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U.S., South Korea Begin Drills; North Warns of War
SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea and the United States launched a massive joint military exercise on Aug. 16, prompting the North to condemn the maneuvers as provocative and warn that war could erupt.
The two allies have described the 10-day Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise as defensive and routine, but the North habitually terms such joint drills a rehearsal for invasion and launches its own counter-exercises.
“The exercise started this morning,” a spokesman of the U.S.-South Korea Combined Forces Command (CFC) told AFP, referring to the annual computer-assisted simulation command-post exercise.
All of CFC’s major units are taking part, involving more than Read more…
10 Signs That Economic Riots And Civil Unrest Inside The United States Are Now More Likely Than Ever
You should let the video footage of the wild violence that just took place in London burn into your memory because the same things are going to be happening all over the United States as the economy continues to crumble. We have raised an entire generation of young people with an “entitlement mentality”, but now the economy is producing very few good jobs that will actually enable our young people to work for what they feel they are entitled to. If you are under 30 in America today, things look really bleak. The vast majority of the good jobs are held by people that are older, and they aren’t about to give them up if they can help it. It is easy for the rest of us to tell young Americans to “take whatever they can”, but the reality is that there is intense competition for even the most basic jobs. For instance, McDonald’s recently held a “National Hiring Day” during which a million Americans applied for jobs. Only 6.2% of the applicants were hired. In the old days you could Read more…
FBI wants businesses watching for customers paying with cash
Just days after the White House announced a community-based approach to combating terrorism in the United States, the FBI and other agencies are asking managers of surplus stores to spy on their customers, watching whether they pay in cash, make “extreme” religious statements or purchase products such as waterproof matches.
And the request from the government also is going to gun shops, fertilizer suppliers, motels and hotels, authorities say.
Earlier this month, the Obama administration announced a new plan titled “Empowering local partners to prevent violent extremism in the United States.” In it, Obama wrote, “Communities – especially Muslim American communities whose children, families and neighbors are being targeted for recruitment by al-Qaida – are often best positioned to take the lead because they know their communities best.”
The report warns that while the Constitution recognizes freedom of expression, “even for individuals who espouse unpopular or even hateful views,” it also is the responsibility of government to Read more…
World Bank Head Warns Markets Heading to New Danger Zone
United States and Europe, coupled with a fragile economic recovery have pushed markets into a new danger zone, something that policymakers have to take seriously, the head of the World Bank said on Sunday.
(Photo: REUTERS / Tim Wimborne)
World Bank Chief Robert Zoellick gestures while speaking at the Asia Society’s annual dinner in Sydney August 14, 2011.
Speaking at the Asia Society dinner in Sydney, Australia, Robert Zoellick also said the global economy was going through a multi-speed recovery, with developing countries now the source of growth and opportunity.
“What’s happened in the past couple of weeks is there is a convergence of some events in Europe and the United States that has led many market participants to lose confidence in economic leadership of some of the key countries,” he said.
“I think those events combined with some of the other fragilities in the nature of recovery have pushed us into a new danger zone. I don’t say those words lightly … so that policymakers Read more…
Pakistan Let China See U.S. ‘Stealth’ Chopper
Aug. 15 – Pakistan has allowed Chinese military engineers to photograph and take samples of a U.S. “stealth” helicopter that crashed during the operation in May which led to the death of former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
If the disclosure is substantiated, Pakistan’s move will further exacerbate the already fragile relationship between the two countries, which was seriously strained when the United States carried out a clandestine raid on May 2 to assassinate bin Laden in Abottabad, located some 30 miles northeast of Islamabad, without notifying Pakistani authorities.
“The U.S. now has information that Pakistan, particularly the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence), gave access to the Chinese military to the downed helicopter in Abbottabad,” a person in “intelligence circles” was quoted as saying.
When U.S. Navy SEALs raided the fortified mansion of “Terrorist No.1,” one of two modified Blackhawk helicopters crashed into the wall of the mansion due to a technical malfunction, according to officials. The Navy SEALs team tried to destroy the helicopter after the crash, but the tail section remained intact.
Chinese engineers were allowed to Read more…
The U.S. Military’s Plan for London-Like Riots
With British Prime Minister David Cameron authorizing the use of rubber bullets and water canons in wake of the turbulent London riots spreading through Britain, questions have been raised about how authorities in the U.S. would respond to a similar domestic disturbance threatening the nation’s stability. According to National Journal‘s White House correspondent Marc Ambinder the U.S. already has a game plan in place. “If what happened in London ever happened in the US, the military has plans — CONPLAN 3501 and 3502 — to suppress the ‘insurrection,’ he tweeted. The mysterious reference to a numbered military plan generated a flurry of interest on Twitter as NPR host Michele Norris shot back:”I want to know more about the military’s plan to suppress any potential ‘insurrection.’– CONPLAN 3501 and 3502????”
Interestingly, the CONPLAN (which stands for Read more…
UN wants new global currency to replace dollar
The dollar should be replaced with a global currency, the United Nations has said, proposing the biggest overhaul of the world’s monetary system since the Second World War.
In a radical report, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has said the system of currencies and capital rules which binds the world economy is not working properly, and was largely responsible for the financial and economic crises.
It added that the present system, under which the dollar acts as the world’s reserve currency , should be subject to a wholesale reconsideration.
Although a number of countries, including China and Russia, have suggested replacing the dollar as the world’s reserve currency, the UNCTAD report is the first time a major multinational institution has posited such a suggestion.
In essence, the report calls for Read more…
Think gold is high? Wait till dollar bonds are dumped, Davies says
The West is close to the point where its paper currency system is insolvent, and as a result gold is heading to $5,000 an ounce, according to the manager of a gold fund.
“A paper currency system ultimately ends in insolvency,” said Ben Davies, the chief executive of Hinde Capital in an interview with CNBC.com on Tuesday. “We have arrived at this point in the West. So why own worthless paper?”
His belief that gold will hit $5,000 an ounce is not shared by many major players in the market. On Sunday, Goldman Sachs raised its 12-month price target for gold to $1,860 an ounce. In early trading Tuesday, spot gold hit a record $1,778 an ounce, before pulling back.
Goldman based its new target on Read more…
Second U.S. recession could be worse than the first
A second recession, what many are calling the double-dip recession, could be on its way, economists warn. And should it come, it will probably be even more devastating than the previous period of economic woe.“It would be disastrous if we entered into a recession at this stage, given that we haven’t yet made up for the last recession,” Conrad DeQuadros, senior economist at RDQ Economics, told the New York Times.
The Standard and Poor’s downgrade of the U.S.’s credit rating bodes ill for the world’s financial markets as well as the domestic market.
President Barack Obama, once the debt deal with Congress to avoid a debt default was struck, announced a pivot to focus on jobs.
“I’ll continue also to fight for what the American people care most about: new jobs, higher wages and faster economic growth,” Obama said in a statement to press after the debt deal was passed last week.
While the working age population has grown 3 percent in the past four years, the economy has 5 percent fewer jobs — or 6.8 million less than four years ago. Unemployment stands at 9.1 percent.
Economists don’t think another stimulus package will do the trick, either.
“There are only so many times the Fed can pull this same rabbit out of its hat,” Torsten Slok, the chief international economist at Deutsche Bank, told the Times.
Minotaur rocket to carry military weapon
More than 15 months after the first one failed, the Defense Department plans a second test of its super-fast weapon that will ride in a rocket scheduled to launch Wednesday morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
The Minotaur 4 Lite rocket, assembled by Orbital Sciences Corp. crews from retired Peacekeeper missile stages, is scheduled to blast off between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. Wednesday from Space Launch Complex-8 on South Base.
The rocket will carry the Falcon Hypersonic Test Vehicle or HTV-2 for the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s Tactical Projects Office.
Weather for Wednesday morning remains suitable for blastoff, but not necessarily viewing. Launch weather officers say the marine layer and fog will be prevalent at the start of the window, but begin breaking up later in the morning. Visibility is expected to be one mile with mist falling.
Space weather could Read more…
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