From the Odessa American, terrorism idiocy in the Texas classroom:
Parent: Fourth-grader suspended after using magic from ‘The Hobbit’
A Kermit parent said his fourth-grade student was suspended Friday for allegedly making a terroristic threat.
His father, Jason Steward, said the family had been to see “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” last weekend. His son brought a ring to his class at Kermit Elementary School and told another boy his magic ring could make the boy disappear.
Steward said the principal said threats to another child’s safety would not be tolerated – whether magical or not. Principal Roxanne Greer declined to comment on the matter.
From the Associated Press, ironies abound:
Obama: US must resist urge to ‘overreach” abroad
President Barack Obama says the United States must resist the urge to “overreach” abroad, as he outlined a new national security strategy Friday that is meant to serve as a blueprint for his final two years in office.
The 29-page document hews closely to Obama’s long-held views of America’s role in the world and forecasts no major shifts in the military campaign against Islamic State militants or in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Beyond those immediate concerns, he also calls for an increased focus on boosting cybersecurity, combating climate change and promoting gay rights around the world.
Even as Obama cast U.S. leadership as indispensable, he said the country’s “resources and influence are not infinite.” He said that the threat of a terrorist attack against the homeland “has diminished, but still persists.” Obama also said that he remains committed to combating groups like Islamic State, not through large-scale ground wars but through targeted counterterrorism operations.
More from the Intercept:
Susan Rice: U.S. Will Avoid Large-Scale Military Commitments Abroad
With just two years left, the Obama administration still has plenty of time for the administration to “shape out a much larger role for America in the world,” National Security Adviser Susan Rice said in Washington Friday, but that role in is likely to be fulfilled without sending large numbers of U.S. troops to war.
“We will always act to defend our country and its people, but we aim to avoid sending many thousands of ground forces into combat in hostile lands,” said Rice, speaking Friday at the Brookings Institute .
Rice also announced in her remarks that the Obama Administration invited Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington for separate state visits.
From the Hill, more ironies abound:
DHS shutdown grows more likely
The chances of a shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security are growing by the day, with congressional leaders at a stalemate over legislation that would provide funding after Feb. 27.
DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson has warned that a lapse in funding would cause a “terrible disruption,” while White House officials have accused congressional Republicans of putting national security at risk.
“A shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security in these times is frankly too bitter to contemplate, but we have to contemplate it,” Johnson told reporters this week. “It is horribly unfair to ask people in the critical role of Homeland Security to come to work and not get paid because Congress can’t fund the department.”
From United Press International, call him a Pentagoner:
New arrest in Navy bribery investigation
The U.S. Justice Department has reported the arrest of a former senior federal contracting officer for conspiracy to commit bribery.
Paul Simpkins, 60, of Haymarket, Va., was arrested in connection with a corruption probe involving the U.S. Navy, Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia and GDMA owner Leonard Glenn Francis.
According to the complaint, Simpkins accepted several hundred thousand dollars in cash and wire transfers, travel and entertainment expenses, hotel rooms and the services of prostitutes between May of 2006 and September of 2012 in exchange for helping steer U.S. Navy contracts to Francis and GDMA.
The Guardian confirms what we’ve always suspected:
Security services capable of bypassing encryption, draft code reveals
Home Office code of practice spells out rules and safeguards surrounding use of computer hacking outside UK
Britain’s security services have acknowledged they have the worldwide capability to bypass the growing use of encryption by internet companies by attacking the computers themselves.
The Home Office release of the innocuously sounding “draft equipment interference code of practice” on Friday put into the public domain the rules and safeguards surrounding the use of computer hacking outside the UK by the security services for the first time.
Privacy campaigners said the powers outlined in the draft guidance detail the powers of intelligence services to sweep up content of a computer or smartphone, listen to their phonecalls, track their locations or even switch on the microphones or cameras on mobile phones. The last would allow them to record conversations near the phone or laptop and snap pictures of anyone nearby.
The Washington Post, oops:
GCHQ-NSA intelligence sharing unlawful
Britain’s electronic spy agency was acting unlawfully until December when it received intelligence provided by the U.S. National Security Agency, a British court ruled Friday.
The Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), a court that oversees the intelligence and security agencies, said that Britain’s spy agency, GCHQ, was violating human rights when it received the intercepted communications from the NSA because it did not make its safeguards public. In the tribunal’s 15-year history, this is the first time it has ruled against any of Britain’s intelligence agencies.
The court also said that while the lack of transparency in the past meant that GCHQ had breached human rights, the agency has been in compliance with the law since December.
RT covers panopticon hopes:
EU wants to snoop on Skype to combat terrorist threat – report
The EU agency for judicial cooperation says the bloc needs to develop a common approach to lawfully intercept services like Skype and Viber, to help keep track of European militants arriving back home from the Middle East.
The measures were outlined in a Eurojust report, which was discussed by a committee of the European Parliament on Thursday, said Reuters after they saw the report.
Following deadly terror attacks in Paris last month, EU nations are worried about the danger of radicalized and trained Islamists returning from the Middle East. Militants have often used social networks to spread ideas, jihadist propaganda and recruit new members.
And from BBC News, the British meter is running:
Julian Assange: Costs of policing Wikileaks founder reach £10m
Scotland Yard has spent about £10m providing a 24-hour guard at the Ecuadorean embassy in London since Wikileaks founder Julian Assange claimed asylum there, figures show.
Mr Assange, who denies allegations he sexually assaulted two women in Sweden, faces arrest if he leaves the embassy. A Wikileaks spokesman said the policing costs were “embarrassing”. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said Mr Assange should go to Sweden and “face justice”.
Between June 2012 and October 2014, direct policing costs were £7.3m, with £1.8m spent on overtime, police said.
From TechWorm, a hack attack provoked by the police shooting of a bipolar Texas girl:
Anonymous take down Longview city website over police killing of 17 year old Kristiana Coignard
Longview city website has been intermittently down due to DDoS attack by Anonymous protesting over killing of Kristiana Coignard shot by Longview Police.
The city of Longview website has been going offline intermittently because of a alleged DDoS attack by hacktivist collective, Anonymous. The Anonymous have taken down the website over the death of a 17 year old girl Kristiana Coignard due to police shooting.
The teenager was shot dead by the Longview police officials in January 2015 allegedly with five bullets. The police department says that Kristiana Coignard was shot dead after she threatened them in their own police station lobby with a weapon.
BuzzFeed News covers the watch on the watch:
Watches Banned From Universities Because They Might Be Smartwatches
Smartwatches are set to take over the world when Apple launches one. Which means universities are banning anything that looks like a wristwatch from exam halls.
Apple’s smartwatch innovation has had an unexpected side-effect. BuzzFeed News has learned that universities have starting issuing blanket bans on all students wearing watches in exam halls – because invigilators can’t tell whether students actually have a mini-computer strapped to their wrist.
With the popularity of smartwatches set to rocket when the Apple Watch is released in April, multiple universities having begun taking precautions to stop students cheating by using the devices during this summer’s exams. Such devices could allow students to look at notes or subtly receive messages during exams.
Last summer, the University of London expressed fears that Apple’s smartwatch could create “a problem in the examination hall from 2015 and beyond” because invigilators would struggle to differentiate between a standard digital watch and the new gadget. But we’ve now reached the tipping point where multiple universities are starting to actively ban all watches from the exam hall.
From the Independent, incremental criminality allegations:
‘World of Warcraft’ fraudsters: Cyber-crime chief warns of new threat
Young people are being drawn into increasingly serious cyber crime after beginning with acts of petty theft inside online fantasy games such as World of Warcraft, Britain’s most senior cyber detective has said.
Key figures within organised gangs involved in large-scale fraud are known to have moved from a culture of “laddish” online behaviour that is not punished into something “extremely corrosive”, the director of the National Cyber Crime Unit of the National Crime Agency has told The Independent.
“Any criminal has to have that moment when they start that path,” said Dr Jamie Saunders.
“There are some sorts of criminality that youngsters don’t think of as serious. Stealing gold off each other in online games, cheating if you like. It would be hard to imagine a knock on the door from a policeman because you’ve stolen a sword off your friend in World of Warcraft.”
Network World covers another breed of malware:
DDoS malware for Linux systems comes with sophisticated custom-built rootkit
A malware program designed for Linux systems, including embedded devices with ARM architecture, uses a sophisticated kernel rootkit that’s custom built for each infection.
The malware, known as XOR.DDoS, was first spotted in September by security research outfit Malware Must Die. However, it has since evolved and new versions were seen in the wild as recently as Jan. 20, according to a new report Thursday from security firm FireEye, which analyzed the threat in detail.
XOR.DDoS is installed on targeted systems via SSH (Secure Shell) brute-force attacks launched primarily from Internet Protocol (IP) addresses registered to a Hong Kong-based company called Hee Thai Limited.
From SecurityWeek, Apple vulnerability:
Cyber Espionage Group Adds iOS Spyware to Its Arsenal: Trend Micro
The threat actors behind the political and economic cyber espionage campaign known as Operation Pawn Storm have started using iOS malware to steal sensitive information from their targets, Trend Micro reported on Wednesday.
The group behind Operation Pawn Storm (also known as APT28, Tsar Team, Sednit and Fancy Bear) has been around since at least 2007. The threat actor, which is believed to be linked to the Russian government, has targeted military, defense industry, government and media organizations from across the world.
Once they infiltrate their targets’ networks, the attackers use sophisticated espionage malware to steal valuable data. These advanced espionage tools now include at least a couple of malicious iOS applications related to the Sednit malware.
And a corporate snooping investigation proposed, via PCWorld:
Senators call for investigation of Verizon’s nearly unstoppable supercookies
Government agencies should investigate whether Verizon Wireless’ use of so-called supercookies to track the online activities of its subscribers amount to privacy violations, three U.S. senators said Friday.
Verizon’s use of the respawning, hard-to-defeat cookies on its mobile subscribers’ phones raises serious privacy problems, said the senators, all Democrats. Senators are considering new legislation to rein in the use of hard-to-delete cookies, said Senator Bill Nelson of Florida.
News reports last year also identified AT&T as using supercookies, but the company later dropped the activity.
“This whole supercookie business raises the specter of corporations being able to peek into the habits of Americans without their knowledge or consent,” Nelson said in a statement. “That’s why I think we need to get to the bottom of this and perhaps new legislation.”
On to drone fears, first with the Verge:
Homeland Security is testing nightmare scenarios where toy drones become flying bombs
Here’s a hypothetical matchup for you. A column of tanks covered in thick armor, capable of firing many bullets of both large and small caliber. On the other side, a bunch of plastic quadcopters you bought at the local Walmart. Who wins? According to exercise by the US military, the drones have it hands down.
This was one of several fascinating factoids from a Wired report on a recent meeting hosted by the Department of Homeland Security, the goal of which was to access just how dangerous these “toys” can be.
Along with DHS and the US military, the Federal Aviation Administration was in attendance. That agency has a mandate from Congress to come up with new rules governing domestic drones by the end of this year.
More drone fears, via TheLocal.de:
States fear drug drones flying into jails
Twice authorities have intercepted drones being used to deliver contraband into prisons, leaving German states are planning new ways of keeping criminal activity away from criminals. But is the law behind the curve on this new technology?
The justice ministry in Lower Saxony said that in future it might deploy so-called “drone-trackers” – devices equipped with infrared, night vision and sometimes even radar – at prisons. “We’re aware of this problem and are keeping an eye on it,” said Lower Saxony justice minister Antje Niewisch-Lennartz.
Drones have only recently appeared on governments’ radars. At the end of January, a drone carrying a package containing a mobile phone, a USB stick and two grammes of cannabis crashed on the roof of a prison in Hamburg.
From DutchNews.nl, insecurity in European camps:
Thirteen asylum seekers committed suicide in six months
Thirteen asylum seekers committed suicide in Dutch refugee centres in the first six months of last year and there were 80 attempted suicides, the Volkskrant said on Friday. A further four people set themselves on fire.
In total, officials recorded 2,741 ‘incidents’, the paper says. It obtained the figures from the refugee settlement agency COA using freedom of information legislation.
The COA is required by law to monitor incidents at refugee centres following the suicide of Russian asylum seeker Aleksandr Dolmatov who was wrongly told he was being deported.
After the jump, the Italian senate’s racist endorsement, Sweden’s first Pegida anti-immigrant rally announced, an Austrian Pegida rally set for Sunday, a Nazi salute leads to a Spanish ruling party youth leader’s departure, on to the combat front, with claims of an American casualty, reservations expressed, Claims of bomb factory bomb damage, and an ISIS manifesto issued, release of a secret report on allegations of Saudi 9/11 involvement hinted, Yemeni rebels complete government takeover, an Iranian diplomat banished from Uruguay over a fake bomb, America’s African military ambitions, TTIP— another threat to African security, Niger hit by a Boko Haram attack, allegations of Burundi security abuses, on to Asia and closer China/Thai military ties, a schizophrenic China/Taiwan island deal, Chinese grow skeptical social media, Tokyo ups security for overseas Japanese, Japanese firms up their security, and the state broadcaster makes another Comfort Women blunder, Norway backs off on criminalizing charity to beggars, and a former national leader looks for millions for a noose. . .
From TheLocal.it, refusing to acknowledge the truth, Italian style:
‘Not racist’ to call black person orangutan
Italy’s deputy Senate president describing a black minister as an “orangutan” does not amount to racism, senators have decided.
Roberto Calderoli sparked outrage in July 2013 with his comments about Cecile Kyenge, then Italy’s integration minister:
He said: “When I see Kyenge I can’t help but think of an orangutan.”
A member of the far-right Northern League (Lega Nord) party, Calderoli refused a call from Italy’s sitting prime minister, Enrico Letta, to step down and the deputy senate president has remained in his post ever since.
Sweden’s first Pegida anti-immigrant rally announced, via TheLocal.se:
First anti-Islam Pegida rally set for Sweden
As anti-Islam movement Pegida that has made headways in Germany prepares to hold its first public meeting in Sweden, a Malmö vicar has told The Local why he believes it is important to stand up for a multi-religious society.
Germany-based anti-Islam group Pegida plans to hold a demonstration on the Stortorget square in Malmö in southern Sweden on Monday.
But as the rally gets underway, the bells of St Petri Church are set to ring to call people to a special service in support of a multi-cultural society.
An Austrian Pegida rally set for Sunday, via TheLocal.at:
Pegida plans march in Linz on Sunday
After the less-than-stellar showing on Monday in Vienna, with at least five times the number of counter demonstrators, the German anti-Islamization movement is taking to the streets in Linz on Sunday.
According to the recently resigned Pegida spokesman Georg Immanuel Nagel, the demonstration in Vienna was a complete success, despite the relatively low levels of attendance compared to similar demonstrations in Germany.
The group is now planning a demonstration on Sunday afternoon in Linz, starting at 15:30.
From TheLocal.es, a Nazi salute leads to a Spanish ruling party youth leader’s departure:
PP youth leaders quit over Nazi salute photo
Regional leaders of Nuevas Generaciones (New Generations), the youth wing of Spain’s ruling Popular Party (PP) have resigned after a photograph was made public showing them holding up a Francoist flag and making Nazi salutes.
Fernando Ruenes, president of New Generations in the Asturian municipality of Llanes, resigned along with the group’s treasurer, Pablo Alonso, after the photo showing them posing with the flag in one of the party’s offices, was leaked online.
Both have said that they are “extremely sorry for the damage caused to the Popular Party”, adding that the photograph was “a joke” and was taken before they took up their positions, in September 2014.
On to the combat front, with claims of an American casualty from the New York Times:
ISIS Claims U.S. Captive Died in Jordanian Airstrike in Syria
The Islamic State claimed Friday that the Jordanian bombings in northern Syria intended to avenge its immolation of a captured pilot had killed an American woman held hostage by the group.
An Islamic State message published by the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks jihadist activity, said the American woman was killed when the building where she was being held in the Raqqa area collapsed in an airstrike.
“The failed Jordanian aircraft killed an American female hostage,” said the message. “No mujahid was injured in the bombardment, and all praise is due to Allah.” Mujahid means fighter.
The group said the woman was killed by “fire of the shells dropped on the site.”
There was no immediate way to verify the claim by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. But it identified the hostage by name, Kayla Jean Mueller, for the first time, and gave her Arizona address, apparently to add credibility to its message.
From USA Today, reservations expressed:
Officials: No evidence that U.S. hostage killed
The Islamic State claimed Friday — without providing any video or photographic evidence — that a female American hostage was killed during an airstrike by Jordanian jets in Syria. Officials in Washington and Jordan were quick to say they had not seen any evidence to support the claims.
SITE Intelligence Group, a U.S.-based group that monitors terrorist activity online, said the claim was made in a tweet from an ISIL-linked group. The tweet also carried a photo of the alleged bombing site.
Claims of bomb factory bomb damage from CBC News:
ISIS bomb factory, compound in Iraq destroyed by CF-18 fighter jets
Defence Minister Rob Nicholson announced news after NATO meeting in Brussels
Canadian warplanes have gone into action again in Iraq, bombing a militant compound and bomb-making factory in separate raids over the last few days.
Defence Minister Rob Nicholson announced the news in a conference call on Thursday, following a NATO defence ministers meeting in Brussels.
Nicholson said one mission took place Wednesday and involved CF-18s hitting a compound that was used as a staging area for extremists who’ve been launching guerilla-style raids into Baghdad.
Another attack took place Feb. 3, when the Canadian fighter-bombers supported Iraqi troops operating southwest of Mosul, the country’s second largest city, which was overrun last summer by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
And an ISIS manifesto issued, via the Homeland Security News Wire:
ISIS releases an instructional manual for women in ISIS-controlled areas
An all-female militia set up by the Islamic State (ISIS) has published a 10,000-word manifesto on how women in Islam should live according to the group’s interpretation of the Quran. Girls are told to marry at the age of nine, women are banned from going to work, and both must remain indoors and leave the house only in exceptional circumstances. “It is considered legitimate for a girl to be married at the age of nine. Most pure girls will be married by 16 or 17, while they are still young and active. Young men will not be more than 20 years old in those glorious generations,” the document reads.
The Guardian reports that the document, Women of the Islamic State: Manifesto and Case Study, was released in Arabic last month on a jihadi forum. Believed to be written by the media wing of ISIS’s al-Khanssaa Brigade, it has been translated into English by Charlie Winter, a researcher on jihadism in Syria and Iraq at the London-based counterterrorism think tank Quilliam Foundation. The treatise notes that it has not been sanctioned by “the state” — meaning ISIS or its leadership, but it will help “clarify the role of Muslim women and the life which is desired for them” and “to clarify the realities of life and the hallowed existence of women in the Islamic State.”
According to the document, from ages seven to nine, girls will learn three lessons: fiqh (understanding) and religion, Quranic Arabic (written and read), and science (accounting and natural sciences). From age ten to twelve, girls will undergo more religious studies, learn about the position of women, and the rulings of marriage and divorce. Domestic skills including textiles, knitting, and basic cooking will also be taught. Ages thirteen to fifteen will encompass lessons on motherhood and Islamic history, focusing less on science.
Release of a secret report on allegations of Saudi 9/11 involvement hinted, via the Independent:
Obama considers release of secret sections of report on Saudi Arabia ties to al Qaeda
The White House may declassify still-secret sections of an official inquiry into the 9/11 terrorist attacks which refer to possible Saudi Arabian support.
Questions over the 28-page section of the congressional report have been raised this week following the deposition of imprisoned former al-Qaeda operative Zacarias Moussaoui in which he claimed major Saudi figures were donors to his group in late 1990s.
Saudi officials have denied this.
According to White House spokesman Josh Earnest, US intelligence last year began reevaluating the decision to classify the section following a request from congress, though no timescale for the decision was given.
Yemeni rebels complete government takeover, via Al Jazeera English:
Yemen’s Houthi rebels take over government in coup
Rebels announce five-member presidential council tasked with forming technocrat government and dissolve parliament.
Yemen’s Shia Houthi rebels have announced that they have dissolved parliament and installed a five-member “presidential council” which will form a transitional government to govern for two years.
In a televised statement on Friday from the Republican Palace in the capital, Sanaa, the rebel group said that it would set up a transitional national council of 551 members to replace the dissolved legislature.
The “constitutional declaration”, attended by tribal and military representatives as well as by the outgoing interior and defence ministers, came after a Wednesday deadline set by the Shia militia for political parties to resolve the crisis passed with no agreement.
An Iranian diplomat banished from Uruguay over a fake bomb, via the Guardian:
Uruguay expels Iranian diplomat over fake bomb near Israeli embassy – reports
Convincing-looking dummy bomb detonated outside offices 8 January
Montevideo briefs Israel but makes no public comment
Uruguay has expelled a senior Iranian diplomat over last month’s planting of a dummy bomb near Israel’s embassy in Montevideo, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz.
Citing an unidentified “senior official in Jerusalem”, the newspaper said the diplomat was expelled two weeks ago and although Uruguayan officials briefed Israel on the move they made no public announcement.
“Investigations carried out by Uruguay’s intelligence services after the discovery of the device yielded information pointing to a possible involvement of someone at the Iranian embassy,” Haaretz’s diplomatic correspondent wrote.
“The Uruguayan government turned to Iran’s government for information and after consultations between the two, it was decided to expel one of the senior diplomats at Iran’s embassy.”
From World Socialist Web Site, America’s African military ambitions:
US AFRICOM commander calls for “huge” military campaign in West Africa
US Africa Command (AFRICOM) head General David Rodriguez called for a large-scale US-led “counterinsurgency” campaign against groups in West Africa during remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC last week.
Rodriguez’s statements are part of a coordinated campaign by the US to massively expand its military operations in the resource-rich region, as it combats the influence of China and other powers.
The US should prepare for operations in at least four West African countries as part of a “huge international and multinational” response aimed at forces affiliated with Boko Haram, Rodriguez said.
AFRICOM is already preparing an “across the board response to the threat,” Rodriguez said.
From Deutsche Welle, another threat to African security:
TTIP talks – Africa remains left out
The EU and the US are negotiating their proposed free trade agreement behind closed doors. Third countries, for instance in Africa, have no say in these talks, although the deal could have a far-reaching impact on them.
At a first glance, the pact doesn’t appear to have an affect on exporters of unprocessed products and raw materials. In a country like Ivory Coast, for instance, exports to TTIP states make up around a quarter of the nation’s gross domestic product. The African country’s coffee and cocoa, in particular, find their way onto dining tables in the US and Europe. The trade deal may not change this, since neither the US nor Europe grow these products.
The so-called rules of origin, however, could make it hard for countries like Ivory Coast to export processed goods. These rules, for example, require that at least 50 percent of the value added of a product must be produced in a TTIP state, in order to benefit from tariff reductions.
If Ivory Coast processes cocoa beans to chocolate by itself, then it could find fewer customers due to the strict rules of origin. For German companies, it would be cheaper to process cocoa in Europe and then export to the US. “There is a danger that developing countries would either be forced out of Western supply chains, or TTIP would at least make their access to these value chains difficult,” Felbermayr told DW.
The gradual industrialization of Africa, which is a way out of poverty for millions, could therefore be jeopardized. The impact spreads across sectors and countries ranging from Ivory Coast’s chocolate industry to textiles from Kenya and Ethiopia, and automotive components from South Africa.
Niger hit by a Boko Haram attack, via BBC News:
Boko Haram launches first attack in Niger
The Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram has attacked a town in Niger for the first time, witnesses say.
The attack on the border town of Bosso was the group’s second on a neighbouring country in as many days. Its militants reportedly killed at least 70 people in an attack on the town of Fotokol in Cameroon on Wednesday.
Yacouba Soumana Gaoh, the governor of the Diffa region around Bosso, told the BBC that the Islamists had been successfully pushed back after clashing with Nigerian troops.
Allegations of Burundi security abuses, via the Associated Press:
US concerned over alleged abuses by Burundi security forces
The United States says it’s troubled by reports implicating Burundian security forces in the extra-judicial killings of at least 24 members of a rebel group who surrendered last month in the East African nation.
The U.S. State Department, in a statement late Thursday, also cited the alleged increase in irregular detentions and prosecutions of journalists and members of political parties ahead of elections in May.
In response, Pierre Nkurikiye, a spokesman for Burundi’s police, denied that any rebels were killed but declined to speak about the allegations against the security forces.
Human Rights Watch says Burundi’s government has persistently harassed and blocked the activities of opposition parties, civic groups and the press.
On to Asia and closer China/Thai military ties, via Shanghai Daily:
China and Thailand to boost military ties over 5 years
CHINA and Thailand yesterday agreed to boost military ties over the next five years, from increasing intelligence sharing to fighting transnational crime.
The agreement came during a two-day visit by China’s Defense Minister Chang Wanquan to Bangkok.
“China has agreed to help Thailand increase protection of its own country and advise on technology to increase Thailand’s national security,” Thai Defense Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan told reporters.
“China will not intervene in Thailand’s politics but will give political support and help maintain relationships at all levels. This is China’s policy,” he said.
From Reuters, a schizophrenic China/Taiwan island deal:
Taiwan turns to Chinese shipper for help with port in disputed waters
Taiwan had to use a mainland Chinese shipper to get vital materials to a $100 million port it is building on a disputed island in the South China Sea last month after it couldn’t find a local firm to do the job, Taiwanese officials said on Friday.
A coastguard official told Reuters the vessel from Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry, a state-run company, was escorted by a Taiwanese patrol boat to Itu Aba island on what he called an unprecedented mission.
Two other Taiwanese vessels monitored the ship while it unloaded its cargo of large caissons, or watertight chambers used in the construction of piers.
China claims virtually all of the South China Sea and is at loggerheads with other claimants in the contested waters, particularly the Philippines and Vietnam.
Chinese grow skeptical social media, via China Daily:
China’s view of social media dims: report
An increasing number of Chinese Internet users are growing weary of the negative impact of social media, according to a report from global market research firm Kantar.
Data from the new poll show that 64.7 percent of Chinese web users believe social media had an overall positive impact on society, down from 76.8 percent a year ago.
On the other side, 12.2 percent of respondents said social media’s impact is negative, while 23.2 percent said it had a neutral impact.
The report also shows that 68 percent of respondents agreed with the statement: “Social media makes my life better,” a drop of 5.4 percentage points year over year.
Tokyo ups security for overseas Japanese, via Kyodo News:
Japan unveils safety steps for expats, firmer security at schools
Japan unveiled on Friday a set of measures to ensure the safety of about 1.2 million Japanese nationals living abroad, including a sharp increase in the number of security guards and cameras at 88 overseas schools for Japanese students.
In the wake of the recent killing of two Japanese men taken hostage by the Islamic State militant group, the government will also start sending expatriates urgent bulletins about terrorism and other contingencies, and inquiring about their safety via a cellphone text messaging service, the Foreign Ministry said.
Speaking at a news conference, Parliamentary Vice Foreign Minister Kazuyuki Nakane said the government will strengthen safety measures at the schools for Japanese students soon after receiving specific requests from each of them.
Japanese firms up their security, via Reuters:
Japanese firms face wake-up call on threats of violence: security expert
Japanese companies with overseas operations are showing greater interest in seeking advice on security and other threats, after the Islamic State militants killed two citizens of Japan, a risk management specialist said.
Japan has long been an investor in, and fostered close ties with, countries in the Middle East, from where it gets more than 80 percent of its crude oil supplies and a third of its gas, but has rarely been targeted by extremists in the region.
That may change as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pushes for a more muscular stance overseas and Islamic State militants pledged to target Japan after Abe announced $200 million in non-military aid for countries contending with the militants, who control large swathes of Iraq and Syria.
And the state broadcaster makes another Comfort Women blunder, via the Wall Street Journal:
NHK Chief’s ‘Comfort Women’ Stance Reignites Debate Over Neutrality
The head of Japan’s national broadcaster said the station will be “very careful” about covering the issue of forced prostitution at Japan’s wartime military brothels due to what he said was a lack of clarity on the government’s “official stance” on the issue, reigniting a debate about the editorial neutrality of a broadcaster whose executive board is stocked with members chosen by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
“The government’s official stance isn’t quite yet clear. Given such, I believe we have to be very careful about whether it’s appropriate for us to cover and broadcast [the issue],” NHK Chairman Katsuto Momii told a group of reporters, according to Asahi Shimbun’s transcript of a news conference Thursday.
Mr. Momii had been asked if NHK would report on the issue of forced prostitution at wartime military brothels, given the 70th anniversary this year of the end of World War II. Reporters then noted that the Japanese government has repeatedly endorsed an admission of forced prostitution and apology expressed in the so-called Kono statement in 1993, and asked whether he believed the statement should be changed. He declined to answer, saying anything he said on the matter would create a firestorm, according to the transcript.
Asked about Mr. Momii’s comments, NHK said he meant only that when and how the issue is covered must be considered carefully, and the station is “committed to independence, fairness and political neutrality in its program production.”
Norway backs off on criminalizing charity to beggars, via the Guardian:
Wealthy Norway scraps plan to fine or jail beggars
Right-wing government had proposed prison term of up to a year for beggars and those who helped them
Oil-rich Norway, one of the world’s wealthiest countries, announced Thursday that it was scrapping plans to penalise begging.
The country’s right-wing government was forced to withdraw the proposal to slap fines and jail terms of up to one year on beggars and those who help them when the opposition Centre Party withdrew its support for the ban.
The law would have allowed for the prosecution of anyone found guilty of “complicity” with beggars, including giving them transport, shelter, or supplies.
The ruling coalition argued that the proposal targeted human traffickers and criminal gangs, but it provoked a storm of protest and accusations that the government wanted to make charity illegal.
And for one former leader no noose wouldn’t be good news, via News Corp Australia:
Saddam’s execution marked the end of a dark period for Iraq. Now you can own a piece of that history
THE rope used to execute ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein could be yours for the right price.
Ex-Prime Minister Mowaffak Al-Rubaie has put the item up for sale more than eight years after he witnessed Saddam hanged in 2006.
An unidentified senior Iraqi political official told the Middle East news site Al-Araby al-Jadeed this week that several individuals from Israel, Iran and Kuwait are vying to purchase the rope — with one making a $US7 million ($8.9 million) bid. And despite the ridiculous offer, Mr Al-Rubaie says he wants even more, according to the Middle East Monitor.
