Monthly Archives: July 2013

Saudi prince sues Forbes after it says he’s only worth $20 billion

"Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has sued Forbes magazine for libel in a British court, alleging its valuation of his wealth at $20 billion was short of the mark by $9.6 billion. The prince, a grandson of Saudi Arabia’s founder and nephew of King Abdullah, had attacked the US magazine’s ranking of world billionaires as flawed and biased against Middle Eastern businesses. Through his Kingdom Holding Company, Prince Alwaleed owns large stakes in Citigroup, News Corp and Apple Inc, among other companies. He is also owner or part-owner of luxury hotels including the Plaza in New York, the Savoy in London and the George V in Paris." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSaudi prince sues Forbes after it says he’s only worth $20 billion

Saudi prince sues Forbes after it says he’s only worth $20 billion

"Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has sued Forbes magazine for libel in a British court, alleging its valuation of his wealth at $20 billion was short of the mark by $9.6 billion. The prince, a grandson of Saudi Arabia’s founder and nephew of King Abdullah, had attacked the US magazine’s ranking of world billionaires as flawed and biased against Middle Eastern businesses. Through his Kingdom Holding Company, Prince Alwaleed owns large stakes in Citigroup, News Corp and Apple Inc, among other companies. He is also owner or part-owner of luxury hotels including the Plaza in New York, the Savoy in London and the George V in Paris." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSaudi prince sues Forbes after it says he’s only worth $20 billion

Robbers posing as police steal $261,000 from Saudi government official

"Robbers posing as policemen made off with 200,000 euros ($261,000) belonging to a senior official from the Saudi youth and sports ministry just after he landed in Paris, police said Monday. The audacious robbery was staged on the busy A1 highway near Le Bourget airport. The robbers were armed and used two cars equipped with flashing lights and the word 'Police' on them. They stopped the car the Saudi official was travelling in and demanded an inspection of the boot. They then made off with a suitcase containing 162,000 euros, $30,000 and 10,000 pounds. It was not immediately clear why the official was travelling with so much cash." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRobbers posing as police steal $261,000 from Saudi government official

Robbers posing as police steal $261,000 from Saudi government official

"Robbers posing as policemen made off with 200,000 euros ($261,000) belonging to a senior official from the Saudi youth and sports ministry just after he landed in Paris, police said Monday. The audacious robbery was staged on the busy A1 highway near Le Bourget airport. The robbers were armed and used two cars equipped with flashing lights and the word 'Police' on them. They stopped the car the Saudi official was travelling in and demanded an inspection of the boot. They then made off with a suitcase containing 162,000 euros, $30,000 and 10,000 pounds. It was not immediately clear why the official was travelling with so much cash." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRobbers posing as police steal $261,000 from Saudi government official

Our Legacy Systems: Dysfunctional, Unreformable

"Real reform would mean powerful constituencies would have to take real reductions in staffing, power, benefits and in their share of the national income. Rather than reveal this double-bind--reform is impossible but the Status Quo is unsustainable--the legacy system deploys its gargantuan resources to laying down a smoke-screen of bogus reforms and ginned-up statistics. America's legacy systems are like stars about to go super-nova. They have increased in size to the point where their stupendous mass guarantees that once their energy source (as measured in fossil fuels and money) falls below a certain threshold, the institution will collapse inward on itself." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOur Legacy Systems: Dysfunctional, Unreformable

Our Legacy Systems: Dysfunctional, Unreformable

"Real reform would mean powerful constituencies would have to take real reductions in staffing, power, benefits and in their share of the national income. Rather than reveal this double-bind--reform is impossible but the Status Quo is unsustainable--the legacy system deploys its gargantuan resources to laying down a smoke-screen of bogus reforms and ginned-up statistics. America's legacy systems are like stars about to go super-nova. They have increased in size to the point where their stupendous mass guarantees that once their energy source (as measured in fossil fuels and money) falls below a certain threshold, the institution will collapse inward on itself." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOur Legacy Systems: Dysfunctional, Unreformable

Bush says ‘civil liberties were guaranteed’ under his NSA Internet surveillance

"Former President George W. Bush is insisting that a NSA Internet surveillance program started during his administration 'guaranteed' civil liberties, and that Edward Snowden 'damaged the country' by leaking details about it. In an interview with CNN, Bush was confident that 'the Obama administration will deal' with Snowden and the fallout from his leaks. 'I think he damaged the security of the country,' he explained. 'I put the program in place to protect the country, and one of the certainties is civil liberties were guaranteed.' The former president added that his program had found 'the proper balance' between privacy and security." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBush says ‘civil liberties were guaranteed’ under his NSA Internet surveillance

Bush says ‘civil liberties were guaranteed’ under his NSA Internet surveillance

"Former President George W. Bush is insisting that a NSA Internet surveillance program started during his administration 'guaranteed' civil liberties, and that Edward Snowden 'damaged the country' by leaking details about it. In an interview with CNN, Bush was confident that 'the Obama administration will deal' with Snowden and the fallout from his leaks. 'I think he damaged the security of the country,' he explained. 'I put the program in place to protect the country, and one of the certainties is civil liberties were guaranteed.' The former president added that his program had found 'the proper balance' between privacy and security." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBush says ‘civil liberties were guaranteed’ under his NSA Internet surveillance

NSA surveillance: don’t underestimate the extraordinary power of metadata

"Four years ago a German Green party politician, Malte Spitz, sued to have Deutsche Telekom hand over six months of his phone data that he then made available to Zeit Online. The paper then did what any decent NSA operative would do, namely combine his phone's geolocation data with information relating to his life as a politician – Twitter feeds, blog entries and websites – to create an extraordinary animated reconstruction of a day in his life. It's this revelatory power that enables metadata to expose far more than what a target is talking about. In the old days, the medium was the message. Now it's the metadata." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNSA surveillance: don’t underestimate the extraordinary power of metadata

NSA surveillance: don’t underestimate the extraordinary power of metadata

"Four years ago a German Green party politician, Malte Spitz, sued to have Deutsche Telekom hand over six months of his phone data that he then made available to Zeit Online. The paper then did what any decent NSA operative would do, namely combine his phone's geolocation data with information relating to his life as a politician – Twitter feeds, blog entries and websites – to create an extraordinary animated reconstruction of a day in his life. It's this revelatory power that enables metadata to expose far more than what a target is talking about. In the old days, the medium was the message. Now it's the metadata." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNSA surveillance: don’t underestimate the extraordinary power of metadata