teamgb

Would anybody complain if Putin launched air strikes against the Saudi regime?

From August this year:

Prince Bandar pledged to safeguard Russia’s naval base in Syria if the Assad regime is toppled, but he also hinted at Chechen terrorist attacks on Russia’s Winter Olympics in Sochi if there is no accord. “I can give you a guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics next year. The Chechen groups that threaten the security of the games are controlled by us,” he allegedly said.

Prince Bandar went on to say that Chechens operating in Syria were a pressure tool that could be switched on an off. “These groups do not scare us. We use them in the face of the Syrian regime but they will have no role in Syria’s political future.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilan...

Lol.

There's definitely a business opportunity out there for someone to come up with DIY laptops, much like the way you can purchase parts from anybody to create your own desktop PC.

Sir Ian, nice try, but we know it's you!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iain_Lobban

Theresa, is that you?!

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa_May

The truth is, there probably is a budget for this.

"At the Olympic Garden Topless Cabaret, Samantha says she lap danced with one of the terrorists. The Terrorists who hijacked a plane and crashed it are said to have stayed and played in Las Vegas." ... "Some big-man terrorist, huh?" Samantha said this week as she took a breather from the two-dozen lap dances she bestows daily upon the lonely at the Olympic Garden Topless Cabaret. "He spent about $20 for a quick dance and didn't tip more."

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Agents-of-terror-leave-th...

It seems odd because Russia always gets demonized in the media. It's always the same: mafia, corruption, hackers... I can't remember the last time a positive story was published in the English speaking press.

The Thai government have just dissolved parliament and called new elections due to protests. Can you imagine that happening in many so-called "democratic" Western states? You can't even get a crack-smoking mayor to resign these days!

And to my Cold War-shaped mind, it is impossible to think of him as anything other than a whistleblower that this country badly, badly needed.

Imagine this was 1980 and the issue at hand was apartheid.

Jelly-fish CEOs print an open letter in newspapers, asking governments to improve race relations because unhappy black folk don't want to buy their products.

Not once is Nelson Mandela mentioned in the letter, so out of the public eye, his years in prison continue.

Are we supposed to be impressed with this?

The crux of the issue for Snowden is whether he is viewed by the public as a whistle-blower or traitor.

These companies have staked out a position, off the back of his endeavors, yet lack the courage and conviction to fully support him.

It makes me cringe to see Larry Page, Marissa Mayer et al posting weasel words on a web-site, as though they are champions of the people.

In the week that Nelson Mandela passed away, the contrast between giants and dwarves could not be clearer.

Not once does the name "Edward Snowden" appear anywhere on the web-page or open letter!

These companies are simply grand-standing to further their own ambition.

They don't care what happens to Snowden, they deny even his very existence.

some people remember not to stab their co-workers in the back when they go to work.

detect that tendency to treachery in advance.

The downvotes might be because you seem to equate whistleblowing, an act of conscience, with treachery.

Apparently it's the same Polonium-210 used to kill a guy in London in 2006: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisoning_of_Alexander_Litvinen...

Full Lancet paper here (paywall): http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-67...

It's free this weekend for people in the UK, everyone else can rent it online for just one pound (about $1.50) from Journeyman Pictures.

If you prefer to do things differently, a magnet link is available here: http://pastebin.com/6RVSpTAa

Wayback Machine is your friend, regarding the quote/article above:

http://web.archive.org/web/20121022174605/http://www.indepen...

Yes, the Daily Mail loves a bit of faux outrage and tabloid gossip, but they actually do employ journalists (sometimes). Here they cover expert evidence given to the coroner. Check out the pictures and videos.

An escapology expert tried and failed 300 times to lock himself into an identical bag after being hired to try to crack the mystery of Gareth Williams' death.

...

He said: 'I just cannot do it. This case, I just cannot get it off my mind. It is very difficult. I am an escapologist, I am thinking outside the box here and trying everything I can to find a way.'

Dr Wilcox added: 'With all your trials and failures do you think it would be impossible to padlock this bag from the inside?'

Mr Faulding replied: 'I cannot say it was impossible, but even Houdini would struggle.'

He said Mr Williams could not have survived for more than 30 minutes as the temperature quickly rose and oxygen levels dropped. Mr Faulding said he only lasted five minutes before becoming 'delirious' after zipping himself inside with emergency oxygen and a paramedic outside.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2136118/Gareth-Willi...

Maybe the traders are hiding their losses from their bosses, shoving them into mysterious accounts, and hoping to turn them around at a later date.

This is what Nick Leeson did which brought down Barings Bank, and what Jerome Kerviel did to SocGen. I'm sure it happens all the time.

Did you even read the article?!!

Yes, why isn't this on the front page? Come on HN moderators, fix this!

Looks like HK has been stepping up its startup efforts. The government runs InvestHK and also was at TechCrunch Disrupt promoting the Cyberport (a 10 year old white elephant which now may have found its purpose).

"Autom is a complex product using sophisticated hardware and software. It made much more sense to be based in Hong Kong than in the US so we could easily travel and work with the engineers in the Pearl River Delta that have helped us develop and will be manufacturing Autom,” says Cory. “It is very easy, straightforward and quick to set up a company in Hong Kong and in comparison to the US the cost of doing business is much cheaper in terms of hiring staff and office rental"

Not sure about SEO otherwise how would SANA be the top result for Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yandex and... (cue drumroll) Lycos!

If there were any legal issues, why are Bing and DuckDuckGo still returning SANA in their results? This is all very strange.

Confirmed.

The website sana.sy of the Syrian Arab News Agency has been 'censored' or 'purged' from Google search results. Even after clicking through 10 pages of results, not a single one links to Sana.sy. Contrast with DuckDuckGo and Bing where it's the top result.

Google: https://www.google.com/search?q=syrian+arab+news+agency

DuckDuckGo: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=syrian+arab+news+agency

Bing: http://www.bing.com/search?q=syrian+arab+news+agency

If you have proof that the Syrian government used chemical weapons please share it with the UN security council...

Why won't Israel ratify? Does Israel have chemical weapons?

Maybe there should be a UN resolution requiring all countries in the Middle East to declare and destroy their chemical weapons under UN supervision.

It's a civil war and the alleged incident area is (or was) under rebel control. The UN inspectors were in within two or three days and started their work. Is that not fast enough?

Not really true from a legal perspective. It is legal to be gay in Russia, but the recently passed law makes it illegal to spread "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations to minors".

Er, Russia has huge interest in the region, as do the other players.

There are two competing natural gas pipelines being built, both of which must transit through Syria to get to the Mediterranean.

What's at stake is who gets to sell energy to Europe for the next 50-100 years!

None of this is a secret. The Financial Times and others have reported on this over the years.

Here is the puzzle, and you are supposed to supply 5 answers.

AWVLI QIQVT QOSQO ELGCV IIQWD LCUQE EOENN WWOAO

LTDNU QTGAW TSMDO QTLAO QSDCH PQQIQ DQQTQ OOTUD

BNIQH BHHTD UTEET FDUEA UMORE SQEQE MLTME TIREC

LICAI QATUN QRALT ENEIN RKG

For the actual competition page, which you might not want to click, there are links under this HN submission.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6369430

If you don't want to click the link, the puzzle page is here: https://canyoufindit.co.uk/

If you don't want to click that link, here is the puzzle, and you are supposed to supply 5 answers.

AWVLI QIQVT QOSQO ELGCV IIQWD LCUQE EOENN WWOAO

LTDNU QTGAW TSMDO QTLAO QSDCH PQQIQ DQQTQ OOTUD

BNIQH BHHTD UTEET FDUEA UMORE SQEQE MLTME TIREC

LICAI QATUN QRALT ENEIN RKG

Here is some of the PR blurb from the original link:

Winners could be following in the prestigious footsteps of computer pioneer Alan Turing who during World War Two helped lead the efforts at Bletchley Park to provide vital intelligence for the Allies by deciphering the messages encrypted by the German Enigma machine.

Today’s tough but engaging challenge is aimed at people who love problem solving and computer technology. So whether you are an IT specialist bored with corporate life, a skilled amateur seeking a new challenge, or a quick-thinking maths expert who just loves to do maths all day, then there could be a role for you, with a salary between c £26k - £60k depending on your skills and experience.

The ‘Can You Find It?’ quest will launch on 10.09.13. Starting from www.canyoufindit.co.uk entrants will have six weeks to hunt down four codes. Once found, each one has to be entered into the challenge website to unveil the next clue until the final one is discovered.

As well as discovering whether you have the right skills to be employed by a national intelligence and security agency that works in partnership with the Security Service (MI5) and Secret intelligence Service (MI6), in completing the treasure hunt you can enter a prize draw to win a Google Nexus 7 or a Raspberry Pi .

At the time, the other thread had no comments and no votes so this submission was made to hopefully help raise awareness to what John Gilmore wrote.

One is open source, the other isn't.

What is more important - security or convenience?