Iranian Elections

June 12, 2013 Leave a comment

Background: Iran, recently in the news for its nuclear ambitions and involvement in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq, will have presidential elections on June 14. Since Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution, the Supreme Leader (the highest religious and political figure in Iran) has shared power with the Republic’s President. Around the world, people are curious to know how much these elections really matter–that is, how much power the Iranian President really wields and how much is controlled by the Supreme Leader. Papers within Iran imply power is in the hands of the Guardian Council (headed by the Supreme Leader), especially in foreign policy decisions (LEFT). Other outlets admit the President has very limited power, but can still change the direction of the country economically, diplomatically, and in filling appointments (RIGHT).

Election fervor approaches climax

June 12  Tehran Times

“…Iran’s top electoral supervisory body, the Guardian Council, approved the qualifications of eight candidates… The candidates elaborated on their policies on economic and cultural issues and introduced their foreign and national policies during three rounds of live televised group debates, which some believe were not as lively and heated as the one-on-one televised presidential debates of 2009, which were introduced for the first time that year. During the debates, almost all the candidates acknowledged that the country’s economy is in a grim state and quick fixes must be found to boost the sanction-hit economy, and also vowed to improve Iran’s relations with the outside world. They all defended Iran’s right to have a peaceful nuclear program, but their views differed on how to negotiate with the West to resolve the decade-old nuclear dispute, which, in the White House’s words, has drawn “the most stringent and broad sanctions regime in the history of the world.” However, making decisions on nuclear policies and major foreign policy issues falls within the ambit of the Supreme Leader…”

Iran elections 2013: Does the president even matter?

June 11  Al Arabiya

“…In Iran, however, the president is not the final decision-maker, and it is the only state in which the president does not have control over the armed forces… (However,) the president can significantly change the direction of the country… Perhaps the most important aspect of the president’s powers, at least to to voters in the country, is their ability to shift Iran’s economic course… Iran’s relations with the West have been strained, showing that the country can be poles apart under different presidents, despite having the same supreme leader… The president’s key role in brokering diplomacy with the outside world is just one reason why the position matters… The president also has the constitutional right to fill key positions of authority… (But even their chosen picks’ decisions are only effective after confirmation by the supreme leader. “That’s why [Ahmadinejad and Khatami], in the last days of their presidency, said this position has no real authority. In other words, it’s all about being a handyman to the supreme leader”… In terms of economic policy, the president has leeway to formulate decisions… Despite this, the presidential position seems to be overpowered regarding the formulation of foreign policy…”

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NSA Surveillance

June 7, 2013 Leave a comment

Background: The Guardian and Washington Post revealed that the NSA maintains broad records on phone calls, credit card records, and internet activity. On Wednesday, The Guardian found the NSA collects phone call recipients’ and callers’ numbers, locations, and call durations. Yesterday, the Post found the NSA taps internet providers’ servers to view foreigners’ emails, audio and video chats, and photos. Many call this a disturbing revelation, highlighting 4th amendment probable cause violations and previous NSA lies when its representatives claimed the agency only collects information on foreign terrorists (LEFT). Those in government argue these expansions are acceptable as they receive Congressional oversight and are vital for national interest (RIGHT).

What you should know about NSA phone data program

June 6  Carlsbad Current Argus

“…It proves that, in the name of national security, the government sweeps up the call records of Americans who have no known ties to terrorists or criminals…The seizure was authorized by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which operates under very different rules from a typical court. Probable cause is not required… (Under the Patriot Act’s provision 215) the government must show that there are “reasonable grounds to believe” that the records are relevant to an investigation intended to “protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities.” Exactly what “relevant” meant has been unclear. With the release of the classified court order, the public can see for the first time that everyone’s phone records are relevant… Many members of Congress have known this was going on for years… “Everyone should just calm down and understand that this isn’t anything that’s brand new,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said… In March, for instance, NSA spokeswoman Vanee Vines said, “NSA collects, monitors, and analyzes a variety of (asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)FOREIGN(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk) signals and communications for indications of threats to the United States and for information of value to the U.S. government… NSA is not an indiscriminate vacuum, collecting anything and everything.””

Obama defends surveillance effort as ‘trade-off’ for security

June 7 Reuters (Video)

“…(Obama) emphasized that the secret surveillance programs were supervised by federal judges and authorized by Congress, which had been briefed on the details… (Obama argued) such “modest encroachments on privacy” were worth it. “You can’t have 100 percent security and also then have 100 percent privacy and zero inconvenience… There are trade-offs involved.”… U.S. officials described the government’s collection of trillions of pieces of “metadata” as an effort to build a giant database of communications that can be used as a research tool for investigators when they receive a tip that a foreign terrorism suspect is plotting to attack America… But if investigators want to track people more closely – such as by listening to their phone calls or reading their emails – another court warrant is required… The programs “do not involve listening to people’s phone calls, do not involve reading the emails of U.S. citizens or U.S. residents, absent further action by a federal court that is entirely consistent with what we would do, for example, in a criminal investigation,” he said… (He) challenged members of Congress who did not agree with the effort to “speak up. We’re happy to have that debate.”… The Washington Post said the surveillance program involving internet firms, code-named PRISM and established under Republican President George W. Bush in 2007, had seen “exponential growth” under Obama, a Democrat. It said the NSA increasingly relies on PRISM as a source of raw material for daily intelligence reports to the president…”

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Demonstrations in Turkey

June 3, 2013 Leave a comment

Background: Turkey dramatically transformed after WWI under President Ataturk into a modern, secular state in spite of its deeply religious population. There have been ongoing cultural clashes between secularists loyal to Ataturk’s changes and traditional Muslims. Turkey’s current Prime Minister Erdogan has been accused of authoritarian tendencies, passing conservative laws and limiting press freedoms, among other expansions of power. Some claim recent demonstrations across Turkey are a response to his autocratic tendencies, highlighting the police’s excessive use of force (RIGHT). The Turkish government itself does not see the uprising as indicative of widespread discontent and claim the police have shown restraint. The government’s representatives have characterized the demonstrators as extremists, foreign and domestic threats bent on harming Turkey, their political opposition, those who hope to intervene against democracy, a few looters, illegal organizations, and a minority of the population (LEFT).

Erdogan blames “foreign and domestic ties” at protests

June 3  Turkish Press

“…Erdogan said on Monday Gezi Park protests that started in Istanbul`s city center and led to demonstrations across the country were organized with domestic and foreign ties. ”Leaving aside those who participated in the demonstrations with good intentions upon a call of gathering on social networks, there were also extremists involved”… Erdogan dismissed the allegations that the police used inordinate force, saying the number of police officers injured was an indication the use of force was moderate. ”Hundred and sixty police officers sustained injuries; sixty people from civilians and assailants were also injured,” Erdogan said. “For what reason did the police suffer so many injuries? It is because they acted with restraint.”"

Turkey suffers worst night of rioting

June 3  Al Jazeera

“…The unrest erupted on Friday when trees were torn down at a park in Istanbul’s main Taksim Square under government plans to redevelop the area, but widened into a broad show of defiance against the governing, Islamist-rooted AK Party. The ferocity of the police response in Istanbul shocked Turks… Erdogan has (turned Turkey’s) once crisis-prone economy into the fastest-growing in Europe… but critics point to what they see as his authoritarianism and religiously conservative meddling in private lives in the secular republic. Tighter restrictions on alcohol sales and warnings against public displays of affection in recent weeks have also provoked protests…”

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UN Biodiversity Report

May 28, 2013 Leave a comment

Background: The head of the UN’s new Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Zakri Abdul Hamid, released new warnings over the loss of biodiversity. With a dwindling number of animal and plant types, world food supplies may become susceptible to natural disasters that disproportionately affect certain species. Some outlets argue the loss of biodiversity is gaining pace and threatens humanity as Earth’s sixth great extinction episode. Such outlets highlight the importance of government intervention to avoid disaster (LEFT). Other outlets, quite to the contrary, report the rate of biodiversity decline is dropping, while providing an historical background that the biodiversity loss occurred to feed the world’s growing population. These outlets also write Hamid presented these findings in his first public remarks as the new head of the IPBES, with a possible implication that he did so to make a political splash (RIGHT).

Biodiversity Loss Becoming Major Threat For Farmed Plants And Livestock Breeds

May 27  Huffington Post

“A decline in the diversity of farmed plants and livestock breeds is gathering pace, threatening future food supplies… “The loss of biodiversity is happening faster and everywhere, even among farm animals”… “more important than ever to have a large genetic pool to enable organisms to withstand and adapt to new conditions.” That would help to ensure food for a global population set to reach 9 billion by 2050 from 7 billion now… The extinctions of some domesticated animals and plants was happening in tandem with accelerating losses of wild species caused by factors such as deforestation, expansion of cities, pollution and climate change… eight percent of livestock breeds had already become extinct… In 2010, governments set goals including halting extinction of known threatened species by 2020 and expanding the area set aside in parks or protected areas for wildlife to 17 percent of the Earth’s land surface from about 13 percent now.”

UN Warns Of Decline In Farm Biodiversity

May 27  RedOrbit

“Conservationists have been warning about the loss of biodiversity in the wild for years… In Zakri’s first public remarks as head of the new panel (the United Nations’ new Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services)… (he stated,) ”The good news is the rate of decline is dropping… latest data classify 22 percent of domesticated breeds at risk of extinction.” (emphasis added)… Zakri noted that 75 percent of the genetic diversity among crops was lost in the last century as farmers around the world switched to mass-produced high-yielding and genetically-uniform varieties…

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Freedom of the Press

May 21, 2013 Leave a comment

Background: Several recent news stories display increasing encroachments on freedom of the press. The Justice Department recently notified The Associated Press that it seized two months of AP employees’ personal data during an Al Qaeda leak probe. More recently, it emerged that the JD seized private records of Fox reporter Rosen during a North Korea leak probe. The JD obtained the Rosen warrant by claiming his attempt to obtain national security secrets makes him a co-conspirator–a crime, punishable under The Espionage Act (which holds the possibility of execution). Some outlets present the government’s defense (LEFT), while others highlight fears brought forward by the Rosen case (RIGHT).

Gov’t presses ahead on another leak case

May 21  Bloomberg Businessweek

“…An FBI agent seeking the search warrant spelled out…there is probable cause to believe that the reporter committed a violation of criminal law…White House spokesman Jay Carney cited a media shield law Obama supports as evidence of his commitment to journalistic freedom…”The president believes it’s important that we find a proper balance between a need — absolute need — to protect our secrets and to prevent leaks that can jeopardize the lives of Americans and can jeopardize our national security interests on the one hand, and the need to defend the First Amendment and protect the ability of reporters to pursue investigative journalism”…”based on the investigation and all of the facts known to date, no other individuals, including the reporter, have been charged since Mr. Kim was indicted nearly three years ago,” said the U.S. Attorney’s office…The Justice Department said that improper disclosure of classified information to the press can pose a serious risk of harm to national security, and said it has followed the law and its policies to protect First Amendment rights….”

FBI spied on Fox News reporter, accused him of crime

May 20  Los Angeles Times

“…The case marks the first time the government has gone to court to portray news gathering as espionage…Neither Fox News nor the Associated Press was told in advance, (the usual practice)…A federal statute, the Privacy Protection Act, normally bars the government from using a search warrant to seize a reporter’s notes or communications as part of a broader criminal investigation. But the law allows an exception if the reporter is specifically accused of committing a crime. (The search warrant stated,) ”There is probable cause to believe that the reporter has committed or is committing a violation of [the Espionage Act] as an aider and abettor and/or co-conspirator”…No reporter has ever been charged under the Espionage Act…”What makes this alarming is that ‘soliciting’ and ‘encouraging’ the disclosure of classified information are routine, daily activities in national security reporting”…”The use of pseudonyms and discreet forms of communication are also commonplace. But for today’s FBI, these everyday reporting techniques are taken as evidence of criminal activity and grounds for search and seizure of confidential email.”"

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US Jobless Claims

May 2, 2013 2 Comments

Background: Claims for unemployment benefits in the US are their lowest since the beginning of the recession in 2008. This, along with the falling trade deficit, has been highlighted as an indication of a more optimistic economy. (LEFT) However, falling unemployment benefits claims do not imply job growth. Further, these falling claims are not as good as last year’s pace, and the falling trade deficit worryingly implies sluggish demand. More importantly, productivity, the engine of US growth, is much lower than expected. (RIGHT)

Jobless claims fall sharply to five-year low

May 2  Reuters

“The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell sharply last week to its lowest level since the early days of the 2007-09 recession, suggesting the job market is still healing despite weakness in the broader economy… The claims report runs counter to a growing number of signals that economic activity softened in March and April… suggests that while employers have cut back on hiring, they are feeling less pressure to lay workers off… Commerce Department data showed the U.S. trade deficit fell more than expected in March as imports recorded their biggest drop since 2009…”

Claims at Five-Year Low; Trade Gap Falls, Too

May 2  CNBC

“…Applications are a proxy for layoffs. But fewer job cuts are only one side of the equation: Companies also need to be confident enough to add workers for job growth to pick up and lower the unemployment rate. Economists forecast that the economy added 160,000 jobs last month. That’s much better than the 88,000 added in March, but below last year’s pace of nearly 185,000 per month… Elsewhere in the economy, U.S. worker productivity barely grew from January through March after shrinking in the final three months of 2012…The Commerce Department said on Thursday the trade gap narrowed 11.0 percent to $38.8 billion – the second smallest since January 2010…The decline in imports of goods was almost broad based, adding to signs of sluggish domestic demand…

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Indian Ever-Greening

April 19, 2013 Leave a comment

Background: India’s supreme court rejected a patent application by the Swiss drug manufacturer Novartis for their cancer drug, Glivec. The court argued the new drug is essentially old wine in a new bottle without any real innovation. This decision allows generic drug manufacturers to make cheaper copy cat versions, a great benefit to health of the poor (LEFT). Others contend these kinds of patent rulings stifle innovation and could harm long term pharma research that potentially saves many more lives (RIGHT). This issue highlights pharmaceutical companies’ attempts to alter the laws of developing countries to increase profits, similar to their patent-extending tactics in the US.

Low-Cost Drugs in Poor Nations Get a Lift in Indian Court

April 1  The New York Times

“People in developing countries worldwide will continue to have access to low-cost copycat versions of drugs for diseases like H.I.V. and cancer, at least for a while… The debate over global drug pricing is one of the most contentious issues between developed countries and the developing world… poorer nations maintain they have a moral obligation to make cheaper, generic drugs available to their populations…In trade agreements… the drug industry has lobbied for stricter patent restrictions that would more closely resemble protections in the United States…a majority of drug patents given in the United States are for tiny changes that often provide patients few meaningful benefits but allow drug companies to continue charging high prices for years beyond the original patent life… A result of this practice is that the United States pays the highest drug prices in the world, prices that only a tiny fraction could afford in India, where more than two-thirds of the population lives on less than $2 a day.”

Novartis: India rejects patent plea for cancer drug Glivec

April 1  BBC

“The Swiss drugmaker had been denied a patent by Indian authorities on the grounds that the new version was only slightly different from the old. The decision means generic drugmakers can continue to sell copies of the drug at a lower price in India, one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical markets. Novartis said the decision “discourages future innovation in India”. ”This ruling is a setback for patients that will hinder medical progress for diseases without effective treatment options,”…”

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