Foreign Policy
Embassies
US embassy closure is extended. "The US says it will keep a number of embassies in North Africa and the Middle East closed until Saturday, due to a possible militant threat. Twenty-one US embassies and consulates closed on Sunday ... While details of the threats are unspecified ... members of Congress who have been briefed about the intelligence seem to agree it amounts to one of the most serious in recent years - all pointing to the possibility of a major attack, possibly to coincide with the end this week of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan." BBC.
What you need to know about the terror threat behind the closure. Hayes Brown at Think Progress.
Securing American embassies might be a tried and true tactic, but that doesn't make it a successful one. "Here’s the problem – that stuff never works. It’s easy to see the temptation to close the embassies and boost their security ... But researchers who’ve looked into the question have found that securing embassies in response to terrorist threats is, at best, ineffective, and at worst has the perverse effect of increasing casualties." Dylan Matthews at Wonkblog.
Special forces on standby. "American special forces units overseas have been on alert for the past several days for a mission to attack potential al Qaeda targets if those behind the most recent terror threats against U.S. interests can be identified." Barbara Starr at CNN.
Analyzing the map of closed embassies. Max Fisher at the Washington Post.
So, what's the point of embassies? "Over the weekend the US closed many of its embassies in the Middle East and North Africa as a result of ... a serious al Qaeda threat. Given the number of times US embassies have come under attack ... Such precautions don't really seem that dramatic any more. The problem is, they should. Closing all of your embassies in the Middle East raises the question of whether it is even worthwhile having embassies anymore ... This is both a symbolic and a practical matter ... If, as a diplomat, you cannot actually spend time travelling in your host country and if you can't develop strong relationships with the locals, you might as well pack up and go home." Anthony Bubalo at the Lowy Institute for International Policy.
Landmines
Sequestration cripples landmine removal operations. "The inability of Congress to bridge the partisan divide on fiscal policy is literally a matter of life and death for some civilians in war-ravaged nations, where US-funded operations to remove unexploded bombs and land mines are being canceled or curtailed for lack of money. Leftover explosives continue to maim and kill people at a high rate ... with 4,300 casualties worldwide in 2011. But congressional inaction on budgets and the automatic spending cuts known as the sequester have blocked State Department funds for humanitarian groups that remove leftover ordnance." Bryan Bender at the Boston Globe.
The UN
US Ambassador Samantha Power. "Samantha Power is officially the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Vice President Joe Biden administered the oath of office to the 42-year-old Power ... after the Senate overwhelmingly approved the outspoken human rights advocate by a vote of 87-10." Associated Press.
Elections
The Overview
Conventional wisdom, debunked. "There’s a new, two-part conventional wisdom going around: Democrats have a White House lock, while Republicans are sure to keep their majority in the House of Representatives until at least the next census and redistricting. Ignore it. It’s certainly possible that the status quo will prevail in both the House and the Oval Office … and in 2014, in particular, it’s highly unlikely that Nancy Pelosi will win the speakership back. But the idea that Democrats are locked out of the House until 2022 at the earliest is silly. And the idea that demographics and a poor image prevent Republicans from winning the presidency under current conditions is even sillier." Jonathan Bernstein at Salon.
2013 - New York
De Blasio rises in NYC as Weiner falls. "Now that Anthony D. Weiner’s campaign has imploded, Bill de Blasio, the public advocate, is drawing new energy ... to a candidacy that presents the most sweeping rejection of what New York City has become in the past 12 years — a city, he says, that is defined by its yawning inequities ... It is the campaign season’s riskiest calculation ... taxing the rich, elevating the poor and rethinking a Manhattan-centric approach to city services ... Now, Mr. Weiner’s scandal has become Mr. de Blasio’s salvation. During an interview, he acknowledged that disillusioned supporters of the former congressman were giving momentum to his candidacy." Michael Barbaro at the New York Times.
2014 - Kentucky
Mitch McConnell is still the clear favorite for the 2014 Kentucky Senate race. "Democrats are starting to believe they have a good chance in Kentucky. They shouldn’t get their hopes up ... Mitch McConnell is a clear favorite because he’s a Republican incumbent running in a red state, assuming he wins the primary ... Incumbents don’t often lose on friendly terrain. No blue state Democratic incumbent lost in 2010. The only red state Republican incumbent who lost in 2008 was Ted Stevens, who was battling corruption charges and still only lost by a narrow margin ... History and partisanship suggest that McConnell would still be a relatively clear favorite in a close contest. " Nate Cohn at the New Republic.
But he has two strong opponents that will give him a run for his money. "Mitch McConnell is ... facing a serious challenge back in his home state ... a left-right vise, with Grimes on one side and Bevin on the other ... The challenge is so formidable because both the Democrats and the Tea Party cohort in Kentucky are hitting McConnell on the same weak spot: scorning him as a little-loved Washington creature ... who is out only for himself. What struck me over the weekend was how relentlessly, almost giddily, this line of attack was being delivered from both sides, with a bravado that suggested little fear of McConnell’s vaunted political artillery, and quite a lot of confidence in his vulnerability." Alec Macgillis at the New Republic.
2014 - South Carolina
Sen. Lindsey Graham has a problem. "The word is out among ... South Carolina conservatives: Lindsey Graham really is susceptible to defeat in 2014 ... At first glance, when gaming out Graham’s chances ... the logic seems simple: the more competitors, the merrier ... But this line of reasoning has a potential flaw: South Carolina electoral law stipulates that a candidate must win at least 50 percent of the primary vote to avoid a runoff, and Graham’s chances of reaching that threshold could become even more difficult with additional names on the ballot. And in a one-on-one runoff , all bets are off for Graham, who would likely have to fight tooth and nail for his political survival." Scott Conroy at Real Clear Politics.
2016
5 reasons Jeb Bush would be a strong contender for the presidency. Harry Enten at the Guardian.
Yes, Chris Christie is a conservative. "There should be no confusion here ... Christie has governed ... as a ... pragmatic, conservative. And there is no indication that a President Christie wouldn't govern in the same ... way. Consider this: Planned Parenthood clinics have solely closed because of Christie ... New Jersey is one of two states in the ... northeast without gay marriage ... The minimum wage remains $7.25 an hour ... He kept taxes down for the wealthy. And ... he effectively raised taxes on the working poor. He has demonized public employee unions ... He pulled out of a major project that would have boosted public transportation, and a multi-state treaty that sought to limit carbon emissions." Matt Katz at the Guardian.
Gov. O'Malley outlines the issues of his potential 2016 candidacy. "Maryland Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley spoke more candidly than ever Saturday about the likelihood he will run for president in 2016 as he lamented 'a crisis of confidence' facing the country... The term-limited governor ... has delivered a series of high-profile talks recently to flesh out the big issues he would build a run for the Democratic nomination around: a commencement at St. Mary’s College in Maryland, an address on climate change, a Center for American Progress speech about growing the middle class and a speech in Ireland." James Hohmann at Politico.
Politics
California
Congress
Best prank ever. Dylan Matthews at Wonkblog.
DEA
The NSA has scary-sounding technical capabilities. But this DEA practice is a larger threat to liberty/constitutional rights. "A secretive U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration unit is funneling information ... to authorities across the nation to help them launch criminal investigations of Americans ... Federal agents are trained to 'recreate' the investigative trail to effectively cover up where the information originated, a practice that ... violates a defendant's Constitutional right to a fair trial. If defendants don't know how an investigation began, they cannot know to ask to review potential sources of exculpatory evidence ... that could reveal entrapment, mistakes or biased witnesses." John Shiffman and Kristina Cooke at Reuters.
The Economy
Ok, but far from great. "Moderate employment gains continued in July, and the unemployment rate edged down. The BLS employer survey showed payrolls grew 162,000 in July, with all the gains occurring in the private sector. Government employment continues to be a source of job market weakness ... For job seekers, especially the long-term unemployed, the employment outlook continues to be poor. It is worth emphasizing, however, that the job picture is gradually improving, though at a heartbreakingly slow pace." Gary Burtless at Brookings.
The sequester isn't helping. "The number of federal workers forced to work shorter hours soared this summer — to 199,000 in July, from 55,000 a year earlier — in a sign of the problems that federal budget policy is causing for the economy ... The pace of job growth slowed somewhat from the first half of the year and remains modest enough that the economy is years away from a full recovery. Contributing to the hangover from the worst financial crisis in decades is a wave of cuts in domestic and military spending, known collectively as the sequester, which is causing government furloughs as well as job losses and curtailed hours among federal contractors." Jackie Calmes and Catherine Rampell at the New York Times.
Food stamp cuts will fall hardest on the suburban poor. "Even if these big cuts don’t become law ... every household currently receiving food stamps ... is scheduled to see a drop in benefit levels as of November 1, 2013, as provisions from the 2009 Recovery Act that boosted assistance expire ... The political geography of this problem, like poverty, has shifted decidedly toward suburbs over the last several years. In the wake of the Great Recession, food stamp receipt increased steeply ... with the fastest pace of growth taking place in suburbia. Between 2007 and 2011, the number of suburban households receiving food stamps more than doubled." Elizabeth Kneebone at Brookings.
Fiscal Fights
And people wonder why the fiscal fights are back. "Sequestration cuts have been condemned by House Republicans ... Cantor's comments ... suggest he's willing to replace the policy that's deliberately harming the United States, but only if President Obama cuts Social Security and Medicare. In other words, we're once again looking at extortion politics at its most ridiculous -- either the White House cuts social-insurance programs to Republicans' satisfaction, or Republicans will continue to embrace a policy that hurts Americans on purpose. And Cantor sees this as responsible because, in his mind, the deficit is 'growing,' despite reality that tells us the exact opposite is true." Steve Benen at Maddowblog.
The deficit is falling. Once more - the deficit is going down. Down. Down. "Mr. Cantor appeared to be defending his party’s shenanigans by arguing that the 'ultimate problem' is the 'growing deficit.' The thing is, the deficit is not growing. It is shrinking ... The federal budget deficit will fall to $759 billion this fiscal year. That’s equivalent to 4.7 percent of the gross domestic product, down from 10 percent four years ago." Juliet Lapidos at Taking Note.
GOP governors come out against the Obamacare shutdown plan. "Worried about the potential impact on the fragile economies in their states, Republican governors this weekend warned their counterparts in Congress not to shut down the federal government as part of an effort to block financing for President Obama’s health care law. A range of Republican governors, including some who have refused to implement elements of the health initiative in their states, said in interviews that a standoff in Washington before the new fiscal year this fall could backfire on the party if it is seen as being responsible for bringing the government to a halt." Jonathan Martin at the New York Times.
But it might be the new reality. "Now, one has to hope that this is mostly bluster and posturing. Indeed, it’s possible Republican leaders will quietly edge towards avoiding a government shutdown to defund Obamacare even as they continue to rail about the need to repeal the law, to avoid looking like squishes and Obama enablers ... But the tentativeness with which leaders continue to hint that a shutdown may not be the best idea — combined with the continued refusal to level with the base about the very things that are pushing us towards the abyss — doesn’t bode well." Greg Sargent at the Plum Line.
It only works if the GOP is unified. "GOP policymakers have generally been on the same page in recent years, especially when it comes to health care and budgeting, but this unanimity is unraveling -- and if the party isn't unified behind their own government-shutdown strategy, it's simply not going to happen. For Republicans, it's been difficult enough to sustain party unity on routine, everyday issues -- to pull off this kind of hostage/extortion strategy when the GOP is already splintering is impossible." Steve Benen at Maddowblog.
GOP
The post governance party. "The sad truth is that the modern G.O.P. is lost in fantasy, unable to participate in actual governing ... I’m talking about their apparent inability to accept very basic reality constraints, like the fact that you can’t cut overall spending without cutting spending on particular programs, or the fact that voting to repeal legislation doesn’t change the law when the other party controls the Senate and the White House ... What makes this frightening is that Republicans do, in fact, have a majority in the House, so America can’t be governed at all unless a sufficient number of those House Republicans are willing to face reality." Paul Krugman at the New York Times.
'Libertarian populism' won't help the GOP. "Libertarian populism isn't doomed just because it's silly, but because it's fighting against so much history. The GOP's image as the party of the wealthy ... was built up over decades. Decades of advocating for tax cuts for the wealthy, decades of attacks on welfare moochers, decades of opposing any labor protections, decades of advocacy for freeing corporations from the burden of regulation. If there's anything even the least attentive voter knows about the Republican party, it's that that's where the rich folk are. Changing that is an almost impossible task, particularly if that's where the rich folk are staying." Paul Waldman at the American Prospect.
The GOP just can't make up its mind on Obama. "The point of the Republicans’ critique of Obama isn’t to be logical; it’s to be critical — relentlessly, if not rationally ... The indecision over whether Obama is a socialist or a plutocrat is but one of the contradictory critiques his opponents have yet to resolve. They also haven’t determined whether he’s a tyrant or a weakling, arrogant or apologetic. It all suggests the opposition is based less on principle than on reflex." Dana Milbank at the Washington Post.
The RNC vs CNN. "The Republican National Committee is outraged that news networks would air a documentary about ... (Hillary Clinton), and ... chairman Reince Priebus interprets liberals’ public indifference to this programming decision as de facto evidence that the documentary will be a Democratic infomercial ... The kicker is where ... Priebus tries to strong-arm the networks into dumping the documentary. 'If you have not agreed to pull this programming prior to the start of the RNC’s Summer Meeting on August 14, I will seek a binding vote of the RNC stating that the committee will neither partner with you in 2016 primary debates nor sanction primary debates which you sponsor,'" Brian Beutler at Salon.
Guns
Guns, background checks, and the Internet. "Forget the so-called 'gun show loophole.' These days, many gun-control advocates are far more focused on the large number of firearms sales that take place over the Internet ... A new study by Third Way, a centrist Democratic group, looked at gun ads posted on Armslist.com in ten states over several random days this summer. The authors found that more than 15,000 guns were on sale at any given time. What’s more, they counted 1,928 ads 'from prospective buyers asking to buy specifically from private sellers (thereby ensuring that no background checks is required).'" Brad Plumer at Wonkblog.
Another super common sense reform that probably won't pass because Congress is dumb. "A loophole in federal law permits domestic abusers to purchase a firearm even after they are subject to a temporary restraining order due to their abuse. Next month, however, Sens. Dick Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) plan to introduce legislation to close this loophole and ensure that abusers cannot obtain firearms during the especially volatile period immediately after their victim seeks legal action." Ian Millhiser at Think Progress.
Health
How do these people sleep at night? Seriously. "Here’s what bugs me: this gimmick—and other efforts like it—aren’t owning up to the full ramifications of foregoing coverage ... There’s also the limited open enrollment issue ... Despite the rhetoric, people actually can’t just buy insurance whenever they fall ill ... People pushing young adults to skip the exchanges ... They’re saying, 'Don’t enroll now; pay the penalty instead. And if you fall ill, or become pregnant, or get stabbed while doing a good deed and you can’t buy a plan, well, them’s the breaks. That’s the gamble we asked of you.' People of all ages—are free to take that gamble. But they ought to know they’re taking it." Adrianna McIntyre at the Incidental Economist.
Missouri, you suck. Honestly. "The marketplace, or exchange, being established by the federal government ... has no visible presence here ... It is being run like a covert operation, with no marketing or detailed information about its products or their prices ... Missouri stands out among the states that have put up significant obstacles. It has refused to create an insurance exchange, leaving the job to the federal government. It has forbidden state and local government officials to cooperate with the federal exchange. It has required insurance counselors to get state licenses before they can help consumers navigate the new insurance market. And, like many states, it has refused to expand Medicaid." Robert Pear at the New York Times.
Keep in mind - this argument is being advanced by a Congressman. "Obamacare’s 10% tax on tanning bed services is racist against white people because darker-skinned people don’t need to tan. At least, that’s what Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) advised Speaker John Boehner to claim in order to turn people against the Affordable Care Act." Cameron Davis at Think Progress.
Immigration
House Dems are divided on immigration. "Divisions have opened up among Democrats over how to push immigration reform forward in the House ... with some advocates urging a more confrontational posture with Republicans, while other Dems insist that such tactics could end up undercutting the already-slim-to-none chances that House Republicans will pass something that could lead to real reform. At the center of the internal debate is Nancy Pelosi and the question of whether Democrats will file a so-called 'discharge petition' for the Senate immigration bill ... But Dems and advocates are divided over whether it’s a good idea." Greg Sargent at the Plum Line.
GOP primary voters aren't against citizenship - they just want strings attached. "Republican voters do support immigration reform — including a path to citizenship — albeit with the proper conditions attached ... a key point that keeps getting lost in the discussion ... When polls tell respondents that citizenship comes packaged with increased border security and/or conditions attached, a majority of Republicans supports it ... Republican primary voters are hostile up front to citizenship, but they recognize a need to fix the system and accept citizenship as part of a broader package of reforms that includes a border security buildup, back taxes, fines, and learning English." Greg Sargent at the Plum Line.
The Internet
One controversial piece of SOPA is back. "You probably remember the online outrage over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) copyright enforcement proposal. Last week, the Department of Commerce’s Internet Policy Task Force released a report on digital copyright policy that endorsed one piece of the controversial proposal: making the streaming of copyrighted works a felony. As it stands now, streaming a copyrighted work over the Internet is considered a violation of the public performance right. The violation is only punishable as a misdemeanor, rather than the felony charges that accompany the reproduction and distribution of copyrighted material." Andrea Peterson at the Switch.
LGBT Rights
The ENDA revival. "Recently, however, there have been promising signs. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved ENDA by a 2 to 1 margin, with support from all Democrats and from Republicans Orrin G. Hatch (Utah), Mark Kirk (Ill.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska). Especially in a year when the Supreme Court has overturned a key part of DOMA and civil rights groups have launched a major campaign for ENDA, that bodes well for the act’s appearance on the Senate floor in the near future." The Washington Post Editorial Board.
I didn't even know this was still a policy. "More than 80 lawmakers have called on the Obama administration to allow gay men to donate blood. The lawmakers say the administration should change what they say is an 'outdated' policy ... They said Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius should re-evaluate blood donation criteria that ban gay men from donating blood for life." Ramsey Cox at the Hill.
NSA
Transparent democracy is only one half of the equation. "This 'democracy requires transparency' argument is incomplete. Consider the opposite argument, which we can call 'democracy requires secrecy.' People exercise their democratic rights by directing the government to engage in various projects. In many cases, these projects can be effective only if they are secret. People who disclose projects that work best if they are conducted in secret undermine democracy by depriving the people of the most effective tools for governing themselves ... Commentators always emphasize the importance of openness to democracy, forgetting that secrecy is just as essential." Eric Posner at Slate.
Why was there no contingency plan? " Congress and the civilian defense leadership will have to ask ... a more basic set of questions: Why on earth wasn't the NSA prepared for this? ... Contingency planning is a critical part of every military operation, and is even more important for secret or covert activities ... Although it has an intelligence mandate, the NSA is a Defense Department organization, and the director of NSA is a 4-star general. As such, it is troubling that the NSA appears to have no plan in place for how to respond once its spying program was made public and plastered on the front pages around the world." Allan Friedman at the Atlantic.
A grand jury is investigating the firm that cleared Snowden's background check. "A federal grand jury is investigating whether the company that conducted the last security background check on National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden improperly rushed cases without proper review ... At the heart of the criminal probe, which is being conducted by federal prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, are allegations that the company improperly cut corners to boost its processing of background checks ... Such activity could violate the False Claims Act, which outlaws actions that defraud the U.S. government." Dion Nissenbaum at the Wall Street Journal.
5 unlikely consequences of the NSA leaks. Elias Groll at Foreign Policy.
SCOTUSwatch
The NRA wants the Court to overturn more gun laws. Because that's what the country needs right now. "The National Rifle Association is asking the Supreme Court to overturn a federal law that prevents federally licensed gun owners from selling handguns to people over 18 and under 21 ... which a three-judge panel for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld last year. The law prevents licensed gun dealers from selling handguns, shotguns and rifles to anyone under 18, and further prevents the sale of handguns and ammo to anyone under 21." Jillian Rayfield at Salon.
Voting Rights
New rules, new lawsuits in North Carolina. "When Republican Gov. Pat McCrory signs North Carolina’s sweeping new elections bill as expected this month, critics will be ready to act, too – in court. The bill not only contains one of the nation’s strictest photo ID laws but compresses the time for early voting and ends straight-ticket balloting. It would no longer count provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct ... The bill ... goes beyond voting changes. It limits disclosure of outside campaign spending, ends public financing for judicial races and no longer makes candidates take responsibility for their ads." Jim Morrill at the Charlotte Observer.
International
Global
Same-sex marriage, globally. "Acceptance of non-heterosexual orientations remains uneven across and within countries. Same-sex marriage is currently legal in sixteen countries, the bulk of which are in Europe and South America. Same-sex marriage has emerged as a prominent issue in the United States in recent years ... The issue is left largely in the hands of the states, though the Supreme Court in 2013 notably struck down a federal barrier to marriage benefits for same-sex couples. Meanwhile, other democracies provide varying degrees of legal rights to same-sex couples, including full marriage rights, limited civil union status, and no legal recognition at all." Council on Foreign Relations.
Here's a cool interactive global map of preventative diseases. Council on Foreign Relations.
The chaos of the Arab Spring is still quite chaotic. "Thirty months after ... the Arab Spring, the various countries that saw massive upheaval remain, well, in upheaval. Egypt’s lauded democratization project has reached a stalemate with the military-backed ouster of Mohamed Morsi ... Hundreds have been killed in subsequent clashes ... Libya remains unable to quell lingering challenges to internal security ... And in Tunisia, the assassination last week of a prominent opposition politician has led to violent clashes ... Widespread international optimism engendered by the revolutions that toppled some of the Middle East and North Africa’s longest-ruling authoritarian regimes has long since died away." John Amble at War on the Rocks.
US port efficiency is low. "Why are China, Japan, South Korea, and the UAE so much better at moving containers around than the United States? ... It’s more a matter of down time. Chinese ports, for example, operate around the clock with gangs of dockworkers who aren’t paid that much or treated that well. Most U.S. ports operate only one or two shifts a day, since longshoremen’s union contracts require overtime pay for working in the middle of the night ... So even if they’re as efficient at moving containers on a per-hour basis, they’ll still be less productive overall. That has real consequences for shipping companies." Lydia DePillis at Wonkblog.
Africa
Zimbabwe: Election held? Check. Fair election? Probably not. "Party operatives in Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party areclaiming victory in yesterday’s elections. According to some observers, ZANU-PF swept constituencies that have consistently voted in the past for the opposition MDC by huge margins. Similarly, well-known and popular opposition figures have been allegedly defeated by unknown ZANU-PF candidates. Such a massive shift toward Mugabe and ZANU-PF is not credible." John Campbell at the Council on Foreign Relations.
The West and Africa have conflicting views on Zimbabwe. "South Africa's President Jacob Zuma on Sunday congratulated Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe on his re-election, in sharp contrast to Western governments which questioned the credibility of a rushed, disputed vote. African monitors broadly approved the conduct of the election but Mugabe's main rival, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai, has said he will challenge the results in court with evidence of massive vote-rigging, irregularities and intimidation." Cris Chinaka at Reuters.
Libya is now handing out death sentences to Gaddafi-regime officials. "A former minister in the government of Muammar Gaddafi has been sentenced to death for his role in repressing protests in the 2011 rebellion. A court in the Libyan city of Misrata found Ahmed Ibrahim guilty of undermining national security and plotting to kill civilians ... He was condemned to execution by firing squad. It is the first known death sentence given to a member of the former government's inner-circle." BBC.
And they're having massive electoral problems, to boot. "In the first blow to the process meant to lay down the country's political foundations, Libya's ethnic minorities, the Amazigh, Tuareg, and Tebu people, announced that they would boycott the election after they were earmarked only six out of 60 seats (or two each). There are no official figures for the Amazigh population in Libya, but estimates put it at 10 to 15 percent of the total population. If those assessments are correct, then the three percent allocated to them in the Constituent Assembly count as an extreme case of underrepresentation." Mohamed Eljarh at Foreign Policy.
Is Africa wired for Chinese surveillance? "Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei may have been all-but-barred from doing business in the U.S. over allegations that it's basically an intelligence agency masquerading as a tech business. In Africa, however, Huawei is thriving. the Chinese telecom has offices in 18 countries and has invested billions of dollars in building African communications networks since the late 1990s ... But current and former U.S. officials -- as well as outside security analysts -- worry there could be another agenda behind Huawei's penetration into Africa. They suspect that the Chinese telecom could be wiring the continent for surveillance." John Reed at Killer Apps.
Europe
Germany is pretending this act is important. It's purely symbolic. "Germany has cancelled a Cold War-era pact with the US and Britain in response to revelations about electronic surveillance operations ... The agreement cancelled on Friday gave the Western countries which had troops stationed in West Germany - the US, Britain and France - the right to request surveillance operations to protect those forces. A German official told the Associated Press news agency that the agreement had not been invoked since the end of the Cold War, and admitted that the decision would have no impact on current intelligence co-operation." BBC.
Also in Germany, Amazon's anti-union practices clash with German union culture. "Even as President Obama spoke about middle-class jobs last week at an Amazon warehouse in Tennessee, Amazon was facing strikes at warehouses in Germany, its second-biggest market. Unions there say the company has imported American-style business practices — in particular, an antipathy to organized labor — that stand at odds with European norms." Nick Wingfield and Melissa Eddy at the New York Times.
Middle East
Syria in fragments. "The once highly-centralized authoritarian state has effectively split into three distinct parts ... The longer the bloody conflict drags on, analysts says, the more difficult it will be to piece together a coherent Syrian state from the wreckage ... The regime holds a firm grip on a corridor running from the southern border with Jordan, through the capital Damascus and up to the Mediterranean coast ... The rebels ... control a chunk of territory that spans parts of Idlib and Aleppo provinces in the north and stretches along the Euphrates river to the porous Iraqi border in the east. Tucked into the far northeastern corner ... Syria's Kurdish minority enjoys semi-autonomy." Zeina Karam at the Associated Press.
Egypt is going to start trying leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood. "Three top officials of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood will go on trial on Aug. 25, on charges of inciting members of their group to kill rioters in front of its headquarters during the upheaval ... on July 3, a Cairo court ruled on Sunday. Although the authorities have detained dozens of Brotherhood members since Mr. Morsi’s fall from power, the case against the group’s spiritual leader, his deputy and another key figure is the first to be scheduled for trial. The pending prosecutions are a new blow to the Brotherhood, which ... has seen all of its newfound power stripped away in a matter of weeks." Ben Hubbard and Mayy El Shiekh at the New York Times.
Afghan militants attempt to attack an Indian consulate, killing nine. "Armed with assault rifles and an explosives-laden vehicle, three men tried to attack an Indian consulate in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing at least nine people and offering a brutal reminder that tensions beyond this country’s borders threaten to fuel the conflict here long after the United States and its allies depart ... There were no indications that the attack was related to the warning by the State Department of a global threat of an Al Qaeda attack in the coming days." Matthew Rosenberg at the New York Times.
South America
Maybe the Colombia-FARC showdown is reaching a conclusion. "For a little under a year, the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have been holding peace talks in Havana -- the first since the round conducted by the Pastrana administration from 1998 to 2002. Those were plagued by delays, accusations from the FARC that the Colombian government was planning to assassinate its top leaders, accusations from the Colombian government that the FARC was planning to kidnap officials, and ongoing violence. The fact that, this time around, the government and the FARC have succeeded in commencing negotiations and maintaining momentum is promising." Anne Phillips at Foreign Affairs.
Brazil enacts a tough, new anti-bribery law. "Bribing a public official in Brazil could become a very onerous mistake for ... businesses under a law ... that for the first time makes companies liable for bribes paid by their employees. Companies found guilty of bribery will face fines of up to 20 percent of their gross annual revenue for the previous year or a maximum of ... ($26.22 million). They could also be suspended from operating, have assets confiscated and even face possible dissolution. Brazil's Congress passed the law in record time in the wake of sweeping protests that shook the country's political establishment ... fueled by widespread public anger with corruption and bad government." Reuters.
Polisci
Globalization is leading to more restrictions on religion. "A new paper in the journal Political Studies by three Israeli political scientists suggests that this trend is an ironic byproduct of globalization, which ... 'has increased interpersonal contact between individuals from culturally diverse backgrounds.' Rather than increasing tolerance, this new interaction actually 'induces perceived threat to a hegemonic religion, which leads to more restrictions on religious freedom.' Using globalization indicators including communications, trade, tourism, and diplomatic contact for 147 countries, they find a correlation between a country's global oppenness and legal restrictions on religion." Joshua Keating at War of Ideas.
Science
5 ways that conservative media erodes trust in climate science. Denise Robbins at Media Matters for America.
Talking robots in space. "Call it one giant leap for robot kind: A small talking robot launched into space aboard a Japanese cargo ship Saturday ... to keep astronauts company on the International Space Station ... The Kirobo space robot is a diminutive mechanical person just 13 inches ... tall built to converse with astronauts on long space voyages. The robot, and its ground-based counterpart Mirata, are part of the Kibo Robot Project to study human-robot interaction technology." Tariq Malik at Space.com.
Sadly, it appears that teleporting humans is not very viable. "There are 6x10^9 bits in a human genome and ... 1.2x10^10 bits per cell ... This is a ton of data. Even at the top of the Super-High Frequency Range ... moving all that data to the space station ... 'would still require around 4.85x10^15 years.' Traditional transportation through physical means such as a rocket or space shuttle would be clearly superior. The energy requirements of teleportation also turn out to be daunting ... All of which is to say that the apparently daunting task of dematerializing and rematerializing a complicated object is only the beginning of the challenges facing the teleportation of human beings." Matthew Yglesias at Slate.
20 things you didn't know about gravity. Bill Andrews at Discover Magazine.
Miscellaneous
The original Star Wars trilogy is so much better than the newer models: Worldbuilding edition. "The original Star Wars doesn't start out by explaining much. You're just thrown in the deep end with a space battle. Meanwhile, The Phantom Menace tells us about trade disputes and negotiations and taxation ... Even though at first glance, A New Hope offers less exposition and fewer scenes of political wrangling than The Phantom Menace, the original Star Wars actually has way better worldbuilding — because you get a few glimpses inside the way this universe actually functions, and you see enough of the political reality to understand why the Death Star is a huge, all-important gamechanger." Charlie Jane Anders at i09.
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