Monthly Archives: July 2016

How the online black markets work

In what might be a surprise to some, Holt believes those selling stolen data use underground web forums remarkably similar to above ground retailers like Amazon—buyers and sellers can even rate each other and review previous negotiations (more on this later). Holt points out some of the differences. Continue reading →

An unprecedented flow of weapons from Central and Eastern Europe is flooding the battlefields of the Middle East.
Continue reading →

Reporters for the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) found that since 2012 exports of weapons and ammunition worth at least 1.2 billion euros have been agreed by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, and Romania [link to regional story].

The bulk of the deals, totalling 829 million euros, were made with Saudi Arabia.

The source countries have granted the arms export licences despite ample evidence that many weapons are ending up in Syria, with armed opposition as well as Islamist groups accused of widespread abuses.

Arms trade and human rights experts said the diversion of these weapons and their use by groups suspected of committing war crimes raised questions about the legality of the trade.

Patrick Wilcken, an arms trade researcher for Amnesty International, believes the evidence uncovered by BIRN and the OCCRP points to the “systematic diversion of weapons to armed groups accused of committing serious human rights violations”.

“If this is the case, the transfers are illegal under the ATT (the United Nations’ Arms Trade Treaty of 2014) and other international law and should cease immediately,” he said.

A flawed system

The global arms trade is regulated by three layers of interconnected legislation — national, European Union (EU) and international – but there are no formal mechanisms to punish those who break the law.

Beyond the blanket ban on exports to embargoed countries, each licence request is dealt with individually. As a result, the lawfulness of the approval hinges on whether countries have carried out due diligence on a range of issues, including the likelihood of the arms being diverted and the impact the export will have on peace and stability.
Roy Isbister, an expert on arms trade laws with the London-based NGO Saferworld, stresses due diligence entails more than simply ticking off a document checklist.

“Due diligence obliges states to not only collect paperwork, but to assess that paperwork. And, in turn, assessing paperwork is itself only part of a proper export risk assessment,” he said. Continue reading →

http://islamism-map.com/#/IESH #MuslimBrotherhood

The force, which apparently features military personnel alongside civilians, is estimated to finally be ready on 30 September 2018.

Recently Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles L. Moore Jr. told the House Armed Services Committee that the Cyber Mission Force has already encountered a few challenges relating to equipment, training, recruitment and “finalizing the command-and-control structure.” Continue reading →

“The radicals were allowed to operate freely for too long.”
Florim Neziraj, head of the Islamic Community of Kosovo in Kacanik Continue reading →