Ghost Dog
Ghost Dog's JournalNo time to go 'wobbly': Pompeo scolds Britain over China and Huawei
Source: Reuters
LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Britain on Wednesday it needed to change its attitude towards China and telecoms company Huawei, casting the world’s second largest economy as a threat to the West similar to that once posed by the Soviet Union...
... “Ask yourself: would the Iron Lady be silent when China violates the sovereignty of nations through corruption or coercion? Would she allow China to control the internet of the future?” Pompeo said.
“Insufficient security will impede the United States’ ability to share certain information within trusted networks. This is just what China wants – to divide Western alliances through bits and bytes, not bullets and bombs.”
Pompeo said China steals sensitive intellectual property and sensitive commercial data in Europe, Asia, and the United States, and singled out Huawei...
Read more: https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-pompeo-britain/no-time-to-go-wobbly-pompeo-scolds-britain-over-china-and-huawei-idUKKCN1SE0Q5
Is Brexit breaking Britain?
Local elections point to Remain but big parties sell mantra of ‘need to deliver Brexit’
First, and most obviously, there is interpretation. Electoral desertion of the two main British parties was not a shift by voters towards “Remainy” parties, as described by Robert Peston, ITV’s economics editor. The parties in receipt of voters favour were 100 per cent Remain.
This is not just semantic quibbling: the British media, with one or two exceptions, immediately bought into the narrative that the electorate now just wants Jeremy Corbyn and Teresa May to “get on with Brexit”. Surprisingly, it wasn’t just the ultra-right wing, billionaire owned bits of the press. Even the BBC was at it. In the unlikely event of a referendum on the future of the BBC, I would now vote to abolish it: the betrayal of its public broadcasting mandate has been grim to observe.
Secondly, there is the psycho-pathology of the whole thing. It’s tempting to talk about gaslighting, Orwellian double-speak, believing six impossible things by breakfast, confirmation bias and lots of other psychological theories and descriptions of the oddities of human behaviour. None of these come close to an explanation. Perhaps it is a form of mass psychosis...
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/brexit/is-brexit-breaking-britain-1.3881604?fbclid=IwAR2kVXnN7lxwE9rIKAnAZ13_eo1SSAWrSPPKxdaA2qm0QRxZ0y5D9LNvTk8
XPost in UK Group: https://www.democraticunderground.com/108815948
From the comments at the Irish Times:
Juncker regrets EU silence on Brexit campaign 'lies'
... “It was a mistake not to intervene and not to interfere because we would have been the only ones to destroy the lies which were circulated around. I was wrong to be silent at an important moment.”
Cameron angered fellow EU leaders by promising a referendum on Britain’s membership of the bloc in a bid to prevent voters deserting his ruling Conservatives for the UK Independence Party. Having secured some special concessions from the EU, he then campaigned to keep Britain in the EU in the June 2016 vote.
Juncker has said that he kept out of that British debate, partly because Cameron told him it would be counter-productive. Many EU leaders were irritated, however, that Cameron’s campaign made little mention of the special deal they had given him...
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-juncker-mistake/juncker-regrets-eu-silence-on-brexit-campaign-lies-idUKKCN1SD1B9?il=0
Is Brexit breaking Britain?
Local elections point to Remain but big parties sell mantra of ‘need to deliver Brexit’
First, and most obviously, there is interpretation. Electoral desertion of the two main British parties was not a shift by voters towards “Remainy” parties, as described by Robert Peston, ITV’s economics editor. The parties in receipt of voters favour were 100 per cent Remain.
This is not just semantic quibbling: the British media, with one or two exceptions, immediately bought into the narrative that the electorate now just wants Jeremy Corbyn and Teresa May to “get on with Brexit”. Surprisingly, it wasn’t just the ultra-right wing, billionaire owned bits of the press. Even the BBC was at it. In the unlikely event of a referendum on the future of the BBC, I would now vote to abolish it: the betrayal of its public broadcasting mandate has been grim to observe.
Secondly, there is the psycho-pathology of the whole thing. It’s tempting to talk about gaslighting, Orwellian double-speak, believing six impossible things by breakfast, confirmation bias and lots of other psychological theories and descriptions of the oddities of human behaviour. None of these come close to an explanation. Perhaps it is a form of mass psychosis...
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/brexit/is-brexit-breaking-britain-1.3881604?fbclid=IwAR2kVXnN7lxwE9rIKAnAZ13_eo1SSAWrSPPKxdaA2qm0QRxZ0y5D9LNvTk8
XPost in General Discussion: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212077716
From the comments at the Irish Times:
Woman removed from flight after 'refusing' to watch safety video
The service from Wellington to Auckland had to return to the gate prior to take-off, where the woman was removed from the aircraft for failing to comply with crew instructions.
“The passenger will receive an infringement notice under Civil Aviation Authority rules relating to the use of a cellphone,” a police spokesperson told Newshub, confirming that they responded to a request to meet flight NZ424 this morning...
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/air-new-zealand-flight-woman-removed-police-safety-video-mobile-phone-a8902506.html
Sandy Denny / Fotheringay: Banks of the Nile
According to Reuters, cough,
there was a "pre-dawn military uprising on Tuesday, urged on by opposition leader and Lopez ally Juan Guaido, (which) failed to gain steam."
Does that sound like an accurate description of events, to anyone closely following events?
According to the same Reuters article, López was "arrested during a protest movement in 2014 and transferred to house arrest in 2017. He appeared together with Guaido and dozens of soldiers on Tuesday after escaping his home and before seeking refuge at the Spanish residence." Reuters chooses not to detail the charges against López: incitement to violence in demonstrations which resulted in several homicides by violent demonstrators loyal to him, on which he was found guilty and sentenced.
However, Reuters does report that "Tens of thousands took to the streets across the country on Tuesday and Wednesday, heeding Guaido’s call to keep the pressure on Maduro. Clashes with security forces left four dead, along with hundreds injured or detained... In a tweet about the death of a protester at the hands of security forces on Wednesday, (Guadó) said, “The murderers will have to take responsibility for their crimes” and members of the armed forces were “sworn to protect the people..."
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-venezuela-politics/venezuela-opposition-figure-facing-arrest-warrant-says-he-met-with-generals-idUKKCN1S81JC
You couldn't make it up. Without such help from Reuters & Co, that is.
A clear example of The Guardian lying about the Venezuelan blackout?
A Guardian report today Friday March 15th, byline Joe Parkin Daniels in Caracas (link below) appears to falsely assert that a report from the Central University of Venezuela’s faculty of engineering confirms that the blackout was caused by a bush fire, and supports this assertion by linking to an earlier Guardian article published on Wednesday March 13th, byline Sam Jones (no location provided) which informs us that "According to Rodrigo Linares, a mechanical engineer and writer for the Caracas Chronicles website, the fault occurred on one of the main power lines between the San Gerónimo B and Malena substations." A link is provided to an article by this Roberto Linares published at the Caracas Chronicles website on March 10th.
The article by Roberto Linares, who decribes himself as "Many interests, little time. Mechanical Engineer, first from USB, later from MIT. Making a living as a machine designer.", informs us that "From people inside the electric industry, we know that an overheat alarm was triggered between the San Geronimo B and Malena substations, which are like nodes... The engineers suspect that the overheat alarm was triggered by a forest fire." In support of this speculation (no evidence is provided of the existence of such a bush or forest fire), Roberto Linares notes that "It is mandatory to keep vegetation trimmed under and around power lines, to avoid the risk of this kind of events. Anyone that has driven by the countryside and under these large power lines would see there’s a corridor under the lines. These corridors haven’t been maintained in years and there is a very hot summer going on. In a tropical country, this means the bushes can cover a line very fast."
Whatever reason The Guardian's Joe Parkin Daniels in Caracas might have for alleging the existence of a report from the Central University of Venezuela’s faculty of engineering (which is nowhere mentioned in the sources provided) allegedly confirming that the blackout was caused by a bush fire, he provides no evidence, beyond speculation written by a blogger.
I followed these links:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/14/venezuela-blackout-power-returns -> Joe Parkin Daniels in Caracas Thu 14 Mar 2019 21.51 GMT Last modified on Thu 14 Mar 2019 21.53 GMT
A new report from the Central University of Venezuela’s faculty of engineering confirmed that the blackout was caused when a bush fire near the Malena substation in eastern Venezuela took out a vital section of the country’s power grid. ->
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/13/venezuela-blackout-what-caused-it-and-what-happens-next -> According to Rodrigo Linares, a mechanical engineer and writer for the Caracas Chronicles website, the fault occurred on one of the main power lines between the San Gerónimo B and Malena substations. When that 765-kilovolt line went down, two others suffered an overload and also failed. ->
https://www.caracaschronicles.com/2019/03/10/nationwide-blackout-in-venezuela-faq/ -> From people inside the electric industry, we know that an overheat alarm was triggered between the San Geronimo B and Malena substations, which are like nodes. San Geronimo B is just South of Valle de La Pascua (Guarico state, central plains); Malena is a bit in the middle of nowhere, between Bolivar’s Trocal 19 and the Orinoco River. From San Geronimo B substation, comes the electric load to power all the TVs, light bulbs, blenders, etc. At Malena substation end the cables that come directly from the turning water wheels of the Guri dam. If you follow the lines from Guri, the country’s main dam South of Ciudad Guayana, they go North from Guri to Malena and San Geronimo, and from there it splits into several lines going to the central region and then to the rest of the country (East and West).
This particular corridor carries three 765 kV (kilovolts) power lines, which are the largest and most important lines of the country. One of these lines, apparently the one between San Geronimo B and Malena, went out and overloaded the other two, so all three died. When all of a sudden the lines went off and power wasn’t getting through, not only all those TVs, blenders and lights went off: the water wheels started to spin out of control (in the industry we call this scenario a “load rejection”). Protections systems kicked in and the turbines shut themselves off, hopefully with no damage...
... The engineers suspect that the overheat alarm was triggered by a forest fire. It is mandatory to keep vegetation trimmed under and around power lines, to avoid the risk of this kind of events. Anyone that has driven by the countryside and under these large power lines would see there’s a corridor under the lines. These corridors haven’t been maintained in years and there is a very hot summer going on. In a tropical country, this means the bushes can cover a line very fast...
... Rodrigo Linares: Many interests, little time. Mechanical Engineer, first from USB, later from MIT. Making a living as a machine designer.
Foreign Affairs: https://www.democraticunderground.com/113323692
Edit: ... At the time of this writing I see no sign of any similar story at the AP, AFP, nor Reuters agencies.
AFP's latest on Venezuela tells us that:
Experts said an attack by a foreign state actor on Venezuela's grid was possible, but unlikely.
"Knowing Venezuela, it was likely an internal failure," Jeff Middleton, the chief technology officer at The Vault Foundation, a company that secures crypto currency transactions, told AFP.
Venezuela's infrastructure has degraded over years because of lack of investment, a significant brain drain, and the government's practice of putting the military in charge of key civilian facilities and companies. That has impacted not only the electricity grid but also the country's vital oil industry. The situation has worsened with successive rounds of US sanctions against Maduro's government, including steps that have severely curbed its oil exports.
- China, Spain offer help -
While Reuters has:
Military intervention not an answer for Venezuela - Colombia president tells paper
and:
Bolivia's Morales says Venezuela needs dialogue, not foreign meddling
A clear example of The Guardian lying about the Venezuelan blackout?
A Guardian report today Friday March 15th, byline Joe Parkin Daniels in Caracas (link below) appears to falsely assert that a report from the Central University of Venezuela’s faculty of engineering confirms that the blackout was caused by a bush fire, and supports this assertion by linking to an earlier Guardian article published on Wednesday March 13th, byline Sam Jones (no location provided) which informs us that "According to Rodrigo Linares, a mechanical engineer and writer for the Caracas Chronicles website, the fault occurred on one of the main power lines between the San Gerónimo B and Malena substations." A link is provided to an article by this Roberto Linares published at the Caracas Chronicles website on March 10th.
The article by Roberto Linares, who decribes himself as "Many interests, little time. Mechanical Engineer, first from USB, later from MIT. Making a living as a machine designer.", informs us that "From people inside the electric industry, we know that an overheat alarm was triggered between the San Geronimo B and Malena substations, which are like nodes... The engineers suspect that the overheat alarm was triggered by a forest fire." In support of this speculation (no evidence is provided of the existence of such a bush or forest fire), Roberto Linares notes that "It is mandatory to keep vegetation trimmed under and around power lines, to avoid the risk of this kind of events. Anyone that has driven by the countryside and under these large power lines would see there’s a corridor under the lines. These corridors haven’t been maintained in years and there is a very hot summer going on. In a tropical country, this means the bushes can cover a line very fast."
Whatever reason The Guardian's Joe Parkin Daniels in Caracas might have for alleging the existence of a report from the Central University of Venezuela’s faculty of engineering (which is nowhere mentioned in the sources provided) allegedly confirming that the blackout was caused by a bush fire, he provides no evidence, beyond speculation written by a blogger.
I followed these links:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/14/venezuela-blackout-power-returns -> Joe Parkin Daniels in Caracas Thu 14 Mar 2019 21.51 GMT Last modified on Thu 14 Mar 2019 21.53 GMT
A new report from the Central University of Venezuela’s faculty of engineering confirmed that the blackout was caused when a bush fire near the Malena substation in eastern Venezuela took out a vital section of the country’s power grid. ->
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/13/venezuela-blackout-what-caused-it-and-what-happens-next -> According to Rodrigo Linares, a mechanical engineer and writer for the Caracas Chronicles website, the fault occurred on one of the main power lines between the San Gerónimo B and Malena substations. When that 765-kilovolt line went down, two others suffered an overload and also failed. ->
https://www.caracaschronicles.com/2019/03/10/nationwide-blackout-in-venezuela-faq/ -> From people inside the electric industry, we know that an overheat alarm was triggered between the San Geronimo B and Malena substations, which are like nodes. San Geronimo B is just South of Valle de La Pascua (Guarico state, central plains); Malena is a bit in the middle of nowhere, between Bolivar’s Trocal 19 and the Orinoco River. From San Geronimo B substation, comes the electric load to power all the TVs, light bulbs, blenders, etc. At Malena substation end the cables that come directly from the turning water wheels of the Guri dam. If you follow the lines from Guri, the country’s main dam South of Ciudad Guayana, they go North from Guri to Malena and San Geronimo, and from there it splits into several lines going to the central region and then to the rest of the country (East and West).
This particular corridor carries three 765 kV (kilovolts) power lines, which are the largest and most important lines of the country. One of these lines, apparently the one between San Geronimo B and Malena, went out and overloaded the other two, so all three died. When all of a sudden the lines went off and power wasn’t getting through, not only all those TVs, blenders and lights went off: the water wheels started to spin out of control (in the industry we call this scenario a “load rejection”). Protections systems kicked in and the turbines shut themselves off, hopefully with no damage...
... The engineers suspect that the overheat alarm was triggered by a forest fire. It is mandatory to keep vegetation trimmed under and around power lines, to avoid the risk of this kind of events. Anyone that has driven by the countryside and under these large power lines would see there’s a corridor under the lines. These corridors haven’t been maintained in years and there is a very hot summer going on. In a tropical country, this means the bushes can cover a line very fast...
... Rodrigo Linares: Many interests, little time. Mechanical Engineer, first from USB, later from MIT. Making a living as a machine designer.
Latin America: https://www.democraticunderground.com/110866290
Edit: ... At the time of this writing I see no sign of any similar story at the AP, AFP, nor Reuters agencies.
AFP's latest on Venezuela tells us that:
Experts said an attack by a foreign state actor on Venezuela's grid was possible, but unlikely.
"Knowing Venezuela, it was likely an internal failure," Jeff Middleton, the chief technology officer at The Vault Foundation, a company that secures crypto currency transactions, told AFP.
Venezuela's infrastructure has degraded over years because of lack of investment, a significant brain drain, and the government's practice of putting the military in charge of key civilian facilities and companies. That has impacted not only the electricity grid but also the country's vital oil industry. The situation has worsened with successive rounds of US sanctions against Maduro's government, including steps that have severely curbed its oil exports.
- China, Spain offer help -
While Reuters has:
Military intervention not an answer for Venezuela - Colombia president tells paper
and:
Bolivia's Morales says Venezuela needs dialogue, not foreign meddling
Profile Information
Gender: Do not displayHometown: Canary Islands Archipelago
Home country: Spain
Member since: Wed Apr 19, 2006, 01:59 PM
Number of posts: 16,881
