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unhappycamper
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May 29, 2014
White and male, Google releases diversity data
By MARTHA MENDOZA
AP National Writer
May 28, 2014 Updated 3 minutes ago
SAN JOSE, Calif. — In a groundbreaking disclosure, Google revealed how very white and male its workforce is — just 2 percent of its Googlers are black, 3 percent are Hispanic, and 30 percent are women.
The search giant said Wednesday that the transparency about its workforce — the first disclosure of its kind in the largely white, male tech sector — is an important step toward change.
"Simply put, Google is not where we want to be when it comes to diversity," Google Inc. senior vice president Laszlo Bock wrote in a blog.
The numbers were compiled as part of a report that major U.S. employers must file with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Companies are not required to make the information public.
White and male, Google releases diversity data
http://www.adn.com/2014/05/28/3491062/white-and-male-google-releases.html?sp=/99/171/White and male, Google releases diversity data
By MARTHA MENDOZA
AP National Writer
May 28, 2014 Updated 3 minutes ago
SAN JOSE, Calif. — In a groundbreaking disclosure, Google revealed how very white and male its workforce is — just 2 percent of its Googlers are black, 3 percent are Hispanic, and 30 percent are women.
The search giant said Wednesday that the transparency about its workforce — the first disclosure of its kind in the largely white, male tech sector — is an important step toward change.
"Simply put, Google is not where we want to be when it comes to diversity," Google Inc. senior vice president Laszlo Bock wrote in a blog.
The numbers were compiled as part of a report that major U.S. employers must file with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Companies are not required to make the information public.
May 29, 2014
Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan set up new alliance
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
Associated Press
May 29, 2014 Updated 8 minutes ago
MOSCOW — The leaders of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan on Thursday created an economic union that intends to boost cooperation between the ex-Soviet neighbors, a pact which was at the source of the crisis in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Eurasian Economic Union — which Moscow had pushed Ukraine to join, helping spark the worst crisis in relations between Russia and the West since the Cold War — takes the countries' cooperation to a "new level" while respecting their sovereignty.
"We are creating a powerful and attractive center of economic development, a major regional market bringing together over 170 million people," Putin said during talks in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana. He added that the pact would allow the countries to exploit their economic potential and strengthen their positions in global markets.
The alliance is the development of the Customs Union including the same nations. In addition to free trade, it coordinates the members' financial systems and regulates industrial and agricultural policies along with their labor markets and transport systems. The deal stops short of introducing a single currency and delays the creation of a common energy market.
Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan set up new alliance
http://www.adn.com/2014/05/29/3491253/russia-belarus-and-kazakhstan.html?sp=/99/171/Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan set up new alliance
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
Associated Press
May 29, 2014 Updated 8 minutes ago
MOSCOW — The leaders of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan on Thursday created an economic union that intends to boost cooperation between the ex-Soviet neighbors, a pact which was at the source of the crisis in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Eurasian Economic Union — which Moscow had pushed Ukraine to join, helping spark the worst crisis in relations between Russia and the West since the Cold War — takes the countries' cooperation to a "new level" while respecting their sovereignty.
"We are creating a powerful and attractive center of economic development, a major regional market bringing together over 170 million people," Putin said during talks in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana. He added that the pact would allow the countries to exploit their economic potential and strengthen their positions in global markets.
The alliance is the development of the Customs Union including the same nations. In addition to free trade, it coordinates the members' financial systems and regulates industrial and agricultural policies along with their labor markets and transport systems. The deal stops short of introducing a single currency and delays the creation of a common energy market.
May 29, 2014
Not Snowden but *Keith Alexander*: Hero or Traitor (the debate we should be having)
By Juan Cole | May. 29, 2014
NBC News’s Brian Williams interviewed Edward Snowden in Moscow on Wednesday night. But then Mr. Williams followed it up with a panel discussion of whether Snowden is a hero or traitor. It was a cowardly and venal thing to do, and Mr. Williams should be ashamed of himself. By framing the post-interview discussion in these inflammatory and black-and-white terms, NBC nearly undid all the good journalism they accomplished with the interview. It was one more sad example of the broken ‘one the one hand, on the other hand’ model of news that dominates the US airwaves, which gave us the Iraq War (Saddam Hussein: WMD menace to the US or mere evil dictator?) and global warming denial as equal to science.
Mike McFaul, former US ambassador to Russia and now at Stanford University embarrassed himself by answering the question of whether Snowden harmed anyone by saying that he hurt German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s feelings when she found out her personal cell phone was tapped. Really, Mr. McFaul? I think we were asking whether any NOCs got their identity revealed by Snowden as Bush-Cheney outed Valerie Plame, or whether any US military personnel were endangered. Snowden didn’t hurt Angela’s feelings. The US government did.
~snip~
What happened is fairly obvious. The US national security apparatuses took advantage of the rise of the internet and its dominance by US firms to subvert the First and Fourth Amendments of the Constitution and mountains of case law. They collected and stored the cellphone records and therefore the private lives and locations of tens of millions of innocent Americans. They inserted themselves secretly into Google’s servers and those of many other giant tech companies. They weakened encryption standards. They turned much American technology and software into spyware. They scooped up not only information about who Americans called, and when and where they were when they did it, but also used the transnational character of the internet to collect the actual texts of emails and the electronic files of telephone calls.
They used this data collection not against terrorists but in drug and other petty crime cases, sharing the illegally-gathered information with the DEA and local law enforcement agencies, who then lied to judges about how they had come to investigate these individuals in the first place. The domestic surveillance not only undermined the Constitution, it corrupted the entire justice system. Lest you reply that you can hardly shed tears for criminals, it should be pointed out that in some instances the Feds were prosecuting people for doing things not illegal in state law, and using illegal methods to do it. In other instances, they appear to have targeted civil society groups, interpreting their civil disobedience campaigns as criminal conspiracies.
Not Snowden but *Keith Alexander*: Hero or Traitor (the debate we should be having)
http://www.juancole.com/2014/05/snowden-alexander-traitor.htmlNot Snowden but *Keith Alexander*: Hero or Traitor (the debate we should be having)
By Juan Cole | May. 29, 2014
NBC News’s Brian Williams interviewed Edward Snowden in Moscow on Wednesday night. But then Mr. Williams followed it up with a panel discussion of whether Snowden is a hero or traitor. It was a cowardly and venal thing to do, and Mr. Williams should be ashamed of himself. By framing the post-interview discussion in these inflammatory and black-and-white terms, NBC nearly undid all the good journalism they accomplished with the interview. It was one more sad example of the broken ‘one the one hand, on the other hand’ model of news that dominates the US airwaves, which gave us the Iraq War (Saddam Hussein: WMD menace to the US or mere evil dictator?) and global warming denial as equal to science.
Mike McFaul, former US ambassador to Russia and now at Stanford University embarrassed himself by answering the question of whether Snowden harmed anyone by saying that he hurt German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s feelings when she found out her personal cell phone was tapped. Really, Mr. McFaul? I think we were asking whether any NOCs got their identity revealed by Snowden as Bush-Cheney outed Valerie Plame, or whether any US military personnel were endangered. Snowden didn’t hurt Angela’s feelings. The US government did.
~snip~
What happened is fairly obvious. The US national security apparatuses took advantage of the rise of the internet and its dominance by US firms to subvert the First and Fourth Amendments of the Constitution and mountains of case law. They collected and stored the cellphone records and therefore the private lives and locations of tens of millions of innocent Americans. They inserted themselves secretly into Google’s servers and those of many other giant tech companies. They weakened encryption standards. They turned much American technology and software into spyware. They scooped up not only information about who Americans called, and when and where they were when they did it, but also used the transnational character of the internet to collect the actual texts of emails and the electronic files of telephone calls.
They used this data collection not against terrorists but in drug and other petty crime cases, sharing the illegally-gathered information with the DEA and local law enforcement agencies, who then lied to judges about how they had come to investigate these individuals in the first place. The domestic surveillance not only undermined the Constitution, it corrupted the entire justice system. Lest you reply that you can hardly shed tears for criminals, it should be pointed out that in some instances the Feds were prosecuting people for doing things not illegal in state law, and using illegal methods to do it. In other instances, they appear to have targeted civil society groups, interpreting their civil disobedience campaigns as criminal conspiracies.
May 29, 2014
China tells its banks to remove IBM servers over snooping fears
By Chris Merriman
Tue May 27 2014, 16:07
THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT has urged its banks to stop using servers built by IBM because it believes that they might be used for espionage.
According to unnamed sources cited by Bloomberg, the People's Bank of China and the Chinese Ministry of Finance have completed a yet to be published study and have begun to approach banks in the hope that they will remove IBM equipment in favour of locally produced servers.
The motivation for these announcements comes in part from concerns that IBM is working with the US National Security Agency (NSA), but also partly as retaliation for the recent indictment by US prosecutors of five Chinese military officers that are alleged to have hacked into US computers.
IBM sold its low-end x86 server business to Chinese computer maker Lenovo at the beginning of the year for $2.3bn, though the deal is yet to be completed after it came under US regulatory scrutiny. The servers that China has concerns about are high-end mainframe systems that remain under US control, however.
China tells its banks to remove IBM servers over snooping fears
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2346833/china-tells-its-banks-to-remove-ibm-servers-over-snooping-fearsChina tells its banks to remove IBM servers over snooping fears
By Chris Merriman
Tue May 27 2014, 16:07
THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT has urged its banks to stop using servers built by IBM because it believes that they might be used for espionage.
According to unnamed sources cited by Bloomberg, the People's Bank of China and the Chinese Ministry of Finance have completed a yet to be published study and have begun to approach banks in the hope that they will remove IBM equipment in favour of locally produced servers.
The motivation for these announcements comes in part from concerns that IBM is working with the US National Security Agency (NSA), but also partly as retaliation for the recent indictment by US prosecutors of five Chinese military officers that are alleged to have hacked into US computers.
IBM sold its low-end x86 server business to Chinese computer maker Lenovo at the beginning of the year for $2.3bn, though the deal is yet to be completed after it came under US regulatory scrutiny. The servers that China has concerns about are high-end mainframe systems that remain under US control, however.
May 28, 2014
Remember: Politicians Who've Sent Soldiers to Die Unnecessarily and Those Who Opposed Those Wars
By Rob Kall
OpEdNews Op Eds 5/26/2014 at 13:36:11
It's time that we revise how we celebrate memorial day.
What about these no-good politicians-- in both parties-- who either were bought by corporations or who didn't have the guts to stand up and say "This is a bad war. This is a bad idea?"
There are too many of these spineless politicians.
There are too many soldiers dead because of them.
There are too many people who keep voting for them.
Let's remember the people who contributed to the unnecessary deaths of thousands of soldiers.
Remember: Politicians Who've Sent Soldiers to Die Unnecessarily and Those Who Opposed Those Wars
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Remembe-Politicians-Who-v-by-Rob-Kall-David-Swanson_Kucinich-Dennis_Lobbyists-Lobbying-Influence_Memorial-Day-140526-127.htmlRemember: Politicians Who've Sent Soldiers to Die Unnecessarily and Those Who Opposed Those Wars
By Rob Kall
OpEdNews Op Eds 5/26/2014 at 13:36:11
It's time that we revise how we celebrate memorial day.
What about these no-good politicians-- in both parties-- who either were bought by corporations or who didn't have the guts to stand up and say "This is a bad war. This is a bad idea?"
There are too many of these spineless politicians.
There are too many soldiers dead because of them.
There are too many people who keep voting for them.
Let's remember the people who contributed to the unnecessary deaths of thousands of soldiers.
May 27, 2014
There's a top secret CIA weapons facility just north of San Antonio
By Kolten Parker : May 5, 2014 : Updated: May 5, 2014 9:41pm
SAN ANTONIO — Camp Stanley, a low-profile military weapons storage facility in northwest Bexar County, is home to one of the CIA's most mysterious weapons and explosives stockpiles, according to documents recently released by a retired CIA official who lives in San Antonio.
Previously referred to as the “Midwest Depot,” the top secret CIA facility has been tied to arming rebel groups from Nicaragua to Afghanistan as well as training Cuban exiles before the invasion of the Bay of Pigs in past declassified documents. The location of the depot was never known.
However, an array of research published in December by retired CIA analyst Allen Thomson suggests that Camp Stanley is the Midwest Depot, which would make it the third known CIA operations location in the country. Multiple requests to tour the facility made by the San Antonio Express-News have been declined over the past decade.
“To be a little dramatic about it, how many of those AK-47s and RPG-7s we see Islamists waving around today passed through the Midwest Depot on their way to freedom fighters in past decades?” Thomson told The New York Times.
There's a top secret CIA weapons facility just north of San Antonio
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/military/article/There-s-a-top-secret-CIA-weapons-facility-just-5454918.phpThere's a top secret CIA weapons facility just north of San Antonio
By Kolten Parker : May 5, 2014 : Updated: May 5, 2014 9:41pm
SAN ANTONIO — Camp Stanley, a low-profile military weapons storage facility in northwest Bexar County, is home to one of the CIA's most mysterious weapons and explosives stockpiles, according to documents recently released by a retired CIA official who lives in San Antonio.
Previously referred to as the “Midwest Depot,” the top secret CIA facility has been tied to arming rebel groups from Nicaragua to Afghanistan as well as training Cuban exiles before the invasion of the Bay of Pigs in past declassified documents. The location of the depot was never known.
However, an array of research published in December by retired CIA analyst Allen Thomson suggests that Camp Stanley is the Midwest Depot, which would make it the third known CIA operations location in the country. Multiple requests to tour the facility made by the San Antonio Express-News have been declined over the past decade.
“To be a little dramatic about it, how many of those AK-47s and RPG-7s we see Islamists waving around today passed through the Midwest Depot on their way to freedom fighters in past decades?” Thomson told The New York Times.
May 27, 2014
Parnell asks for federal inquiry on sex assaults in Alaska National Guard
By SEAN COCKERHAM
Daily News Washington bureau
March 26, 2014
WASHINGTON -- Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell has called in a federal investigation of sexual assault in the Alaska National Guard, including an inquiry into how the guard's commanders handled reports of rape and other offenses.
Parnell said the federal National Guard Bureau agreed Wednesday to investigate the Alaska National Guard at his request.
The governor oversees the Alaska National Guard and appointed its commander, Maj. Gen. Tom Katkus. Parnell's letter requesting the federal investigation said he wants it to include a look at how Katkus and his aides have handled sexual misconduct allegations within the ranks.
"I am extremely proud of our Alaska National Guard members and their professionalism in carrying out their duties. However, I remain deeply concerned by reports of sexual assaults and other behavior creating a hostile environment and culture within portions of the Alaska National Guard," Parnell wrote the federal National Guard bureau.
Parnell asks for federal inquiry on sex assaults in Alaska National Guard
http://www.adn.com/2014/03/26/3395333/parnell-asks-for-federal-inquiry.html?sp=/99/188/189/288/Parnell asks for federal inquiry on sex assaults in Alaska National Guard
By SEAN COCKERHAM
Daily News Washington bureau
March 26, 2014
WASHINGTON -- Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell has called in a federal investigation of sexual assault in the Alaska National Guard, including an inquiry into how the guard's commanders handled reports of rape and other offenses.
Parnell said the federal National Guard Bureau agreed Wednesday to investigate the Alaska National Guard at his request.
The governor oversees the Alaska National Guard and appointed its commander, Maj. Gen. Tom Katkus. Parnell's letter requesting the federal investigation said he wants it to include a look at how Katkus and his aides have handled sexual misconduct allegations within the ranks.
"I am extremely proud of our Alaska National Guard members and their professionalism in carrying out their duties. However, I remain deeply concerned by reports of sexual assaults and other behavior creating a hostile environment and culture within portions of the Alaska National Guard," Parnell wrote the federal National Guard bureau.
May 27, 2014
In addition to promising to educate visitors with information about what occurred on Sept. 11, the New York museum also includes among its cultural offers a gift shop where customers can obtain miniature twin towers, firefighter figurines and mugs.
September 11 in T-Shirts and Posters
El Espectador, Colombia
By Nicolás Rodriguez
Translated By Kyle Moore
23 May 2014
Edited by Gillian Palmer
The memory of a traumatic experience turned into a souvenir. Perfect for sticking on the refrigerator.
The families of the victims were not happy about the pain of their losses being turned into economic profit. Detractors request that the directors of the museum reconsider, while the directors quite calmly argue that they have to make a living. Although provocative, this is not a new conflict. Memory is no longer that sacred place from which a personal experience comes to us. Memories are shared, but they are also marketed. Among all other things macabre, there are key chains with a picture of a tender Pinochet.
What is new is the police presence that was deployed since the opening of the new towers and their impressive pools. Anyone interested in entering must endure the same machines, lines and orders that were observed in airports following the terrorist attack on Sept. 11. The attraction said “under construction,” but what they had to offer was already on display outside the museum. Unfounded fear, paranoia and sweaty palms in front of the Yankee police are a necessary part of what the museum must include.
After all, the experience of Sept. 11 cannot be summed up with a firehouse dog. If the task at hand is to traffic memories, they should request a stamp with a Guantanamo detainee, a bin Laden that can be taken apart (in his respective rat trap), Play-Doh drones, buckets for torturing in pastel colors, some edible maps of Iraq, a Bush with no gun, or even the simple passport of any citizen that appears to be Muslim.
September 11 in T-Shirts and Posters
http://watchingamerica.com/News/239275/september-11-in-t-shirts-and-posters/In addition to promising to educate visitors with information about what occurred on Sept. 11, the New York museum also includes among its cultural offers a gift shop where customers can obtain miniature twin towers, firefighter figurines and mugs.
September 11 in T-Shirts and Posters
El Espectador, Colombia
By Nicolás Rodriguez
Translated By Kyle Moore
23 May 2014
Edited by Gillian Palmer
The memory of a traumatic experience turned into a souvenir. Perfect for sticking on the refrigerator.
The families of the victims were not happy about the pain of their losses being turned into economic profit. Detractors request that the directors of the museum reconsider, while the directors quite calmly argue that they have to make a living. Although provocative, this is not a new conflict. Memory is no longer that sacred place from which a personal experience comes to us. Memories are shared, but they are also marketed. Among all other things macabre, there are key chains with a picture of a tender Pinochet.
What is new is the police presence that was deployed since the opening of the new towers and their impressive pools. Anyone interested in entering must endure the same machines, lines and orders that were observed in airports following the terrorist attack on Sept. 11. The attraction said “under construction,” but what they had to offer was already on display outside the museum. Unfounded fear, paranoia and sweaty palms in front of the Yankee police are a necessary part of what the museum must include.
After all, the experience of Sept. 11 cannot be summed up with a firehouse dog. If the task at hand is to traffic memories, they should request a stamp with a Guantanamo detainee, a bin Laden that can be taken apart (in his respective rat trap), Play-Doh drones, buckets for torturing in pastel colors, some edible maps of Iraq, a Bush with no gun, or even the simple passport of any citizen that appears to be Muslim.
May 27, 2014
Egypt between the hammer and the anvil
By Muhamed Arabi
May 27, '14
CAIRO - Egypt's presidential elections this week came amid a downbeat and tense atmosphere in the country. There are only two candidates - the recently resigned Field Marshall Abdul-Fattah Al-Sisi, Egypt's strongman who orchestrated the July 3, 2013, overthrow of president Mohamed Morsi, and Hamdeen Sabbahi, a left-winger who holds Nasserite views of nationalism.
For many pundits who monitor Egypt's situation, Sisi's victory is a foregone conclusion and the vote will be merely a farce. A closer look at both of the candidates' politics and programs reveals who has the highest chance of winning and who will shape Egypt's future.
Since the day he rose into the political arena, there has been an all-out propagandist campaign for the purpose of lionizing Sisi in the sight of the masses. State-run media glorifies him with many names: the savior who rescued them from falling into the pit of extremism, the tamer of terrorism and the national hero of the hour.
As for his general politics, Sisi stresses the dire need to enter economic austerity programs to salvage the country from bankruptcy.
Egypt between the hammer and the anvil
http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-01-270514.htmlEgypt between the hammer and the anvil
By Muhamed Arabi
May 27, '14
CAIRO - Egypt's presidential elections this week came amid a downbeat and tense atmosphere in the country. There are only two candidates - the recently resigned Field Marshall Abdul-Fattah Al-Sisi, Egypt's strongman who orchestrated the July 3, 2013, overthrow of president Mohamed Morsi, and Hamdeen Sabbahi, a left-winger who holds Nasserite views of nationalism.
For many pundits who monitor Egypt's situation, Sisi's victory is a foregone conclusion and the vote will be merely a farce. A closer look at both of the candidates' politics and programs reveals who has the highest chance of winning and who will shape Egypt's future.
Since the day he rose into the political arena, there has been an all-out propagandist campaign for the purpose of lionizing Sisi in the sight of the masses. State-run media glorifies him with many names: the savior who rescued them from falling into the pit of extremism, the tamer of terrorism and the national hero of the hour.
As for his general politics, Sisi stresses the dire need to enter economic austerity programs to salvage the country from bankruptcy.
May 27, 2014
California's flawed water system can't track usage
Associated Press
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
SAN FRANCISCO — In the midst of a prolonged drought, some California water users are far more equal than others.
An Associated Press review finds nearly 4,000 California companies, farms and others are allowed to use free water with little oversight even as deliveries to nearly everyone else have been severely slashed.
Their special status dates back to claims made more than a century ago when water was plentiful. These "senior rights holders" dominated by corporations and agricultural concerns are not obliged to conserve water.
Together, they hold more than half the rights to rivers and streams in California.
--
Here's a thought.
Melbourne built a desalinization plant in 2012 for $2.5 billion dollars ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonthaggi_desalination_plant ).
Let's not build one Zumwalt-class destroyer and we can build two desalinization plants.
Or we could cancel a Ford-class aircraft carrier at least five and maybe as much as 10+ plants.
California's flawed water system can't track usage
http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/national/west/2014/05/californias_flawed_water_system_cant_track_usageCalifornia's flawed water system can't track usage
Associated Press
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
SAN FRANCISCO — In the midst of a prolonged drought, some California water users are far more equal than others.
An Associated Press review finds nearly 4,000 California companies, farms and others are allowed to use free water with little oversight even as deliveries to nearly everyone else have been severely slashed.
Their special status dates back to claims made more than a century ago when water was plentiful. These "senior rights holders" dominated by corporations and agricultural concerns are not obliged to conserve water.
Together, they hold more than half the rights to rivers and streams in California.
--
Here's a thought.
Melbourne built a desalinization plant in 2012 for $2.5 billion dollars ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonthaggi_desalination_plant ).
Let's not build one Zumwalt-class destroyer and we can build two desalinization plants.
Or we could cancel a Ford-class aircraft carrier at least five and maybe as much as 10+ plants.
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