July 3rd, 2014 • 3h 6m

631: Micro Propaganda

NEW NoAgendaCd.COM content

In the Morning!

Two new No Agenda CDs are now available on the site. They are heavy on 'tech' reporting because Steve and I are going to DEF CON in August and are having a No Agenda meetup. We'll have it the first day of the con so we can give away boxes of discs to hand out during the convention. If you mention the meetup on the show, let people know that I need to get an idea of how many people will be involved so we can choose a venue that makes sense. It will not be IN the convention so anyone in Las Vegas is invited, not just Con attendees. People can email me at noagendacd@gmail.com and get info at the DEF CON page on noagendacd.com.

If you don't mention the meetup on the show... well, it is just going to be me and Steve at a Denny's with several thousand CDs, so... Thanks in advance?

TYFYC,

Ramsey Cain

Peerage Map Updated

First, the map has been updated to reflect recent changes.

And on to Baronetcies...

From the Book of Knowledge:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baronet#Territorial_designations

"All Baronetcies are distinguished by having a territorial designation."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_designation#Peerages_and_baronetcies

"A territorial designation is an aspect of the creation of modern peerages that links them to a specific place or places, at least one of which is almost always in the United Kingdom. It is given in the patent of creation after the actual peerage title itself, of which it is not a part. It is also an integral part of all baronetcies."

That should settle the discussion on whether or not Baronets get protectorates.

Sir A.J. Rystad, Bt.

1st Baronet of the Treasure Valley, in Idaho, in Gitmo Nation.

TODAY

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New Hams

Monitoring REF033C

JCD REF014C on the San Jose Repeater - Old Dudes!

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How "news' can affect your 'mood' and overall health - See FB emotions study

FACEBOOK IMMUNITY-EUR-Lex - 32000L0031 - EN

Link to Article

Archived Version

Mon, 30 Jun 2014 16:17

Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market ('Directive on electronic commerce')Official Journal L 178 , 17/07/2000 P. 0001 - 0016

Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council

of 8 June 2000

on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market (Directive on electronic commerce)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Articles 47(2), 55 and 95 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(2),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(3),

Whereas:

(1) The European Union is seeking to forge ever closer links between the States and peoples of Europe, to ensure economic and social progress; in accordance with Article 14(2) of the Treaty, the internal market comprises an area without internal frontiers in which the free movements of goods, services and the freedom of establishment are ensured; the development of information society services within the area without internal frontiers is vital to eliminating the barriers which divide the European peoples.

(2) The development of electronic commerce within the information society offers significant employment opportunities in the Community, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises, and will stimulate economic growth and investment in innovation by European companies, and can also enhance the competitiveness of European industry, provided that everyone has access to the Internet.

(3) Community law and the characteristics of the Community legal order are a vital asset to enable European citizens and operators to take full advantage, without consideration of borders, of the opportunities afforded by electronic commerce; this Directive therefore has the purpose of ensuring a high level of Community legal integration in order to establish a real area without internal borders for information society services.

(4) It is important to ensure that electronic commerce could fully benefit from the internal market and therefore that, as with Council Directive 89/552/EEC of 3 October 1989 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities(4), a high level of Community integration is achieved.

(5) The development of information society services within the Community is hampered by a number of legal obstacles to the proper functioning of the internal market which make less attractive the exercise of the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services; these obstacles arise from divergences in legislation and from the legal uncertainty as to which national rules apply to such services; in the absence of coordination and adjustment of legislation in the relevant areas, obstacles might be justified in the light of the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities; legal uncertainty exists with regard to the extent to which Member States may control services originating from another Member State.

(6) In the light of Community objectives, of Articles 43 and 49 of the Treaty and of secondary Community law, these obstacles should be eliminated by coordinating certain national laws and by clarifying certain legal concepts at Community level to the extent necessary for the proper functioning of the internal market; by dealing only with certain specific matters which give rise to problems for the internal market, this Directive is fully consistent with the need to respect the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty.

(7) In order to ensure legal certainty and consumer confidence, this Directive must lay down a clear and general framework to cover certain legal aspects of electronic commerce in the internal market.

(8) The objective of this Directive is to create a legal framework to ensure the free movement of information society services between Member States and not to harmonise the field of criminal law as such.

(9) The free movement of information society services can in many cases be a specific reflection in Community law of a more general principle, namely freedom of expression as enshrined in Article 10(1) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which has been ratified by all the Member States; for this reason, directives covering the supply of information society services must ensure that this activity may be engaged in freely in the light of that Article, subject only to the restrictions laid down in paragraph 2 of that Article and in Article 46(1) of the Treaty; this Directive is not intended to affect national fundamental rules and principles relating to freedom of expression.

(10) In accordance with the principle of proportionality, the measures provided for in this Directive are strictly limited to the minimum needed to achieve the objective of the proper functioning of the internal market; where action at Community level is necessary, and in order to guarantee an area which is truly without internal frontiers as far as electronic commerce is concerned, the Directive must ensure a high level of protection of objectives of general interest, in particular the protection of minors and human dignity, consumer protection and the protection of public health; according to Article 152 of the Treaty, the protection of public health is an essential component of other Community policies.

(11) This Directive is without prejudice to the level of protection for, in particular, public health and consumer interests, as established by Community acts; amongst others, Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts(5) and Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 1997 on the protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts(6) form a vital element for protecting consumers in contractual matters; those Directives also apply in their entirety to information society services; that same Community acquis, which is fully applicable to information society services, also embraces in particular Council Directive 84/450/EEC of 10 September 1984 concerning misleading and comparative advertising(7), Council Directive 87/102/EEC of 22 December 1986 for the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning consumer credit(8), Council Directive 93/22/EEC of 10 May 1993 on investment services in the securities field(9), Council Directive 90/314/EEC of 13 June 1990 on package travel, package holidays and package tours(10), Directive 98/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 1998 on consumer production in the indication of prices of products offered to consumers(11), Council Directive 92/59/EEC of 29 June 1992 on general product safety(12), Directive 94/47/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 1994 on the protection of purchasers in respect of certain aspects on contracts relating to the purchase of the right to use immovable properties on a timeshare basis(13), Directive 98/27/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 1998 on injunctions for the protection of consumers' interests(14), Council Directive 85/374/EEC of 25 July 1985 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions concerning liability for defective products(15), Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999 on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees(16), the future Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the distance marketing of consumer financial services and Council Directive 92/28/EEC of 31 March 1992 on the advertising of medicinal products(17); this Directive should be without prejudice to Directive 98/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 1998 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to the advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products(18) adopted within the framework of the internal market, or to directives on the protection of public health; this Directive complements information requirements established by the abovementioned Directives and in particular Directive 97/7/EC.

(12) It is necessary to exclude certain activities from the scope of this Directive, on the grounds that the freedom to provide services in these fields cannot, at this stage, be guaranteed under the Treaty or existing secondary legislation; excluding these activities does not preclude any instruments which might prove necessary for the proper functioning of the internal market; taxation, particularly value added tax imposed on a large number of the services covered by this Directive, must be excluded form the scope of this Directive.

(13) This Directive does not aim to establish rules on fiscal obligations nor does it pre-empt the drawing up of Community instruments concerning fiscal aspects of electronic commerce.

(14) The protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data is solely governed by Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data(19) and Directive 97/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 1997 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the telecommunications sector(20) which are fully applicable to information society services; these Directives already establish a Community legal framework in the field of personal data and therefore it is not necessary to cover this issue in this Directive in order to ensure the smooth functioning of the internal market, in particular the free movement of personal data between Member States; the implementation and application of this Directive should be made in full compliance with the principles relating to the protection of personal data, in particular as regards unsolicited commercial communication and the liability of intermediaries; this Directive cannot prevent the anonymous use of open networks such as the Internet.

(15) The confidentiality of communications is guaranteed by Article 5 Directive 97/66/EC; in accordance with that Directive, Member States must prohibit any kind of interception or surveillance of such communications by others than the senders and receivers, except when legally authorised.

(16) The exclusion of gambling activities from the scope of application of this Directive covers only games of chance, lotteries and betting transactions, which involve wagering a stake with monetary value; this does not cover promotional competitions or games where the purpose is to encourage the sale of goods or services and where payments, if they arise, serve only to acquire the promoted goods or services.

(17) The definition of information society services already exists in Community law in Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations and of rules on information society services(21) and in Directive 98/84/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 November 1998 on the legal protection of services based on, or consisting of, conditional access(22); this definition covers any service normally provided for remuneration, at a distance, by means of electronic equipment for the processing (including digital compression) and storage of data, and at the individual request of a recipient of a service; those services referred to in the indicative list in Annex V to Directive 98/34/EC which do not imply data processing and storage are not covered by this definition.

(18) Information society services span a wide range of economic activities which take place on-line; these activities can, in particular, consist of selling goods on-line; activities such as the delivery of goods as such or the provision of services off-line are not covered; information society services are not solely restricted to services giving rise to on-line contracting but also, in so far as they represent an economic activity, extend to services which are not remunerated by those who receive them, such as those offering on-line information or commercial communications, or those providing tools allowing for search, access and retrieval of data; information society services also include services consisting of the transmission of information via a communication network, in providing access to a communication network or in hosting information provided by a recipient of the service; television broadcasting within the meaning of Directive EEC/89/552 and radio broadcasting are not information society services because they are not provided at individual request; by contrast, services which are transmitted point to point, such as video-on-demand or the provision of commercial communications by electronic mail are information society services; the use of electronic mail or equivalent individual communications for instance by natural persons acting outside their trade, business or profession including their use for the conclusion of contracts between such persons is not an information society service; the contractual relationship between an employee and his employer is not an information society service; activities which by their very nature cannot be carried out at a distance and by electronic means, such as the statutory auditing of company accounts or medical advice requiring the physical examination of a patient are not information society services.

(19) The place at which a service provider is established should be determined in conformity with the case-law of the Court of Justice according to which the concept of establishment involves the actual pursuit of an economic activity through a fixed establishment for an indefinite period; this requirement is also fulfilled where a company is constituted for a given period; the place of establishment of a company providing services via an Internet website is not the place at which the technology supporting its website is located or the place at which its website is accessible but the place where it pursues its economic activity; in cases where a provider has several places of establishment it is important to determine from which place of establishment the service concerned is provided; in cases where it is difficult to determine from which of several places of establishment a given service is provided, this is the place where the provider has the centre of his activities relating to this particular service.

(20) The definition of "recipient of a service" covers all types of usage of information society services, both by persons who provide information on open networks such as the Internet and by persons who seek information on the Internet for private or professional reasons.

(21) The scope of the coordinated field is without prejudice to future Community harmonisation relating to information society services and to future legislation adopted at national level in accordance with Community law; the coordinated field covers only requirements relating to on-line activities such as on-line information, on-line advertising, on-line shopping, on-line contracting and does not concern Member States' legal requirements relating to goods such as safety standards, labelling obligations, or liability for goods, or Member States' requirements relating to the delivery or the transport of goods, including the distribution of medicinal products; the coordinated field does not cover the exercise of rights of pre-emption by public authorities concerning certain goods such as works of art.

(22) Information society services should be supervised at the source of the activity, in order to ensure an effective protection of public interest objectives; to that end, it is necessary to ensure that the competent authority provides such protection not only for the citizens of its own country but for all Community citizens; in order to improve mutual trust between Member States, it is essential to state clearly this responsibility on the part of the Member State where the services originate; moreover, in order to effectively guarantee freedom to provide services and legal certainty for suppliers and recipients of services, such information society services should in principle be subject to the law of the Member State in which the service provider is established.

(23) This Directive neither aims to establish additional rules on private international law relating to conflicts of law nor does it deal with the jurisdiction of Courts; provisions of the applicable law designated by rules of private international law must not restrict the freedom to provide information society services as established in this Directive.

(24) In the context of this Directive, notwithstanding the rule on the control at source of information society services, it is legitimate under the conditions established in this Directive for Member States to take measures to restrict the free movement of information society services.

(25) National courts, including civil courts, dealing with private law disputes can take measures to derogate from the freedom to provide information society services in conformity with conditions established in this Directive.

(26) Member States, in conformity with conditions established in this Directive, may apply their national rules on criminal law and criminal proceedings with a view to taking all investigative and other measures necessary for the detection and prosecution of criminal offences, without there being a need to notify such measures to the Commission.

(27) This Directive, together with the future Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the distance marketing of consumer financial services, contributes to the creating of a legal framework for the on-line provision of financial services; this Directive does not pre-empt future initiatives in the area of financial services in particular with regard to the harmonisation of rules of conduct in this field; the possibility for Member States, established in this Directive, under certain circumstances of restricting the freedom to provide information society services in order to protect consumers also covers measures in the area of financial services in particular measures aiming at protecting investors.

(28) The Member States' obligation not to subject access to the activity of an information society service provider to prior authorisation does not concern postal services covered by Directive 97/67/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 1997 on common rules for the development of the internal market of Community postal services and the improvement of quality of service(23) consisting of the physical delivery of a printed electronic mail message and does not affect voluntary accreditation systems, in particular for providers of electronic signature certification service.

(29) Commercial communications are essential for the financing of information society services and for developing a wide variety of new, charge-free services; in the interests of consumer protection and fair trading, commercial communications, including discounts, promotional offers and promotional competitions or games, must meet a number of transparency requirements; these requirements are without prejudice to Directive 97/7/EC; this Directive should not affect existing Directives on commercial communications, in particular Directive 98/43/EC.

(30) The sending of unsolicited commercial communications by electronic mail may be undesirable for consumers and information society service providers and may disrupt the smooth functioning of interactive networks; the question of consent by recipient of certain forms of unsolicited commercial communications is not addressed by this Directive, but has already been addressed, in particular, by Directive 97/7/EC and by Directive 97/66/EC; in Member States which authorise unsolicited commercial communications by electronic mail, the setting up of appropriate industry filtering initiatives should be encouraged and facilitated; in addition it is necessary that in any event unsolicited commercial communities are clearly identifiable as such in order to improve transparency and to facilitate the functioning of such industry initiatives; unsolicited commercial communications by electronic mail should not result in additional communication costs for the recipient.

(31) Member States which allow the sending of unsolicited commercial communications by electronic mail without prior consent of the recipient by service providers established in their territory have to ensure that the service providers consult regularly and respect the opt-out registers in which natural persons not wishing to receive such commercial communications can register themselves.

(32) In order to remove barriers to the development of cross-border services within the Community which members of the regulated professions might offer on the Internet, it is necessary that compliance be guaranteed at Community level with professional rules aiming, in particular, to protect consumers or public health; codes of conduct at Community level would be the best means of determining the rules on professional ethics applicable to commercial communication; the drawing-up or, where appropriate, the adaptation of such rules should be encouraged without prejudice to the autonomy of professional bodies and associations.

(33) This Directive complements Community law and national law relating to regulated professions maintaining a coherent set of applicable rules in this field.

(34) Each Member State is to amend its legislation containing requirements, and in particular requirements as to form, which are likely to curb the use of contracts by electronic means; the examination of the legislation requiring such adjustment should be systematic and should cover all the necessary stages and acts of the contractual process, including the filing of the contract; the result of this amendment should be to make contracts concluded electronically workable; the legal effect of electronic signatures is dealt with by Directive 1999/93/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 1999 on a Community framework for electronic signatures(24); the acknowledgement of receipt by a service provider may take the form of the on-line provision of the service paid for.

(35) This Directive does not affect Member States' possibility of maintaining or establishing general or specific legal requirements for contracts which can be fulfilled by electronic means, in particular requirements concerning secure electronic signatures.

(36) Member States may maintain restrictions for the use of electronic contracts with regard to contracts requiring by law the involvement of courts, public authorities, or professions exercising public authority; this possibility also covers contracts which require the involvement of courts, public authorities, or professions exercising public authority in order to have an effect with regard to third parties as well as contracts requiring by law certification or attestation by a notary.

(37) Member States' obligation to remove obstacles to the use of electronic contracts concerns only obstacles resulting from legal requirements and not practical obstacles resulting from the impossibility of using electronic means in certain cases.

(38) Member States' obligation to remove obstacles to the use of electronic contracts is to be implemented in conformity with legal requirements for contracts enshrined in Community law.

(39) The exceptions to the provisions concerning the contracts concluded exclusively by electronic mail or by equivalent individual communications provided for by this Directive, in relation to information to be provided and the placing of orders, should not enable, as a result, the by-passing of those provisions by providers of information society services.

(40) Both existing and emerging disparities in Member States' legislation and case-law concerning liability of service providers acting as intermediaries prevent the smooth functioning of the internal market, in particular by impairing the development of cross-border services and producing distortions of competition; service providers have a duty to act, under certain circumstances, with a view to preventing or stopping illegal activities; this Directive should constitute the appropriate basis for the development of rapid and reliable procedures for removing and disabling access to illegal information; such mechanisms could be developed on the basis of voluntary agreements between all parties concerned and should be encouraged by Member States; it is in the interest of all parties involved in the provision of information society services to adopt and implement such procedures; the provisions of this Directive relating to liability should not preclude the development and effective operation, by the different interested parties, of technical systems of protection and identification and of technical surveillance instruments made possible by digital technology within the limits laid down by Directives 95/46/EC and 97/66/EC.

(41) This Directive strikes a balance between the different interests at stake and establishes principles upon which industry agreements and standards can be based.

(42) The exemptions from liability established in this Directive cover only cases where the activity of the information society service provider is limited to the technical process of operating and giving access to a communication network over which information made available by third parties is transmitted or temporarily stored, for the sole purpose of making the transmission more efficient; this activity is of a mere technical, automatic and passive nature, which implies that the information society service provider has neither knowledge of nor control over the information which is transmitted or stored.

(43) A service provider can benefit from the exemptions for "mere conduit" and for "caching" when he is in no way involved with the information transmitted; this requires among other things that he does not modify the information that he transmits; this requirement does not cover manipulations of a technical nature which take place in the course of the transmission as they do not alter the integrity of the information contained in the transmission.

(44) A service provider who deliberately collaborates with one of the recipients of his service in order to undertake illegal acts goes beyond the activities of "mere conduit" or "caching" and as a result cannot benefit from the liability exemptions established for these activities.

(45) The limitations of the liability of intermediary service providers established in this Directive do not affect the possibility of injunctions of different kinds; such injunctions can in particular consist of orders by courts or administrative authorities requiring the termination or prevention of any infringement, including the removal of illegal information or the disabling of access to it.

(46) In order to benefit from a limitation of liability, the provider of an information society service, consisting of the storage of information, upon obtaining actual knowledge or awareness of illegal activities has to act expeditiously to remove or to disable access to the information concerned; the removal or disabling of access has to be undertaken in the observance of the principle of freedom of expression and of procedures established for this purpose at national level; this Directive does not affect Member States' possibility of establishing specific requirements which must be fulfilled expeditiously prior to the removal or disabling of information.

(47) Member States are prevented from imposing a monitoring obligation on service providers only with respect to obligations of a general nature; this does not concern monitoring obligations in a specific case and, in particular, does not affect orders by national authorities in accordance with national legislation.

(48) This Directive does not affect the possibility for Member States of requiring service providers, who host information provided by recipients of their service, to apply duties of care, which can reasonably be expected from them and which are specified by national law, in order to detect and prevent certain types of illegal activities.

(49) Member States and the Commission are to encourage the drawing-up of codes of conduct; this is not to impair the voluntary nature of such codes and the possibility for interested parties of deciding freely whether to adhere to such codes.

(50) It is important that the proposed directive on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society and this Directive come into force within a similar time scale with a view to establishing a clear framework of rules relevant to the issue of liability of intermediaries for copyright and relating rights infringements at Community level.

(51) Each Member State should be required, where necessary, to amend any legislation which is liable to hamper the use of schemes for the out-of-court settlement of disputes through electronic channels; the result of this amendment must be to make the functioning of such schemes genuinely and effectively possible in law and in practice, even across borders.

(52) The effective exercise of the freedoms of the internal market makes it necessary to guarantee victims effective access to means of settling disputes; damage which may arise in connection with information society services is characterised both by its rapidity and by its geographical extent; in view of this specific character and the need to ensure that national authorities do not endanger the mutual confidence which they should have in one another, this Directive requests Member States to ensure that appropriate court actions are available; Member States should examine the need to provide access to judicial procedures by appropriate electronic means.

(53) Directive 98/27/EC, which is applicable to information society services, provides a mechanism relating to actions for an injunction aimed at the protection of the collective interests of consumers; this mechanism will contribute to the free movement of information society services by ensuring a high level of consumer protection.

(54) The sanctions provided for under this Directive are without prejudice to any other sanction or remedy provided under national law; Member States are not obliged to provide criminal sanctions for infringement of national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive.

(55) This Directive does not affect the law applicable to contractual obligations relating to consumer contracts; accordingly, this Directive cannot have the result of depriving the consumer of the protection afforded to him by the mandatory rules relating to contractual obligations of the law of the Member State in which he has his habitual residence.

(56) As regards the derogation contained in this Directive regarding contractual obligations concerning contracts concluded by consumers, those obligations should be interpreted as including information on the essential elements of the content of the contract, including consumer rights, which have a determining influence on the decision to contract.

(57) The Court of Justice has consistently held that a Member State retains the right to take measures against a service provider that is established in another Member State but directs all or most of his activity to the territory of the first Member State if the choice of establishment was made with a view to evading the legislation that would have applied to the provider had he been established on the territory of the first Member State.

(58) This Directive should not apply to services supplied by service providers established in a third country; in view of the global dimension of electronic commerce, it is, however, appropriate to ensure that the Community rules are consistent with international rules; this Directive is without prejudice to the results of discussions within international organisations (amongst others WTO, OECD, Uncitral) on legal issues.

(59) Despite the global nature of electronic communications, coordination of national regulatory measures at European Union level is necessary in order to avoid fragmentation of the internal market, and for the establishment of an appropriate European regulatory framework; such coordination should also contribute to the establishment of a common and strong negotiating position in international forums.

(60) In order to allow the unhampered development of electronic commerce, the legal framework must be clear and simple, predictable and consistent with the rules applicable at international level so that it does not adversely affect the competitiveness of European industry or impede innovation in that sector.

(61) If the market is actually to operate by electronic means in the context of globalisation, the European Union and the major non-European areas need to consult each other with a view to making laws and procedures compatible.

(62) Cooperation with third countries should be strengthened in the area of electronic commerce, in particular with applicant countries, the developing countries and the European Union's other trading partners.

(63) The adoption of this Directive will not prevent the Member States from taking into account the various social, societal and cultural implications which are inherent in the advent of the information society; in particular it should not hinder measures which Member States might adopt in conformity with Community law to achieve social, cultural and democratic goals taking into account their linguistic diversity, national and regional specificities as well as their cultural heritage, and to ensure and maintain public access to the widest possible range of information society services; in any case, the development of the information society is to ensure that Community citizens can have access to the cultural European heritage provided in the digital environment.

(64) Electronic communication offers the Member States an excellent means of providing public services in the cultural, educational and linguistic fields.

(65) The Council, in its resolution of 19 January 1999 on the consumer dimension of the information society(25), stressed that the protection of consumers deserved special attention in this field; the Commission will examine the degree to which existing consumer protection rules provide insufficient protection in the context of the information society and will identify, where necessary, the deficiencies of this legislation and those issues which could require additional measures; if need be, the Commission should make specific additional proposals to resolve such deficiencies that will thereby have been identified,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Objective and scope

1. This Directive seeks to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market by ensuring the free movement of information society services between the Member States.

2. This Directive approximates, to the extent necessary for the achievement of the objective set out in paragraph 1, certain national provisions on information society services relating to the internal market, the establishment of service providers, commercial communications, electronic contracts, the liability of intermediaries, codes of conduct, out-of-court dispute settlements, court actions and cooperation between Member States.

3. This Directive complements Community law applicable to information society services without prejudice to the level of protection for, in particular, public health and consumer interests, as established by Community acts and national legislation implementing them in so far as this does not restrict the freedom to provide information society services.

4. This Directive does not establish additional rules on private international law nor does it deal with the jurisdiction of Courts.

5. This Directive shall not apply to:

(a) the field of taxation;

(b) questions relating to information society services covered by Directives 95/46/EC and 97/66/EC;

(d) the following activities of information society services:

- the activities of notaries or equivalent professions to the extent that they involve a direct and specific connection with the exercise of public authority,

- the representation of a client and defence of his interests before the courts,

- gambling activities which involve wagering a stake with monetary value in games of chance, including lotteries and betting transactions.

6. This Directive does not affect measures taken at Community or national level, in the respect of Community law, in order to promote cultural and linguistic diversity and to ensure the defence of pluralism.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purpose of this Directive, the following terms shall bear the following meanings:

(a) "information society services": services within the meaning of Article 1(2) of Directive 98/34/EC as amended by Directive 98/48/EC;

(b) "service provider": any natural or legal person providing an information society service;

(c) "established service provider": a service provider who effectively pursues an economic activity using a fixed establishment for an indefinite period. The presence and use of the technical means and technologies required to provide the service do not, in themselves, constitute an establishment of the provider;

(d) "recipient of the service": any natural or legal person who, for professional ends or otherwise, uses an information society service, in particular for the purposes of seeking information or making it accessible;

(e) "consumer": any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his or her trade, business or profession;

(f) "commercial communication": any form of communication designed to promote, directly or indirectly, the goods, services or image of a company, organisation or person pursuing a commercial, industrial or craft activity or exercising a regulated profession. The following do not in themselves constitute commercial communications:

- information allowing direct access to the activity of the company, organisation or person, in particular a domain name or an electronic-mail address,

- communications relating to the goods, services or image of the company, organisation or person compiled in an independent manner, particularly when this is without financial consideration;

(g) "regulated profession": any profession within the meaning of either Article 1(d) of Council Directive 89/48/EEC of 21 December 1988 on a general system for the recognition of higher-education diplomas awarded on completion of professional education and training of at least three-years' duration(26) or of Article 1(f) of Council Directive 92/51/EEC of 18 June 1992 on a second general system for the recognition of professional education and training to supplement Directive 89/48/EEC(27);

(h) "coordinated field": requirements laid down in Member States' legal systems applicable to information society service providers or information society services, regardless of whether they are of a general nature or specifically designed for them.

(i) The coordinated field concerns requirements with which the service provider has to comply in respect of:

- the taking up of the activity of an information society service, such as requirements concerning qualifications, authorisation or notification,

- the pursuit of the activity of an information society service, such as requirements concerning the behaviour of the service provider, requirements regarding the quality or content of the service including those applicable to advertising and contracts, or requirements concerning the liability of the service provider;

(ii) The coordinated field does not cover requirements such as:

- requirements applicable to goods as such,

- requirements applicable to the delivery of goods,

- requirements applicable to services not provided by electronic means.

Article 3

Internal market

1. Each Member State shall ensure that the information society services provided by a service provider established on its territory comply with the national provisions applicable in the Member State in question which fall within the coordinated field.

2. Member States may not, for reasons falling within the coordinated field, restrict the freedom to provide information society services from another Member State.

3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to the fields referred to in the Annex.

4. Member States may take measures to derogate from paragraph 2 in respect of a given information society service if the following conditions are fulfilled:

(a) the measures shall be:

(i) necessary for one of the following reasons:

- public policy, in particular the prevention, investigation, detection and prosecution of criminal offences, including the protection of minors and the fight against any incitement to hatred on grounds of race, sex, religion or nationality, and violations of human dignity concerning individual persons,

- the protection of public health,

- public security, including the safeguarding of national security and defence,

- the protection of consumers, including investors;

(ii) taken against a given information society service which prejudices the objectives referred to in point (i) or which presents a serious and grave risk of prejudice to those objectives;

(iii) proportionate to those objectives;

(b) before taking the measures in question and without prejudice to court proceedings, including preliminary proceedings and acts carried out in the framework of a criminal investigation, the Member State has:

- asked the Member State referred to in paragraph 1 to take measures and the latter did not take such measures, or they were inadequate,

- notified the Commission and the Member State referred to in paragraph 1 of its intention to take such measures.

5. Member States may, in the case of urgency, derogate from the conditions stipulated in paragraph 4(b). Where this is the case, the measures shall be notified in the shortest possible time to the Commission and to the Member State referred to in paragraph 1, indicating the reasons for which the Member State considers that there is urgency.

6. Without prejudice to the Member State's possibility of proceeding with the measures in question, the Commission shall examine the compatibility of the notified measures with Community law in the shortest possible time; where it comes to the conclusion that the measure is incompatible with Community law, the Commission shall ask the Member State in question to refrain from taking any proposed measures or urgently to put an end to the measures in question.

CHAPTER II

PRINCIPLES

Section 1: Establishment and information requirements

Article 4

Principle excluding prior authorisation

1. Member States shall ensure that the taking up and pursuit of the activity of an information society service provider may not be made subject to prior authorisation or any other requirement having equivalent effect.

2. Paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice to authorisation schemes which are not specifically and exclusively targeted at information society services, or which are covered by Directive 97/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 April 1997 on a common framework for general authorisations and individual licences in the field of telecommunications services(28).

Article 5

General information to be provided

1. In addition to other information requirements established by Community law, Member States shall ensure that the service provider shall render easily, directly and permanently accessible to the recipients of the service and competent authorities, at least the following information:

(a) the name of the service provider;

(b) the geographic address at which the service provider is established;

(c) the details of the service provider, including his electronic mail address, which allow him to be contacted rapidly and communicated with in a direct and effective manner;

(d) where the service provider is registered in a trade or similar public register, the trade register in which the service provider is entered and his registration number, or equivalent means of identification in that register;

(e) where the activity is subject to an authorisation scheme, the particulars of the relevant supervisory authority;

(f) as concerns the regulated professions:

- any professional body or similar institution with which the service provider is registered,

- the professional title and the Member State where it has been granted,

- a reference to the applicable professional rules in the Member State of establishment and the means to access them;

(g) where the service provider undertakes an activity that is subject to VAT, the identification number referred to in Article 22(1) of the sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes - Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment(29).

2. In addition to other information requirements established by Community law, Member States shall at least ensure that, where information society services refer to prices, these are to be indicated clearly and unambiguously and, in particular, must indicate whether they are inclusive of tax and delivery costs.

Section 2: Commercial communications

Article 6

Information to be provided

In addition to other information requirements established by Community law, Member States shall ensure that commercial communications which are part of, or constitute, an information society service comply at least with the following conditions:

(a) the commercial communication shall be clearly identifiable as such;

(b) the natural or legal person on whose behalf the commercial communication is made shall be clearly identifiable;

(c) promotional offers, such as discounts, premiums and gifts, where permitted in the Member State where the service provider is established, shall be clearly identifiable as such, and the conditions which are to be met to qualify for them shall be easily accessible and be presented clearly and unambiguously;

(d) promotional competitions or games, where permitted in the Member State where the service provider is established, shall be clearly identifiable as such, and the conditions for participation shall be easily accessible and be presented clearly and unambiguously.

Article 7

Unsolicited commercial communication

1. In addition to other requirements established by Community law, Member States which permit unsolicited commercial communication by electronic mail shall ensure that such commercial communication by a service provider established in their territory shall be identifiable clearly and unambiguously as such as soon as it is received by the recipient.

2. Without prejudice to Directive 97/7/EC and Directive 97/66/EC, Member States shall take measures to ensure that service providers undertaking unsolicited commercial communications by electronic mail consult regularly and respect the opt-out registers in which natural persons not wishing to receive such commercial communications can register themselves.

Article 8

Regulated professions

1. Member States shall ensure that the use of commercial communications which are part of, or constitute, an information society service provided by a member of a regulated profession is permitted subject to compliance with the professional rules regarding, in particular, the independence, dignity and honour of the profession, professional secrecy and fairness towards clients and other members of the profession.

2. Without prejudice to the autonomy of professional bodies and associations, Member States and the Commission shall encourage professional associations and bodies to establish codes of conduct at Community level in order to determine the types of information that can be given for the purposes of commercial communication in conformity with the rules referred to in paragraph 1

3. When drawing up proposals for Community initiatives which may become necessary to ensure the proper functioning of the Internal Market with regard to the information referred to in paragraph 2, the Commission shall take due account of codes of conduct applicable at Community level and shall act in close cooperation with the relevant professional associations and bodies.

4. This Directive shall apply in addition to Community Directives concerning access to, and the exercise of, activities of the regulated professions.

Section 3: Contracts concluded by electronic means

Article 9

Treatment of contracts

1. Member States shall ensure that their legal system allows contracts to be concluded by electronic means. Member States shall in particular ensure that the legal requirements applicable to the contractual process neither create obstacles for the use of electronic contracts nor result in such contracts being deprived of legal effectiveness and validity on account of their having been made by electronic means.

2. Member States may lay down that paragraph 1 shall not apply to all or certain contracts falling into one of the following categories:

(a) contracts that create or transfer rights in real estate, except for rental rights;

(b) contracts requiring by law the involvement of courts, public authorities or professions exercising public authority;

(c) contracts of suretyship granted and on collateral securities furnished by persons acting for purposes outside their trade, business or profession;

(d) contracts governed by family law or by the law of succession.

3. Member States shall indicate to the Commission the categories referred to in paragraph 2 to which they do not apply paragraph 1. Member States shall submit to the Commission every five years a report on the application of paragraph 2 explaining the reasons why they consider it necessary to maintain the category referred to in paragraph 2(b) to which they do not apply paragraph 1.

Article 10

Information to be provided

1. In addition to other information requirements established by Community law, Member States shall ensure, except when otherwise agreed by parties who are not consumers, that at least the following information is given by the service provider clearly, comprehensibly and unambiguously and prior to the order being placed by the recipient of the service:

(a) the different technical steps to follow to conclude the contract;

(b) whether or not the concluded contract will be filed by the service provider and whether it will be accessible;

(d) the languages offered for the conclusion of the contract.

2. Member States shall ensure that, except when otherwise agreed by parties who are not consumers, the service provider indicates any relevant codes of conduct to which he subscribes and information on how those codes can be consulted electronically.

3. Contract terms and general conditions provided to the recipient must be made available in a way that allows him to store and reproduce them.

4. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to contracts concluded exclusively by exchange of electronic mail or by equivalent individual communications.

Article 11

Placing of the order

1. Member States shall ensure, except when otherwise agreed by parties who are not consumers, that in cases where the recipient of the service places his order through technological means, the following principles apply:

- the service provider has to acknowledge the receipt of the recipient's order without undue delay and by electronic means,

- the order and the acknowledgement of receipt are deemed to be received when the parties to whom they are addressed are able to access them.

2. Member States shall ensure that, except when otherwise agreed by parties who are not consumers, the service provider makes available to the recipient of the service appropriate, effective and accessible technical means allowing him to identify and correct input errors, prior to the placing of the order.

3. Paragraph 1, first indent, and paragraph 2 shall not apply to contracts concluded exclusively by exchange of electronic mail or by equivalent individual communications.

Section 4: Liability of intermediary service providers

Article 12

"Mere conduit"

1. Where an information society service is provided that consists of the transmission in a communication network of information provided by a recipient of the service, or the provision of access to a communication network, Member States shall ensure that the service provider is not liable for the information transmitted, on condition that the provider:

(a) does not initiate the transmission;

(b) does not select the receiver of the transmission; and

2. The acts of transmission and of provision of access referred to in paragraph 1 include the automatic, intermediate and transient storage of the information transmitted in so far as this takes place for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission in the communication network, and provided that the information is not stored for any period longer than is reasonably necessary for the transmission.

Article 13

"Caching"

1. Where an information society service is provided that consists of the transmission in a communication network of information provided by a recipient of the service, Member States shall ensure that the service provider is not liable for the automatic, intermediate and temporary storage of that information, performed for the sole purpose of making more efficient the information's onward transmission to other recipients of the service upon their request, on condition that:

(a) the provider does not modify the information;

(b) the provider complies with conditions on access to the information;

(c) the provider complies with rules regarding the updating of the information, specified in a manner widely recognised and used by industry;

(d) the provider does not interfere with the lawful use of technology, widely recognised and used by industry, to obtain data on the use of the information; and

(e) the provider acts expeditiously to remove or to disable access to the information it has stored upon obtaining actual knowledge of the fact that the information at the initial source of the transmission has been removed from the network, or access to it has been disabled, or that a court or an administrative authority has ordered such removal or disablement.

2. This Article shall not affect the possibility for a court or administrative authority, in accordance with Member States' legal systems, of requiring the service provider to terminate or prevent an infringement.

Article 14

Hosting

1. Where an information society service is provided that consists of the storage of information provided by a recipient of the service, Member States shall ensure that the service provider is not liable for the information stored at the request of a recipient of the service, on condition that:

(a) the provider does not have actual knowledge of illegal activity or information and, as regards claims for damages, is not aware of facts or circumstances from which the illegal activity or information is apparent; or

(b) the provider, upon obtaining such knowledge or awareness, acts expeditiously to remove or to disable access to the information.

2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply when the recipient of the service is acting under the authority or the control of the provider.

3. This Article shall not affect the possibility for a court or administrative authority, in accordance with Member States' legal systems, of requiring the service provider to terminate or prevent an infringement, nor does it affect the possibility for Member States of establishing procedures governing the removal or disabling of access to information.

Article 15

No general obligation to monitor

1. Member States shall not impose a general obligation on providers, when providing the services covered by Articles 12, 13 and 14, to monitor the information which they transmit or store, nor a general obligation actively to seek facts or circumstances indicating illegal activity.

2. Member States may establish obligations for information society service providers promptly to inform the competent public authorities of alleged illegal activities undertaken or information provided by recipients of their service or obligations to communicate to the competent authorities, at their request, information enabling the identification of recipients of their service with whom they have storage agreements.

CHAPTER III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 16

Codes of conduct

1. Member States and the Commission shall encourage:

(a) the drawing up of codes of conduct at Community level, by trade, professional and consumer associations or organisations, designed to contribute to the proper implementation of Articles 5 to 15;

(b) the voluntary transmission of draft codes of conduct at national or Community level to the Commission;

(d) the communication to the Member States and the Commission, by trade, professional and consumer associations or organisations, of their assessment of the application of their codes of conduct and their impact upon practices, habits or customs relating to electronic commerce;

(e) the drawing up of codes of conduct regarding the protection of minors and human dignity.

2. Member States and the Commission shall encourage the involvement of associations or organisations representing consumers in the drafting and implementation of codes of conduct affecting their interests and drawn up in accordance with paragraph 1(a). Where appropriate, to take account of their specific needs, associations representing the visually impaired and disabled should be consulted.

Article 17

Out-of-court dispute settlement

1. Member States shall ensure that, in the event of disagreement between an information society service provider and the recipient of the service, their legislation does not hamper the use of out-of-court schemes, available under national law, for dispute settlement, including appropriate electronic means.

2. Member States shall encourage bodies responsible for the out-of-court settlement of, in particular, consumer disputes to operate in a way which provides adequate procedural guarantees for the parties concerned.

3. Member States shall encourage bodies responsible for out-of-court dispute settlement to inform the Commission of the significant decisions they take regarding information society services and to transmit any other information on the practices, usages or customs relating to electronic commerce.

Article 18

Court actions

1. Member States shall ensure that court actions available under national law concerning information society services' activities allow for the rapid adoption of measures, including interim measures, designed to terminate any alleged infringement and to prevent any further impairment of the interests involved.

2. The Annex to Directive 98/27/EC shall be supplemented as follows:

"11. Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects on information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the internal market (Directive on electronic commerce) (OJ L 178, 17.7.2000, p. 1)."

Article 19

Cooperation

1. Member States shall have adequate means of supervision and investigation necessary to implement this Directive effectively and shall ensure that service providers supply them with the requisite information.

2. Member States shall cooperate with other Member States; they shall, to that end, appoint one or several contact points, whose details they shall communicate to the other Member States and to the Commission.

3. Member States shall, as quickly as possible, and in conformity with national law, provide the assistance and information requested by other Member States or by the Commission, including by appropriate electronic means.

4. Member States shall establish contact points which shall be accessible at least by electronic means and from which recipients and service providers may:

(a) obtain general information on contractual rights and obligations as well as on the complaint and redress mechanisms available in the event of disputes, including practical aspects involved in the use of such mechanisms;

(b) obtain the details of authorities, associations or organisations from which they may obtain further information or practical assistance.

5. Member States shall encourage the communication to the Commission of any significant administrative or judicial decisions taken in their territory regarding disputes relating to information society services and practices, usages and customs relating to electronic commerce. The Commission shall communicate these decisions to the other Member States.

Article 20

Sanctions

Member States shall determine the sanctions applicable to infringements of national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are enforced. The sanctions they provide for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

CHAPTER IV

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 21

Re-examination

1. Before 17 July 2003, and thereafter every two years, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament, the Council and the Economic and Social Committee a report on the application of this Directive, accompanied, where necessary, by proposals for adapting it to legal, technical and economic developments in the field of information society services, in particular with respect to crime prevention, the protection of minors, consumer protection and to the proper functioning of the internal market.

2. In examining the need for an adaptation of this Directive, the report shall in particular analyse the need for proposals concerning the liability of providers of hyperlinks and location tool services, "notice and take down" procedures and the attribution of liability following the taking down of content. The report shall also analyse the need for additional conditions for the exemption from liability, provided for in Articles 12 and 13, in the light of technical developments, and the possibility of applying the internal market principles to unsolicited commercial communications by electronic mail.

Article 22

Transposition

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive before 17 January 2002. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.

2. When Member States adopt the measures referred to in paragraph 1, these shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference at the time of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by Member States.

Article 23

Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 24

Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Luxemburg, 8 June 2000.

For the European Parliament

The President

N. Fontaine

For the Council

The President

G. d'Oliveira Martins

(1) OJ C 30, 5.2.1999, p. 4.

(2) OJ C 169, 16.6.1999, p. 36.

(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 6 May 1999 (OJ C 279, 1.10.1999, p. 389), Council common position of 28 February 2000 (OJ C 128, 8.5.2000, p. 32) and Decision of the European Parliament of 4 May 2000 (not yet published in the Official Journal).

(4) OJ L 298, 17.10.1989, p. 23. Directive as amended by Directive 97/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 202, 30.7.1997, p. 60).

(5) OJ L 95, 21.4.1993, p. 29.

(6) OJ L 144, 4.6.1999, p. 19.

(7) OJ L 250, 19.9.1984, p. 17. Directive as amended by Directive 97/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 290, 23.10.1997, p. 18).

(8) OJ L 42, 12.2.1987, p. 48. Directive as last amended by Directive 98/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 101, 1.4.1998, p. 17).

(9) OJ L 141, 11.6.1993, p. 27. Directive as last amended by Directive 97/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 84, 26.3.1997, p. 22).

(10) OJ L 158, 23.6.1990, p. 59.

(11) OJ L 80, 18.3.1998, p. 27.

(12) OJ L 228, 11.8.1992, p. 24.

(13) OJ L 280, 29.10.1994, p. 83.

(14) OJ L 166, 11.6.1998, p. 51. Directive as amended by Directive 1999/44/EC (OJ L 171, 7.7.1999, p. 12).

(15) OJ L 210, 7.8.1985, p. 29. Directive as amended by Directive 1999/34/EC (OJ L 141, 4.6.1999, p. 20).

(16) OJ L 171, 7.7.1999, p. 12.

(17) OJ L 113, 30.4.1992, p. 13.

(18) OJ L 213, 30.7.1998, p. 9.

(19) OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31.

(20) OJ L 24, 30.1.1998, p. 1.

(21) OJ L 204, 21.7.1998, p. 37. Directive as amended by Directive 98/48/EC (OJ L 217, 5.8.1998, p. 18).

(22) OJ L 320, 28.11.1998, p. 54.

(23) OJ L 15, 21.1.1998, p. 14.

(24) OJ L 13, 19.1.2000, p. 12.

(25) OJ C 23, 28.1.1999, p. 1.

(26) OJ L 19, 24.1.1989, p. 16.

(27) OJ L 209, 24.7.1992, p. 25. Directive as last amended by Commission Directive 97/38/EC (OJ L 184, 12.7.1997, p. 31).

(28) OJ L 117, 7.5.1997, p. 15.

(29) OJ L 145, 13.6.1977, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive 1999/85/EC (OJ L 277, 28.10.1999, p. 34).

ANNEX

DEROGATIONS FROM ARTICLE 3

As provided for in Article 3(3), Article 3(1) and (2) do not apply to:

- copyright, neighbouring rights, rights referred to in Directive 87/54/EEC(1) and Directive 96/9/EC(2) as well as industrial property rights,

- the emission of electronic money by institutions in respect of which Member States have applied one of the derogations provided for in Article 8(1) of Directive 2000/46/EC(3),

- Article 44(2) of Directive 85/611/EEC(4),

- Article 30 and Title IV of Directive 92/49/EEC(5), Title IV of Directive 92/96/EEC(6), Articles 7 and 8 of Directive 88/357/EEC(7) and Article 4 of Directive 90/619/EEC(8),

- the freedom of the parties to choose the law applicable to their contract,

- contractual obligations concerning consumer contacts,

- formal validity of contracts creating or transferring rights in real estate where such contracts are subject to mandatory formal requirements of the law of the Member State where the real estate is situated,

- the permissibility of unsolicited commercial communications by electronic mail.

(1) OJ L 24, 27.1.1987, p. 36.

(2) OJ L 77, 27.3.1996, p. 20.

(3) Not yet published in the Official Journal.

(4) OJ L 375, 31.12.1985, p. 3. Directive as last amended by Directive 95/26/EC (OJ L 168, 18.7.1995, p. 7).

(5) OJ L 228, 11.8.1992, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive 95/26/EC.

(6) OJ L 360, 9.12.1992, p. 2. Directive as last amended by Directive 95/26/EC.

(7) OJ L 172, 4.7.1988, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive 92/49/EC.

(8) OJ L 330, 29.11.1990, p. 50. Directive as last amended by Directive 92/96/EC.

FACEBOOOK LIABILITY-Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Mon, 30 Jun 2014 16:16

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (a common name for Title V of the Telecommunications Act of 1996) is a landmark piece of Internet legislation in the United States, codified at 47 U.S.C. § 230. Section 230(c)(1) provides immunity from liability for providers and users of an "interactive computer service" who publish information provided by others:

No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.

In analyzing the availability of the immunity offered by this provision, courts generally apply a three-prong test. A defendant must satisfy each of the three prongs to gain the benefit of the immunity:

The defendant must be a "provider or user" of an "interactive computer service."The cause of action asserted by the plaintiff must "treat" the defendant "as the publisher or speaker" of the harmful information at issue.The information must be "provided by another information content provider," i.e., the defendant must not be the "information content provider" of the harmful information at issue.History[edit]Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act was not part of the original Senate legislation, but was added in conference with the House of Representatives, where it had been separately introduced by RepresentativesChristopher Cox (R-CA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) as the Internet Freedom and Family Empowerment Act and passed by a near-unanimous vote on the floor.[citation needed] Unlike the more controversial anti-indecency provisions which were later ruled unconstitutional, [1] this portion of the Act remains in force and allows ISPs and other service providers to restrict customers' actions without fear of being found legally liable for the actions that are allowed. The act was passed in part in reaction to the 1995 decision in Stratton Oakmont, Inc. v. Prodigy Services Co.,[2] which suggested that service providers who assumed an editorial role with regard to customer content, thus became publishers, and legally responsible for libel and other torts committed by customers. This act was passed to specifically enhance service providers' ability to delete or otherwise monitor content without themselves becoming publishers. In Zeran v. America Online, Inc., the Court notes that "Congress enacted § 230 to remove the disincentives to self-regulation created by the Stratton Oakmont decision.[3] Under that court's holding, computer service providers who regulated the dissemination of offensive material on their services risked subjecting themselves to liability, because such regulation cast the service provider in the role of a publisher.[citation needed] Fearing that the specter of liability would therefore deter service providers from blocking and screening offensive material, Congress enacted § 230's broad immunity "to remove disincentives for the development and utilization of blocking and filtering technologies that empower parents to restrict their children's access to objectionable or inappropriate online material."[citation needed] In addition, Zeran notes "the amount of information communicated via interactive computer services is . . . staggering. The specter of tort liability in an area of such prolific speech would have an obviously chilling effect. It would be impossible for service providers to screen each of their millions of postings for possible problems. Faced with potential liability for each message republished by their services, interactive computer service providers might choose to severely restrict the number and type of messages posted. Congress considered the weight of the speech interests implicated and chose to immunize service providers to avoid any such restrictive effect."[citation needed]

Section 230's coverage is not complete: it excepts federal criminal liability and intellectual property law.[4] In Perfect 10, Inc. v. CCBill LLC,[5] the Court of Appeals ruled that the exception for intellectual property law applies only to federal intellectual property law, reversing a district court ruling that the exception applies to state right of publicity claims.[6] The Friendfinder court specifically discussed and rejected the Ninth Circuit's reading of "intellectual property law" in CCBill and held that the immunity does not reach state right of publicity claims.[7]

Controversy[edit]Section 230 is controversial with certain people[who?] because several courts have interpreted it as providing complete immunity for ISPs with regard to the torts committed by their users over their systems. See, e.g.,Zeran v. AOL, 129 F.3d 327, 330 (4th Cir. 1997), cert. denied, 524 U.S. 937 (1998), which held that Section 230 ''creates a federal immunity to any cause of action that would make service providers liable for information originating with a third-party user of the service.'' This rule effectively protects online entities, including user-generated content websites, that qualify as a "provider or user" of an "interactive computer service." However some[who?] criticize Section 230 for leaving victims with no hope of relief where the true tortfeasors cannot be identified or are judgment proof. For example, the plaintiff in Zeran was allegedly defamed by an unidentified user of AOL's bulletin board, but was unable to bring suit against the original poster due to missing records. Since Section 230 barred Zeran from obtaining damages from AOL, he obtained no redress for the harms the messages caused, including death threats that required the involvement of the FBI.

Case law[edit]Defamatory information[edit]Immunity was upheld against claims that AOL unreasonably delayed in removing defamatory messages posted by third party, failed to post retractions, and failed to screen for similar postings.

Blumenthal v. Drudge, 992 F. Supp. 44, 49-53 (D.D.C. 1998).[9]The court upheld AOL's immunity from liability for defamation. AOL's agreement with the contractor allowing AOL to modify or remove such content did not make AOL the "information content provider" because the content was created by an independent contractor. The Court noted that Congress made a policy choice by "providing immunity even where the interactive service provider has an active, even aggressive role in making available content prepared by others."

The court upheld immunity for an Internet dating service provider from liability stemming from third party's submission of a false profile. The plaintiff, Carafano, claimed the false profile defamed her, but because the content was created by a third party, the website was immune, even though it had provided multiple choice selections to aid profile creation.

Batzel v. Smith, 333 F.3d 1018 (9th Cir. 2003).[11]Immunity was upheld for a website operator for distributing an email to a listserv where the plaintiff claimed the email was defamatory. Though there was a question as to whether the information provider intended to send the email to the listserv, the Court decided that for determining the liability of the service provider, "the focus should be not on the information provider's intentions or knowledge when transmitting content but, instead, on the service provider's or user's reasonable perception of those intentions or knowledge." The Court found immunity proper "under circumstances in which a reasonable person in the position of the service provider or user would conclude that the information was provided for publication on the Internet or other 'interactive computer service'."

Green v. AOL, 318 F.3d 465 (3rd Cir. 2003).[12]The court upheld immunity for AOL against allegations of negligence. Green claimed AOL failed to adequately police its services and allowed third parties to defame him and inflict intentional emotional distress. The court rejected these arguments because holding AOL negligent in promulgating harmful content would be equivalent to holding AOL "liable for decisions relating to the monitoring, screening, and deletion of content from its network -- actions quintessentially related to a publisher's role."

Immunity was upheld for an individual internet user from liability for republication of defamatory statement on a listserv. The court found the defendant to be a "user of interactive computer services" and thus immune from liability for posting information passed to her by the author.

MCW, Inc. v. badbusinessbureau.com(RipOff Report/Ed Magedson/XCENTRIC Ventures LLC) 2004 WL 833595, No. Civ.A.3:02-CV-2727-G, (N.D. Tex. April 19, 2004).[14]The court rejected the defendant's motion to dismiss on the grounds of Section 230 immunity, ruling that the plaintiff's allegations that the defendants wrote disparaging report titles and headings, and themselves wrote disparaging editorial messages about the plaintiff, rendered them information content providers. The Web site, www.badbusinessbureau.com, allows users to upload "reports" containing complaints about businesses they have dealt with.

Hy Cite Corp. v. badbusinessbureau.com (RipOff Report/Ed Magedson/XCENTRIC Ventures LLC), 418 F. Supp. 2d 1142 (D. Ariz. 2005).[15]The court rejected immunity and found the defendant was an "information content provider" under Section 230 using much of the same reasoning as the MCW case.

False information[edit]Gentry v. eBay, Inc., 99 Cal. App. 4th 816, 830 (2002).[16]eBay's immunity was upheld for claims based on forged autograph sports items purchased on the auction site.

Ben Ezra, Weinstein & Co. v. America Online, 206 F.3d 980, 984-985 (10th Cir. 2000), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 824 (2000).[17]Immunity for AOL was upheld against liability for a user's posting of incorrect stock information.

Immunity upheld against claims of fraud and money laundering. Google was not responsible for misleading advertising created by third parties who bought space on Google's pages. The court found the creative pleading of money laundering did not cause the case to fall into the crime exception to Section 230 immunity.

Immunity for Orbitz and CheapTickets was upheld for claims based on fraudulent ticket listings entered by third parties on ticket resale marketplaces.

Sexually explicit content and minors[edit]Doe v. America Online, 783 So. 2d 1010, 1013-1017 (Fl. 2001),[20] cert. denied, 122 S.Ct. 208 (2000)The court upheld immunity against state claims of negligence based on "chat room marketing" of obscene photographs of minor by a third party.

Kathleen R. v. City of Livermore, 87 Cal. App. 4th 684, 692 (2001)[21]The California Court of Appeal upheld the immunity of a city from claims of waste of public funds, nuisance, premises liability, and denial of substantive due process. The plaintiff's child downloaded pornography from a public library's computers which did not restrict access to minors. The court found the library was not responsible for the content of the internet and explicitly found that section 230(c)(1) immunity covers governmental entities and taxpayer causes of action.

The court upheld immunity for a social networking site from negligence and gross negligence liability for failing to institute safety measures to protect minors and failure to institute policies relating to age verification. The Does' daughter had lied about her age and communicated over MySpace with a man who later sexually assaulted her. In the court's view, the Does' allegations, were "merely another way of claiming that MySpace was liable for publishing the communications."

The court upheld immunity for Craigslist against a county sheriff's claims that its ''erotic services'' section constituted a public nuisance because it caused or induced prostitution.

Discriminatory housing ads[edit]The court upheld immunity for Craigslist against Fair Housing Act claims based on discriminatory statements in postings on the classifieds website by third party users.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appealsrejected immunity for the Roommates.com roommate matching service for claims brought under the federal Fair Housing Act[26] and California housing discrimination laws.[27] The court concluded that the manner in which the service elicited information from users concerning their roommate preferences (by having dropdowns specifying gender, presence of children, and sexual orientation), and the manner in which it utilized that information in generating roommate matches (by eliminating profiles that did not match user specifications), the matching service created or developed the information claimed to violate the FHA, and thus was responsible for it as an "information content provider." The court upheld immunity for the descriptions posted by users in the ''Additional Comments'' section because these were entirely created by users.

Threats[edit]A California Appellate Court unanimously upheld immunity from state tort claims arising from an employee's use of the employer's e-mail system to send threatening messages. The court concluded that an employer that provides Internet access to its employees qualifies as a "provider . . . of an interactive service."

Legislation in other countries[edit]European Union[edit]Directive 2000/31/EC establishes a safe haven regime for hosting providers:

Article 14 establishes that hosting providers are not responsible for the content they host as long as (1) the acts in question are neutral intermediary acts of a mere technical, automatic and passive capacity; (2) they are not informed of its illegal character, and (3) they act promptly to remove or disable access to the material when informed of it.Article 15 precludes member states from imposing general obligations to monitor hosted content for potential illegal activities.Australia[edit]In Dow Jones & Company Inc v Gutnick,[28] the High Court of Australia treated defamatory material on a server outside Australia as having been published in Australia when it is downloaded or read by someone in Australia.

Gorton v Australian Broadcasting Commission & Anor (1973) 1 ACTR 6

Under the Defamation Act 2005 (NSW),[29] s 32, a defence to defamation is that the defendant neither knew, nor ought reasonably to have known of the defamation, and the lack of knowledge was not due to the defendant's negligence.

New Zealand[edit]Failing to investigate the material or to make inquiries of the user concerned may amount to negligence in this context: Jensen v Clark [1982] 2 NZLR 268.

France[edit]Directive 2000/31/CE was transposed into the LCEN law. Article 6 of the law establishes safe haven for hosting provider as long as they follow certain rules.

In LICRA vs. Yahoo!, the High Court ordered Yahoo! to take affirmative steps to filter out Nazi memorabilia from its auction site. Yahoo!, Inc. and its then president Timothy Koogle were also criminally charged, but acquitted.

Germany[edit]In 1997, Felix Somm, the former managing director for CompuServe Germany, was charged with violating German child pornographylaws because of the material CompuServe's network was carrying into Germany. He was convicted and sentenced to two years probation on May 28, 1998.[30] He was cleared on appeal on November 17, 1999.[31]

The Oberlandesgericht (OLG) Cologne, an appellate court, found that an online auctioneer does not have an active duty to check for counterfeit goods (Az 6 U 12/01).[32]

In one example, the first-instance district court of Hamburg issued a temporary restraining order requiring message board operator Universal Boards to review all comments before they can be posted to prevent the publication of messages inciting others to download harmful files. The court reasoned that "the publishing house must be held liable for spreading such material in the forum, regardless of whether it was aware of the content." [33]

United Kingdom[edit]The laws of libel and defamation will treat a disseminator of information as having "published" material posted by a user and the onus will then be on a defendant to prove that it did not know the publication was defamatory and was not negligent in failing to know: Goldsmith v Sperrings Ltd (1977) 2 All ER 566; Vizetelly v Mudie's Select Library Ltd (1900) 2 QB 170; Emmens v Pottle & Ors (1885) 16 QBD 354;

References[edit]^Reno v. ACLU, 521 844, 885 (United States Supreme Court 1997).^Stratton Oakmont, Inc. v. Prodigy Services Co., 31063/94, 1995 WL 323710, 1995 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 712 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1995).^Zeran v. Am. Online, Inc., 129 F.3d 327, 331 (4th Cir. 1997)^47 U.S.C. §§ 230(e)(1) (criminal) and (e)(2) (intellectual property); see also Gucci America, Inc. v. Hall & Associates, 135 F. Supp. 2d 409 (S.D.N.Y. 2001) (no immunity for contributory liability for trademark infringement).^481 F.3d 751 (9th Cir. Mar. 29, 2007; amended opinion issued May 31, 2007).^Cf. Carfano, 339 F.3d 1119 (dismissing, inter alia, right of publicity claim under Section 230 without discussion). But seeDoe v. Friendfinder Network, Inc., 540 F.Supp.2d 288 (D.N.H. 2008) (230 does not immunize against state IP claims, including right of publicity claims).^"Doe v Friendfinder". Harvard.edu. 27 March 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2014. "United States District Court, D. New Hampshire. Jane DOE v. FRIENDFINDER NETWORK, INC. and Various, Inc. Civil No. 07-cv-286. Opinion No. 2008 DNH 058." ^Zeran v. AOL, 129 F.3d 327 (4th Cir. 1997).^Blumenthal v. Drudge, 992 F. Supp. 44, 49-53 (D.D.C. 1998).^Carafano v. Metrosplash.com, 339 F.3d 1119 (9th Cir. 2003).^Batzel v. Smith, 333 F.3d 1018 (9th Cir. 2003).^Green v. AOL, 318 F.3d 465 (3rd Cir. 2003).^Barrett v. Rosenthal, 40 Cal. 4th 33 (2006).^MCW, Inc. v. badbusinessbureau.com, L.L.C. 2004 WL 833595, No. Civ.A.3:02-CV-2727-G, (N.D. Tex. April 19, 2004).^Hy Cite Corp. v. badbusinessbureau.com, 418 F. Supp. 2d 1142 (D. Ariz. 2005).^Gentry v. eBay, Inc., 99 Cal. App. 4th 816, 830 (2002).^Ben Ezra, Weinstein & Co. v. America Online, 206 F.3d 980 (10th Cir. 2000).^Goddard v. Google, Inc., C 08-2738 JF (PVT), 2008 WL 5245490, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101890 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 17, 2008).^Milgram v. Orbitz Worldwide, LLC, ESX-C-142-09 (N.J. Super. Ct. Aug. 26, 2010).^Doe v. America Online, 783 So. 2d 1010 (Fl. 2001)^Kathleen R. v. City of Livermore, 87 Cal. App. 4th 684 (2001)^Doe v. MySpace, 528 F.3d 413 (5th Cir. 2008)^Dart v. Craigslist, 665 F. Supp. 2d 961 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 20, 2009).^Chicago Lawyers' Committee For Civil Rights Under Law, Inc. v. Craigslist, Inc. 519 F.3d 666 (7th Cir. 2008).^Fair Housing Council of San Fernando Valley v. Roommate.com, LLC, 521 F.3d 1157 (9th Cir. 2008) (en banc).^42 U.S.C. § 3604(c).^Cal. Gov. Code § 12955.^Dow Jones & Company Inc v Gutnick, Aust Torts Reports ¶81-682, (2003)^Defamation Act 2005^http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/iclp/fsomm.htmlhttp://www.kuner.com/data/reg/somm.html^http://www.digital-law.net/somm/commentary.htmlhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/524951.stm^http://www.heise.de/newsticker/BGH-Online-Auktionshaeuser-muessen-Angebote-von-Plagiaten-sperren--/meldung/45495^http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/67029External links[edit]

Facebook COO tells users she deliberately tried to upset: ''We never meant to upset you'' | PandoDaily

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Wed, 02 Jul 2014 20:49

By Nathaniel MottOn July 2, 2014

I feel like we've written this since about 2007 or so, but Facebook really needs to work on its apologies.

In the company's first official statement after its terrifyingly unethical study on the emotional effect the News Feed can have on its users, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg apologized for the way it communicated the research to the world. But she also defended the study as ''ongoing research companies do to test different products'' '-- which is pretty much the same sentiment that Facebook spokespeople and supporters have been expressing since the backlash began late last week.

''It was poorly communicated,'' Sandberg said. ''And for that communication we apologize. We never meant to upset you.''

Well, actually, in the case of a few hundred thousand users unwittingly included in the study, that's exactly what Facebook intended to do. As part of the study, 300,000 Facebook users had their News Feed changed to include more negative items, with the specific goal of upsetting them.

It's a classic example of a non-apology meant to placate consumers without Facebook accepting any responsibility for its actions.

The idea that Facebook was merely tweaking the News Feed to make it a better product is just ludicrous, as I wrote in a blog post countering that argument from the company's supporters:

The problem is that conflating Facebook's experiment with the changes tech companies make to countless other algorithms every day is a bit like saying that a doctor shoving poison pills down a person's throat is okay because other doctors were writing legitimate prescriptions at the same time. It's a willful misrepresentation of a disconcerting experiment that should be discussed instead of being accepted as part of the modern, algorithm-driven world in which we've decided to live.

This wasn't a simple tweak to News Feed's algorithms. It also wasn't an example of researchers using the data that companies like Facebook collect to improve their products or better serve advertisements. If the company had just given the researchers access to anonymized data that didn't result from a product change made specifically to have an emotional effect on its users, or if it had asked for consent before experimenting on them, things would be a little different.

Put another way: This wasn't analysis of existing data. I'm not suggesting that this study has made people more wary about the vast amounts of information companies like Facebook have amassed over the years. (They should be worried about that, but not because of this study.) It was a study in which Facebook had a hypothesis (that the News Feed can affect emotions) and a way to test it (changing the News Feed and seeing what happens). That is an experiment.

Facebook can't pretend that this was a test to improve News Feed. It can't claim that its users had given their permission to be experimented upon when they signed up for its service. And it can't even claim that it attempted to protect those users, as it didn't even bother to exclude minors from the study. This was an experiment designed to affect the emotions of hundreds of thousands of people without their consent with no regard for their wishes, ages, or histories.

That's what Sandberg should be apologizing for. Not for the way Facebook has talked about the study. Not for the fact that people are upset about knowing that the company manipulated their emotions without telling them. (It still hasn't told the affected users that their News Feed was changed as part of the experiment, by the way.) Not for gathering unfathomable amounts of data. For experimenting on people and allowing Facebook's culture of contempt to reach the point where it can't even admit to itself that this research was more than just a product tweak.

[illustration by Brad Jonas for Pando]

Facebook Experiments Had Few Limits - WSJ

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Thu, 03 Jul 2014 05:29

Facebook operating chief Sheryl Sandberg says the company's experiment on user emotions was 'poorly communicated.'

Thousands of Facebook Inc. users received an unsettling message two years ago: They were being locked out of the social network because Facebook believed they were robots or using fake names. To get back in, the users had to prove they were real.

In fact, Facebook knew most of the users were legitimate. The message was a test designed to help improve Facebook's antifraud measures. In the end, no users lost access permanently.

The experiment was the work of Facebook's Data Science team, a group of about three dozen researchers with unique access to one of the world's richest data troves: the movements, musings and emotions of Facebook's 1.3 billion users.

The little-known group was thrust into the spotlight this week by reports about a 2012 experiment in which the news feeds of nearly 700,000 Facebook users were manipulated to show more positive or negative posts. The study found that users who saw more positive content were more likely to write positive posts, and vice versa.

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said Wednesday during a trip to India that the study was "part of ongoing research companies do to test different products" and was "poorly communicated."

The company said that after the feedback on the study, "We are taking a very hard look at this process to make more improvements."

Until recently, the Data Science group operated with few boundaries, according to a former member of the team and outside researchers. At a university, researchers likely would have been required to obtain consent from participants in such a study. But Facebook relied on users' agreement to its Terms of Service, which at the time said data could be used to improve Facebook's products. Those terms now say that user data may be used for research.

"There's no review process, per se," said Andrew Ledvina, a Facebook data scientist from February 2012 to July 2013. "Anyone on that team could run a test," Mr. Ledvina said. "They're always trying to alter peoples' behavior."

He recalled a minor experiment in which he and a product manager ran a test without telling anyone else at the company. Tests were run so often, he said, that some data scientists worried that the same users, who were anonymous, might be used in more than one experiment, tainting the results.

Facebook said that since the study on emotions, it has implemented stricter guidelines on Data Science team research. Since at least the beginning of this year, research beyond routine product testing is reviewed by a panel drawn from a group of 50 internal experts in fields such as privacy and data security. Facebook declined to name them.

Company research intended to be published in academic journals receives additional review from in-house experts on academic research. Some of those experts are also on the Data Science team, Facebook said, declining to name the members of that panel.

A spokesman said Facebook is considering additional changes.

Since its creation in 2007, Facebook's Data Science group has run hundreds of tests. One published study deconstructed how families communicate, another delved into the causes of loneliness. One test looked at how social behaviors spread through networks. In 2010, the group measured how "political mobilization messages" sent to 61 million people caused people in social networks to vote in the 2010 congressional elections.

Many of Facebook's data scientists hold doctoral degrees from major universities in fields including computer science, artificial intelligence and computational biology. Some worked in academic research before joining Facebook.

Adam Kramer, the lead author of the study about emotions, said in a 2012 interview on Facebook's website that he joined the company partly because it is "the largest field study in the history of the world." Mr. Kramer, who has a doctorate in social psychology from the University of Oregon, said that in academia he would have had to get papers published and then hope that someone noticed. At Facebook, "I just message someone on the right team and my research has an impact within weeks, if not days."

Much of Facebook's research is less controversial than the emotions study, testing features that will prompt users to spend more time on the network and click on more ads. Other Internet companies, including Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp., Twitter Inc. and Google Inc., conduct research on their users and their data.

The recent ruckus is "a glimpse into a wide-ranging practice," said Kate Crawford, a visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for Civic Media and a principal researcher at Microsoft Research. Companies "really do see users as a willing experimental test bed" to be used at the companies' discretion.

Facebook's team has drawn particular interest because it occasionally publishes its work in academic journals that touch on users' personal lives, including the study about positive and negative posts.

"Facebook deserves a lot of credit for pushing as much research into the public domain as they do," said Clifford Lampe, an associate professor at the University of Michigan's School of Information who has worked on about 10 studies with Facebook researchers. If Facebook stopped publishing studies, he said, "It would be a real loss for science."

Dr. Lampe said he has been in touch with members of the Data Science team since the controversy erupted. "They've been listening to the arguments and they take them very seriously," he said.

Mr. Ledvina, the former Facebook data scientist, said some researchers debated the merits of a study similar to the one that accused users of being robots but there was no formal review, and none of the users in the study were notified that it was an experiment.

"I'm sure some people got very angry somewhere," he said. "Internally, you get a little desensitized to it."

Write to Reed Albergotti at reed.albergotti@wsj.com

Sandberg: Facebook Study Was 'Poorly Communicated' - Digits - WSJ

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Wed, 02 Jul 2014 17:36

Facebook 's psychological experiment on nearly 700,000 unwitting users was communicated ''poorly,'' Sheryl Sandberg, the company's No. 2 executive, said Wednesday.

It was the first public comment on the study by a Facebook executive since the furor erupted in social-media circles over the weekend.

''This was part of ongoing research companies do to test different products, and that was what it was; it was poorly communicated,'' Sandberg, Facebook's chief operating officer, said while in New Delhi. ''And for that communication we apologize. We never meant to upset you.''

Sandberg was in India meeting with smaller-sized businesses that advertise on Facebook. The company is working with advertisers outside the U.S. to launch campaigns that are more tailored to local markets. She was meeting with entrepreneurs and businesswomen as part of her ''Lean In'' campaign when she commented on the study.

The uproar centered on Facebook's one-week experiment in 2012, in which the company's data scientists enabled an algorithm to determine whether lowering the number of positive or negative posts in users' news feeds could prompt them to post more positive or negative content.

The research, published in the March issue of the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, sparked soul-searching and questions among researchers and ethicists over the social network's ability to tweak its users' emotions.

''We take privacy and security at Facebook really seriously because that is something that allows people to share'' opinions and emotions, Sandberg said.

'' Reed Albergotti contributed to this article.

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Facebook offers explanation for controversial News Feed psychology experiment | The Verge

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Mon, 30 Jun 2014 22:54

Facebook caused a stir over the weekend with the revelation that it had been altering the content of some users' News Feeds in an attempt to study the psychology behind what causes people to post emotional material. Now Adam Kramer, Facebook data scientist and co-author of the study, has posted an explanation of the motivation behind the research, which he says serves as Facebook's statement on the matter.

"The reason we did this research is because we care about the emotional impact of Facebook and the people that use our product," says Kramer. "We felt that it was important to investigate the common worry that seeing friends post positive content leads to people feeling negative or left out. At the same time, we were concerned that exposure to friends' negativity might lead people to avoid visiting Facebook."

"In hindsight, the research benefits of the paper may not have justified all of this anxiety."

Kramer notes that the study affected 0.04 percent of users over one week in 2012, though at Facebook's scale that covers hundreds of thousands of people. The study's findings contradicted conventional wisdom, according to the scientist, as seeing positive emotions on Facebook was found to encourage similarly positive content. In a separate statement provided to The Guardian, Facebook said the research was designed to "improve our services and to make the content people see on Facebook as relevant and engaging as possible."

"Having written and designed this experiment myself, I can tell you that our goal was never to upset anyone," says Kramer. "I can understand why some people have concerns about it, and my co-authors and I are very sorry for the way the paper described the research and any anxiety it caused. In hindsight, the research benefits of the paper may not have justified all of this anxiety." Kramer says that Facebook has improved its internal review practices since 2012, and future research will take the reaction to this study into account.

Facebook Added 'Research' To User Agreement 4 Months After Emotion Manipulation Study

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Wed, 02 Jul 2014 04:15

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Facebook's Psychological Experiments Connected to Department of Defense Research on Civil Unrest

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Source: SCG News - World News, Politics & Analysis

Wed, 02 Jul 2014 04:15

There has been quite a bit of chatter this past week after it was revealed that a recent Facebook outage was the result of a psychological experiment that the company conducted on a portion of its users without their permission. The experiment, which was described in a paper published by Facebook, and UCSF, tested the contagion of emotions on social media by manipulating the content of personal feeds and measuring how this impacted user behavior.

Over 600,000 users were used as guinea pigs without their consent, which raises a number of serious ethical and legal questions (particularly due to the fact that this study received federal funding), however there is an even more disturbing angle to this story. It turns out that this research was connected to a Department of Defense project called the Minerva Initiative, which funds universities to model the dynamics, risks and tipping points for large-scale civil unrest across the world.

In the official credits for the study conducted by Facebook you'll find Jeffrey T. Hancock from Cornell University. If you go to the Minerva initiative website you'll find that Jeffery Hancock received funding from the Department of Defense for a study called "Cornell: Modeling Discourse and Social Dynamics in Authoritarian Regimes". If you go to the project site for that study you'll find a visualization program that models the spread of beliefs and disease.

Cornell University is currently being funded for another DoD study right now called "Cornell: Tracking Critical-Mass Outbreaks in Social Contagions" (you'll find the description for this project on the Minerva Initiative's funding page).

The Department of Defense's investment in the mechanics of psychological contagion and Facebook's assistance, have some very serious implications, particularly when placed in context with other scandals which have broken in the past two years.

First of all we know that Facebook willingly participated (and presumably is still participating) in the NSA's PRISM program by giving the agency unfettered access to user communications. We also know that the U.S. government has invested heavily in technology used to track and model the spread of opinions on social media.

The U.S. government hasn't sought these capabilities for the sake of science. We know from the Cuban Twitter scandal, where the U.S. State Department where got caught red handed attempting to topple the Cuban government through social media, that these capabilities are already being used for offensive operations. Combine that with the fact that the U.S. Military got exposed in 2011 for developing 'sock puppet' software to create fake online identities and spread propaganda and an ominous picture snaps into focus.

The U.S. government is militarizing social media through a combination of technology and social sciences, and Facebook is helping them.

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Facebook's Emotional Manipulation: Fail | John C. Dvorak | PCMag.com

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Wed, 02 Jul 2014 17:38

The fact is, Facebook manipulation doesn't work, or we wouldn't be writing about it.

There is an interesting uproar over the emotion manipulation study done by some researcher using unknowing Facebook users as guinea pigs. Everyone is outraged, but they should be happy.

Think about it. With a few minor changes in various feeds and photos, you can manipulate the average Facebook user like a puppet. Feed them happy news with a positive slant and they will reflect joy and a positive attitude. Give them negative downer news and suddenly they are mired in a new-found depression.

This is valuable insight. Users should be happy to learn that propaganda works! Doesn't the government do this to get people to join the Army during a crisis? Don't newspapers and news networks slant things in subtle ways to get us to become liberal or conservative? Entire public relations industries are built around the fact that the public is malleable. Now there's proof it all works.

Did the Facebook community, which is irked by the revelation that a study was done without their collective approval, ever think they were immune from such research? Do users of Facebook think they own the product?

One commentator on The New York Timessuggested that for all we know, someone out there among the nearly 700,000 stooges tested got an unwarranted downer story and immediately took out a gun and killed themselves. Puh-leeeze. The users are not that fragile.

Everyone, as usual, is missing the point. The problem is the ease in which such manipulation can be done. This is the important aspect to this story, not the supposed violation of one's Facebook civil rights.

Many of the cynics watching this unfold have always thought that the public is too easily led astray by clever promotion of certain ideas and memes.

That said, how does any of this research or knowledge positively benefit the company? The users are now distrustful of Facebook as they were told by outsiders that they were tricked.

Facebook could have as easily promoted the whole process with the headline "Good News" and explained the importance of the study by telling the community about this "fun" project. People would want more! But, instead, the company apologized.

So the good news is, as easily as the average Facebook user might be exploitable through micro-propaganda, nobody actually knows how to do it yet. If they did, this episode would have easily been spun the other way. Facebook's own apology proves it can't manipulate very well.

A problem remains. To do a good sociological test you cannot always get workable results if you tell people what you are doing. The subjects get suspicious and do not react honestly. So there was probably no other way to get the results of this study other than just running the experiment.

But these sorts of things should be operated as "market research." For some reason the public is all-in when it comes to market research and accepts it. In fact, it looks like market research to me. Why else would Facebook be doing it? As such, it is very defensible.

In the end, this entire episode looks like an epic fail, if you ask me.

For more, check out Why Facebook's 'Emotional Contagion' Experiment Makes Me So Happy.

Main/Emotional Torque - Television Tropes & Idioms

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Thu, 03 Jul 2014 05:45

"Once you decide that you're going to have the death of Spock, then how does that affect the other people? Why is it there? I got a lot of stick from a lot of people from the very beginning about the idea of killing Spock. Somebody said, 'You can't kill him.' And I said, 'Sure you can; the only question is whether you do it well."The overriding goal of all storytelling is to get a reaction from the audience '-- a laugh,a tear, a desire to change, or maybe a desire to kill the storyteller. There is nothing more saddening than a story that gets an apatheticreaction. A story should influence and affect us. The storyteller wants to see their audience pay attention, hang on their words, and applaud with a standing ovation when it is all done. Why do you think Superman has lasted so long as a character? It is escapism; you dream of doing what Superman is doing, flying around with a cape rustling behind you. Ancient myths also entranced the world. These stories have entire religions based upon them. Even today there are storytellers who have created their own devoted worshipers. As far back as Ancient Greece, people have wondered, Why are we drawn to tragedy? Why would people willingly watch something they know is going to make them feel sad, angry, or scared? Because art isn't about making you feel good. It's about making you feel. Aristotle suggested, "A tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself ... with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions." Catharsis is a concept that relieving your emotions in one format can influence other components of your psyche. It is a hard experience to describe; it isn't quite like joy or happiness, neither is there an emotion called "epic." The best way to describe your favorite moments is satisfaction. Here, we'll call it emotional torque. Think a little about Fridge Logic and the Willing Suspension of Disbelief. They work and exist solely because we are caught up in the story. We should be so caught up in the moment of what is happening that we don't think about the illogical, the unhistorical or the faulty science. Right beside this is going the distance required by the story. The story and characters have to do the needed actions to establish themselves and their use. The Butt Monkey has to get beaten up, the villain has to do something villainous, etc. If there is a war going on and no one gets hurt, no blood gets spilled, and there isn't even a smudge of dirt on them, then it is rendered ineffective and gives the wrong impression. It's like a Jerk Ass that doesn't do one mean thing. These tropes are Tropers trying to catalogue their emotional reactions:These tropes are when the emotional reaction overrules more common sensibilities:When the use of Emotional Torque fails, the following things tend to happen:

Crowd manipulation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Thu, 03 Jul 2014 05:46

Crowd manipulation is the intentional use of techniques based on the principles of crowd psychology to engage, control, or influence the desires of a crowd in order to direct its behavior toward a specific action.[1] This practice is common to politics and business and can facilitate the approval or disapproval or indifference to a person, policy, or product. The ethicality of crowd manipulation is commonly questioned.

Crowd manipulation differs from propaganda although they may reinforce one another to produce a desired result. If propaganda is "the consistent, enduring effort to create or shape events to influence the relations of the public to an enterprise, idea or group",[2] crowd manipulation is the relatively brief call to action once the seeds of propaganda (i.e. more specifically "pre-propaganda"[3]) are sown and the public is organized into a crowd. The propagandist appeals to the masses, even if compartmentalized, whereas the crowd manipulator appeals to a segment of the masses assembled into a crowd in real time. In situations such as a national emergency, however, a crowd manipulator may leverage mass media to address the masses in real time as if speaking to a crowd.[4]

Crowd manipulation also differs from crowd control, which serves a security function. Local authorities use crowd-control methods to contain and defuse crowds and to prevent and respond to unruly and unlawful acts such as rioting and looting.[5]

Function and moralityEditThe crowd manipulator engages, controls, or influences crowds without the use of physical force, although his goal may be to instigate the use of force by the crowd or by local authorities. Prior to the American War of Independence, Samuel Adams provided Bostonians with "elaborate costumes, props, and musical instruments to lead protest songs in harborside demonstrations and parades through Boston's streets." If such crowds provoked British authorities to violence, as they did during the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770, Adams would write, produce, and disperse sensationalized accounts of the incidents to stir discontent and create unity among the American colonies.[6] The American way of manipulation may be classified as a tool of soft power, which is "the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payments".[7] Harvard professor Joseph Nye coined the term in the 1980s, although he did not create the concept. The techniques used to win the minds of crowds were examined and developed notably by Quintilian in his training book, Institutio oratoria and by Aristotle in Rhetoric. Known origins of crowd manipulation go as far back as the 5th century BC, where litigants in Syracuse sought to improve their persuasiveness in court.[8][9]

The verb "manipulate" can convey negativity, but it does not have to do so. According to Merriam Webster's Dictionary, for example, to "manipulate" means "to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means especially to one's own advantage."[10] This definition allows, then, for the artful and honest use of control for one's advantage. Moreover, the actions of a crowd need not be criminal in nature. Nineteenth-century social scientist Gustave Le Bon wrote:

It is crowds rather than isolated individuals that may be induced to run the risk of death to secure the triumph of a creed or an idea, that may be fired with enthusiasm for glory and honour, that are led on--almost without bread and without arms, as in the age of the Crusades--to deliver the tomb of Christ from the infidel, or, as in [1793], to defend the fatherland. Such heroism is without doubt somewhat unconscious, but it is of such heroism that history is made. Were peoples only to be credited with the great actions performed in cold blood, the annals of the world would register but few of them.[11]

Edward Bernays, the so-called "Father of Public Relations", believed that public manipulation was not only moral, but a necessity. He argued that "a small, invisible government who understands the mental processes and social patterns of the masses, rules public opinion by consent." This is necessary for the division of labor and to prevent chaos and confusion. "The voice of the people expresses the mind of the people, and that mind is made up for it by the group leaders in whom it believes and by those persons who understand the manipulation of public opinion", wrote Bernays.[12] He also wrote, "We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized."

Others argue that some techniques are not inherently evil, but instead are philosophically neutral vehicles. Lifelong political activist and former Ronald ReaganWhite House staffer Morton C. Blackwell explained in a speech titled, "People, Parties, and Power":

Being right in the sense of being correct is not sufficient to win. Political technology determines political success. Learn how to organize and how to communicate. Most political technology is philosophically neutral. You owe it to your philosophy to study how to win.[13]

In brief, manipulators with different ideologies can employ successfully the same techniques to achieve ends that may be good or bad. Crowd manipulation techniques offers individuals and groups a philosophically neutral means to maximize the effect of their messages.

In order to manipulate a crowd, one should first understand what is meant by a crowd, as well as the principles that govern its behavior.

Crowds and their behaviorEditThe word "crowd", according to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, refers to both "a large number of persons especially when collected together" (as in a crowded shopping mall) and "a group of people having something in common [as in a habit, interest, or occupation]."[14] Philosopher G.A. Tawny defined a crowd as "a numerous collection of people who face a concrete situation together and are more or less aware of their bodily existence as a group. Their facing the situation together is due to common interests and the existence of common circumstances which give a single direction to their thoughts and actions." Tawney discussed in his work "The Nature of Crowds" two main types of crowds:

Crowds may be classified according to the degree of definiteness and constancy of this consciousness. When it is very definite and constant the crowd may be called homogeneous, and when not so definite and constant, heterogeneous. All mobs belong to the homogeneous class, but not all homogeneous crowds are mobs. '... Whether a given crowd belong to the one group or the other may be a debatable question, and the same crowd may imperceptibly pass from one to the other.[15]

In a 2001 study, the Institute for Non-Lethal Defense Studies at Pennsylvania State University defined a crowd more specifically as "a gathering of a multitude of individuals and small groups that have temporarily assembled. These small groups are usually comprised of friends, family members, or acquaintances."

A crowd may display behavior that differs from the individuals who compose it. Several theories have emerged in the 19th century and early 20th century to explain this phenomenon. These collective works contribute to the "classic theory" of crowd psychology. In 1968, however, social scientist Dr. Carl Couch of the University of Liverpool refuted many of the stereotypes associated with crowd behavior as described by classic theory. His criticisms are supported widely in the psychology community but are still being incorporated as a "modern theory" into psychological texts.[16] A modern model, based on the "individualistic" concept of crowd behavior developed by Floyd Allport in 1924, is the Elaborated Social Identity Model (ESIM).[17]

Classic theoryEditFrench philosopher and historian Hippolyte Taine provided in the wake of the Franco Prussian War of 1871 the first modern account of crowd psychology. Gustave Le Bon developed this framework in his 1895 book, Psychologie des Foules. He proposed that French crowds during the 19th century were essentially excitable, irrational mobs easily influenced by wrongdoers.[18] He postulated that the heterogeneous elements which make up this type of crowd essentially form a new being, a chemical reaction of sorts in which the crowd's properties change. He wrote:

Under certain given circumstances, and only under those circumstances, an agglomeration of men presents new characteristics very different from those of the individuals composing it. The sentiments and ideas of all the persons in the gathering take one and the same direction, and their conscious personality vanishes. A collective mind is formed, doubtless transitory, but presenting very clearly defined characteristics.

Le Bon observed several characteristics of what he called the "organized" or "psychological" crowd, including:

submergence or the disappearance of a conscious personality and the appearance of an unconscious personality (aka "mental unity"). This process is aided by sentiments of invincible power and anonymity which allow one to yield to instincts which he would have kept under restraint (i.e. Individuality is weakened and the unconscious "gains the upper hand");contagion ("In a crowd every sentiment and act is contagious, and contagious to such a degree that an individual readily sacrifices his personal interest to the collective interest."); andsuggestibility as the result of a hypnotic state. "All feelings and thoughts are bent in the direction determined by the hypnotizer" and the crowd tends to turn these thoughts into acts.[11]In sum, the classic theory contends that:

"[Crowds] are unified masses whose behaviors can be categorized as active, expressive, acquisitive or hostile.""[Crowd] participants [are] given to spontaneity, irrationality, loss of self-control, and a sense of anonymity."[19]Modern theoryEditCritics of the classic theory contend that it is seriously flawed in that it decontextualises crowd behavior, lacks sustainable empirical support, is biased, and ignores the influence of policing measures on the behavior of the crowd.[20]

In 1968, Dr. Carl J. Couch examined and refuted many classic-theory stereotypes in his article, "Collective Behavior: An Examination of Some Stereotypes." Since then, other social scientists have validated much of his critique. Knowledge from these studies of crowd psychology indicate that:

"Crowds are not homogeneous entities" but are composed "of a minority of individuals and a majority of small groups of people who are acquainted with one another.""Crowd participants are [neither] unanimous in their motivation" nor to one another. Participants "seldom act in unison, and if they do, that action does not last long.""Crowds do not cripple individual cognition" and "are not uniquely distinguished by violence or disorderly actions.""Individual attitudes and personality characteristics", as well as "socioeconomic, demographic and political variables are poor predictors of riot intensity and individual participation."According to the aforementioned 2001 study conducted by Penn State University's Institute for Non-Lethal Defense Technologies, crowds undergo a process that has a "beginning, middle, and ending phase." Specifically:

The assembling processThis phase includes the temporary assembly of individuals for a specific amount of time. Evidence suggests that assembly occurs most frequently by means of an "organized mobilization method" but can also occur by "impromptu process" such as word of mouth by non-official organizers.The temporary gatheringIn this phase, individuals are assembled and participate in both individual and "collective actions." Rarely do all individuals in a crowd participate, and those who do participate do so by choice. Participation furthermore appears to vary based on the type and purpose of the gathering, with religious services experiencing "greater participation" (i.e. 80-90%).The dispersing processIn the final phase, the crowd's participants disperse from a "common location" to "one or more alternate locations."A "riot" occurs when "one or more individuals within a gathering engage in violence against person or property." According to U.S. and European research data from 1830 to 1930 and from the 1960 to the present, "less than 10 percent of protest demonstrations have involved violence against person or property", with the "celebration riot" as the most frequent type of riot in the United States.[21]

Elaborated Social Identity Model (ESIM)EditA modern model has also been developed by Steve Reicher, John Drury, and Dr Clifford Stott[22] which contrasts significantly from the "classic theory" of crowd behavior. According to Dr. Clifford Stott of the University of Leeds:

The ESIM has at its basis the proposition that a component part of the self concept determining human social behaviour derives from psychological membership of particular social categories (i.e., an identity of a unique individual), crowd participants also have a range of social identities which can become salient within the psychological system referred to as the 'self.' Collective action becomes possible when a particular social identity is simultaneously salient and therefore shared among crowd participants.

Stott's final point differs from the "submergence" quality of crowds proposed by Le Bon, in which the individual's consciousness gives way to the unconsciousness of the crowd. ESIM also considers the effect of policing on the behavior of the crowd. It warns that "the indiscriminate use of force would create a redefined sense of unity in the crowd in terms of the illegitimacy of and opposition to the actions of the police." This could essentially draw the crowd into conflict despite the initial hesitancy of the individuals in the crowd.[23]

Planning and techniqueEditCrowd manipulation involves several elements, including: context analysis, site selection, propaganda, authority, and delivery.

Context analysisEditHistory suggests that the socioeconomic and political context and location influence dramatically the potential for crowd manipulation. Such time periods in America included:

Prelude to the American Revolution (1763''1775), when Britain imposed heavy taxes and various restrictions upon its thirteen North American colonies.;[24]Roaring Twenties (1920''1929), when the advent of mass production made it possible for everyday citizens to purchase previously considered luxury items at affordable prices. Businesses that utilized assembly-line manufacturing were challenged to sell large numbers of identical products;[25]The Great Depression (1929''1939), when a devastating stock market crash disrupted the American economy, caused widespread unemployment; andThe Cold War (1945''1989), when Americans faced the threat of nuclear war and participated in the Korean War, the greatly unpopular Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, the Cuban Missile Crisis.Internationally, time periods conducive to crowd manipulation included the Interwar Period (i.e. following the collapse of the Austria-Hungarian, Russian, Ottoman, and German empires) and Post-World War II (i.e. decolonization and collapse of the British, German, French, and Japanese empires).[26] The prelude to the collapse of the Soviet Union provided ample opportunity for messages of encouragement. The Solidarity Movement began in the 1970s thanks in part to courageous leaders like Lech Walesa and U.S. Information Agency programming.[27] In 1987, U.S. President Ronald Reagan capitalized on the sentiments of the West Berliners as well as the freedom-starved East Berliners to demand that Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev "tear down" the Berlin Wall.[28] During the 2008 presidential elections, candidate Barack Obama capitalized on the sentiments of many American voters frustrated predominantly by the recent economic downturn and the continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. His simple messages of "Hope", "Change", and "Yes We Can" were adopted quickly and chanted by his supporters during his political rallies.[29]

Historical context and events may also encourage unruly behavior. Such examples include the:

In order to capitalize fully upon historical context, it is essential to conduct a thorough audience analysis to understand the desires, fears, concerns, and biases of the target crowd. This may be done through scientific studies, focus groups, and polls.[25]

Site selectionEditWhere a crowd assembles also provides opportunities to manipulate thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Location, weather, lighting, sound, and even the shape of an arena all influence a crowd's willingness to participate.

Symbolic and tangible backdrops like the Brandenburg Gate, used by Presidents John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton in 1963, 1987, and 1994, respectively, can evoke emotions before the crowd manipulator opens his or her mouth to speak.[31][32]George W. Bush's "Bullhorn Address" at Ground Zero following the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center is another example of how venue can amplify a message. In response to a rescue worker's shout, "I can't hear you", President Bush shouted back, "I can hear you! I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people -- and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!" The crowd erupted in cheers and patriotic chants.[33]

PropagandaEditThe crowd manipulator and the propagandist may work together to achieve greater results than they would individually. According to Edward Bernays, the propagandist must prepare his target group to think about and anticipate a message before it is delivered. Messages themselves must be tested in advance since a message that is ineffective is worse than no message at all.[34] Social scientist Jacques Ellul called this sort of activity "pre-propaganda", and it is essential if the main message is to be effective. Ellul wrote in Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes:

Direct propaganda, aimed at modifying opinions and attitudes, must be preceded by propaganda that is sociological in character, slow, general, seeking to create a climate, an atmosphere of favorable preliminary attitudes. No direct propaganda can be effective without pre-propaganda, which, without direct or noticeable aggression, is limited to creating ambiguities, reducing prejudices, and spreading images, apparently without purpose. '...

In Jacques Ellul's book, Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes,it states that sociological propaganda can be compared to plowing, direct propaganda to sowing; you cannot do the one without doing the other first.[35] Sociological propaganda is a phenomenon where a society seeks to integrate the maximum number of individuals into itself by unifying its members' behavior according to a pattern, spreading its style of life abroad, and thus imposing itself on other groups. Essentially sociological propaganda aims to increase conformity with the environment that is of a collective nature by developing compliance with or defense of the established order through long term penetration and progressive adaptation by using all social currents. The propaganda element is the way of life with which the individual is permeated and then the individual begins to express it in film, writing, or art without realizing it. This involuntary behavior creates an expansion of society through advertising, the movies, education, and magazines. "The entire group, consciously or not, expresses itself in this fashion; and to indicate, secondly that its influence aims much more at an entire style of life."[36] This type of propaganda is not deliberate but springs up spontaneously or unwittingly within a culture or nation. This propaganda reinforces the individual's way of life and represents this way of life as best. Sociological propaganda creates an indisputable criterion for the individual to make judgments of good and evil according to the order of the individual's way of life. Sociological propaganda does not result in action, however, it can prepare the ground for direct propaganda. From then on, the individual in the clutches of such sociological propaganda believes that those who live this way are on the side of the angels, and those who don't are bad.[37]

Bernays expedited this process by identifying and contracting those who most influence public opinion (key experts, celebrities, existing supporters, interlacing groups, etc.).

After the mind of the crowd is plowed and the seeds of propaganda are sown, a crowd manipulator may prepare to harvest his crop.[34]

AuthorityEditThe manipulator may be an orator, a group, a musician, an athlete, or some other person who moves a crowd to the point of agreement before he makes a specific call to action. Aristotle believed that the ethos, or credibility, of the manipulator contributes to his persuasiveness.

Prestige is a form of "domination exercised on our mind by an individual, a work, or an idea." The manipulator with great prestige paralyses the critical faculty of his crowd and commands respect and awe. Authority flows from prestige, which can be generated by "acquired prestige" (e.g. job title, uniform, judge's robe) and "personal prestige" (i.e. inner strength). Personal prestige is like that of the "tamer of a wild beast" who could easily devour him. Success is the most important factor affecting personal prestige. Le Bon wrote, "From the minute prestige is called into question, it ceases to be prestige." Thus, it would behoove the manipulator to prevent this discussion and to maintain a distance from the crowd lest his faults undermine his prestige.[38]

DeliveryEditThe manipulator's ability to sway a crowd depends especially on his or her visual, vocal, and verbal delivery. Below is advice from two famous statesmen, Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler, who made personal commitments to become master rhetoricians.

At 22, Winston Churchill documented his conclusions about speaking to crowds. He titled it "The Scaffolding of Rhetoric" and it outlined what he believed to be the essentials of any effective speech. Among these essentials are:

"Correctness of diction", or proper word choice to convey the exact meaning of the orator;"Rhythm", or a speech's sound appeal through "long, rolling and sonorous" sentences;"Accumulation of argument", or the orator's "rapid succession of waves of sound and vivid pictures" to bring the crowd to a thundering ascent;"Analogy", or the linking of the unknown to the familiar; and"Wild extravagance", or the use of expressions, however extreme, which embody the feelings of the orator and his audience.[39]Adolf Hitler believed he could apply the lessons of propaganda he learned painfully from the Allies during World War I and apply those lessons to benefit Germany thereafter. The following points offer helpful insight into his thinking behind his on-stage performances:

Appeal to the masses: "[Propaganda] must be addressed always and exclusively to the masses", rather than the "scientifically trained intelligentsia."Target the emotions: "[Propaganda] must be aimed at the emotions and only to a very limited degree at the so-called intellect."Keep your message simple: "It is a mistake to make propaganda many-sided'...The receptivity of the great masses is very limited, their intelligence is small, but their power of forgetting is enormous."Prepare your audience for the worst-case scenario: "[Prepare] the individual soldier for the terrors of war, and thus [help] to preserve him from disappointments. After this, the most terrible weapon that was used against him seemed only to confirm what his propagandists had told him; it likewise reinforced his faith in the truth of his government's assertions, while on the other hand it increased his rage and hatred against the vile enemy."Make no half statements: "'...emphasize the one right which it has set out to argue for. Its task is not to make an objective study of the truth, in so far as it favors the enemy, and then set it before the masses with academic fairness; its task is to serve our own right, always and unflinchingly."Repeat your message constantly: "[Propagandist technique] must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over. Here, as so often in this world, persistence is the first and most important requirement for success."[40][41] (Le Bon believed that messages that are affirmed and repeated are often perceived as truth and spread by means of contagion. "Man, like animals, has a natural tendency to imitation. Imitation is a necessity for him, provided always that the imitation is quite easy", wrote Le Bon.[42] In his 1881 essay "L'Homme et Societes", he wrote "It is by examples not by arguments that crowds are guided." He stressed that in order to influence, one must not be too far removed his audience nor his example unattainable by them. If it is, his influence will be nil.[43]ApplicationsEditPoliticsEditThe political process provides ample opportunity to utilize crowd-manipulation techniques to foster support for candidates and policy. From campaign rallies to town-hall debates to declarations of war, statesmen have historically used crowd manipulation to convey their messages. Public opinion polls, such as those conducted by the Pew Research Center and www.RealClearPolitics.com provide statesmen and aspiring statesmen with approval ratings, and wedge issues.

BusinessEditEver since the advent of mass production, businesses and corporations have used crowd manipulation to sell their products. Advertising serves as propaganda to prepare a future crowd to absorb and accept a particular message. Edward Bernays believed that particular advertisements are more effective if they create an environment which encourages the purchase of certain products. Instead of marketing the features of a piano, sell prospective customers the idea of a music room.[44]

The entertainment industry makes exceptional use of crowd manipulation to excite fans and boost ticket sales. Not only does it promote assembly through the mass media, it also uses rhetorical techniques to engage crowds, thereby enhancing their experience. At Penn State University-University Park, for example, PSU Athletics uses the Nittany Lion mascot to ignite crowds of more than 100,000 students, alumni, and other visitors to Beaver Stadium. Among the techniques used are cues for one side of the stadium to chant "We are..." while the other side responds, "Penn State!" These and other chants make Beaver Stadium a formidable venue for visiting teams who struggle to call their plays because of the noise.[45]World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), formerly the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) employs crowd manipulation techniques to excite its crowds as well. It makes particular use of the polarizing personalities and prestige of its wrestlers to draw out the emotions of its audiences. The practice is similar to that of the ancient Roman gladiators, whose lives depended upon their ability to not only fight but also to win crowds.[46] High levels of enthusiasm are maintained using lights, sounds, images, and crowd participation. According to Hulk Hogan in his autobiography, My Life Outside the Ring, "You didn't have to be a great wrestler, you just had to draw the crowd into the match. You had to be totally aware, and really in the moment, and paying attention to the mood of the crowd."[47]

Flash mobsEditA flash mob is a gathering of individuals, usually organized in advance through electronic means, that performs a specific, usually peculiar action and then disperses. These actions are often bizarre or comical'--as in a massive pillow fight, ad-hoc musical, or synchronized dance. Bystanders are usually left in awe and/or shock.

The concept of a flash mob is relatively new when compared to traditional forms of crowd manipulation. Bill Wasik, senior editor of Harper's Magazine, is credited with the concept. He organized his first flash mob in a Macy's department store in 2003.[48] The use of flash mobs as a tool of political warfare may take the form of a massive walkout during a political speech, the disruption of political rally, or even as a means to reorganize a crowd after it has been dispersed by crowd control. A first glance, a flash mob may appear to be the spontaneous undoing of crowd manipulation (i.e. the turning of a crowd against its manipulator). On September 8, 2009, for example, choreographer Michael Gracey organized'--with the help of cell phones and approximately twenty instructors'--a 20,000+-person flash mob to surprise Oprah Winfrey during her 24th Season Kick-Off event. Following Oprah's introduction, The Black Eyed Peas performed their musical hit "I Gotta Feeling". As the song progressed, the synchronized dance began with a single, female dancer up front and spread from person to person until the entire crowd became involved. A surprised and elated Oprah found that there was another crowd manipulator besides her and her musical guests at work. [1] Gracey and others have been able to organize and manipulate such large crowds with the help of electronic devices and social networks.[49] But one does not need to be a professional choreographer to conduct such an operation. On February 13, 2009, for example, a 22-year-old Facebook user organized a flash mob which temporarily shut down London's Liverpool Street station.[50]

ReferencesEdit^Adam Curtis, "The Century of the Self" (documentary), British Broadcasting Cooperation (United Kingdom: BBC4, 2002). [BBC published a webpage for this documentary, which is available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/century_of_the_self.shtml].^Edward L. Bernays and Mark Crispin Miller, Propaganda (Brooklyn, NY: Ig Publishing, 2004): 52.^Jacques Ellul, Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes (New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1965): 15.^Gustave Le Bon, The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, Kindle Edition, Book I, Chapter 1 (Ego Books, 2008).^John M. Kenny, Clark McPhail, et al, "Crowd Behavior, Crowd Control, and the Use of Non-Lethal Weapons", The Institute for Non-Lethal Defense Technologies, The Pennsylvania State University (2001): 4-11.^Waller, Michael (2006). ""The American Way of Propaganda", White Paper No. 1, Version 2.4". Institute of World Politics4. ^Nye, Jr, Joseph S. (2005). Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. Cambridge, MA: PublicAffairs. ^Aristotle, The Art of Rhetoric, translated with an introduction by H.C. Lawson-Tencred (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2004): 1-13.>^Cheryl Glean, Rhetoric Retold: Regendering the Tradition from Antiquity through the Reniassance (Illinois: SIU Press, 1997): 33, 60.>^"manipulate" in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2010), Retrieved March 24, 2010, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/manipulate.^ abLe Bon, Book I, Chapter 1.^Bernays, 109.^Morton C. Blackwell, "People, Parties, and Power", Adapted from a speech to the Council for National Policy on February 10, 1990. [Available on the Leadership Institute website: http://www.leadershipinstitute.org/resources/files/People_Parties_&_Power.pdf]^"crowd" in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2010) Retrieved March 24, 2010, from http://www.merriam webster.com/dictionary/crowd.^G. A. Tawney, "The Nature of Crowds", Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 2(10) (October 15, 1905): 332.^Kenny, et al., 13.^John Drury, Paul Hutchinson, and Clifford Stout, "'Hooligans abroad? Inter-Group Dynamics, Social Identity and Participation in Collective 'Disorder' at the 1998 World Cup Finals", British Journal of Social Psychology, 40 (Great Britain: The British Psychological Society, 2001): 359-360.^Clifford Stott, "Crowd Psychology & Public Order Policing: An Overview of Scientific Theory and Evidence", Liverpool School of Psychology, University of Liverpool (2009): 4. An electronic version is available online at: http://www.liv.ac.uk/psychology/staff/CStott/HMIC%20Report%20Crowd%20Psychology%20-%20Final%20Submission%20Draft%20(14-9).pdf.^Kenny, et al., 12.^Stott, 12.^Kenny, 12-20.^Drury, J., Reicher, S. & Stott, C. (2003) Transforming the boundaries of collective identity: From the 'local' anti-road campaign to 'global' resistance? Social Movement Studies, 2, 191-212^Stott.^Waller, 1-4.^ abCurtis.^Paul Johnson, Modern Times: The World from the Twenties to the Nineties (New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. , 2001): 11-44; 231-2; 435, 489, 495-543, 582, 614, 632, 685, 757, 768.^Wilson P. Dizard, Jr., Inventing Public Diplomacy: The Story of the U.S. Information Agency (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2004): 204.^Smith-Davies Publishing, Speeches that Changed the World (London: Smith-Davies Publishing Ltd, 2005): 197-201.^David E. Campbell, "Public Opinion and the 2008 Presidential Election" in Janet M. Box-Steffensmeier and Steven E. Schier, The American Elections of 2008 (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2009): 99-116.^Kenny, et al.^John Poreba, "Speeches at the Brandenburg Gate: Public Diplomacy Through Political Oratory," StrategicDefense.net, 2010. http://www.strategicdefense.net/brandenburg-gate.html^Melissa Eddy, "Obama to speak near Berlin's Brandenburg Gate" Associated Press, July 20, 2008.^American Rhetoric, "George W. Bush, Bullhorn Address to Ground Zero Rescue Workers", American Rhetoric, http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/gwbush911groundzerobullhorn.htm.^ abBernays, 52.^Ellul, 15.^Ellul, Jacques (1973). Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes, p. 62.Trans. Konrad Kellen & Jean Lerner. Vintage Books, New York. ISBN 978-0-394-71874-3.^Ellul, Jacques (1973). Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes, p. 65.Trans. Konrad Kellen & Jean Lerner. Vintage Books, New York. ISBN 978-0-394-71874-3.^Le Bon, Book II, Chapter 3.^Winston S. Churchill, "The Scaffolding of Rhetoric", in Randolph S. Churchill, Companion Volume 1, pt. 2, to Youth: 1874-1900, vol. 1 of the Official Biography of Winston Spencer Churchill (London: Heinmann, 1967): 816-21.^Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, trans. Ralph Manheim (Mariner Books, 1998): 176-186.^John Poreba, "Tongue of Fury, Tongue of Fire: Oratory in the Rise of Hitler and Churchill," StrategicDefense.net, 2010, http://www.strategicdefense.net/oratory-churchill-hitler.html.^Le Bon, Book II, Chapter 4.^Gustave Le Bon, "L'Homme et Societes", vol. II. (1881): 116."^Bernays, 19-20.^J. Douglas Toma, Football U.: Spectator Sports in the Life of the American University (University of Michigan Press, 2003): 51-2.^Rachael Hanel, Gladiators (Mankato, MN: The Creative Company, 2007): 24.^Hulk Hogan and Mark Dagostino, My Life Outside the Ring (New York, NY: Macmillan, 2009): 119-120.^Anjali Athavaley, "Students Unleash A Pillow Fight On Manhattan", Wall Street Journal (April 15, 2008)^"Oprah's Kickoff Party Flash Mob Dance", Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/11/oprahs-kickoff-party-flas_n_283298.html, September 11, 2009.^"Facebook flashmob shuts down station", www.CNN.com, http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/02/09/uk.station.flashmob/index.html, February 19, 2009.Further readingEditAlinsky, Saul. Rules for Radicals: A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals. Vintage Books, 1989.Bernays, Edward L., and Mark Crispin Miller. Propaganda. Brooklyn, NY: Ig Publishing, 2004.Curtis, Adam. "The Century of the Self" (documentary). British Broadcasting Cooperation, UK, 2002.Ellul, Jacques. Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes. Trans. Konrad Kellen & Jean Lerner. New York: Knopf, 1965. New York: Random House/ Vintage 1973Humes, James C. The Sir Winston Method: The Five Secrets of Speaking the Language of Leadership. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1991.Johnson, Paul.Modern Times: The World from the Twenties to the Nineties. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 2001.Lasswell, Harold. Propaganda Technique in World War I. Cambridge, MA: The M.I.T. Press, 1971.Smith, Jr., Paul A. On Political War. Washington, DC: National Defense University Press, 1989.

The Zen TV Experiment

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Archived Version

Thu, 03 Jul 2014 05:49

"How Many of You Know How to Watch Television?""How many of you know how to watch television?" I asked my class one day. After a few bewildered and silent moments, slowly, one by one, everyone haltingly raised their hands. We soon acknowledged that we were all "experts," as Harold Garfinkel would say, in the practice of "watching television."

The purpose of our un-TV experiment was to provoke us into seeing television as opposed to merely looking, and to stop the world as the first step to seeing. Here we engage in stopping the world by stopping the television.

For the experiment, students were asked to watch TV consciously. Insofar as this is sort of "Zen and the art of TV watching," I said to them, "I want you to watch TV with acute awareness, mindfulness and precision. This experiment is about observing television scientifically, with Beginner's Mind, rather than watching television passively with programmed mind. Ordinarily, if you are watching TV you can't also observe and experience the experience of watching TV. When we watch TV we rarely pay attention to the details of the event. In fact, we rarely pay attention."

Count the Technical EventsIn this particular experimental odyssey, we are going to be exploring how we subject ourselves on a daily basis to the overwhelming sirens' song of TV entertainment (the great electronic cyclops) and, like Homer's Odysseus, we will need to strap ourselves to the mast--in this case, the mast of counting technical events. For 10 minutes simply count the technical events that occur while you are watching any show. This is a TET or Technical Events Test as Jerry Mander discusses it in Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television. What is a technical event? We've all seen TV cameras in banks and jewelry stores. A stationary video camera simply recording what's in front of it is what I will call "pure TV." Anything other than pure TV is a technical event: the camera zooms up, that's a technical event; you are watching someone's profile talking and suddenly you are switched to another person responding, that's a technical event; a car is driving down the road and you also hear music playing, that's a technical event. Simply count the number of times there is a cut, zoom, superimposition, voice-over, appearance of words on the screen, fade in/out, etc.

Now proceed with these experiments:

Watch any TV show for 15 minutes without turning on the sound.Watch any news program for 15 minutes without turning on the sound.Watch television for one half hour without turning it on.The time requirements in these experiments are extremely important. I would urge you, the reader, to undertake the experiment personally rather than merely going on to read the results.

Anger and Resistance: What's the Meaning of This?!In examining the results of this experiment, one of the first things that consistently comes up is students' anger and resentment at being made to do such a thing--an anger and resentment very different from what comes up, say, in regard to the reading load or the writing requirements of the course. This anger, I think, is quite good and useful--not per se, but insofar as students notice their anger and then inquire into and examine the sources of that anger. For, in studying society, we often unconsciously assume we are studying "them"--but we are not. We are studying ourselves and we resist that, we dislike that. It makes us uncomfortable and it makes us angry. Socrates wasn't given a medal and a tickertape parade after all. As the Russian existentialist philosopher Shestov said, "It is not man who pursues truth, but truth man."

One expression of this anger that comes up repeatedly is "I wasted 30 minutes of my time." Is it possible that this is a very valuable waste of time? Is it possible that "wasting time" is a very valuable thing to do in studying society? Pursuing this experience puts us smack in the middle of the infamous Protestant Ethic in a very direct and personal way. We are almost re-creating through verstehen Max Weber's deep intellectual perplexity and fascination with what he saw as Benjamin Franklin's codification of the Protestant Ethic: "Remember that time is money." After some discussion it invariably turns out that all the students admit to having wasted a lot more than a half hour in front of the TV set. So why this anger about watching TV for 30 minutes without turning it on?

Labor in the Mode of RelaxationWhen you turn the TV on, in effect, you turn the world off. The TV is only two feet high or so, yet we are fooled into thinking we are watching life-sized things. How is it that everything on it appears real and life-like?

Technical events produce the illusion of being natural and realistic. They produce the feeling of being non-produced (a good cut is one you don't notice, as the editors say). In the same way, we are unaware that the practice of watching TV is a practice because we have never experienced it as a phenomenon in its own right. Doing the Technical Events Test forces us to notice that watching TV is a practice, an active, ongoing achievement that we accomplish "for another first time through" each time. We see what the texture of the experience of watching TV consists of. We are shocked into seeing what it is we've been doing all these years.

Counting the technical events brings about what Thomas Kuhn would call a "paradigm shift." When you focus on the technical events you can't focus on the plot or storyline. You learn very quickly how difficult it is to divide your attention. Either you watch the program or you count the technical events. You are unable to do both at the same time. In terms of the phenomenology of perception, this is a little like the famous demonstration of either seeing-the-vase or seeing-two-profiles, but not seeing both simultaneously in any sustained manner.

In doing the TET, we notice the discrete segments of independent footage that are presented with a rapid-fire quality. As we watch, we, the "passive" viewers, apparently put together, synthesize and integrate the scenes: we link, we knit, we chain, we retain the past and anticipate the future. We methodically weave them all together into a coherent narrative. A high-speed filling-in-the-blanks and connecting-the-dots occurs. Our actively synthesizing mind, our labor, goes on while we sit back, relax and absorb. This high-speed integration of often wildly disconnected phenomena (angles, scenes, persons, music) is experienced in the mode of blank and passive absorption. It would seem that our minds are in high gear without our knowing. Mander addresses this pointedly:

This difference between internally generated and imposed imagery is at the heart of whether it is accurate to say that television relaxes the mind.

Relaxation implies renewal. One runs hard, then rests. While resting the muscles first experience calm and then, as new oxygen enters them, renewal.

When you are a watching, absorbing techno-guru, your mind may be in alpha, but it is certainly not "empty mind." Images are pouring into it. Your mind is not quiet or calm or empty. It may be nearer to dead, or zombie-ized. It is occupied. No renewal can come from this condition. For renewal, the mind would have to be at rest, or once rested, it would have to be seeking new kinds of stimulation, new exercise. Television offers neither rest nor stimulation.

Television inhibits your ability to think, but it does not lead to freedom of mind, relaxation or renewal. It leads to a more exhausted mind. You may have time out from prior obsessive thought patterns, but that's as far as television goes. The mind is never empty, the mind is filled. What's worse, it is filled with someone else's obsessive thoughts and images.

TV and the Social Construction of RealityThe Technical Events Test dramatically reveals the functions of the political institution of television in (a) training us to shorten our attention span, (b) making ordinary life appear dull, (c) injecting a hypnotic quality into our ordinary awareness and (d) coercing us into its reality.

Television is the quintessential short-term medium. Like jugglers, television lives for the split second. Its relationship to viewers is measured in tiny fractions. Solemn hierarchies of men and women react to overnight program ratings with something approaching nervous breakdowns, because one percentage point can mean $30 million a year. The result of this manic concern is to design programming that will serve attention-getting rather than the humanistic substance that will stay with the viewer. The ratings race serves the advertisers, not the audience.

It is easier to shorten attention spans and increase distraction than to lengthen attention spans, increase concentration, and calm, quiet and still the mind. There is an old Zen analogy that the way to calm, clear and quiet the mind is similar to the way to clear a muddy pool--not by action, by doing, by stirring it up, but by stillness, by letting it be, by letting it settle itself. The function of TV is to create, maintain and constantly reinforce what--in the Zen tradition--is often called "monkey-mind." The question to ask is: What is the good of a jumpy, volatile, scattered and hyper monkey-mind?

Hypnosis UnlimitedSince the emergence of long-term space flight in orbit above the earth, a new physiological phenomenon has arisen among our astronauts. They found that as a result of long-term weightlessness, some rather drastic physical changes began to occur in their bodies. They experienced a marked and dramatic reduction of muscle size. Even their hearts became markedly smaller. The astronauts also experienced a loss of co-ordination abilities -- such as the ability to focus on and follow moving objects with their eyes. All of this seems to be due to taking the human organism outside the experience of gravity. In order to preserve their earthbound physiology in conditions of weightlessness, astronauts need to do two to three hours of custom-designed exercises per day. Perhaps watching TV produces the equivalent mental condition of weightlessness for the human mind, together with the attending shrinkages and deteriorations. The normal, invisible, all-pervasive pressure of mental gravity, of our ordinary, active, inncessntly thinking mind is suspended when we turn on the television.

Coercing Us Into RealityOur culture and education conspire to condition us, to create a reliance on media to reinforce our actions, feelings and self-perceptions. When we seek media confirmation we acknowledge and assume that our personal experiences are not qualified as reality any longer. We lose the drive to pursue direct experience as well as the drive to participate in co-creating reality. We no longer do, we watch, and reality is someone else's creation. As Todd Gitlin has said, it's not until an event (institution, thought, principle, movement, etc.) crosses the media threshold that it takes on a solid reality for us. Stretched out across our world is the media membrane, over the threshold of which--and only over the threshold--lies legitimate, confirmed reality, and though we don't have to believe what the media tell us, we can't know what they don't tell us.

TV Without SoundJust as Charles Tart talks about us being caught up in a consensus trance, we can talk about a narrative trance, a narrative-consciousness. We have been programmed to become narrative subjects, subjected to the developmental narrative mode, intertwined with the storyline. In the TET we're suspending our narrative consciousness and hence de-stabilizing the narrative subject. We identify not with a character, nor with the omniscient author, but with the camera. During usual viewing, however, our eyes do not see what is actually there because our narrative-trained mind overrides our eyes. We don't see with our eyes, we see with our programming, and we are programmed to see stories. TV programs are made so that we don't notice the "technical events," the details -- so that we don't pay attention. We are programmed to be unaware of the programming, the non-narrative structure and possibilities of that structure. To watch TV programs is to be lifeless and unresisting. This is the state that allows the commercials to take full effect and operate our minds for us.

The Nature of the NewsAs a usual daily routine, only the unusually tragic or triumphant is shown--not the ordinary routines and day-to-day reality of our lives. It is true that the news show has fewer technical events. There is a good reason for this. With fewer technical events the news show appears realistic relative to other shows in the TV environment. Further, it appears super-realistic relative to the commercial shows in this environment. As earlier, we witnessed the joining of technical events in a coherent narrative. Here, we witness the reduction of worldly events into a narrative.

The problem is not that TV presents us with entertaining subject matter, but that TV presents all subject matter as entertaining. This transcends TV and spills over into our post-TV life experiences. TV trains us to orient toward and tune in to the entertainment quality of any experience, event, person. We look for that which is entertaining about any phenomenon rather than qualities of depth, social significance, spiritual resonance, beauty, etc. In this sense TV doesn't imitate life, but social life now aspires to imitate TV.

Further, we become greedy. Not greedy in the traditional sense in reference to material wealth, rather, we experience a greed to be entertained. It's not just a need for entertainment, but a downright greed for entertainment, and it becomes a 24-hour obsession. In the absence of entertainment, we usually entertain ourselves with plans for future entertainment.

As one formula puts it, Media Power = Political Power Squared The TV has shown us that politicians can't be trusted but TV can. That is, according to Joshua Meyrowitz in No Sense of Place, implicit in showing us this about politicians is the message, "We who are showing you this, the TV, can be trusted." We can trust TV, and the institution of TV, to reveal how politicians and the institution of politics can't be trusted.

Discoveries About SelfTV has become such a mechanical friend, such a substitute for social interaction, that one's solitude becomes acutely magnified, doubly experienced and doubly reinforced if one is deprived of its glowing, life-like presence (as if one wouldn't still be alone if it were on). If one is alone in one's room and turns on the TV, one actually doesn't feel alone anymore. It's as if companionship is experienced, as if communication is two-way. We have achieved a new level of isolation, solipsism and withdrawal. "It's just an object when it's turned off," hundreds of students have bemoaned. When it is turned off it more clearly reveals itself as an object, as an appliance--rather than as a friend, a companion. It is shocking after all these years to discover this. Mander captures the phenomenology of the situation well:

Television is watched in darkened rooms ... it is a requirement of television viewing that the set be the brightest image in the environment or it cannot be seen well. To increase the effect, background sounds are dimmed out just as the light is. An effort is made to eliminate household noises. The point, of course, is to further the focus on the television set. Awareness of the outer environment gets in the way... . Dimming out your own body is another part of the process. People choose a position for viewing that allows the maximum comfort and least motion ... thinking processes also dim. Overall, while we are watching television, our bodies are in a quieter condition over a longer period of time than in any other of life's nonsleeping experiences. This is true even for the eyes ... the eyes move less while watching television than in any other experience of daily life.

Almost every household's living room is arranged around the television set. As a weight room is arranged for weight training, our living rooms are arranged for TV training. The furniture is purposely arranged for the transcendent practice of "watching TV," rather than for the immanent, human practice of communication or interaction. The interior design of the average American living room with its lines of attention, hierarchy, and transcendent TV is very similar to the interior design of the average American church with its transcendent altar, lines of homage and gestures of genuflection.

TV and the Illusion of KnowingMarshall McLuhan says TV opens out onto an electronic global village. It would seem, rather, that it gives us only the illusion of being. It reinforces security by presenting danger, ignorance by presenting news, lethargy by presenting excitement, isolation by promising participation. The media confines reality to itself. And it limits knowledge by giving the illusion of knowledge. In the same way that the most effective way to deflect, diffuse and terminate a social movement is to announce that it has been achieved (the feminist movement must contend with this on an almost daily basis), the most effective way to deflect inquiry is to present it as fulfilled. TV acts in this guise as a thinking presentation device which offers non-experience as experience and not-knowingness as knowing.

In the words of Mat Maxwell, "Television becomes the world for people... . The world becomes television." The overall and cumulative effect of the media is to heighten our insensitivity to reality. Rather than breaking the chains of ignorance, political domination and illusion in our Platonic cave, something insidiously similar yet different is going on. Instead of actually turning away from the shadows to see the realities, instead of actually leaving the darkness of the cave and going up into the sunlight, we merely watch an image of ourselves doing this, we fantasize about doing it and think it's the same.

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Presidential Actions

Letter from the President -- Change in Export Controls for High Performance Computers

Link to Article

Archived Version

Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed

Wed, 02 Jul 2014 16:48

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

July 01, 2014

Dear Mr. Chairman:

In accordance with the provisions of section 1211(d) of the

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998 (Public Law 105-85), I hereby notify you of my decision to establish a new level for the notification procedure for digital computers set forth in section 1211(a) of Public Law 105-85. The new level will be 8.0 Weighted TeraFLOPS; the current level is 3.0 Weighted TeraFLOPS. The attached report provides the rationale supporting this decision and is in accordance with the requirements of Public Law 105-85, sections 1211(d) and (e).

I have made this change based on the recommendation of the Departments of State, Defense, Commerce, and Energy.

Sincerely,

BARACK OBAMA

Remarks by the President at Pride Month Celebration

Link to Article

Archived Version

Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed

Wed, 02 Jul 2014 04:46

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

June 30, 2014

East Room

5:40 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. (Applause.) Well, I want to thank Jim and Patrick. First of all, I think they supported me in my state Senate campaign. (Laughter.) Those were some early supporters, and we might not be here if it hadn't been for them. Congratulations on finally tying the knot after 51 years. (Applause.) I looked it up, and depending on how you count, the traditional gift for your next anniversary is either paper, for year one -- or whatever you want, because there is no traditional gift for 52 years. (Laughter.) But I think it's so important to understand how rare relationships like yours are. And however you celebrate, we hope you have many, many more years together.

And with that, why don't you guys sit down, because that knee is acting up. (Laughter.)

I want all of you to know how much it means to us for you to be able to join here at this year's Pride Celebration. We've got some terrific public servants who are here today, including our Secretary of Labor Tom Perez. (Applause.) We've got mayors, and we've got state legislators, and we've got LGBT members of my administration. We also have three judges that I was proud to name to the federal bench: Todd Hughes, Judy Levy, and Nitza Quinones Alejandro. Give them a big round of applause. (Applause.)

Before I took office, we had only one openly gay federal judge to be confirmed by the Senate. Now, along with Todd, Judy, and Nitza, that number is 11. So we're making some progress. (Applause.)

Three other people I want to mention. First of all, Tobias Wolff, who's been advising me since my first presidential campaign and has had a great impact on my administration and how we've thought about a bunch of issues. Please give Tobias a big round of applause. (Applause.)

Number two -- a special treat for me -- my college professor when I was a freshman in college at Occidental, Dr. Lawrence Goldyn is here. I want to just talk a little bit about Lawrence. When I went in as a freshman -- this is 1979 at Occidental College -- and according to Lawrence, I guess there were maybe a couple of other gay professors, but they weren't wildly open about it. Lawrence was not shy. (Laughter.) And I took a class from him, and because he was one of the young professors, we became really good friends. But also, he was the first openly gay person that I knew who was unapologetic, who stood his ground. If somebody gave him guff, he'd give them guff right back, and was I think part of a generation that really fought so many battles that ultimately came into fruition later. And he also played a huge role in advising lesbian, gay and transgender students at the school at a time when that was still hard for a lot of young college kids. And he went on to become a doctor and ran an AIDS clinic, and now is the head of a health center.

But I just wanted to acknowledge him because he helped shape how I think about so many of these issues, and those sort of quiet heroes that sometimes don't get acknowledged. So give Lawrence a big round of applause. (Applause.)

Finally, I have to mention a man who's made life at the White House very sweet. This is one of Michelle and my favorite people -- our executive pastry chef Bill Yosses -- (laughter) -- who's here tonight with his husband, Charlie. (Applause.) Where's Bill?

MRS. OBAMA: But he's leaving.

THE PRESIDENT: He's -- this is the problem. We call Bill the ''Crustmaster'' because his pies -- I don't know what he does, whether he puts crack in them, or -- (laughter) -- but --

MRS. OBAMA: No, he doesn't. (Laughter.) There is no crack in our pies. (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: I'm just saying that when we first came to the White House, I don't know if some of you remember this -- the first year, like, my cholesterol shot up. (Laughter.) And the doctor was like, what happened? You had like this really low cholesterol. You were really healthy. And I thought, it's the pie. (Laughter.) It's the pie. So we had to establish like a really firm rule about no pie during the week. (Laughter.)

But he's also just a wonderful person. And after seven years, he's leaving the White House. So we just want to give Bill and Charlie the best of luck. And we love them. Thank you. (Applause.)

So a lot has happened in the year since we last gathered here together. Same-sex marriage has gone into effect in 10 more states -- (applause) -- which means that 43 percent of Americans now live in states where you're free to marry who you love. The NFL drafted its first openly gay player. (Applause.) Harvey Milk got a stamp. (Applause.) Laverne Cox was on the cover of TIME. (Applause.) Coca-Cola and Honeymaid were unafraid to sell their products in commercials showing same-sex parents and their children. (Applause.) And perhaps most importantly, Mitch and Cam got married, which caused Michelle and the girls to cry. (Laughter and applause.) That was big. (Laughter.)

MRS. OBAMA: It was big.

THE PRESIDENT: This year, we mark the 45th anniversary of Stonewall. And I know some of you were there. And this tremendous progress we've made as a society is thanks to those of you who fought the good fight, and to Americans across the country who marched and came out and organized to secure the rights of others. So I want to thank all of you for making the United States a more just and compassionate place.

I want to thank you for offering support and guidance to our administration. Because of your help, we've gone further in protecting the rights of lesbian and gay and bisexual and transgender Americans than any administration in history. (Applause.)

In 2009, I told you at this reception that I would sign an inclusive hate crimes bill with Matthew Shepard's name on it, and I did -- because hate-driven violence has taken the lives of too many people in this community, and it has to end.

When we came together in 2010, I told you we'd repeal ''don't ask, don't tell.'' Some of you didn't believe me. (Laughter.) You know who you are. (Laughter.) We did that, too ''- because nobody should have to hide who you love to serve the country you love. (Applause.)

That same year, we released the first-ever comprehensive National HIV/AIDS Strategy to unite our entire government behind fighting this disease and helping those most at risk. (Applause.)

In 2011, I said my administration would no longer defend the so-called Defense of Marriage Act. And thanks to Edie Windsor, and Robbie Kaplan, and the Department of Justice, that law was overturned, and we've extended benefits to legally married same-sex couples across the country. (Applause.)

In 2012, I promised that my administration would do more to address and prevent bullying and discrimination in our classrooms. And we have ''- because it's not enough just to say it gets better; we have to actually make it better, like so many Americans are trying to do every day.

We've got here today Pete Cahall, who is the principal of Woodrow Wilson High here in Washington. (Applause.) At a school Pride event this month, inspired by brave students, Pete stood up and said something he'd never said at the school before, which is: ''I am a proud gay man.'' And the students all cheered. Pete is here today. Because of his example, more young people know they don't have to be afraid to be who they are; no matter who they love, people have their backs. So we're proud of you. (Applause.)

Last year, I promised to implement the Affordable Care Act so this community could get quality, affordable health care like you deserve. And we did that, too. (Applause.) And thanks to that law, you can no longer be denied health insurance on the basis of your sexual orientation or gender identity. (Applause.)

We've still got a little more work to do. I've repeatedly called on Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Right now, there are more states that let same-sex couples get married than there are states who prohibit discrimination against their LGBT workers. We have laws that say Americans can't be fired on the basis of the color of their skin or their religion, or because they have a disability. But every day, millions of Americans go to work worried that they could lose their job -'' not because of anything they've done -- (baby cries) -- I know, it's terrible -- (laughter) -- but because of who they are. It's upsetting. It is wrong.

The majority of Fortune 500 companies already have nondiscrimination policies to protect their employees because it's the right thing to do and because many say it helps to retain and attract the best talent. And I agree. So if Congress won't act, I will. I have directed my staff to prepare an executive order for my signature that prohibits discrimination by federal contractors on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. (Applause.)

And I've asked my staff to prepare a second executive order so that federal employees ''- who are already protected on the basis of sexual orientation ''- will now formally be protected from discrimination based on gender identity as well. (Applause.)

So we've got a lot to be proud of, but obviously we can't grow complacent. We've got to defend the progress that we've made. We've got to keep on reaching out to LGBT Americans who are vulnerable and alone, and need our support ''- whether it's teenagers in rough situations to seniors who are struggling to find housing and care. (Baby cries.) I know, it's tough. (Laughter.)

We've got to keep fighting for an AIDS-free generation, and for the human rights of LGBT persons around the world. (Applause.)

And I would also ask all of us to direct some of the energy and passion and resources of this movement towards other injustices that exist. Because one of the things that I think we should have learned -- (applause) -- Dr. King said an ''injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'' And that means that we've got to be able to set up a community that extends beyond our own particular narrow interests; we've got to make sure that we're reaching out to others who need our help as well. (Applause.)

And that means fighting for poor kids. And it means fighting for workers to get a decent wage. It means showing compassion for the undocumented worker who is contributing to our society and just wants a chance to come out of the shadows. (Applause.) It means fighting for equal pay for equal work. It means standing up for sexual -- standing up against sexual violence wherever it occurs. It means trying to eliminate any vestige of racial or religious discrimination and anti-Semitism wherever it happens.

That's how we continue our nation's march towards justice and equality. That's how we build a more perfect union ''- a country where no matter what you look like, where you come from, what your last name is, who you love, you've got a chance to make it if you try. You guys have shown what can happen when people of goodwill organize and stand up for what's right. And we've got to make sure that that's not applied just one place, in one circumstance, in one time. That's part of the journey that makes America the greatest country on Earth.

So thank you, everybody. God bless you. God bless America. (Applause.)

END5:53 P.M. EDT

Presidential Proclamation -- 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act

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Archived Version

Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed

Wed, 02 Jul 2014 04:46

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

June 30, 2014

50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Few achievements have defined our national identity as distinctly or as powerfully as the passage of the Civil Rights Act. It transformed our understanding of justice, equality, and democracy and advanced our long journey toward a more perfect Union. It helped bring an end to the Jim Crow era, banning discrimination in public places; prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; and providing a long-awaited enforcement mechanism for the integration of schools. A half-century later, we celebrate this landmark achievement and renew our commitment to building a freer, fairer, greater society.

Through the lens of history, the progress of the past five decades may seem inevitable. We may wish to remember our triumphs while erasing the pain and doubt that came before. Yet to do so would be a disservice to the giants who led us to the mountaintop, to unsung heroes who left footprints on our National Mall, to every American who bled and died on the battlefield of justice. In the face of bigotry, fear, and unyielding opposition from entrenched interests, their courage stirred our Nation's conscience. And their struggle helped convince a Texas Democrat who had previously voted against civil rights legislation to become its new champion. With skillful charm and ceaseless grit, President Lyndon B. Johnson shepherded the Civil Rights Act through the Congress -- and on July 2, 1964, he signed it into law.

While laws alone cannot right every wrong, they possess an unmatched power to anchor lasting change. The Civil Rights Act threw open the door for legislation that strengthened voting rights and established fair housing standards for all Americans. Fifty years later, we know our country works best when we accept our obligations to one another, embrace the belief that our destiny is shared, and draw strength from the bonds that hold together the most diverse Nation on Earth.

As we reflect on the Civil Rights Act and the burst of progress that followed, we also acknowledge that our journey is not complete. Today, let us resolve to restore the promise of opportunity, defend our fellow Americans' sacred right to vote, seek equality in our schools and workplaces, and fight injustice wherever it exists. Let us remember that victory never comes easily, but with iron wills and common purpose, those who love their country can change it.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim July 2, 2014, as the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with programs, ceremonies, and activities that celebrate this accomplishment and advance civil rights in our time.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.

BARACK OBAMA

Letter from the President -- War Powers Resolution Letter regarding Iraq

Link to Article

Archived Version

Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed

Wed, 02 Jul 2014 04:45

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

June 30, 2014

TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENTTO THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESAND THE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE OF THE SENATE

June 30, 2014

Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)

As I previously reported on June 16, 2014, U.S. Armed Forces personnel have deployed to Iraq to provide support and security for U.S. personnel and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. In light of the security situation in Baghdad, I have ordered up to approximately 200 additional U.S. Armed Forces personnel to

Iraq to reinforce security at the U.S. Embassy, its support facilities, and the Baghdad International Airport. This force consists of additional security forces, rotary-wing aircraft, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support.

This force is deploying for the purpose of protecting U.S. citizens and property, if necessary, and is equipped for combat. This force will remain in Iraq until the security situation becomes such that it is no longer needed.

This action has been directed consistent with my responsibility to protect U.S. citizens both at home and abroad, and in furtherance of U.S. national security and foreign policy interests, pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct U.S. foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive.

I am providing this report as part of my efforts to keep the Congress fully informed, consistent with the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148). I appreciate the support of the Congress in these actions.

Sincerely,

BARACK OBAMA

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BTSync

In response to the recent BTSync events, I would like to formally request immediate Podcast License revocation for anyone violating the following rules:

1) Not clicking on a checkbox to see if it fixes the problem

2) Believing Tech Support

Those violating the above rules may have their license reinstated after paying the standard fine.

Love the show,

Sir Brian

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Book Club

The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power

Middle East recommendation from Knight

Adam,

After listening to the past few shows, your desire to learn more about middle east history really hit home with me.

In 2006 or 2007 I came across "United States and the Middle East: 1914 to 9/11 by Professor Salim Yaqub." Its about 12 hours of lectures dealing with the US/Middle East relations over the past 100 years (stopping at 2003).

I'd like to recommend this "book" for the NA Book Club. I hope you and other producers find this a valuable tool to understanding current US/Middle East relations.

Professor Salim Yaqub is an Associate Professor at UC Santa Barbra.

http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/Courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=8593

Also on Audible.

Sir Andrew Greene (of Florida, not UK)

Founding Producer (since March 2009)

ITM LGY TYFYC

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Iraq

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Isis & Al Nusra Merge & Announce Islamic Caliphate - Obama to Send them $500 Million

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Source: SCG News - World News, Politics & Analysis

Mon, 30 Jun 2014 23:06

ISIS and Al Nusra have decided to join forces, and have announced the formation of an Islamic Caliphate covering much of Iraq and Syria. As if to congratulate them (or as a housewarming gift), the Obama administration is planning to send them an additional $500 million dollars.

Sound like an exaggeration? It's not.

ISIS began as a branch of Al Qaeda. In February of 2014 the official leadership of Al Qaeda disavowed the group in an attempt to distance themselves from the bad press ISIS attracts for itself (ISIS does after all have a predilection for mass executions), however by merging with Al Nusra ISIS has effectively nullified this. Al Nusra pledged their allegiance to Al Qaeda in April of 2013 (Al Nusra is often referred to as Al Qaeda's official branch in Syria), which means that ISIS and Al Qaeda have effectively reunited (to reverse this Al Qaeda would have to cut all ties with Al Nusra).

Now the Obama administration is seeking an additional $500 million dollars for what they are referring to as the "moderate" Syrian rebels. Trouble is, the so called "moderate" rebels regularly conduct joint operations with Al-Nusra, and refuse to classify Al Qaeda as an enemy. By the way, isn't it technically a crime to provide material support to a terrorists organization?

It's a little tricky to keep up on who is on whose side, but for now ISIS, Al Qaeda, and the Syrian Revolutionary Front (aka FSA) are working together, and that means that any weapons or money that the U.S. government sends to the Syrian rebels are going to end up helping ISIS.

There has been been a lot of talk about "vetting" the rebels to insure that U.S. support doesn't end up in the wrong hands, but this is just public relations. The idea that Washington can control the flow of weapons and money after it enters a war zone dominated by Islamic extremists is almost as ludicrous as the claim that this support will stabilize the region. As pathetic as the official line may be, what else could we expect? It's not like they can tell the truth.

Jordanian Bedouin hoist Al Qaeda flag in Ma'an - 104 km from Eilat. US, Israeli forces on the ready

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Source: DEBKAFile

Sun, 29 Jun 2014 22:38

Jordanian Bedouin hoist Al Qaeda flag in Ma'an - 104 km from Eilat. US, Israeli forces on the ready

''Ma'an is the Falluja of Jordan!'' shouted thousands of Bedouin Saturday, June 28, in the southern Jordanian town of Ma'an. This legend was inscribed on the placards and flags they bore aloft with one hand in the name of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). In the other, they waved automatic rifles.

Ma'an (pop: 50,000) is in a sensitive location: 218 km south of Amman, it also lies 104 km from the Israeli port town of Eilat and some 60 km from the main artery cutting south from northern Israel to the south.

But although pro-Al Qaeda riots have been going on for days in Ma'an, capital of the southern province of the Kingdom of Jordan, military and security personnel have not been seen in its vicinity.

The town has a history of violent unrest. It has in the past suffered curfew and was even, when the rioting got out of hand, stormed by soldiers firing live rounds and leaving dozens dead.

For now, King Abdullah is conferring urgently with his army and intelligence chiefs on how to suppress the Islamist revolt in Ma'an without it spilling over into other Jordanian towns, especially Salt, Irbid and Zerka, which have large clusters of Al Qaeda followers.

There was anxious talk in Washington Sunday about the prospect of Abdullah's throne being rocked by an Islamist revolt, in which case the Obama administration would have no option but to approve the intervention of American and Israeli special operations forces to defend the king, and push back against an Al Qaeda-ISIS invasion. However the domestic Islamist peril may be more immediate and acute than the external one.

A US military source consulted by debkafile revealed that the Jordanian army is now concentrated in three sectors: The Syrian border in the north, the Iraqi border in the east and the capital.

In the first case, Jordanian troops are ranged to head off a possible incursion by ISIS forces concentrated in eastern Syria. They are also prepared to withstand a possible Syrian army assault to dampen Jordan's military support for the Syrian rebels operating in southern Syria in defense of the Jordanian and Israeli borders.

In the second case, the Jordanian army is deployed directly opposite the ISIS forces which have seized control of most of Iraq's Anbar province adjacent to the Jordanian border.The army's third sector is the capital, Amman, where it acts as the guardian of the royal regime.

Should the Islamist conflagration spread from Ma'an to other corners of the kingdom, its army will be short of fighting manpower for simultaneous defense against internal and external threats.Our Washington sources report that Brig. Gen. Dennis McKean, commander of the joint US-Jordanian-Israeli underground Centcom-Forward war room established near Amman, has already received instructions to place the 12,000 US soldiers and USAF F-16 fighter squadron positioned in Jordan on the ready.

They also disclose that Brig. McKean is in direct communication with Israel's Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, the commander of Israel's Deep Operations command, Maj. Gen. Shay Avital and Israel Air Force chief Maj. Gen. .Amir Eshel.The Deep Operations command was established in case it was necessary to launch operations against Iran or the Lebanese Hizballah in alien territory. This unit may find itself operating against Al Qaeda's ISIS in Jordan instead

Washington, Jerusalem and Amman are mulling over whether to wait for the trouble in Jordan to escalate further before intervening, or to act preemptively before matters get out of hand by punching hard at ISIS forces concentrated along the Iraqi-Jordanian border. In the latter case, there would have to be a second decision as to which army would inflict the punch, its location and a forward estimate of the potential repercussions on Jordan's internal security.

Breaking: ISIS Declares Itself Caliphate, Changes Name To ''IS'''...Update: Calls On Al Qaeda To Join Them, Declares ''International Jihad''

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Source: Weasel Zippers

Sun, 29 Jun 2014 22:35

It depends on what IS is'...

Via RT:

ISIS jihadists have declared the captured territories from Iraq's Diyala province to Syria's Aleppo a new Islamic State '' a 'caliphate.' They removed 'Iraq and the Levant' from their name and urged other radical Sunni groups to pledge their allegiance.

ISIS announced that it should now be called 'The Islamic State' and declared its chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as ''the caliph'' of the new state and ''leader for Muslims everywhere,'' the radical Sunni militant group said in an audio recording distributed online on Sunday.

This is the first time since the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1923 that a Caliph '' which means a political successor to Prophet Muhammad '' has been declared. The decision was made following the group's Shura Council meeting on Sunday, according to ISIS spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani.

Update:

Via RT:

The jihadist group has also claimed that they are now a legitimate state.

The Islamic State has called on Al-Qaeda and other radical Sunni militants in the region to immediately pledge their allegiance, ushering in ''a new era of international jihad.''

ISIS militants outline chilling five-year plan for global domination | Mail Online

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Wed, 02 Jul 2014 16:25

Sunni militants have announced formation of Islamic state in Middle EastThey demand Muslims around the world swear allegiance to the caliphateClaim leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi now has authority over all MuslimsGroup has also now changed its name from ISIS to just the Islamic StateAnnouncement described as 'most significant development in international jihadism since 9/11'.By John Hall

Published: 02:06 EST, 30 June 2014 | Updated: 04:51 EST, 1 July 2014

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ISIS has formally declared the establishment of a caliphate, or Islamic state, in the vast stretches of the Middle East that have fallen under its control, and has outlined a vision to expand into Europe.

The announcement was described as the 'most significant development in international jihadism since 9/11'.

Upon declaring a caliphate, the Sunni militants - whose brutality in attempting to establish control in Iraq and Syria has been branded too extreme even by Al Qaeda - demanded allegiance from Muslims around the world.

With brutal efficiency, ISIS has carved out a large chunk of territory that has effectively erased the border between Iraq and Syria and laid the foundations of its proto-state.

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Caliphate: A map purportedly showing the areas ISIS plans to have under its control within five years has been widely shared online. As well as the Middle East, North Africa and large areas of Asia, it also reveals ISIS' ambition to extend into Europe. Spain, which was Muslim-ruled until the late 15th Century, would form part of the caliphate, as would the Balkan states and eastern Europe, up to and including Austria

Announcement: ISIS militants (pictured) have formally declared the establishment of a caliphate, or Islamic state, in the vast stretches of the Middle East that have fallen under its control

Leader: ISIS declared the group's chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (pictured left and right), the head of the new caliphate under the name Caliph Ibrahim and called on all Muslims around the world to swear loyalty to him

Extremist: A gun-brandishing Islamist loyal to ISIS celebrates the announcement of the Islamic State by waving an Islamic flag in the Syrian city of Raqqa yesterday. The area is considered ISIS' main operational base

Baghdad residents dismiss Islamic 'caliphate' as illusion

The announcement, made on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, could trigger a wave of infighting among Sunni extremist factions that have until now formed a loose rebel alliance.

A spokesman for ISIS declared the group's chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as the leader of the new caliphate, or Islamic state, and called on Muslims everywhere, not just those in areas under the organization's control, to swear loyalty to him.

'The legality of all emirates, groups, states and organizations becomes null by the expansion of the caliph's authority and the arrival of its troops to their areas,' said Abu Mohammed al-Adnani.

'Listen to your caliph and obey him. Support your state, which grows every day,' he added in an audio statement posted online.

Charles Lister, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, said the announcement was likely the 'most significant development in international jihadism since 9/11'.

Al-Adnani loosely defined the state territory as running from northern Syria to the Iraqi province of Diyala - a vast stretch of land straddling the border that is already largely under ISIS control.

He also said that with the establishment of the caliphate, the group was changing its name to just the Islamic State, dropping the mention of Iraq, Sham and the Levant.

However, in a map widely-shared by ISIS supporters on social networks, the Islamist group outlined a five-year plan for how they would like to expand their boundaries beyond Muslim-majority countries.

As well as plans to expand the caliphate throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and large parts of western Asia, the map also marks out an expansion in parts of Europe.

Spain, which was ruled by Muslims for 700 years until 1492, is marked out as a territory the caliphate plans to have under its control by 2020.

Elsewhere, ISIS plans to take control of the the Balkan states - including Greece, Romania and Bulgaria - extending its territories in eastern Europe as far as Austria, which appears to be based on a pre-First World War borders of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

ISIS regularly makes statements and releases propaganda calling for the return of the geographical boundaries in place before the Great War .

The group insist the carving up of the Ottoman Empire by Allied forces after the conflict - commonly known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement - was a deliberate attempt to divide Muslims and restrict the likelihood of another caliphate being established.

Muslim extremists have long dreamed of recreating the Islamic state, or caliphate, that ruled over the Middle East, North Africa and beyond in various forms over the course of Islam's 1,400-year history.

ISIS posts taunting video of police station demolition in Iraq

Support: Following ISIS' demands that Muslims around the world declare their allegiance to the caliphate, some already appear to be doing so. This photograph, apparently taken in the Netherlands, has been share online by ISIS supporters

Execution: With brutal efficiency, ISIS has carved out a large chunk of territory that has effectively erased the border between Iraq and Syria and laid the foundations of its proto-state

IN DECLARING A CALIPHATE, ISIS NOW CLAIMS TO LEAD ALL MUSLIMSA caliphate is an Islamic state ruled by a 'caliph' - in this case Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi - who is seen as the successor to Prophet Mohammed by those swearing allegiance.

In much the same way as the Pope is considered the head of the Catholic church, a caliph would consider themselves leader of the world's Muslims.

They would hold themselves responsible for establishing policy - based strictly on the Quran - for all Muslims and territories.

One of the first things ISIS did after announcing a caliphate was to declare all emirates and sultanates illegal.

Therefore anybody swearing oath to the new Islamic state would simultaneously be declaring that they no longer recognise either the borders, laws or authority of current Muslim-led states.

On announcing the Islamic state, the militants repeatedly described it as being 'restored'.

This is a reference to the last widely-acknowledged caliphate - which existed under the Ottoman Empire and effectively ended with the founding of Turkey in 1923.

Many Islamists - including ISIS - blame this collapse on the geographical carving-up of the Ottoman Empire by Allied Forces after the First World War.

In declaring a caliphate, ISIS now claims to partly 'corrected' the century-old dispute.

It was unclear what immediate impact the declaration would have on the ground in Syria and Iraq, though experts predicted it could herald infighting among Sunni militants who have joined forces with the Islamic State in its fight against Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his Shiite-led government.

'Now the insurgents in Iraq have no excuse for working with ISIS if they were hoping to share power with ISIS,' said Aymenn al-Tamimi, an analyst who specializes in Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria. 'The prospect of infighting in Iraq is increased for sure,' he added.

The greatest impact, however, could be on the broader international jihadist movement, in particular on the future of Al Qaeda.

Founded by Osama Bin Laden, the group that carried out the September 11 attacks on the U.S. has long carried the mantle of the international jihadi cause.

But the Islamic State has managed to do in Syria and Iraq what Al Qaeda never has - carve out a large swath of territory in the heart of the Arab world and control it.

'This announcement poses a huge threat to al-Qaida and its long-time position of leadership of the international jihadist cause,' said Charles Lister, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center.

'Taken globally, the younger generation of the jihadist community is becoming more and more supportive of [ISIS] largely out of fealty to its slick and proven capacity for attaining rapid results through brutality,' he added.

Al-Baghdadi, an ambitious Iraqi militant who has a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head, took the reins of ISIS in 2010 when it was still an Al Qaeda affiliate based in Iraq.

Brazen: An ISIS fighter holds a jihadist flag in one hand and an assault rifle in the other in a public square in the Iraqi city of Mosul last week

Protests: The group has called for Muslims around the world to swear their allegiance to the Islamic state. In Shi'ite-dominated Iran, however, there have been widespread demonstrations against the Islamist militants

Fighting back: Members of Kurdish security forces sit in a vehicle as they keep guard during clashes with ISIS militants in the village of Basheer in Iraq yesterday

ISIS declares itself a caliphate as unrest continues in Iraq

Since then, he has transformed what had been an umbrella organization focused mainly on Iraq into a transnational military force.

Al-Baghdadi has long been at odds with Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, and the two had a very public falling out after al-Baghdadi ignored al-Zawahiri's demands that the Islamic State leave Syria.

Fed up with al-Baghdadi and unable to control him, al-Zawahiri formally disavowed ISIS in February.

But al-Baghdadi's stature has only grown since then, as his fighters strengthened their grip on much of Syria, and have now overrun large swathes of Iraq.

Following his appointment as head of the caliphate, ISIS demanded al-Baghdadi be referred to as Caliph Ibrahim - using the name given to the son of the Prophet Muhammad in order to strengthen the claim that he is now the leader of the Muslims and a direct successor to the prophet himself.

The Islamic State's declaration comes as the Iraqi government tries to wrest back some of the territory it has lost to the jihadi group and its Sunni militant allies in recent weeks.

On Sunday, Iraqi helicopter gunships struck suspected insurgent positions for a second consecutive day in Tikrit - the predominantly Sunni hometown of former dictator Saddam Hussein.

The Iraqi military launched its push to wrest back Tikrit - a hotbed of antipathy toward Iraq's Shiite-led government - on Saturday with a multi-pronged assault spearheaded by ground troops backed by tanks and helicopters.

MORTAR SHELLS KILL 15 AND WOUND 50 OTHERS IN NORTHERN SYRIA A barrage of mortar shells hit government-held areas of the northern city of Idlib today, killing 14 people and wounding at least 50, Syrian state media said.

Idlib is the provincial capital in northwestern Syria and it has been under the control of President Bashar Assad's troops since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in March 2011.

Rebels trying to overthrow Assad's government control the areas around the city.

They have been besieging the city for more than two years, firing mortars into the government-held areas and clashing with Assad's troops at its outskirts.

Conflict: Idlib is the provincial capital in northwestern Syria. Intense fighting has taken place in and around the city in recent days, with the Free Syrian Army (pictured) among those taking part

The state-run SANA news agency said mortars shells fell on several parts of Idlib this afternoon, including a residential area and a market. State TV said children were among those who died in the attacks, and at least 50 people were wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks.

State TV blamed 'terrorists' for the attacks, a term the Syrian government uses for rebels trying to overthrow Assad's government.

Also this morning, activists reported heavy clashes between several Syrian rebel factions and an al-Qaida breakaway group fighting for control of a border crossing with Iraq in eastern Syria.

The fighting in the town of Boukamal, on the border between Syria and Iraq, between rebel groups and members of ISIS comes just hours after the jihadi group declared the establishment of a transnational Islamic caliphate.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the infighting was concentrated in the town and the nearby border crossing as different factions sought control of the frontier.

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ISIS Announces New State in Iraq, Syria; Names Leader Caliph

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Source: News From Antiwar.com

Sun, 29 Jun 2014 22:32

Reflecting its virtually uncontested control over a broad swath of land in Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has announced the formation of a new nation, dubbed simply The Islamic State (TIS).

According to the announcement, TIS has been determined by Shura councils to be the ''restoration of the Caliphate,'' and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been declared the Caliph.

While TIS has been a de facto state for quite some time, albeit one with ill-defined borders engaged in multiple wars, the declaration of themselves as the new Caliphate is likely to fuel controversy around the world, and a direct challenge to Islamist factions.

That's because a Caliphate claims to be the direct successor of the Prophet Muhammad, and its Caliph would at least claim to be the consensus final religious authority for all of Sunni Islam.

Caliphates have a long history across the Middle East, with dominant Caliphates ruling significant territory and wielding broad influence through much of history. For centuries, Ottoman sultans also held the position of Caliph. In 1924, Turkey dissolved the institution of Caliphate, and there has been no consensus Caliph since. In recent decades several Islamist factions have called for the restoration of the Caliphate, though naturally each has envisioned itself at the head, and none has gained anywhere near this much traction.

With the declaration, ISIS is making an enormous power play, aiming to put itself formally in command of all ''faithful'' Sunnis on a religious level. While that's unlikely to matter across the broader Sunni world, except as a slap in the face, among Salafist factions like al-Qaeda this is a direct challenge, and a call for al-Qaeda and other such factions to submit to a position under Baghdadi's rule.

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Sunni militants declare new Islamic state -NHK WORLD English-

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Mon, 30 Jun 2014 15:59

Sunni militants have declared the establishment of an Islamic state for the territories they control in Iraq and Syria.

The founders of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant made the declaration in an online audio statement posted on Sunday.

The group calls its chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, caliph -- ruler of the Muslim community. It urges Muslims everywhere to swear loyalty to him and support him.

Al-Baghdadi is wanted by the US government for alleged involvement in many militant attacks.

The Al-Qaeda breakaway group also said it is changing its name to just the Islamic State, dropping the mention of Iraq and the Levant.

The group has been fighting the government forces of Iraq and Syria. It has seized Iraq's 2nd largest city of Mosul and other areas.

The declaration comes on the 1st day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The move is apparently aimed at underlining the Sunni militant group's expanding influence and calling more fighters to Iraq and Syria.

Jun. 30, 2014 - Updated 01:37 UTC

Rome will be conquered next, says leader of 'Islamic State' - Telegraph

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Wed, 02 Jul 2014 17:35

"This is my advice to you. If you hold to it you will conquer Rome and own the world, if Allah wills."

Having claimed the title of "caliph", Baghdadi appealed to "judges and those who have military and managerial and service skills, and doctors and engineers in all fields."

He also called on jihadi fighters to escalate fighting in the holy month of Ramadan, which began on Sunday. "In this virtuous month or in any other month, there is no deed better than jihad in the path of Allah, so take advantage of this opportunity and walk the path of you righteous predecessors," he said. "So to arms, to arms, soldiers of the Islamic s, fight, fight."

In a reflection of the havoc wreaked the past month by the Sunni insurgency led by the group, the United Nations said more than 2,400 people were killed in Iraq in June, making it the deadliest month in the country in years.

Baghdadi's claims to control vast territority have yet to be tested by an Iraqi government counter attack. Many Muslim groups dispute his putative caliphate. However some experts fear his rise could transform the appeal of extremist Islam, partly by harassing social media to build a global following.

Hassan Hassan, an analyst at Abu Dhabi's Delma Institute, wrote that Baghdadi provided the most radical challenge since the emergence of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. "The whispers of support to a caliph in Afghanistan are now replaced by clear words and acts, amplified by social media," he said. "Jihadism has evolved significantly. It is no longer limited to narrow ''elitists'' who travel to distant countries to wage jihad. Today's jihad is more sophisticated and individualised and can be waged everywhere."

The Sunni insurgents' advance, which has plunged Iraq into its worst crisis since US troops left in 2011 puts it up against avowed enemies in Shia areas.

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Netanyahu urges Kurdish independence

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Source: WT Newsfeed

Tue, 01 Jul 2014 23:55

TEL AVIV: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the international community on Sunday to support Jordan in the fight against ''Islamic extremism'' and to back the independence of Iraq's Kurds.

''We need to support efforts by the international community to strengthen Jordan and support the aspirations of the Kurds for independence,'' Netanyahu said in a speech to the Institute of National Security Studies think-tank in Tel Aviv.

''I think it's our common interest to make sure that a moderate, stable regime like (Jordan) is able to defend itself.'' His remarks follow reports in Israeli media that officials in Tel Aviv fear Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants may extend their control to areas of Jordan after seizing parts of Iraq in recent weeks.

In Syria, ISIL's fighters already control large swathes of territory in Deir Ezzor near the Iraq border, Raqa in the north, as well as parts of neighbouring Aleppo province.

In Iraq, they have spearheaded a lightning offensive, capturing sizeable territories in the north and west of the conflict-torn country.

Netanyahu also called for independence for Iraq's Kurdistan region, where Kurdish peshmerga security forces have mobilised in an unprecedented deployment to fight against ISIL. The premier voiced concern over ''the powerful wave triggered by ISIL, which could reach Jordan in a very short time.''

He added: ''We must be able to stop the terrorism and fundamentalism that can reach us from the east at the Jordan line and not in the suburbs of Tel Aviv.''

US Secretary of State John Kerry hosted talks with Gulf Allies and Jordan last week, emphasising the Hashemite kingdom's key role in helping to stem the regional gains of ISIL, who had earlier seized control of a Jordanian border crossing in Iraq.

ISIL on Sunday declared it had established a ''caliphate,'' or Islamist state, straddling Iraq and Syria.

The jihadists said the state would spread from Aleppo in northern Syria to Diyala in eastern Iraq, ordering Muslims in those areas to pay allegiance to the group.

Separately, Israel's interior minister said he will no longer permit Tel Aviv supermarkets to stay open on the Jewish Sabbath, drawing a chorus of criticism on Monday from liberal Israelis who see the regulation as religious coercion against secular society.

In his ruling, Minister Gideon Saar said he is rejecting the city's proposed bylaws to allow supermarkets to remain open from Friday evening to Saturday evening.

Agencies

Kurd Oil Sales Seen by Deutsche Bank Gaining Market Acceptance

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Source: WT Newsfeed

Tue, 01 Jul 2014 23:55

Kurdish crude oil is poised to gain acceptance after the semi-autonomous region delivered a cargo and received a payment, according to Deutsche Bank AG.

''We expect trading houses to become increasingly comfortable handling Kurdistan Region of Iraq crude and steady-state exports to emerge,'' analysts led by Lucas Herrmann wrote in an e-mailed report dated today.

The Kurdistan Regional Government started to export crude to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan through its own pipeline last month, without approval from Iraq's central government. Four tankers have so far loaded cargoes of Kurdish crude in Ceyhan, with one shipment sold, according to Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz.

Turkey's Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS, or Halkbank, received $93 million for a shipment, Yildiz said on June 23. The destination of the crude isn't of interest to Turkey, the minister said.

''Despite regional conflict and the threat of legal action from Baghdad, significant milestones have been achieved,'' Hermann said.

Iraq's government has warned that it will prosecute any buyers of the Kurdish oil and sought arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce. The Kurdistan Regional Government says it's abiding by the Iraqi constitution.

The Kurdistan Regional Government controls 45 billion barrels of oil reserves, according to its estimates.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nayla Razzouk in Dubai at nrazzouk2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaric Nightingale at anightingal1@bloomberg.net Rachel Graham, James Herron

Israel buys Smuggled Iraqi Oil, Joins U.S. Push for Kurdish State | nsnbc international

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Thu, 03 Jul 2014 04:43

Christof Lehmann (nsnbc) : The creation of an independent Kurdish State is a foregone conclusion, said Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, whose attempt to push Iraq's al-Maliki administration to ''create'' an unconstitutional ''national unity government'' was rejected by al-Maliki. Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Turkey's capital Ankara is said to be supervising the ISIL war on Iraq. Turkey's AKP government ''supports'' an independent Kurdish State and turns a blind eye to the smuggling of stolen Iraqi oil to Israel.

Kurdish militants from Iraq's U.S.-created Kurdish Administrated North seized the region around Kirkuk while the Iraqi armed forces and the government of P.M. Nouri al-Maliki were fending of ISIS brigades push towards the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

Image '' Kerry And Netanyahu '' shehab.ps

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Kurdish ''president'' Massoud Barzani, Turkey's AKP government as well as western and Gulf-Arab press agencies are peddling the ISIS campaign and Massoud Barzani's''push for Kurdish independence'' as two loosely related phenomena. The situation in Iraq is largely peddled as based on sectarian and ethnic conflicts.

Omissions and Distortions. Peddling the Balkanization of Iraq. Media are omitting information about the involvement of all of the above in planning both the ISIS campaign and the Kurdish ''push for independence'' for over one year.

A person close to the former Lebanese PM Saad Hariri revealed that the campaign, which was already planned for August 2013, was stalled when the U.K. parliament voted against bombing Syria, giving the Syrian Army a chance to dislodge ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusrah from the oil rich region around Deir Ez-Zor in August '' September 2013.

U.S. Neo-Con & Neo-Lib '' Israeli Alliance and Atlantic Council Compare Current Situation with 1914 and 1945. The final green light for the 2014 ISIS campaign was reportedly given in November 2013 at the Atlantic Council's Energy Summit in Ankara, after the al-Maliki administration in 2012 and 2013 failed to respond to U.S. blackmail attempts with regards to Syria and with regards to Kurdish ''independence''.

A person close to former Lebanese PM Saad Hariri said during an almost two-hour-long conversation, that Saad Hariri, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz, Kurdish Energy Minister Hawrami, former Clinton security adviser and Atlantic Council member Scowcroft and others were expecting that the Kurdish State could have been established in 2013 already.

In 2013 the project failed when the U.K. Parliament voted against bombing Syria which gave the Syrian government the possibility to defeat ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusrah in Syria's oil-rich eastern region around Deir Ez-Zor. He added that al-Maliki had been put under intense pressure from both Ankara and Washington to stop aiding Syria by controlling Iraq's border to Saudi Arabia, and under a lot of pressure to accept Kurdish independence. The project should have been completed in 2013. The final decision for the ISIS campaign in 2014, was taken at the Atlantic Council's Energy Summit in November 2013 in Ankara, he stressed, describing the network behind the initiative and asserting that the U.S. Embassy in Ankara is the headquarter for the ISIS operation against Iraq.

''Who exactly pressured Obama? I don't know who delivered the message to Obama. I suspect Kerry had a word. It's more important from where the message came, Kissinger, Scowcroft, Nuland and the Keagan clan, Stavridis, Petreaus, Riccardione, and the neo-con crowd at the [Atlantic] Council. '... As far as I know ´someone` told Obama that he'd better pressure al-Maliki to go along with Kurdish autonomy by November or else. Who exactly ´advised` Obama is not as important as the fact that those people let him know that they would go ahead, with, or without him''.

It is against the background of these disclosures, against the background of the ongoing ISIS campaign, the seizure of Kirkuk by Kurdish militants, that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, earlier this week, attempted to pressure al-Maliki into establishing an unconstitutional ''unity government''.

After Kerry left Baghdad, al-Maliki addressed the Iraqi people in his weekly, televised speech, saying:

''The call to form a national emergency government is a coup against the constitution and the political process. '... It is an attempt by those who are against the constitution to eliminate the young democratic process and steal the voters of the votes''.

Kerry's and the U.S.' response to al-Maliki's rejection was to stress that the U.S., in this case, would not send additional military advisers. It is noteworthy that these ''advisers'', whose only task is to monitor the Iraqi forces battles against ISIS militants, are a potential security risk for Iraq. A less euphemistic way of describing these ''advisers'' would be to say '' 300 U.S. military personnel who monitor the Iraqi military's fight against U.S. backed ISIS brigades''.

Israel Joins the Choir for Kurdish Independence, Imports Stolen, Smuggled Iraqi Oil via Turkey. On Thursday, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman joined the international effort to peddle the Balkanization of Iraq as ''Kurdish Independence''. Addressing the press after a meeting with John Kerry in Paris, Avigdor Lieberman said:

''Iraq is breaking up before our eyes and it would appear that the creation of an independent Kurdish State is a foregone conclusion''.

Lieberman was preceded by Israeli President Shimon Perez on Wednesday, when he styled a message to U.S. President Obama and a misinformed Western public, saying:

''The Kurds have de facto created their own state, which is democratic. One of the signs of democracy is the granting of equality to women''.

Perez' statement came after ABC and CNN top-propagandist Christine Amanpour interviewed ''president'' Massoud Barzani, peddling the creation of an independent Kurdish State as unavoidable and ''fulfillment of long-held aspirations''.

The British ''the guardian'' joined the choir, quoting the Kurdish head of the economic committee in Iraq's national parliament as saying:

''Kirkuk will finally produce oil for Kurds, For 70 years oil has been used to buy weapons to kill us, finally we have our oil and it will only be for the Kurds''.

Being a good guardian, ''the guardian'' forgot to mention that Israeli clients have bought Iraqi oil that was smuggled via the Kirkuk '' Ceyhan pipeline to the Mediterranean coast of Turkey without the permission of the Iraqi government for some time; more specifically, since the plans adopted at the Atlantic Council's Energy Summit in Ankara, in November 2013 became implemented by Irbil and Ankara.

In May 2014 the Israeli import of stolen and smuggled Iraqi oil became so blatantly obvious that even the Reuters news agency could no longer omit the theft of Iraqi resources. May 15, 2014, Julia Payne and Ron Bouso published in Reuters:

Israeli and U.S. oil refineries have joined the growing list of customers for crude from Iraqi Kurdistan, a region locked in a bitter struggle with the central government in Baghdad that says the sales are illegal.

Kirkuk '' Ceyhan pipeline. Photo, Aydinlik Daily

Israel's Energy Ministry refused to comment. The Kurdish Energy Ministry under Energy Minister Hawrami, who participated in the Atlantic Council's Energy Summit in November, and who according to the informant close to Hariri was part of planning the ISIS operations since 2013, rejected that the Kurdish administration had sold the oil to Israel, directly or indirectly.

Payne and Bouso, however, cite the Geneva-based Mocoh trading company as stating that the Baltic Commodore arrived in the Israeli port of Ashkelon with Iraqi Shaikan crude on January 31, 2014. Mocoh refers to the vessel's tracking record. Payne and Bouso also report that Trafigura sent a cargo of Kurdish crude to Israel on the Hope A, which first went to Ashkhelon and then to Haifa between February 10 '' 15.

The Kriti Jade, loaded with ''Kurdish'' crude in Turkey, sailed to Ashkhelon on March 3 and to Haifa a few days later. The Kriti Sea reportedly picked up ''Kurdish'' oil from Turkey around Mach 5, and anchored off Limassol, Cyprus without discharging crude, report Payne and Bouso, adding that Petraco lifted both cargoes. The Kriti Sea then, still laden, headed towards Israel. The ship's tracking was switched off between May 17 '' 20 near the Israeli coast. When it reappeared, still close to the Israeli coast, the tanker was empty.

Ch/L '' nsnbc 27.06.2014

ABC & CNN Top-Propagandist Prepares Kurdish ''Independence'' from Iraq

U.S. Embassy in Ankara Headquarter for ISIS War on Iraq '' Hariri Insider

Atlantic Council Energy Summit in Istanbul and Regional Balkanization

Iraq Rejects U.S. Blackmail for ''Salvation'' Government

Resource: Vessel Finder '' Free Ship Tracking, Worldwide.

Genel Energy - Kurdistan Region of Iraq

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Archived Version

Wed, 02 Jul 2014 17:36

Our existing Kurdistan Region of Iraq portfolio, across our seven PSC licences, offers an attractive spectrum of geological risk by running through diverse geographies with different hydrocarbon systems, from Peshkabir in the north to Chia Surkh in the south.

Genel has interests in the two largest producing fields in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Taq Taq and Tawke, with access to local and international markets. These fields have a currently estimated gross proven and probable (2P) reserves of 1.3 billion barrels of oil (bbls) (453 mmbbls net to Genel Energy) and gross proven, probable and possible reserves of 1.8bn boe (639 mmbbls net to Genel Energy).

We are targeting material production capacity growth at both fields to achieve production of 200,000 gross bopd at both fields in 2014.

Supporting InfrastructureDuring 2013, the KRG completed the construction of its export pipeline infrastructure, giving it an independent route to export its oil production to world markets. The first section, a 20 inch diameter pipeline from the Taq Taq field to Khurmala, became operational in the first half of 2013. This section has initial capacity of 150,000 bopd, with the potential to increase to 200,000 bopd. The second section, from Khurmala to Dohuk, involved the conversion of a 36 inch pipeline which originally was intended to be a gas pipeline. The final section, from Dohuk to the KRI border with Turkey, was completed in the third quarter of 2013. This was tied into the existing 40 inch section of the Iraq-Turkey pipeline through a new metering station within KRI territory. Commissioning work has been progressing since the fourth quarter of 2013. This process has identified the needfor an upgrade to pumping stations in KRI territory. These works are expected to be completed in time to allow for full commissioning of the pipeline infrastructure during the second half of 2014.

In January 2014, the KRG announced that initial quantities of crude oil from the Tawke field had flowed through the pipeline system and arrived into storage at the port of Ceyhan on Turkey's Mediterranean coast.

1) Tawke included from 2009 when Genel Energy farmed-in to the license

WebcastPreliminary Results 2013

Genel Energy - Share Price Chart

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Genel Energy - Board of Directors

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Wed, 02 Jul 2014 17:10

Mehmet Ä¼t§¼ was appointed to the Board as an Independent Non-Executive Director on 21 November 2011.

Committee memberships: Member of the Nomination Committee and the Health, Safety, Security and Environment Committees.

Skills and experience: Mehmet is currently Chairman of the Global Resources Partnership, a regional energy finance, investment and strategy Group. He also serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director on the Board of Yasar Holding Group, a leading Turkish conglomerate. Mehmet was appointed in March 2013 as the Energy Charter Secretary-General's special envoy for the MENA region. He leads Bosphorus Energy Club, a gathering of top energy, investment and geopolitical executives in Eurasia, MENA and Southeast Europe since September 2013.

Previously, Mehmet served as Director for International Government and Corporate Affairs at BG Group, the head of the OECD's Global Forum on international investment and regional outreach programmes (2000-2005), the Principal Administrator for Asia-Pacific and Latin America at the International Energy Agency (1994-2000), a Turkish diplomat in Ankara, Beijing, Brussels and Paris (1986-1994), Deputy Inspector at Is¸ Bankasi, NATO Research Fellow, the EU's Jean Monnet Fellow and adviser to the late President Turgut Ozal.

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AIVD krijgt 25 miljoen per jaar extra

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Archived Version

Source: WT Newsfeed

Mon, 30 Jun 2014 23:06

Minister Ronald Plasterk (Binnenlandse Zaken) heeft dat aan de Tweede Kamer gemeld.

Het extra geld wordt vrijgemaakt vanwege ''toegenomen dreigingen'', aldus Plasterk in zijn brief.

''Jihadisten en terugkeerders uit oorlogsgebieden vormen een substantile bedreiging voor ons land. Ook de onrust bij de buitengrens van Europa - zoals Oekra¯ne - en cyberdreiging zijn toegenomen.''

SlagkrachtEerder afgesproken maatregelen die moesten leiden tot een bezuiniging door efficiencyverbetering blijven wel van kracht, aldus Plasterk. Dat betrof een besparing van 34 miljoen euro per jaar vanaf 2018, waarvan een groot deel al is ingevuld.

Overeind blijven 9 miljoen euro in 2017 en vanaf 2018 structureel 11 miljoen per jaar aan besparingen. Die moeten naast meer doelmatigheid ook worden gehaald doordat de AIVD en de militaire inlichtingen- en veiligheidsdienst MIVD samen in een gebouw komen te zitten. De 25 miljoen euro die er vanaf 2015 extra bijkomen, worden toegevoegd aan ''de operationele slagkracht'', stelt een woordvoerder van het ministerie in een toelichting.

Slagkracht"Ingestelde maatregelen zoals efficiencyverbetering en de voorgenomen verhuizing van de AIVD naar een locatie samen met de MIVD blijven staan", schrijft Plasterk maandag. "Met deze intensivering wordt de operationele slagkracht van de AIVD versterkt."

"Jihadisten en terugkeerders uit oorlogsgebieden vormen een substantile bedreiging voor ons land. Ook de onrust bij de buitengrens van Europa - zoals Oekra¯ne - en cyberdreiging zijn toegenomen", aldus een persbericht van Plasterks ministerie. Het dreigingsbeeld is sinds de start van dit kabinet in 2012 "steeds negatiever" geworden.

Eerder afgesproken maatregelen die moesten leiden tot een bezuiniging door efficiencyverbetering blijven wel van kracht, aldus Plasterk. Ook is het nog steeds de bedoeling dat de AIVD en de militaire inlichtingen- en veiligheidsdienst MIVD samen in een gebouw komen te zitten.

HennisPlasterks besluit, dat hij mede namens minister van Defensie Jeanine Hennis (verantwoordelijk voor de MIVD) bekendmaakt, komt nadat de AIVD maandagochtend meldde dat de afgelopen twee jaar al veertien Nederlandse jihadstrijders zijn omgekomen in Syri en Irak.

Volgens Dick Schoof, de Nationaal Co¶rdinator Terrorismebestrijding en Veiligheid (NCTV), is de dreiging van teruggekeerde jihadisten in Nederland zorgelijker dan ooit.

Minister Ivo Opstelten (Veiligheid en Justitie) kondigde maandag al aan dat het kabinet alle beschikbare middelen in zal zetten om de "veelomvattende" terroristische dreiging van jihadisten aan te pakken.

KamerledenToch zijn de zorgen van de Tweede Kamer nog niet helemaal weggenomen. Klaas Dijkhoff (VVD) noemt de investering ''verstandig'', maar benadrukt dat het geld ten goede moet komen aan operaties van de AIVD. De VVD is nog steeds voorstander van de bezuinigingen op de niet-operationele posten, zoals huisvesting en een efficintere organisatie.

Het CDA wijst erop dat de door Plasterk aangekondigde investering betekent dat er nog steeds 9 miljoen wordt bezuinigd op de AIVD. De christendemocraten willen dat de bezuinigingen ongedaan worden gemaakt en er extra middelen vrijkomen voor de dienst.

Gerard Schouw (D66) beschouwt de investering als een ''verstandige eerste stap'', maar is ook nog enigszins wantrouwig. Volgens Schouw is de AIVD door de bezuinigingen zo uitgekleed dat het water de dienst inmiddels aan de lippen staat.

Regeringspartij PvdA en de grootste oppositiepartij SP toonden zich wel tevreden.

Woensdag vindt er een debat plaats tussen Plasterk en de Tweede Kamer over de AIVD.

Dutch warned of posb. terrorist attacks

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Source: WT Newsfeed

Mon, 30 Jun 2014 23:05

NetherlandsTop StoriesNetherlands counter-terrorism coordinator AIVD has warned that the threat of a terrorist attack in the country is ''bigger than ever before.'' The secret service is taking a possible attack against the Dutch democratic society very seriously, De Telegraaf reports.

On Monday, the AIVD presented a somber report on the rising power of jihadists in the country. The report, named 'Transformation of Jihadism in The Netherlands' warns that the Jihadist movement in The Netherlands counts several hundred loyal members and several thousand sympathisers at the moment.

According to the service, the attracting power of the extremist movement has become so large that ''many muslim youths will grow from 'joiner' sympathisers to hardened fighters who take part in gruesome acts in Syria such as summary executions, mass murders and the beheading of opposers.''

The AIVD is now afraid that such extreme attacks on Dutch and further European cities will occur before long. Not only societies, but also specific groups such as Jews, Shiite muslims or other muslim groups who speak out with criticism against these jihadists.

Sources tell De Telegraaf that there are currently several people who cannot go out into the open without protection. Among this group under threat are former radicalized muslims who have turned away from the ideology of violence, and well-known muslims in the country. The AIVD also says that muslims who openly protest the jihadist road to Syria, and who are ''against the extreme intolerance and anti-democratic conceptions of jihadism are being virtually and physically intimidated more often''. The service says that this is a telling sign that an attack is imminent.

The jihadist movement is difficult to counter, the AIVD states, as there is rare mention of a central leader. This makes the movement more flexible, and less vulnerable. Because there is such fluid and widespread communication possibilities for jihadists and sympathisers, any ''holes that come about as a result of, for example, arrests of jihad travel of certain persons with specific roles with media campaigns, logistics activities or fundraising, can quickly be filled.''

The service also points a finger at social media for allowing the explosive growth of the number of Dutch jihadists. ''Next to the increased professionalism and stronger orientation on an open and provocative activism, another development has brought about an entirely new dynamic within Dutch jihadism in a short time: the widespread use of social media.

''Jihad propaganda is available in every form and in every language, from classic jihadist works in writing to audio recordings of readings from ideologists and films from the jihadi struggle. It is more professional every time, and therefore made to look more appealing.''

Now, the AIVD is calling for a ''Delta plan against jihadism.'' The secret service urges for new measures to enlarge the resistance against jihadism. ''Preventative and repressive measures will have to assume the new structure and the changing character of the jihadist movement in The Netherlands.''

The secret service is calling on the government and the Islamic community to develop counter-measures ''that can offer effective counter-balance against the jihadist movement in The Netherlands, to prevent that this forms a steadily larger threat for the Dutch democratic legal order, national security and society.''

DutchNews.nl - Urgent action needed to stem radical Islam risk: Dutch security service

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Mon, 30 Jun 2014 23:05

Urgent action needed to stem radical Islam risk: Dutch security serviceMonday 30 June 2014

The conflict in Syria has become a catalyst for radical Muslims in the Netherlands, with messages becoming more explicit and widespread, the Dutch security service AIVD said on Monday.

Radical texts spoken by young preachers and social media are leading to jihadist propaganda being spread more quickly, leading to 'further radicalisation on a wider scale,' the AIVD said in a new report.

The Dutch authorities estimate 130 Dutch citizens, including 20 girls and young women, have so far left to fight in Syria's civil war and around 80 are there at present.

Some 30 have returned to the Netherlands and 14 have been killed. Last week, police stopped a 15-year-old girl from travelling to Syria via Germany after a tip-off.

Not a hype

The growth in radicalism is not a hype and poses a risk to the Netherlands, AIVD head Rob Bertholee is quoted as saying.

Dick Schoof, head of the Dutch counter terrorism service said earlier on Monday that the threat risk in the Netherlands remains 'substantial' and repeated earlier warnings about the risk posed by people returning from Syria.

Even if the conflict in Syria is solved, the threat will remain, Schoof said. 'This is not something that will just blow over.' In Europe as a whole, some 3,000 people have gone to fight with radical groups. This means the entire continent is at risk, he said.

In particular, the role of social media and internet in spreading radical messages requires tackling, he said. He urged internet providers which host websites that spread hatred to take action.

Last week, an 18-year-old suspected recruiter was arrested and radical website De Ware Religie (the true religion) was taken off the air.

ISIS

In an interview with the NRC, Schoof said several thousand Muslims in the Netherlands are known to sympathise with the radicial ISIS movement and their number is growing.

For too long there has been a romantic image about youngsters joining the struggle in Syria, he said. 'They are not going to profit help. That is nonsense,' he said.

He stopped short of criticising the government, the NRC said.

Measures

Meanwhile, justice minister Ivo Opstelten said in a written briefing to parliament that the Netherlands will take 'very wide-ranging' measures to combat the terrorist threat posed by returnees from Syria and other conflict zones.

The Netherlands is involved in a 'very intensive' exchange of information at a national and international level, in particular about travel movements and contacts between known extremists.

'Every possible measure' will be used to prevent people travelling to conflict zones, including freezing their assets, stopping benefits and withdrawing passports, he said.

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About ISIS in Arizona

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Wed, 02 Jul 2014 06:00

ISIS is headquartered outside Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista, Arizona. Our Washington D.C. office is located in the Ronald Reagan Building. We are dedicated to supporting our national defense and security departments, as well as government contractors and private business, with mission-critical services performed by highly skilled experts in their fields. ISIS professionals can be found working side by side with the U.S. Armed Forces, U.S. Government and Prime Contractors on the ground in such strategic environments as the Middle East. See Our Locations Map at the bottom of the page.

ISIS ManagementThe members of our management team have extensive industry experience, supervising, managing and serving on numerous OGA contracts operating in the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa in the protection of U.S. national interests.Collectively, we've served as army intelligence officers; in special operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Panama and Haiti; as consultants for the U.S. Government on the Counter-Narcotics and Drug Interdiction Task Force, and more. Over the last 10 years, our leadership has successfully obtained and managed millions of dollars worth of government and corporate security contracts. READ MORE

Mission and ValuesISIS delivers critical services and support to help government and private organizations achieve mission success in demanding environments around the world. READ MORE

FBI: Colorado woman aimed to go to Syria for jihad

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Thu, 03 Jul 2014 04:15

DENVER (AP) '-- FBI agents tried more than once to discourage a 19-year-old suburban Denver woman who said she was intent on waging jihad in the Middle East before arresting her in April as she boarded a flight she hoped would ultimately get her to Syria, court documents unsealed Wednesday show.

Shannon Maureen Conley had told agents that she wanted to use her American military training from the U.S. Army Explorers to start a holy war overseas, even though she knew that it was illegal, according to the newly released federal court records. Her "legitimate targets of attack" included military facilities, government employees and public officials, the documents say.

Conley, a Muslim convert, was arrested April 8 at Denver International Airport, telling agents she planned to live with a suitor she met online, apparently a Tunisian man who claimed to be fighting for an al-Qaida splinter group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The militant group also known as ISIL or ISIS has recently overrun parts of Iraq and Syria.

Conley has been charged with conspiring to help a foreign terrorist organization. Her federal public defender did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

A nurse's aide, Conley told investigators she planned to fly to Turkey and then travel to Syria to become a housewife and a nurse at the man's camp, providing medical services and training.

FBI agents became aware of Conley's growing interest in extremism in November after she started talking about terrorism with employees of a suburban Denver church who found her wandering around and taking notes on the layout of the campus, according to the court documents. The church, Faith Bible Chapel in Arvada, was the scene of a 2007 shooting in which a man killed two missionary workers.

She spoke with agents several times after that, telling them of her desire for jihad, the records state. The agents tried openly to dissuade her, urging her instead to support Muslims through humanitarian efforts, which she told them was not an option.

"Conley felt that Jihad is the only answer to correct the wrongs against the Muslim world," the documents say.

Agents encouraged Conley's parents to get her to meet with elders at her mosque to find more moderate options. Her parents knew she had converted to Islam but were apparently unaware of her extremism, authorities said.

Her father told an agent in March that Conley and her suitor had asked for his blessing to marry and were surprised when he declined. Her father later found a one-way plane ticket to Turkey.

Four days before her arrest, she told agents "there was nothing they could do to change her mind and that she was still going." They stopped her as she was walking down the jetway.

Meer meisjes van plan op jihad-reis naar Syri te gaan - Burgeroorlog in Syri - VK

Link to Article

Archived Version

Thu, 03 Jul 2014 13:28

Door: Janny Groen '' 03/07/14, 06:21

(C) ap. De extremistische organisatie ISIS houdt een parade van scuds en ander zwaar wapentuig in de Syrische stad Raqqa, enkele nadat zij het kalifaat heeft uitgeroepen in de gebieden die ze in handen heeft.

De vijftienjarige Moezdalifa el A. uit Hilversum wilde niet in haar eentje naar Syri afreizen. Het meisje, dat in juni in Duitsland werd opgepakt, maakte deel uit van een grotere meidengroep. Volgens meerdere bronnen in de moslimgemeenschap hadden nog vier of vijf minderjarige meisjes voorbereidingen getroffen voor de jihadgang.

Ze kan gesignaleerd worden met zusters! Aub help ons. Ze heeft haar paspoort, telefoon en haar laptop meegenomen. Ze heeft contacten met mensen uit Syri en Belgi. Zij vertellen haar dat dit de beste manier is van leven en dat ze daar kan trouwen

Noodoproep van de familie van MoezdalifaMoezdalifa werd op 21 juni door haar familie als vermist opgegeven. Haar broer en zus verspreidden noodoproepen via sociale media om haar op te sporen. Daarin stond al dat ze van plan was naar Syri te gaan. Ze had een briefje met die boodschap achtergelaten. Een dag later kon ze op het vliegveld van D¼sseldorf worden aangehouden door Nederlandse agenten.

In de noodoproep hield Moezdalifa's familie er rekening mee dat ze niet in haar eentje op reis was gegaan. 'Ze kan gesignaleerd worden met zusters! Aub help ons. Ze heeft haar paspoort, telefoon en haar laptop meegenomen. Ze heeft contacten met mensen uit Syri en Belgi. Zij vertellen haar dat dit de beste manier is van leven en dat ze daar kan trouwen.'

Niet in haar eentjeWoordvoerder Thomas Aling van de politie Midden-Nederland zegt dat nog wordt uitgezocht of Moezdalifa deel uitmaakt van een groter uitreisgezelschap. 'We willen exact weten wat er gebeurd is. Ineens verdwijnen, een ticket kopen via Vliegwinkel.nl, dat doet een tiener meestal niet in haar eentje.'

Volgens Aling wordt Moezdalifa nu 'als getuige gehoord'. Of andere meisjes elders in het land worden ondervraagd, kan hij niet zeggen. 'Wij zijn specifiek met haar bezig.'

Geen verdachteBerichten in de media dat het meisje na tien dagen verhoor nog steeds niet naar huis mag, bevestigt Aling. 'Maar ze zit niet in een cel en is ook geen verdachte. Ze heeft als getuige, via de Raad voor de Kinderbescherming, een advocaat toegewezen gekregen.'

Haar tijdens de verhoren thuis laten wonen is volgens Aling geen optie. 'Ze is vertrokken zonder dat iemand ervan wist, dat kan nog eens gebeuren. Ze zit nu op een plek waar ze niet zomaar weg kan, anders hebben we straks het nakijken.' Of haar ouders daarvoor toestemming hebben gegeven, is onduidelijk.

Voorzitter Abou Dhar van de Hilversumse stichting World Wide Relief is een 'waarschuwingscampagne' onder ouders begonnen, meldt hij in De Gooi en Eemlander. 'Hersenspoelen van meisjes komt steeds vaker voor', zegt Dhar. 'Pak desnoods de smartphone af en geef nooit zomaar haar paspoort mee.'

Sociaal wenselijk gedragPotentile jihadgangers vertonen thuis sociaal wenselijk gedrag en voor je het weet zijn ze weggeglipt, zeggen bronnen in de Haagse Schilderswijk. Ouders hanteren inmiddels 'code rood'. Zo wordt een 15-jarig meisje 'intensief begeleid' dat vorig jaar november tijdens een bijeenkomst in buurthuis De Mussen een boodschap kwam overbrengen van haar vriendinnen die al in Syri zijn. Gevreesd wordt dat ze, zodra ze de kans krijgt, zelf ook zal vertrekken.

'Code rood' geldt vooral voor de zomervakantie. Jongeren gaan niet naar school en zijn veel moeilijker in de gaten te houden. Bovendien lonkt nu het kalifaat, dat afgelopen weekeinde in delen van Irak en Syri is uitgeroepen.

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Hobby Lobby

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In A Nutshell

This is only about 4 of 20 contraceptives, that they believe are 'birth control'

Corporations are people and vice versa

As we noted above, RFRA applies to “a person’s” exer-

cise of religion, 42 U. S. C. §§2000bb–1(a), (b), and RFRA

itself does not define the term “person.” We therefore look

to the Dictionary Act, which we must consult “[i]n deter-

mining the meaning of any Act of Congress, unless the

context indicates otherwise.” 1 U. S. C. §1.

Under the Dictionary Act, “the wor[d] ‘person’ . . . in-

clude[s] corporations, companies, associations, firms,

partnerships, societies, and joint stock companies, as well

as individuals.” Ibid.; see FCC v. AT&T Inc., 562 U. S.

___, ___ (2011) (slip op., at 6) (“We have no doubt that

‘person,’ in a legal setting, often refers to artificial entities.

The Dictionary Act makes that clear”). Thus, unless there

is something about the RFRA context that “indicates

otherwise,” the Dictionary Act provides a quick, clear, and

affirmative answer to the question whether the companies

involved in these cases may be heard.

It is about Religious non-profit vs Religious for-propfit companies

There are already provisions for religious exemption, but the burden falls to the health insurer- it was part of the deal they agreed to with ACA. So in fact, fighting against this is fighting FOR the insurancer companies

Relevenat passge from the SCOTUS decision:

HHS also authorized the HRSA to establish exemptions

from the contraceptive mandate for “religious employers.”

45 CFR §147.131(a). That category encompasses “churches,

their integrated auxiliaries, and conventions or associ-

ations of churches,” as well as “the exclusively religious

activities of any religious order.” See ibid (citing 26

U. S. C. §§6033(a)(3)(A)(i), (iii)). In its Guidelines,

HRSA exempted these organizations from the requirement

to cover contraceptive services. See http://hrsa.gov/

womensguidelines.

In addition, HHS has effectively exempted certain

religious nonprofit organizations, described under HHS

regulations as “eligible organizations,” from the contracep-

tive mandate. See 45 CFR §147.131(b); 78 Fed. Reg.

39874 (2013). An “eligible organization” means a nonprofit

organization that “holds itself out as a religious organi-

zation” and “opposes providing coverage for some or all of

any contraceptive services required to be covered . . . on

account of religious objections.” 45 CFR §147.131(b). To

qualify for this accommodation, an employer must certify

that it is such an organization. §147.131(b)(4). When a

group-health-insurance issuer receives notice that one of

its clients has invoked this provision, the issuer must then

exclude contraceptive coverage from the employer’s plan

and provide separate payments for contraceptive services

for plan participants without imposing any cost-sharing

requirements on the eligible organization, its insurance

plan, or its employee beneficiaries. §147.131(c).8 Al-

though this procedure requires the issuer to bear the cost of

these services, HHS has determined that this obligation

will not impose any net expense on issuers because its cost

will be less than or equal to the cost savings resulting

from the services. 78 Fed. Reg. 39877.9

In addition to these exemptions for religious organiza-

tions, ACA exempts a great many employers from most of

its coverage requirements. Employers providing “grandfa-

thered health plans”—those that existed prior to March

23, 2010, and that have not made specified changes after

that date—need not comply with many of the Act’s re-

quirements, including the contraceptive mandate. 42

Why it infringes on religuous freedom: it comes down to the benjamins

The court concluded that the contra-

ceptive mandate substantially burdened the exercise of

religion by requiring the companies to choose between

“compromis[ing] their religious beliefs” and paying a

heavy fee—either “close to $475 million more in taxes

every year” if they simply refused to provide coverage for

the contraceptives at issue, or “roughly $26 million” annu-

ally if they “drop[ped] health-insurance benefits for all

employees.” Id., at 1141.

Elizabeth Warren's Weird scentence on FaceBook

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The 8 Best Lines From Ginsburg's Dissent on the Hobby Lobby Contraception Decision | Mother Jones

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Archived Version

Mon, 30 Jun 2014 19:43

On Monday, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg penned a blistering dissent to the Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling that the government can't require certain employers to provide insurance coverage for methods of birth control and emergency contraception that conflict with their religious beliefs. Ginsburg wrote that her five male colleagues, "in a decision of startling breadth," would allow corporations to opt out of almost any law that they find "incompatible with their sincerely held religious beliefs."

Here are seven more key quotes from Ginsburg's dissent in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby:

"The exemption sought by Hobby Lobby and Conestoga would'...deny legions of women who do not hold their employers' beliefs access to contraceptive coverage""Religious organizations exist to foster the interests of persons subscribing to the same religious faith. Not so of for-profit corporations. Workers who sustain the operations of those corporations commonly are not drawn from one religious community.""Any decision to use contraceptives made by a woman covered under Hobby Lobby's or Conestoga's plan will not be propelled by the Government, it will be the woman's autonomous choice, informed by the physician she consults.""It bears note in this regard that the cost of an IUD is nearly equivalent to a month's full-time pay for workers earning the minimum wage.""Would the exemption'...extend to employers with religiously grounded objections to blood transfusions (Jehovah's Witnesses); antidepressants (Scientologists); medications derived from pigs, including anesthesia, intravenous fluids, and pills coated with gelatin (certain Muslims, Jews, and Hindus); and vaccinations[?]'...Not much help there for the lower courts bound by today's decision.""Approving some religious claims while deeming others unworthy of accommodation could be 'perceived as favoring one religion over another,' the very 'risk the [Constitution's] Establishment Clause was designed to preclude.""The court, I fear, has ventured into a minefield."You can read the full dissent here. (It starts on page 60.)

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Supreme Court Rules for Religious Liberty in Hobby Lobby Case.

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Mon, 30 Jun 2014 23:08

In a 5-4 decision Monday June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that some for-profit companies can cite religious convictions to opt out of the contraception mandate that would have required all businesses to provide free contraceptives '-- including those that can cause abortion '-- to their employees. The decision represents a huge blow to President Obama's ''Affordable Health Care'' law, and a victory for scores of businesses that have claimed that the mandate would require them to violate their belief that all life is sacred.

The ruling came in favor of two family-held companies '-- Hobby Lobby, owned by the Green family, and Conestoga Wood Specialties, owned by the Hahn family '-- both of whom had said that the mandate would represent an unacceptable moral obstacle to their businesses. Both companies faced millions of dollars in fines for refusing to make available abortion-inducing contraceptive drugs to their employees. Hobby Lobby and another company owned by the Greens faced as much as $1.3 million in fines for CEO David Green's resolute refusal to bow to the mandate. ''This legal challenge has always remained about one thing and one thing only,'' said Green when his company first filed suit to stop the mandate '-- ''the right of our family businesses to live out our sincere and deeply held religious convictions as guaranteed by the law and the Constitution.''

Five Supreme Court justices sided with the Hobby Lobby and Conestoga owners, citing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) to reject the efforts of the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to force the owners of the Christian-based businesses to violate their consciences in order to fulfill the requirements of the mandate.

''In holding that the HHS mandate is unlawful, we reject HHS's argument that the owners of the companies forfeited all RFRA protection when they decided to organize their businesses as corporations rather than sole proprietorships or general partnerships,'' wrote Justice Alito for the majority in the two cases. ''The plain terms of RFRA make it perfectly clear that Congress did not discriminate in this way against men and women who wish to run their businesses as for-profit corporations in the manner required by their religious beliefs.''

Alito wrote that the RFRA ''applies to regulations that govern the activities of closely held for profit corporations like Conestoga and Hobby Lobby,'' noting that the ''HHS contraceptive mandate substantially burdens the exercise of religion.''

In a concurring opinion Justice Kennedy wrote: ''Among the reasons the United States is so open, so tolerant, and so free is that no person may be restricted or demeaned by government in exercising his or her religion.''

Alito emphasized, however, that the decision is not overarching, but limited only to the contraceptive mandate issue. ''Our decision should not be understood to hold that an insurance-coverage mandate must necessarily fail if it conflicts with an employer's religious beliefs,'' he wrote.'¨

In a dissenting opinion, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg '-- joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Stephen Breyer '-- insisted that the government has a ''compelling interest'' to force companies to provide free birth control. ''Those interests are concrete, specific, and demonstrated by a wealth of empirical evidence,'' she wrote. ''To recapitulate, the mandated contraception coverage enables women to avoid the health problems unintended pregnancies may visit on them and their children.''

In a separate dissent Justice Elena Kagan wrote, ''Congress has made a judgment and Congress has given a statutory entitlement and that entitlement is to women and includes contraceptive coverage, and when an employer says, 'No, I don't want to give that,' that woman is quite directly, quite tangibly harmed.''

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest complained that the decision ''jeopardizes the health of women who are employed by these companies,'' but insisted that the Obama administration would respect the ruling. He added that ''we will work with Congress to make sure that any women affected by this decision will still have the same coverage of vital health services as everyone else.''

Predictably, Cecile Richards of abortion giant Planned Parenthood expressed her outrage at the High Court's decision, accusing it of ruling ''against American women and families, giving bosses the right to discriminate against women and deny their employees access to birth control coverage. This is a deeply disappointing and troubling ruling that will prevent some women, especially those working hourly-wage jobs and struggling to make ends meet, from getting birth control.''

As for the victors, Lori Windham, senior counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represented Hobby Lobby and the Green family in the case, called the ruling ''a landmark decision for religious freedom. The Supreme Court recognized that Americans do not lose their religious freedom when they run a family business. This ruling will protect people of all faiths. The Court's reasoning was clear, and it should have been clear to the government. You can't argue there are no alternative means when your agency is busy creating alternative means for other people.''

In a statement for the Green family, Hobby Lobby co-founder Barbara Green said that her family was ''overjoyed by the Supreme Court's decision. Today the nation's highest court has re-affirmed the vital importance of religious liberty as one of our country's founding principles. The Court's decision is a victory, not just for our family business, but for all who seek to live out their faith. We are grateful to God and to those who have supported us on this difficult journey.''

In a press release the Becket Fund predicted that the decision would also have ''important implications for over 50 pending lawsuits brought by non-profit religious organizations, such as the Little Sisters of the Poor, which are also challenging the mandate. In two different respects, the Supreme Court strongly signaled that the mandate may be struck down in those cases too. First, it rejected the government's argument that there was no burden on the Greens' religious exercise because only third parties use the drugs. Second, it held that the government could simply pay for contraception coverage with its own funds, rather than requiring private employers to do so.''

David Cortman, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, which assisted in representing the Hahn family and Conestoga Wood Specialties, said after the ruling that ''Americans don't surrender their freedom by opening a family business. In its decision today, the Supreme Court affirmed that all Americans, including family business owners, must be free to live and work according to their beliefs without fear of government punishment. In a free and diverse society, we respect the freedom to live out our convictions.''

Among the Christian, pro-life, and pro-family leaders applauding the ruling was Marjorie Dannenfelser of the Susan B. Anthony List, who called the ruling a ''great victory for religious liberty.... In living out our religious convictions, there are certain things we must not do. This is why we are at a watershed moment. Religious people will no longer be ordered to take action that our religion says we must not take.''

In a statement Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council said that the High Court had delivered ''one of the most significant victories for religious freedom in our generation. We are thankful the Supreme Court agreed that the government went too far by mandating that family business owners must violate their consciences under threat of crippling fines.''

'¨And Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission called the ruling ''exhilarating,'' declaring that ''as a Baptist I am encouraged that our ancestors' struggle for the First Amendment has been vindicated. This is as close as a Southern Baptist gets to dancing in the streets with joy.''

Photo: AP Images

Hobby Lobby's Hypocrisy: The Company's Retirement Plan Invests in Contraception Manufacturers | Mother Jones

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Wed, 02 Jul 2014 20:56

When Obamacare compelled businesses to include emergency contraception in employee health care plans, Hobby Lobby, a national chain of craft stores, fought the law all the way to the Supreme Court. The Affordable Care Act's contraception mandate, the company's owners argued, forced them to violate their religious beliefs. But while it was suing the government, Hobby Lobby spent millions of dollars on an employee retirement plan that invested in the manufacturers of the same contraceptive products the firm's owners cite in their lawsuit.

Documents filed with the Department of Labor and dated December 2012'--three months after the company's owners filed their lawsuit'--show that the Hobby Lobby 401(k) employee retirement plan held more than $73 million in mutual funds with investments in companies that produce emergency contraceptive pills, intrauterine devices, and drugs commonly used in abortions. Hobby Lobby makes large matching contributions to this company-sponsored 401(k).

Several of the mutual funds in Hobby Lobby's retirement plan have stock holdings in companies that manufacture the specific drugs and devices that the Green family, which owns Hobby Lobby, is fighting to keep out of Hobby Lobby's health care policies: the emergency contraceptive pills Plan B and Ella, and copper and hormonal intrauterine devices.

These companies include Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, which makes Plan B and ParaGard, a copper IUD, and Actavis, which makes a generic version of Plan B and distributes Ella. Other stock holdings in the mutual funds selected by Hobby Lobby include Pfizer, the maker of Cytotec and Prostin E2, which are used to induce abortions; Bayer, which manufactures the hormonal IUDs Skyla and Mirena; AstraZeneca, which has an Indian subsidiary that manufactures Prostodin, Cerviprime, and Partocin, three drugs commonly used in abortions; and Forest Laboratories, which makes Cervidil, a drug used to induce abortions. Several funds in the Hobby Lobby retirement plan also invested in Aetna and Humana, two health insurance companies that cover surgical abortions, abortion drugs, and emergency contraception in many of the health care policies they sell.

In a brief filed with the Supreme Court, the Greens object to covering Plan B, Ella, and IUDs because they claim that these products can prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in a woman's uterus'--a process the Greens consider abortion. But researchers reject the notion that emergency contraceptive pills prevent implantation the implantation of a fertilized egg. Instead, they work by delaying ovulation or making it harder for sperm to swim to the egg. The Green's contention that the pills cause abortions is a central pillar of their argument for gutting the contraception mandate. Yet, for years, Hobby Lobby's health insurance plans did cover Plan B and Ella. It was only in 2012, when the Greens considered filing a lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act, that they dropped these drugs from the plan.

A website Hobby Lobby set up to answer questions about the Supreme Court case states that its 401(k) plan comes with "a generous company match." In 2012, Hobby Lobby contributed $3.8 million to its employee savings plans, which had 13,400 employee participants at the beginning of that year.

The information on Hobby Lobby's 401(k) investments is included in the company's 2013 annual disclosure to the Department of Labor. The records contain a list, dated December 31, 2012, of 24 funds that were included in its employer-sponsored retirement plan. MorningStar, an investment research firm, provided Mother Jones with the names of the companies in nine of those funds as of December 31, 2012. Each fund's portfolio consists of at least dozens if not hundreds of different holdings.

All nine funds'--which have assets of $73 million, or three-quarters of the Hobby Lobby retirement plan's total assets'--contained holdings that clashed with the Greens' stated religious principles.

Hobby Lobby and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the conservative group that provided Hobby Lobby with legal representation, did not respond to questions about these investments or whether Hobby Lobby has changed its retirement plan.

In their Supreme Court complaint, Hobby Lobby's owners chronicle the many ways in which they avoid entanglements with objectionable companies. Hobby Lobby stores do not sell shot glasses, for example, and the Greens decline requests from beer distributors to back-haul beer on Hobby Lobby trucks.

Similar options exist for companies that want to practice what's sometimes called faith-based investing. To avoid supporting companies that manufacture abortion drugs'--or products such as alcohol or pornography'--religious investors can turn to a cottage industry of mutual funds that screen out stocks that religious people might consider morally objectionable. The Timothy Plan and the Ave Maria Fund, for example, screen for companies that manufacture abortion drugs, support Planned Parenthood, or engage in embryonic stem cell research. Dan Hardt, a Kentucky financial planner who specializes in faith-based investing, says the performances of these funds are about the same as if they had not been screened. But Hobby Lobby's managers either were not aware of these options or chose not to invest in them.

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Frank Schaeffer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Thu, 03 Jul 2014 01:10

Frank Schaeffer (born August 3, 1952) is an American author, film director, screenwriter and public speaker. He is the son of the late theologian and author Francis Schaeffer. He became a Hollywood film director and author, writing several internationally acclaimed novels depicting life in a strict fundamentalist household including Portofino, Zermatt, and Saving Grandma.

Life and career[edit]In 1990 Schaeffer became a member of the Orthodox Church, which he said "embraces paradox and mystery".[citation needed] He converted in 1992 at a Greek Orthodox church in Newburyport, Massachusetts.

In 2006 Schaeffer published Baby Jack, a novel about a U.S. Marine killed in Iraq. He is also known for his non-fiction books related to the Marine Corps, including Keeping Faith: A Father-Son Story About Love and the United States Marine Corps, co-written with his son John Schaeffer, and AWOL: The Unexcused Absence Of America's Upper Classes From Military Service and How It Hurts Our Country, co-authored with former Bill Clinton presidential aide Kathy Roth-Douquet.

In 2007 Schaeffer published his autobiography, Crazy for God: How I Grew Up As One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back, in which he goes into much more detail regarding what it was like to grow up in the Schaeffer family and around L'Abri. In 2011, he published another memoir, called Sex, Mom, and God, in which he discusses growing up with his parents and their role in the rise of the American religious right and argues that the root of the "insanity and corruption" of this force in U.S. politics, and specifically of the religious right's position on abortion, is a fear of female sexuality.[3]

The two memoirs form the first and third book of what Schaeffer calls his "God trilogy". The second one, Patience with God: Faith for People Who Don't Like Religion (or Atheism) (2010), describes his spirituality as it exists since abandoning conservative evangelicalism. The first half contains critiques of both the New Atheists and of Christian fundamentalism.

Political views[edit]Schaeffer has written: "In the mid 1980s I left the Religious Right, after I realized just how very anti-American they are, (the theme I explore in my book Crazy For God)."[4] He added that he was a Republican until 2000, working for SenatorJohn McCain in that year's primaries, but that after the 2000 election he re-registered as an independent.[4]

On February 7, 2008, Schaeffer endorsed Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, in an article entitled "Why I'm Pro-Life and Pro-Obama."[5] The next month, prompted by the controversy over remarks by the pastor of Obama's church, he wrote: "[W]hen my late father -- Religious Right leader Francis Schaeffer -- denounced America and even called for the violent overthrow of the US government, he was invited to lunch with presidents Ford, Reagan and Bush, Sr."[6]

After the 2008 Russian-Georgian War, Schaeffer described Russia as a resurgent Orthodox Christian power, paying back the West for its support of Muslim Kosovar secessionists against Orthodox Serbia.[7]

On October 10, 2008, a public letter to Senator John McCain and Sarah Palin from Schaeffer was published in the Baltimore Sun newspaper.[8] The letter contained an impassioned plea for McCain to arrest what Schaeffer perceived as a hateful and prejudiced tone of the Republican Party's election campaign. Schaeffer was convinced that there was a pronounced danger that fringe groups in America could be goaded into pursuing violence. "If you do not stand up for all that is good in America and declare that Senator Obama is a patriot, fit for office, and denounce your hate-filled supporters ... history will hold you responsible for all that follows."[8]

Soon after Obama's inauguration, Schaeffer criticized Republican leaders:

How can anyone who loves our country support the Republicans now? Barry Goldwater, William F. Buckley and Ronald Reagan defined the modern conservatism that used to be what the Republican Party I belonged to was about. Today no actual conservative can be a Republican. Reagan would despise today's wholly negative Republican Party.[4]

Books[edit]Why I am an Atheist Who Believes in God: How to give love, create beauty and find peace, self-published, 2014. ISBN 978-1495955013And God said, "Billy", Colorado: Outskirts Press, 2013. ISBN 978-1-478-70001-2Sex, Mom, and God: How the Bible's Strange Take on Sex Led to Crazy Politics'--and How I Learned to Love Women (and Jesus) Anyway, Cambridge: Da Capo Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0-306-81928-5Patience with God: Faith for People Who Don't Like Religion (or Atheism), Cambridge: Da Capo Press, 2009. ISBN 978-0-306-81854-7How Free People Move Mountains: A Male Christian Conservative and a Female Jewish Liberal on a Quest for Common Purpose and Meaning (with Kathy Roth-douquet), New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2008. ISBN 978-0-06-123352-4Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back, New York: Carol & Graf Publishers, (September) 2007. ISBN 978-0-7867-1891-7Baby Jack: A Novel, New York: Carol & Graf Publishers, (October) 2006.AWOL: The Unexcused Absence of America's Upper Classes from Military Service'--and How It Hurts Our Country (with Kathy Roth-Douquet), New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006. ISBN 978-0-06-088859-6Voices From the Front: Letters Home From American's Military Family, New York: Carol & Graf Publishers, 2004. (Third of Military Trilogy) ISBN 978-0-7867-1462-9Faith of Our Sons: Voices From the American Homefront '-- The Wartime Diary of a Marine's Father, New York: Carol & Graf Publishers, 2004. (Second of Military Trilogy)Zermatt: A Novel, New York: Carol & Graf Publishers, 2003. (Third of Calvin Becker Trilogy) ISBN 978-0-7867-1259-5Keeping Faith: A Father-Son Story About Love and the U.S. Marine Corps (with son John Schaeffer), New York: Carol & Graf Publishers, 2002. (First of Military Trilogy)Saving Grandma: A Novel, New York: Berkley Books, 1997. (Second of Calvin Becker Trilogy)Letters to Father Aristotle, Salisbury, MA:Regina Orthodox Press, 1995.Dancing Alone: The Quest for Orthodox Faith in the Age of False Religion, Brookline, MA: Holy Cross, 1994.Portofino: A Novel, New York: Macmillan, 1992. (First of Calvin Becker Trilogy) ISBN 978-0-7867-1716-3Sham Pearls For Real Swine, Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth & Hyatt, 1990.Is Capitalism Christian? (Editor), Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1985. ISBN 978-0-89107-362-8Bad News For Modern Man as Franky Schaeffer, Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1984.A Modest Proposal (with Harold Fickett), Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1984.A Time For Anger: The Myth of Neutrality, Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1982.Addicted to Mediocrity: 20th Century Christians and the Arts, Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1982.Films[edit]See also[edit]References[edit]Notes

^Schaeffer, Frank (2008). Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back. Da Capo Press. p. 26. ISBN 0-306-81750-0. ^ abcFrancis Schaeffer at the Internet Movie Database^Smiley, Jane (July 8, 2011). "Jane Smiley reviews Frank Schaeffer's 'Sex, Mom, and God'". Washington Post. ^ abcSchaeffer, Frank (March 8, 2009). "Open Letter to the Republican Traitors (From a Former Republican)". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2009-03-09. ^Schaeffer, Frank (February 7, 2008). "Why I'm Pro-Life and Pro-Obama". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2008-09-17. ^Schaeffer, Frank (March 16, 2008). "Obama's Minister Committed 'Treason' But When My Father Said the Same Thing He Was a Republican Hero". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2008-03-17. ^Schaeffer, Frank (August 12, 2008). "Why Russia Invaded Georgia: Payback Time from the Orthodox World to the West". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2008-09-17. ^ abSchaeffer, Frank (October 10, 2008). "McCain's attacks fuel dangerous hatred". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2008-10-10. External links[edit]PersondataNameSchaeffer, FrankAlternative namesShort descriptionAmerican film directorDate of birthAugust 3, 1952Place of birthChamp(C)ry, SwitzerlandDate of deathPlace of death

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SnowJob

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A New Cybersecurity Bill Could Give the NSA Even More Data

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Sun, 29 Jun 2014 22:32

Privacy groups are sounding the alarm that a new Senate cybersecurity bill could give the National Security Agency access to even more personal information of Americans.

The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act would create a "gaping loophole in existing privacy law," the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and dozens of other privacy groups wrote in a letter to senators late Thursday.

"Instead of reining in NSA surveillance, the bill would facilitate a vast flow of private communications data to the NSA," many of the same privacy groups warned in a second letter to lawmakers.

The goal of the bill, authored by Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein and ranking member Saxby Chambliss, is to allow the government and private sector to share more information about attacks on computer networks.

Business groups have been complaining for several years that they could better protect their systems from hackers if Congress removed legal barriers to information-sharing. The companies want to make it easier to share information about attacks with each other and the government.

See also:

Edward Snowden Hopes to Renew Russian Visa in June

Snowden Applies to Brazil With Asylum Request

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Smart Lights: New LEDS Allow NSA To Spy On Your Every Movement (video)

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Tue, 01 Jul 2014 23:53

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F-Russia / Ukraine / Syria

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BBC News - Russia and Ukraine 'agree steps' towards new truce

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Wed, 02 Jul 2014 21:54

2 July 2014Last updated at 17:09 ET The foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France say they have agreed on steps aimed at ending hostilities in eastern Ukraine.

Germany's Walter Steinmeier said they agreed in talks in Berlin on a "package of measures" that paves the way for a bilateral ceasefire.

Fighting in eastern Ukraine has increased since a shaky 10-day ceasefire expired on Monday.

Hundreds have been killed since a pro-Russian rebellion began in the east.

At least nine civilians were reported dead in an attack on a village in the Luhansk region on Wednesday, which the Ukrainian army and rebels blamed on each other.

Saturday deadlineFollowing talks in the German capital on Wednesday, the foreign ministers said they had agreed to hold three-way talks that includes the pro-Russian rebels "no later than 5 July".

"We propose to achieve this through a meeting soon of the Contact Group, which - we hope - will hold a meeting in coming days and agree on the conditions for truce that would satisfy all sides," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters after talks concluded.

The contact group represents Ukraine, Russia and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Ukraine's Pavlo Klimkin, however, warned that all hostages must be released and that Ukraine should be given greater control of its borders to stop insurgents receiving fresh fighters and weapons.

"The de-escalation of the situation will happen when the peace plan of the Ukrainian president is respected in its totality," Mr Klimkin said.

The talks were called by Mr Steinmeier, who warned that in the past 48 hours the situation had "dramatically escalated... and might get totally out of control".

Violence has worsened in eastern Ukraine since the 10-day unilateral ceasefire, called by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, ended on Monday, with both sides accusing the other of violations.

The civilian deaths in the village of Luhanska came in the early hours of Wednesday morning, with amateur videos on YouTube showing ruined buildings and bodies on a street. Neither the reports of casualties nor the videos could be verified independently.

The rebels said nine people died when the Ukrainian army shelled and bombed the village, but Ukrainian officials deny that their forces were in the area, blaming the deaths on the rebels.

In other developments:

Two Ukrainian TV journalists taken hostage by eastern separatists in Luhansk on Monday were released Rebels in Donetsk say two of their fighters died in fighting on Wednesday at Nikolayevka and three members of the same family were killed in the Kramatorsk-Sloviansk area (Donetsk) by government shelling Ukraine says it lost one soldier after its troops fought off rebel attempts to break an army encirclement in Sloviansk A Su-25 ground attack jet crashed at Dnipropetrovsk airport, reportedly after mechanical failure The violence erupted in eastern Ukraine in April as separatists declared independence in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Russia annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea in March.

The crisis was triggered last November when, under pressure from Russia, Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych decided not to sign a deal bringing Ukraine closer to the EU. This led to protests in Kiev and his eventual overthrow.

President Poroshenko signed the free trade part of the EU deal in Brussels last Friday, after earlier signing the political co-operation clauses.

Did the U.S. Just Lose Europe?

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Thu, 03 Jul 2014 01:21

Very interesting turn of events in the Ukraine crisis. Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine just agreed to a ceasefire and structuring of a working group moving forward. Absent from the discussions was the United States. One can only speculate at the conversations taking place in Washington right now as two of America's European allies just turned their back and embraced Russia. '' JC

From RT

A roadmap of measures that will point a way out of the Ukrainian crisis has been agreed during four-way talks between the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine, German FM Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.

In their joint statement, the ministers called for the Contact Group to resume its work ''no later than July 5 with the goal of reaching an unconditional and mutually agreed, sustainable ceasefire.''

The group should include representatives of both Kiev and the self-defense forces of the People's Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said.

While Russia only has limited influence over the self-defense forces in southeast Ukraine, Lavrov said that their representatives, including Donetsk People's Republic leader Aleksandr Boroday, have already ''publicly stated that they are ready to answer Russia's and the OSCE's calls to start consultations on a ceasefire.''

''The ceasefire should be monitored by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine in conformity with its mandate,'' the statement reads.

Lavrov, said that the ceasefire was essential to prevent further casualties among the civilian population, and to provide a chance of reaching an agreement between the sides in the conflict.

Moscow is ready to grant Ukraine border guards access to Russian territory so that they can control border crossings at several checkpoints, while the mutually agreed ceasefire is in place.

The Russian FM insisted that the ceasefire must in no way be used as a chance to redeploy forces by the sides involved in the Ukrainian conflict.

''All sides must contribute to a secure environment,'' the statement concluded, emphasizing the need to ensure the safety and security of journalists working in the conflict zone.

Steinmeier expressed hope that by working together the sides will be able to stop ''the escalation of the conflict, which has taken place in recent days.''

Ukraine's foreign minister, Pavlo Klimkin, confirmed that during the Berlin talks the parties agreed ''the establishment of a bilateral ceasefire, which will be monitored by the OSCE.''

However, he added that de-escalation will only happen when the Ukrainian president's peace plan is respected in its totality.

Klimkin also expressed hope that ''the effectiveness of control over the border regime between the Ukraine and Russia will be strengthened'' as a result of the Berlin agreements.

French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, has described the outcome of Tuesday's talks as ''missing accomplished.''

''Our task is, first of all, to achieve peace and security. I think that the agreement the four countries reached is a step in the right direction,'' he said.

According to Fabius, the most important issues to be addressed in Ukraine are ''ceasefire; release of hostage and border settlement.''

The meeting in Berlin took place two days after the situation in Ukraine was discussed in a telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin, German chancellor Angela Merkel, head of the French state Francois Hollande and Ukraine's new president Petro Poroshenko.

The four heads of state have supported the idea of urgently staging the third round of consultations between Kiev and the self-defense forces and have briefed their foreign ministers accordingly.

The violence has again escalated in Ukraine after president Poroshenko terminated the ceasefire in the south-east of the country on June 30.

Chairman of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, Andrey Lysenko, said that Kiev troops and self-defense forces engaged in combat on 19 occasions during the last 24 hours. Three Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 10 other injured in those gunfights, he added.

The self-defense forces speak of a deadly airstrike by Kiev forces, which saw five people dead and completely destroyed a street in the village of Staraya Kondrashovka northeast of the city of Lugansk.

''We will completely clean out the separatists and free the east of Ukraine. The Donetsk and Luhansk regions will again live in peace,'' Aleksandr Turchinov, Ukraine's parliamentary speaker, is cited by Euronews as saying.

At least, 200 people have been killed and another 600 injured since the start of Kiev's so called ''anti-terrorist operation'' in eastern Ukraine, the country's national security service announced.

The number of Ukrainian refugees in Russia has reached 110,000 people, while 54,400 others have been internally displaced, the UN's refugee department stated.

Russian Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, says Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is now personally responsible for all the victims of Kiev's military campaign.

''By breaking the truce [with self-defense forces in the People's Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk] President Poroshenko has made a dramatic mistake. It'll bring new victims. And for all of them, he'll be personally responsible,'' Medvedev wrote on his Facebook page.''It will be much more difficult to revive talks. These are the rules of a war,'' he added.

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Ruzie over Russische varkensban loopt verder op - AD.nl

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Mon, 30 Jun 2014 20:08

Ruzie over Russische varkensban loopt verder op - AD.nl

Bewerkt door: Redactie30-6-14 - 12:48 bron: ANP(C) afp.De ruzie tussen de Europese Unie en Rusland over het Russische importverbod voor varkens loopt verder op. De Wereldhandelsorganisatie (WTO) wordt gevraagd om een bindende uitspraak te doen over de kwestie. Intensief overleg tussen de EU en Rusland heeft niet tot een oplossing geleid. Ook is er geen oplossing in zicht. Daarom besluit Brussel nu de WTO definitief in te schakelen, zo maakte de Europese Commissie vandaag bekend.

Sinds eind januari importeert Rusland geen varkens of varkensvlees meer uit de EU. Aanleiding was de vondst van Afrikaanse varkenspest in Litouwen en Polen. Volgens de EU is het importverbod buitenproportioneel omdat het gaat om enkele, ge¯soleerde gevallen van varkenspest. Bovendien is de EU-brede ban in strijd met internationale handelsafspraken, aldus Brussel.

Een kwart van het Europese varkensvlees gaat naar Rusland, rekende Brussel voor. Denemarken, Duitsland en Nederland zijn grote exporteurs.

SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVERENRapporteer een fout in het artikel aan onze redactieMeer overgerelateerd nieuwsMeer over(C) 2014 De Persgroep Digital. Alle rechten voorbehouden.Lees de gebruiksvoorwaarden. - Privacy

Volg het nieuws op onze zustersite in Belgi www.hln.be.

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Ukrainians crowdfund to raise cash for 'people's drone' to help outgunned army | World news | The Guardian

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Mon, 30 Jun 2014 22:06

It has been used to raise money for films, rock bands and aspiring performance artists. Now Ukrainians have taken the concept of online crowdfunding to a new and giddy level, raising enough money to buy the country's first "people's drone".

With Ukraine's army battling pro-Russian militants in the east, ordinary citizens have launched a new initiative to supply Kiev's beleaguered and badly equipped troops. Over the past three months volunteers have provided uniforms and bulletproof vests for government soldiers whose army-issue fatigues have fallen apart. Villagers have offered food, bottles of water and bags of crisps. Then, last week, Ukraine's crowdfunding site The People's Project said that it had received enough donations to fund a drone. It will be used for reconnaissance in the skies above the rebel Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, and on the border with Russia, the scene of numerous recent shootouts between troops and separatists.

The organisers had originally hoped to buy a state-of-the-art Israeli drone '' for $165,000 (£97,000) '' or a cheaper American one costing $120,000. In the end, however, they managed to build the drone for just $35,000. A designer and other volunteers built the airframe, with a Ukrainian military institute chipping in technical equipment. The hope is that with enough drones the army will be able to stop the infiltration of men and material from neighbouring Russia. Kiev says there is overwhelming evidence that the Kremlin has supplied heavy weapons and even old tanks to the rebels. Moscow denies this.

"If we get 20 drones we will definitely ensure the security of our border," said David Arakhania, an IT executive from Kiev who founded the site in March. No photos of the "people's drone" have been released, since that might help the enemy, he added.

Arakhania said he felt compelled to do something after seeing the plight of Ukrainian soldiers serving on the new frontline with Crimea. After Russian troops overran the Black Sea peninsula in February, Arakhania said he visited forward positions at Chonar, in Kherson province, where paratroopers from his home town of Mykolaiv were serving.

"We found them in bad shape. They were wearing torn bulletproof vests and camouflage gear. So we decided to collect money and buy new outfits for them," he said. In the first two or three weeks, his crowdfunding initiative raised £20,000, with £35,000 the next week, and then a £37,000 donation from three MPs he met in Kiev. "After that we bought everything the boys needed," he said. The crowdfunding appeal was called the "first people's infantry battalion".

A ceasefire deal was agreed last week between both sides, though few are confident it will last.

As well as the drone, Arakhania's group is now collecting for a second "people's battalion", as well as for a new sniper unit. "Snipers are very efficient in an anti-terrorist zone as they help to prevent big losses. That's why we started equipping them," he said.

Seven volunteers run the website, including a former paratrooper who negotiates with arms dealers. Other volunteers promote the site via Facebook and Twitter. There are daily updates, with breakdowns of how the cash is spent. Donations vary from £1 to £2,500. The biggest, $10,000, came from Kiev, he said.

In the two decades since independence, Ukraine's army has largely fallen apart. In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it had up to 900,000 servicemen. It now has only about 90,000 soldiers. The military decline accelerated under Ukraine's former president Viktor Yanukovych. It was his decision last November to reject an association agreement with the EU and accept a Kremlin bailout that triggered mass street protests against his rule. In February he fled to Russia. "Yanukovych funded the police well because it was there to protect him. He didn't give a damn about the army," said Andrew Wilson of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

The army's equipment is now so poor that soldiers typically buy their own uniforms and most military equipment, or rely on private benefactors. Ukraine's Soviet-era weaponry is in bad repair, with Soviet-era stockpiles stolen or sold off, defence analysts say. Russia, by contrast, has lavished money on its armed forces since its 2008 war against Georgia, with defence spending up 85%. Russia has twice as many tanks as Ukraine and five times more warplanes.

One officer, Serhiy, speaking at a Ukraine army checkpoint in the Luhansk region, said he had bought his own kit from a military shop. He had purchased a British-made uniform, he said, because his army-issue one was old and worn out. "Of what I'm wearing, the army gave me only my Kalashnikov and bulletproof vest," he said. The vest, he added, had been bought thanks to private sponsors in the Chernivtsi region.

Katya Gorchinskaya, deputy editor of the Kyiv Post, said that after years of corruption and budget starvation, Ukraine's army resembled a "withered muscle". As well as dilapidated equipment, the country's military and police suffered a serious problem of infiltration, with some officers helping the separatists. "We never thought we would have to fight a war," she said. "Nobody expected our neighbour to attack us."

The drone initiative is one of many patriotic projects to have sprung up in Ukraine, where, unlike in Russia, civil society is traditionally robust. During the anti-Yanukovych protests, a group of women sewed bulletproof vests for those who were protesting on the Maidan, Kiev's central square.

The women were nicknamed the "sewing hundred", a reference to the "heavenly hundred", the 100 or so protesters shot dead in Kiev by riot police. The women, led by a former journalist, Diana Makarova, also bought British uniforms for demonstrators from secondhand shops.

Makarova is now supplying troops fighting in the east. Her foundation recently sent two cars to Slavyansk, the separatist-controlled town north of Donetsk, loaded with everything "from trousers to night-vision devices". These were the ninth and 10th cars sent there in the past two months, she said.

She said her team had recently stopped making flak jackets because they had been unable to source plates made from high-quality steel or Kevlar.She added that Ukraine's customs service had created huge problems for her work. It had banned the import of military equipment, meaning that her volunteers couldn't bring in military boots or secondhand uniforms from abroad, she said.

"British MultiCam [camouflage clothing] is very popular with our soldiers because it is made of high-quality material. It's very rugged," Makarova said, adding that its colours were ideal for the landscape of Ukraine's south-east.

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Russia continues sustained fast breeder reactor effort

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Source: Atomic Insights

Mon, 30 Jun 2014 22:18

On June 26, 2014, the 60th anniversary of the start of the 5 MWe Obninsk reactor that was the first reactor in the world to routinely supply electricity to a commercial power grid, Russia started up the latest in a series of sodium-cooled fast reactors, the BN-800.

This new nuclear plant is an evolutionary refinement of the successful BN-600 that has been operating in Russia since 1980 and ''is said to have the best operating and production record of all Russia's nuclear power units.''

Here is a quote from a promotional brochure about the project published in 2011 by Atomenergoproekt, the joint stock company that built the power plant.

BN-800 power unit (under design) for Beloyarskaya NPP accommodates all principal concepts and solutions used in its predecessor BN-600, substantiated by over 20 years of its successful operation at high performance (capacity factor 80% at efficiency 42%).

BN-800 Power Unit is designed primarily for the production of heat and energy. The Power Unit as part of the grid operates with constant rated load (basic mode).

However, BN-800 characteristics and physical features dictate its multi-purpose usage. Viz, the reactor is used for:

electric and heat power generationplutonium consumption and, if necessary, productionprocessing of long-lived supertransuranics accumulated in the radwastes of reactor of any typeproduction of isotopes.No other reactor type combines so wide a range of functions.

Equipment of the reactor and its system involved in the handling of fuel assemblies containing isotopes and supertransuranics is designed to perform the above-mentioned functions.

The system builds off some of the successes of fast reactors designed and operated in Russia and the rest of the world and also incorporates features that avoid some of the characteristics that have led to failures in fast reactor programs. In other words, the BN-800 is the result of learning and the progress that can be made with sustained effort in any challenging, but potentially rewarding field of endeavor.

As shown in the below process heat flow diagram, the BN-800 uses a large pool of sodium and three separate heat transfer systems to provide passive safety. This is a concept that is similar to the one that was well-proven in more than 30 years of operation and testing at EBR-II and at previous BN-series reactors.

BN-800 Process Heat Flow Diagram

The BN-series reactors continue to use oxide fuels because they have achieved reasonably good results with that type of fuel and the responsible designers do not see any compelling reason to change. My friends who remain strong advocates of the Integral Fast Reactor have convinced me that a new fast reactor program started today should carefully consider the use of metal alloy fuels because they enable the use of an improved pyroprocessing technique for recycling the used fuel rods. It would be more difficult for a program that has a large investment in the capital equipment and human knowledge required for manufacturing and recycling oxide fuels to make that revolutionary technology choice.

While reading a terrific biography of Leo Szilard titled ''Genius in the Shadows'', I found the following quote that illustrates the confused view of nuclear energy that is prevalent among the portion of the American intelligentsia that write books and perform historical research and commentary. It is relevant to this story about incremental progress in fast breeder reactor development.

Szilard's faith in the peaceful benefits of atomic energy has certainly been rewarded in the development of medical technology, although his hope that nuclear power would help developing countries to prosper has proven impractical. Overstated, too, was Szilard's faith in his breeder reactor, which has proven to be a dangerous and costly electricity producer in every country that has tried to build one.

My answer to the author of that passage is that virtually every technology ever devised by man would have been considered a costly failure if the inventor gave up after trying to ''build one''. As the old schoolyard saying goes, ''If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.''

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Ukraine Gold Reserves Reported To Be Hastily Aircrafted To U.S - Shanghai Metals Market

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Wed, 02 Jul 2014 14:55

Author: Paul Ploumis12 Mar 2014 Last updated at 00:51:36 GMT

KIEV (Scrap Monster) : As per the report of a source from the Ukrainian Government, the Ukrainian gold reserves were confirmed to be moved on an aircraft from the Bristol Airport at Kiev to the United States. The report says that about 40 tons of gold was flown from Ukraine to US. However, according to the World Gold Council, Ukraine has in store 36 tons of gold reserves.

Gold reserves in 40 sealed boxes loaded on an aircraft which remains unidentified was reported to be transferred last night from the Bristol airport. Witnesses say the board took off immediately after loading the boxes.

According to reliable source from the Govt. of Ukraine, the transferring of gold was ordered by the acting Prime Minister of the country, Mr. Arseny Yatsenyuk. The new acting PM was replaced by the President of Ukraine who was ousted by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Victoria Nuland.

The gold transfer is speculated as Ukraine Government's legitimate fear in safe-keeping their gold reserves in US Federal Reserve so that the Russian invasion doesn't take possession of those gold bullions. The fact for gold transfer still remains shady.

According to the Gold Anti-Trust Action (GATA) Committee, the US Fed Reserve and the State Department was asked to disclose whether they had taken custody of Ukraine's gold reserve. However, the department while acknowledging the inquisition said that they will respond to the issue soon.

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Russia bans swear words in art, films - Channel NewsAsia

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Wed, 02 Jul 2014 16:09

MOSCOW: A hugely controversial Russian law banning curse words in films, theatre, the media and arts came into force on Tuesday, part of a Kremlin-backed drive to play up traditional values and root out swearing.

The legislation, which was signed off by President Vladimir Putin in May, imposes hefty fines on offenders -- up to 2,500 rubles ($72) for individuals and up to 50,000 rubles ($1,460) for businesses.

Movies featuring obscenities will not be issued a distribution licence, while traders will now be obliged to warn consumers about swear words.

The legislation does not spell out what constitutes profanity but the law is widely seen to be targeting Russia's hugely potent lingua franca of obscenities known as "mat".

While critics say the targeted swear words are highly offensive to the Russian ear and their use should be curtailed, supporters say "mat" is an art form and can be instrumental in helping express extreme human conditions like pain or anger.

Many ridiculed the legislation, saying efforts to outlaw what essentially is an inalienable part of Russia's culture will fail.

Some of Russia's best-loved poets including Mikhail Lermontov and Alexander Pushkin are known for using swear words in their works.

Art-house director Andrei Zvyagintsev's movie "Leviathan", which won critical acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival in May, is among films that now face an uncertain future in Russia over their use of swear words.

Since returning to the Kremlin for a third term in 2012, Putin has sought to rally support from his middle-aged supporters and strengthen ties between society and the Orthodox Church.

The ban is the latest in a series of measures that seek to play up conservatives values and promote Russia as an antithesis to the West.

- AFP/rw

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USDOJ: BNP Paribas Agrees to Plead Guilty and to Pay $8.9 Billion for Illegally Processing Financial Transactions for Countries Subject to U.S. Economic Sanctions

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Wed, 02 Jul 2014 06:16

According to court documents submitted today, BNP Paribas S.A. (BNPP), a global financial institution headquartered in Paris, agreed to enter a guilty plea to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA) by processing billions of dollars of transactions through the U.S. financial system on behalf of Sudanese, Iranian, and Cuban entities subject to U.S. economic sanctions. The agreement by the French bank to plead guilty is the first time a global bank has agreed to plead guilty to large-scale, systematic violations of U.S. economic sanctions.

The announcement was made by Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara for the Southern District of New York, FBI Director James B. Comey, Chief Richard Weber of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. of New York County.

''BNP Paribas went to elaborate lengths to conceal prohibited transactions, cover its tracks, and deceive U.S. authorities. These actions represent a serious breach of U.S. law,'' Attorney General Holder said. ''Sanctions are a key tool in protecting U.S. national security interests, but they only work if they are strictly enforced. If sanctions are to have teeth, violations must be punished. Banks thinking about conducting business in violation of U.S. sanctions should think twice because the Justice Department will not look the other way.''

''BNP ignored US sanctions laws and concealed its tracks. And when contacted by law enforcement it chose not to fully cooperate,'' Deputy Attorney General Cole said. ''This failure to cooperate had a real effect -- it significantly impacted the government's ability to bring charges against responsible individuals, sanctioned entities and satellite banks. This failure together with BNP's prolonged misconduct mandated the criminal plea and the nearly $9 billion penalty that we are announcing today.''

''By providing dollar clearing services to individuals and entities associated with Sudan, Iran, and Cuba '' in clear violation of U.S. law '' BNPP helped them gain illegal access to the U.S. financial system,'' said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. ''In doing so, BNPP deliberately disregarded U.S. law of which it was well aware, and placed its financial network at the services of rogue nations, all to improve its bottom line. Remarkably, BNPP continued to engage in this criminal conduct even after being told by its own lawyers that what it was doing was illegal.''

''BNPP banked on never being held to account for its criminal support of countries and entities engaged in acts of terrorism and other atrocities,'' said U.S. Attorney Bharara. ''But that is exactly what we do today. BNPP, the world's fourth largest bank, has agreed to plead guilty and pay penalties of almost $9 billion for performing the hat trick of sanctions violations, unlawfully opening the doors of the U.S. financial markets to three sanctioned countries, Sudan, Iran, and Cuba. For years, BNPP provided access to billions of dollars to these sanctioned countries, as well as to individuals and groups specifically identified and designated by the U.S. government as being subject to sanctions. The bank did so deliberately and secretly, in ways designed to evade detection by the U.S. authorities. For its years-long and wide-ranging criminal conduct, BNPP will soon plead guilty in a federal courthouse in Manhattan.''

According to documents released publicly today, over the course of eight years, BNPP knowingly and willfully moved more than $8.8 billion through the U.S. financial system on behalf of sanctioned entities, including more than $4.3 billion in transactions involving entities that were specifically designated by the U.S. Government as being cut off from the U.S. financial system. BNPP engaged in this criminal conduct through various sophisticated schemes designed to conceal from U.S. regulators the true nature of the illicit transactions. BNPP routed illegal payments through third party financial institutions to conceal not only the involvement of the sanctioned entities but also BNPP's role in facilitating the transactions. BNPP instructed other financial institutions not to mention the names of sanctioned entities in payments sent through the United States and removed references to sanctioned entities from payment messages to enable the funds to pass through the U.S. financial system undetected.

''The significant financial penalties imposed on BNP Paribas sends a powerful deterrent message to any company that places its profits ahead of its adherence to the law,'' said FBI Director James Comey. ''We will continue to work closely with our federal and state partners to ensure compliance with U.S. banking laws to promote integrity across financial institutions and to safeguard our national security.''

''Today's outcome is a testament to U.S. efforts to stem the exploitation of the American financial system and ensure that if you chose to do business in our country you must abide by our laws,'' said IRS-CI Chief Weber. ''BNP Paribas will forfeit the historic figure of almost $8.9 Billion representing the proceeds of criminal activity. BNPP had many opportunities to take corrective action and abide by the law, and yet, despite warnings from American regulators and other banks, consciously chose to ignore those warnings and commit literally thousands of flagrant violations. IRS-CI, and our domestic and international law enforcement partners, will continue to pursue these cases and follow the money trail '' wherever it may lead.''

''The most important values in the international community '' respect for human rights, peaceful coexistence, and a world free of terror '' significantly depend upon the effectiveness of international sanctions,'' said District Attorney Vance. ''Today's guilty plea marks the seventh major case involving sanctions violations by a large international bank that my Office has pursued and resolved since 2009. These cases are critically important for international public safety and the security of our banking system, which is put at risk when it is used to further criminal activity. The seven investigations have revealed a series of widespread schemes to falsify the business records of financial institutions in Manhattan and have resulted in the forfeiture of approximately $12 billion in total. But, more importantly, they have resulted in a fundamental change in the way all banks conduct their business, have heightened vigilance worldwide with respect to dealing with sanctioned entities, and have increased the integrity of our Manhattan-based financial institutions.''

BNPP will waive indictment and be charged in a one-count felony criminal information, filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York, charging BNPP with knowingly and willfully conspiring to commit violations of IEEPA and TWEA, from 2004 through 2012. BNPP has agreed to plead guilty to the information, has entered into a written plea agreement, and has accepted responsibility for its criminal conduct. BNPP is scheduled to formally enter its guilty plea before United States District Judge Lorna Schofield on July 9, 2014 at 4:30 p.m.

The plea agreement, subject to approval by the court, provides that BNPP will pay total financial penalties of $8.9736 billion, including forfeiture of $8.8336 billion and a fine of $140 million.

In addition to the joint forfeiture judgment, the New York County District Attorney's Office is also announcing today that BNPP has pleaded guilty in New York State Supreme Court to falsifying business records and conspiring to falsify business records. In addition, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is announcing that BNPP has agreed to a cease and desist order, to take certain remedial steps to ensure its compliance with U.S. law in its ongoing operations, and to pay a civil monetary penalty of $508 million. The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) is announcing BNPP has agreed to, among other things, terminate or separate from the bank 13 employees, including the Group Chief Operating Officer and other senior executives; suspend U.S. dollar clearing operations through its New York Branch and other affiliates for one year for business lines on which the misconduct centered; extend for two years the term of a monitorship put in place in 2013, and pay a monetary penalty to DFS of $2.2434 billion. In satisfying its criminal forfeiture penalty, BNPP will receive credit for payments it is making in connection with its resolution of these related state and regulatory matters. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has also levied a fine of $963 million, which will be satisfied by payments made to the Department of Justice.

According to documents released publicly today, including a detailed statement of facts admitted to by BNPP, BNPP has acknowledged that, from at least 2004 through 2012, it knowingly and willfully moved over $8.8 billion through the U.S. financial system on behalf of Sudanese, Iranian and Cuban sanctioned entities, in violation of U.S. economic sanctions. The majority of illegal payments were made on behalf of sanctioned entities in Sudan, which was subject to U.S. embargo based on the Sudanese government's role in facilitating terrorism and committing human rights abuses. BNPP processed approximately $6.4 billion through the United States on behalf of Sudanese sanctioned entities from July 2006 through June 2007, including approximately $4 billion on behalf of a financial institution owned by the government of Sudan, even as internal emails showed BNPP employees expressing concern about the bank's assisting the Sudanese government in light of its role in supporting international terrorism and committing human rights abuses during the same time period. Indeed, in March 2007, a senior compliance officer at BNPP wrote to other high-level BNPP compliance and legal employees reminding them that certain Sudanese banks with which BNPP dealt ''play a pivotal part in the support of the Sudanese government which . . . has hosted Osama Bin Laden and refuses the United Nations intervention in Darfur.''

One way in which BNPP processed illegal transactions on behalf of Sudanese sanctioned entities was through a sophisticated system of ''satellite banks'' set up to disguise both BNPP's and the sanctioned entities' roles in the payments to and from financial institutions in the United States. As early as August 2005, a senior compliance officer at BNPP warned several legal, business and compliance personnel at BNPP's subsidiary in Geneva that the satellite bank system was being used to evade U.S. sanctions: ''As I understand it, we have a number of Arab Banks (nine identified) on our books that only carry out clearing transactions for Sudanese banks in dollars. . . . This practice effectively means that we are circumventing the US embargo on transactions in USD by Sudan.''

Similarly, BNPP provided Cuban sanctioned entities with access to the U.S. financial system by hiding the Cuban sanctioned entities' involvement in payment messages. From October 2004 through early 2010, BNPP knowingly and willfully processed approximately $1.747 billion on behalf of Cuban sanctioned entities. In the statement of facts, BNPP admitted that it continued to do U.S. dollar business with Cuba long after it was clear that such business was illegal in order to preserve BNPP's business relationships with Cuban entities. BNPP further admitted that its conduct with regard to the Cuban embargo was both ''cavalier'' and ''criminal,'' as evidenced by the bank's 2006 decision, after certain Cuban payments were blocked when they reached the United States, to strip the wire messages for those payments of references to Cuban entities and resubmit them as a lump sum in order to conceal from U.S. regulators the bank's longstanding, and illicit, Cuban business.

Further according to court documents, BNPP engaged in more than $650 million of transactions involving entities tied to Iran, and this conduct continued into 2012 '' nearly two years after the bank had commenced an internal investigation into its sanctions compliance and had pledged to cooperate with the Government. The illicit Iranian transactions were done on behalf of BNPP clients, including a petroleum company based in Dubai that was effectively a front for an Iranian petroleum company, and an Iranian oil company.

This case was investigated by the IRS-Criminal Investigation's Washington Field Division and FBI's New York Field Office. This case is being prosecuted by the Money Laundering and Bank Integrity Unit of the Criminal Division's Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section (AFMLS), and the Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Unit of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. Trial Attorneys Craig Timm and Jennifer E. Ambuehl of AFMLS and Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew D. Goldstein, Martin S. Bell, Christine I. Magdo and Micah W.J. Smith of the Southern District of New York are in charge of the prosecution.

The New York County District Attorney's Office also conducted its own investigation alongside with the Department of Justice on this investigation. The Department of Justice expressed its gratitude to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the New York State Department of Financial Services and the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control for their assistance with this matter.

Documents associated with this press release are available at:http://www.justice.gov/opa/bnp-paribas.html

BNP Paribas fined nearly $9B for violating US sanctions laws | TheHill

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Wed, 02 Jul 2014 06:15

BNP Paribas has agreed to pay nearly $9 billion and plead guilty to violating the nation's sanctions laws, the largest-ever penalty for such a crime in U.S. history.

U.S. authorities announced the $8.97 billion settlement on Monday with BNP for processing transactions with countries like Sudan, Iran and Cuba.

The settlement includes a year-long ban starting next year against BNP transacting in U.S. dollars and it is the first time a bank has agreed to plead guilty to "large-scale systematic violations of U.S. economic sanctions.""BNP Paribas went to elaborate lengths to conceal prohibited transactions, cover its tracks and deceive U.S. authorities. These actions represent a serious breach of U.S. law," said Attorney General Eric Holder in a statement.

''If sanctions are to have teeth, violations must be punished."

Holder warned that the United States will punish other banks that choose to violate the laws especially as the department pursues that no financial institution is "too big to jail."

BNP, which is France's largest bank and the fourth largest financial institution in the world, pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Trading with the Enemy Act by processing billions of dollars of transactions through the U.S. financial system on behalf of Sudanese, Iranian and Cuban all countries subject to U.S. economic sanctions.

Over the course of eight years, Holder said BNP "engaged in complex and pervasive scheme to illegally move billions through U.S. financial system."

In doing so, the bank "deliberately and repeatedly violated longstanding sanctions," he said.

The bank also pleaded guilty to criminal charges of conspiracy and filing false business records.

The Justice Department said BNP "knowingly and willfully" moved more than $8.8 billion through the U.S. financial system for the sanctioned countries, including more than $4.3 billion in transactions involving those cut off from the U.S. financial system.

"BNP engaged in this criminal conduct through various sophisticated schemes designed to conceal from U.S. regulators the true nature of the illicit transactions," the statement said.

France's BNP to pay US $9 bln for violating American sanctions - News - Economy - The Voice of Russia: News, Breaking news, Politics, Economics, Business, Russia, International current events, Expert opinion, podcasts, Video

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Wed, 02 Jul 2014 06:13

US regulators and BNP Paribas executives are trying to hash out a settlement following charges the bank breached US sanctions against Iran, Sudan and Cuba between 2002 and 2009 by handling $30 billion worth of transactions with them.

As part of the deal, BNP would plead guilty to a criminal charge of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and would face a months-long ban on its ability to make transactions in US dollars, the Journal cited people familiar with the discussions as saying.

But it stressed that the two sides had only reached a general outline of a deal, though negotiations were in the final stage.

Senior BNP executive Dominique Remy resigned in mid-May after New York state banking regulator Benjamin Lawsky named him as one of the 12 officials who should step down due to their roles in the scandal, people familiar with the matter told AFP.

During a period that lasted more than five years, BNP used regional banks abroad to route funds linked to Sudan-based companies and government agencies, even as the United States and other countries said Khartoum was practicing genocide, according to the Journal.

It said US authorities scrutinized a total exceeding $100 billion of suspicious transactions, eventually focusing on about $30 billion said to have been hidden deliberately to avoid US detection.

Most of the transactions involved Sudan, although others included Iran and other countries under US sanctions.

BNP is expected to plead guilty in early July, the Journal said, though precise terms have not been set and the deal could be delayed.

French officials, including President Francois Hollande, have criticized the size of the fine under discussion as disproportionate to the offences.

French bank BNP Paribas says senior executive to quit amid US probe

France warns BNP fine could hurt transatlantic free-trade deal

US' $10 bln fine on France's BNP is 'disproportionate' '' Hollande to Obama

France says possible US sanctions against BNP Paribas bank 'unreasonable'

France's BNP Paribas not afraid of US sanctions, has sufficient funding to pay fine - News - World - The Voice of Russia: News, Breaking news, Politics, Economics, Business, Russia, International current events, Expert opinion, podcasts, Video

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Wed, 02 Jul 2014 06:12

"Our liquidity situation, we always guided it as being ample," said Chief Financial Officer Lars Machenil, "At Q1 we had an overall excess of stable funding of 100 billion in euros out of which 50 billion was in US dollars. Yesterday when I looked into the systems..., that figure was basically unchanged at the end of the (second) quarter. This should allow having relevant cash for the settlement."

Financial Officer added that there was "no hurry" to seek the additional tier 1 funding that is seen as a key measure of bank stability as a result of having to pay the fine, set at almost $9 under a settlement announced late on Monday in the US.

Machenil also said that bank plans to offer cash dividends for this year at 1.5 euro per share, the same as it was in 2013.

France's largest bank becomes the seventh bank to settle violations case. "Like other banks, BNP hid the names of Sudanese and Iranian clients when sending transactions coursing through its New York operations and the broader American financial system," media reports.

France's BNP to pay US $9 bln for violating American sanctions

BNP Paribas has neared a deal with US prosecutors that would see the French bank pay $8 billion to $9 billion and accept other punitive measures for violating American sanctions, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.