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Posts Tagged ‘China’

China’s army develops ‘online war game’

June 29, 2011 Comments off

afp

BEIJING — After setting up its own cyber-warfare team, China’s military has now developed its first online war game aimed at improving combat skills and battle awareness, state press said Wednesday.

“Glorious Mission” is a first-person shooter game that sends players on solo or team missions armed with high-tech weapons, the China Daily reported.

Weapons used in the game are part of the actual arsenal of China’s People’s Liberation Army, it added.

The final version of the game, which took nearly three years to develop and test, was launched on June 20.

“I think it is possible the game will be made open online for Chinese military fans to download and play,” an unnamed PLA press officer was quoted as saying.

China has the world’s biggest online population at more than 477 million users, according to official data.

The launch of the game comes after the military announced earlier this year that it had set up an elite Internet security task force to fend off cyber attacks.

Despite numerous allegations from around the world pointing at China as a source of cyber attacks, the state press, citing military officials, denied that the elite task force was set up as a “hacker army”.

Categories: China, internet, military Tags: , , , , ,

China eyes Canada oil, US’s energy nest egg

June 28, 2011 1 comment

thestar

CALGARY, Alberta: In the northern reaches of Alberta lies a vast reserve of oil that the U.S. views as a pillar of its future energy needs.

China, with a growing appetite for oil that may one day surpass that of the U.S., is ready to spend the dollars for a big piece of it.

The oil sands of this Canadian province are so big that they will be able to serve both of the world’s largest economies as production expands in the coming years. But that will mean building at least two pipelines, one south to the Texas Gulf Coast and another west toward the Pacific, and that in turn means fresh environmental battles on top of those already raging over the costly and energy-intensive method of extracting oil from sand.

Most believe that both will eventually be built. But if the U.S. doesn’t approve its pipeline promptly, Canada might increasingly look to China, thinking America doesn’t want a big share in what environmentalists call “dirty oil,” because they say it increases greenhouse gas emissions.

Alberta has the world’s third largest oil reserves, more than 170 billion barrels. Daily production of 1.5 million barrels from the oil sands is expected to nearly triple to 3.7 million in 2025. Overall, Alberta has more oil than Read more…

Categories: Canada, China, Oil Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

These Fake Chinese Microchips Were Made To Disarm U.S. Missiles

June 28, 2011 Comments off

businessinsider

Chip

Image: fox o’ryan via flickr

Last year, the U.S. Navy bought 59,000 microchips for use in everything from missiles to transponders that turned out to be counterfeits from China.

Wired reports the chips weren’t only low-quality fakes, they had been made with a “back-door” and could have been remotely shut down at any time.

If left undiscovered the result could have rendered useless U.S. missiles and killed the signal from aircraft that tells everyone whether it’s friend or foe.

Apparently foreign chip makers are often better at making cheap microchips and U.S. defense contractors are loathe to pass up the better deal.

The problem remains with these “trojan-horse” circuits that can be built into the chip and are almost impossible to detect — especially without the original plans to compare them to.

The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency (IARPA) is now looking for ways to check the chips to make sure they haven’t been hacked in the production process.

Expect to see a whole lot more funding directed to this goal. Or, considering  IARPA is the research and development section of the intelligence community — expect the money to be spent — don’t expect to see where.

Categories: Technology, United States Tags: , , , , ,

Global diabetes cases double to 347 million in less than 30 years, study shows

June 27, 2011 Comments off

globalpost

The number of adults with diabetes in 2008 doubled to 347 million globally since 1980, a study in the journal Lancet says. That is about 10 percent of the world’s adults, and the prevalence of the disease is rising rapidly.

Researchers from Imperial College London and Harvard University in the U.S. looked at data from 2.7 million people worldwide, using statistical techniques to project a global number, according to BBC News. The study found that found that the diabetes rate had either risen or stayed the same in virtually every country.

Although most of the increase was due to population growth and a larger number of elderly people, increased obesity and inactivity, already strong trends in the U.S. and other wealthy western countries, are contributing to the increase in the disease in developing nations including India and countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and the Middle East, according to the Washington Post.

The study, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Health Organization, is a more comprehensive calculation of diabetes prevalence than some previous estimates, according to Read more…

Categories: disease and pestilence Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

China’s Growing Military Muscle: A Looming Threat?

June 24, 2011 1 comment

npr

Stonecutters Island army base in Hong Kong opens to the public once a year as a goodwill gesture. Displays include kung fu demonstrations and shows of knife-fighting skills.

This month, NPR is examining the many ways China is expanding its reach in the world — through investments, infrastructure, military power and more.

At the Stonecutters Island army base in Hong Kong, camouflage-clad Chinese soldiers lunge forward with fierce yells, making stabbing motions with their daggers. There’s a communal shout of admiration from the crowd watching the display on the army’s home territory, which is opened up once a year to the public as a goodwill gesture.

Evolving Military Technology

China is pouring money into its military forces — retrofitting ships, building stealth airplanes and developing advanced weapons technology. Below Read more…

Categories: China, military Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Russia, China Will Trade In Rubles,Yuan

June 24, 2011 Comments off

rian

Russian Central Bank

Russian Central Bank

Russia and China will switch to trade in rubles and yuan to boost bilateral trade and economic cooperation, following an agreement signed between the central banks of both countries, Russian Central Bank Deputy Chairman Viktor Melnikov said on Thursday.

“This agreement allows for settlements through Russian and Chinese banks not only in the freely convertible currencies but also in the yuan and the ruble,” Melnikov said.

Russia and China have also agreed to boost bilateral trade from $60 billiion in 2010 to $100 billion by 2015 and to $200 billion by 2020, Melnikov said.

People’s Bank of China Deputy Chairman Ma Delun said the agreement would give the two nations the opportunity to increase the value of deals in their national currencies and “help bring them closer to international reserve currencies.”

The deal will also help Russia and China reduce foreign exchange risks and currency conversion costs, Ma and Melnikov said

Categories: China, Russia Tags: , , , ,

ALEX JONES SHOW 22 JUNE 2011 LINDSEY WILLIAMS BOMBSHELL

June 23, 2011 Comments off

Read more…

Categories: Coming Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

America’s Debt Could Soon Spark A European-Style Crisis

June 23, 2011 Comments off

economictimes

US debtWASHINGTON: America’s rapidly growing national debt could soon spark a European-style crisis unless Congress moves forcefully, the Congressional Budget Office warned Wednesday in a study that underscores the stakes for a bipartisan group working on a plan to reduce red ink.

Republicans seized on the nonpartisan report to renew their push to reduce costs in federal benefit programs such as Medicare, the federal government health care program that benefits the elderly.

At issue is the $9.7 trillion of US debt held by investors and foreign countries like China, the measure that economists deem most important. Government accounts like the Social Security trust funds account for the rest of the $14.3 trillion total debt.

Democrats and Republicans have been stepping up budget talks aimed at averting what could be the disastrous first-ever default on U.S. government debt. A bipartisan group led by Vice President Joe Biden tasked with reaching an agreement has not made the politically difficult compromises on the larger issues, such as Read more…

Categories: Deficit, United States Tags: , , , , , ,

N. Korea imports Chinese riot gear

June 22, 2011 Comments off

upi

PYONGYANG, North Korea, June 22 (UPI) — North Korea has imported large quantities of Chinese riot gear, apparently to put down uprisings similar to those in Arab nations, the Chosun Ilbo reported.

Separately, a South Korean ruling party lawmaker, quoting the country’s spy chief, said Wednesday various policy blunders have hurt North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s leadership and affected the prospects of his heir apparent son, Kim Jong Un, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Citing a source it did not identify, the Chosun Ilbo said the North’s riot gear imports included tear gas, shields and helmets from China. The Communist country also is trying to get bulletproof vests and barricade materials.

“The regime seems to be very afraid of popular riots after the botched currency reform and the Read more…

Categories: China, North Korea Tags: , , , ,

Monster Chinese Telescope the Next ET Hunter?

June 22, 2011 Comments off

discovery

Fast-china-radio-telescope

In radio astronomy, the bigger the telescope, the better. And in 2016, the Chinese are expected to blow the international radio telescope competition out of the water with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST).

Construction has begun in the Guizhou Province in southern China where the world’s largest single dish radio telescope will take up residency in a natural depression in the landscape, not dissimilar to the world-famous Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico. However, FAST will be bigger, faster and Read more…

Categories: China, Technology Tags: , , , , , , ,