World News Thread & Breaking News!!

[Jeff Head]

CUT OUT THE NAZI COMPARISONS...BOTH SIDES!

Irrespective of what the Philippine President was quoted as saying in the NYT...which was about border and land disputes anyway...there is no comparison meant or implied to the Nazi atrocities. Either by the PRC, or by implied historical context to others.

STOP IT.

Any efforts to distract the thread in that direction will be dealt with very swiftly and seriously.

I have deleted any posts which diverged even the slightest in this regard from the NYT report regarding the land/border/island disputes. Such things will only lead to flames, closures, and suspensions.

LATER: Feb 6 AM in the US. I have restored a post by JoshuaTree and apologize for it being inadvertently caught up in the moderation of the other posts. His post was not associated with the Hitler comparisons and only dealt with the economic comparisons from another posts which were perfectly alright. I was able to restore his post

 

[bd popeye]

I saw this on the news yesterday and was not surprised..

[video=youtube;waEeJJVZ5P8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waEeJJVZ5P8[/video]

 

[broadsword]

CYBER EXPERT: The Story Of A Reporter Getting Hacked In Sochi Is Completely False
Paul Szoldra

Feb. 6, 2014, 11:08 PM 3,791 12




On Wednesday, NBC News' reporter Richard Engel gave a jarring report of just how bad the problem of hackers is in Sochi, reporting that his phone was hijacked "before we even finished our coffee."

The report was pretty scary, but the technical details simply aren't adding up, according to cyber security researchers. In one of the most incredible moments of his report, Engel's smartphone seemingly downloads a piece of malicious software that "hijacks" his phone.

But there are a number of holes, as Robert Graham lays out on his blog at Errata Security under a headline calling the story "100% fraudulent.":

They aren't actually in Sochi (they are in Moscow).
The "hack" happens because of the websites they visit (Olympic themed websites), not their physical location. The results would've been the same in America.
The phone didn't "get" hacked; Richard Engel initiated the download of a hostile Android app onto his phone.

I had expected the story to be about the situation with WiFi in Sochi, such as man-in-the-middle attacks inserting the Blackhole toolkit into web pages exploiting the latest Flash 0day. But the story was nothing of the sort.

Put more simply: Engel basically visited a bad website, clicked a button he shouldn't have, and downloaded malicious software himself. That's far different from a hacker actually working to crack a password or worse.

"In this case, he would have been hit in Russia; just the same way he would if in Philadelphia," tweeted security researcher Kyle Wilhoit, who was in the report with Engel.

That's also the case for the "hacked" computers, which were apparently not hacked in the true sense, but compromised due to browsing malicious websites or receiving phishing emails.

Wilhoit, who works for Trend Micro, also criticized the editing of the report. "Unfortunately, the editing got the best of the story," he tweeted. "Cut a lot of the technical/context details out."

A full technical paper from Wilhoit on what exactly happened is due on Friday, according to his Twitter feed.

Now of course, just because this one report doesn't seem to add up, that doesn't mean hackers — civilian and government-backed — aren't working overtime in Sochi. As a senior U.S. intelligence official told ABC News, "the influx of tens of thousands of American spectators and dignitaries will be 'an intelligence bonanza' for both Russian spies and organized crime groups."

We've reached out to NBC for comment.

 

[TerraN_EmpirE]

7 February 2014 Last updated at 08:43 ET
Victoria Nuland gaffe: Angela Merkel condemns EU insult
Germany's Angela Merkel has said a US official's apparent insult of the EU's efforts to mediate in the Ukraine crisis is "totally unacceptable".
Victoria Nuland has apologised after she referred disparagingly to the EU's role during a conversation said to be with the US ambassador to Ukraine.
A recording of the exchange was posted online, with the US hinting at Russia's involvement in bugging and leaking it.
The EU and US are involved in talks to end months of unrest in Ukraine.
In Kiev, Ms Nuland - an assistant secretary of state - said she would not make a public statement on the matter.
She described the leak as "pretty impressive tradecraft. [The] audio quality was very good".
The state department said she had apologised in private to EU officials.
Mass anti-government protests erupted in Ukraine in late November after President Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign a far-reaching association and trade agreement with the EU - under heavy pressure from Moscow.
Russia has been widely accused of using its economic clout to persuade Mr Yanukovych not to pursue closer ties with Brussels.
Russia has itself accused Washington and the EU of meddling in Ukraine.
'Not a good idea'
German government spokeswoman Christiane Wirtz said Ms Merkel fully supported the work done by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to find a solution to the crisis.
"The chancellor finds these remarks totally unacceptable and wants to emphasise that Mrs Ashton is doing an outstanding job," Ms Wirtz said.
The alleged conversation between Ms Nuland and the US ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, appeared on YouTube on Thursday.
The video, which lasts for four minutes and 10 seconds, was entitled "Maidan's puppets" in Russian - a reference to the square in Kiev, where pro-EU protests have been held for months.
A transcript of the whole conversation was also posted in Russian.
At one point, the female speaker mentions the UN and its attempts to find a solution to the Ukraine stand-off.
She says: "So that would be great, I think, to help glue this thing and have the UN help glue it and you know. [Expletive deleted] the EU."
The male replies: "We've got to do something to make it stick together, because you can be pretty sure that if it does start to gain altitude the Russians will be working behind the scenes to try to torpedo it."
The two people also discuss their dealings with Ukraine's three main opposition leaders - Vitaly Klitschko, Arseniy Yatseniuk and Oleh Tyahnybok and their attempts to encourage them to work together.
However, the female speaker says that Mr Klitschko, the former heavyweight boxing world champion, should not be in any new government. "I don't think it's a good idea."
She adds: "I think Yats [Arseniy Yatseniuk] is the guy who's got the economic experience."
US officials refused to confirm or deny the tape's authenticity and EU officials refused to comment.
'New low'
However, state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki suggested that the tape could have been leaked by Moscow, noting that a senior Russian official was one of the first to draw attention to the audio.
"We think this is a new low in Russian tradecraft. This is something they've been actively promoting, posting on, tweeting about," she said.
Russian government aide Dmitry Loskutov, who was one of the first to draw attention to the posting, told the AP news agency that neither he nor the government had leaked the conversation.
Moscow has promised a $15bn (£9.2bn) loan to Ukraine but said it would not be released in full until the formation of a new government in Kiev.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and his cabinet resigned last month as President Yanukovych sought to calm street protests.

the gist of it. Nuland is a lifer in the state department. a long time minion who has served multiple admins on both sides of the politics. She is especially known by the Russians. Because of the West giving political support to one side of the Divided Ukraine a state Russia Consider's ( and with some reason) it's backyard. The FSB likely had her phone bugged and when she said something juicy they leaked it. The US can't call them out because of the Snowden affair. Because the US was caught with it's hand in the cookie Jar listening in on Merkle's phone She has a free pass to barb any US official.
And so the Soap Opera we call geo politics continues.
speaking of fights over nothing.

7 February 2014 Last updated at 09:48 ET
S Korea and Japan clash over sea's name in Virginia textbooks
An argument about what to call the sea between South Korea and Japan has spread to the United States.
Virginia's house of delegates has passed a bill requiring all school textbooks to include the Korean name for the stretch of water.
In Japan it is known as the Sea of Japan and in South Korea as the East Sea.
The dispute over the sea's name stems from an argument between the two Asian countries about history.
Reasonable claim?
The vote in Virginia was a hotly contested battle between Japan and South Korea, revealing the intensity with which these two neighbours argue over the recent past.
The Japanese government hired a lobby firm to help it.
Japan's ambassador to the US, Kenichiro Sasae, also wrote to the state Governor Terry McAuliffe, warning that if the bill was passed it could damage economic ties between Virginia and Japan.
But many Korean-Americans - there are more than 80,000 in Virginia - lobbied for their name to be included in history textbooks. In the weeks before the vote they travelled to the state capital, Richmond, to push their claim at a series of rallies.
Ultimately, South Korea's view prevailed, the house of delegates approved the proposed legislation with a vote of 81-15.
"We understand that Virginia accepted the claim because it is a reasonable one," said South Korean foreign ministry spokesman, Cho Tai-young.
But Japan's chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said his country would continue to lobby for the title "Sea of Japan" to be acknowledged globally.
"The Sea of Japan has been the internationally accepted appellation, including [by] the United States government," he added.
The bill has already been passed by Virginia's senate and now awaits the final approval of the governor, who has indicated he will sign it into law.
South Korea objects to the name "Sea of Japan" because it says it became widely used at a time when Japan ruled Korea as a colony.
The two countries also contest ownership of an island group in the middle of it, known as Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan.

7 February 2014 Last updated at 08:37 ET
Central African Republic's Muslim civilians 'at risk'
Muslim communities in many towns in the Central African Republic are threatened from reprisal attacks on civilians, a medical charity has warned.
Medecins Sans Frontieres said violence has reached intolerable and unprecedented levels.
Many thousands of the minority Muslim population have already fled to Chad or Cameroon.
CAR, one of Africa's poorest nations, descended into religious violence after Muslim rebels seized power last March.
Rebel leader Michel Djotodia, who became CAR's first Muslim leader, resigned as interim president last month as part of a regional peace process, but the violence has continued.
The rebels, who called themselves Seleka, were blamed for a series of deadly attacks on Christians that prompted the creation of Christian militias - widely knows as "anti-balaka", meaning anti-machete.
The UN Security Council authorised French and African troops to intervene last December.
'Killed as escaping'
MSF said all communities were affected by the violence, but lately there have been collective reprisals against Muslims.
"Civilians remain in constant fear for their lives, and have been largely left to fend for themselves," Martine Flokstra, MSF's emergency co-ordinator, said in a statement.
In the capital, Bangui, the charity said fighting and looting continued unabated and it had treated more than 1,650 wounded patients from both communities as a direct result of the violence in the last month.
On Friday morning, witnesses said thousands of Muslims piled on to trucks in Bangui to leave the city, escorted by Chadian peacekeepers.
One person who fell off one of the trucks was killed by a crowd and his body mutilated, witnesses said.
"In the north-west and in Bangui, we are currently witnessing a direct retaliation against the Muslim minority," said Ms Flokstra.
"We are concerned about the fate of these communities trapped in their villages, surrounded by anti-balaka groups."
Fighting in several north-western towns had forced the Muslim population to leave and on Wednesday 2,500 people fled the village of Bozoum, MSF said.
According to MSF, about 30,000 refugees are already in Chad and another 10,000 have reached Cameroon.
In Bangui, Muslim families are gathering in a separate camp at the airport, in the great Mosque and several other sites waiting to leave or hoping for some protection, the charity said.
On Wednesday, soldiers beat and stabbed a man accused of being a rebel just moments after interim President Catherine Samba-Panza finished speaking at an army ceremony.
Last month, the UN said it believed at least 10,000 troops might be required to end the unrest.
France, the former colonial power, has 1,600 troops in CAR working with some 4,000 troops from African countries.

6 February 2014 Last updated at 21:28 ET
Mexico police find mass grave and severed heads in Michoacan
Mexican police have found a mass grave containing at least 20 bodies in the small municipality of Tinguindin, in troubled western Michoacan state.
In nearby Zacan, the severed heads of four men were discovered by residents early on Thursday.
Vigilante groups began an offensive in the area a month ago against the notorious Knights Templar drug cartel.
A spokesman for the groups said the killings were probably a revenge attack carried out by the drug cartel.
Forensic experts are trying to confirm when the bodies were dumped in the mass grave.
The severed heads were found lying in the street close to a church, wrapped in rubbish bags and accompanied by a threatening note.
Mass graves of suspected drug gang victims are not uncommon in Mexico. But it is the location of this latest discovery which is of particular concern, says the BBC's Will Grant in Mexico City.
Federal troops were deployed in the state in mid-January after the vigilantes advanced towards the Knights Templar headquarters in the town of Apatzingan.
In a matter of days, they managed to take over several municipalities previously controlled by the gang.
The vigilantes say state and federal police had failed to provide security to them and their families.
They decided to act to rid Michoacan of the Knights Templar cartel, a brutal organisation known for its involvement in drug trafficking and extortion of local businessmen and farmers
Just over a week ago, the vigilantes agreed to join the official security forces, but most of them have so far refused to lay down their weapons.
On Tuesday, President Enrique Pena Nieto pledged to spend $3.4bn (£2bn) on schools, roads, hospitals and other infrastructure in order to address the underlying causes of the unrest.

7 February 2014 Last updated at 02:35 ET
Brazil: Rio protest over transport fare rise ends in violence
Hundreds of people in Brazil have clashed with police during a protest against increased fares for public transport.
Commuters were caught up in the violence at Rio de Janeiro's Central Station during rush hour.
Riot police fired tear gas and tried to disperse the crowd, while activists hurled stones and petrol bombs.
A cameraman is in a serious condition in hospital after suffering a head injury.
The BBC's Wyre Davies was at the station and was among those who went to the cameraman's aid.
He tweeted: "A fellow journalist suffered terrible head injuries when hit by explosive device. Did our best to save him."
Six other people were also injured and at least 20 protesters were arrested, O Globo newspaper reported.
Last year, similar protests grew into a nationwide movement against corruption and excessive spending ahead of the football World Cup, which Brazil will host in June and July.
Those protests began at the end of May 2013 in Sao Paulo, when the local authorities announced ticket prices would rise.
The fare increase was revoked after weeks of protests, with the federal government helping the state and municipal authorities to foot the bill.
Commuter panic
Last week, Rio's Mayor Eduardo Paes announced a 9% increase in transport fares, coming into effect on Friday.
The single bus fare goes up from 2.75 reais ($1.20; £0.70) to 3 reais ($1.30; £0.80).
A demonstration was called against the rise. It began peacefully, with hundreds of protesters gathering outside the Candelaria cathedral, in Rio's city centre.
They marched towards the Central Station, a major underground, train and bus hub.
"We won't pay three reais," chanted the demonstrators.
"We want Fifa-standard hospitals too," they shouted, making reference to the high standards demanded by the World Cup organisers for the event's venues.
Some activists jumped the gates and vandalised ticketing machines.
Police charged against the crowd and fired tear gas. The activists hurled petrol bombs.
The clashes took place around 18:00 local time (20:00 GMT), during the busy Rio rush hour.
There was panic inside and outside the station. Shops were vandalised, several commuters were hurt.
A cameraman covering the event for Band TV was hit in the head by an explosive device.
The moment when he was injured was caught on camera by a television crew, but it was not clear whether the device was thrown by police or the activists.
The man was taken to one of Rio's main hospitals, Souza Aguiar, near the station, in a serious condition.
He suffered skull concussion and was undergoing brain surgery, according to O Globo newspaper. He also lost part of his left ear.
The violent clashes have increased concerns about security during the World Cup, which will kick off in Sao Paulo on 12 June and will end in Rio on 13 July.
Rio will also host the 2016 Olympic Games.

7 February 2014 Last updated at 10:19 ET
Bosnia protesters vent jobs anger
Demonstrators in Bosnia-Hercegovina have set fire to government buildings as protests continue across the country for a third day.
Police have used rubber bullets and tear gas against protesters in the capital Sarajevo and the northern town of Tuzla.
The protesters are unhappy about economic and political progress in the Balkan country. It is the worst unrest since the end of the Bosnian war.
About 40% of Bosnians are unemployed.
On Thursday, clashes between police and demonstrators in Tuzla injured more than 130 people, according to Reuters.
The unrest began in Tuzla earlier in the week, with protests over the closure and sale of factories which had employed most of the local population.
Demonstrators in other towns supported the Tuzla workers and criticised the government for failing to tackle rampant unemployment.
The BBC's Balkans correspondent Guy Delauney says exasperation at years of inertia and incompetence in Bosnia is at the root of the protests.

More trouble in the Balkans

From the Balkans to the Vulcans... err that was bad I know.

6 February 2014 Last updated at 07:48 ET
Leonard Nimoy reveals he has lung disease
Star Trek actor Leonard Nimoy has revealed that is suffering from lung disease.
The 82-year-old wrote on Twitter that despite stopping smoking 30 years ago he had developed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
He urged his 808,000 followers to "quit now".
Nimoy last appeared on screen in 2013 in Star Trek Into Darkness, reprising Mr Spock, the Vulcan character he has played since 1966.
He was the only actor from the original series to be given a role in the reboot of Star Trek, playing cameo parts as the elder Spock.
The actor has also been a great supporter of director JJ Abrams' vision for the new films and his ability to win over new audiences.
As well as starring as Spock in the original Star Trek series, he also directed two of the franchise's films - Search for Spock and Voyage Home.
He also made a number of guest appearances in science fiction series Fringe, which ran until 2012.
Nimoy was recently photographed being pushed in a wheelchair at a New York hospital, attached to breathing apparatus.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an umbrella term for a number of illnesses including emphysema and chronic bronchitis, and affects millions of people around the world.
It damages air sacs and passages to the lungs, and can make breathing a struggle. The majority of cases are caused by cigarette smoke.

 

[broadsword]

I'm still waiting for the American media to report it because I want to add some vitriol. BBC reported it four days ago but unsurprisingly did not allow for readers' commentary.

 

[joshuatree]

So I suppose it's just an accepted fact now that Abe and his friends are rofl stomping on everyone's toes. China, South Korea, and now increasingly, even America?
It appears Japan's perceptions of its role in WWII, and its larger actions in east asia in the early 20th century, has finally turned around to bite the hand which guarded it.

Wonder when if ever the US will openly condemn these antics directly from Washington and not from an embassy? So much leeway has been given to the Japanese govt just because they are an "ally". Whether Obama's going to make a stop in SK when heading to Japan will be telling to SK.

 

[ManilaBoy45]

Philippines Thanks World for Help After Typhoon

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Published on Feb 08, 2014
9:26 PM By Melody Zaccheus

Messages thanking the global community for its help after Super Typhoon Haiyan hit part of the Philippines last November lit up electronic billboards across nine cities around the world on Saturday.The thank-you ads will run for about three weeks on billboards in places that include New York's Times Square, Tokyo's Shibuya Crossing and Singapore's Ion Orchard. They were bought by the Philippines Department of Tourism (DOT) as part of a worldwide campaign to express gratitude for the outpouring of aid, in cash and kind, during the crisis.The typhoon - one of the most powerful storms in history to make landfall, ravaged nine regions in the Philippines when it struck on Nov 8 last year. It caused more than 6,000 deaths and affected some 14.1 million people. "This Feb 8... exactly three months after the typhoon, we want to be one in expressing our gratitude," said the DOT on its Twitter account.

 

[TerraN_EmpirE]

8 February 2014 Last updated at 16:07 ET
Syria conflict: Homs aid convoy comes under fire
An aid convoy bringing supplies into the besieged district of the central Syrian city of Homs became trapped for several hours after coming under fire.
The Syrian Red Crescent said it had been "a challenge" to get its staff and the UN team out of the area.
The organisation's Khaled Erksoussi said the convoy came under attack from mortars and gunfire as it was leaving.
The firing came on the second day of a three-day ceasefire to allow aid in to the old city quarter.
Mr Erksoussi said UN officials are now meeting the Syrian government to discuss whether it is safe to continue with the operation on Sunday.
The government and opposition are trading accusations about who is responsible for breaking the ceasefire, the BBC's Jim Muir reports from neighbouring Lebanon.
Relief officials had earlier said the plan to send supplies into the embattled area was extremely sensitive, given the reluctance by some on the government side to see supplies going into rebel-held areas.
Mortar fire
Seven Red Crescent workers and a similar-sized UN team were "pinned down" in the old city area of Homs for several hours in the dark.
One of the drivers was injured when mortars landed close to their convoy and shots were fired at their trucks.
Mr Erksoussi said the group had taken refuge in "buildings and safe areas" until they were able to get out, shortly before 22:00 local time (20:00 GMT). They had to leave two of their damaged trucks behind.
"Although the team was shelled and fired upon we managed to deliver 250 food parcels, 190 hygiene kits and chronic diseases medicines," the Syrian Red Crescent said on Twitter.
The Red Crescent, in a joint operation with the UN, is trying to deliver food, water and medicine by truck to some 3,000 civilians in rebel-held areas.
On Friday, the first day of the agreed three-day ceasefire, more than 80 children, women and elderly people were evacuated.
Many of those evacuated on Friday looked frail and described extreme hardships inside the area, which has been under army siege for nearly a year-and-a-half.
They said bread had not been available for months, and many residents were gathering weeds and leaves to eat.
Vulnerable civilians such as children, old people and medical cases were brought out of the besieged area, sometimes carried by Red Crescent volunteers.
They told journalists that there were more people trapped in the city who had wanted to leave.
Daily bombardments
Homs has been a key battleground in the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The army launched a series of big attacks to recapture rebel areas in the Old City in the beginning of 2012, with almost daily bombardments.
Thousands have been killed, large areas have been reduced to rubble and many neighbourhoods lie in ruins.
The situation in besieged districts of the city since June 2012 was discussed during peace talks in Geneva a week ago, but the humanitarian aid deal was actually struck between the governor of Homs and the UN resident co-ordinator in Syria.
The Syrian government is making no connection between the Homs agreement and the peace talks, but it was first mooted by the mediator there, Lakhdar Brahimi, our correspondent says.
Another round of talks is scheduled to begin on Monday and the Syrian government has confirmed it will attend.

figures

7 February 2014 Last updated at 18:41 ET
North Korea send American Kenneth Bae back to labour camp
A US citizen held for more than a year in North Korea has been moved back to a labour camp, US officials say.
State department officials and Mr Bae's sister were quoted as saying the 45-year-old had been returned from a hospital to the camp on 20 January.
Mr Bae, a Korean-American, was arrested in November 2012 and sentenced to 15 years' hard labour in May.
North Korea says he used his tourism business to form groups to overthrow the government.
He was taken to hospital last year after suffering dramatic weight loss. His family say he has several health complaints including diabetes and liver problems.
American prayers
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Washington had learned about Mr Bae's transfer to the camp from representatives of the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang, which acts on behalf of the US in North Korea.
Ms Psaki said the Swedish diplomats "have met Mr Bae 10 times since his detention, most recently on 7 February in a labour camp".
She added: "We continue to urge DPRK (North Korean) authorities to grant Mr Bae special amnesty and immediate release on humanitarian grounds".
Ms Psaki did not specify when Mr Bae had been forced back to the camp.
However, a US state department official and Mr Bae's sister confirmed the 20 January date.
"He's back to eight-hours-a-day, six-days-a-week hard labour," Terri Chung, Mr Bae's sister, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.
Pyongyang has so far made no official comment on the reports.
On Thursday, US President Barack Obama used the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington to say: "We pray for Kenneth Bae, a Christian missionary who has been left in North Korea for 15 months."
"His family wants him home, and the United States will continue to do everything in our power to secure his release because Kenneth Bae deserves to be free."
If the details of his transfer are confirmed, it would mean Mr Bae was returned to the camp on the same day as he spoke to foreign media in North Korea under heavy prison guard - his first "press conference" since the detention.
Mr Bae denied media reports that he had been badly treated and called for US "co-operation" to secure his release.
Correspondents say he may have been speaking under strict editorial control.
North Korea has arrested several US citizens in recent years, including journalists and Christians accused of proselytising.
They were released after visits to Pyongyang by high-profile officials, including former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.

I am telling you they want a visit from Hillary

8 February 2014 Last updated at 20:25 ET
Iranian warships 'to sail close to US maritime border'
Iranian warships in the Atlantic Ocean are to sail close to US maritime borders for the first time, a senior naval commander has said.
Iranian media quoted Adm Afshin Rezayee Haddad as saying the deployment was a response to US vessels in the Gulf.
The fleet consists of a destroyer and a helicopter-carrying supply ship.
It began its voyage last month and entered the Atlantic though South African waters, the IRNA news agency quoted the admiral as saying.
The Iranian ships are reported to be carrying about 30 navy academy cadets for training along with their regular crews. They are on a three-month mission.
Correspondents say that the voyage comes amid continuing efforts by Iran to to project its power across the Middle East and beyond.
The semi-official Fars news agency said the move was a response to an increased US naval presence in the Gulf.
"Iran's military fleet is approaching the United States' maritime borders, and this move has a message," it quoted Adm Rezayee Haddad as saying.
A defence official in Washington was quoted by the Reuters news agency as casting doubt on Iranian claims that their ships were approaching US maritime borders. But the official added that "ships are free to operate in international waters".
The US and its allies regularly hold naval exercises in the Gulf in order to preserve what it says is freedom of navigation in the waterway, through which 40% of the world's seaborne oil exports passes.
The US Fifth Fleet - with about 5,000 personnel - is based in Bahrain, across the Gulf from Iran.

 

[bd popeye]

CYBER EXPERT: The Story Of A Reporter Getting Hacked In Sochi Is Completely False
Paul Szoldra

Thanks for posting the correction. It is reprehensible that NBC news would deliberately make a false report. It's call fear mongering. Reprehensible.

 

[AssassinsMace]

Back during the Beijing Games they warned everyone about the exact same things. Watch out for your cell phones and laptops and you were being spied on in your hotel rooms. It'll be interesting to see if the Sochi games come out of it pretty clean. Remember they made the same dire warnings about how the venues weren't up to par.