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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 18-Jan-2014
18-Jan-14 World View -- Kerry says that he won't be fooled by Syria's Assad regime

Web Log - January, 2014

18-Jan-14 World View -- Kerry says that he won't be fooled by Syria's Assad regime

Uganda enters the war in South Sudan

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

Kerry says that he won't be fooled by Syria's Assad regime
Uganda enters the war in South Sudan
Hackers use a refrigerator for a cyberattack

Kerry says that he won't be fooled by Syria's Assad regime

Neighborhood in Syria targeted by barrel bombs in December (Reuters)

Neighborhood in Syria targeted by barrel bombs in December (Reuters)

U.S. Secretary of State is leading yet another peace conference, this one to be held in Geneva for Syria. The nominal aim of the conference is to promote peace by transitioning Syria to a new government. On Thursday, the Bashar al-Assad regime sent Kerry a letter saying that the peace conference would be about combating "terrorism" in Syria, not about transitioning to a new government. This could effectively torpedo the conference, because the opposition groups, whom Kerry has been begging to attend, are interested only in seeing al-Assad out of power.

However, Kerry says he's too smart to be fooled by the new al-Assad letter:

"Nobody’s going to be fooled. We’re not going to be fooled by this process.
They can bluster, they can protest, they can put out distortions, the bottom line is we are going to Geneva to implement Geneva I, and if Assad doesn’t do that he will invite greater response.
I believe, as we begin to get to Geneva and begin to get into this process, that it will become clear that there is no political solution whatsoever if Assad is not discussing a transition and if he thinks he’s going to be part of that future. It’s not going to happen."

And so I'm quoting John Kerry again, and once again I have to shrug my shoulders at how ridiculous this statement is. Kerry's clownish statements are increasingly embarrassing to the United States.

Meanwhile, the al-Assad regime is literally killing thousands of Syrian civilians per week, with complete impunity, by using Russian-supplied barrel bombs. A "barrel bomb" is a barrel containing hundreds of pounds of explosives, designed to cause massive damage on impact, and to kill as many people as possible. Why should al-Assad agree to anything? He can slaughter thousands of people and no one cares.

Bashar al-Assad is the greatest genocidal monster in today's world, comparable to Hitler, Pol Pot and Stalin. It makes me vomit to think that the United States is indirectly providing support for this monster through Russia.

This is so completely f--ked up. Kerry and the Obama administration are supporting the Russians who are providing unlimited supplies of heavy weapons to the al-Assad regime, who is using those weapons to slaughter thousands of civilians every week. And what's the response? A truly moronic statement by Kerry about a "greater response" that's completely non-existent. CNN and LA Times

Uganda enters the war in South Sudan

For the first time, Uganda is admitting that it has military forces in South Sudan fighting on the side of South Sudan's president Salva Kiir, and his Dinka tribe supporters, and against Riek Machar and his Nuer tribe supporters. Machar used to be Kiir's deputy, but is now leading a coup attempt against Kiir. Uganda previously denied that its forces were fighting in South Sudan, saying that its forces were there to protect and evacuate Ugandan civilians.

A long-time Generational Dynamics web site reader, and a prominent businessman living in Uganda, sent me his analysis of what's going on, and says that it all has to do with oil:

"Just thought I'd make some brief comments / speculations on the subject. Uganda, Kenya and US (and Japan probably too) seem to be generally aligned with Kiir and against China and Machar in the current phase of the conflict. The question of whether the pipeline of oil will continue to flow northward or more southwards I suspect is key.
And possibly within that alliance for the southern pipeline there is also the possibility that after the overall political and financial commitments to the southern pipeline are made that Uganda finds itself at odds with elements within Kenya, since Uganda might not want the oil to bypass having value addition in Uganda by the refinery complex also being planned and invested in.
This is most likely a secondary concern at the moment since Uganda itself has enormous amounts of oil that it will be producing within the next few years which could be refined locally and/or flow as crude through a feeder pipeline to the pipeline bound for the Kenyan coast.
Wheels within wheels within wheels.
The insecurity of the neighbors has a significant impact on the economy here. For example, traders of Uganda's goods to South Sudan face large losses from increased risk factors and security costs. Ugandan traders are also now fleeing back into Uganda which also is absorbing refugees as it did during the the earlier phase of the north vs south conflict. If S Sudan oil revenue is reduced, so too is their ability to purchase Ugandan agricultural products and the manufactured goods that pass through Uganda from Kenya. On the other hand, sectors of the economy that profit from higher prices for goods in short supply in S Sudan or those entities which insure such risky trade either through financing or military protection could be doing okay."

VOA

Hackers use a refrigerator for a cyberattack

Hackers found a way to hack into the computer chips in an ordinary refrigerator, and use it to send out spam and malicious e-mail messages. That's just one example of a component in a wide scale attack last month on more than 100,000 everyday consumer gadgets, including home-networking routers, connected multi-media centers, televisions, computers, and at least one refrigerator. The attack took place between December 23, 2013, and January 6, 2014, according to security firm Proofpoint. The hackers connected to these gadgets, hacked into them, and used them to mail more than 750,000 malicious e-mail messages to businesses and individuals worldwide.

You may find it surprising to know that your refrigerator may be capable of sending e-mail messages, but that in fact is the case. What can you do to protect yourself? If you have a web-connected device of any kind, then ask your kids to check all the privacy settings. In particular, make sure that you change the default password that the device comes with. Business Insider and Proofpoint press release

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 18-Jan-14 World View -- Kerry says that he won't be fooled by Syria's Assad regime thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (18-Jan-2014) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 18-Jan-2014 18-Jan-14 World View -- Kerry says that he won't be fooled by Syria's Assad regime

Kerry says that he won't be fooled by Syria's Assad regime

Uganda enters the war in South Sudan

Hackers use a refrigerator for a cyberattack

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 18-Jan-2014
18-Jan-14 World View -- Kerry says that he won't be fooled by Syria's Assad regime