Today in the news:
– Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng blames Beijing for his NYU eviction
– The US spied on Russian leader at a summit
– and Putin denies that he stole Patriot’s Super Bowl ring from owner Robert Kraft
Chen Guancheng’s escape from China last spring to the US Embassy in China made headlines worldwide, he found safety at an NYU campus housing, but is now getting booted from said NYU housing in the Village because of pressure from Beijing. Looks like there is some self interest involved, as NYU has been seeking assistance to open a campus in Shanghai. Apparently NYU told Chen that if he and his wife and kids don’t find a place by July 15, they will have go to a hotel. Chen vowed to continue his human-rights advocacy, while NYU is apalled by the accusations that it was China that pressured NYU into the decision of getting him out of college housing. They probably just need more room for students, or do they?
Oh don’t we love it when top secret documents are being leaked?! According to a report based on leaked documents, electronic snooping by US spy agencies included the interception, of top-secret communications of then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at a G20 summit in 2009. The documents, which were provided by NSA leaker Edward Snowden, indicate NSA spies believed they had likely discovered “a change in the way Russian leadership signals have been normally transmitted.” Oh Snowden is definitely getting asylum in Russian after this revelation. The information leaked to The Guardian also shows that the British eavesdropping agency GCHQ hacked into foreign diplomats’ phones and e-mails during international conferences hosted in the UK. The Brit spy agency even set up a fake Internet cafe in an effort to bug diplomats. Is it just me or is that kinda funny?
The Kremlin yesterday denied allegations that Russian President Vladimir Putin stole a Super Bowl ring belonging to New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Putin’s spokeman, Dmitry Petrov, maintained that Kraft’s bling came to Putin as a symbol of gridiron glasnost, during a meeting between the pair and other business leaders in St. Petersburg in 2005. Kraft told a packed crowd at Carnegie Hall’s Medal of Excellence gala at The Waldorf-Astoria last week, that he had allowed Putin a look at his prized jewelry: a $25,000 diamond-encrusted ring for New England’s Super Bowl XXXIX victory in 2005. According to Kraft, Putin tried it on said he could kill someone with this ring, then put it in his pocket before he and KGB handlers quickly walked out, maybe to go kill someone? Kraft enlisted the help of Washington to get it back, but was told it would be best to keep quiet on the matter. And just to be clear, in Russia there are no misundestandings.
Today in the news:
– Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng blames Beijing for his NYU eviction
– The US spied on Russian leader at a summit
– and Putin denies that he stole Patriot’s Super Bowl ring from owner Robert Kraft
Chen Guancheng’s escape from China last spring to the US Embassy in China made headlines worldwide, he found safety at an NYU campus housing, but is now getting booted from said NYU housing in the Village because of pressure from Beijing. Looks like there is some self interest involved, as NYU has been seeking assistance to open a campus in Shanghai. Apparently NYU told Chen that if he and his wife and kids don’t find a place by July 15, they will have go to a hotel. Chen vowed to continue his human-rights advocacy, while NYU is apalled by the accusations that it was China that pressured NYU into the decision of getting him out of college housing. They probably just need more room for students, or do they?
Oh don’t we love it when top secret documents are being leaked?! According to a report based on leaked documents, electronic snooping by US spy agencies included the interception, of top-secret communications of then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at a G20 summit in 2009. The documents, which were provided by NSA leaker Edward Snowden, indicate NSA spies believed they had likely discovered “a change in the way Russian leadership signals have been normally transmitted.” Oh Snowden is definitely getting asylum in Russian after this revelation. The information leaked to The Guardian also shows that the British eavesdropping agency GCHQ hacked into foreign diplomats’ phones and e-mails during international conferences hosted in the UK. The Brit spy agency even set up a fake Internet cafe in an effort to bug diplomats. Is it just me or is that kinda funny?
The Kremlin yesterday denied allegations that Russian President Vladimir Putin stole a Super Bowl ring belonging to New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Putin’s spokeman, Dmitry Petrov, maintained that Kraft’s bling came to Putin as a symbol of gridiron glasnost, during a meeting between the pair and other business leaders in St. Petersburg in 2005. Kraft told a packed crowd at Carnegie Hall’s Medal of Excellence gala at The Waldorf-Astoria last week, that he had allowed Putin a look at his prized jewelry: a $25,000 diamond-encrusted ring for New England’s Super Bowl XXXIX victory in 2005. According to Kraft, Putin tried it on said he could kill someone with this ring, then put it in his pocket before he and KGB handlers quickly walked out, maybe to go kill someone? Kraft enlisted the help of Washington to get it back, but was told it would be best to keep quiet on the matter. And just to be clear, in Russia there are no misundestandings.