Doug's: "In the past week there have been 4 major undersea fiber optic cables in the Mediterranean cut or otherwise disabled."
KhaleejTimes: "Damage to undersea Internet cables in the Mediterranean that hit business across the Middle East and South Asia was not caused by ships, Egypt's communications ministry said on Sunday, ruling out earlier reports.
The transport ministry added that footage recorded by onshore video cameras of the location of the cables showed no maritime traffic in the area when the cables were damaged."
Slashdot: "You may have noticed a number of stories recently about undersea cables getting cut around the world. Apparently the total is now up to 5, but the scariest part of this is that Iran is now offline. You can also read Schneier's comments on this coincidence."
IRNA seems to be the only Iranian press agency website that can be reached.
- Preparations for an imminent war against Iran to boost the Republican war cause? They must be very, very stupid to do such a thing. I guess the American Military would revolt.
- Preparations for a huge financial dollar reshuffle to prevent other nations like Saudi Arabia and Iran to trade or sell their dollars? It's possible.
- Or another attempt to provoke Iran? There were several attempts already. And the CIA submarines probably cut the wrong cables first, until they finally got the 'right one'.
- Or just a rehearsal for the big war game?
It smells foul though.
1:37:19 PM
Corcom: The Dutch police, justice department and government are pressuring telecom companies to spy on their customers. The phone and internet companies are forced to collaborate in tapping activities for which no official warrant was issued. The taps are illegal.
Der Schockwellenreiter reports that the Stuttgarter Volksbank used video cameras to trace a customer whose daughter had stepped into dog poo and then entered their building and soiled their precious foyer.
Video surveillance to combat terrorism? Forget it!
Guardian: "Quis custodiet custodes? (Who will guard the guards?) This is a question that has been asked throughout the ages but this bugging episode adds greater urgency to providing its answer. When cabinet ministers are targeted because of their religious affiliation it has corrosive effects on community cohesion, impedes attempts to win hearts and minds and undermines the impact of any politically correct guide to the "war on terror" or other community initiatives."
1:16:34 PM
