From: Lucian Mogosanu Date: Sat, 16 Jan 2016 12:23:09 +0000 (+0100) Subject: posts: 040, 041 X-Git-Tag: v0.5~8 X-Git-Url: https://git.mogosanu.ro/?a=commitdiff_plain;h=786a4126134d04c6c37ba4d8949847c386e7dcc4;p=thetarpit.git posts: 040, 041 --- diff --git a/posts/y02/040-europe-at-the-end-of-2015.markdown b/posts/y02/040-europe-at-the-end-of-2015.markdown new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dcfb8c7 --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/y02/040-europe-at-the-end-of-2015.markdown @@ -0,0 +1,231 @@ +--- +postid: 040 +title: Europe at the end of 2015: a chronicle +excerpt: A second piece of synthetic journalism. +date: December 19, 2015 +author: Lucian Mogoșanu +tags: asphalt +--- + +**Mid-September, 2015** -- + [Croatia overwhelmed by flood of migrants, EU calls summit][1]: + +> [...] +> +> Croatia said it may have to use the army to stop thousands of migrants +> criss-crossing the Western Balkans in their quest for sanctuary in the +> wealthy 28-nation bloc. It shuttled some to reception centers near +> Zagreb, but many simply slipped the net of overwhelmed authorities and +> set off for the Slovenian border, just 30 kilometers (19 miles) from +> the Croatian capital. + +**Beginning of October, 2015** -- + [David Cameron condemns Russia's strikes in Syria][2]: + +> "It's absolutely clear that Russia is not discriminating between Isil +> [IS] and the legitimate Syrian opposition groups and, as a result, +> they are actually backing the butcher Assad and helping him," he said. +> +> "Rightly, they [Russia] have been condemned across the Arab world for +> what they have done and I think the Arab world is right about that. +> +> "But we should be using this moment now to try to force forward a +> comprehensive plan to bring political transition in Syria because that +> is the answer for bringing peace to the region." + + +**End of October, 2015** -- + [Swiss parliament shifts to right in vote dominated by migrant fears][3]: + +> The shift to the right comes as surging numbers of migrants and +> refugees moving through Europe have heightened the focus on the issue +> in Switzerland, even though the wealthy Alpine nation is yet to be +> significantly affected by the crisis. +> +> "We have to make Europe less attractive and send a signal that we +> cannot give asylum here, not even to refugees of war," SVP chief Toni +> Brunner told AFP. + +**November 13, 2015** -- + [Paris under siege: More than 150 dead in terror attacks][4]: + +> Terrorists killed at least 153 people and wounded scores of other +> innocents in coordinated shooting and suicide-bomb attacks in Paris +> late Friday that included a mass execution at a rock concert, +> authorities said. +> +> [...] +> +> In an address broadcast around the world, Hollande said of the +> massacre: "It's a horror." +> +> "Two decisions will be taken: A state of emergency will be decreed, +> which means certain places will be closed, traffic may be banned and +> searches may also take place throughout the Paris region," he +> said. [...] +> +> "The second decision I have taken is to close the borders. We must +> guarantee that no one can come in to commit any act. And at the same +> time, those who may have committed crimes can be arrested if they try +> to leave the country," he said. +> +> [...] +> +> At the White House, President Obama said, "This is not just an attack +> on Paris or the people of France, it was an attack on humanity." [...] +> +> "This is a heartbreaking situation. Obviously, those of us in the +> United States know what it's like. We’ve gone through these kinds of +> episodes ourselves. Whenever these kinds of attacks happened, we've +> always been able to count on the French people to stand with us." + +**November 24, 2015** -- + [Turkey shoots down Russian warplane on Syria border][5] + +**November 24, 2015** -- + [Terrorism Response Puts Belgium in a Harsh Light][6]: + +> "What was I supposed to do about them? It is not my job to track +> possible terrorists," Ms. Schepmans said in an interview. That, she +> added, "is the responsibility of the federal police." +> +> The federal police service, for its part, reports to the interior +> minister, Jan Jambon, a Flemish nationalist who has doubts about +> whether Belgium -- divided among French, Dutch and German speakers -- +> should even exist as a single state. + +**November 25, 2015** -- + [France's Hollande heads to Russia hoping for Syria breakthrough][7] + +**November 26, 2015** -- + [Migration crisis 'could push UK out of Europe': As immigration hits record 336,000, a stark warning from the Foreign Secretary][8]: + +> [...] +> +> Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said voters will choose to leave the +> EU unless there was a clampdown on migrant benefits. The number of +> people coming into the country was 'not sustainable' and was putting +> too much pressure on schools and hospitals, he said. +> +> Yesterday's figures also revealed: +> +> * A wave of immigrants from Romania and Bulgaria is driving up the +> number of Europeans coming here; +> * 265,000 EU citizens arrived in a year – the equivalent to a city the +> size of Derby – and net migration of EU citizens increased by 42,000 +> to 180,000; +> * The migration crisis which engulfed Europe over the summer led to a +> sharp rise in the number of refugees seeking asylum in the UK. + +**November 26, 2015** -- + [Moldova: 13 detained on suspicion of plot to attack cities][9] + +**November 27, 2015** -- + [Romania OKs Visit by Russian Official Under EU Travel Ban][10] + +**December 1, 2015** -- + [Romania foils bomb plot on National Day parade][11]: + +> Romania's anti-terror force foiled on Tuesday a bomb plot on National +> Day parade in central county of Covasna, after raiding the home of a +> suspected extremist, seizing a home-made explosive device. +> +> A "well-known member of the extension in Romania" of the +> extremist-nationalist structure "64 Counties Youth Movement" of +> Hungary intended to detonate in public a home-made explosive device, +> at Targu Secuiesc of the Covasna County, during the National Day +> ceremony, informed a release by the Directorate for Investigating +> Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT). + +**December 6, 2015** -- + [France's Far-Right National Front Gains in Regional Elections][12]: + +> [...] +> +> Appearing before her supporters, Ms. Le Pen called it a "magnificent" +> result, saying the National Front was "the only party that can +> reconquer the lost territories of the republic, of Calais, where we +> won 50 percent of the votes, or of the suburbs." What Ms. Le Pen +> described as "lost territories" were the French city of Calais on the +> English Channel, which now has more than 4,000 migrants on its +> doorstep hoping to reach Britain, and the suburbs of major French +> cities, many of which have sizable Muslim populations. +> +> The National Front "is the only party to defend an authentically +> French republic," she added, and to be dedicated to "the preservation +> of our way of life." +> +> [...] +> +> "The old themes and proposals of the National Front have been reprised +> in the political debate, not only on the right but also, more and +> more, on the left and in particular in the voice of the executive +> branch, and that legitimizes the National Front," he said. +> +> Both Mr. Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls have evoked more +> nationalistic themes recently and taken a particularly hard line on +> security issues. Although the government is leans left, its leaders +> have begun to discuss extending the state of emergency, which gives +> law enforcement extraordinary powers, beyond its current duration of +> three months. + +**December 12, 2015** -- + [Paris climate deal: nearly 200 nations sign in end of fossil fuel era][13] + +**December 12, 2015** -- + [James Hansen, father of climate change awareness, calls Paris talks 'a fraud'][14] + +**December 13, 2015** -- + [National Front Party in France Is Dealt a Setback in Regional Elections][15]: + +> A week after the National Front came out on top in the first round of +> voting, France sent a far different message, with the party losing +> even in a northern region where its charismatic leader, Marine Le Pen, +> had been widely expected to win. +> +> The projections also showed the National Front being defeated in +> another of its strongest areas, the south around Nice, where Ms. Le +> Pen's 26-year-old niece, Marion Maréchal Le Pen, was on the ballot. +> +> [...] +> +> Ms. Le Pen made her presidential ambitions for 2017 clear: "This +> distinction will be what is fundamentally at stake in the huge +> political decision of the presidential elections." + +**December 18, 2015** -- + [European shares fall as Fed rally loses momentum][16]: + +> European shares fell in volatile trade on Friday as the Fed-inspired +> rally of the previous session ran out of steam and investors took +> profits ahead of the holiday season. +> +> The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was down 1.2 percent by 1540 +> GMT, after gaining 1.3 percent on Thursday, while the euro zone's +> blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index weakened 1.7 percent. +> +> European stocks had rallied on Thursday as investors took the +> U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates as a sign of +> confidence in the world's biggest economy. +> +> "Yesterday's rally was a bit overdone and investors are taking profit +> as they prepare for the holiday. Lower oil prices this morning and +> weaker U.S. markets gave the pretext to sell," said Stephan Rieke, +> senior economist at BHF-BANK in Frankfurt. + +[1]: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/17/us-europe-migrants-idUSKCN0RD0P420150917 +[2]: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-34432440 +[3]: http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/swiss-parliament-shifts-to-right-in-vote-dominated-by-migrant-fears +[4]: http://nypost.com/2015/11/13/gun-battle-breaks-out-at-paris-restaurant-explosion-rocks-bar-near-stadium/ +[5]: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34907983 +[6]: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/25/world/europe/its-capital-frozen-belgium-surveys-past-failures-and-squabbles.html +[7]: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/25/us-mideast-crisis-russia-idUSKBN0TE0RE20151125 +[8]: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3335651/Migration-crisis-push-UK-Europe-immigration-hits-record-336-000-stark-warning-Foreign-Secretary.html +[9]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/moldova-13-detained-suspected-of-wanting-to-attack-city/2015/11/26/34e74528-9437-11e5-befa-99ceebcbb272_story.html +[10]: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/romania-oks-visit-russian-official-eu-travel-ban-35442519 +[11]: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-12/02/c_134874642.htm +[12]: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/07/world/europe/frances-far-right-national-front-gains-in-regional-elections.html +[13]: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/12/paris-climate-deal-200-nations-sign-finish-fossil-fuel-era +[14]: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/12/james-hansen-climate-change-paris-talks-fraud +[15]: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/14/world/europe/france-regional-elections-national-front.html +[16]: http://www.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks-idUSL8N14732E20151218 diff --git a/posts/y02/041-cloud-software-is-unreliable-ii.markdown b/posts/y02/041-cloud-software-is-unreliable-ii.markdown new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5636b6e --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/y02/041-cloud-software-is-unreliable-ii.markdown @@ -0,0 +1,95 @@ +--- +postid: 041 +title: Cloud software is unreliable [ii] +excerpt: Or, the cloud is unreliable. +date: January 16, 2016 +author: Lucian Mogoșanu +tags: cogitatio +--- + +A couple of years ago I was arguing that +[cloud software is unreliable][part-i], and moreover, that the concept +itself is fundamentally flawed. The ifs and whys of this discussion +were, and probably still are, debatable, but the fact is that despite my +argument, people use the so-called "cloud" a lot more than they've been +using it two years ago. Not only that, but they've come to *rely* on it, +or *depend* on it, if you will; I myself am using it more and more under +social pressure from friends, co-workers and so on, despite the fact +that distributed[^1], albeit less convenient alternatives do exist. So a +rather good question is, how much we're actually trading for that +convenience? + +This migration towards service-as-a-stuff is happening despite recent +events such as the Sony PSN hacks, the infamous iCloud scandal, numerous +database leaks from corporations and so on and so forth. These are all +apparently small and forgettable[^2], and I've already foreseen some of +them in [the previous part][part-i]; but since they're not the only +ones, it doesn't hurt to extend the thought experiment with more (more +gruesome, painful and whatnot) scenarios. + +**Scenario 4**: The enemy of the state. I've been avoiding this in the +previous scenarios, more for the sake of not giving in to paranoia if +anything. However, it has become clear that today's states, even the +ones in the so-called "[civilized][political-correctness]" Western +world, *especially* those in the Western world, will gladly smash your +head[^3] to ensure their own security. In that moment, the state[^4] +will have complete control over your data, including the power to forge +stuff. Because in the logic of "preventing" "terrorism", no one's really +thought of actually preventing terrorism. + +**Scenario 5**: The great bankrupcy. Corporations are people, and +people, believe it or not, very often die of natural causes. So what +will happen with your company's data when they discontinue Google? This +will send giant ripples all through the Interwebs, and while you're +drowning, somewhere on the sides you'll see ol' Richard Stallman chewing +his foot and saying "I told you so". + +**Scenario 6**: The Second Library of Alexandria (as coined in +[the archive™][the-archive]). This is pretty much the endgame scenario +for the Internet, the most improbable of all, given the latter's +resilience. However, "resilience" is still billions of miles away from +"immunity", which makes the thought behind this scenario at least +interesting, if not of any practical use. It's safe to say that in such +an improbable event, [your worth to humanity][worth-humanity] will be +much higher if you have control over your very own data. + +Or, as the old saying goes, "don't put all your eggs in one basket". + +[^1]: Not necessarily the same as "decentralized". For example Bitcoin +is distributed in the sense that storage exists, and control flow +occurs, independently on each node; moreover, it is decentralized in the +sense that updates to the storage are performed by everyone according to +a clearly defined set of validation rules. It is however centralized in +the sense that it depends on a single conceptual data store to be +synchronized between the nodes. That would arguably be considered a +point of failure, if it weren't such a great feature. + +[^2]: Although I would argue the opposite. I wouldn't trust my personal +data to entities with a track record of well-known exploited +vulnerabilities. Wait, what do you mean "it's the hackers' fault"? I +don't care if it is, it's *my* personal data. + +[^3]: To quote Orwell's 1984: + + > There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of + > life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always -- do + > not forget this, Winston -- always there will be the intoxication + > of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing + > subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of + > victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is + > helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot + > stamping on a human face -- forever. + + I don't know about the novel's other predictions, but this one has + definitely become true. In the name of democracy and all. + +[^4]: So that we're clear, "the state" includes "tech companies" such as +Google, Facebook and Amazon. Might as well call them "the department of +ads", "the department of more ads" and "the department of selling you +ads via drones". Hey, whaddaya know, they've come up with a politically +correct word for "propaganda"! + +[part-i]: /posts/y00/00e-cloud-software-is-unreliable.html +[political-correctness]: /posts/y01/02e-on-the-inherent-harmfulness-of-political-correctness.html +[the-archive]: /posts/y01/038-the-archive.html +[worth-humanity]: /posts/y01/032-your-worth-to-humanity.html