Could the Radical Left Win in Greece? The Nation. Greece's once-marginal Syriza coalition could bring down the current weak government—but to attain power it must get more union support. |
 |
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenation.com |
How the world sees Greece
Monday, July 16, 2012
Could the Radical Left Win in Greece?
WikiLeaks: Western firms boosted Syrian communications network
Leaked docs show that as Syrian uprising spread, Greek, Italian contractors upgraded communications technology of Assad's military
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.cbsnews.com |
Greece to Begin Review of Public-Sector Entities
 Greek Reporter | Greece to Begin Review of Public-Sector Entities Wall Street Journal Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said the government would review the country's bloated public sector with the goal of closing and merging state entities to cut government spending and red tape. Greece to Begin Review of Public Sector Entities Greece to announce additional €11.5 billion in austerity cuts Despite Dissent, Greece to Sell Public Assets |
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT online.wsj.com |
Greece to Review Public-Sector Entities
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said the government would review the country's bloated public sector with the goal of closing and merging state entities to cut government spending and red tape.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT online.wsj.com |
West Supplied Syria With Security Equipment Amid Crackdown
LONDON -- As violence began racing through Syria last year, two European contractors were putting the finishing touches on an encrypted radio system that Syrian...
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.huffingtonpost.com |
President of Greek Parliament Meimarakis Praised Greek MPs in Foreign ...
 Greek Reporter | President of Greek Parliament Meimarakis Praised Greek MPs in Foreign ... Greek Reporter Mr. Evangelos Meimarakis, the President of the Greek Parliament, praised the work of Greek MPs in foreign countries at the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary. |
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
Evidence shows Syrian security got comms from West
LONDON (AP) — As violence began racing through Syria last year, two European contractors were putting the finishing touches on an encrypted radio system that Syrian officials intended for their security forces, according to leaked company emails and three senior employees involved in the project.
The documents — made available to The Associated Press and other media organizations by the WikiLeaks organization — show that Greece's Intracom S.A. and Italy's Selex Elsag spent years building a Syria-wide communications network and equipped the government with thousands of walkie-talkies, motorcycle-mounted radio units and avionic transceivers used in helicopters.
The leaked documents give an unusually detailed look at the communications help Western companies have been providing Syria's regime — something activists find disturbing.
Both statements seemed hard to square with evidence that elements of the communication system were designed with the military in mind, or emails showing that Selex and Intracom had been providing technical support to Syrian officials as recently as February — a time when government forces were using artillery to pound rebel-held areas of the Syrian city of Homs.
Intracom spokesman Alexandros Tarnaris refused to answer a series of detailed questions about the apparent discrepancies between his company's statement and the evidence seen by the AP; Selex spokesman Carlo Maria Fenu also declined to answer questions.
The type of system they were building is called a terrestrial trunked radio, or TETRA, a technology employed the world over to provide resilient, long-range communication for emergency workers, transport services and private industry.
[...] the technology — considered more secure than conventional cell phone networks — has law enforcement and military applications as well.
The leaked documents provide a partial picture of how the companies saw TETRA being used in Syria, but they make clear that a large chunk of their equipment was earmarked for the country's police force — much of it shipped even as revolt against Damascus was gathering steam.
Another itemized list — this one attached to an Intracom email sent Feb. 2, 2012 — notes €300,000 worth of costs associated with a Police Administration Center in the Syrian city of Aleppo, as well as references to work carried out at a police academy in Damascus, two further traffic police sites in the capital and a fourth police site in the Damascus suburb of Barzeh.
Intracom manager Mohammad Shoorbajee's profile on the professional-networking site LinkedIn — which he has since modified to remove all reference to his work — said the project included the construction of 130 base stations, four command-and-control centers, dispatch stations, core switches, and the delivery of some 17,000 Selex radios across Syria.
A billing document dated Oct. 19, 2011, broke the equipment down, listing more than 11,000 walkie-talkies, 3,500 mobile radio units for use in vehicles, 1,600 radio dispatch consoles, 1,400 motorcycle-mounted units, 60 marine units for use on sea, and 30 avionic transceivers for use in helicopters.
Borderline cases have received an increasing amount of attention as pro-democracy uprisings in the Arab world have torn the lid off the machinery of state surveillance.
Last year The Wall Street Journal revealed that Syrian officials were using Internet filtering devices made by California's Blue Coat Systems Inc. In November Bloomberg reported that Italian company Area S.p.A. had been using U.S. technology to equip Damascus with a powerful mass surveillance network.
Nakoul denied that he or his company had taken sides in the conflict gripping Syria, saying that he'd already received death threats from rebel sympathizers after WikiLeaks published his email address.
The documents — made available to The Associated Press and other media organizations by the WikiLeaks organization — show that Greece's Intracom S.A. and Italy's Selex Elsag spent years building a Syria-wide communications network and equipped the government with thousands of walkie-talkies, motorcycle-mounted radio units and avionic transceivers used in helicopters.
The leaked documents give an unusually detailed look at the communications help Western companies have been providing Syria's regime — something activists find disturbing.
Both statements seemed hard to square with evidence that elements of the communication system were designed with the military in mind, or emails showing that Selex and Intracom had been providing technical support to Syrian officials as recently as February — a time when government forces were using artillery to pound rebel-held areas of the Syrian city of Homs.
Intracom spokesman Alexandros Tarnaris refused to answer a series of detailed questions about the apparent discrepancies between his company's statement and the evidence seen by the AP; Selex spokesman Carlo Maria Fenu also declined to answer questions.
The type of system they were building is called a terrestrial trunked radio, or TETRA, a technology employed the world over to provide resilient, long-range communication for emergency workers, transport services and private industry.
[...] the technology — considered more secure than conventional cell phone networks — has law enforcement and military applications as well.
The leaked documents provide a partial picture of how the companies saw TETRA being used in Syria, but they make clear that a large chunk of their equipment was earmarked for the country's police force — much of it shipped even as revolt against Damascus was gathering steam.
Another itemized list — this one attached to an Intracom email sent Feb. 2, 2012 — notes €300,000 worth of costs associated with a Police Administration Center in the Syrian city of Aleppo, as well as references to work carried out at a police academy in Damascus, two further traffic police sites in the capital and a fourth police site in the Damascus suburb of Barzeh.
Intracom manager Mohammad Shoorbajee's profile on the professional-networking site LinkedIn — which he has since modified to remove all reference to his work — said the project included the construction of 130 base stations, four command-and-control centers, dispatch stations, core switches, and the delivery of some 17,000 Selex radios across Syria.
A billing document dated Oct. 19, 2011, broke the equipment down, listing more than 11,000 walkie-talkies, 3,500 mobile radio units for use in vehicles, 1,600 radio dispatch consoles, 1,400 motorcycle-mounted units, 60 marine units for use on sea, and 30 avionic transceivers for use in helicopters.
Borderline cases have received an increasing amount of attention as pro-democracy uprisings in the Arab world have torn the lid off the machinery of state surveillance.
Last year The Wall Street Journal revealed that Syrian officials were using Internet filtering devices made by California's Blue Coat Systems Inc. In November Bloomberg reported that Italian company Area S.p.A. had been using U.S. technology to equip Damascus with a powerful mass surveillance network.
Nakoul denied that he or his company had taken sides in the conflict gripping Syria, saying that he'd already received death threats from rebel sympathizers after WikiLeaks published his email address.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.sfgate.com |
Greece to Begin Review of Public Sector Entities
Greek Reporter | Greece to Begin Review of Public Sector Entities Greek Reporter Greece's prime minister Monday said the government would begin an immediate review of the country's bloated public sector with the goal of closing and merging. |
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
Greece to Begin Review of Public Sector Entities in Coming Days -PM
Greece to Begin Review of Public Sector Entities in Coming Days -PM Wall Street Journal ATHENS--Greece's prime minister Monday said the government would begin an immediate review of the country's bloated public sector with the goal of closing and merging state entities as part of its efforts to cut government spending and slash red tape. Tsipras Says More Austerity Coming, Greece Will Quit the Euro Greeks seek renegotiation of bailout Daily Report: Markets Steady as Risk Rally Doesn't Follow Through |
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT online.wsj.com |
Opposition parties accuse government of lying to voters
The Independent Greeks have accused the coalition government of Antonis Samaras of false promises, in comments made by party spokesman Christos Zois on Sunday.
Zois stated that Antonis Samaras had gone back on a promise to abolish a special property surtax attached to electricity bills, which resulted in several poorer households having their electricity cut because they were unable to pay both the bill and the tax.
Zois stated that Antonis Samaras had gone back on a promise to abolish a special property surtax attached to electricity bills, which resulted in several poorer households having their electricity cut because they were unable to pay both the bill and the tax.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.athensnews.gr |
Austerity In Greece? Sure, And There's Snow In Mykonos Too
To suggest that Greece's government is acting in parsimonious ways is to redefine "parsimony" altogether.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.forbes.com |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)