Egyptian Authorities Detain French "Spy" Bird Found With Tracker

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Egyptian Authorities Detain French "Spy" Bird Found With Tracker

Posted by samzenpus on Sunday September 1, 2013 @08:55PM from the duck-privacy dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The Washington Post reports, 'In a case that ruffled feathers in Egypt, authorities have detained a migratory bird that a citizen suspected of being a spy. A man in Egypt's Qena governorate, some 450 kilometers (280 miles) southeast of Cairo, found the suspicious bird among four others near his home and brought them to a police station Friday, said Mohammed Kamal, the head of the security in the region. With turmoil gripping Egypt following the July 3 popularly backed military coup that overthrew the country's president, authorities and citizens remain highly suspicious of anything foreign. Conspiracy theories easily find their ways into cafe discussion — as well as some media in the country. Earlier this year, a security guard filed a police report after capturing a pigeon he said carried microfilm. A previous rumor in 2010 blamed a series of shark attacks along Egypt's Mediterranean coast on an Israeli plot. It wasn't. In the bird's case, even military officials ultimately had to deny the bird carried any spying devices. They spoke Saturday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists.'"

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FP by Hognoxious · 2013-09-01 21:02 · Score: 4, Interesting

Two words: Hartlepool, monkey.
Mind, that was 200 years ago when people had an excuse for being thick.

--
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
1. Re:FP by gmack · 2013-09-01 21:34 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  There are more recent examples such as Saudi Arabia accusing a condor of spying Or Egypt Blaming Isreal for shark attacks. The fact is that the Egyptian government wants to distract it's people from the latest military takeover of the government and finding something to blame on the "Zionists" is a time tested way to do that.
  I used to have a Moroccan co worker who blamed Israel for everything bad in life down to his country's poor economy. It really is a weird how an otherwise intelligent person could miss the game of misdirection being played out repeatedly.
2. Re:FP by K.+S.+Kyosuke · 2013-09-01 22:07 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  There are more recent examples such as Saudi Arabia accusing a condor of spying
  Hide! Spies of Sarucohen!
  
  --
  Ezekiel 23:20
3. Re:FP by nospam007 · 2013-09-01 22:43 · Score: 1
  
  "Mind, that was 200 years ago when people had an excuse for being thick."
  That is what happens if people get TV before they get education.
4. Re:FP by torsmo · 2013-09-01 22:52 · Score: 2
  
  The pigeon was quite clearly Yankee-Doodle Pigeon and the condor was part of the Vulture Squadron. So this can only mean a new Wacky Races movie.
  "Wake up, Muttley, you're dreaming again, You're not Robin Hood and you're not Gunga Din"
5. Re:FP by SuricouRaven · 2013-09-01 23:07 · Score: 1
  
  Slight correction: 'Stop the Pigeon' and 'Wacky Races' were separate shows. There were characters appearing in common between these along with 'Perils of Penelope Pitstop', but they didn't form any sort of continuity and, aside from Penelope, didn't even keep their names between appearances.
6. Re:FP by K.+S.+Kyosuke · 2013-09-01 23:21 · Score: 1
  
  The pigeon was quite clearly Yankee-Doodle Pigeon
  That's not even necessary. Seeing that pigeon starts with pig-, all pigeons are automatically suspect in the eyes of Egyptian authorities.
  
  --
  Ezekiel 23:20
7. Re:FP by gtall · 2013-09-01 23:30 · Score: 1
  
  Apparently in this case, the military government said it wasn't an Israeli plot. I don't doubt that government would distract the pop., but they are more likely to use the U.S. as the kicking ball given that the last thing they need is to tick off the Israelis.
8. Re:FP by gtall · 2013-09-01 23:35 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  This is the middle east, it wouldn't matter how educated they are. The educated elite of Saudi Arabia believe the same fantasies about Israel. They tend to believe there is an Iranian behind every grain of sand.
  The problem is Islam. It promotes itself over everything. That leaves the pop. unprotected from the plots and stories of the Imams and mullahs. So given a choice between what their local mosque is saying and what an educated world view would tell them, they'll believe the mosque every time. Mind you, the same thing happens in some Christian churches in the U.S. where even something as science is regularly "exposed" as a web of lies. That G-d fellow is one strange dude, burying those dinosaurs bones all over the place. What mystifies me is how She got the oil down there.
9. Re:FP by skywhale · 2013-09-01 23:53 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  "So I'm going to tell you what the facts are, and the facts are the facts, but then we know the truth. That always overcomes facts,"
  pastor Terri Copeland Pearsons, The Eagle Mountain International Church, Texas.
  http://www.npr.org/2013/09/01/217746942/texas-megachurch-at-center-of-measles-outbreak
  
  --
  :wq!
10. Re:FP by gmack · 2013-09-02 00:10 · Score: 1
  
  Keep in mind that they consider, North America and Europe as under Zionist control.
11. Re:FP by Kilo+Kilo · 2013-09-02 00:24 · Score: 1
  
  These flying pigs are an affront to Allah, who created them! Death to Israel!
12. Re:FP by Big+Hairy+Ian · 2013-09-02 00:30 · Score: 1
  
  The Monkey in question was still French :)
  
  --
  Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.
13. Re:FP by cavreader · 2013-09-02 01:25 · Score: 1
  
  Your Moroccan friend is definitely not alone. Add the US boogeyman into the mix and you can deflect any problem large or small.
14. Re:FP by DogDude · 2013-09-02 01:33 · Score: 1
  
  The problem is Islam.
  
  Close.
  
  The problem is religion.
  
  --
  I don't respond to AC's.
15. Re:FP by BluBrick · 2013-09-02 01:58 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  The problem is Islam.
  Close.
  The problem is religion.
  Closer yet, but still not quite accurate. You see, religion is just fine until people get involved in it. Only then does it become dangerous.
  
  --
  Ahh - My eye!
  The doctor said I'm not supposed to get Slashdot in it!
16. Re:FP by korbulon · 2013-09-02 02:18 · Score: 2
  
  Closer still, the problem is people. The pervasiveness of religion betrays a basic need felt by nearly all humans to understand the world, not merely in a cause-effect sense, but in an origination and ontological sense. Where did I come from? Why am I here?. Religion is the institutionalization and politicization of spirituality, not inherently evil but prone to egregious abuse. There are many on this earth who recognize this basic need - often not being able to distinguish it from their own personal beliefs - and exploit it for their worldly ends, often for money and political power. Therein lies the evil.
17. Re:FP by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-02 02:36 · Score: 1
  
  It really is a weird how an otherwise intelligent person could miss the game of misdirection being played out repeatedly.
  That never happens on Slashdot.
18. Re:FP by mspohr · 2013-09-02 08:54 · Score: 1
  
  Boston had no excuse for being thick in 2007:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Boston_bomb_scare
  Aqua Teen Hunger Force
  A group of police found them to be sharing "some characteristics with improvised explosive devices." These characteristics included an identifiable power source, a circuit board with exposed wiring, and electrical tape. Investigators were intending to determine "if this event was a hoax or something else entirely."
  
  --
  I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
19. Re:FP by NeutronCowboy · 2013-09-02 08:58 · Score: 1
  
  It really is a weird how an otherwise intelligent person could miss the game of misdirection being played out repeatedly.
  Kinda like how otherwise intelligent people manage to blame everything bad on mexican immigrants, jews, fiat currencies, UN black helicopters or contrails? Conspiracy theories isn't just a specialty of the US.
  
  --
  Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
20. Re:FP by Hognoxious · 2013-09-02 22:21 · Score: 1
  
  I always find it funny when coptards say things look like an improvised explosive device, because they don't really conform to any standard pattern. If they did, they'd be mass produced explosive devices.
  It's like saying something sounds like a jazz tune.
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
21. Re:FP by servant74a · 2013-09-03 04:59 · Score: 1
  
  The problem is Islam.
  Close.
  The problem is religion.
  Closer yet, but still not quite accurate. You see, religion is just fine until people get involved in it. Only then does it become dangerous.
  Not quite. Problem is people that think they are better than others for any reason.
WHY ONE MUST by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-01 21:02 · Score: 2, Funny

Walk like an Egyptian when in Egypt !!
1. Re:WHY ONE MUST by Sponge+Bath · 2013-09-02 00:51 · Score: 1
  
  I think it was the coconut it was transporting that gave the bird away.
In soviet Egypt by o'reor · 2013-09-01 21:15 · Score: 4, Funny

When a bird flies like a stork and quacks like a stork and walks like a stork, then it's a fucking swan.

And a spying one, at that.

--
In Soviet Russia, our new overlords are belong to all your base.
1. Re:In soviet Egypt by alexhs · 2013-09-01 21:24 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  And a spying one, at that.
  At least they got that part right: It was a spying device.
  French show no respect for stork's privacy !
  
  --
  I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of killer sig, which this margin is too narrow to contain.
2. Re:In soviet Egypt by someone1234 · 2013-09-01 22:15 · Score: 2
  
  Actually, they caught some stork from Hungary too. It had a GPS to track its migratory path. Hopefully, the bird is still ok.
  
  --
  Patents Drive Free Software as Hurricanes Drive Construction Industry
3. Re:In soviet Egypt by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2013-09-01 22:27 · Score: 2
  
  Ve haf vays of making them squawk...
4. Re:In soviet Egypt by only_human · 2013-09-01 22:57 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Not a swan, a mean french duck because this is a vicious canard.
5. Re:In soviet Egypt by jrumney · 2013-09-02 01:26 · Score: 1
  
  ... or a sophisticated IPoAC transport mechanism incorporating advanced clandestine protocols like RFC1149 and RFC2549. Obviously the French were hatching a zionist plot to overthrow the elected government before the Egyptians beat them at their own game.
Warning: Meme ahead by DrYak · 2013-09-01 21:28 · Score: 1

(french) "pigeon with a radio" is going to be the new (israeli) "shark with a laser".

--
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
Intelligence by ameen.ross · 2013-09-01 21:32 · Score: 2

I think this is indicative of the intelligence of the people that supported the overthrow of Mursi.
FTFA

the state-run daily newspaper Al-Ahram quoted Kamal as saying the incident showed the patriotism of the man who captured the bird in the first place.

--
$(echo cm0gLXJmIC8= | base64 --decode)
1. Re:Intelligence by o'reor · 2013-09-01 21:43 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  If you are supporting Morsi, I suppose you're supporting his vocal positions on Jews and freedom of press, here you go.
  After watching this, I consider that any man with just a little common sense would support the overthrow of Morsi. Which does not mean supporting the slaughter of hundreds of opponents in the aftermath. But the independence of the USA was not completed in one day, neither was the French revolution, nor will the Arab revolutions. It takes time before an appeased democracy takes place after centuries of colonial occupation and military dictatorships.
  
  --
  In Soviet Russia, our new overlords are belong to all your base.
2. Re:Intelligence by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2013-09-01 22:29 · Score: 1
  
  'Patriotism' is not entirely a compliment, though it is often espoused as a virtue.
3. Re:Intelligence by ianare · 2013-09-01 22:32 · Score: 2
  
  The French revolution is probably the worst example for arguing violent overthrow of the governement. It goes something like this:
  1. Overthrow the government, kill the royal family.
  2. Kill a bunch of aristocrats, a bunch of priests, desecrate tombs
  3. Kill a bunch of people that don't agree with all the killing
  4. Put a Corsican in charge, eventually becoming an Emperor
  5. More killing, war all over Europe
  6. A couple heirs to the Emperor here and there
  7. Put the kings back in place from time to time
  ... All in all, it took over 80 years for a real, permanent republic to be put in place (3rd time's the charm it seems), and THAT was mainly after the military defeat of the 1870's.
4. Re:Intelligence by ameen.ross · 2013-09-01 23:56 · Score: 1
  
  How about "I already brought another car and a tow rope but I was hoping I could avoid towing it".
  And the 2 statements have nothing to do with each other, which is why they are separate paragraphs...
  Why am I replying to a troll?
  
  --
  $(echo cm0gLXJmIC8= | base64 --decode)
5. Re:Intelligence by phantomfive · 2013-09-02 05:04 · Score: 1
  
  neither was the French revolution,
  You shouldn't take the French revolution as an example of how to do anything right. John Adams pointed out that the French revolution was a bad idea at the time.
  
  --
  "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
6. Re:Intelligence by Hognoxious · 2013-09-02 05:36 · Score: 1
  
  trying to start a car with a broken head gasket
  
  Next time try the key. Or a screwdriver.
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
It's not a coup. by GentooOne · 2013-09-01 21:39 · Score: 1

We elected a terrorist for president, we revolted against him and the military backed us up, we have a civil government (so far).
1. Re:It's not a coup. by oobayly · 2013-09-01 22:24 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Yup, I was listening to a quite interesting program on BBC Radio 4. It was interviewing some Egyptian women - all of whom said that they voted for Morsi as he "appeared" to be a good choice and they felt they should give him a chance. Unfortunately he wasn't, they felt mislead and supported him being removed by the military. I know that many people were worried about Morsi from the start, and maybe these ladies were naive, but change can fill people with a huge amount of optimism.
  What was also interesting was that one said that before the Muslim Brotherhood came into power they'd never had a Sunni - Shia problem, and when they looked into it, it turned wherever Sunni - Shia sectarian violence erupted, the Muslim Brotherhood weren't far away.
  I've got to respect you guys - you (the country, maybe not you personally) voted for a politician because they promised the world, and when they did as politicians usually do, you said "screw that, we're getting rid of him". Unlike us who bitch and moan and then vote for the same bastard next time round.
2. Re:It's not a coup. by gtall · 2013-09-01 23:48 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  More specifically, the choice in Egypt was between Morsi and a representative of the old regime. Hell, Stalin could win an election like that.
  Then Morsi showed his true colors. He went to work putting his people in as many positions of power as he could even down to local level. Bad news for him was that most of these were incompetent. It became clear Morsi still was working with the old MB line: one man, one vote, one time. When that became too apparent to ignore, and given the economy was getting worse and worse, the people got fed up and walked into the all too welcoming arms of the military. The people thought the military was the only organized group strong enough to counter the MB.
  Just as an example of the bone-headedness of Morsi, he put as head of the monuments in Luxor the very guy who led a terrorist attack against foreigners there. At that point, the people realized he had no economic sense because that certainly wasn't going to encourage tourism which was a big part of the Egyptian economy. He also wouldn't do anything to prevent the MB from antagonizing the Christians which were 10% of the pop. His views on women only drove home what King Abdullah of Jordan said of him, Morsi has no depth. (Incidentally, he also said Erdogan of Turkey thought of Democracy as bus, when he reaches his destination, he is going to get off. His destination will be a theocracy...I give him 10 years and another failed theocracy will be born.)
3. Re:It's not a coup. by isorox · 2013-09-02 02:06 · Score: 1
  
  He went to work putting his people in as many positions of power as he could even down to local level.
  I love the fact that the guy from the group who caused the Luxor massacre in 1997 was put in charge of Luxor.
  That's good for tourism. But then Egypt never really relied on tourism.
4. Re:It's not a coup. by petes_PoV · 2013-09-02 04:42 · Score: 1
  
  You're correct. Chickens live in coups, pigeons live in lofts
  
  --
  politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
5. Re:It's not a coup. by Schmorgluck · 2013-09-02 11:54 · Score: 1
  
  If it's a French bird, maybe a rooster in disguise? Mmmh, we may be up to something, here...
  
  --
  There's nothing like $HOME
6. Re: It's not a coup. by GentooOne · 2013-09-03 03:54 · Score: 1
  
  Funny, a civil government that was appointed by military and only understands how to kill and torture its opposites.
  Fighting against armed thugs and terrorists isn't the same as fighting against opposition.
The evolution in spying by GeekWithAKnife · 2013-09-01 21:41 · Score: 4, Funny

Ladies and gentleman, I propose that this is only the beginning. Soon the evil Zionists and western imperialists will send their GM mind controlling bacteria to spy on us from inside our bodies.

Let's fight the oppression of foreign powers, the military, bad people and bacteria together. Unlike some cowardly dictators I lead by example.In the interest of public safety, as I have personally not felt a lot like myself lately, I asked officials to prove that I do not carry such bacteria. As they have failed to give any substantial evidence to the contrary I must conclude that however remote, there is a possibility this is the case.

If you do not feel like yourself and are tempted to take a power drill to your temple PLEASE STOP this is exactly what they want. Don't let them win!

Flying pigeons, swimming sharks and bacteria will not end us! Fight on my brothers and expose their wicked ways!

--
A 'singular oddity' is an event that cannot be explained and only happens when you are alone.
1. Re:The evolution in spying by c0lo · 2013-09-01 22:11 · Score: 2
  
  Fight on my brothers and expose their wicked ways!
  I would gladly fight on your wicked brothers, except... I can't find them. Somebody must've hid them.
  
  --
  Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
2. Re:The evolution in spying by GeekWithAKnife · 2013-09-01 22:53 · Score: 1
  
  To be fair might wicked brothers are microscopic bacteria...
  
  --
  A 'singular oddity' is an event that cannot be explained and only happens when you are alone.
3. Re:The evolution in spying by c0lo · 2013-09-01 23:26 · Score: 1
  
  To be fair might wicked brothers are microscopic bacteria...
  Oh my my... wad'da ya know??... I thought bacteria were you're twin grandfathers.
  
  --
  Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
4. Re:The evolution in spying by GeekWithAKnife · 2013-09-02 00:03 · Score: 1
  
  Your right.
  
  --
  A 'singular oddity' is an event that cannot be explained and only happens when you are alone.
5. Re:The evolution in spying by b4upoo · 2013-09-02 02:51 · Score: 1
  
  Were those sharks and pigeons circumcised? Where is the temple where the sharks and pigeons worship so that we may bomb it?
Ahhh, Islam by benjfowler · 2013-09-01 21:41 · Score: 1

How the mighty have fallen.
1. Re:Ahhh, Islam by GeekWithAKnife · 2013-09-01 22:45 · Score: 1
  
  "How the might are fallen in the midst of the battle!" - FTFY
  
  --
  A 'singular oddity' is an event that cannot be explained and only happens when you are alone.
sorry but by Bender+Unit+22 · 2013-09-01 22:03 · Score: 2

IDIOTS.
No wonder they are having problems.
Not unexpected by ianare · 2013-09-01 22:15 · Score: 3, Insightful

When you hear about the Western spying programs (US, UK, France, etc) all over the news, when a country is undergoing huge changes, and when said western powers have been meddling in the region for decades, it's not completly unexpected for this sort of thing to happen.
I just feel bad for the poor stork that is still locked up.
1. Re:Not unexpected by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2013-09-01 22:41 · Score: 2
  
  For me, the bigger surprise is how the comparatively wacky and/or retro theories (is somebody using up their spare microfilm from WWII? trained attack sharks? Surveillance birds?) even in a situation with modern communications and surveillance apparatuses to worry about, and plenty of murky-and-actually-happening-to-people attacks, disappearances, just-showing-up-at-the-morgue, and so on.
  
  Concerns about spying are very plausible (and spying is also very plausible); but I would have expected the abundant supply of high plausibility conspiracy theories to have competed more successfully against the oddball ones.
Re:An important question by c0lo · 2013-09-01 22:15 · Score: 1

Was it an African bird or a European one?
Why... the bird was French, TF title says so! (not to mention samzenpus vetted it!)
(posters these days... nobody read the titles anymore).
(grin)

--
Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
Haven't we heard this sort of thing before? by petes_PoV · 2013-09-01 22:54 · Score: 2

So a guy found something that he didn't understand. He took it to the authorities who examined it and told him (and the world) that it was nothing to worry about. Due to ignorance and fear however, many conspiracy theories abound and are stoked by this sort of story and the "official" explanation.
Roswell, anyone?

--
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
Thorough investigation by halexists · 2013-09-01 23:25 · Score: 1

I suspect those inept Egyptian security officials failed to follow proper protocol with this bird: he should have been separated from his for local friends, and each should have been interrogated to see if they had a straight story about their business together. Just because the foreign bird didn't crack doesn't mean his local affiliates won't!
It is a cover up by BluPhenix316 · 2013-09-01 23:46 · Score: 5, Funny

That bird is a spy. It works for the NSA to capture traffic over IPoAC
1. Re:It is a cover up by someone1234 · 2013-09-02 05:19 · Score: 1
  
  Storks only intercept frogs. We need an eagle to catch twitters.
  
  --
  Patents Drive Free Software as Hurricanes Drive Construction Industry
Re:"Popularly-backed military coup"? by gtall · 2013-09-01 23:52 · Score: 2

Morsi made a mockery of democracy by placing his cronies and MB people in every position of power he could. It was clear that he was aiming, not at running Egypt, but rather establishing an everlasting dynasty of the MB.
But is that any excuse for unsourced assertions?? by foreverdisillusioned · 2013-09-02 00:54 · Score: 1

"A previous rumor in 2010 blamed a series of shark attacks along Egypt's Mediterranean coast on an Israeli plot. It wasn't."

[Citation needed]
Morsi was democratically elected by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-02 00:59 · Score: 1

Ina democracy you do not overthrow legally elected people you don't like. You vote against them at the next election. That is something apparently a LOT of people do not understand when they applaud the coup against Morsi. Democracy isn't election of "the people we like only".
1. Re:Morsi was democratically elected by ameen.ross · 2013-09-02 01:12 · Score: 1
  
  That's exactly what I said here: http://idle.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=4154431&cid=44737191
  Mod trolls are at it though...
  
  --
  $(echo cm0gLXJmIC8= | base64 --decode)
2. Re:Morsi was democratically elected by Oligonicella · 2013-09-02 02:14 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, actually you do when said elected official proceeds to set things up for a permanent residency.
Re:girls, dont marry dumb guys ok, not for $$$ by PopeRatzo · 2013-09-02 01:46 · Score: 1

If every woman just choose a smart guy and not the dumb loosers that drag this planet down, we would have warp drive space ships by now.
Unfortunately, parents are smart to tell girls to do this, but prefer status and money.
Doesn't work that way.
My wife, a mathematician, chose me, and yet we still managed to bring a daughter into this world who's just months from getting her PhD in Math.
And I'm as stupid as they come. But I'm clean and a very good dancer.

--
You are welcome on my lawn.
IP over Avian Carriers by kyncani · 2013-09-02 03:09 · Score: 1

Goddamn it, I've been looking for that packet all day ! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_over_Avian_Carriers
sheesh by MrL0G1C · 2013-09-02 03:18 · Score: 1

Why is this crap getting posted when I linked a story about a massive censorship law being debated next week in the UK and it gets buried. Many of the 'campaigns' are by ordinary citizens, it is us who would lose our voice in the 12 month lead-up to any election.
new government plans to gag charities and campaigners

--
Waterfox - a Firefox fork with legacy extension support, security updates and better privacy by default.
1. Re:sheesh by gigne · 2013-09-02 05:28 · Score: 1
  
  indeed.
  "Many of the 'campaigns' are by ordinary citizens, it is us who would lose our voice in the 12 month lead-up to any election."
  can you clarify this. I know the back story on this, but I was under the impression from the news (BBC mainly) that this would only affect large campaign spends to £~400k. Anyone pushing more than £5k needs to declare it with the government, but are not prohibited.
  What small groups are going to have any significant issue here? Are there small campaign groups with nearly half a million £ in liquid cash?
  I am not saying I think this is the best approach to the problem, but I am curious about your statement!
  
  --
  Signature v3.0, now with 42% less memory usage.
2. Re:sheesh by MrL0G1C · 2013-09-02 08:04 · Score: 1
  
  The problem is that a lot of small groups are campaigning under the umbrella of 38Degrees.org but 38degrees can be gagged which means that the literally millions of people that use the site are being gagged. Even the electoral commission is against the new changes. I don't think the gov't realised the consequences this bill.
  The separate campaigns should be treated as such for legal purposes, then i expect the Â£400k wouldn't be a problem and the law needs to differentiate between a democratic process where hundreds of thousands of people chip in to have their voice heard vs the money of individual corporations.
  http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/aug/28/david-cameron-gagging-charities-labour-claims
  And this is also an attack on unions right to represent their members political wishes.
  
  --
  Waterfox - a Firefox fork with legacy extension support, security updates and better privacy by default.
mod parent up by globaljustin · 2013-09-02 03:33 · Score: 1

thank you

We elected a terrorist for president, we revolted against him and the military backed us up, we have a civil government (so far).
partisans in America are too dumb to see this...critics in America look at Egypt and wonder, "How can we make this Obama's fault"
Egyptians, Syrians, Libyans, etc **all** know exactly what they are fighting FOR and who they are fighting AGAINST
4
American's are being duped by a media too dumb to know when the military/illuminati complex is leading them around by the nose...
Egypt and Syria now are just like Iran in 1979...
Democratic uprising to topple an Aristocrat dictator who was installed by foreign Oligarch's to mine the countries resources....oligarch's find a way to pit one part of the democratic revolution against the other (liberals vs conservatives) and the status quo is maintained.
They're running the *same playbook* in Syria and the American media is too dumb to see it

--
Thank you Dave Raggett
how is this stupid? by globaljustin · 2013-09-02 03:39 · Score: 1, Interesting

I hate these articles...the headlines are insulting and are subtly racist IMHO...
Headline should read: "Haha look at these Egyptian rubes! These camel jockeys don't understand technology and that is humorous."
But it is absolutely within the realm of possibility for someone to use a live bird for surveillance, especially when you look at what the Israelis are developing right in the open.
The technical ability and implicit demand are there for a live bird/spy drone.
I think anyone who laughs at these Egyptians is the true idiot.
These Egyptians may not have the technical schooling we do, but they appear to understand what their enemy is moving towards.
I hate that we mock them for this!

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Thank you Dave Raggett
Enlightened Turkey by slashmojo · 2013-09-02 03:46 · Score: 2

Fortunately not all countries in the region are that batshit crazy.. Turkish authorities recently cleared a bird suspected of spying for Israel.. such a shame the bird in question wasn't a Turkey as that would have made for some great headlines - "Turkey spies for Israel!" followed by "Turkey clears Turkey!" etc.
songbirds in danger by phantomfive · 2013-09-02 05:14 · Score: 1

Apparently a lot of migratory birds are becoming in danger because of hunters in those areas. According to this article:

[People said]: we've been doing this for generations and the birds aren't coming like they used to. The Egyptians have mist nets along the Mediterranean coast line. Five hundred miles of continuous nets without a break catching every quail that comes in. The populations of quail are just nose-diving in Europe and they would say, you know, we're not getting anywhere near the number of quail that we used to. I wonder why. Maybe it has to do with more city lights, or development, maybe they are hunting more in Europe. It has to do with a lot of things, but I didn't hear anyone take responsibility and say I wonder if it has to do with the fact that I, personally, took nearly a thousand quail on my 300-foot stretch of net this season.

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"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Nice by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · 2013-09-02 06:32 · Score: 1

I'd laugh, mocking "backwards" Egyptians for putting a stork in a jail cell, except we in the US executed a baby deer, complete with body bag.

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(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
"so realistic...attacked by hawks" by globaljustin · 2013-09-02 08:21 · Score: 1

man...you're way off...

Anyone, Egyptian or not, that thought this was a "spy bird" for more than a second is an idiot.
"Army's new robot so realistic it gets attacked by hawks"
see for yourself: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jun/6/armys-new-robotic-bird-drone-so-realistic-it-gets-/
I call bullshit on you and everyone mocking these people.
They don't know what they are looking at for sure until they capture it...or what this article calls 'detaining'...it is obvious the news writers are mocking them and trying to use reverse propaganda.
Just reading the *two* articles I presented, that is evidence enough to any reasonable person that this is not dumb or paranoid just good sense.
Sure, these guys don't have our education! But they know implicitly where things are headed...
The Army admits to having very lifelike bird-drones...that's it

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Thank you Dave Raggett
1. Re:"so realistic...attacked by hawks" by Cochonou · 2013-09-02 17:20 · Score: 1
  
  You know, research has shown repeatedly than the identification cues that animals are using vary widely from species to species. This is why animals are sometimes tricked by very crude lures by our standards - and sometimes are not tricked by who look like a very realistic lure to us. Hell, the baby gull parents can be readily replaced by a red spot...
  If you look at the picture of the drone linked in your second article, for a human it hardly looks like a live bird on close examination. However, for a hawk viewing the drone from far away, its flapping wings might be enough to trigger an attack.
  The bottom line is that we are not yet living in a world in which a live animal is indistinguishable from a robot. And if you look more closely at what happened in this story, this is not at all about a stork being mistaken with a high-tech robot probe, but about the beacon it carried being mistaken with a spying device.
  Anyway, what is ridiculous in this story is that the stork was kept caged for days when it could have been released much more quickly after a rapid check. But of course, the administration is not always very efficient in handling these matters... At least, let's hope it was well cared for.
Dang.... by coastin · 2013-09-02 09:55 · Score: 1

I knew I should have sent a raven instead of that stool pigeon!

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I lost my sig...
Ve have ways... by BlogTheHaggis · 2013-09-02 16:11 · Score: 1

...of making you squawk.
military coup or military coop? by trackzero2918 · 2013-09-03 05:42 · Score: 1

I bet he communicated to command & control via a series of tweets.
The "Stork" and the "Condor" ! by doccus · 2013-09-03 05:55 · Score: 1

Great cover handles! The "Stork" and the "Condor" ! Wonder which is the double agent? Do they reoport to "The Seagull"? And how did they find out about the plot.. did they have a "pigeon" in the roost?
Hrm! by AlphaWoIf_HK · 2013-09-04 07:29 · Score: 2

This seems inadequate...

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Da derp dee derp da teedly derpee derpee dum. Rated PG-13.