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Posts Tagged ‘United States’

Heat Warnings Issues in 17 States

July 19, 2011 Comments off
christianpost

The majority of the U.S. is in for another sweat dripping next few days as this weekend’s heat wave lingers into the work week.

The heat index is as high as 126 degrees in portions of the upper Midwest. Heat warnings, watches, and advisories remain in effect for most of central U.S. Seventeen states have issued heat warnings for this week and 36 states are expected to see 90 degrees or above today.

The Midlands are expected to see heat index values between 110-115 between Thursday through Sunday of this week. Air temperatures will likely break records and by Wednesday the midlands are expected to be at or around the century high mark.

According to Accuweather, a high pressure system over the Great Plains is the cause for sizzling temperatures from Texas through the Midwest. The plains and Mississippi Valley are likely to feel the worst of the Read more…

Categories: United States, Weather Tags: , , ,

Why China Wants South China Sea

July 18, 2011 Comments off

the-diplomat.com

By Tetsuo Kotani

Beijing is interested in more than just energy and fishery resources. The area is also integral to its nuclear submarine strategy.

 

In an effort to underscore its importance to Asia, geostrategist Nicholas Spykman once described it as the ‘Asiatic Mediterranean.’ More recently, it has been dubbed the ‘Chinese Caribbean.’ And, just as Rome and the United States have sought control over the Mediterranean and Caribbean, China now seeks dominance over the South China Sea.

It’s clear that China’s claims and recent assertiveness have increased tensions in this key body of water. Yet while most attention has focused on Beijing’s appetite for fishery and energy resources, from a submariner’s perspective, the semi-closed sea is integral to China’s nuclear strategy. And without understanding the nuclear dimension of the South China Sea disputes, China’s maritime expansion makes little sense.

Possessing a credible sea-based nuclear deterrent is a priority for China’s military strategy. China’s single Type 092, or Xia-class, nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, equipped with short-range JL-1 submarine-launched ballistic Read more…

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

Government Increases Hysteria Over Cyber Attacks in Push to Crack Down on Internet

July 18, 2011 Comments off

infowars

Last week Republican senator John McCain called for the government to establish a special panel to come up with legislation to address supposed cybersecurity threats facing the United States.

“The only way to move comprehensive cyber security legislation forward swiftly is to have committee chairmen and ranking members step away from preserving their own committees’ jurisdiction … (and) develop a bill that serves the national security needs of all Americans,” McCain said.

As if on cue, the Pentagon announced two previously unpublicized attacks following McCain’s call for a bipartisan action.

On Thursday, out-going deputy secretary of defense Bill Lynn said a foreign intelligence service had stolen 24,000 files on a sensitive weapons system from a defense contractor’s network.

Lynn said the Defense Industrial Base Cyber Pilot was established to work with the private sector in the battle against cyber foes.

“Our success in cyberspace depends on a robust public Read more…

Categories: internet, United States Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Poor Man’s Gold is Breaking Out — Sell Your House and Buy Silver?

July 18, 2011 1 comment

businessinsider

   Investors have pushed silver above the recent channel high at around $39 or so per ounce and I fully expect a retest of $50 if any more talk is given about QE3 — Silver rises because of the rising digital money supply, not from speculation. Owning cash is speculative whereas owning metals is conservative or a safe haven at current prices.

Many people will tell you that silver and gold are in a bubble but the fact is that commodities in general are one of the only asset classes that work here because the consolidated banking system is holding our economy hostage and Bernanke is solely focused on saving the banks. Right now, shorting European banks and going long silver and gold looks to be about as good of a “trade” as possible — investors are essentially betting that Europe will face massive credit problems because of the obvious insolvency of Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Ireland.

The next shoe to drop is the US… We are facing the exact same issues as Read more…

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

‘Ice Wars’ heating up the Arctic

July 17, 2011 Comments off

cnn

Click to play
Scrambling for a piece of the Arctic pie

Editor’s note: CNN correspondent Kaj Larsen recently visited the Arctic to observe the U.S. naval exercise known as ICEX. His experience is part of the CNN documentary “Ice Wars,” which will air at 8 p.m. ET Sunday on CNN Presents.

(CNN) — On a small, floating piece of ice in the Beaufort Sea, several hundred miles north of Alaska, a group of scientists are documenting what some dub an “Arctic meltdown.”

According to climate scientists, the warming of the region is shrinking the polar ice cap at an alarming rate, reducing the permafrost layer and wreaking havoc on polar bears, arctic foxes and other indigenous wildlife in the region.

What is bad for the animals, though, has been good for commerce.

The recession of the sea ice and the reduction in permafrost — combined with advances in technology — have allowed access to oil, mineral and natural gas deposits that were previously trapped in the ice.

The abundance of these valuable resources and the opportunity to exploit them has created a Read more…

Categories: Arctic sea Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This Vehicle Registration Plate Surveillance System Is a Warning to Us All

July 17, 2011 4 comments

disinfo.com

Knight RiderNo CCTV has teamed up with Privacy International and Big Brother Watch to challenge the legality of the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) [also known as ALPR in North America] camera network in the UK. A complaint has been sent to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) against a so-called ANPR “Ring of Steel” that is being constructed around the town of Royston in Hertfordshire — but for Royston read any town in the UK.

Background

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has constructed a network of cameras across the country without any public or parliamentary debate. These cameras record the number plate of each and every vehicle that passes, sometimes taking a photograph of the car and its occupants. The number plate is then compared to a “hotlist” of vehicles of interest, and whether or not the plate is on that list (ie a “hit”), all information gathered is stored for between two and five years. A Hertfordshire Police Authority report reveals the details of the data retention periods:

Currently number plate pictures are held for 2 years. Car pictures are held for 90 days. “Hits” information on text and number pictures are held for 5 years and car pictures are held for 2 years.

[‘Final report of the Topic Group on Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) Technology use within Hertfordshire Constabulary’, p. 9]

The data collected from number plate cameras can be linked to multiple databases such as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) database and the Motor Insurance Database Application System (MIDAS) which in turn can be used to identify the owner of the vehicle. The resulting database of Read more…

Categories: Big Brother Tags: , , , , , ,

US raised debt ceiling 102 times – economist

July 17, 2011 Comments off

rt.com

President Obama has warned the US is running out of time to deal with its financial troubles – the Congress must raise the current $14.3-trillion debt ceiling again. And as Professor Rodrigue Tremblay told RT, this has become a tradition in the US.

­The US repeatedly gets away with raising the debt ceiling, Rodrigue Tremblay told RT.

“This system that the US has, has been in place since 1917. They raise the debt ceiling each year, they have done it 102 times; eight times under George W. Bush alone. Most countries do not run their Read more…

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

The World Says China Will Overtake America

July 16, 2011 Comments off

peopleforum               wsj.com

In the past decade, anti-Americanism grew around the world. This was in response to concerns about the unchecked global power of the U.S., when it invaded Iraq in the face of very wide international opposition. In sharp contrast, today America is seen as on its way to losing its status as the dominant global superpower.
A new Pew Global Attitudes survey released today finds that while the U.S. is better regarded around the world now than it was in the Bush years, in 15 of 22 nations surveyed most say that China either will replace or already has replaced America as the world’s “leading superpower.” This view is especially widespread in Western Europe, where at least six in 10 respondents in Britain, France, Germany and Spain see China eventually overtaking the U.S.The emerging perception of China’s superpower status no doubt reflects global recognition of its growing economic might, and the fact that the U.S. is increasingly seen as trailing China economically. Nowhere is this more evident than in Read more…
Categories: China, Coming Events, United States Tags: , , , , , , ,

Pentagon declares the Internet a war domain

July 16, 2011 Comments off

thehill

The Pentagon released a long-promised cybersecurity plan Thursday that declares the Internet a domain of war but does not spell out how the U.S. military would use the Web for offensive strikes.

The Defense Department’s first-ever plan for cyberspace states that DOD will expand its ability to thwart attacks from other nations and groups, beef up its cybersecurity workforce and expand collaboration with the private sector.

Like major corporations and the rest of the federal government, the military “depends on cyberspace to function,” the DOD strategy states. The U.S. military uses cyberspace for everything from carrying out military operations to sharing intelligence data internally to managing personnel assignments.

“The department and the nation have vulnerabilities in cyberspace,” the document states. “Our reliance on cyberspace stands in stark contrast to the inadequacy of our cybersecurity.”

Other nations “are working to exploit DOD unclassified and classified networks, and some foreign intelligence organizations have Read more…

Categories: internet, United States Tags: , , , , , , ,

Pentagon reveals 24,000 files stolen in cyber-attack

July 15, 2011 Comments off

telegraph

The Pentagon has disclosed that it suffered one of its largest ever losses of sensitive data in March when 24,000 files were stolen in a cyber-attack by a foreign government.
The few copies of the book that managed to evade the Pentagon's dragnet are being sold for up to $2,000 (£1,260) on the internet

One of the Pentagon’s fears is that eventually a terrorist group will acquire the ability to steal data Photo: AP

William Lynn, the US deputy secretary of defence, said the data was taken from the computers of a corporate defence contractor.

He said the US government had a “pretty good idea” who was responsible but did not elaborate.

Many cyber-attacks in the past have been blamed on China or Russia, and one of the Pentagon’s fears is that eventually a terrorist group will acquire the ability to steal data.

Mr Lynn disclosed the March attack in a speech outlining a new cyber-strategy, which formally declares cyberspace a new warfare domain, much like air, land and sea.

It calls for developing more resilient computer networks so the Read more…

Categories: hacking, internet Tags: , , , , , , ,