigation for allegedly harassing a French journalist with the news website Rue89 and his family.
Known by the pseudonym of Ulcan or Violvocal, Chelli, 32, has been accused of making threatening calls to journalist Benoît le Corr and his parents since he published a profile of the hacker on July 29.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is urging the French justice system to pursue legal action against Chelli on the grounds that his actions “have combined violence, perversity and foolishness in an attempt to intimidate Le Corre and silence Rue89.”
However, the investigation launched in France could be difficult as there is no extradition agreement between Tel Aviv and Paris.
BBC News delivers a call:
John McAfee in surprise rant over Google and privacy
Notorious computer security pioneer John McAfee has used a surprise appearance at a hacking conference to warn of threats against “freedom” thanks to privacy issues with technology.
Speaking at Def Con in Las Vegas, Mr McAfee called on hackers to “make a stand” against companies that seek highly personal information.
He blamed laziness for the spread of apps and websites that glean information from users.
And from The Register, another kind of digital threat?:
Twitter can trigger psychosis in users
140 characters or less leaves too much to symbolism, study finds
Twitter can trigger psychosis in predisposed users, according to a team of doctors from the Universitätsmedizin hospital in Berlin.
A study Twitter Psychosis A Rare Variation or a Distinct Syndrome? concluded that Twitter may have “a high potential to induce psychosis in predisposed users” based on the case of a 31 year-old woman who developed the condition from spending too much time reading and writing in 140 characters or less.
The unnamed woman named “Mrs C” imagined non-existent connections between tweets sent from random users that she during the time of her psychosis considered to be hidden messages from a celebrity.
Meanwhile, the British camel’s nose sniffs deeper into the tent, via the Guardian:
Police want right to see medical records without consent
Greater Manchester chief constable says move is needed to help police deal with people struggling to look after themselves
Police want new and expanded rights to access medical records and other confidential data without an individual’s consent, a senior police chief has told the Guardian.
Sir Peter Fahy, the Greater Manchester chief constable, said the extra access to sensitive data was needed to help police cope with growing numbers of vulnerable people.
Fahy said police frequently dealt with people struggling to look after themselves, including elderly people, people with dementia or Alzheimer’s, those with drug or alcohol problems, those with mental health issues and problem families. Perhaps most controversially, he said medical professionals should share information about women suffering from domestic abuse, even against the victim’s wishes.
TheLocal.de objects:
German coalition bickers over arms exports
German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel has met opposition from conservatives in the coalition government with plans to tighten rules on arms exports, amid tit-for-tat sanctions between the West and Russia.
“If you’re not very careful, (selling arms abroad) can very quickly become a deal with death,” Gabriel, who is also vice chancellor, warned recently on public television.
Normally, the position of deputy chancellor is largely a symbolic one. But Gabriel, a Social Democrat, is taking advantage of the absence on holiday of conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel to lobby publicly for a topic close to his heart.
And from Want China Times, a perfect transition to the jump:
Sanctions prompt Russia to turn to China for precision components
Russia is looking to acquire electronic precision components worth several billion dollars from China in light of economic sanctions from Europe and the United States, reports Global Times, a tabloid under the auspices of the Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily.
Citing Russian media reports, Global Times said Russian manufacturers will struggle to meet demand for electronic components required for the country’s aerospace and military fields over the next two years due to ongoing sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.
As a result, Russia is turning to China to fill the gap, with one source from the Russian Federal Space Agency telling media outlets that they are currently working with the China Aerospace Science & Industry Corporation, the main contractor for the Chinese space program. The Chinese company’s research and development center has already offered several dozen proposals on how their products can replace those previously acquired from the US, the source said, adding that they are currently in the process of translating the technical data, testing product sensitivity, temperatures and vibrations to assess component compatibility.
After the jump, all the latest on the Asian Game of Zones, with China, Japan, the Koreas, and others, all jockeying for position and power a global economic might shifts Eastward. We’ve got hack attack, political approaches [both those spurned and those embraced], military arsenal enlargement, plus a uniquely fitting punishment that’s so wrong but so gol-derned right. . .
First up, via Nextgov, a provocation:
Activists broadcast anti-Communist messages on Chinese TV
Residents in Wenzhou, a city in eastern Zhejiang province, had their normal television programming interrupted the night of Aug.1 — possibly by hacktivists who operate when TV supervisors aren’t looking.
One message stated, “Why is Liu Xiaobo of Charter 8 in prison, Communist bandits your words are just unadorned farts, you know the people know that everything you say are just farts.” Liu is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning Chinese dissident; Charter 08 was a manifesto calling for constitutional reform.
A logo on the hacked TV screen is affiliated with the Anti-Communist Party Hackers. In an email response after the incident, the group denied responsibility, claiming instead that it was the work of “friendly forces” in the fight against the Communist Party, the FP reports.
And next, South China Morning Post raises the stakes:
China’s development of a new long-range missile is a significant boost for the military, say analysts
Analysts say development of long-range rocket may prompt the US and Japan to strengthen their own defence capabilities in the region
China’s development of a long-range missile capable of hitting anywhere in the United States suggests the PLA has made a significant leap in countering American military might through its strategy of “asymmetrical” warfare.
The approach, which has its roots in Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, avoids trying to match strength with strength, and instead seeks to create threats that draw an opponent into making a costly response. Amid such calculations, China appears set to introduce the Dongfeng-41, which analysts say will have repercussions at the global and regional levels and alter the US and Japanese military build-up.
“The US will speed up the deployment of its ballistic missile defence systems in the AsiaPacific region after confirming the PLA is continuing to develop the DF-41,” said Macau-based military observer Antony Wong Dong.
“When Washington increases its ballistic missile defence abilities, Beijing will possibly react by strengthening the deployment of the DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile, or even extend the range of the so-called carrier killer.”
And take a close look at the graphic accompanying the story:
Want China Times drones away:
China breaks new record in drone development: Strategy Page
China has broken a record in its drone development by successfully keeping a civilian unmanned aerial vehicle aloft for 30 consecutive hours, reports a Washington-based military website.
The UAV used for the test was designed by the state-run Chinese Academy of Surveying & Mapping for mapping and land use surveys. The previous record for a Chinese drone in the air was 16 hours. Designed with lightweight materials and weighing under 50 kilograms, the drone is capable of carrying lightweight and powerful cameras to economically survey agriculture and natural resources.
In addition, the drones can also be used by the police and security services. “For several decades a growing number of Chinese commercial firms have been developing military UAVs. One of the most powerful of these is the Wing Loong UAV which can be equipped to carry two BA-7 laser guided missiles,” said the Strategy Page. Photos and videos of the Wing Loong were revealed by the People’s Liberation Army in 2008.
And from Reuters, a rebuke for Obama and Abe:
China rebuffs U.S. efforts on South China Sea tensions
China appeared to rebuff pressure from the United States to rein in its assertive actions in the South China Sea on Sunday as Southeast Asian nations declined to overtly back Washington’s proposal for a freeze on provocative acts.
The lack of progress in resolving the maritime tensions at Asia’s highest-profile diplomatic meeting so far this year shows the tough task Washington faces in persuading smaller Asian nations to risk antagonizing the region’s rising power.
Foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) released a statement expressing concern over “increased tensions” and called for stepped-up talks with China, in what U.S. officials said was a setback for Beijing’s efforts to play down the disputes.
More from Global Times:
China rebuffs US “freeze” proposal on South China Sea
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday that China will resolutely safeguard its sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea, dismissing any ill-intentioned proposals that would interfere with the efforts to resolve the disputes and further complicate regional situation.
Wang made the remarks at the China-ASEAN (10+1)Foreign Minister’s Meeting in the capital of Myanmar, which is part of a series of multilateral meetings that bring together foreign ministers and other top diplomats from across the world.
In a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday on the sidelines, Wang stressed that the overall situation in the South China Sea is stable, and there is no problem with the freedom of navigation.
Still more from SINA English:
Spotlight: China rebuffs U.S. “freeze” proposal on South China Sea, raising “dual-track” approach
At a press conference after the meeting, Wang clarified China’ s “unshakable” positions over the South China Sea issue, saying that his country will resolutely safeguard its sovereignty as well as maritime rights and interests and is committed to resolving disputes through friendly consultations and negotiations.
While China is willing to listen to well-intentioned suggestions from all parties on the South China Sea issue, said Wang, such suggestions must be objective, impartial and constructive.
Suggestions designed to avoid further complication and escalation of the situation are somewhat unnecessary, as the Declaration on the Code of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) has already contained clear provisions in this regard, he said.
And from South China Morning Post, diplomatic snubbery:
‘You’re late!’ Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi irked as John Kerry keeps him waiting before bilateral talks
Meeting during Asean event dealt largely with South China Sea tensions
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pointedly remarked that he had been waiting “for more than half an hour” in comments through an interpreter after Kerry arrived late for a meeting between the two countries.
Kerry, chuckling sheepishly, apologised for keeping Beijing’s top diplomat waiting.
“I am very, very sorry,” he said ahead of the meeting on the sidelines of talks between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and regional and global powers.
Global Times covers another front:
Chinese, Japanese FMs hold informal contact on ties
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida held an informal contact late Saturday to exchange views on ways to improve China-Japan relations.
During their talks on the sidelines of the series of Foreign Ministers Meetings on East Asia cooperation, Wang clarified China’s principles and stance in a serious manner, and demanded the Japanese side to make concrete efforts to remove the political barriers in the relations between the two countries.
The China-Japan relationship took a nosedive after the Japanese government’s “purchase” of the Diaoyu Islands in September 2012 and further soured due to Tokyo’s unrepentant attitude toward its wartime history.
Kyodo News has an interesting aside:
Kishida appears to have sought Japan-China summit in talks with Wang
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said Sunday he met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday in Myanmar and discussed measures to improve relations strained by disputes over territory and the perception of wartime history.
Kishida declined to reveal details of the meeting, but he is believed to have called for Wang’s cooperation in setting a meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in November in Beijing.
“I exchanged views (with Wang) on how to improve relations. I met him and spoke with him for a long time,” Kishida told reporters on the sidelines of regional meetings in the Myanmar capital Naypyitaw. “With this (the meeting) as a starting point, we would like to promote relations with China.”
JapanToday covers another front:
Japan, S Korean FMs vow further talks after rare meeting
Japan and South Korea vowed to “deepen communication” in the future during a rare meeting Saturday, diplomatic sources said, following a collapse in relations between the neighbours.
Japan’s Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida held “candid” talks with his South Korean counterpart Yun Byung-se on the eve of a regional security dialogue in the Myanmar capital Naypyidaw, a Japanese diplomatic source said.?
Koichi Mizushima, deputy press secretary at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the two nations had discussed “the future direction of the Japan and Korea relationship”.
Jiji Press has yet another:
Japan, U.S., S. Korea Seek N. Korea’s Denuclearization Action
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and S. Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se confirmed Sunday that they want a nuclear weapons-free North Korea.
Over North Korean nuclear weapons and missile programs, the three foreign ministers agreed at their meeting in Naypyitaw, Myanmar’s capital, that it is important that North Korea abide by U.N. resolutions and take concrete action for its denuclearization.
The three agreed that their countries closely team up on North Korean affairs and cooperate also with China and Russia, which have certain influence over Pyongyang.
More from Kyodo News:
Asia’s biggest security forum urges N. Korea to disarm
North Korea was called upon Sunday by a large majority of foreign ministers who attended Asia’s largest security forum to immediately abandon its nuclear and missile programs.
While the key topics at the forum, including regional maritime issues, were nothing new, at least one noteworthy aspect this year was the debut of North Korea’s new Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong on the regional diplomatic stage.
The 27-member ASEAN Regional Forum, which includes Japan, South Korea, the United States and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is the only multilateral gathering of its kind taken part in by North Korea’s foreign minister.
And our final two items, first with one step too far from the New York Times:
Baby Pictures at the Doctor’s? Cute, Sure, but Illegal
Pictures of smiling babies crowd a bulletin board in a doctor’s office in Midtown Manhattan, in a collage familiar to anyone who has given birth. But the women coming in to have babies of their own cannot see them. They have been moved to a private part of the office, replaced in the corridors with abstract art.
“I’ve had patients ask me, ‘Where’s your baby board?’ ” said Dr. Mark V. Sauer, the director of the office, which is affiliated with Columbia University Medical Center. “We just tell them the truth, which is that we no longer post them because of concerns over privacy.”
For generations, obstetricians and midwives across America have proudly posted photographs of the babies they have delivered on their office walls. But this pre-digital form of social media is gradually going the way of cigars in the waiting room, because of the federal patient privacy law known as Hipaa.
Finally, from the Dept. of So-Wrong-but-Somehow-So-Right, this from the Independent:
Chinese drivers forced to stare at full-beam headlights in ‘eye for an eye’ punishment for those who dazzle others
Police in the forward-thinking Chinese city of Shenzhen have come up with a novel “eye for an eye” method of punishing drivers who misuse their headlights and dazzle other road-users.
According to an apparently jovial posting on the official social media account for the Shenzhen traffic police department, “from now on” anyone doing so will be made to stare at the police’s own full-beam headlights for five minutes.
It might initially be thought that the warning on Sina Weibo – the closest Chinese equivalent to Twitter – was a joke on the part of the police. It is, after all, punctuated with a large “ha-ha” laughing emoticon.
But the post has also been accompanied by a photograph apparently showing the punishment being meted out to a driver. The image shows a man sat on a stool in front of an empty police van with its lights on full, while an officer stands in attendance.
