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Geopolitics

Hacker Attack On Sarkozy's Facebook Page

Internet hackers sabotage French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s Facebook page, falsely announcing he will not run for a second term in office in 2012

PARIS - French President Nicolas Sarkozy has again been targeted by Internet hackers, who posted a false announcement Sunday night on his Facebook page that he'd decided not to run for reelection next year. Sarkozy later responded good-humouredly on the same FB fan page that the "slightly hasty conclusions' of the message were not actually his.

For 15 minutes Sunday evening, Sarkozy's Facebook fans were reading a message in an approximate and abbreviated French that read: "Dear Fellow Countrymen, given the exceptional circumstances that our country faces, and after having searched my soul and good conscience, I have decided not to stand for office when my term ends in 2012." Though it was quickly removed, the hacker's work prompted hundreds of responses on both Facebook and Twitter.

The message recalled another real Facebook page, which counts 200,000 fans, announcing "Nicolas Sarkozy's farewell drinks' on May 6, 2012, the date he would leave office if not elected to a second term.

A few hours later, the Head of State posted a new message to reassure his supporters. He explained that he was hacked, evidence that "no system is foolproof."

Sarkozy has been a frequent target on the Internet, including repeated instances of "Google bombing", where the search engine is triggered to change where a visitor is directed when searching for a term or name. As for Facebook, the French president was at the center of controversy when he had recounted on the site his supposed first-hand memories of witnessing the fall of the Berlin Wall. The authenticity of his testimony had been questioned.

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Economy

Lex Tusk? How Poland’s Controversial "Russian Influence" Law Will Subvert Democracy

The new “lex Tusk” includes language about companies and their management. But is this likely to be a fair investigation into breaking sanctions on Russia, or a political witch-hunt in the business sphere?

Photo of President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda

Polish President Andrzej Duda

Piotr Miaczynski, Leszek Kostrzewski

-Analysis-

WARSAW — Poland’s new Commission for investigating Russian influence, which President Andrzej Duda signed into law on Monday, will be able to summon representatives of any company for inquiry. It has sparked a major controversy in Polish politics, as political opponents of the government warn that the Commission has been given near absolute power to investigate and punish any citizen, business or organization.

And opposition politicians are expected to be high on the list of would-be suspects, starting with Donald Tusk, who is challenging the ruling PiS government to return to the presidency next fall. For that reason, it has been sardonically dubbed: Lex Tusk.

University of Warsaw law professor Michal Romanowski notes that the interests of any firm can be considered favorable to Russia. “These are instruments which the likes of Putin and Orban would not be ashamed of," Romanowski said.

The law on the Commission for examining Russian influences has "atomic" prerogatives sewn into it. Nine members of the Commission with the rank of secretary of state will be able to summon virtually anyone, with the powers of severe punishment.

Under the new law, these Commissioners will become arbiters of nearly absolute power, and will be able to use the resources of nearly any organ of the state, including the secret services, in order to demand access to every available document. They will be able to prosecute people for acts which were not prohibited at the time they were committed.

Their prerogatives are broader than that of the President or the Prime Minister, wider than those of any court. And there is virtually no oversight over their actions.

Nobody can feel safe. This includes companies, their management, lawyers, journalists, and trade unionists.

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