This month's party conference in North Korea is an anachronistic showcase for the Leninist hierarchy, if not quite the lavish display of a full-blown congress. Still, as men in badly tailored suits clap only when instructed, the meeting could be one of the last reminders of a bygone era - and it could deliver big news - just as happened in 1980. - Andrei Lankov (Sep 7, '10)
In a referendum this week, Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party is trying to strike another significant blow against the "deep state" of high-ranking military, security services and the judiciary. Passage of the amendments would hit the custodians of founding father Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's secularist legacy and bolster a version of democracy that has allowed an Islamic "lite" party to rule. - Andrew Novo and Scott B MacDonald (Sep 7, '10)
Security circles are abuzz with China's Dong Feng 21D, the world's first anti-ship ballistic missile. With its speed and long range it has the potential to deter United States aircraft carriers from sailing in the West Pacific. Taiwan is particularly concerned, but it may just be that there is more hype than reality in the "wonder weapon". - Jens Kastner and Wang Jyh-Perng (Sep 7, '10)
According to Chinese ambassador He Yafei, Beijing has one overarching priority and that is to put its house in order. From an unusual briefing He held last month it is clear that the urbanization of China is the greatest of the many revolutions the country has faced. And with about 20% of the world's population, China's ability to deal with the transition has daunting consequences. - Alexander Casella (Sep 7, '10)
The memoirs of former British prime minister Tony Blair have been blasted by the Arab press for their unapologetic stance towards the Iraq War and Blair's alliance with former US president George W Bush. With painful memories of the bad blood, civilian deaths and mayhem unleashed by the "war on terror", many Arabs would prefer to see Blair complete his march into history. - Sami Moubayed (Sep 7, '10)
A dam to be built on the River Tigris near the ancient center of Hasankeyf will displace several thousand people and drown thousands of years of history and remnants of 20 civilizations, from cave dwellings to millennium-old mosques and churches. Ankara insists the region's development come first. - Stephen Starr (Sep 7, '10)
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung wants private sector development to help the country secure "fast and sustainable" growth. Yet, with its external finances suffering a sharp deterioration, poorly implemented reforms will lead Vietnam into crisis rather than prosperity. - Anh Le Tran
As bread prices soar in Russia, the Kremlin is targeting "profiteers" and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin hints at a prolonged wheat export ban. If only life were so simple, but with elections imminent, complications such as loss-making grain giant Razgulyai facing possibly tricky tax discussions just get in the way. Nikolai Bukharin would have recognized it all. - John Helmer
China's economic expansion has helped to drive new trade with Latin America. Yet this has led the economies of many of the Asian country's partners across the Pacific reverting to their resource-dependent state of two decades ago. - Daniela Estrada
The past decade has seen the great economic myth of continued exponential growth undermined. It is possible that technological progress, and so the potential for improved living standards, may not be exponential at all. - Martin Hutchinson
Reports on the rising gold price too frequently miss the key point of this phenomenon. The gold "price" is steady - it is the value of the dollar and other currencies that is crumbling. Which is why you should buy gold now, before sinking under the rubble of our ruined economies.
I wrote this tool some months ago while developing on the xPresso publishing system (NO), and has done some rewriting this week to implement further functionality.
The Codificator now provides: - automatic code wrapping in DC board format - conversion of regular HTML-formatted text to DC board formatted text - link extraction from HTML to DC board format - auto fetch of webpages, with on-select conversion of content to DC board format.
It won't boil your coffee or knit you a warm sweater for the winter, but it may help you to be more efficient when you're online discussing politics.
AnoBBS is a opensource 3DES-encrypted Bulletin Board where users encrypt their messages before submit with a common known phrase, using javascript. The server does not know the key, so this is end-to-end encryption where the key is never submitted. The technology used is Ajax and PHP, the forum files are stored as XML. Below is a list of the basic functionality: - user authentication - topic list and topic view - three userlevels; admin, moderator and user - post threads - post and edit replies - print or save threads - edit, delete and lock threads (mod) - edit forumdata and users (admin) - save BBS (admin) - delete BBS (admin)
The BBS is very simple to install and even simpler to use. It requires only a standard php distro on the server and a javascript enable browser to function.
AnoChat is an opensource 3DES-encrypted chat where users encrypt their messages before submit with a common known phrase, using javascript. The server does not know the key, so this is end-to-end encryption where the key is never submitted. The technology used is JX, similar to Ajax. The chat is very simple to install and even simpler to use. It requires only a standard php distro on the server and a javascript enabled browser to function.
Large number of US citizens demonstrated against the war in Iraq (and the possible war in Iran) during this October weekend. Massive turnout in Boston and San Fransisco, and also in Chicago, LA and DC people took to the streets. The message was: NO more war in Iraq! NO to a war with Iran!
