Daily Archives: April 3, 2017

Towards utopia – The Stanford Daily

Posted: April 3, 2017 at 8:43 pm

Every New Years Eve, a few reckless souls give themselves the permission to dream. They dream of guilt-free diets, of long-neglected projects resumed, of new friends in new places. They dream of new habits built upon the ruins of the old. They imagine a different self in their shoes, the kind of compassionate, disciplined, authentic self that would be able to effortlessly sustain their new lifestyle. Their greatest joy comes from imagining this new and capable self as someone they can easily become.

I was reminded of this annual ritual of self-fashioning last week while reading a critical essay on the nature of utopian literature that peculiar, dusty genre thats been with us since Thomas Mores Utopia (or perhaps Platos Republic). Though the author himself made no mention of personal endeavors, theres certainly an undeniable connection between the personal project of the New Years resolution and the political project of utopia. After all, a work of utopian literature is a New Years resolution for an entire society. Perhaps I want to be fit and productive; the utopian, not to be outdone, imagines a world of billions of musclebound workaholics drinking collectively owned protein shakes. Perhaps I also want to be studious and healthy; the utopian adds that his workaholics are also philosophers who feed each other salad from their organic gardens.

And so, reading utopian literature often ends up like listening to your friend describe their ambitious plans to change their life: One catches the cloying and unmistakable odor of the soon-to-be-abandoned promise of expired gym memberships and abandoned diet plans. When we speak of resolutions and utopias, we cant escape the fact that few people take either of them seriously these days.

Just consider that classic sitcom trope: A character resolves to make a positive change in his life, attempts to do so for most of the episode (with amusing results), and, after failing spectacularly, ends up where he began. We laugh at the hubris of a flawed characters pretensions to being something hes not. The joke is that we are incorrigible, that we are not really in control of our fates.

And as for utopia: What was the most recent sincere work of utopian literature you can remember? Dystopia, its counterpart, seems all the rage these dayshope is replaced by fear (or, more often, by teen angst). We find dystopia more interesting, more realistic. Somehow, imagining a future gone horribly awry has become easier than imagining one only slightly better than the present.

Maybe were right to be skeptical. The imagined self of a New Years resolution is an enormously disciplined figure, acting on only their purest desires and motivations. Were drawn specifically to lofty, unattainable goals of self-improvement because they let us take pleasure in imagining ourselves as the superhumans who can attain them. But we are not yet these superhumans and so the motivation slips away, the initial fire inevitably burns out, and we break the promise we make to ourselves. When we stumble and fall in the attempt to make any truly significant change to our lives, it seems hard to believe that change is possible at all.

Yet when we look to history, we see that this is just how change happens a series of abortive attempts. Few political movements see immediate, complete success; its only by an accumulation of partial successes, of fits and starts, that improvements have happened in our society. The world of today may well be a utopia to those living hundreds of years ago, but it came into being only gradually, not by a single, instantaneous effort. So maybe we should apply the wisdom of utopia to our own resolutions, and understand that even our abandoned goals have an impact on us, and that people can change just never as quickly as theyd like.

Contact Eric Wang at ejwang at stanford.edu.

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Towards utopia - The Stanford Daily

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Stellaris: Utopia developer diary breaks down the incoming … – PC Gamer

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Paradox's space-faring 4X-meets-grand strategy affair Stellaris is set to welcome its first major expansion, named Utopia, on April 6. It's today launched an in-depth overview developer diary of what we should expect.

Inside four minutes, game director Martin Anward explores Utopia's megastructures, Dyson Spheres, ring worlds, Habitat Stations and more. Over to him:

From that, Anward's explanation of the expansion's indoctrination feature sounds interesting. "Indoctrination [is] a feature in Utopia where you can use your observation stations to influence the ethics of primitive species," he says above. "By using the indoctrination mission, you'll be able to shift their ethics towards your own over time, making them think and act like you, preparing them for enlightenment or annexation."

From there Anward goes onto discuss how the add-on's new Hivemind empire operates, which equally sounds intriguing. Tune in around the 2.10 mark to catch that.

For a complete and comprehensive analysis of everything else Stellaris: Utopia promises, check out grand strategy expert T.J. Hafer's thorough examination this-a-way. Utopia is due this week, April 6, and will cost $19.99/19.99.

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Stellaris: Utopia developer diary breaks down the incoming ... - PC Gamer

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To build a utopian world, idealism should be what drives politicians – The Guardian

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If leaders such as Theresa May so obviously lack inspiration themselves, how can they inspire others? Photograph: Rebecca Naden/Reuters

Torture, secret prisons, the death penalty and assassinations. These nightmares dominate my day-to-day work at Reprieve, so utopian discourse may not seem my natural bedfellow. Yet focusing on an ideal is critical if one is to engage in a meaningful way with the notion of terrorism, and the horrors born of the war waged against it. It is the lack of a utopian discourse that has led us to the mess in which we find ourselves today.

One tragedy of contemporary political life is that, if challenged, most of the current crop of politicians could not identify a dream, other than getting into power.

Theresa May is an important example she appears to blow with each political wind, with political expediency as her main signpost. One day she backs Barack Obamas push for military action against Bashar al-Assad for using chemical weapons on his own people, and then on the eve of her visit to see Donald Trump she and Boris Johnson suggest that Assad might run for re-election; one day she opposes the Equality Act, the next she proposes it. The Financial Times describes her as a non-ideological politician with a ruthless streak. Yet not only does she espouse no ideology; she appears to have no dream for her country or the world.

If leaders such as May so obviously lack inspiration themselves, how can they inspire others? As a result, those who have perverse dreams have an open playing field, whether it be Trump and his xenophobic plan to make America great again, or Osama bin Laden and his bizarre promise that Sunni Muslims will achieve eternal life by killing apostates and non-believers.

Without a dream, it is impossible to tackle the challenges faced by a troubled society. In 2011, when she was home secretary, May offered a programme called Prevent (Educate Against Hate) that was meant to stop disillusioned youths from signing up to Islamic extremism. The current official government training catalogue runs to 40 extraordinarily negative pages that offer no positive vision of a society that someone might like to choose.

Just as a censor never triumphed in a debate, so too Prevent inevitably fails to win the battle of ideas because it offers no alternative dream. So when the same disillusioned youths turn to a radical version of Islam, the politicians turn to arms, launching Predator Drones and Hellfire missiles to defeat Islamic extremism. Yet a bomb never won an argument either.

So let us consider an earlier ideal that managed to win the hearts of the people: socialism. It is a vision that inspires hope in the hopeless, and encourages selflessness in the selfish. Democratic socialism the evolution of society towards that ideal provided a counternarrative to fascism from Franco to Hitler.

It is instructive to consider its application in the Arab world, which many would see as the seat of so much of the violent unrest in the world today. In the mid-20th century, fundamentalist extremism (as it is described today) held little appeal. Rather Baathism, an ethnocentric form of socialism, gained popular support, offering a vision of a new secular society, free from the shackles of colonial rule.

The vision was later tainted: just as communism in the Soviet Union would end up being unrecognisable to Karl Marx, so too Baathism was perverted by Assadism, Saddamism and Colonel Gaddafi. However, the ideal had stirred nations towards freedom and a dream of equality.

Socialism is just one way to describe an idealist vision; it is not so very different in its content to the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Most of us would agree on the key elements of an ideal world, for they are simple and effectively universal. There is no space here to do more than touch on how it would be a decent place, where we eliminate inequality, and focus on helping those around us rather than ourselves.

Such notions would ring true to any scholar of Marx, but no less to scholars of various religious traditions. Indeed Marx had his own spiritual certainty, the inevitability of history, a messianic vision without a messiah. Likewise, most religious idealists strive to improve the world as we know it. Take Thomas More, now a Catholic saint, who coined the word utopia in 1516. More proposed an ideal society in the New World where, for example, priests reflected their pious ideals, rather than their contemporary reputation as the fathers of most of the bastard children.

The Armageddon ideal is perhaps an exception to the general rule: some Christians and Muslims (perhaps viewed as slightly out there by the vast majority) look forward to the Last Days in which the world must be destroyed in order to achieve their paradise. This is as true of some fundamentalist American Christians as it is of a stereotyped Islamic extremist.

Without any kind of ideal, without any vision of how the world can be better, we are surely lost. Sceptics might say this is unrealistic, but their critique is founded on a straw man: the notion that an ideal is somehow certified as tomorrows reality. It is not. By definition, utopia will never be achieved: Mores original word means no place in Greek. Those who think it might be brought about by revolution are doubly foolish. However, we can most definitely take steps in the right direction, and if we do not have a goal, an ideal, we cannot know where we are trying to go.

Most current leaders offer nothing, so they lead nowhere. Unsurprisingly, they seem to find their political decisions difficult, primarily because they have no beacon before them. If they made choices according to clearly expressed ideals, they could show actual leadership in seeking to persuade the electorate to move gradually towards a better world. Indeed, they would find decision-making much easier: does the vote take us closer to the ideal, or further away? With very few exceptions (that take a lot of justification), the rule becomes simple: if the former, we vote yes; if the latter, we vote no.

Thus, in their misguided global war on terror no matter what euphemism they use to describe it politicians of all parties are failing in their most obvious duty: to offer an inspiring alternative. Idealism is also integral to neutering the dystopian visions of Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen and even Osama bin Laden.

We need much less Prevent and much more Inspire.

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Feeding Asia: Is Oceania a viable food bowl? – New Food (blog)

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Having explored how demographic and economic changes, climate and environmental shiftsare affecting food security in Asia, the worlds most populous continent, New Food considers to what extent Oceania might present a potential solution to the impending global crisis.

With many Asian nations facing difficulties trying to meet the growing and changing food demand (explored further here), a solution might exist in the form of Oceania, or for the purpose of this article, Australia and New Zealand.

New Zealand, for example, has a booming agriculture sector. Sheep farming is the major rural activity, with beef cattle farming in the hills and high country, and a strong dairy industry on the rise in the Canterbury, Otago and Southland areas. Large multinational companies such as Fonterra are making significant expansion moves into the Chinese market for example and are proud of their New Zealand roots and identity. Furthermore, New Zealand is also the worlds eighth largest milk producer, with approximately 2.2% of world production coming from its beautiful countryside.

Agriculture is of phenomenal importance to Australia and the nation has a rich history of exporting agricultural goods. The sectorearns roughly $155 billion-a-year for a 12% share of national GDP. Australian farmers and grazers own 135,997 farms, covering 61% of Australias landmass. With Asias growing middle class and subsequent increasing demand for livestock and meat-based goods, Australias economic and agricultural set-up feels like a good fit to supply the changing nature of demand, certainly in China and South East Asia.The Asian region will be home to approximately 3.2 billion affluent, middle-class people by the year 2030, mostly in near neighbours China, India and Indonesia, though dependent on precisely how the terms middle-class and affluent are defined.

East Asias dominance as the target of Australias exports will continue to grow over the next fifteen years it is thought. China is thought to be the primary export market, thoughAustralias potential to serve as a food bowl for Asia though is dependent on how high Asias economic growth rates and how this growth will influence structural changes and import demand in Asia.

Oceania on the face of things however, looks suitable to serve as potential alleviating force of the Asian food security challenge the world now faces.

That said, as some critics suggest, the food bowl rhetoric is little more than just a political catchphrase. In reality, some argue, China have been investing more in Africa.

Africas cheaper land, lower wages and relative regulatory freedom with regard to environmental regulations has emergedas the low-cost and large-scale target of Chinese agricultural investment.

There are measures Oceania can either take or outcomes that would aid the region in any aim at becoming a food bowl:

Food security in Asia will play a significant role in global matters over the next few decades and for a key insight, check out the rest of the Feeding Asia series below. New Food hopes you have enjoyed the series andto become a member of the publication for free, click here.

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Feeding Asia: Is Oceania a viable food bowl? - New Food (blog)

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Temengil elected 1st female VP in Oceania Olympic… – Hamilton Spectator

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Temengil elected 1st female VP in Oceania Olympic... - Hamilton Spectator

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Oceania gold means Waikato wrestler is closer to Commonwealth … – Waikato Times

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REXINE HAWES

Last updated09:00, April 3 2017

Rexine Hawes

Michelle Montague won gold at the Oceania Wrestling Championships in Tahiti.

Matamata woman Michelle Montague is one step closer to her goal of making the New Zealandwrestling team to compete at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

The Hamilton Hawks wrestling team member has just returned from competing in the Oceania Wrestling Championshipsin Tahiti - bringing homea gold medal.

Winning at the Oceania competitionmeans she qualifies for theCommonwealth wrestlingchampionships coming up soon.

Montague travelled to Tahiti with the New Zealand wrestling team last month, winning all three of her matches, in the 75kg weight range.

Her family, who own the Matamata business Viking Kayaks, went to cheer her on.

"They were pretty excited to be there," she said.

"It was a big learning experience for them too."

Montague was one of 27 wrestlers to compete for New Zealand and they joined nine other countries at the champs.

It was an eventshe had trained hard for.

Dealing with the heat upon arrivalwas something new and continued to be a challenge throughout the competition.

"It was like 38-40 degrees every day."

She said the wrestling arena also lackedair conditioning, which made the heat even more intense.

However it didn't deter the young woman, who finished all three rounds undefeated.

Montague's first match was against an Australian woman, whom she was hoping to wrestle against.

In wrestling, a winner is determined by a pin, or points. Matches can last from 30 seconds, up to six minutes.

She won the first match 10-0.

"She was my biggest challenge, I was looking forward to wrestling her the most.

"I thought it was good to face her first, so we couldn't watch each other."

Her second match was against another New Zealander and the third against another Australian.

Montague saidthe pressure ofthe heat began to mount by her third fight.

"It followed pretty quickly after the second match, so Iwasn't engaged."

She went to the prize giving feeling confident the gold was her's.

With her family watching, she stood on the podium and accepted her medal.

"It was a good sense of achievementand my family was pretty proud," she said.

Montague shared the glory of gold with other members of the New Zealand team, many of whom dominated their weight classes.

In total, New Zealand won 16 gold, 10 silver and two bronze in freestyle and seven gold and two silver in Greco-Roman (for men only).

Montague'sfocus is now preparing for the Commonwealth championships on the Gold Coast later this year.

The top six competitors will qualify for the Commonwealth Games in April 2018, also on the Gold Coast.

She may also have a European wrestling tournament mid-year.

Montague's long-term goal is to compete in mixed martial arts (MMA), of which wrestling is one component.

She has already competed and won a few MMA tournaments in Auckland.

She trains and competes in jiu-jitsu through Core MMA Gym in Hamilton and works out five-days-a-week at Fitzone Matamata to keep in top shape for tournaments and the approaching rugby season.

-Stuff

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Nunzio Mirtillo is appointed Head of Market Area South East Asia, Oceania and India – Technuter (blog)

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Economic Times
Nunzio Mirtillo is appointed Head of Market Area South East Asia, Oceania and India
Technuter (blog)
In line with Ericsson's recent announcement about the changes to its business strategy, structure and Executive Team, Nunzio Mirtillo is appointed as Head of Market Area South East Asia, Oceania and India. In this role, Nunzio has responsibility for ...
Ericsson appoints new market headIndia.com

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Nunzio Mirtillo is appointed Head of Market Area South East Asia, Oceania and India - Technuter (blog)

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Rugby in Oceania to receive pre-Tokyo 2020 funding boost – Insidethegames.biz

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Oceania's rugby sevens teams have been handed an increase in funding as they seek to replicate the achievement of the Fijian men's side at Rio 2016.

Fiji's 13-man squad became the country's first Olympic gold medallists when they triumphed at last year's Olympics.

The sevens team defeated Britain 43-7 in the final as the sport made its debut at the Games.

Before Rio, the Fijian team were also crowned as winners of the World Rugby Sevens Series after a number of fine performances.

Their achievements saw the team inducted into the Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (FASANOC) Hall of Fame earlier this week, while they have also acted as an inspiration to the region's other sides.

Oceania Rugby's services manager Bruce Cook has now confirmed several teams are set to receive a funding boost as they look towards qualification for Tokyo 2020.

"This is the start of a new four-year cycle for Fijian rugby and other teams in the Pacific," Cook told the Fiji Sun.

"Most teams that missed out on the Olympics have been given additional funding and chances to get through the repechage, both men and women, [including] teams from Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga.

"There are a number of exciting programmes aligned with the increase of funding, which rugby unions can apply for and the funding could help them.

"It is up to the National Federations to get their houses in order."

Australia, Fiji and New Zealand represented Oceania in the men's and women's competitions at last years Games.

Samoa narrowly missed out on securing the last place in the men's event, losing in the final qualifier to Spain.

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Blackwater founder held secret Seychelles meeting to establish Trump-Putin back channel – Washington Post

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(Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)

The United Arab Emirates arranged a secret meeting in January between Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a Russian close to President Vladimir Putin as part of an apparent effort to establish a back-channel line of communication between Moscow and President-elect Donald Trump, according to U.S., European and Arab officials.

The meeting took place around Jan. 11 nine days before Trumps inauguration in the Seychelles islands in the Indian Ocean, officials said. Though the full agenda remains unclear, the UAE agreed to broker the meeting in part to explore whether Russia could be persuaded to curtail its relationship with Iran, including in Syria, a Trump administration objective that would be likely to require major concessions to Moscow on U.S. sanctions.

Though Prince had no formal role with the Trump campaign or transition team, he presented himself as an unofficial envoy for Trump to high-ranking Emiratis involved in setting up his meeting with the Putin confidant, according to the officials, who did not identify the Russian.

Prince was an avid supporter of Trump. After the Republican convention, he contributed $250,000 to Trumps campaign, the national party and a pro-Trump super PAC led by GOP mega-donor Rebekah Mercer, records show. He has ties to people in Trumps circle, including Stephen K. Bannon, now serving as the presidents chief strategist and senior counselor. Princes sister Betsy DeVos serves as education secretary in the Trump administration. And Prince was seen in the Trump transition offices in New York in December.

U.S. officials said the FBI has been scrutinizing the Seychelles meeting as part of a broader probe of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election and alleged contacts between associates of Putin and Trump. The FBI declined to comment.

The Seychelles encounter, which one official said spanned two days, adds to an expanding web of connections between Russia and Americans with ties to Trump contacts that the White House has been reluctant to acknowledge or explain until they have been exposed by news organizations.

We are not aware of any meetings, and Erik Prince had no role in the transition, said Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary.

A Prince spokesman said in a statement: Erik had no role on the transition team. This is a complete fabrication. The meeting had nothing to do with President Trump. Why is the so-called under-resourced intelligence community messing around with surveillance of American citizens when they should be hunting terrorists?

Prince is best known as the founder of Blackwater, a security firm that became a symbol of U.S. abuses in Iraq after a series of incidents, including one in 2007 in which the companys guards were accused and later criminally convicted of killing civilians in a crowded Iraqi square. Prince sold the firm, which was subsequently re-branded, but has continued building a private paramilitary empire with contracts across the Middle East and Asia. He now heads a Hong Kong-based company known as the Frontier Services Group.

Prince would probably have been seen as too controversial to serve in any official capacity in the Trump transition or administration. But his ties to Trump advisers, experience with clandestine work and relationship with the royal leaders of the Emirates where he moved in 2010 amid mounting legal problems for his American business would have positioned him as an ideal go-between.

The Seychelles meeting came after separate private discussions in New York involving high-ranking representatives of Trump with both Moscow and the Emirates.

The White House has acknowledged that Michael T. Flynn, Trumps original national security adviser, and Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner met with the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak, in late November or early December in New York.

Flynn and Kushner were joined by Bannon for a separate meeting with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who made an undisclosed visit to New York later in December, according to the U.S., European and Arab officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

In an unusual breach of protocol, the UAE did not notify the Obama administration in advance of the visit, though officials found out because Zayeds name appeared on a flight manifest.

Officials said Zayed and his brother, the UAEs national security adviser, coordinated the Seychelles meeting with Russian government officials with the goal of establishing an unofficial back channel between Trump and Putin.

Officials said Zayed wanted to be helpful to both leaders, who had talked about working more closely together, a policy objective long advocated by the crown prince. The UAE, which sees Iran as one of its main enemies, also shared the Trump teams interest in finding ways to drive a wedge between Moscow and Tehran.

Zayed met twice with Putin in 2016, according to Western officials, and urged the Russian leader to work more closely with the Emirates and Saudi Arabia an effort to isolate Iran.

At the time of the Seychelles meeting and for weeks afterward, the UAE believed that Prince had the blessing of the new administration to act as its unofficial representative. The Russian participant was a person whom Zayed knew was close to Putin from his interactions with both men, the officials said.

Scrutiny over Russia

When the Seychelles meeting took place, official contacts between members of the incoming Trump administration and the Russian government were under intense scrutiny, both from federal investigators and the press.

Less than a week before the Seychelles meeting, U.S. intelligence agencies released a report accusing Russia of intervening clandestinely during the 2016 election to help Trump win the White House.

The FBI was already investigating communications between Flynn and Kislyak. The Washington Posts David Ignatius first disclosed those communications on Jan.12, around the time of the Seychelles meeting. Flynn was subsequently fired by Trump for misleading Vice President Pence and others about his discussions with Kislyak.

Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAEs ambassador in Washington, declined to comment.

Government officials in the Seychelles said they were not aware of any meetings between Trump and Putin associates in the country around Jan.11. But they said luxury resorts on the island are ideal for clandestine gatherings like the one described by the U.S., European and Arab officials.

I wouldnt be surprised at all, said Barry Faure, the Seychelles secretary of state for foreign affairs. The Seychelles is the kind of place where you can have a good time away from the eyes of the media. Thats even printed in our tourism marketing. But I guess this time you smelled something.

Trump has dismissed the investigations of Russias role in the election as fake news and a witch hunt.

The level of discretion surrounding the Seychelles meeting seems extraordinary given the frequency with which senior Trump advisers, including Flynn and Kushner, had interacted with Russian officials in the United States, including at the high-profile Trump Tower in New York.

Steven Simon, a National Security Council senior director for the Middle East and North Africa in the Obama White House, said: The idea of using business cutouts, or individuals perceived to be close to political leaders, as a tool of diplomacy is as old as the hills. These unofficial channels are desirable precisely because they are deniable; ideas can be tested without the risk of failure.

Current and former U.S. officials said that while Prince refrained from playing a direct role in the Trump transition, his name surfaced so frequently in internal discussions that he seemed to function as an outside adviser whose opinions were valued on a range of issues, including plans for overhauling the U.S. intelligence community.

He appears to have particularly close ties to Bannon, appearing multiple times as a guest on Bannons satellite radio program over the past year as well as in articles on the Breitbart Web site that Bannon ran before joining the Trump campaign.

In a July interview with Bannon, Prince said those seeking forceful U.S. leadership should wait till January and hope Mr. Trump is elected. And he lashed out at President Barack Obama, saying that because of his policies the terrorists, the fascists, are winning.

Days before the November election, Prince appeared on Bannons program again, saying that he had well-placed sources in the New York City Police Department telling him they were preparing to make arrests in the investigation of former congressman Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) over allegations he exchanged sexually explicit texts with a minor. Flynn tweeted a link to the Breitbart report on the claim. No arrests occurred.

Prince went on to make unfounded assertions that damaging material recovered from Weiners computers would implicate Hillary Clinton and her close adviser, Huma Abedin, who was married to Weiner. He also called Abedin an agent of influence very sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Prince and his family were major GOP donors in 2016. The Center for Responsive Politics reported that the family gave more than $10 million to GOP candidates and super PACs, including about $2.7 million from his sister, DeVos, and her husband.

Princes father, Edgar Prince, built his fortune through an auto-parts company. Betsy married Richard DeVos Jr., heir to the Amway fortune.

Erik Prince has had lucrative contracts with the UAE government, which at one point paid his firm a reported $529million to help bring in foreign fighters to help assemble an internal paramilitary force capable of carrying out secret operations and protecting Emirati installations from terrorist attacks.

Focus on Iran

The Trump administration and the UAE appear to share a similar preoccupation with Iran. Current and former officials said that Trump advisers were focused throughout the transition period on exploring ways to get Moscow to break ranks with Tehran.

Separating Russia from Iran was a common theme, said a former intelligence official in the Obama administration who met with Trump transition officials. It didnt seem very well thought out. It seemed a little premature. They clearly had a very specific policy position, which I found odd given that they hadnt even taken the reins and explored with experts in the U.S. government the pros and cons of that approach.

Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, said he also had discussions with people close to the Trump administration about the prospects of drawing Russia away from Iran. When I would hear this, I would think, Yeah thats great for you guys, but why would Putin ever do that? McFaul said. There is no interest in Russia ever doing that. They have a long relationship with Iran. Theyre allied with Iran in fighting in Syria. They sell weapons to Iran. Iran is an important strategic partner for Russia in the Middle East.

Following the New York meeting between the Emiratis and Trump aides, Zayed was approached by Prince, who said he was authorized to act as an unofficial surrogate for the president-elect, according to the officials. He wanted Zayed to set up a meeting with a Putin associate. Zayed agreed and proposed the Seychelles as the meeting place because of the privacy it would afford both sides. He wanted to be helpful, one official said of Zayed.

Wealthy Russians and Emirati royalty have a particularly large footprint on the islands. Signs advertising deep-sea fishing trips are posted in Cyrillic. Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov owns North Island, where Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, went on their honeymoon in 2011. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, president of the UAE, built a hilltop palace for himself with views across the chain of islands.

The Emiratis have given hundreds of millions of dollars to the Seychelles in recent years for causes including public health and affordable housing. But when the Emirati royal family visits, they are rarely seen.

The jeep comes to their private jet on the tarmac and they disappear, said one Seychellois official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he did not want to be seen as criticizing the Emiratis.

Zayed, the crown prince, owns a share of the Seychelles Four Seasons, a collection of private villas scattered on a lush hillside on the main islands southern shore, overlooking the Indian Ocean, according to officials in the Seychelles. The hotel is tucked away on a private beach, far from the nearest public road.

Current and former U.S. officials who have worked closely with Zayed, who is often referred to as MBZ, say it would be out of character for him to arrange the Jan.11 meeting without getting a green light in advance from top aides to Trump and Putin, if not the leaders themselves. MBZ is very cautious, said an American businessman who knows Zayed and spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. There had to be a nod.

The Seychelles meeting was deemed productive by the UAE and Russia, but the idea of arranging additional meetings between Prince and Putins associates was dropped, officials said. Even unofficial contacts between Trump and Putin associates had become too politically risky, officials said.

Sieff reported from the Seychelles. Julie Tate, Devlin Barrett, Matea Gold, Tom Hamburger and Rosalind S. Helderman contributed to this report.

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Seychelles part 1: Which island in Seychelles is right for you? – Independent Online

Posted: at 8:42 pm

With more than 100 islands forming part of the archipelago, it can be hard to determine which island is right for you.

To be honest: you cant go wrong on any island in the Seychelles. Although each island is unique, they all offer breathtaking beauty, azure seas, beautiful white sandy beaches and a tropical climate in short: paradise.

However, if youre looking for the perfect island for you, here are some tips you might want to consider:

Conservation highlights Frgate Island

Conservation is the name of the game on this island and prides itself on its conservation activities.

The beaches of Frgate is known to provide a vital nesting habitat for two species of sea turtle: the endangered Hawksbill Turtle and the endangered Green Turtle. During every nesting season from October to January, the islands conservation staff safeguards and monitors the nests.

Travellers have the chance to witness first-hand the sight of a female turtle laying her eggs on the shore. A truly magical experience.

Did you know? Frgate provides a unique and secluded island experience with just 16 exclusively designed villas, all arranged to offer privacy. Only 3km large, Frgate offers seven dream beaches with crystal clear waters, as well as flora and fauna unparalleled in the world.

The best nightlife Mah Island

Dress up and put on your dancing shoes in Mah. Should you find yourself in the capital, you will soon realise that it truly comes to life at night in true island style.This island

While it is really up to you where you would like to party it up, the two most popular nightclubs are Katiolo Night Club, which is located at Anse Faure, and Club Lovenut in the centre of Victoria.

Katiolo is considered to be the number one nightclub in the Seychelles with its open-air tropical dcor by the beach and latest hits music. Although the vibe is quite relaxed, the club has a strict dress code: no shorts and flip flops here.

Club Lovenut and Caf is a fully air conditioned club and offers a luxury VIP area. It is one of the popular nightlife spots of Mahe for young people, and the club guarantees the latest hit releases.

Unforgettable angling Alphonse Island

Considered a fly-angler's paradise, the expansive flats surrounding the Alphonse atolls provide the fly-fishing experience of a lifetime. Ten thousand acres of hard white sand flats provide easy wading and world class sight-fishing.

Alphonse Island has some of the richest fishing grounds in the world with an abundance of wahoo, sailfish, dorado, tuna, rainbow runner and trophies such as marlin.

Did you know? Alphonse also accounts for more than 90% of worlds Milkfish caught and released on an annual basis. Anyone catching these big game fish will have the bragging rights when returning home

Unashamed luxury and romance North Island

One of the top luxury private island resorts in Seychelles, North Island offers unashamed luxury, bespoke service and exceptional privacy and exclusivity in your tropical home away from home.

True luxury at North Island consists uninterrupted time together, which makes it the ideal romantic escape. The North Island team loves creating special moments for couples from dinners on the beach to couples massages.

Family holidays St Anne

With its friendly and welcoming people, tropical temperatures and beautiful beaches, Seychelles is the ideal family destination.

The Bob Marlin Kids Club at Sainte Anne Resort and Spa is sure to keep your little ones entertained with a specially built, child-friendly facility, packed with all kinds of toys, games and activities that children love. Well-trained and multi-lingual childcare staff is on call all day and night to make sure your little ones are happy.

Kids and teens can participate in water sports, land sports, cultural activities as well as learn new skills, and arts and crafts. Theyll spend their day sailing, kayaking and windsurfing.

Golfing in paradise Praslin

Want to show off your handicap? Praslin will prove to be your golfing muse. The Constance Lemuria Resort is home to a championship par 70 18-hole golf course, offering spectacular views of three beaches and beautifully terraced greens.

Golfing here is not for the faint-hearted though, as the course is considered a tough challenge with elevated tees, water hazards and wide fairways.

Word of adviceThe first 12 holes can be played at a leisurely pace, but from the 13th hole the real challenge starts. Expect steep slopes with thick forest and spectacular views.

Underwater wonders Silhouette Island

With dive sites ranging in depth from 8m to 30m, the Seychelles is the ideal diving destination for both experienced divers and beginner divers

At Silhouette Island, you will discover a barrier reef with some of the healthiest coral in the Seychelles. The island's granite cliffs are also sure to make for a spectacular background to your dives.

You can expect to see blue-spotted rays, white-tip sharks, hawksbill turtles, grey snappers and batfish abound. Divers will also be able to see barracudas, spotted eagle rays, moray eels, lionfish and parrotfish to name but a few.

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Seychelles part 1: Which island in Seychelles is right for you? - Independent Online

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