Iran's president signals softer line on web censorship and Islamic dress code

Newly elected Hassan Rouhani, an opponent of segregation by gender, says Iranians' freedoms and rights have been ignored

guardian.co.uk, Saeed Kamali Dehghan, Tuesday 2 July 2013

Iran's president-elect Hassan Rouhani attends his first press conference
 after being elected in June. Photograph: Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua Press/Corbis

Two weeks after his sensational victory Iran's president-elect, Hassan Rouhani, has expressed relatively progressive views about civil liberties, freedom of expression and the internet.

Social networking sites such as Facebook were, he said, a welcome phenomenon.

In his most outspoken interview in the Iranian media, Rouhani told Chelcheragh – a popular youth magazine – that he is opposed to segregation of sexes in society, would work to minimise censorship and believes internet filtering is futile.

"In the age of digital revolution, one cannot live or govern in a quarantine," he said as he made clear he is opposed to the authorities' harsh crackdown on Iranians owning satellite dishes, which millions have installed on rooftops for access to foreign-based TV channels illegal in the country.

Rouhani, who has promised to put the Islamic republic back on the path of moderation after eight acrimonious years under the outgoing president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, warned that citizens' rights had been neglected.

He said he stood in the June presidential election as a candidate critical of the current situation and also because he felt the country was at peril.

"Today the republican [nature] of our country is overshadowed by a specific interpretation of its Islamic [character]," he said.

Rouhani's reference to the republican character of Iran's ruling system is a hint that the Islamic republic's legitimacy is meant to come from the popular vote. Rouhani is scheduled to be sworn into office in early August.

"Some of the principles of our constitution have been emphasised while others were neglected and this is why we are facing an imbalance as a result," he said.

"The freedom and rights of people have been ignored but those of the rulers have been emphasised … Restricting [people's right] to criticise will only stifle and lead to inefficiency."

Of internet filtering, Rouhani said some of the measures taken by the authorities to restrict users' access online was not done in good faith and was instead politically motivated.

"There are political reasons. They have fears of the freedom people have in online atmosphere, this is why they seek to restrict information. But filtering is incapable of producing any [useful] results," he said.

"Supporters of internet filtering should explain whether they've successfully restricted access to information? Which important piece of news has filtering been able to black out in recent years?"

He added: "Filtering has not even stopped people from accessing unethical [a reference to pornographic] websites. Widespread online filtering will only increase distrust between people and the state."

Access to hundreds of thousands of websites is blocked in Iran, including Facebook and Twitter, but millions of Iranians use them via anti-filtering software or virtual private network (VPN) services.

Despite the filtering, Rouhani's campaign was active on both sites at election time.

"The virtual space is a tool and it can be an opportunity or a threat," said Rouhani.

"I remember that [former president] Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani once called social networking websites such as Facebook a welcome phenomenon. Indeed they are."

Since Rouhani's win, web users in Iran have reported a relative easing of online censorship and say revoked access to VPN accounts has been restored.

Rouhani also pledged to minimise censorship of artistic and cultural works and said the state – instead of interfering in the affairs of artists and cultural figures – should provide them with security.

"We should not tighten the red lines all the time, we should show that censorship is not our goal," he said.

On the question of women wearing the hijab, a contentious issue in a country with millions unhappy about the mandatory religious code, the president-elect said he was against the crackdown against women with loose clothing – but he stopped short of saying it should be left as voluntary.

Each summer, as the heat bears down and makes it difficult for women and men in Iran to stick to their forced Islamic dress code, the religious police go out on to the streets to watch out for loose hijabs, inappropriate dress or hairstyles.

"I'm certainly against these actions," said Rouhani, saying a women without a hijab is not necessarily without virtue.

"If a women or a man does not comply with our rules for clothing, his or her virtue should not come under question … In my view, many women in our society who do not respect our hijab laws are virtuous. Our emphasis should be on the virtue."

In his interview, Rouhani said he opposed segregation of men and women, including at universities, and criticised the politicians who are against allowing women to enter stadiums to watch football matches along with men.

Iran's state television, IRIB, the mouthpiece of the country's ruling system, also came under attack from Rouhani.

"A large population of our youth are ignoring the [state] television because in it they haven't seen the honesty, morality, justice that it merits," he said.

"When the state TV shows a programme about the birth of a panda in a Chinese zoo but doesn't broadcast anything about workers staging a protest because they haven't been paid for six months … it's obvious that people and the youth will ignore it. The solution is to have freedom of expression.

"If a day comes that our television shows more news coverage than foreign networks such as BBC, then people will reconcile with it."

Rouhani has previously criticised the IRIB. During his first post-election speech at the weekend, he said a country which receives its legitimacy from its people should not fear free media.

He also said: "Injustice is an injustice … it's a double standard to call an injustice in an unfriendly country as an injustice but to label the same thing in a friendly country as not … human rights is same in any place around the world."

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"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“…  Government

Let us speak of government. We're not speaking of your government, but of any government - the way it works, how it survives, how it has survived, the way it campaigns, and how it elects leaders. It's going to change.

Years ago, I told you, "When everybody can talk to everybody, there can be no secrets." Up to this point on this planet, government has counted on one thing - that the people can't easily talk to each other on a global scale. They have to get their information through government or official channels. Even mass media isn't always free enough, for it reports that which the government reports. Even a free society tends to bias itself according to the bias of the times. However, when you can have Human Beings talking to each other all at once, all over the planet without government control, it all changes, for there is open revelation of truth.

Democracy itself will change and you're going to see it soon. The hold-outs, the few countries I have mentioned in the past, are doomed unless they recalibrate. They're doomed to be the same as they have been and won't be able to exist as they are now with everyone changing around them.

I mentioned North Korea in the past. Give it time. Right now, the young man is under the control of his father's advisors. But when they're gone, you will see something different, should he survive. Don't judge him yet, for he is being controlled.

In government, if you're entire voting base has the ability to talk to itself without restriction and comes up with opinions by itself without restriction, it behooves a politician to be aware and listen to them. This will change what politicians will do. It will change the way things work in government. Don't be surprised when some day a whole nation can vote all at once in a very unusual way. Gone will be the old systems where you used to count on horseback riders to report in from faraway places. Some of you know what I am talking about. Government will change. The systems around you, both dark and light, will change. You're going to start seeing something else, too, so let's change the subject and turn the page. …”

Asia remains at the center of US foreign policy

Deutsche Welle, 2 July 2013

US Secretary of State John Kerry has taken a clear stance at this year's ASEAN Regional Forum. His country is to remain committed in Asia, but also to avoid direct confrontation with its main rival China.

America's foreign policy shift towards Asia was initiated by Kerry's predecessor Hillary Clinton. In 2009, she made her first trip as Secretary of State to Asia. Two years later, she declared this century to be "America's Pacific Century." In an essay for "Foreign Policy" magazine she wrote: "Just as Asia is critical to America's future, an engaged America is vital to Asia's future."

Clinton initiated the US' foreign
policy shift towards Asia

In the past few months, however, doubts have been cast over whether the US was both willing and capable of continuing its commitment in Asia, according to Ernest Bower and Noelan Arbis, senior advisers at the US-based Institute for Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) "Regional partners have questions about the sustainability and level of commitment of the rebalance as Kerry has seemingly prioritized the Syrian conflict and restarting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process since taking office on February 1."

'Enduring presence'

However, the Secretary of State seems to have taken a different approach at this year's Regional Forum of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Brunei. During the opening ceremony Kerry emphasized that the US would continue on the path it had taken so far with the Asia Pacific and keep on building on "our active and our enduring presence in every respect."

Set up in 1994, the ASEAN Regional Forum has 27 members. The annual meeting includes the 18 members of the East Asia Summit such as Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea the United States as well as nine other states.

Kerry seems to be following the strategy adopted by US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel during his visit last month to the Asian security conference, the Shangri-La dialogue. Hagel said: "It is true that the Department of Defense will have fewer resources than in the recent past. It would be unwise and short-sighted to conclude, however, that our commitment to the rebalance cannot be sustained."

'No intention of containing China'

According to Bower and Arbis, the strategic challenges the US has to face are diverse. They range from the territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas to North Korea's nuclear program and religious violence in Myanmar.

The US approach to the territorial dispute in the South China Sea serves as a good example for this. Kerry addressed the issue in Brunei by saying: "We have a strong interest in the manner in which the disputes of the South China Sea are addressed and in the conduct of the parties. We very much hope to see progress soon on a substantive code of conduct in order to help ensure stability in this vital region."

At the same time, Kerry pointed out that the US wouldn't get involved in particular disputes, and that it would instead push for international regulations. It seems that by doing so the US is seeking to support its regional partners and act as a counterbalance to China, without being on a confrontation course. Kerry underscored this point indirectly in Brunei: "Our actions are not intended to contain or to counterbalance any one country."

However, Gerhard Will, researcher at the Berlin-based German Institute for International and Security Affairs, is not convinced. "The US is pursuing a policy of containment, though it does not always seem to be aware of it. Washington claims it wants to give the Chinese more say, but if you look closely, you'll see that this is not the case."

Kerry (r) said US actions were not aimed
at counterbalancing any country

This could lead to China and the US facing each other as rivals in South East Asia, Will says. "A strategy like this doesn't have any long-term prospects and will ultimately force ASEAN member states to choose between a pro-American and a pro-Chinese side."

This is why Will believes that Kerry has set out to regain the trust of ASEAN countries. The expert says these nations believe they cannot necessarily count on US support in times of true crisis, as the dispute over the Scarborough Shoal shows. Last year, Chinese surveillance ships seized the Scarborough Shoal following a tense standoff with Philippine vessels. The US didn't intervene.

Community of interests

But Will says this situation is different from the one during the Cold War where Americans and Soviets faced each other as enemies. "Things are much more complicated nowadays," he said, adding that the far-reaching economic relations between the US and China have created a community of interest. "It's difficult to reconcile a policy of containment with the economic interests of both the US and China."

This community of interests was apparent regarding North Korea. After a meeting between Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, both leaders said they were "absolutely united" in their resistance to North Korea's nuclear program.

Gazan Arab Idol hero on triumphal West Bank tour

Google – AFP, 2 July 2013

Palestinian winner of "Arab Idol" Mohammed Assaf performs in the West

Bank city of Ramallah on July 1, 2013 (AFP, Abbas Momani)

RAMALLAH — The Gazan winner of pan-Arab talent competition Arab Idol, Mohammed Assaf, performed in front of some 40,000 fans in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Monday.

Crowds thronged a square near the tomb of Palestinian president Yasser Arafat with a heavy security detail present, along with ambulances as a precaution, an AFP journalist reported.

Assaf was greeted with cheers and applause as he came on stage, surrounded by policemen holding back hundreds of fans who wanted a photograph with the singer.

Before beginning his performance, Assaf spoke to the crowds.

"I am very pleased to be here with you, and with the help of God, I have done you proud," he said before launching into "Raise the Keffiyeh," a Palestinian nationalist song which refers to the traditional chequered headscarf made famous by Arafat.

Assaf arrived in the West Bank, which is governed by president Mahmud Abbas's Palestinian authority, on Monday afternoon, entering from Jordan over the Allenby Bridge. In Ramallah, Assaf laid a wreath on Arafat's tomb before meeting Abbas.

The singer is due to visit other West Bank towns Bethlehem, Hebron and Nablus.

Palestinians attend a concert by "Arab Idol" Mohammed Assaf in the West

Bank city of Ramallah on July 1, 2013 (AFP, Abbas Momani)

On his return to Gaza, which is governed by the Islamist movement Hamas, on June 25, Assaf called for an end to the "division" with the West Bank, and urged "unity" between Palestinians.

Israeli legal rights group Gisha, which lobbies for freedom of movement for Palestinians, stressed that the singer's arrival was "exceptional not just because Palestinians consider him a national hero but also because it is an exception to Israel's consistent policy of blocking access between Gaza and the West Bank".

"If Assaf had been anything less than a superstar, he would have had little chance of setting foot in the West Bank because of the Israeli policy of restricting the voyage to 'exceptional humanitarian circumstances,'" Gisha said in a statement.

Born to Palestinian parents in Misrata, Libya, 23-year-old Assaf grew up in the teeming Khan Yunis refugee camp in southern Gaza before winning the 2013 edition of Arab Idol in Beirut.

His victory sparked scenes of jubilation across the Palestinian territories.

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Arab Idol winner in triumphant return to Gaza

Support group helps Chinese gays come out

Want China Times, Xinhua 2013-07-01

A gay parade in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province. (Photo/CNS)

Xiao Kai, a gay man from central China's Henan province, finally gathered the courage to tell his parents about his sexual orientation with the help of a support group that is helping many other gay Chinese come out to their friends and relatives.

Xiao Kai is the single son of a rural family from a village outside the city of Pingdingshan, where traditional beliefs dictate that men must continue the family bloodlines.

Although he initially tried to ease the pressure from his family to settle down by hiring a "fake" girlfriend, he eventually realized that he had to tell them the truth.

"I was tired of fooling my parents and hurting others," said Xiao Kai, who lives in the provincial capital of Zhengzhou with his boyfriend.

Although he said his honesty was a shock to his parents, he said they finally accepted his orientation on the condition that he would not bring his boyfriend back to their village.

Xiao Kai's courage largely came from a support network called Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays China, a non-governmental organization that comprises nearly 150 families of lesbians and gays nationwide.

Founded in 2008, PFLAG China works to support the relatives and friends of gays and lesbians, as well as helps gays and lesbians during the difficult "coming out" process. The organization has set up a hotline to promote better understanding for those in the LGBT community that is manned by the parents of lesbians and gays who wish to share their stories and experiences.

Wu Tao, a PFLAG China worker who organizes events for the families of gays and lesbians, said large-scale meetings will be held for the families in 11 cities.

Xiao Kai took his parents to a meeting in Zhengzhou, where parents shared their stories and experiences.

"As long as my family supports me, I can neglect all other humiliations or prejudices," he said, adding that relatives play a crucial role as a social buffer.

Long-standing traditions regarding marriage and the continuation of one's bloodline have resulted in many "fake" marriages, with gay men marrying straight women to deflect pressure from their relatives.

China has at least 10 million "gay wives," according to sexologist Zhang Beichuan, who added that nearly 90% of gay men are already married to or will eventually marry heterosexual women.

Chinese law has not specifically banned homosexual marriage, though a high-profile official from the Civil Affair Departments publicly announced a prohibition a few years ago, according to Zhang.

Zhang has called for amending the existing marriage law in order to allow same-sex marriage, as well as for more efforts to educate the public about the issue.

"Non-governmental organizations like PFLAG have helped to provide care and opportunities for communication for families in need," Zhang said.

"A Yi," a 52-year-old gay man, married a straight woman to conceal his orientation from his parents.

"It was difficult to come out in the last three decades, as most of us had to pretend to be straight," he said, adding that it took years for him to come to terms with his orientation.

China decriminalized homosexuality in 1997 and in 2001 removed it from an official list of mental disorders.

"Recently, I've seen same-sex couples walking down the street hand in hand. Many are no longer hiding from public," A Yi said.

Zhang said gays and lesbians are gaining confidence, adding that the public also has a growing awareness of personal rights and tolerance.

A gay couple get married in public in Fujian province.

(Internet photo)

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Australia's Rudd appoints record number of women in cabinet

Deutsche Welle, 1 July 2013

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has unveiled his new ministry, which includes a record 11 women. The newly-returned Rudd has rewarded backers who helped him reclaim power and has enjoyed a surge in popularity.

Rudd named his ministry and cabinet on Monday, five days after seizing leadership of Australia's ruling Labor party from Julia Gillard, the country's first female prime minister who had herself ousted Rudd from the top position three years before.

The ministry includes 11 women out of 30, two more than under Gillard, with six in the 20-member cabinet. It could potentially help Rudd counter any backlash from female voters in the lead up to national elections, the date of which Rudd has not yet named, after last week ruling out Gillard's choice of September 14.

Rudd told reporters the appointments were made on merit, not gender, and rejected suggestions the choices had been political.

"I am delighted that in this cabinet of ours we will have the largest number of women in any cabinet in Australian history," he said.

Australia's first female governor-general, Quentin Bryce, who is the country's representative of Queen Elizabeth II, swore in the ministers on Monday afternoon.

Those brought into the ministry include Jacinta Collins, who enters the cabinet as the mental health minister, Catherine King, minister for regional Australia, and Julie Collins, who takes on the portfolios of housing, homelessness and the status of women.

Those keeping their positions they held under Gillard include finance minister Penny Wong, health minister Tanya Plibersek, and families minister Jenny Macklin. The top portfolios of defense and foreign affairs, held by men, did not change hands.

At least one analyst said that men were likely to dominate Rudd's cabinet, despite the increase in women.

"A more objective analysis...paying attention to the jobs allocated, reveals it will be a close coterie of men who will be running the big arguments, and handling the major problem areas between now and polling day," said Mark Kenny, national political editor of The Advertiser newspaper.

Key supporters of Rudd were rewarded in his choice of ministry, with Chris Bowen appointed treasurer, former defense minister Joel Fitzgibbon brought back into cabinet as agriculture minister, and Kim Carr returning with the industry, science, innovation and higher education portfolios.

Opinion polls held in the last few days suggest that Labor has significantly closed the gap on the conservative opposition, led by Tony Abbott. However they say Abbott's coalition would still win if a parliamentary election were held now.

jr/hc (AFP, Reuters)

India floods: 'Thousands still missing' in Uttarakhand

BBC News, 1 July 2013

Nearly 100,000 pilgrims and tourists have been rescued so far

Related Stories

• In pictures: Uttarakhand after floods
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Nearly 3,000 people are still missing following floods and landslides which hit India's Uttarakhand state a fortnight ago, the chief minister of the state has said.

More than 800 people are reported to have been killed so far but Vijay Bahuguna said the exact number of deaths may never be known.

Hundreds of people are still trapped in the Badrinath area, reports say.

Some 100,000 people have already been evacuated from the flood-hit region.

This year's early monsoon rains in the Uttarakhand region are believed to be the heaviest in 80 years.

Swollen rivers have swept away entire villages in the state, where there were many travellers in what is peak tourist season.

"We will never know the exact number of the dead and the number of people buried or washed away," Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna told the Press Trust of India news agency.

"According to my information about 3,000 people are still missing. We will compensate their families. They have to give an affidavit saying that their relatives have not returned home for more than 30 days."

Officials say many bodies may have been washed away or remain buried under debris. Some of the bodies were recovered in rivers downstream from the flood zone.

Distraught relatives clutching photographs of missing family members have been waiting for days in the state capital, Dehradun, hoping for news.

The Indian military has been flying helicopters into the mountains to evacuate tens of thousands of people trapped by damaged roads and landslides.

Reports say some 900 Hindu pilgrims and tourists are still stranded in the Badrinath, one of the worst-affected areas. They are expected to be evacuated on Monday.

While most of the stranded people have been rescued, the extent of the damage to the local communities is still unclear.

Key US-EU trade pact under threat after more NSA spying allegations

Reports in Der Spiegel that US agencies bugged European council building 'reminiscent of cold war', says German minister

guardian.co.uk, Ian Traynor in Brussels, Louise Osborne in Berlin and Jamie Doward, Sunday 30 June 2013

The Justus Lipsius building in Brussels, home of the EU council – and subject
 to a US survellance programme, according to documents seen by Der Spiegel.
Photograph: Don McPhee for the Guardian

The prospects for a new trade pact between the US and the European Union worth hundreds of billions have suffered a severe setback following allegations that Washington bugged key EU offices and intercepted phonecalls and emails from top officials.

The latest reports of NSA snooping on Europe – and on Germany in particular – went well beyond previous revelations of electronic spying said to be focused on identifying suspected terrorists, extremists and organised criminals.

The German publication Der Spiegel reported that it had seen documents and slides from the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden indicating that US agencies bugged the offices of the EU in Washington and at the United Nations in New York. They are also accused of directing an operation from Nato headquarters in Brussels to infiltrate the telephone and email networks at the EU's Justus Lipsius building in the Belgian capital, the venue for EU summits and home of the European council.

Without citing sources, the magazine reported that more than five years ago security officers at the EU had noticed several missed calls apparently targeting the remote maintenance system in the building that were traced to NSA offices within the Nato compound in Brussels.

The impact of the Der Spiegel allegations may be felt more keenly in Germany than in Brussels. The magazine said Germany was the foremost target for the US surveillance programmes, categorising Washington's key European ally alongside China, Iraq or Saudi Arabia in the intensity of the electronic snooping.

Germany's justice minister, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, called for an explanation from the US authorities. "If the media reports are true, it is reminiscent of the actions of enemies during the cold war," she was quoted as saying in the German newspaper Bild. "It is beyond imagination that our friends in the US view Europeans as the enemy."

France later also asked the US authorities for an explanation. France's foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, said: "These acts, if confirmed, would be completely unacceptable.

"We expect the American authorities to answer the legitimate concerns raised by these press revelations as quickly as possible.".

Washington and Brussels are scheduled to open ambitious free trade talks next week following years of arduous preparation. Senior officials in Brussels are worried that the talks would be overshadowed by the latest disclosures of US spying on its closest allies.

"Obviously we will need to see what is the impact on the trade talks," said a senior official in Brussels. A second senior official said the allegations would cause a furore in the European parliament and could then hamper relations with the US.

Robert Madelin, one of Britain's most senior officials in the European commission, tweeted that EU trade negotiators always operated on the assumption that their communications were listened to.

A spokesman for the European commission said: "We have immediately been in contact with the US authorities in Washington and in Brussels and have confronted them with the press reports. They have told us they are checking on the accuracy of the information released yesterday and will come back to us."

There were calls from MEPs for Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European council – who has his office in the building allegedly targeted by the US – and José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European commission, to urgently appear before the chamber to explain what steps they were taking in response to the growing body of evidence of US and British electronic surveillance of Europe through the Prism and Tempora operations.

Guy Verhofstadt, the former Belgian prime minister and leader of the liberals in the European parliament, said: "This is absolutely unacceptable and must be stopped immediately. The American data collection mania has achieved another quality by spying on EU officials and their meetings. Our trust is at stake."

Luxembourg's foreign minister, Jean Asselborn, told Der Spiegel: "If these reports are true, it's disgusting." Asselborn called for guarantees from the very highest level of the US government that the snooping and spying is immediately halted.

Martin Schulz, the head of the European parliament, said: "I am deeply worried and shocked about the allegations of US authorities spying on EU offices. If the allegations prove to be true, it would be an extremely serious matter which will have a severe impact on EU-US relations.

"On behalf of the European parliament, I demand full clarification and require further information speedily from the US authorities with regard to these allegations."

There were also calls for John Kerry, the US secretary of state, to make a detour to Brussels on his way from his current trip to the Middle East, to explain US activities.

"We need to get clarifications and transparency at the highest level," said Marietje Schaake, a Dutch liberal MEP. "Kerry should come to Brussels on his way back from the Middle East. This is essential for the transatlantic alliance. The US can only lead by example, and should uphold the freedoms it claims to protect against attacks from the outside. Instead we see erosion of freedoms, checks and balances, from within."

Within senior circles in Brussels, however, it has long been assumed that the Americans were listening to or seeking to monitor EU electronic traffic.

"There's a certain schadenfreude here that we're important enough to be spied on," said one of the officials. "This was bound to come out one day. And I wouldn't be surprised if some of our member states were not doing the same to the Americans."

The documents suggesting the clandestine bugging operations were from September 2010, Der Spiegel said.

A former senior official in Brussels maintained that EU phone and computer systems were almost totally secure but that no system could be immune to persistent high-quality penetration operations.

"I have always assumed that anyone with a decent agency was listening, hacking if they could be bothered," he said. "It doesn't bother me much. Sometimes it's a form of communication."

Der Spiegel quoted the Snowden documents as revealing that the US taps half a billion phone calls, emails and text messages in Germany a month. "We can attack the signals of most foreign third-class partners, and we do it too," Der Spiegel quoted a passage in the NSA document as saying.

On an average day, the NSA monitored about 20m German phone connections and 10m internet datasets, rising to 60m phone connections on busy days, the report said.

Officials in Brussels said this reflected Germany's weight in the EU and probably also entailed elements of industrial and trade espionage. "The Americans are more interested in what governments think than the European commission. And they make take the view that Germany determines European policy," said one of the senior officials.

Jan Philipp Albrecht, a German Green party MEP and a specialist in data protection, told the Guardian the revelations were outrageous. "It's not about political answers now, but rule of law, fundamental constitutional principles and rights of European citizens," he said.

"We now need a debate on surveillance measures as a whole looking at underlying technical agreements. I think what we can do as European politicians now is to protect the rights of citizens and their rights to control their own personal data."

Talking about the NSA's classification of Germany as a "third-class" partner, Albrecht said it was not helping to build the trust of Germans or other Europeans. "It is destroying trust and to rebuild that, [the US] will need to take real action on legislation," he said.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that at least six European member states have shared personal communications data with the NSA, according to declassified US intelligence reports and EU parliamentary documents.

The documents, seen by the Observer, show that – in addition to the UK – Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy have all had formal agreements to provide communications data to the US. They state that the EU countries have had "second and third party status" under decades-old signal intelligence (Sigint) agreements that compel them to hand over data which, in later years, experts believe, has come to include mobile phone and internet data.

Under the international intelligence agreements, nations are categorised by the US according to their trust level. The US is defined as 'first party' while the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand enjoy 'second party' trusted relationships. Countries such as Germany and France have 'third party', or less trusted, relationships.

The data-sharing was set out under a 1955 UK-USA agreement that provided a legal framework for intelligence-sharing that has continued.

It stipulates: "In accordance with these arrangements, each party will continue to make available to the other, continuously, and without request, all raw traffic, COMINT (communications intelligence) end-product and technical material acquired or produced, and all pertinent information concerning its activities, priorities and facilities."

The agreement goes on to explain how it can be extended to incorporate similar agreements with third party countries, providing both the UK and the US agree.

Under the third party data-sharing agreements each country was given a codename. Denmark was known as Dynamo while Germany was referred to as Richter. The agreements were of strategic importance to the NSA during the cold war.

However, Simon Davies, an intelligence expert and project director at the London School of Economics who writes the Privacy Surgeon blog, suggested the NSA's role had been given a sharper focus following amendments to the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa).

In an interview published in full last night on Davies' blog, former NSA director General Michael Hayden said: "The changes made to Fisa in 2008 were far more dramatic – far more far-reaching than anything President Bush authorised me to do."

Davies told the Observer that confirmation of the secret agreements showed there was a need for the EU to investigate.

"It's clear that the European parliament must intervene at this point through a public inquiry," Davies said. "MEPs should put the interests of their citizens above party politics and create meaningful reforms."

The covert data-sharing relationship between leading European countries and the US was first outlined in a 2001 report by the European parliament.

The report stated: "Germany and the United Kingdom are called upon to make the authorisation of further communications interception operations by US intelligence services on their territory conditional on their compliance with the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights)."

One of the bugging methods mentioned is codenamed Dropmire,

which according to a 2007 document is 'implanted on the Cryptofax

at the EU embassy, DC'. Photograph: Guardian

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NSA taps in to internet giants' systems to mine user data, secret files reveal

Matthew’s Message - June 11, 2013 - (Matthew channelled by Suzanne Ward)

“.. This is an appropriate place to address questions that many readers have asked: How can US President Obama defend the National Security Agency’s collection of data from citizens’ private telephone conversations and Internet records? Why did he sign the Monsanto Protection Act? Congressional actions are public knowledge, but what goes on behind closed doors is not known, and we shall tell you what is relevant to these two situations.

President Obama defended NSA’s data gathering, which was authorized in the Patriot Act passed during George W. Bush’s administration, on the authentic basis that it has led to discovering and thwarting numerous terrorist plans. What the president cannot say—and Bush never would—is that the most extensive terrorist acts that met failure and most of the lesser plots that also got shot down were those devised by the CIA faction under Illuminati control.

Neither can Obama disclose that ETs are working in the NSA and other agencies in that country and in several others. They are collecting and analyzing information on all Illuminati activities around the globe and using it to weaken their operations and obtain evidence for prosecution. When this has served its purpose—bringing to its final moment the Illuminati reign—the Patriot Act and also Homeland Security will come to an end.

As for the Monsanto Protection Act, Illuminati spokespersons told the president that if he vetoed it, Congress would override it. Furthermore, they would intensify their efforts to overturn the Affordable Healthcare Act, block legislation that could relieve some immigration issues, and doom attempts to resolve international conflicts by rational discussions instead of belligerent confrontation.

That is the “down-to-Earth” reason, you could say, that Obama signed the bill, but there is another facet of this that the Illuminati bloc doesn’t know. Despite their threats, the president was not going to sign the Act—he did so because ETs close to him advised it. Their higher perspective was that citizens’ outrage at this insidious bill needs to motivate them to force its nullification. The people must exercise their right and responsibility to demand that their elected officials end stubborn partisanship, stop letting lobbyists’ money dictate their votes on legislation, and start serving the best interests of the country.

By no means does this apply only to the United States! Governments in every country must start serving the needs of their people because this goes to the very heart of Earth’s Golden Age and soul evolvement! ..”

Obama expresses concern at Egypt violence

Google – AFP, 29 June 2013

Opponents of the Egyptian president burn the content of a Freedom and

Justice Party office in Alexandria on June 28, 2013 (AFP)

PRETORIA — US President Barack Obama on Saturday expressed concern about clashes in Egypt and called on President Mohamed Morsi to be more "constructive" along with the opposition to end the political crisis.

"We are all looking at the situation there with concern," Obama said in South Africa, adding that the US government had taken steps to ensure the safety of its embassy, consulates and diplomats in Egypt.

"We would urge all parties to make sure they are not engaging in violence and that police and military are showing appropriate restraint," he said.

"Everybody has to denounce violence. We would like to see the opposition and President Morsi engage in a more constructive conversation about to move their country forward."

Obama also said that Washington had consistently supported democracy in Egypt, but "it has been challenging given that there is not a tradition of democracy in Egypt".

Egypt was braced for nationwide protests against Morsi on Sunday to mark the anniversary of his turbulent first year in office after violence at rival demonstrations killed three people, including an American.

Morsi, 62, stands accused by his critics of failing the 2011 revolution that brought him to power and of ignoring nearly half of the electorate of around 50 million who did not vote for him last year.

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptian demonstrators

gather outside the presidential palace in Cairo. (AFP)

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"TIME TO SAY GOOD-BYE" - The Last 18 years – Dec 8, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

(Subjects: Who is Kryon, God, Love, Great Central Sun, (Old) Soul, Benevolent Design, 1987 - Harmonic Convergence (11:11), 36 years galactic window (Precession), 26.000 years cycle, Mayan Calendar, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, “TIME TO SAY GOOD-BYE”  song – Composer, Human Consciousness, Conceptional Thinking, Old and New energy, Middle East, Protest against the new leader in Egypt because he is of an old energy, Syria is a Nightmare, Libya, People of Iran, Israel, Higher Self, You did it !, Change of Paradigm, 2012,  US/Russia, Global Unity, ... etc.)